How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers

First, let it be known that I am a huge Dave Eggers fan. Both A Staggering Work... and You Shall Know Our Velocity are favorites of mine, and I enjoy all his commentary and meta-style of writing. I even find Eggers clever-er and therefore more enjoyable than, say, David Foster Wallace. However, this book of short stories was a bit of a disappointment. Perhaps part of what I like about Eggers is the velocity (npi) his books crank up to....the way that you can be reading for 10-15 pages not realizing it is all an aside. Certainly a short story does not allow for this style, and hence my disappointment. That aside, some of the stories still enchanted, and a few will stick in my mind for a while. But, it was not classic Eggers.

History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Recommended by Sara Coe. This was a book-within-a-book book, which kept me on my toes. The story followed a manuscript from war-torn Europe during WWII to modern-day New York. The characters were a little hard to keep track of, with the exception of the incredibly likeable narrator. I did enjoy the secrets that kept getting figured out as the book unfolded, although I was not crazy about how difficult it was to read. Even Time Traveler's Wife was easier to track than this. The author also employed some strange dramatic devices (one word on a page, e.g.) in places that seemed unnecessary.

The Broker by John Grisham

I always forget how much I like John Grisham until I read another of his legal/political books and fall in love again. Bleachers aside, he is a master at what he does, and this was no exception. With a likeable criminal as its main character, The Broker did not disappoint as a page turner and very high quality airport read.