We have heard about the war in Afghanistan, about the Taliban, and about the bombings, the refugees and the millions killed. Have we ever stopped to think, however, what it would be like to live in an Afghani’s shoes? (Click for more...)   

How many times in your life have you looked back and wished you could get a second chance? A chance to seize a missed opportunity, a chance to correct a mistake or even a chance to spend time with a lost loved one. For Charley Benetto, this chance has become a reality. (Click for more...)   

Upon seeing the phrase “Pulitzer Prize” stamped on the cover of Gilead , I knew to appreciate this book on an intellectual level. However, Marilynne Robinson’s gentle yet provocative prose quickly transcends intellect and moves into spiritual and emotional realms that cannot help but to emboss meaning on the reader. Robinson’s 22- year hiatus from published writing quickly comes to a close with the particularities of her thoughtful prose and the inevitable designation of this book as a classic. (Click for more...)   

Rating: A 10 for complexity of thought and brilliance of the writing; a 6 for easy readability. If on a winter’s night a traveler is an incredible novel that will interest those who love writing for aesthetic purposes or who enjoy pushing the intellectual envelope, but if you are looking for a beach read or a fun distraction, this is not the book for you. v (Click for more...)   

Rating: 8.5 Engaging and thought-provoking. Readers seeking a gripping and provocative tale should look no further than Jodi Picoult’s New York Times best-selling novel My Sister’s Keeper. (Click for more...)   

Four-star rating for unique humor and for holding my interest. Running with Scissors illustrates a young teenager's unusual relationship with his biological mother and his newly adopted family - a family unlike any other depicted in literature. This true story, as narrated by the author, Augusten Burroughs, takes on such issues as homosexuality, psychological treatment, and modes of parenting in both a wildly funny and graphically disturbing light. (Click for more...)   

Star rating is 3.5 for page-turning, entertainment value. Avid readers of the “chick lit” genre should run and not walk to this captivating sequel, another New York Times bestseller for Wake Forest graduate Emily Giffin. But even non-chick lit readers looking for a compelling read about self-discovery and life experience will also enjoy Emily Giffin’s novel, Something Blue . (Click for more...)   

The Queen of the South, a novel by Spanish author Arturo Perez-Reverte, unravels the story of the life of Teresa Mendoza through the narrative framework of a journalist finding sources for his planned piece on Mendoza. Through this literary convention, each source adds a different layer to the plot and the development of Mendoza. The novel covers Mendoza’s journey through poverty and abuse in the slums of Sinaloa, Mexico and then follows her across the Atlantic Ocean to southern Spain and the coast of Morocco. Here she becomes known as “the Queen of the South,” famous for her drug-running enterprises, money and elusive nature. This action-packed novel showcases Mendoza’s survival skills as a woman in the male-dominated field of drug-running and provides plenty of excitement for the reader, including high speed boat chases, outrunning and outwitting the authorities, hitmen lurking around corners, bribery, betrayal, torture and even death. (Click for more...)   

I was in my buddy Chace’s room with a few other friends, most likely smoking hookah, (don’t worry Wake Forest Police, the hookah is clean, no drugs I promise). Anyhow, I glanced around the room to take in my surroundings, as I always do when presented with a new environment. My eyes fell upon a book on the top shelf of his desk. I got up and walked over to it, letting the title draw me in. The novel was called The Rum Diary and it was by a man named Hunter S. Thompson. (Click for more...)