"The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga

From "The New Yorker:" In this darkly comic debut novel (winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize) set in India, Balram, a chauffeur, murders his employer, justifying his crime as the act of a "social entrepreneur." In a series of letters to the Premier of China... the chauffeur recounts his transformation from an honest, hardworking boy growing up in "the Darkness"... to a determined killer. He places the blame for his rage squarely on the avarice of the Indian elite, among whom bribes are commonplace, and who perpetuate a system in which many are sacrificed to the whims of the few. Adiga's message isn't subtle or novel, but Balram's appealingly sardonic voice and acute observations of the social order are both winning and unsettling.

"Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese

The Washington Post - W. Ralph Eubanks
Even with its many stories and layers, Cutting for Stone remains clear and concise. Verghese paints a vivid picture of these settings, the practice of medicine (he is also a physician) and the characters' inner conflicts. I felt as though I were with these people, eating dinner with them even, feeling the hot spongy injera on my fingers as they dipped it into a spicy wot. In The Interior Castle, Saint Teresa's work on mystical theology, she wrote, "I began to think of the soul as if it were a castle made of a single diamond or of very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms, just as in Heaven there are many mansions." Cutting for Stone shines like that place.

"Suite Francaise" by Irene Nemirovsky

Editorial Reviews -
Suite Francaise
From Barnes & Noble
With these two novellas, Holocaust victim Irène Némirovsky accomplished the daunting task of translating the unspeakable horror and chaos of war -- at the precise moment it was exploding all around her -- into luminous, coherent, and masterfully crafted fiction. Conceived by the author as two parts in a series, the stories of Suite Française were preserved by Némirovsky's daughters after the author was deported to Auschwitz in 1942. A literary treasure of enormous magnitude, these powerful tales of grace and disgrace in the midst of crisis have, at last, found a grateful audience.

"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

From www.bookbrowse.com:
Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women — mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends — view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

"The Eight" by Katherine Neville

Published in 1988 "The Eight" was one of the first Quest novels and a huge international bestseller. Spanning centuries and numerous continents, the author explores the mysteries of a powerful chess game. Two intertwined and complex storylines take our heroines into danger, intrigue, historical and political events beyond their control to unlock the key to ultimate power. The story continues in the 2008 sequel "The Fire."

"The Outliers: the Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell

You know you have arrived when your last name becomes an adjective! It is "Gladwellian" to come up with one word descriptions of the latest trends in modern life. Malcolm Galdwell, a staff writer for "The New Yorker" has done it again with his new book "The Outliers." He provides a fascinating look into the many factors that contribute to a person's success. One of these factors is when you were born-- both the month and year can be critical. The author provides many interesting examples and research which supports his theories. A very engaging and informative book which helps debunk the myth of the "self-made man."

"My Life in France" by Julia Child

In the unmistakable words of Julia Child, here is a summary of this delightful memoir: "In Paris in the 1950s, I had the supreme fortune to study with a remarkably able group of chefs. From them I learned why good French food is an art, and why it makes such sublime eating: nothing is too much trouble if it turns out the way it should... In all the years since that succulent meal, I have yet to lose the feelings of wonder and excitement that it inspired in me. I can still almost taste it. And thinking back on it now reminds me that the pleasures of the table, and of life, are infinite-- toujours bon appetite!"

Julia Child was a pioneer of the popular cooking movement that has brought gourmet cooking to the average American's kitchen. Her passion for French food, her unfailing research into recipes and the science of food, along with her sense of adventure are evident on each page. She made French cooking accessible not only through her cookbooks but also in the early days of public television. A remarkable woman along with her husband Paul, and her partners they all achieved so much due to Julia's unfailing "wonder and excitement."