October 1, 2014

Alright. Alright. Alright. Miss you, MM.

NICOLE SHERMAN
OCTOBER 1, 2014

- DIARY ENTRY-

I can’t stop reading GONE GIRL. If books were emotionally unavailable men, I would marry this one. This book washes over me like the violent, urgent water of the Mississippi River. I feel consumed by my need for it, my need to keep reading, to know everything about it. To conquer it. I can because I think I can. Because I want to.

I’m so calm. I’m so casual. I’m so. I’m so cool.

EMILY HOENIG
THE DAY OF

This is my life, my small slice of heaven: I’m sitting in the back room at the office, sipping my Budweiser (after hours, of course) and reading GONE GIRL. I know there are things I need to go home and take care of, but right now I have this one true escape. No one can touch me here --- I’m not doing anything wrong --- just somebody enjoying a good book after work. I know Nicole is also reading GONE GIRL because it’s one of the only things we talk about these days. I mean, besides the 20SomethingReads.com newsletter.

***

DAY OF NEWSLETTER

Hey guys, it’s us! Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year, we don’t need to remind you that the epic book-to-screen adaptation of GONE GIRL will be hitting theaters this Friday. Yes, we’ve been holding our breath (so. hungry.) / writing half-baked GG fanfiction. The movie stars the new Batman himself, actor-turned-director-turned-actor (-turned-director) Ben Affleck, who plays cagey husband Nick, alongside the stunning Rosamund Pike (of Jack Reacher, Pride and Prejudice and Die Another Day fame), playing his elusive wife, Amy, the titular gone girl. Needless to say, the much anticipated film is sure to keep us on the edge of our seats.

Early reviews for the film are trickling in, and it seems like Siskel and Ebert and Roger would have given this one two (or six) thumbs up (86% on Rotten Tomatoes, if you care about that sort of thing). And in case you haven't read the book beforehand, we highly suggest picking up a copy and speed reading it before the clock strikes midnight on Thursday --- we know, we’re late to the search party, but we both picked up a copy of the book just last week. Our goal: to finish just in the nick of time. We challenge you to keep up with us...amy takers? Although the book is 400+ pages, we’re not worried about finishing it by the end of the week; it’s so good we can barely put it down!

Nikki’s been listening to Trent Reznor and Atticus Finch Ross’ haunting score on loop for the past couple of days, and it’s making her feel some type of way. In fact, we wrote this newsletter while listening to it in the background and suggest you do the same to get the full effect. Don’t worry, if you don’t sleep tonight there’s always tomorrow night...? Or not.

Speaking of a different kind of girl (one who is most certainly not gone), Lena Dunham’s NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL hit stores yesterday. Just like with Gone Girl, we’ve been waiting a long, long time for this one to come out. We’ve been Lena lovers since the start, when Tiny Furniture blew our college-minds and made us feel connected to something. We may not always agree on the merits of “Girls,” but we can definitely appreciate a show that’s polarizing enough to spark heated conversation. Another thing we’re currently being polarized by: who gets to read the one office copy of NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL first. While neither of us has gotten the chance to read through it yet [Editorial Note: review pending], we’re pumped to see Lena’s off-screen work, 28 years in the making. Ball-busting New York Times book reviewer Michiko Kakutani gave the book a glowing review...check it out here. We can tell you what kind of girl Lena is: the kind who writes a great book.

We can tell you what kind of girl Lena is, and we can also tell what kind of girls we are: the kind who love "True Detective." Hearing about the HBO hit show's new cast, which includes Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn, made us super excited for the second season. Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch and Elisabeth Moss are all rumored to star, which, of course, has also tickled our fancies. Thinking about all the new people made us reminiscent of our past favorite all-stars, Woody Harrelson and the king of everything Hollywood-amazing, Matthew McConaughey. We missed him so much, we just had to bring him closer to our hearts (see photo above).

We must remind you to also check out our staff-curated bookshelf of 20 books on France --- Vive la France!. From must-read books for the foodie and tips on living the French lifestyle to some of the country's most iconic and established writers, there's a wide range of accessible texts for the wannabe francophile. And if you haven’t noticed, France is having a moment in the spotlight right now. #PFW. But also HOW TO BE PARISIAN WHEREVER YOU ARE (out now) and MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH EATING (out now in hardcover and in paperback on October 28th, both of which are featured in the bookshelf), are two books we are positive you should look into.

You know what else is having a moment? Scotland. From Outlander to “Outlander,” we can’t get enough of all things Scottish (specifically this). In her latest blog post, “Scottish Books You’ll Want to Say Aye To,” 20SomethingReads contributor Lauren Sarner rounds up a bunch of books about or from Scotland that will whet your appetite, in case you’re not quite ready to commit the next 10 years of your life to reading the Outlander series.

