We asked you who you thought were the most influential women in a variety of categories — from tween star to tweeter to the (surprisingly controversial) fiction author — and thousands of you had your voices heard. After tallying the votes, we were shocked to see who took home some of these Most Influential titles. However, it takes a giant fan base to sway the votes and it makes sense that influential ladies would be able to bring out the masses in their honor.

Get those battle axes sharpened, CC readers. We can already tell you’re going to have something to say about The Most Influential Women in the World (2011 edition). Take a look below to see if your favorites won… Read More »

Perhaps the most controversial category of all in our Most Influential Women poll is Most Influential Fiction Author. You might not think so at first; after all, those tween stars can cause quite a stir among their fans. But think about it — vampires, wizards, murderous children, teen drama, steamy love stories… How can any one person possibly figure out which of these hot topics has had the most influence over pop culture!?

JK Rowling: Did you or did you not grow up under the spell of all things Harry Potter? Dressing up to go to the movies, waiting in huge lines to buy the books on the night they were released, pretending your pencil is a wand (wait, am I the only one who did that?)… You can’t tell me JK Rowling’s literary genius never affected your life.

Stephanie Meyer: Whether you’re now obsessed with vampires or resent the day the Twilight books were ever written, Mrs. Meyer single-handedly started the vampire craze. Read More »

I know, I know. I’m a total book hypocrite. I used to make fun of women who read boatloads of Jodi Picoult and look at me now! This is the 4th. book of hers I’ve reviewed for CC! (“My Sister’s Keeper,” “The Pact,” and “Plain Truth.”) But, I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again – she is GREAT for entertaining reading. This woman can write, which probably explains why she is so darn popular.

“Change of Heart” starts out sad. So sad, in fact, that I actually debated even reading it. June’s husband Jack passes away in a car accident and she is left all alone with their two-year-old, Elizabeth. Yes, that is how the book starts.  But I’m not surprised because, after all, I’m reading Jodi Picoult. Begrudgingly, I continued on. June falls in love with the police officer who broke the bad news of Jack’s death to her, Kurt Nealon, and they marry. Then June becomes pregnant. And then Kurt and Elizabeth are murdered by a handyman June hired to help out around the house.

Yes, it does come out of nowhere. And yes, three of the main characters die within the first 25 pages.

When I got to this point, I once again considered putting the book back on my bookshelf for good, but decided that Jodi Picoult would have to revive the story and it was probably worth reading. And luckily, I was right!

The handyman who killed June’s family is suddenly at the forefront of the novel. His name is Shay Bourne and he is definitely simple-minded. He is tried and sentenced, where we meet another character in the novel, Michael. He is on the jury that decides to invoke the rarely-used New Hampshire death penalty sentence and is so upset over the whole ordeal that he joins the seminary and emerges as “Father Michael.” Read More »

My friend called me her favorite Oreo.

“You know,” she said, “black on the outside, white on the inside.”

I stared at her, trying to figure out what I could possibly say to that. She thought she was genuinely complimenting me. I mean, I don’t even like Oreos.

We had just gotten our SAT scores back and I had done really well, surprising even myself at how much knowledge cramming I had retained. But apparently my friend thought scoring well on a standardized test is something that doesn’t fit with the black race. I just changed the subject because I didn’t want to seem touchy or like a drama queen, but instances like these have happened to me so many times. I’m fed up!

Do I get classified as an Oreo because I’m a voracious reader (apparently all those SAT flashcards paid off)? Or because I might seem reserved when you first meet me? Or is because of one of the other billion facets of my personality? Yes, I would seriously contemplate selling my soul to be front and center at a Lil Wayne concert, but I also can’t help but belt out Taylor Swift songs when they come on the radio. Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston both have works on my list of favorite literature, as do Shakespeare and Jodi Picoult. Oh, and if you see me out dancing, I might be bouncing around to the latest hip hop song, but I could just as easily be showing off some complicated salsa step I learned during the two years that I took salsa classes. Read More »

For me, March is all about light reading. With my exams right around the corner (including an ominous GRE! – wish me luck!), I spend most of my days buried in textbooks, so when I grab a book for bedtime reading, I am the mood for something to take my mind off of my homework. Jodi Picoult is always a great choice for a stressful time; with each of her books, she creates an entire new world that totally enamors the reader. After reading for five minutes, I’ve forgotten about that 20-page paper that I’m putting off! And “Plain Truth” is no exception!

“Plain Truth” is set in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, an area of the states known for its large Amish population. For those of you who don’t know (I didn’t!), the Amish also refer to themselves as “plain”, making the title of the book that much more clever. I always appreciate cleverness, so kudos Jodi on that one! Also as usual for Picoult, at the center of “Plain Truth” is a legal battle. Eighteen-year-old Katie Fisher has been accused of smothering her newborn son, even though she claims that the baby is not hers. Katie’s aunt Leda calls on big-city attorney Ellie Hathaway (whose uncle is Leda’s husband) to defend Katie. After an initial trial, Ellie is forced to move in with the Fisher’s as part of a bail agreement with the judge. She initially resents this forced living arrangement, but Ellie comes to see that the Plain way is the key to Katie’s murder trial. Also, as Ellie grows closer to Katie and her family, Katie and her story begin to slowly unravel, ending with a shocking twist. Read More »

I read “My Sister’s Keeper” in the summer and finished it off in about 4 hours. And, although I hate to admit it (I’m a book snob), I really, really enjoyed it. So, when I felt like a read that could really tug at my heartstrings, I knew I should head to the Picoult section of my local bookstore.

Yes, she gets her own section.

