“'The Lovely Bones,' by Alice Sebold. It's an amazing fantasy from the point of view of a young girl who dies and is telling the story of her murder and its impact on her family over the next 15 to 20 years.”

— Amber Almanza-Wade, University of Chicago graduate student, Chicago

“I'm reading 'The Landmark Herodotus.' It's a translation of an ancient Greek historian, and this edition contains maps and other references combined with an incredible index.”

— Brooke McLane, Carnegie-Mellon University graduate student, Lawrence

“'The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch,' by Philip K. Dick. It's a sci-fi novel that's pretty much about sitting around on Mars and testing drugs.”

— Spencer Higginson, Free State High School senior, Lawrence

“'Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,' by Dee Brown. It's a history of the American West looking east from the point of view of the American Indians.”

— Nick Brown, barista, Lawrence

“I'm getting ready to read 'Invasive Procedures,' by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston. It's a thriller about genetic therapy in the near future and a DNA-changing virus.”

— Sarah Trowbridge, social worker, Mission