One Last Thing Before I Go, by Jonathan Tropper

I’m obviously interested in characters at the lowest point of their lives, making the worst choice of their lives, but how could one possibly make that funny?  Incredibly, Tropper knows how, and his One Last Thing Before I Go was the most fun I’ve had with a story in a long time.  Silver’s life is […]

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon

Any book that starts with fork-stabbed poodle-death is story that must be read, if only to give it the chance to redeem itself, which this one does, and much, much more.  With the creation of 15-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone—self-proclaimed poodle murder-solver, who uses an emoji chart to translate human emotion and quadratic equations to […]

A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman

This is one of those friend group books, where you meet one person, and they introduce you to a bunch of other cool people you’re so happy to hang out with.  A Man Called Ove introduced me to Fredrik Backman, who has a bunch of other books I was excited to meet.  The first book, […]

Interred with their Bones, by Jennifer Lee Carrell

Okay, so I teach Hamlet (check out David Tennant’s Hamlet, if you haven’t yet!) and couldn’t help but try out this book, which is basically the Da Vinci Code and National Treasure on Shakespeare.  Yes, it reads a bit like a movie, something I usually stay away from, but the story is just good romping […]

How to Be Good, by Nick Hornby

Oh, to be British! And to be funny! Both of which I will inevitably try and joyfully fail at doing. Some of my favorite lines: “Bollocks” (p. 5 and throughout) Is there a more dismissive word in the English language? I think not. Something about the air blasted through the lips and the flippant tongue […]