Adult

Club member Mike Dalton recommended this book. He says: “In this book, Rees basically outlines how humanity has a 50-50 chance of surviving the next century given the possibility of errors and the technological monsters, particularly bio-weapons, that are currently in development.  Rees also talks about what we are doing to the environment and how all of these pose a serious threat.  At times, he gets a little hysterical.  I think he probably wrote this a little drunk after talking to some colleague at Cambridge who managed to scare the (insert imagination here) out of him.”

“The work of an entrepreneur,” Gerber writes, “is to wonder…to imagine and dream.” What most entrepreneurs do not understand is that creating one’s own business takes a lot of smart, hard work done the right way. Gerber provides budding entrepreneurs with a blueprint on how to take their ideas and make them profitable businesses. Not a new book, but one every person in search of personal financial freedom should read.

Undernourished by the media’s sensational yet sparse coverage of the war in Syria, I grabbed this book to get a better understanding of the catastrophic war in Syria. Truly enlightening read.

If you ever have the chance to see Ruben speak, GO. He is one of my favorite speakers. The story of how he became a four-time Olympian competing in the luge is hilarious and uplifting and offers a glimpse into the power of one’s indomitable spirit.

This book is REQUIRED reading for anyone who travels a lot. Tomsky provides all sorts of amazing ideas on ways to get upgrades and other goodies from hotels.

Remarkable story of Brownie Wise, the founder of Tupperware. Truly inspirational!

Readers keep on asking me to include more mystery recommendations, so here is a nice series to keep you busy for a little while (there are five books so far in the series). Ambrose Bierce, of course, was a famous 19th century American journalist, and this latest mystery takes him to Colonel Studley’s Wild West Show in San Francisco. Yup, there’s a murder, and yup, there’s a ton of suspects. Another fun tale in this series narrated by Bierce’s own Dr. Watson-like character, Tom Redmond.

Here’s one for the ladies: female bonding at its finest. Hinton crafts a tale of women brought together through a cookbook collaboration, and she manages to tackle a lot of issues with love and tenderness.

I am traveling throughout Ireland in July, so I have been enjoying as many stories taking place in Ireland that I can. Bowen is a crafty writer, and this is her first entry in a historical series about a 19^th century heroine known as Molly Murphy. Bowen’s writing makes turning pages easy.

I am a sucker for baseball books, and – despite being a diehard Dodger fan – my dad’s side of the family comes from Chicago, so I have an affinity for the Cubs and White Sox, as well. O’Donnell’s book reminds us of all that is good about the game: the statistics, the personal memories of attending games as a kid and the trials and tribulations fans go through as their teams soar, then disappoint. A remarkably quick read that left me hungry for more.

Perfect beach reading! I always dig a good mystery that keeps moving, and this one does not disappoint. Anyone who is a fan of the “cold case” shows on television will enjoy this story of Jiminy Davis, who abruptly quits law school and flees Chicago for her grandmother Willa's farm in rural Mississippi, only to find herself sucked into solving a Civil Rights-era hate crime.

Subtitled “How Analogies Reveal Connections, Spark Innovation and Sell Our Greatest Ideas,” this page-turner was scribed by a former speech writer for President Clinton who unveils the beauty and power of our language. I zipped through this mesmerizing read.

Walter Mosley is one of the most talented writers around, and this collection of stories about Socrates Fortlow is a wonderful look at life in the 'hood. My students could relate to this book, and I found myself very attached to Socrates by book’s end.

One of the best books I have ever read is Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, and a friend recommended that I would love this book. He was right! Lobo Antunes is Portuguese, and translator Margaret Jull Costa has provided a huge service to Americans by translating this work. One of those rare pieces of literature that is a page-turner and will impress your friends when you boast of reading it.

Co-written by four Parisian women, this charming book provides tips of dos and don’ts that can be quirky, funny, sadistic and endearing – sometimes within the same sentence.