WBD Survey 14

The latest batch of book recommendations from our World Book Day 2011 survey, from visitors to this blog-

Anne: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Brilliantly written. Gripping story that turns your head (and heart) inside out. Thoughts of McCarthy's world as a possible reality will stay with you for days/weeks/months after you've put it down. Unforgettable, really.

DonnaDB : To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (again!)
I first read Mockingbird as a high school sophomore in the early 60's. It was the first novel that really engaged me at both a story and a moral level. Later, as a teacher of English, I taught the novel several times. By then, it was through the lens of the civil rights movement. Later still, the background of the story started to become a little foreign. In the Northeast, Jim Crow laws were historic footnotes; civil rights marches almost relegated to WW II status. However, the novel itself and the character of Atticus Finch have continued to inspire readers. It is, above all, a story of choosing to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences.

Peter Lydon: The Day the Universe Changed, by James Burke
Just such a good read about the modernisation of the world.

Cristina: What Makes Us Human, by Charles Pasternak
Because it is a wonderful combination of scientific data from neurology, evolutionary psychology and humor!

George: Swimsuit by James Patterson
It is a fast action packed page-turner, which gives the reader little or no choice in making the decision to put the book down. However it is graphic and not for the squeamish. 

Also: Nat - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot