Live from New York, it’s the Friday Fifteen! Here’s my weekly review of fifteen books in fifteen words or less.

1. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
They were fools to leave the boxcar. Fools!

2. The Boxcar Children Houseboat Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Didn’t know it was a series, then picked up this. Didn’t read the rest.

3. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
Lovely writing, fun plot, Dickensian feel. Ending didn’t quite hold for me.

4. Circling the Drain by Amanda Davis
Eerie stories with a fantastical feel. Sad to lose Davis so young.

5. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Loved the wild ride in 12th grade; wonder if I’d see it differently now.

6. Ballistics by Billy Collins
Worth it if only for the poem Hippos on Holiday. On holiday from what indeed?

7. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Based on his stories, I was expecting something a little quirkier.

8. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Interesting ideas, but I didn’t much care about the characters. Prefer The Handmaid’s Tale.

9. The Witch Down the Street (Tale from the Care Bears) by Stephanie Morgan
Spoiler alert: the “witch” is a nice old lady. I know. Shocked.

10. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Let’s all get drunk and watch the bull fights, shall we?

11. The Periodic Kingdom: A Journey Into The Land Of The Chemical Elements by P.W. Atkins
I couldn’t even learn chemistry when it came in fantasy form. Good try though.

12. About a Boy by Nick Hornby
Funny, poignant, and real. Maybe it’s not high literary fiction, but I love it.

13. A Raisin in the Sun  by Lorraine Hansberry
The only reading in tenth grade with a moderately happy ending.

14. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Scotland, witches, murder–what more could you want from the Bard? My favorite tragedy.

15. Intensely Chocolate by Carole Bloom
I love chocolate. Bloom writes fantastic cookbooks. A match made in heaven.

And there you have it! Enjoy the weekend everyone.