Jonathan Safran Foer

Oskar Schell, the nine-year-old son of a man killed in the World Trade Center attacks, searches the five boroughs of New York City for a lock that fits a black key his father left behind.

Brilliantly synthesizing philosophy, literature, science, memoir and his own detective work, "Eating Animals" explores the many fictions we use to justify our eating habits -- from folklore to pop culture to family traditions and national myth -- and how such tales can lull us into a brutal forgetting.

Over four weeks in Washington, D.C., Jacob and Julia Bloch and their three sons are forced to confront the distances between the lives they think they want and the lives they are living. A catastrophic earthquake sets in motion a quickly escalating conflict in the Middle East, and at stake is the meaning of home--and the fundamental question of how much aliveness one can bear.

"Some people reject the fact, overwhelmingly supported by scientists, that our planet is warming because of human activity. But do those of us who accept the reality of human-caused climate change truly believe it? If we did, surely we would be roused to act on what we know. Will future generations distinguish between those who didn't believe in the science of global warming and those who said they accepted the science but failed to change their lives...

Offers a new translation of the text of prayer and song used by Jewish familes each year to celebrate Passover and the story of Exodus, augmented by commentary by a number of modern-day thinkers, including Jeffrey Goldberg, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, and Lemony Snicket.

A collection of twenty-three short stories by various authors that depict a host of unique characters struggling to make sense of their lives and the events around them.