JULIET, NAKED by Nick Hornby

Still not ready for mental prime time. Needed another like the one I'd just finished. I've always found Hornby's novels fun to read. This one is no exception. A triangle between an aging has-been rock star, a die-hard fan and his girlfriend, Juliet is not Hornby's best, nor is it as laugh aloud funny as the Tropper, but goes down easy, is well-crafted, and thoroughly fit the bill.

THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU by Jonathan Tropper

I was looking for a "beach read" in this winter of my discontent. I wanted to be entertained and distracted from my own thoughts. I didn't want to work at anything. But if the writing isn't excellent, why bother? Tropper is the master.

This is Where I Leave You is about a man sitting shiva for his father and the family. It's hilarious, breezy and well-written.

JUST KIDS by Patti Smith

Exquisite! Her ode to Robert Mapplethorpe (her lover and then her friend, and always her inspiration and support), and to art, poetry, music, love, erotica, friendship, and the need to create... in Patti's gorgeous, gear six language. Best book I've read in months.

THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy by Suzanne Collins

My students have been begging me to read this young adult trilogy, telling me that the books fit in with our study of the literature of social justice. Indeed they were just the trick during a run of low spirits, where I couldn't concentrate on anything that required summoning up keen intellect or stamina. The plot-lines worked their spell; and I was able to disappear into the books and forget everything else while I was reading. The first book, especially, is a page-turner. Books two and three ride on the momentum of book one. You won't stop to parse any beautiful sentences or ask yourself how the author did that... but she writes cleanly, the pacing is taut, and you won't stop reading either, as the heroine battles a brutal, authoritarian government.

A GATE AT THE STAIRS by Lorrie Moore

I love Lorrie Moore. But a month or so after finishing this book, all I can remember is that I thought it was beautifully written, but that I had to work at finishing it. I can't remember a single thing about the plot or characters. I'm going to my bookshelf to read the back cover for a reminder.

SUPER SAD TRUE LOVE STORY by Gary Shteyngart

Shteyngart is, for me, one of the wave of male literary darlings whose prose is too clever for its own good... style over authentic characters, depth of feeling... Yeah, you're cool. You're a man's man. Get over it. But his take on contemporary values, digital culture, our obsession with youth, and yes, the state of the world, is spot on and well worth the read. The fact that his hero lives in the Grand Street Co-ops, where I lived after college and until Leo was two, made the book even more fun for me. Same old 'hood as it ever was--even in the not-to-distant future of Shteyngart's imagination.

THE ASK by Sam Lipsyte