"It's a snapshot of the death of a republic, and there are parallels with Washington, D.C. today."

"I'm into vampires and werewolves. My fiancee got me started on Anne Rice."

"I read The DaVinci Code, and being Catholic, I'm not supposed to believe in the Da Vinci Code version of things, but parts of the book made me think. Reading De-Coding Da Vinci kind of fixed that — it made me realize that The Da Vinci Code is fiction."

"It's a letter from a mother to her children, about her life in Senegal, as a member of a polygamous family. It was not a good life, but it was a good book. I have not read a book in the seven years since, and guess what? I was an English major! For shame on me, indeed."

"It was really good; very, very interesting. I found it very moving, especially in light of what's going on in that part of the world today. Among other things, I learned that in Afghanistan, it's common to tell people how a movie ends, whether they've seen it or not."

"The last book I read was by Robert Ludlum, but I can't remember the title. I'm reading Tom Clancy now. I'm into political thrillers … maybe it's a guy thing."

"An interesting read — the author makes some good points. Am I in marketing? I'm in a related field, put it that way."

"I was looking for some sort of history of chocolate, because I make and sell my own line of organic fudge and fudge sauce."

"Everybody I know thought it was great, but I just couldn't get into it. For me, it just didn't do it. I didn't think the writing was so great, and I didn't find it suspenseful. If I read at all, it's biographies, books about real people."

"Loved it — I'm the one who lent it to Lynn [Chupka, above].

"I loved it — so sweet! Would I ever walk across the outfield when a really short kid is at bat? Not wearing a red dress, that's for sure."

"You know those totally innocent photos of siblings taking a bath together when they were 2 and 3 years old that you see in family photo albums? This is a novel about photography and kids that asks 'When is art pornography, and when is pornography art?'"

"Definitely better than the movie."

"I loved it. I read to relax, and I'm a sucker for escapist, romantic chick lit."

"The last book I read was in 1998: From Potter's Field. It's about a serial killer in New York City. I'm interested in the dark side of human nature."

"Listening to Springsteen's 'Ghost of Tom Joad' was what got me started on Steinbeck. I read a fair amount, and Driving Big Davie Colin Batemen, is another I've just recently finished. It's a worthwhile read as well."