The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston

This is the most unusual of stories. Not told in a typical fashion, this is an actual (fictional) scrapbook that Frankie Pratt created of her life, starting with her romance with a married man (the married part unknown to her) and going to college in Vassar. It leads to her adventures during her life, about living with a roommate in college and meeting the roommate's family, about romantic steps and missteps, and travelling. A book I definitely recommend, if only to look at the ephemera from the 1920s.

End This Depression Now! by Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman is pretty darn amazing and level-headed, especially when it comes to economics. Well, I'll be darned, he even received one of those Nobel Prize thingies! How this story goes it that it is essentially a recap of how we got to where we are and how to get to where we need to be, aka people with jobs and a growing economy and away from austerity measures. He talks about all the different parts of the economy and how they interact...especially about gridlock in Congress (it is ridiculous that the GOP has pledged to not raise taxes to Grover Nordquist...I thought they were supposed to serve America, but what do I know), the issues that Europe is having and how that could cross the Atlantic, and kind of has with the GOP wanting to cut spending without raising taxes, or having to offset a debt ceiling increase with spending cuts...so frustrating to me!...and also what the Fed could do to help things along. It really was a very interesting read and it sounds like a deceivingly easy solution to get America back to full employment (aka 5% unemployment), but I doubt it will happen, as Krugman does, too. He even says at this rate, it will take 5-7 years for us to get back to full employment, and he does call what we are in a depression, not just a recession or Great Recession. It is also really interesting to read the exerpts at the beginning of each chapter--some are taken from during the Great Depression and scarily echo current sentiments and others are from only a few years ago declaring that the recession was over and we were on the path to growth. I enjoyed Krugman so much, don't be surprised if you see more reviews of his books here.

Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer

I really, really enjoyed this book. It is about exactly what it says it is. It begins by explaining where creativity happens in the brain. The book as a whole is divided into two sections; the first is about creativity on your own and the second about creativity in groups. I found it absolutely amazing to find out that larger cities have more patents due to its citizens' interaction with one another, essentially bouncing ideas off of one another. There were a lot of other gems in it, and all the examples from Pixar to a degenerative brain condition that leaves people especially creative before killing them just blew my mind (pun not intended). I definitely recommend this book.

The Odds by Stewart O'nan

Every chapter in this book begins with an odd, like 1 in 6 marriages make it to their 25th anniversary. The book centers around Marion and Art, a long-timed married couple up against unemployment, bankruptcy, house foreclosure, and divorce, but give it one last go at Niagra Falls on a second honeymoon. While there, they bring thousands of dollars with them in the hope to not only rekindle their romance, but to also gamble their way out of debt. Art had had an affair twenty years prior, and so had Marion, but with a woman--an affair she has not told Art about, nor plans to. Finally, after three days in Canada, they have all their money traded into chips and set out to get back what they lost in life.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

This book was a much, much faster read than 1Q84. It helps that it was YA and only took me 3 days to read. It is about Hazel, a 16 year old who lives with lung cancer, who meets Gus in a cancer support group for teens. Gus is missing part of one of his legs from cancer, but has been cancer-free for a while. They immediately click, but Hazel worries about Gus being more interested in her than she is with him, but eventually that worry is resolved. She introduces him to her favorite book (that ends mid-sentence) and Gus to his favorite book (which is part of a series that she breezes through). Through this, they create a budding romantic relationship. Hazel tells Gus about the times she has written to the author of her favorite book, and he also writes to him, but emails it (rather than snail mails it). He ends up getting a response--amazingly!--and the author invites them to visit him in Amsterdam. Gus then informs Hazel that he had not used his Wish (she had already to go to Disney), so they will go to see the author! During their time in Amsterdam, their relationship deepens and they found that the author was not quite how they pictured him would be. Also, Gus revealed a secret to Hazel that changes their relationship forever. 

