Why Not Me?, Mindy Kaling, 2015

Why Not Me? is a much better collection of essays than Mindy Kaling's freshman effort, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?  The essays are more personal, the humor sharper and the voice stronger.

Kaling is confident and comfortable in her non-Hollywood shaped body, but she acknowledges that she wishes that she was thinner like everyone else.  Her body may frustrate her, but not enough to take over her life and pass up on the McDonald's that she loves

Her last essay answering the question Why Not Me? when a young girl asks her a question about her confidence is powerful.

Kaling talks about getting her confidence by feeling entitled, and feeling entitled by working hard, being "hyper-prepared" and knowing your stuff.

Her typical day writing, starring and producing her show The Mindy Project starts at 5am and ends at midnight.  Talent, luck and a good mentor will help, but ultimately, it is hard work that drives success.

Bravery and not listening to critics - "People get scared when you try to do something, especially when it looks like you're succeeding.  People do not get scared when you're failing." - also help.

Black Chalk by Christopher Yates, 2013

A psychological thriller, Black Chalk is like the movie Memento, a complete mind blow.  Skillfully written, the story centers around six Oxford University friends.

Author Christopher Yates, an Englishman who lives in New York City, captures the nuances between the two different cultures perfectly.

Every circle of friends has a leader, and Jolyon is the leader for this group.  He is the one who encourages the group to embark in a Game that ends up taking over their lives.

Jack Thompson the jokester, Chad Mason the American, Mark the intellectual, Emilia the pretty one, and Dee the goth misfit round out the group.

The Game is monitored by the mysterious Game Soc known simply as Tallest, Middle and Shortest, whom Jolyon, Jack and Chad meet at the Fresher's Fair.

Throughout the year at Pitt, The Game and its Consequences begins to tear the friends apart.  Narrated with a mix from the present day New York City and over a decade ago while the characters are still at University, the fallout of The Game is quick and far-reaching.

More Thakn You Know by Penny Vincenzi, 2012

Another riveting drama from Penny Vincenzi, More Than You Know is set in the 1960s as the world of debutantes and old money begin to clash with new money.

Eliza Fullerton-Clark comes from a distinguished family, growing up in the family estate of Summercourt.  Despite her posh upbringing, her family is far from wealthy.

Eliza and her brother Charles both work in London.  Eliza is a fashion editor, a position she loves, while her brother is a stock broker, despite his lack of aptitude to make money.

When Jeremy Northcott, an upper class peer who not only comes from the right family, but is also in line to a huge inheritance, proposes, Eliza chooses her heart and instead, marries Matt Shaw, a working class mate of her brothers from National Service.

They have a daughter Emmie.  Eliza reluctantly gives up her career at the wishes of Matt to care for their daughter.  Despite their passionate love for each other, the marriage begins to unravel.

Eliza is unfulfilled as a housewife and after a devastating travesty, she finds the need to go back to work to become herself again.

Like all Vincenzi novels, More Than You Know is filled with rich, supporting characters - the larger-than-life Italian Mariella Crespi, Heather Connell who lives in a tenement with her young family, and Matt's sister Scarlett and her lovers David Berenson and Mark Foster.

Despite the many failed relationships, affairs and ruined marriages, More Than You Know manages to wrap up with each character content and fulfilled, if not necessarily with the loves of their lives.

13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi by Mitchell Zuckoff with Members of the Annex Security Team, 2014

My interest in this book was spurred on by the television series Homeland, and the book proved to be more tension filled and suspenseful than any Homeland episode, which is saying a lot!

The true story of six American heroes and bad-asses, 13 Hours recounts the night a State Department compound was attacked in the increasingly unsteady city of Benghazi.

The story center around the CIA Annex Security Team, made up of former military professionals hired out as contractors: Dave "D.B." Benton, Mark "Oz" Geist, Kris "Tanto" Paronto, Jack Silva, John "Tig" Tiegen, and Tyrone "Rone" Woods.

Outnumbered and possibly outgunned, these men are brave and eager to rush to the assistance of State Department personnel, including Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, whose compound comes under attack by a Libyan mob.

Descriptions of Benghazi, with its militia rule and everyday presence of Technicals, trucks with rocket launchers hitched to the back, paint a bleak picture.