“The Pact” revolves around two families: the Hartes and the Golds. They have lived by each other for seventeen years and their children, Emily and Chris, have literally known each other since they were born. Both families live fairly normal, suburban lives until one night they both get a phone call at 3am saying that their child has been brought to the hospital after a shooting incident. When they arrive, they find that Chris Harte is doing alright, but Emily has been shot in the head.

Immediately they assume it was a drive-by, but their whole world is shaken when Chris confesses that Emily was shot because of a suicide pact made between the two. As Chris is charged with Emily’s murder, the two families are ripped apart, although both are grieving the loss of not only Emily, but also their friendship. Marriages and families are tested as Chris waits for nine long months in jail before his trial. Read More »

It is still shocking to me that in 2009, when freedom of speech is as widely practiced as brushing your teeth every morning, books are still being challenged, placed in restricted sections of the library, or banned all together. But we are sadly reminded, as another Banned Books Week comes around, that censorship is still in full swing (or at least trying to be).

When considering books that should be banned, I think perhaps “How to Make a Bomb” could have a logical reason for not being permitted in school libraries. But when I took a look at the 2008-2009 list, I seriously think I felt my jaw hit the floor. Most of these books are top selling, award winning novels that have secured a permanent spot in our present day pop culture.

So, these books are being “challenged”, which suggests that there is a group of people somewhere that is wagging their finger at us as we sit curled up in our bed drooling over every page.

But do we college students ever follow the rules? To be honest, we have a little too much fun breaking them.

So let’s do what we do best and rebel, people!

Here are a few of the books from the list that should most definitely be read, if not held out our dorm room windows in an act of defiance (if your lucky enough to see daylight in that cell of yours, that is).

Read More »

My friend called me her favorite Oreo.

“You know,” she said, “black on the outside, white on the inside.”

I gaped at her, trying to figure out what I could possibly say to that. She thought she was genuinely complimenting me. I mean, I don’t even like Oreos.

We had just gotten our SAT scores back and I had done really well, surprising even myself at how much knowledge cramming I had retained. But apparently my friend thought scoring well on a standardized test is something that doesn’t fit with the black race. I just changed the subject because I didn’t want to seem touchy or like a drama queen, but instances like these have happened to me so many times. I’m fed up!

Do I get classified as an Oreo because I’m a voracious reader (apparently all those SAT flashcards paid off)? Or because I might seem reserved when you first meet me? Or is because of one of the other billion facets of my personality? Yes, I would seriously contemplate selling my soul to be front and center at a Lil Wayne concert, but I also can’t help but belt out Taylor Swift songs when they come on the radio. Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston both have works on my list of favorite literature, as do Shakespeare and Jodi Picoult. Oh, and if you see me out dancing, I might be bouncing around to the latest hip hop song, but I could just as easily be showing off some complicated salsa step I learned during the two years that I took salsa classes. Read More »

I know, I know. I’m a little bit slow on the uptake. “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult has been a favorite read for a couple years now, and despite hearing nothing but good things, it never really interested me. Being a bookstore employee, you develop a bit of a superiority complex and when a book becomes “mainstream” you turn your nose at it.

So I turned my nose at “My Sister’s Keeper” and, quite honestly, missed out.

This past weekend, I went to my boyfriend’s camp and found a copy of “My Sister’s Keeper” kicking around. One rainy afternoon, I picked it up and flipped through the first couple pages. I was instantly hooked. I read all 423 pages of that book in about 4 hours in a single afternoon.

It was that addictive.

For those of you who haven’t heard about the book (or haven’t seen the insanely popular trailer for the film), the novel revolves around a family whose eldest daughter, Kate, has been battling a rare form of leukemia (cancer of the blood) since she was 2 years old. Because Kate required donations of blood to survive almost immediately and their son, Jesse, was not a donor match, they decided to conceive a child, Anna, whose sole purpose was to save her sister’s life. When Anna is 13, after numerous blood and bone marrow donations throughout her life, she is asked to donate an entire kidney to Kate. Anna has finally had enough and decides to sue her parents for the rights to her own body.

Besides having an interesting and controversial subject, “My Sister’s Keeper” features beautiful characters and a skilled writer. Picoult is seasoned and knows what will hit her readers hardest and really make an impact. No detail goes overlooked; from how Kate’s sickness rips her parents apart, to the feelings of the forgotten sibling, Jesse. The book is written from multiple points of view, so the reader really gets to know what each character truly thinks and feels. Read More »

If it’s one thing we’ve learned here at CC, it’s that all people are fascinating (Yes, even your econ professor). Let’s face it – people love to glimpse into the lives of other people. Disagree? Then please explain why you’re currently looking at your friend’s brother’s girlfriend’s cousin’s photos on Facebook. Or reading about the latest Madonna/Jesus dramz in this week’s tabloids. Yeah we thought so.Fact is we connect to others by learning about them. And everyone has something to share (even if it is a story about that time you stayed in the library for 18 hours straight…)

So to give you yet another reason to procrastinate, we started ‘The Five Questions We Ask Everyone’ (and five just for that one person) because we know whether we’re schmoozing with an A- list celeb or your local bartender, you’ll be equally entertained. 

Let’s be honest here: who hasn’t read at least one Jodi Picoult book? Most of us, in fact, grab ‘em and read ‘em as soon as they hit bookstore shelves. Picoult has a knack for writing that most authors dream about. Her combination of research and talent come together seamlessly in books that are impossible to put down: My Sister’s Keeper, The Pact, Salem Falls… and those are only a few of the 15 books she’s written.

Jodi Picoult is smart (Princeton for undergrad and Harvard for her masters!), she’s talented (Um, have you read her books?!) and we got to talk to her! Read on to get inside our favorite author’s head. Read More »