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Sorry for my long absence, but it took that long to read this behemoth of a book! Behemoth meaning 925 pages. This story is told from two (and three, but mainly two) points of view. There is Tengo, a 30 year old cram school teacher, and then you have Aomame (literally meaning "green peas," an unusual name), a 30 year old fitness instructor. They are brought into the world of 1Q84 under odd circumstances, with the easiest identifiable characteristic being two moons in the sky. Tengo, in addition to being a teacher, also is a writer on the side. His publisher go-to person gets in contact with him and wants him to rewrite a book called Air Chrysalis, originally written by the 17 year old Fuki-Eri about things that are assumed to be fictional. But as time goes on, things that occurred in the book actually happen in the world of 1Q84 (like the two moons). Aomame, at the same time, has a side job in addition to martial arts instructing: she kills gentlemen who abuse their wives or girlfriends. An rich, elderly student in her class (known only as the dowanger) finds this out through extensive research and commissions Aomame under false pretenses to help her learn more about self-protection and eventually appeals to Aomame to kill a man known in a religious commune (Sakigake) as Leader. The dowanger is also a proponent of abused females and has a safe house on her property. One day, she finds a girl who had obviously been sexually abused by Leader, and it is at this point that she commissions Aomame to be a part of an elaborate rouse to murder him. Somehow, Tengo and Aomame are linked (I won't give it away) and must find each other so they can both escape this world known as 1Q84, but everything works against them. Will they find each other? Even if they did, can they escape 1Q84?

Taft 2012 by Jason Heller

Taft 2012 is written as though William Howard Taft disappeared in 1913 and then magically reappeared in 2011. He struggles to understand current society and technology--Google, Twitter, and the rights of African-Americans--while also finding new-found fame as a presidential possibility. (*spoiler alert*) Through a "random" uprising (?), the Taft Party emerges wanting Taft to run for president, which he does, until he realizes who is really behind the Taft party. I found this novel entertaining at first, until the author's obvious political beliefs crept in (legalizing marijuana, promoting vegetarianism/veganism, animal rights, food regulations...just to name a few). It is definitely a quick read, but enjoyable as long as you don't mind someone else basically rambling on about their beliefs as a thinly-disguised political platform upon which Taft runs.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

So I saw the movie Hugo and thought to myself, I bet that was a book! And looky here, it is! Now to the unfortunate part...I should have read the book first (always a must). The whole time reading (which only takes about 2 hours since most of the book is in black and white drawn pictures), I kept wondering how the Station Inspector's romance was going to be introduced, when Hugo would hang off the side of the clock, when more images from Georges' movies would be shown...and none of that happened. I should also mention that during the movie, I was thinking about the Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight Tonight" music video...if you've seen the movie, watch the video and you will understand! Suffice it to say, I think the movie may have been better than the book (the horrors, I know, I don't need to hear it) because of the subplot of the Station Inspector romance it and also because one could see the actual footage of Georges' old movies.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

I really, really enjoyed this book, and it was a breeze to read. The story centers around a girl, the titled Frankie Landau-Banks. She attends a boarding (?) school that her father went to starting her freshman year, where she is essentially invisible until she becomes a sophmore with boobs and a boyfriend who happens to be the most popular guy at school (and a senior...gasp!). She is very annoyed, though, because Mr. Boyfriend keeps ditching her for his friend Alpha on a oh-too-regular basis, so one night she follows him and discovers that the secret male society that her father randomly referenced being a part of is actually true, with her boyfriend and Alpha as the Kings. She knows her father talked about some book of the secret society's, so she goes out to find it, and in the meantime, poses as Alpha online and sets up ridiculous pranks against the school, very a la Looking for Alaska. Her whole point is to show that girls can be just as good as guys when it comes to pranks and that the secret society should not be male-only. I really loved the feminist bent to the story (anything boys can do, girls can do...better), which is something I would not have picked up on had I been an actual teen reader and/or not suddenly wanting to know about feminism and its roots, thank you, Republican Party, for your War on Women. 

Catfight: Women and Competition by Leora Tanenbaum

I really really really enjoyed this book. My only caveat is that it is 10 years old, so Facebook is known as the "face book" (that is verbatim from the book). Tanenbaum does a wonderful job of exhibiting why and how women compete against each other in the realms of beauty, dating, careers, and motherhood. Since it was written before Facebook became a household name, it would be interesting to see how the book would change if it were updated today. Facebook has become the ultimate in competition--I, personally, have been Facebook-free for almost three months and life has gotten a lot better. I would spend so much time on it, essentially comparing myself to all my friends and acquaintances daily. I saw who started a relationship, who ended one, who got engaged, married, had a baby, graduated, owned a house, etc., and always felt that my life did not measure up. But it measures up just fine for me right now, since I no longer constantly compare myself to people I rarely see in real life, let alone people who truly matter on a daily basis (that is not to say that I compare myself to people I see every day). I definitely recommend this book (and sorry about the Facebook tangent)!