BSP's Top Picks for Fall and Winter Reads

As the barometer drops, and as we slowly creep into the winter months, curling up with a good book could be a great way to spend some much-needed down time.

Here are a few current books that will either take you far away, or help you better understand the here and now.

Read them while on a holiday vacation or pick up a few as an ideal gift.

"Griftopia" by Matt Taibbi

Occupy Wall Street: It is a reminder of the financial crisis of 2008, which led to our current recession and a nation-wide unemployment rate that continues to hover at around 9 percent. In "Griftopia," author Matt Taibbi details the events that led to the bursting of the mortgage bubble and financial crisis of 2008; it is an enthralling account that will help you figure out what it’s all about. Taibbi, a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine known for his casual but gripping writing style, shows how a wealthy and powerful oligarchic “grifter class” in the financial world and government manipulated markets and ultimately caused the crisis.

"Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson

The recently deceased founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, asked writer Walter Isaacson to pen this, his own biography. Anyone with an artsy or creative bent will appreciate learning how Jobs became the person who gave the world some of the most beautiful and functional electronic objects in recent history. Isaacson’s coverage of Jobs's life is thorough, going into detail about specific Apple products and how they came to be. Jobs was an intuitive person who never finished college, but was brilliant outside academia. The book also delicately touches upon the subject of Apple employing underpaid workers in China to manufacture its product parts.

"1Q84" by Haruki Murakami

Hunker down in cold weather with a big, fat novel that will take you far away, both geographically and in imagination: "1Q84." Murakami is one of the most celebrated fiction writers in the world; his characters and landscapes are simultaneously so real, you feel you know them, and yet fantastical. The story takes place in a fictionalized 1984 in Tokyo, and there are two storylines that alternate by chapter. C’mon, do you need me to spoil it for you? Go get a copy, if your local bookstore hasn’t run out already!

"Super Sad True Love Story" by Gary Schteyngart

In Schteyngart's not-so-distant future, humans have nearly ceased communicating verbally and instead rely on machines for everything. When you walk into a bar, you can check on your machine for your hotness rating, and find out instantly how many studs or foxes in the bar want to take you home. The world is controlled by a conglomerate of private security firms and secret government intelligence agencies. And one New Yorker is desperate, in this crazy world, for the affection of a Korean-American girl who has stolen his heart, though she barely wants it. This novel will blow your mind and might make you take a break from G-chatting and texting on your iPhone to re-consider the merits of face-to-face contact... At least for, like, two days.

"Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman" by Robert K. Massie

Historian Robert Massie gives a captivating narrative of the life of this Russian empress, who fought her way to the top tooth-and-nail. Today’s career woman (or man!) can benefit from learning about how Catherine used her wits to become powerful and respected in a world where nobility, not meritocracy, was the rule of the day. Much of Catherine’s wisdom was rooted in enlightenment philosophy. The book makes you wonder where the truly great leaders of the world are today, and what it would take for them to rise up.

Patch would love to know: What books are Bed-Stuy residents reading this fall or winter? What are your recommendations and why?