Frans Dekker Dekker itibaren Patilla, Barrancas, La Guajira, Colombia itibaren Patilla, Barrancas, La Guajira, Colombia

One of the first American plays about HIV/AIDS. Exquisitely written and a heartbreaking but beautiful read.

I started the Twilight series as the first fiction book I'd read since having Mason. I needed something mindless for the Metro rides as I returned to work after three months of nothing but a baby and hormones. This fit the bill. Not renowned literature in any sense, but interesting enough that it kept me from falling asleep on the Metro rides after being up half the night with a 3-month-old.

This is a thoroughly accessible account of the history of cryptography. Its coverage of the evolution of ever more sophisticated pre-twentieth century ciphers is particularly clear. The chapter on hieroglyphics seemed a bit of a digression to me but no doubt others enjoy it. There's a long section on the decoding of the Enigma machine, which is a treat for those of us enamored with the romance of Bletchley Park.

Stephen King recommended author and book. In 1981's Danse Macabre, King dedicated his book as follows: "It's easy enough - perhaps too easy - to memorialize the dead. This book is for the six great writers of the macabre who are still alive." The six listed were Robert Bloch, Jorge Luis Borges, Ray Bradbury, Frank Belknap Long, Donald Wandrei, Manly Wade Wellman. Stephen King recommended book. Noted as "important to the genre we have been discussing" from Danse Macabre, published in 1981.