Still Alice: a novel, by Lisa Genova

What is having Alzheimer's disease like, from the point of view of the person who has it? This fragile story has a hard-hitting impact. Alice Howland, a 50-year-old Harvard professor, finally goes to the doctor to find out if she's in menopause, because she's had a few episodes that don't make sense to her. Early onset Alzheimer's disease, is the diagnosis. The scientist in her carefully observes herself. She makes a daily to-do list on her Blackberry, including asking herself five questions, with a note to herself on what to do if she can't answer those questions. She watches the effect that her behavior has on her husband and children. Both personal and objective, this novel will haunt you. I'm recommending this book to everyone.

Don't look twice, by Andrew Gross

Detective Ty Hauck (from The Dark Tide) is in the gas station with his 13-year-old daughter when a shotgun is fired through the plate glass window. Dead is a federal prosecutor. The action never stops, even when the killer is found. Gross is a co-author with James Patterson and has developed the right ingredients for a real page-turner.

Mounting fears, by Stuart Woods

Another in the series about Will Lee, now President of the United States, and his wife Kate, now CIA Director. A group seizes a missile site in Pakistan; a vice president has cancer; affairs are covered up and uncovered; the elusive Teddy Faye is discovered in Panama City. Another great suspense story from Woods.

Terminal freeze, by Lincoln Child

A story from frozen Alaska; scientists find something buried in ice that looks like a sabre-toothed tiger. A documentary team flies in to film the unveiling of the corpse, but instead the thing defrosts itself and becomes what it was when it was flash-frozen: a killing machine. Blood, gore, and ice trucking - what fun!

Critical mass, by Whitley Streiber

Las Vegas is blown up by an atomic bomb. Yeah, I'm in! We follow James Deutsch as he tracks the trail of the bomb and tries to get to the President before the traitors within the government find him. His ex-wife, Nabila, is also on the job. Will they find the next bomb before it blows up Washington? Read and find out!

Lethal legacy, by Linda Fairstein

What's beneath the fabled 42nd Street library? Alex Cooper and her two cohorts, Mike and Mercer, are looking for clues to a murder and get a behind-the-scenes look at NYPL. Rich donors, eccentric board members, secret tunnels - for library lovers, this is great fun; library staff and conservators will be horrified by the rough handling of rare books and maps. Put on white gloves before you pick up that bloodstained clue!!

Racism 101, by Nikki Giovanni

What a wonderful collection of messages! "... the biggest stumbling block to progress in America is still racism... we have to find a way to comfort young white people about the fact that, though they will never ... rule the world again, they can make valid contributions to our planet. The world is not, and has never been, white..." A great way to touch base with how far we've come, and how far we still need to go.