I lost my innocence my junior year in high school, and it started with reading this book. The rose-colored glasses I had developed during the first 16 years of my life were shattered by this book. I think Steinbeck intended to shake the world of his readers, and he accomplishes it with his usual mastery.

Who are we but the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, and believe?

Basically, the story is about a journalist who finds his father’s journal from World War II and discovers that everything he thought about his parents was wrong—but in a good way. Reading the book made me realize how little I know my own father and inspired me to consciously try to get to know him better.

This was why it was worth getting up every day. Because life could still hatch surprises.

Life is simply experience; for reasons not readily discerned, we attempt to go on.

I’ve read all of Turow’s fiction, and this is my second favorite.

I’ve read all of Turow’s fiction, and this is my least favorite. It’s pretty creative in its final twist, but it left me unhappy and dissatisfied. It felt like art for art’s sake, and I don’t like that. That said—it’s still Turow and you can’t go wrong with Turow.

This film deserved the best film award. This is not a movie about racism-it’s a movie about how complex people are. It depicts racism, yes, but, more importantly, it shows that racism is not monolithic. We learn why the racist cop is racist, but then we see him rescuing the very black woman he molested the night before. We are forced to consider her quandary: to hate her molestor or to love her rescuer. We see the cop’s partner-who asked to be reassigned in protest—deal with the fact that he killed a black hitchhiker out of fear that the kid had a gun. We see the hardworking Hispanic locksmith who tries to help a Persian client nearly lose his daughter when the Persian man thinks the Hispanic locksmith took advantage of him. And, most poignantly, we see the black detective sell his integrity to save his brother’s life, without his mother ever acknowledging it. The movie is beautiful in its poignant portrayal of life, not as black and white but as shades of grey.

Plus, you get to hear Ludacris talk about how stupid hip hop is. If that doesn’t deserve an Oscar for Best Film, I don’t know what does.

A great reason to watch this: the acting of Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney. These two deserve awards for their acting skills. Incredible.

Explanations are useless. Explanations do not change facts. They do not make facts better. Explanations are the booby prize. You can have all the explanations you want in the world. They do not change what’s so.

Ian Fleming’s James Bond is a far more compelling and sympathetic character than he is in any of the movies I’ve seen, including the most recent Casino Royale. This is the book that started it all. If for no other reason than that, you should read it.

This is a sadly beautiful story about a family ravaged by outside evils. More than once, King’s prose nearly brought me to tears. If you have any question why Stephen King is rumored to be the best-selling author of all time, second only to God, then you should read this book.

The Street Lawyer got me into John Grisham; The Firm hooked me, and The Partner convinced me that Grisham has some real skill as a storyteller. The Last Juror is another example of Grisham’s developing storytelling skill. Grisham tells about a young publisher coming of age in rural Mississippi and, along the way, tells the story of the South of the 1970s and 1980s. This was one of the few books I’ve ever read that I was sad when it finished—because I wanted to hear some more of the story. Although not as good as The Partner or The Chamber, it’s definitely above-average.