Review: Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi

The only way to bear the unbearable is to laugh at it

Women & Power, My Own Manifesto

You cannot easily fit women into a structure that is already coded as male; you have to change the structure

Review: Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers

“It only takes one person, one small act of stepping from the dark to the light.”

Review: Quiet, by Susan Cain

It’s time for Quiet.

Review: By Grand Central Station I sat Down and Wept, by Elizabeth Smart

Perhaps I am his hope. But then she is his present. And if she is his present, I am not his present. Therefore, I am not

Review: Girl in the Woods, by Aspen Matis

Synopsis: On her second night of college, Aspen was raped by a fellow student. Overprotected by her parents who discouraged her from telling of the attack, Aspen was confused and ashamed. Dealing with a problem that has sadly become all too common on college campuses around the country, she stumbled through her first semester—a challenging …

Review: Wild Swans – The Daughters of China, by Jung Chang

Synopsis: Through the story of three generations of women - grandmother, mother and daughter - Wild Swans tells nothing less than the whole tumultuous history of China's tragic twentieth century, from sword-bearing warlords to Chairman Mao, from the Manchu Empire to the Cultural Revolution. At times terrifying, at times astonishing, always deeply moving, Wild Swans …

Review: Twelve Years a Slave – by Solomon Northup

Synopsis: Twelve Years a Slave (1853) is a memoir and slave narrative by Solomon Northup. Northup, a black man who was born free in New York, details his kidnapping in Washington, D.C. and subsequent sale into slavery. After having been kept in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana by various masters, Northup was able to write …

Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats – by Jon Ronson

Synopsis: In 1979 a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within the US Army. Defying all known military practice – and indeed the laws of physics – they believed that a soldier could adopt a cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls, and, perhaps most chillingly, kill goats just by staring at …

Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – by Rebecca Skloot

Synopsis: Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. Born a poor black tobacco farmer, her cancer cells – taken without her knowledge – became a multimillion-dollar industry and one of the most important tools in medicine. Yet Henrietta's family did not learn of her 'immortality' until more than twenty years after …

Confessions of a Male Nurse – by Michael Alexander

Synopsis: From stampeding nudes to inebriated teenagers, young nurse Michael Alexander never really knew what he was getting himself into. But now, sixteen years since he was first launched into his nursing career – as the only man in a gynaecology ward – he’s pretty much dealt with everything: body parts that come off in …

Le Freak : An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny – by Nile Rodgers

Synopsis: You will hear a Nile Rodgers song today. It will make you happy. Legendary producer and co-founder of Chic, Nile wrote 'We are Family' for Sister Sledge and 'I'm Coming Out' for Diana Ross, and then produced Let's Dance for David Bowie and Like a Virgin for Madonna. But before he reinvented pop music Nile Rodgers invented himself. Le …

The Pilrimage – by Paulo Coelho

Synopsis: In this gripping story, Paulo Coelho is on a quest for the ultimate in self-knowledge, wisdom and spiritual mastery. Guided by his mysterious companion Petrus, he takes the road to Santiago, going throush a series of trials and tests along the way – even coming face to face with someone who may just be the …