A beautifully tragic coming of age book about a bout named Charlie beginning his freshman year at high school. The book is narrated by Charlie in the way of letters written to an anonymous reader. The more letters I read, the more I related to him and his experiences in trying to find out who he is, what it is to exist in high school, and how difficult it is to be an individual. Charlie’s older sister also goes to his high school, which adds a whole extra amount of difficulty in his finding his own way. We get to read about how their relationship weakens and strengthens all through the story as Charlie makes and looses friends and experiences while losing and finding himself along the way. All the elements in this story along with the style of simplistic writing creates one of the most wonderfully realistic coming of age books I have ever read. Tragic, beautiful, tears, laughter, pain, love, joy. Just read it. Its amazing.

Recommended by Pat

A postcard starts an insanely breathtaking search for an illusive sheep with a star on its back. Murakami's harmonic prose delivers these mulit-dimensional adventures to the reader in such a way that other books simply seem less-than.

Recommended by Pat

Every once in a while I come across a book that baffles me in how it was conceived and even written.  These books are that are so amazing, so epic, that they change my being.  This is one of those books.  I was always super intimidated by this book because of the length and because of all the capitalism books Ayn Rand has written.  Fountainhead in indeed full of these themes but don't be intimidated as I once was.  Raynd's character development and perfect prose create a near perfect book in my eyes.  The book follows two architects who live by totally different beliefs as they grow, age, create, love, hate, win, and loose at life.  Women rip them apart and give them strength at the same time.  Media tycoons flex their power and control what the public loves and hates.  One of the architects is super traditional, creating only what people want with absolutely no personal creativity.  The other finds it absolutely impossible to create within that traditional world and has only personal creativity.  Read the book and find out which one succeeds and which one ends up lost.

Recommended by Pat