Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan YP FIC COHN

A red book hidden in the shelves of a Manhattan bookstore starts a series of increasingly wild dares and a whirlwind holiday romance for the unlikeliest of couples. Lily loves Christmas and approaches the world with sincerity and hope. Dash despises consumer culture, conformity, and Christmas with a cold passion. The little red book of dares brings both of them out of their shells and into each other’s lives in unpredictable ways in this latest romance form the authors of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.

This is a team that cannot be beat. They are both fresh, funny, and engaging in unique ways that make their characters come alive. Leviathan writes for Dash and Cohn for Lily, this makes the two characters and their relationship feel very immediate and alive, because it is a collaboration of authors. Both Leviathan and Cohn are known for smart characters filled with witty observations and Dash and Lily can stand with their best. What is great about the authors is that they can write a book about love that is funny, cool, and sweet all at the same time. A great read for fans of the authors or anyone looking for a decidedly non sappy romance.

Less Than Zero / by Bret Easton Ellis

Winter break brings 19-year-old Clay home from his first semester back east. The son of wealthy LA ‘people’, his life and that of his equally over-privileged friends seamlessly yields back to the partying, out-on-the-edge days before college. But mirth is lost on a dissolute Clay as drowning in his own solitary void, his numbness to the high-times is only compounded by the ugly depravity of his once-closest friends.

American Psycho (both book and movie) made Ellis a cult icon but Less Than Zero first acknowledged him as a voice for Generation X. Published in 1985, the novel stirred controversy with its revelation of California’s drug culture and some its most loyal patrons--children of LA’s wealthy upper-crust. Perpetually aware but never surprised, Ellis’ style is essentially devoid of emotion. Clay’s world is one without hope, without feeling where characters exist below the surface. No action is interpreted and reactions are never personalized with Clay's own reflections remaining far from the plot's content, focusing instead on distant memories from the past. Despite this, or perhaps even because of it, Clay’s character is still felt by the book’s end.

Ironic Footnote: This book was made into a 1987 movie starring Robert Downey Jr.