The Guardian once called de Botton “an absolute pair-of-aching balls of a man - a slapheaded, ruby-lipped pop philosopher who's forged a lucrative career stating the bleeding obvious.” And I would guess that even de Botton would admit that there's some truth in this description. But the fact remains that de Botton is an extraordinarily intelligent, keen observer whose writing is interesting, provocative, and, arguably, important.

In Vroman's circles de Botton's best known for his book How Proust Can Change Your Life, a philosophical piece by its own merit, that is sometimes used as a substitute for those too intimidated or too busy to go to the source and read Proust themselves. Personally, I think his best work is The Architecture of Happiness, a series of essays that discuss, among other things, how our interior lives are reflected in our exterior landscapes of houses, building, and cities.

De Botton's newest book is The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, the end result of his two years travelling the world interviewing people about their jobs and visiting various workplaces. De Botton reports and ruminates on the strange surreal facts about where we spend our daily lives, as well as the larger meaning of what we do and why it matters. A career counselor, a painter, television executives, bisquik manufacturers, and a man who installs electricity pylons, these are just a few of the many, varied occupations de Botton explores with his customary attention to detail and humor. Perhaps the timing of his book's publication, in the midst of a recession that has made the word “job” synonymous with “paycheck”, is in itself intended to be provocative. In the end though, de Botton merely offers up his observations; it's up to us what meaning we derive from them.

Recommended by Allison

The cover blurb for Let the Great World Spin, from bestselling author Frank McCourt, reads: “Now I worry about Colum McCann. What is he going to do after this blockbuster groundbreaking heartbreaking symphony of a novel?” Frankly, I’m more concerned about myself right now, for what can I possibly read next that won’t pale in comparison to this ambitious, beautiful, breathtaking book.

If you’ve watched the lovely documentary, Man on Wire, then you’re familiar with the dazzling feat of Philippe Petit, an ordinary man who, in August 1974, walked a tightrope wire between the World Trade Towers in New York City. Using this extraordinary act as the touchstone to which he returns over and over again, McCann has written a novel about ten different individuals, each walking their own metaphorical tightrope. Set in New York, all of the individuals’ stories (an Irish immigrant, a man of God, an heroin addicted prostitute, a mother mourning her son, a young wife and artist, and a Park Avenue judge, among others) intertwine, all told in the shadow of the man on the wire.

This is a significant social novel about the radically changing America of the 70s. It’s a quiet novel about the daily lives of ordinary people. It is a quintessential New York novel, pulsing with the characters and noise and beauty of The Big Apple. It’s a novel about faith and Vietnam and forgiveness and right and wrong. It is as big as a man attempting to walk in midair, and as small as a man putting one foot in front of the other.

One could argue what the central theme of this multifaceted novel is, given the kaleidoscopic nature of the narrative. But it is difficult to escape the sense of loss that permeates every page, as much from the knowledge that the Towers no longer stand, as from anything that the author has written on the page.

I fell in love with this book within the first five pages. I was afraid to read further for fear that it would disappoint me. It didn’t. Ultimately, McCann dazzles.

Recommended by Allison

In a science fiction thought experiment, Weisman imagines what would happen to the earth if humans were suddenly gone. In doing so he sheds light on the power of nature and our impact on the future. Fascinating!

Recommended by Allison

His haunting, experimental fiction has made the talented and sexy Mark Z. Danielewski a literary rock star. But Danielewski is the real thing, a writer who clearly knows and respects the literary tradition that has come before him, while forging a path all his own. Only Revolutions was a National Book Award nominee, and is destined to become a cult classic. These parallel monologues of two teenage lovers come together in a tour de force.

Recommended by Allison