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For those Kindle readers who, like me, read for entertainment, scanning the book reviews in People magazine is good way to check out new people-related books - celebrity bios, popular novels, absorbing nonfiction - just hitting bookstore shelves. Featured in the November 14th issue of People:

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and Other Concerns), by Mindy Kaling. Crown Archetype, 2011. Print Length: 240 p. HUMOR. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (27 reviews). People's slant: "...the Office star riffs on everything from being 'chubby for life' to her love of chest hair." Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck - impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence 'Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?' Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!" - Publisher.

An Invisible Thread, by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski. Foreword by Valerie Salembier. Howard Books, 2011. Print Length: 272 p. NONFICTION. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (7 reviews). People's slant: "...the story of Schroff's life-changing friendship with a homeless boy." Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"Excuse me lady, do you have any spare change? I am hungry. When Laura Schroff first met Maurice on a New York City street corner, she had no idea that she was standing on the brink of an incredible and unlikely friendship that would inevitably change both their lives. As one lunch at McDonald’s with Maurice turns into two, then into a weekly occurrence that is fast growing into an inexplicable connection, Laura learns heart-wrenching details about Maurice’s horrific childhood. Sprinkled throughout the book is also Laura’s own story of her turbulent childhood. Every now and then, something about Maurice's struggles reminds her of her past, how her father’s alcohol-induced rages shaped the person she became and, in a way, led her to Maurice. As their friendship grows, Laura offers Maurice simple experiences he comes to treasure: learning how to set a table, trimming a Christmas tree, visiting her nieces and nephew on Long Island, and even having homemade lunches to bring to school. It is the heartwarming story of a friendship that has spanned thirty years..." Publisher.

My Life, Deleted: A Memoir, by Scott Bolzan, Joan Bolzan and Caitlin Rother. HarperOne, 2011. Print Length: 304 p. MEMOIR. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (18 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Scott Bolzan went to work on December 17, 2008, like any other Wednesday. By that afternoon, he'd lost every memory of his past. Awakening in a hospital with no memory of who he was or how he got there, the forty-six-year-old didn’t know that the petite blonde at his side was his wife of twenty-four years, Joan - or even what a wife was. He couldn’t remember the births of his two young-adult children, the daughter he’d lost, his time as an offensive lineman for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, or his flourishing aviation career. Scott’s life and the lives of everyone who loved him were forever changed when he slipped, hit his head, and lost consciousness in his office bathroom, suffering one of the most severe cases of permanent retrograde amnesia on record. With heartrending honesty and no shortage of humor, the Bolzans share their remarkable journey as Scott navigates his way through a now-unfamiliar world. Both gut-wrenching and brimming with optimism, the Bolzans’ captivating story makes a powerful statement about commitment - and the possibility of finding extraordinary opportunity in life’s greatest challenges." - Publisher.

Truth and Consequences: Life Inside the Madoff Family, by Laurie Sandell. Little, Brown and Company, 2011. Print Length: 352 p. NONFICTION. Amazon customer rating: 2 1/2 stars (25 reviews). People's slant: "Since Andrew and Ruth cooperated with author Sandell, it's not surprising that the book portrays them sympathetically...Buy that or not, anyone curious about this fractured, once tight-knit family will find plenty of food for thought here." Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"In December 2008, the world watched as master financier Bernard L. Madoff was taken away from his posh Manhattan apartment in handcuffs, accused of swindling thousands of innocent victims - including friends and family - out of billions of dollars in the world's largest Ponzi scheme. Madoff went to jail; he will spend the rest of his life there. But what happened to his devoted wife and sons? The people closest to him, the public reasoned, must have known the truth behind his astounding success. Had they been tricked, too? With unprecedented access to the surviving family members-wife Ruth, son Andrew and his fiancée Catherine Hooper-journalist Laurie Sandell reveals the personal details behind the headlines. How did Andrew and Mark, the sons who'd spent their lives believing in and building their own families around their father's business first learn of the massive deception? How does a wife, who adored her husband since they were teenagers, begin to understand the ramifications of his actions? Muzzled by lawyers, vilified by the media and roundly condemned by the public, the Madoffs have chosen to keep their silence - until now. Ultimately, theirs is one of the most riveting stories of our time: a modern-day Greek tragedy about money, power, lies, family, truth and consequences." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.