When Piper Kerman is arrested on drug trafficking charges, she is certainly surprised. Ten years have passed since Piper has engaged in criminal behavior, and she has moved on to a more traditional middle class lifestyle. Suddenly, she finds herself doing time in a Federal facility for women, and she struggles to accept her new reality. Kerman offers readers a unique perspective on the criminal justice system in our country.

Gabriel Thompson does a wonderful job of exposing a side of the American economy that many of us know nothing about. Thompson spends a year working with Latino immigrants to learn firsthand what it is like to be a day laborer. Nothing he had experienced in his middle class upbringing, including his college education, could have prepared him for some of the realities of life as a laborer. Throughout the book, Thmopson makes both friends and enemies and learns lessons that will benefit him for a lifetime.

Novelist James Patterson abandons his traditional fiction writing to tell the story of his friend’s son who at age 5 starting exhibiting symptoms of Tourette Syndrome, one of the worst cases ever seen. We follow Cory through his traumatic childhood and teenage years as his family visits doctor after doctor in search of medications and behavior modification strategies, all of which fail due to the extreme symptoms he suffers. The family is always told that next year will be better, or high school years will be better, but that doesn’t come true. You will admire this family for its strength in holding up to the unbelievable pressures Cory’s actions create, and you will eventually also admire this fine young man who has been dealt a harsh hand in life by his severe case of this condition. He certainly isn’t a saint, and some passages may be a bit shocking. Anyone who reads this book will feel like their problems are slight in comparison and will wonder if they could have coped or overcome to the extent that he has been able to. This moving account will stay in your mind and make you hope for an update to his life as well as that of his parents and sister.

Sully Sullenberger glided US Airways Flight 1549 to an emergency landing on the Hudson River on January 15, 2009 after a collision with Canada Geese knocked out his engines. This is not simply the story of that harrowing and life-changing event, but the story of a man of great character who loved flying since childhood, became a fighter pilot, and honed his skills year after year, always learning and preparing to handle danger. You learn of the difficulties of life as a pilot, the changing character of the airline industry, and why the captain of a jetliner is eating peanut butter and jelly while his first-class passengers enjoy filet mignon. Sully studied many aircraft disasters over the years, always asking “What went wrong and what would I have done?” This well written inspirational book keeps us interested throughout, and if you choose the audiobook version, you will enjoy a great narration by Michael McConnohie.