Because some seriously good reads are coming your way this September!

So put away the sun block and the beach bag!  Here are our picks for making Fall fun!

Those who know us know we are fascinated by all things Chanel.  Coco Chanel:  The Legend and Her Life by Justine Picardie is something we can’t wait to get our hands on.  Picardie had unprecedented access to the Chanel archive and this book promises to bring to solve many of the mysteries surrounding this creative genius. 

Also, those who know us know that we are NPR junkies.  We are really looking forward to hearing the story behind the voice that has brought us so many wonderful stories.  Michele Norris using her own family’s stories examines the history and current state of race relations in America.  From the story of her grandmother employed as a traveling Aunt Jemima to her father’s shooting by a white police man The Grace of Silence promises to be a book that will elicit many a discussion.

Nobody is better than Ken Follett at bringing us big, fat wonderful epics.  And this September he begins a new trilogy centering around five interconnected families.  They will begin their stories at the beginning of the last century and through the subsequent books carry us through to the end.  Fall of Giants is just the thing for those increasingly long nights ahead. 

Room by Emma Donoghue is a book we are wild for and have included in our Fall 2010 Book Discussion Series.  Jack is a very typical 5 year old boy.  Energetic and curious about the world he keeps his Ma on her toes!  But very quickly we realize that Jack and Ma’s world is not like ours. It is confined to an 11 x 11 space.  And they never leave it.  Every one we have given this book to has become a huge fan.  We can’t wait to hear what the rest of you have to say about it.

Ok, it can’t all be serious all the time.  So David Sedaris is back with Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk:  A Modest Bestiary.  We love anyone who can make us laugh out loud with such force that anyone near you at the time will assume there is something seriously wrong with you and move slowly away avoiding eye contact.  Such is the power of anything written by Sedaris.  These are short stories all featuring animals that have some very human characteristics. 

So, yes it is most sad that we have to pack away the detritus of summer.  But look at the wonderful Book Goodness that is coming our way!  Almost makes the transition seem worth it!
 

The Butterfly Effect

Small Decisions, Epic Impacts

Every day we make decisions. Sometimes, we know these decisions will be life-altering, which helps us to anticipate the consequences. At other times, the decisions seem so small in relation to the big picture that we don't think twice and often forget about them immediately after they are made. It's these seemingly irrelevant moments, however that often have the biggest effects - and perhaps so far-reaching that it is impossible for us to detect just how much our small decision may have changed the course of our lives - and the lives of others - forever.

The Butterfly Effect. A simple idea derived from a complex physical theory: The flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil can lead to a tornado in Texas. This fall, we have selected four novels that bring this idea to the pages of the book. These critically-acclaimed and award-winning stories are epic - in both the stories themselves and the authors' abilities to write them. The books are enthralling... thought  inducing... heartbreaking... passionate... complicated... and above all, discussion-worthy.

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese	Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann	Room by Emma Donoghue (Available in mid-September)	The Passage by Justin Cronin
Tuesday, September 28 7 PM	Tuesday, October 12 7 PM	Tuesday, November 2 7 PM	Tuesday, November 16 7 PM

I'll get to it. I'll get to it. (Sigh.) If only I'd had a checklist. If only I'd read this book sooner.

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande is my current read. Who knew checklists could be so interesting? And so vital? In a complex world where multi-tasking is the norm, the lowly checklist forces us to pay attention...to try to avoid errors....to try for excellence...to (as the title says) Get Things Right. Using examples from cooking, architecture and engineering, finance, aviation, and most frighteningly, health care, Gawande, a surgeon himself, makes a strong case for this simple tool. Part medical textbook, part self improvement book, and part business book, by the end of the foreward, you'll be adding "to-do list" to your to-do list.

Checklists save lives. Checklists save millions of dollars. Simple statements such as these could lead one to believe that this book is a snooze. Hardly! It is endlessly interesting, sometimes shocking and it is surprisingly entertaining. The Checklist Manifesto is extremely well-researched and well-written and makes for a great, page-turner of a read. The author is a a great storyteller. He includes a seemingly miraculous story of a drowning victim, a child in Austria who'd been under water for 90 minutes. He tells us that two-thirds of death penalty cases are thrown out due to errors, and he quotes the chilling and unforgettable, "'Your mind doesn't think of a bayonet in San Francisco.' John could only say."

Perhaps Gawande's most urgent message is conveyed here: "It somehow feels beneath us to use a checklist, an embarrassment. It runs counter to deeply held beliefs about how the truly great among us - those we aspire to be - handle situations of high stakes and complexity. The truly great are daring. They improvise. They do not have protocols and checklists. Maybe our idea of heroism needs updating." Sobering thoughts.

Reviews? Check.  (Read below)

"Even skeptical readers will find the evidence staggering.... Thoughtfully written and soundly defended, this book calls for medical professionals to improve patient care by adopting a basic, common-sense approach." -- The Washington Post

"I read The Checklist Manifesto in one sitting yesterday, which is an amazing tribute to the book that Gawande has crafted. Not only is the book loaded with fascinating stories, but it honestly changed the way I think about the world. It is the best book I've read in ages." -- Steven Levitt, author of Freakonomics

"Gawande deftly weaves in examples of checklist successes in diverse fields like aviation and skyscraper construction.... Fascinating reading." -- New York Times Book Review

Reserve your copy now? Click here and then...Check!

(While you're busy doing that, I will begin my never-too-late vacation checklist. To begin: Make reservations...)

Today, U.S. News & World Report released its list of Best Colleges 2011. Last year, both Princeton University and Harvard University were tied for first place, although Harvard appears to have the edge with this year's rankings. 

Click here to access the complete list of best instutions, which also includes best values in higher education, regional rankings, top business & engineering schools, superior academic programs, and up-and-coming colleges.

And take a look at the list below for books that offer advice on the admissions process.

(Photo courtesy of flickr user charamelody)