Handmaid's Tale ***** Dystopian feminist novel in which fertile women become the property of the state. Dark premise that is brilliantly executed with clean, elegant prose.

Pnin ***** : Wonderfully rich, sensuous, and complicated prose. Not the kind of book that can be read quickly, but the enjoyment is as much in the journey through the words as it is in unraveling the plot. My first Nabokov and definitely not my last.