Adult

Quindlen’s reflections on her reading experiences, readers and the state of reading in general is one of the best accounts I have ever read on why books matter.

This could also be classified as young adult, as this was the first book in middle school to get me to laugh so hard that I had to put the book down.  Holden Caulfield is a profile of every teenager I’ve ever known (including myself), and it is a shame that this is one of the most banned books in America (attention all serial killers).  I think the only reason I read this book was because there wasn’t a movie – what a lucky break.

Lili Sanchez gave me a copy of this book that I used to read to my ESL students at USC.  Can you believe that we had internment camps for Japanese Americans in the 1940s?  This appalling chapter in American history is masterfully retold through one family’s experiences (I believe this book formed the basis of a mediocre Dennis Quaid movie).

I wanted to give Steve Martin his props, as I was disappointed that he did not get to host this year's Oscars.  I laugh at just about anything this man writes or says.  This is a good book to cheer you up, and, at 128 pages, it should cheer you up quickly.

As far as I'm concerned, this Neil Simon classic is the funniest play ever written.  Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar are two of the most delightful characters ever created in print.

In case you have not seen "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart, this book makes a great segue into the mind of the man all politicians should fear for his sharp wit.  What surprised me was how great his parody translates into print, and I especially enjoy his Larry King interview with a kinder, gentler Adolf Hitler.

I know, this sounds like an “academic” book, and I will admit that Maxwell sometimes delves into graphs.  However, the majority of the book includes inspirational anecdotes about people from Harriet Tubman to Jaime Escalante.  I read this book in three hours, and I now have a better clue as to who deserves my vote for President.

Don’t let the page count frighten you, as there are a ton of appendices highlighting UCLA stats, etc.  Even though I am a Trojan for a life, John Wooden is simply one of the most amazing and good people in the world.  If we all live our lives half as well as this fine man, there is nothing to fear.  I love Coach Wooden’s anecdotes and philosophies, and you have to give credit to a coach who finds the time to teach players how to put on their socks.  One of the ten people alive that I would like to meet.

Will you stop worrying about the page count?  This book includes 103 two to three-page, real-life mysteries that are crafted with Paul Harvey’s marvelous touch.  Any collection of Paul Harvey’s stories, gathered by his son – Paul Aurandt, is worth reading.  How else would you learn about the dead jockey that won the Belmont Stakes or the hypochondriac who would be immortalized as the world’s most beloved nurse?

I just realized that I had not yet recommended this semi-memoir of the Nobel Prize winner’s experiences as a 15-year-old concentration camp survivor.  If this book is not being recommended to high school students, there truly is something wrong with our school system.

I have been listening to “The Dilbert Principle” on CD to and from work, and I think Scott Adams might be just about the funniest writer in America.  His observations rival Douglas Adams , author of the wonderful "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

I really enjoy Trillin’s manner of complaining in this series of short essays about family life.  As curmudgeonly as he may appear, you can see his heart and his humor in every story.

Say what you want about the French – they sure can cook!  My wife has gotten me to start watching the Food Network, which is torturous as I enter the third week of my diet (I’ve been on the Atkins Diet for two weeks and lost 14 days).  I enjoyed this book for providing motivation, inspiration and some really good recipes (which I will proceed to ruin in my kitchen).  This is part cook book, part self-help book.

I am looking at my list for this month, and it is more eclectic than the Munsters.  This wonderful play reminds me a lot of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” because it deals with all sorts of major issues:  race, class, modern society’s morals.  More than anything, I appreciate the play’s twists, which I could not see coming (for a change).

Between this book and Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, I think it is safe to say that I will not attempt to climb any high peaks anytime soon.  Fascinating account of Simpson’s harrowing experiences in the Andes.