Couldn't be more different

but in their own way, the reviews for these books captured my attention.

Washington Post reviewer, Carolyn See grabbed me with the word "stunned" and "high quality of the prose" in the first paragraph of her review of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nichaolas D. Kritoff and Sheryl WuDunn.

From See's Sept 11, 2009 review: "...this book is not a sermon about victims. Its range is wide, and sometimes it's even funny. In a wonderful, mordantly amusing chapter about big groups trying to impose their views on cultures they don't understand, the authors describe fundamentalist Christians trying as hard as they can to prevent contraception, and secular elites trying as hard as they can to advance it. But, as Kristof and WuDunn remind us, if you're down-and-out in a Congolese jungle, the Christian missionaries will be the ones there to provide you with food and medication."

On a totally different note,I Shudder: And Other Reactions to Life, Death, and New Jersey by Paul Rudnick...
1) The cover - peeps! 2) NJ. (in fact, the author was born in Piscataway - Rutgers, my alma mater).
From Harper Collins: "...a side-splittingly funny collection of essays from Paul Rudnick, one of America’s preeminent humorists. Rudnick, who writes for The New Yorker and has written the screenplays for the films In and Out, Sister Act, and Addams Family Values, shares his hilarious observations on life in New York City and New Jersey, the perils of show business, and dealing with one’s family, however crazy they may be."
Featured September 12, 2009 on Studio 360