Dear Great Book Guru, While enjoying a delightful evening at the Civic Association's annual Progressive Dinner, I was surprised to hear one of the partygoers say that this would be the Great Book Guru's 100th posting. Is it true and, if so, do you have a recommendation to celebrate this milestone? Keeping Count


Dear Keeping Count, Yes, indeed: greatbookguru.blogspot.com began on Thanksgiving morning 2009 and here we are 100 books later. Dan DiPietro receives the award for Most Faithful Fan, having read more than 90 of my recommendations and is working on the remaining entries with great zest. Thanks, Dan, for your literary insights and enthusiastic support! My suggestion for the week is BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by S.J. Watson. This was an emotionally exhausting read- it took me about two hours but my heart was beating wildly and my fingers furiously flipping pages: truly a page-turner. Christine wakes up each morning with no memory of what has gone on the day before, the month before, or the last ten years. She has slight glimmers of past events but these are very elusive and confused. Her husband Ben lovingly cares for her and each day recounts his version of their life together. When a young researcher takes an interest in her case and suggests she keep a journal, fear trumps frustration in Christine's life. Can one be truly human without memory- is the question we ask ourselves throughout this book, and the answer is very disturbing. Recommended!