Because eventually our reading of GONE GIRL must come to an end, we have plenty of books lined up. One is Dylan Landis’s RAINEY ROYAL, the story of 14-year-old Rainey, who lives with her father, a jazz musician with a cultish personality, in a now-decaying brownstone. Her mother has abandoned the family, and Rainey fends off advances from her father's best friend while trying desperately to nurture her own creative drives and build a substitute family. Check out our review here. We’re also really psyched for Sarah Waters’s THE PAYING GUESTS, set in 1922 London. It’s a tense time: Ex-servicemen are disillusioned; the out-of-work and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, in a genteel Camberwell villa, life is about to be transformed as impoverished widow Mrs. Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, are obliged to take in lodgers. With the arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the “clerk class,” the routines of the house will be shaken up in unexpected ways. See the review here.

We have a total of 38 (wowwweee!) titles reviewed below, so be sure to check alll of them out!

Lastly, for those interested in graphic novels, be sure to check out GraphicNovelReporter.com's Picks for Fall 2014 bookshelf, where we've catalogued some of our favorite graphic novels coming your way from now until the end of the year! And yes, our GraphicNovelReporter.com team is VERY psyched and ready for New York Comic Con next week.

5 Things We’re Obsessed With at This Very Moment, in no particular order:
1) “Outlander”’s crazy mid-season finale cliffhanger
2) Taking free Myers-Briggs personality tests (turns out all that soul-searching we did in our early 20s was completely unnecessary)
3) Fall flannels (see: our Scottish obsession)
4) Everything Halloween!: candy in bulk, pop-up shops, Hocus Pocus on TV every night...
5) Gwen Stefani and Pharrell as the new coaches on “The Voice”

Nicole Sherman (Nicole@bookreporter.com) + Emily Hoenig (Emily@bookreporter.com)

Aubrey Glass has a collection of potential suicide notes --- just in case. And now, five years --- and five notes --- after leaving her hometown, Rachel’s the one who goes and kills herself. Aubrey can’t believe her luck. But Rachel’s death doesn’t leave Aubrey in peace and facing the future means confronting herself and a shattering truth. Aubrey must decide what will define her: what lies behind...or what waits ahead.

Click here to see if you were one of 50 lucky winners who will receive a copy of LAST TRAIN TO BABYLON.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for an excerpt.
- Click here to read more about the author, Charlee Fam.
- Click here for the author's Facebook.
- Click here for the author's Twitter.

When May Wuthrich accepted her friend’s advice and listened to the audiobook HATCHET by Gary Paulsen and narrated by Peter Coyote while driving from New York City to the Hamptons, she had no idea that it would launch an entirely new phase of her career. “We were hooked from that first book,” she said. “We were listening on a regular basis, and I got inspired.”

Now, almost eight years later, May is an experienced audiobook producer and director, working on books by such acclaimed authors as Rick Riordan, Jacqueline Woodson, Azar Nafisi and Mary Oliver.

Click here to read Part 1 of May’s "REAL TALK Publishing" interview, where she discusses the start of her audiobook career, her mentors and how she prepares for recording sessions. Keep an eye out for Part 2, which will go live next Wednesday, September 17th

Click here to read Part 2 of May's "REAL TALK Publishing" interview, where she talks about the audition process for narrators, how she chooses the music at the beginning and end of audiobooks and just how long it actually takes to record a 300-page book.

Click here to read Part 3 of May's "REAL TALK Publishing" interview, where she talks about her favorite audiobooks, why an emotional connection to a narrator and book is so important, and what she really thinks about home studios.

A Little Bit More About the "REAL TALK Publishing" Feature...

Over the next few months, we'll sit down with book editors, librarians, booksellers, children's literature professors, book cover designers, publicists, professional reviewers and more, giving you insight behind the books. Through interviews, guest posts and sometimes sneak peeks inside their offices, you'll get to learn more about the book industry and all the work that goes into creating some of the world's best written word.

RICKY ROUSE HAS A GUN by Jörg Tittel with illustrations by John Aggs (Graphic Novel)
Rick Rouse is a US Army deserter who, after running away to China, gets a job at Fengxian Amusement Park --- a family destination heavily “inspired” by Western culture, featuring Rambi, Ratman, Bumbo, and dozens of other original characters. The park’s general manager is convinced that Rick was destined to greet Fengxian customers, dressed as none other than Ricky Rouse. This original graphic novel is a relentless action comedy, a satire of US-China relations, a parody of Western entertainment, and a curious look at China. Reviewed by Alex Costello.

