“'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,' by J.K. Rowling. I thought it was very moving and a very satisfying conclusion to the series.”

— Jennifer Lawler, writer, Eudora

“'A Short History of Nearly Everything,' by Bill Bryson. It's about the natural history about the planet Earth - not about the people, but how Earth got started.”

— Ricardo Olea, statistician for the U.S. Geological Survey, Virginia

“'A Death in Belmont,' by Sebastian Junger. It's a non-fiction book about the Boston Strangler and a guy who was falsely accused of one of the killings.”

— Kelly Mills, customer service, Lawrence

“I'm reading 'American Theocracy,' by Kevin Phillips, and 'Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America: An Evangelical's Lament,' by Randall Balmer. They are both about the religious right and the detrimental effects of the religious right both on Christian faith and U.S. politics. One is secular and one is faith-based.”

— Lawrence Bradford, biology professor, Atchison

“'What is the What,' by Dave Eggers. It's a very interesting book about a Sudan refugee and how he made it through refugee camps and his life in America. It's a work of fiction.”

— Nicole Sabatini, mother, Lawrence