In Never Let Me Go, we’re introduced to Kathy, Tommy, Ruth and a number of other “special” children who attend the mysterious Hailsham boarding school. Over the course of this book, we learn just what makes these children different.

It’s pretty difficult to discuss much more of the plot of this novel without giving too much away, but I will say that Ishiguro’s imaginated tale is one that may not be completely far-fetched in a hundred years or so.

I picked up Everything Changes on a whim at Target, because it was highlighted as one of their “Paperback” selections. What intrigued me from the cover (and yeah, I know you’re not supposed to judge stuff by that…) was the summary of this being a romantic comedy told from a male perspective.

Overall, this was an entertaining read, but nothing that’s going to change your life or anything. Zachary King is the protagonist and his story is one of the time in his life when “everything changes.” From his impending marriage to his beautiful, pretty much perfect, fiance to the arrival of a long lost father, Zach’s world is turned upside down.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is Jonathan Safran Foer’s followup to Everything is Illuminated (which I also read recently). Whereas that book was a revealing portrait of how the Holocaust influenced the future of two families, this one deals with a more recent tragedy - the terrorist attacks of September 11th.

The book intertwines the story of Oskar Schell, a nine-year old boy whose father died in the World Trade Center, and the grandfather Oskar has never met, who escaped the World War II bombings of Dresden. As Oskar tries to find a way to be happy despite the loss of his father, he searches New York for answers to a riddle left behind by his dad — just what lock does the key in the envelope labeled “Black” open?

Told in the often hilarious, but also incredibly heart-breaking style that Foer has mastered in but two novels, this is a story that will bring tears to your eyes, then have you reaching for the phone to call your loved ones.

Freakonomics is a wonderfully fascinating look at some seemingly crazy questions through the microscope of economic-related statistics.

I finished reading this book last weekend, just before leaving for a United Way conference. It may seem like a coincidence that the focus of the United Way movement is truly transitioning to one of striving to improve economic self-sufficiency for all people. See, this book makes exactly that same point repeatedly. Does the name you give your child impact that child’s future success? Or, is your socio-economic condition, your interest in having that child in the first place, and your own educational history more important?

Guns vs swimming pools, Sumo wrestlers vs teachers, crack dealers vs fast food employees, reading to your child vs having lots of books in the home. These questions and more are addressed in this great read.