matthew Male, 26, In a relationship. USA

Though Being There has been on my shelf for a long time, I didn't get around to reading it until Inauguration Day 2009. It was therefore unfortunately impossible to follow the story of Chance—Jerzy Kosinski's dimwitted non-protagonist—without drawing parallels to failed vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Though the novel predates the millennial craze, Chance is the prototypical reality TV star; he rises to political fame and public adoration (despite his illiteracy) simply by "being there."

The cover's tagline proclaims him a "new American hero," the praise from Newsweek: "a fabulous creature of our age," and the back cover wonders whether "he know[s] something we don't." Perhaps these descriptions are more in keeping with the film version of the character (who famously walks on water in the movie's final scene), because there's nothing particularly heroic—or even interesting—about this incarnation. Instead, he is exactly as the Russians describe him: a "blank page" upon which the supporting characters project their own interpretations. It's this construct, and its implications for a society that considers itself meritocritous, that make Being There worth reading.

Sure, it's got the murder and last minute twists, but They Came to Baghdad isn't the normal Christie whodunnit; you'll find neither a secluded mansion/island/train nor an archetypal detective within its pages. However, it's these deviations from the formula that makes the book notable. Christie's Iraq is exotic and mystical in that strange-foreign-land way that one feels today's authors would find naive. More than a backdrop, it's the mute supporting character that makes up for the shortcomings of the lighthearted thriller's plot. It may not be the ravenous mystery reader's favorite Christie novel, but They Came to Baghdad is certain to be a fun read and a nice change of pace for Poirot addicts.