Staff Picks

This is the first in a continuing series of posts about what our staff is reading and their recommendations for new and all-time favorite books.

This post features what we are currently reading:

An Underground Education by Richard Zacks. Being read by Ashley.
Forget the history you were taught in school; Richard Zacks's version is crueler and funnier than anything you might have learned in seventh-grade civics--and much more of a gross-out, too. Described on the book jacket as an "autodidact extraordinaire," Zacks is also the author of History Laid Bare, making him something of an expert guide through history's back alleys and side streets. There's no fact too seamy or perverse for Zacks to drag out into the light of day, from matters scatological and sexual to some of history's most truly bizarre episodes. Curious about ancient nose-blowing etiquette? What about the sexual proclivities of Catherine the Great? Throughout chapters such as "The Evolution of Underwear" and "Dentistry Before Novocaine," Zacks proves a tireless debunker of popular myths as well as a muckraker par excellence. (Summary from Amazon)

Stealing your Life by Frank W. Abagnale. Being read by Marla.
When Frank Abagnale trains law enforcement officers for the FBI's National Academy about identity theft, he asks agents for their addresses and nothing more. The next day, he returns with everything he would need to steal their lives: Social Security numbers, dates of birth, current salary, checking account numbers, the names of everyone in their family, and more. This illustrates how easy it is for anyone from anywhere in the world to assume our identity and, in a matter of hours, devastate our lives in ways that can take years to recover from. Considering the fact that a fresh victim is hit in the U.S. every four seconds, Stealing Your Life is the reference everyone needs, by an unsurpassed authority on the latest identity-theft schemes. (Summary from Amazon)


The Sandman Vol. 9 "The Kindly Ones" by Neil Gaiman. Being read by Heather. Heather says: "This one is hard to explain without summarizing the series --- I highly recommend the whole series."











Miracle Man: Nolan Ryan The Autobiography. Being read by Daniel. "Baseball's all-time strikeout leader talks about his life." (Summary by Daniel)










The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum. Being read by Caroline.
Reenter the shadowy world of Jason Bourne, an expert assassin still plagued by the splintered nightmares of his former life. This time the stakes are higher than ever. For someone else has taken on the Bourne identity—a ruthless killer who must be stopped or the world will pay a devastating price. To succeed, the real Jason Bourne must maneuver through the dangerous labyrinth of international espionage—an exotic world filled with CIA plots, turncoat agents, and ever-shifting alliances—all the while hoping to find the truth behind his haunted memories and the answers to his own fragmented past. (Summary from Amazon)