SUGAR SKULL by Charles Burns (Graphic Novel)
The long, strange trip that began in X'ED OUT and continued in THE HIVE reaches its mind-bending, heartbreaking end, but not before Doug is forced to deal with the lie he's been telling himself since the beginning. In this concluding volume, nightmarish dreams evolve into an even more dreadful reality.... Reviewed by Jeff Ayers.

BEETLE BOY by Margaret Willey (Young Adult, Fiction)
When he was seven, Charlie Porter never intended to become the world's youngest published author. He just wanted his father to stop crying. So he told him a story about a talking beetle --- a dumb little story his mother made up to make him feel better. (That was before she left and feeling "better" became impossible.) But Charlie's story not only made his father stop crying. It made him start planning. The story became a book, and then it became school events and book festivals, and a beetle costume, and a catchphrase --- "I was born to write!" Reviewed by Rebecca Czochor.

EGG & SPOON by Gregory Maguire (Young Adult, Fiction/Fantasy)
Elena Rudina lives in the impoverished Russian countryside. Her father has been dead for years. Her mother is dying, slowly, in their tiny cabin. And there is no food. But then a train arrives in the village, a train carrying untold wealth, a cornucopia of food, and a noble family destined to visit the Tsar in Saint Petersburg --- a family that includes Ekaterina, a girl who's Elena’s age. When the two girls’ lives collide, an adventure is set in motion, an escapade that includes mistaken identity, a monk locked in a tower, a prince traveling incognito, and Baba Yaga, witch of Russian folklore, in her ambulatory house perched on chicken legs. Reviewed by Emma Kantor.

NIGHT SKY by Suzanne and Melanie Brockmann (Young Adult 14+, Paranormal)
Skylar Reid’s world is turned upside down when Sasha, the little girl she babysits, is kidnapped and believed to be murdered. Then Dana, a girl with extreme abilities, roars into town on a motorcycle and claims that Sasha has a hormone in her blood that gives her special powers --- a hormone that the makers of a new drug called Destiny will murder to get their hands on. To top it all off, Dana says Skylar has the hormone too. When they discover Sasha might still be alive, Skylar must learn to embrace her newfound abilities…and fight Destiny. Reviewed by Rebecca Czochor.

RUMBLE by Ellen Hopkins (Young Adult, Fiction)
Matthew Turner doesn’t have faith in anything. Not in family --- his is a shambles after his younger brother was bullied into suicide. Not in so-called friends who turn their backs when things get tough. Not in some all-powerful creator who lets too much bad stuff happen. But when a horrific event plunges Matt into a dark, silent place, he hears a rumble…a rumble that wakes him up, calling everything he’s ever disbelieved into question. Reviewed by Cheritta J., Teen Board Member.

ACCIDENTS OF MARRIAGE by Randy Susan Meyers (Fiction)
Maddy fell in love with her husband, Ben, in part for his fiery passion. But now he lashes out at her. She vacillates between tiptoeing around him and asserting herself for the sake of their kids --- until the rainy day when they’re together in the car and Ben’s volatile temper leaves Maddy in the hospital fighting for her life. Reviewed by Donna Smallwood.

BEYOND THE PALE MOTEL by Francesca Lia Block (Mystery)
When Catt's husband leaves her and then her neighbor is brutally murdered, her carefully constructed L.A. life begins to unravel. Is her friend really the Hollywood Serial Killer's next victim, as Catt suspects? Or is the hunch further evidence of her dangerous slip from sanity and sobriety? Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

THE BONE CLOCKS by David Mitchell (Metaphysical Thriller)
From the author of CLOUD ATLAS comes another kaleidescopic masterwork, interweaving the stories of a fifteen-year-old runaway, a war reporter on the ground in Iraq, a Cambridge scholarship boy, and a sinister cabal of mystics. Their stories take us from the medieval Swiss Alps to the nineteenth-century Australian bush, from a hotel in Shanghai to a Manhattan townhouse in the near future, all somehow overlapping in moments of extraordinary action and wonder. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

BONES NEVER LIE: A Temperance Brennan Novel by Kathy Reichs (Thriller)
Years ago, Anique Pomerleau kidnapped and murdered a string of girls in Canada, then narrowly eluded capture by Dr. Temperance Brennan's team of investigators. Now, Pomerleau has resurfaced in the United States, linked to victims in Vermont and North Carolina. When another child is snatched, the reign of terror promises to continue --- unless Brennan can rise to the challenge and make good on her second chance to stop a psychopath. Reviewed by Roz Shea.

