Adult

Subtitled “Letting Grapes Do What Comes Naturally,” this delightful diatribe espousing the author’s joy and passion for wine is sure to send you out planting your own vineyard. Feiring’s adventures creating her own natural wine and clever examination of the wine industry is sure to spark plenty of provocative discussion. You don’t need to be interested in wine, however, to appreciate Feiring’s wonderful, self-effacing writing style.

Jeff Miller loaned me this gem, which is yet another book that likes to give a title: subtitle. There are some wonderful lessons in this book. I guess I have been on a motivational kick because I am teaching a great group of new students this semester, and they push me to want to be a better teacher.

Talk about an inspirational tear-jerker! Patterson’s touching tale of his daughter, born with Down syndrome and later diagnosed with leukemia, shows how faith and love conquer all. Everyone’s life has meaning, and it is powerfully touching to see how many lives little Emily in her short time here.

One of my favorite monologists, Gray masterfully reminisces about his experiences while shooting the film "The Killing Fields." I hope I can write this well when I reflect on my own travel catastrophes.

I recently ate lunch with Shane and was so inspired by him that I had to put his book on this month’s picks. Visually impaired, Shane has greater vision than most folks I know who can see. This book will inspire you to push yourself further and in more positive directions.

Subtitled "Go from Relationships to Referrals," this easy-to-read parable follows a struggling realtor as he learns the secret to success lay in service first. Maher provides a simple, tangible system for building professional and personal relationships that is practical and a good reminder to everyone that we are all in sales every day of our lives.

I’ve been reading a lot of parables lately because they are simple, quick reads with practical truths that we often forget about. Millman’s quest for transformation and enlightenment is something anyone in today’s fast-paced society could appreciate.

Some very funny monologues from one of the best. Bogosian is superb when it comes to writing characters all of us know but wish we did not.

Like Jack Canfield’s The Success Principles, this book blew me away, as Goldsmith offers any reader a $20k+ coaching program in a $15 book. What a valuable gift from such a veteran leadership expert!

I include this book because Stephen Krashen tells me that this is one of the most purchased and least read books. I know that I began reading it because I thought it would make me sound intelligent at cocktail parties. Unfortunately, it bored me after 30 pages. Tell me if you get through it.

Authors of the wonderful Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes, this book comes long just in time for the election. Democrats and Republicans, Libertarians and Visigoths will all enjoy this terrific look at how politicians from all time periods and ideological backgrounds use words to deceive and confuse.  

This is the type of book that will interest anyone in science. It was a bestseller a few years back, but I am always surprised by how few people I know have ever heard of this gem. Back in the early 18th century, determining longitude was as big of a problem as discovering a cure for cancer is today. Thousands of seamen lost their lives because of man’s inability to accurately determine an east-west position. Then along came a country carpenter by the name of John Harrison whose skill at clock-making changed the fate of the world. Were it not for King George III in 1773, though, nobody would have known of Harrison’s contribution. And I am not even telling you the most appealing and appalling parts of the story.

So I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly, and I often read Gillian Flynn’s pieces. Nothing, however, prepared me for this gripping horror/suspense. Flynn has written a frighteningly memorable debut novel that left me eager to purchase her next effort.

I figured that I should include at least one positive motivational book for those who want to make good on some of their New Year’s resolutions. I cannot say there is anything new here, but I am a believer in reading positive messages repeatedly, and Ford does a good job of pointing out the power of visualization before action.

This one reads like a college freshman version of The Catcher in the Rye. A clever satire that blends laughs and tears, joys and fears. I enjoyed how this novel captured a contrarian perspective of the early college experience.