Book: "Special Topics in Calamity Physics," by Marisha Pessl
Pessl creates a fictional but eerily realistic world of pompous parents, mysterious teachers and child geniuses as she tells the story of introverted prodigy Blue Van Meer. Pessl's unique and quirky writing style -- written in Blue's voice -- creates an intricate web of a story that can be described as a romance, who-dun-it or drama ... but probably deserves its own category. - Sara del Nido
Music: "La Tristesse Durera," by Manic Street Preachers
A ridiculously catchy bass-driven song by an old group that doesn't get nearly enough attention. That, plus a huge proportion of falsetto to non-falsetto makes it a winner in my book. - John Beardsley
Movie: "Confetti," directed by Debbie Isitt (2006)
If you like British "mockumentaries" as much as I do, you should be incredibly excited for "Confetti," playing this week at the Nugg. The film follows three couples as they battle for the title of "Most Original Wedding of the Year." Not only are the interactions guaranteed to be hilarious -- the couples have tennis, Broadway and nudist inspired weddings -- all the dialogue is improvised and thus has a subtle, spur-of-the-moment quality. Lovable Martin Freeman ("Tim" from hit TV show "The Office") stars as a member of the musical couple. - Bailey Massey
TV: "The Amazing Race," CBS Sundays at 8 p.m.
Although I don't usually reserve my primetime slots for reality-TV, one show that I can't stop talking about is "The Amazing Race" on CBS (seriously, people are getting annoyed). This show lives up to its name! The challenges in the race are always exciting and the contestants are diverse and fun to watch. Don't let the fact that it's on CBS (average age of viewer: 52) turn you off, "The Amazing Race" is one of my favorite finds this fall. - Louisa McCarthy
