This week’s winners

@shylune Carrie by Stephen King Carrie knew she should not use the terrifying power she possesses. But one night, during senior prom, Carrie is scorned and humiliated just one time too many. And in a fit of uncontrollable fury, she turns her clandestine game into a weapon of horror and destruction. I liked this book so much because even though it is a horror book, it stems from something very basic and real to many people. I learned that every human being deserves to be loved, accepted and nurtured by a parent. Unfortunately, Carrie never experienced these things. Her mother is crazy. She is horribly humiliated in school. She has no friends. No life. Despite these things, Carrie White is no ordinary girl.

@brian_suarez_14 A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar “Perhaps it is good to have a beautiful mind, but an even greater gift is to discover a beautiful heart.” A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar is a beautiful biography of Nobel Laureate John Nash — of his research, his mental breakdown, his gradual recovery and his Nobel triumph. Nash’s life touched on a diverse set of areas — issues of sexuality, mental illness, economics, mathematics and university politics — and Nasar does a marvelous job covering such a wide range. She gives us the essence of the issues involved, without getting mired in technicalities or becoming too slanted in a single direction. John Nash comes out as figure who somehow engages our sympathy, even though he was (and still is) often jealous, belittling, prickly and sarcastic. Nash was no saint. In fact, he was a complete asshole. He often clashed strongly with thouse around him and horribly mistreated those who loved him the most. But talent has a way of excursing prima donna behavior, and as a mathematician, Nash was top-rate. He was an original thinker with extraordinary powers of intuition and utterly unique perspectives on problems, a man who made major contributions to several fields at a very young age. This is what made Nash’s descent into madness so tragic. No matter how much you may dislike the man, you cannot deny that he suffered greatly.