Kiss By A Rose

The following are all books I read very quickly and enjoyed immensely. They are page-turners that will jump-start your pleasure reading,

bellwether by Connie Willis - a book about fads, chaos theory, working in offices, attraction, and sheep. I liked it.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman - the author mentions in supplemental notes that children "see it as an adventure," while it "gives nightmares" to adults. The plot follows a young girl who finds a portal to a mysteriously dark alternative world. In this inverted yet seductive world, her Other Mother has buttons for eyes and traps innocent folk in a small closet. If you like this short, dark fairy tale, I also recommend you check out Gaiman's "faerie" tale for adults, Stardust.

Bear v. Shark by Chris Bachelder - fictional book about a family/culture obsessed with a reality TV event hosted in Las Vegas, where a shark fights a bear. This book is funny and prophetic. The writing style mimics and mocks our sound byte multimedia digital age.

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut - a journalist goes through wild, apocalyptic adventures while trying to interview the grown-up offspring of the scientist who invented the Atom Bomb (and another substance called Ice-9). Vonnegut is quick and witty. His satire is comical. His insight is scathing.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - I recommend other books in the "Ender" and "Shadow" series, but this first one is the best. It's a sci-fi book about genius children trained by a global military to fight an interstellar war. These children think like adults, but they run into the same struggles as all youth. Even as an adult, I still find myself relating to Ender's story. Card writes with a tactful use of perspective, logic, philosophy, war games.

I also recommend Card's thriller about government and American politics, Empire, in which America responds to the assassination of both the President and the Vice President. The politics are muddy. The country is divided. Powerful men and women fight for more power and control. This fictional book is timely, especially considering the upcoming election cycle and America's ongoing war on terror.