THE CHILDREN ACT by Ian McEwan (Fiction)
Two days after her husband of 30 years tells her he plans to have an affair, Fiona Maye, a High Court judge who regrets her childlessness, must decide whether or not to grant a hospital’s emergency request to give a blood transfusion to a 17-year-old boy dying of leukemia. He and his parents are Jehovah’s Witnesses who have refused the treatment on religious grounds. McEwan’s latest novel is a powerful reminder that one’s actions often have unforeseen repercussions. Reviewed by Michael Magras.

COSBY: His Life and Times by Mark Whitaker (Biography)
Published on the 30th anniversary of “The Cosby Show,” Mark Whitaker's book reveals the behind-the-scenes story of that groundbreaking sitcom as well as Bill Cosby’s extensive career in entertainment. But it also deals with professional setbacks and personal dramas --- from an affair that sparked public scandal to the murder of his only son, and the private influence of his wife of 50 years. Reviewed by Christine M. Irvin.

CRY FATHER by Benjamin Whitmer (Fiction)
Patterson Wells works alongside dangerous, desperate itinerant men as a tree clearer in disaster zones, and he’s still dealing with the loss of his young son. Writing letters to the boy offers solace, but the bottle gives more. In Colorado, Patterson stops to go fishing with an old acquaintance, only to find him in a meth-induced delirium with a woman tied up in the bathtub. Patterson tries to do the right thing, but in the lives of those he knows, violence and justice are strange, intoxicating bedfellows. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

A DEADLY WANDERING: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention by Matt Richtel (Social Science/Technology)
Matt Richtel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times, examines the impact of technology on our lives through the story of Utah college student Reggie Shaw, who killed two scientists while texting and driving. Richtel follows Reggie through the tragedy, the police investigation, his prosecution and, ultimately, his redemption. Reviewed by Alexis Burling.

THE DISTANCE by Helen Giltrow (Thriller)
Charlotte Alton is an elegant socialite who formerly lead a double life covering criminals' tracks for pay. When Simon Johanssen, an ex-special forces sniper turned killer-for-hire, and one of Charlotte's former clients, resurfaces with a new request, Charlotte again becomes embroiled in the seedy underworld she thought she'd left behind. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

TO DWELL IN DARKNESS by Deborah Crombie (Mystery)
Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his new murder investigation team are called to a deadly bombing at historic St. Pancras Station. As they being to gather the facts, they find that every piece of the puzzle yields an unexpected pattern, including the disappearance of a mysterious bystander. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

FESTIVE IN DEATH by J. D. Robb (Mystery)
Personal trainer Trey Ziegler was in peak physical condition --- if you didn’t count the kitchen knife lodged in his well-toned chest. Lieutenant Eve Dallas soon discovers a lineup of women who’d been loved and left by the narcissistic gym rat, but must set aside petty interests to break this case before Christmas. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

FIVE DAYS LEFT by Julie Lawson Timmer (Fiction)
Mara Nichols is determined to control her future after a devastating medical diagnosis, but she faces an impossible decision. Meanwhile, her online friend, Scott Coffman, is helplessly suffering the impending loss of a young foster child he loves. Little could either of them have expected how drastically their lives will change in five short days. Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon.

FOOL’S ASSASSIN: Book One of the Fitz and the Fool Trilogy by Robin Hobb (Fantasy)
FitzChivalry --- royal bastard and former king's assassin --- has left his life of intrigue at Buckkeep far behind. As far as the rest of the world knows, FitzChivalry Farseer is dead. Masquerading as Tom Badgerlock, Fitz is now married and leading the quiet life of a country squire with his beloved Molly. The only problem is the disappearance of his beloved childhood friend, the Fool. But for a former royal assassin, a quiet life is hard to maintain when old allegiances keep trying to pull him back and new enemies come calling. Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard.

THE GOLEM OF HOLLYWOOD by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman (Supernatural Mystery)
Newly reassigned to a Special Projects squad he didn’t even know existed, Detective Jacob Lev is sent to a murder scene far up in the hills of Hollywood Division. There is no body, only an unidentified head lying on the floor of a house. Seared into a kitchen counter nearby is a single word --- the Hebrew for 'justice' --- and, soon, all that Detective Lev has believed to be true about justice and the world will be upended. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

HAUNTED: A Hannah Smith Novel by Randy Wayne White (Thriller)
The house is historic, some say haunted. It is also slated to be razed and replaced by condos, unless Hannah Smith can do something about it. She’s been hired by a wealthy Palm Beach widow to prove that the house’s seller didn’t disclose everything he knew about the place, including its role in a bloody Civil War skirmish, and the suicides --- or were they murders? --- of two previous owners. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

INTERNATIONAL NIGHT: A Father and Daughter Cook Their Way Around the World by Mark Kurlansky and Talia Kurlanksy (Memoir)
Once a week in the Kurlansky home, Mark spins a globe and wherever his daughter's finger lands becomes the theme of that Friday night's dinner. Their tradition of International Night has afforded Mark an opportunity to share with Talia the recipes, stories and insights he has collected over more than 30 years of traveling the world writing about food, culture and history, and his charming pen-and-ink drawings, which appear throughout the book. Reviewed by Pauline Finch.

