NIGHT-TABLE READING

Brian Lehrer HOST. THE BRIAN LEHRER SHOW (WNYCJ

THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO, BY JUNOT DIAZ (RIVERHEAD)

Diaz writes with ecstatic (and profane) abandon, about being Dominican, American, and, most of all, male. He confronts our notions of nerdiness and masculinity—especially timely as we decide whether to elect a warrior president or one being labeled as "soft."

Jim Lehrer ANCHOR AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR. THE NEWSHOUR WITH JIM LEHRER (PBS)

THE SPIES OF WARSAW, BY ALAN FURST (RANDOM HOUSE)

It is a sensual, exquisitely written novel about dramatically attractive characters in a world of spies and love in pre-World War II Europe. Everything about it works. I love itl

Kenneth Lerer CHAIRMAN. THE HUFFINGTON POST

THE BLANK SLATE: THE MODERN DENIAL OF HUMAN NATURE, BY STEVEN PINKER (PENGUIN)

I'm really not trying to torture myself, but I'm reading Pinker's book for a Darwinian explanation of why people are so irrational, self-deluded, and imperfectible. Not sure it will help, but I'm trying to understand the political reality in this country—why idealism is such an uphill slog.