Jason Male, 37. USA

I'm not one for memoirs, but this was excellent. It's a man's dream to come to America, a man's battle with alcohol, and the story of the rocky road to success--all in the same book. Ferguson is neither boastful nor self-pitying, owning his faults and laying out his honest opinions about everything he's done. It's touching, funny, and real.

I avoided this book for a while b/c the hype was such that I feared it would be like reading a Dan Brown book. I was very, very wrong. The multi-layered mystery is engrossing, the characters fascinating, and the book amazing. Lisbeth Salander is one of the most original characters I've come across in a long time. Read it. Then read it again.

Davis' account of the 1979 Michigan State Spartans and Indiana State Sycamores focuses by necessity mainly on its two giant protagonists, Earvin 'Magic' Johnson and Larry Bird. It gives a competent accounting of the people involved, although Davis relies too much (for my taste) on his media colleagues' quotes and input to drive his narrative. Curiously, of the almost 100 people interviewed for the book, Bird and Johnson are not among them. Given that Davis pulls no punches in explaining Bird's early immaturity, or his inclusion of a startling accusation from Johnson's former coach about him not giving back to his alma mater, this may be understandable. However, given that Davis does not mention an attempt to speak with either player as part of the writing process, it leads the reader to believe that Davis left a major stone unturned. Comparable to the college basketball books of John Feinstein, albeit not quite on the same level.

The third in the Benjamin Weaver thief-taker series finds Weaver blackmailed into helping the powerful Jerome Cobb infiltrate the British East India Company. Author David Liss, who won an Edgar Award for the first book in the series, does a wonderful job both with the period setting and the overall mystery, as readers remain in the dark for most of the book, a true rarity nowadays. The audio book is truly outstanding, with narrator Simon Vance doing a masterful job with all of the various British dialects. One of the best books I've read in the last few years.