By Bill Holm This book is a collection of essays and letters written by Bill Holm describing his experiences while he was on an exchange program teaching English at a university in China. It speaks of the cultural differences between here and there, the frustrations of living in China, the indomitable spirit of the Chinese people, and the love-hate relationship Holm builds with China. When Holm talks about coming home crazy, he does not mean insane. An anthropologist who taught with Holm said, “In Asia, you either lose your inner moorings, start to sink, go some kind of crazy, and…

By Garth Stein This book is a human drama told through the eyes of the family’s dog, Enzo, named after a race car driver. The main character is Enzo’s owner, Denny Swift, who is working at a BMW dealer and is working on his race car driving career. The book begins at the end of Enzo’s life, when he is old and ready to release Denny of having to care for him. He has a unique understanding of the human and human emotions, and has learned, through watching TV, that when a dog dies, his next form human. He looks…

By Catherine Ryan Hyde In “Pay It Forward,” Catherine Ryan Hyde explores the idea of what this world would be like if instead of people paying back debt, everyone paid it forward using a 12-year-old boy as the instigator. Trevor McKinney and his mother, Arlene, live in the small California town where Reuben St. Clair transfers to teach. St. Clair, a scarred, bitter man, ends up in front of Trevor’s classroom and challenges the students to change the world. As an extra credit assignment, students who choose to participate are to design a project to help others, follow through with…

By Nien Cheng This book is an autobiography of Nien Cheng’s life and imprisonment during the 10-year Cultural Revolution in China. The widow of a Shell Oil executive, Cheng served as a consultant to Shell for many years after her husbands death in 1957. She was able to preserve her way of life, living in a three-story home, filled with antiques and art, with her daughter until 1966, when she was evicted from her home and accused of being a spy. The Cultural Revolution was to set into motion by Mao Zedong, and was designed to further cement socialism in…

By Elizabeth Gilbert Eat Pray Love is an intimate, honest account of the author’s year-long search for self in three different countries – Italy, India and Indonesia. The consuming panic and confusion she was feeling while living the life others dream of – married, living in a country home and being successful in her career – is what stimulated the journey. Gilbert pulled herself out of the marriage, which plummeted her into a depression and another relationship, before she realized she needed to stop the cycle and figure out who she was and what she really wanted. She chose to…