Check out what our staff is reading!

The Big Short
by Michael Lewis

Dubious of financial reform? You'll be true believers after reading this book. Lewis chronicles four flamboyant renegade traders—a one-eyed recluse, an offensive crusader and two chump-change investors from California—who bet heavily against the subprime mortgage market. A blistering indictment of the Wall Street mindset that brought us to the financial brink.

Reviewed by: Harry

******

Paradise Road
by Jay Atkinson
Paradise Road is a modern depiction of Jack Kerouac's meandering American journey chronicled in On the Road. Atkinson discovers that the interstate highway system has led to the destruction and closure of many of the backroads that Kerouac trod; yet Atkinson also discovers that the small towns visited by Kerouac still thrive on local commerce and community-based ties.

Reviewed by: Odysseus

******

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
by Steig Larsson

Here it is in the U.S. at last: the conclusion to Larsson's much-loved Millennium Trilogy. No more waiting to find out: Will Lisbeth Salander win against the corrupt government institutions that have continually victimized her? Can she trust others enough to accept their help in proving her innocence? The ending is satisfying, but I am sad the author died without completing the series.

Reviewed by: Alyssa

******

The Fiddler in the Subway
by Gene Weingarten

Weingarten is the best nonfiction writer you've never heard of. His accolades include discovering Dave Barry and winning two Pulitzers, plus he's an expert hypochondriac. The namesake essay—his Pulitzer-winning piece on violinist Josh Bell, who once busked in a busy Metro station during rush hour—is an illuminating read worth the price of admission.

Reviewed by: Michael D.

******

Dead Until Dark
by Charlaine Harris

The inspiration for the True Blood Series on HBO reads like Twilight on V (the hip designer drug of choice for humans derived from, you guessed it, vampire blood). Sookie Stackhouse is our plucky protagonist, ordinary southern girl with one extraordinary disadvantage: She is telepathic. With plenty of lust and violence to spare, this makes a great summer read!

Reviewed by: Ashanti