The Annex Security team describe how they blend in despite standing out as Americans, constantly remain vigilant and risk their lives to save others.  Like anyone else, these men fear for their lives and think of their families, but their bravery and strength make them true heros.

The overnight battle at the CIA Annex on September 11, 2012 makes for real page-turner material.  Not just for me, but also for my husband, who was just as enthralled with the book.

A Perfect Heritage by Penny Vincenzi, 2014

I read my first Penny Vincenzi book, The Best of Times, while I was on maternity leave.  I was hooked and looking forward to reading her other novels even before I finished The Best of Times.  Despite the description of the novel not capturing my interest and the hard-covered tome being over 700 pages (a factor considering I carry my books so that I can read during my commute to work), I knew that A Perfect Heritage would be a great read.

A Perfect Heritage is the story of cosmetic giant House of Farrell with characters including high powered female CEO Bianca Bailey, who has been brought in by venture capitalists to turn-around the declining brand and sales.

As an ambitious working woman, it's exciting to read a novel revolving around a female CEO, venture capitalists and hedge fund managers.

The story also references English events, like the Queen's Jubilee, which happens to fall on the anniversary of when Athina and Cornelius Farrell founded The Cream, the product that built the House of Farrell empire.

As an anglophile, these cultural references are always fun and a pleasure to read.

Characters who work for the House of Farrell include Bertie Farrell, Florence Hamilton, Susie Harding, and Lara Clements; with the main story centering around Bailey; her husband Patrick; their three children, including Milly; and best friend Jonjo.

The following dialog between Bailey and Saul Finlayson, hedge fund manager and Patrick's new manager, inspires me to tackle initiatives at work that seem daunting, even though they are nowhere near as daunting as running a multi-million dollar company (yet...):

   '...You should have made sure they'd go with you all the way.' - Saul
   'So it's my fault?' - Bianca
   'To a degree, yes.  Anyway, you must keep going.  Keep going and don't look down.  And don't worry about all the other stuff...  None of that is your fault.'
   'It - it feels like it.'
   'Well, it isn't. And you mustn't let it distract you.'
   'I know, I know.  You're right.  I've never felt like this before, uncertain and even --' she stopped.
   'Even?'
   'A bit scared.'
   'Oh, now you can't be scared,' he said.  'You mustn't even think about being scared.'
   'Don't you get scared?' she asked, curious.
   'Sometimes. But I just fight it off.  I decide what I've got to do and then do it.'
   'And is that ever wrong?'
   'It can be.  Losing is bad, but I mostly win, so it's OK.'

After a satisfying 700+ pages, I reserved another Vincenzi novel from the library and can't wait to get my hands on that book!

We Are All Completely Besides Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler, 2013

Rosemary has had an unconventional upbringing along with her sister Fern and brother Lowell.

The family issues that Rosemary harbor into young adulthood have an added twist as she starts to realize what happened to her sister Fern when Rosemary was only five years of age.

A unique story, We Are All Completely Besides Ourselves was a Christmas present from my mother-in-law, who was not sure what books to choose for me, so chose a Man Booker Prize runner-up.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt, 1992

Donna Tartt's seminal novel, The Secret History, is the third Tartt novel that I have read.  Her stories are gripping and she is so adept at pulling you into a harsh world fueled by drugs as events spiral out of control.

Set in bucolic Hampden College in Vermont, Richard Papen is a middle class Californian whose father owns a gas station.  By serendipity, he ends up at Hampden College, a private liberal arts college filled with wealthy, privileged students from the northeast.

At Hampden, Richard studies the Classics under the renowned intellectual Julian Morrow who isolates himself and his selective students from the rest of the campus by creating an academically intense program around ancient Greek.

Included in this discriminating group are: twins Charles & Camilla Macaulay, Francis Abernathy, Henry Winter, and Edmund "Bunny" Corcoran.

Tartt captures college life, along with the feeling of invisibility and feelings of eternal friendship, so well.  She captures nuances that are accurate and ring true.

As a Bostonian, I appreciate her Boston references of the Oak Room, Marlborough Street, Exeter Street, and little boys in Red Sox baseball caps.  Her depiction of the Corcoran family is spot on.

The book begins with the murder of Bunny Corcoran, which seems improbable, but Tartt masterfully plots out events that lead up to the murder and more grippingly, events that follow.  Like her other novels, I could barely stop reading as I became more wrapped up with the characters.