Kaddish for a Child Not Born   Imre Kertész
Powerful novel about a writer recounting his struggles to be able to live emotionally after surviving Auschwitz. Very well written and translated in a sort of stream-of-consciousness. By the 2002 Nobel Prize winner.

The Invention of Air: A Story Of Science, Faith, Revolution, And The Birth Of America   Steven Johnson
Interesting and informative history of Joseph Priestley’s influence in chemistry, religion, and politics, especially among the founders of the United States. Very well written. Especially interesting sidebars on the nature of intellectual progress and new paradigms. Really liked it.

Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think   Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth Cukier
Disappointing discussion of the growing influence of the “science” of big data. Distressing that it was not about knowledge and understanding, but about statistics with applications for and about business only. Deeply concerned by their promotion of “inexactitude” and the rule of statistical analysis.

It Can’t Happen Here   Sinclair Lewis
Engaging novel about the ascendance and implementation of a totalitarian government in the United States in 1936. Unfortunately, plausible for now as well. Lewis won the Nobel Prize in 1930.