LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING by Douglas Adams

Life, the Universe and Everything is the third volume in the brilliant Douglas Adams' "Trilogy of Five." Following the highly popular "The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe," Adams once again displays his blinding wit and propensity for convulted, often surreal plots as Arthur Dent finds himself witnessing Earth's origins, a deadly cricket game, and an invincible alien whose goal it is to insult every being in the universe. For those who enjoy science fiction or merely like to laugh, "Life, the Universe and Everything" is an excellent place to start.

ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

Bernstein and Woodward's famous discovery of the Watergate scandal unfolds as we follow the intrepid reporters on their journalistic crusade, in a gripping tale of political intrigue and guerilla-news tactics. All the President's Men provides both a glimpse of Washington's seedy underbelly and an argument for journalism's continued importance within western democracy. The best account of the Watergate scandal (and indeed of the Nixon presidency) to date, All the President's Men is required reading for anyone who's ever wondered how far a person will go to protect an ideal.

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess

Unfortunately, Stanley Kubrick's stunning film version of "A Clockwork Orange" is better known than the material it draws from. Anthony Burgess' novella captures the paranoia and violent reaction that often result from youth marginalization. Each paragraph is a joy to read, largely due to the invented language he puts into the book, the words of which are never explained - this forces the reader to hurry to catch up, and maintains an aura of confusion. Burgess' hammers home the book's central theme - if a man is born wicked, is it better for him to be himself or what society expects? - and provides important moral insight.

A LONG WAY DOWN by Nick Hornby

Four strangers meet atop a London high-rise building for the same reason - they all plan to jump off. The book is told from the alternating perspectives of each of the four characters, which expands the story and gives the reader a sense of living within it. In A Long Way Down, Hornby re-establishes himself as one of Britain's premiere novelists.

GET SHORTY by Elmore Leonard

Chili Palmer, a Miami loanshark, is given the assignment of his career - to track down a scam artist who stole three-hundred-thousand dollars from an airline by faking his own death. The job takes him to Los Angeles, where he encounters eccentric movie producers and washed-up actresses, and attempts to sell his own story as an idea for a film.

Leonard's writing style is minimalist and gruff, perfect for the crime genre. He provides piercing insight into the grimy underbelly of the film business, and the reader feels almost tougher as a result of reading it. Get Shorty is a fine example of how books do not always need highly descriptive passages and weepy subplots to be wholly entertaining.