When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing (Daniel H. Pink)

Daniel H. Pink's latest book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, captures the circle of life, our decision-making, and our daily routines as a course of habit. Our days, our jobs, and our lives all have ebb and flow to them, and the author argues that these forces are not necessarily of our own doing.

In his discussion of timing as a science, Pink pulls research from biology, economics, and psychology to illustrate how humans work and go about their day to day. He also talks about the perfect time TO make an important decision, whether it be leaving a job, getting married or divorced, or when to schedule an appointment to get elective surgery performed.

Given life is a series of decisions, some much more important than others, Pink makes a convincing case that timing those decisions wisely makes all the difference between whether the decision is successful or doesn't pay off. When is a short, breezy read that will not necessarily

challenge you to think…but may challenge you to wait a bit before making the next critical resolution in your life.

MY RATING - 3.5

Fingersmith (Sarah Waters)

It's been a long time since I read anything by Sarah Waters -- 2009 in fact when I reviewed The Little Stranger. I've been meaning to pick up her other novels, but there is always something new that comes up.  I was reading a magazine a few months ago, and a celebrity whose name escapes me now mentioned that the twist in Fingersmith left her gasping for air. I realized right then and there that I needed to take a break from my other selections and finally devour another Sarah Waters book.

It is absolutely impossible to do justice to Fingersmith's synopsis by trying to put it into words. It is often compared to Dickens's Oliver Twist, but with twist after twist (no pun intended) thrown in. Each of the separate parts is narrated by one of the two leads: Susan is the daughter of a hanged murderess living in a house filled with thieves (fingersmiths). She is talked into becoming the maid for Maud Lilly, a naive heiress who really has no idea how to be one. Susan is tasked by one of the thieves to take part in his trickery of Maud, but do not believe anything because nothing is as it seems.

This is the best I can do with a synopsis. Just read it -- no, devour it. Waters has a gift of making her readers hang on to her every word, then when the rug is eventually pulled out from under us, we have only ourselves to blame. This is a rare 5 rating for 1776books.

MY RATING - 5