input: (Oprah) -- Kick back there's a reason they call them beach reads.

"Seating Arrangements" by Maggie Shipstead

Winn Van Meter has everything an affluent person could hope for: a devoted wife of almost 30 years, two daughters, a privileged life in Connecticut, and a summer home on Waskeke a fictional island resembling Nantucket.

Despite his comforts, Winn suffers from a typical midlife dissatisfaction: "He had almost everything he could think to want, and yet still ambivalence bleached his world to an anemic pallor."

Maggie Shipstead's "Seating Arrangements" is a whip-smart and engaging debut novel, set on Waskeke over the course of three days. Winn's oldest daughter, Daphne, is pregnant and getting married. His youngest daughter is lovelorn and mourning a recent abortion.

Strong personalities clash as Winn struggles with his long-burning attraction to one of Daphne's gorgeous and wildly flirtatious bridesmaids, Agatha, as his marriage grows stale. "He could not be sure that he had ever been in love with Biddy, or with anyone for that matter, but Biddy was the woman he had felt the most for."

Shipstead observes the absurdity of the upper class in Winn's trivial anxieties; he's incensed that he wasn't invited to join an elite golf club, and he carries on a rivalry with another island couple. This is the best kind of smart beach read: a book that expertly examines social life with heart and wit.

Oprah.com: 20 romantic reads

"Heading Out to Wonderful" by Robert Goolrick

"Heading Out to Wonderful" about a drifter who takes up with the wife of the richest man in small-town Virginia is by "A Reliable Wife" author Robert Goolrick, which means it's deliciously dark and dangerous. Oprah.com: 7 books that will take you on an inner journey 1. Is this a book review?
2. What is the title?
3. Written by Whom?
4. What is the main characters name?
5. Was he wealthy?
6. Married?
7. For how long?
8. How many children did he have?
9. How many days did the story cover?
10. Was this the authors first book?
11. Who was the father attracted to?
12. Who was she?
13. Who recently had an abortion?
14. What state was she in?
15. what was her mothers name? Return numbered answers in your output.

output: 1. Yes
2. "Seating Arrangements"
3. Maggie Shipstead
4. Winn Van Meter
5. Yes
6. Yes
7. 30 years
8. two
9. three
10. yes
11. Agatha
12. Daphne's bridesmaid
13. His youngest daughter
14. lovelorn and mourning
15. Biddy

input: The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress and its predecessor, the Continental Congress. Also included are Delegates from territories and the District of Columbia and Resident Commissioners from the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

The online edition also includes a guide to research collections (a list of institutions where member's papers, letters, correspondence, and other items are archived) as well as an extended bibliography of published works concerning the member (a shorter bibliography is included with the member's biography). These additional resources when available can be accessed via links on the left side of the member's page on the website.

Charles Lanman, author, journalist, and former secretary to Daniel Webster, gathered the first collection of biographies of former and sitting members of Congress for his "Dictionary of Congress", published by J. B. Lippincott & Co. in 1859. Lanman intended his "Dictionary of the United States Congress" to serve primarily as a guide for sitting Members of Congress, much as the "Congressional Directory" functions today.

In 1864, the House of Representatives and the Senate approved the publication of an updated version of Lanman's "Dictionary of Congress" by the recently established Government Printing Office. In the late 1860s Congress offered Benjamin Perley Poore, a journalist and clerk of the Senate Committee on Printing and Records, the job of preparing a "Congressional Directory" with biographical sketches and the kind of reference information found in the "Dictionary of Congress". 1. what does Charles Lanman do for a living?
2. what did he create?
3. when was it published?
4. what year did congress approve an updated version?
5. in the 1860s who carried on the job of making the congressional dictionary?
6. who originally published Lanman's dicitionary?
7. what is the Biographical dictionary of the United States Congress?
8. are delegates from territories also included in it?
9. which ones?
10. who else is in included in the dictionary?
11. is it available online?
12. is correspondence also included? Return numbered answers in your output.

output: 1. author, journalist, and former secretary to Daniel Webster
2. Dictionary of Congress
3. 1859
4. In 1864
5. Benjamin Perley Poore
6. J. B. Lippincott & Co.
7. dictionary of Congress members
8. yes
9. unknown
10. Resident Commissioners from the Philippines and Puerto Rico.
11. yes
12. no

input: Lynn was a young French Canadian girl who grew up in the farming community. At the age of l6, her father thought that she had enough schooling and forced her to drop out of school to contribute to the family income. In l922, with limited education and skills, the future didn't look bright for Lynn. Her father demanded that Lynn find a job as soon as possible, but she didn't have the confidence to ask for a job.

One day, Lynn gathered her courage and knocked on her very first door. She was met by Margaret Costello, the office manager. In her broken English, Lynn told her she was interested in the secretarial position. Margaret decided to give her a chance.

Margaret sat her down at a typewriter and said, "Lynn, let's see how good you really are." She directed Lynn to type a single letter, and then left. Lynn looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:40 a.m. Everyone would be leaving for lunch at noon. She thought she should at least attempt the letter.

On her first try, she got through one line but made four mistakes. She pulled the paper out and threw it away. The clock now read 11:45. "At noon," she said to herself, "I'll move out with the crowd, and they will never see me again."

On her second attempt, things didn't get any better. Again she started over and finally completed the letter, full of mistakes, though. She looked at the clock: 11:55--five minutes to freedom.

Just then, Margaret walked in. She came directly over to Lynn, and put one hand on the desk and the other on the girl's shoulder. She read the letter and paused. Then she said, "Lynn, you're doing good work!"

Lynn was surprised. She looked at the letter, then up at Margaret. With those simple words of encouragement, her desire to escape disappeared and her confidence began to grow. She thought, "Well, if she thinks it's good, then it must be good. I think I'll stay!"

Lynn did stay at Carhartt Overall Company...for 51 years, through two world wars and 11 presidents--all because _ had the insight to give a shy and uncertain young girl the gift of self-confidence when she knocked on the door. 1. What was Lynn's nationality?
2. When did she drop out of school?
3. What was the name of the office manager?
4. What position did Margaret give Lynn?
5. What time was Lynn going to leave?
6. What company did Lynn stay with?
7. And how long was she with that company?
8. How many presidents did she see during that time?
9. And how many world wars?
10. On her first try with the letter, how many mistakes did Lynn make? Return numbered answers in your output.

output:
1. French Canadian
2. At the age of l6
3. Margaret Costello
4. the secretarial position
5. At noon
6. Carhartt Overall Company
7. 51 years
8. 11
9. two
10. four