October Books
1. The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff (461 pp.) - This Pullitzer-prize winning account follows the Civil Rights struggle from the point of view of the journalists who covered it, which is pretty damn fascinating. Along with the major battles, it covers the kinds of events, small and easily overlooked in the grand scheme of things, which absolutely defined the period - the daily toils, the overwhelmingly ludicrous, painfully overwhelming injustices. This is an extremely well-written, completely engrossing look at one of the most unbearable taints on American history. It's a great read for anyone interested in the civil rights struggle, but a must-read for any wanna-be journalist.
2. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marsha Pessl (514 pp.) - Once again, I'm not sure this book is actually great enough to warrant all the praise it has, but it's definitely a fun, interesting, semi-mind-boggling read. The story is very child-like who-dunnit what's-going-on-mystery, with the love of literature and language that accompanies an adult novel. It's the kind of book that would get you through a flight or a couple of cold winter nights, and that you'd actually enjoy reading, but it's not the kind of thing I'm going to tell people they "must read" or they will be missing out on some life-changing, ground-breaking work. It's good, it's fun, but it's the kind of good and fun you find in many best-sellers - enjoyable, but hardly memorable.