LOVELY, DARK, DEEP: Stories by Joyce Carol Oates (Fiction/Short Stories)
Joyce Carol Oates's latest collection of short stories maps the eerie darkness within us all. “A Book of Martyrs” reveals how the end of a pregnancy brings with it the end of a relationship. Fearful that her husband is “disappearing” from their life, a woman becomes obsessed with keeping him in her sight in “The Disappearing.” And in the title story, the elderly Robert Frost is visited by an interviewer who seems to know a good deal more about his life than she should. Reviewed by L. Whitney Richardson.

THE MARCO EFFECT: A Department Q Novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
When 15-year-old Marco discovers a dead body, he goes on the run from his gypsy clan. Meanwhile, Detective Carl Mørck discovers that a runaway teen may have crucial insight into his latest case. In an uncharacteristic twist for Mørck, the stony detective determines to solve the mystery and see if he can't save Marco in the process. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub and Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.

THE MINIATURIST by Jessie Burton (Historical Fiction)
Nella arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. When Johannes presents Nella with a cabinet-sized replica of their home, she contracts the services of a miniaturist --- an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations start to mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.

THE ORGANIZED MIND: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload by Daniel J. Levitin (Cognitive Psychology)
The information age is drowning us with an unprecedented deluge of data. In THE ORGANIZED MIND, Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, uses the latest brain science to demonstrate how some people excel amidst this overlaod --- and how readers can use their methods to regain a sense of mastery over the way they organize their homes, workplaces and time. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.

THE PAYING GUESTS by Sarah Waters (Historical Fiction)
It is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned; the out-of-work and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, life is about to be transformed as impoverished widow Mrs. Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, take in lodgers whose modern, "clerk class" ways troublingly contradict their own. Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon.

PRINCE HARRY: Brother, Soldier, Son by Penny Junor (Biography)
Prince Harry, one of the most popular members of the British royal family, has had a colorful life. After losing his mother at 12 years old, he spent his teenage years making questionable choices under intense international media scrutiny. As he's grown, he has distinguished himself through military service, flying helicopters for the RAF. As he reaches his 30th birthday, Prince Harry is proving himself a prince of the people. Reviewed by Carole Turner.

RAINEY ROYAL by Dylan Landis (Fiction)
Fourteen-year-old Rainey Royal lives with her father, a jazz musician with a cultish personality, in a now-decaying brownstone. Her mother has abandoned the family, leaving Rainey to fend off advances from her father's best friend and figure out how to be an artist and a person in such a broken world. Reviewed by Vivian Payton.

ROBERT B. PARKER’S BLIND SPOT: A Jesse Stone Novel by Reed Farrel Coleman (Mystery)
In Paradise, a young woman is found murdered, and her boyfriend --- a son of one of the town’s most prominent families --- is missing and presumed kidnapped. Though seemingly coincidental, there is a connection between a reunion of Jesse Stone’s old Triple-A team in New York City and the crimes back in Paradise. As Jesse hunts for the killer and for the missing son, it becomes clear that one of Jesse’s old teammates is intimately involved in the crimes. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

ROOMS by Lauren Oliver (Supernatural Mystery)
Wealthy Richard Walker has just died, leaving behind his country house full of rooms packed with the detritus of a lifetime. His estranged family has arrived for their inheritance, but they are not alone. Alice and Sandra, long-dead former residents, linger within the house and, when a new ghost appears and Richard’s troubled son starts communicating with her, the spirit and human worlds collide. Reviewed by Sam Glass.

THE SHORT AND TRAGIC LIFE OF ROBERT PEACE: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League by Jeff Hobbs (Biography)
When author Jeff Hobbs arrived at Yale University, he became fast friends with Robert Pearce, who would be his college roommate for the next four years. What follows is the heartfelt and riveting biography of Pearce, a talented young African-American man who escaped the slums of Newark for Yale University only to succumb to the dangers of the streets --- and of one’s own nature --- when he returned home. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.

SO WE READ ON: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures by Maureen Corrigan (Literary Criticism)
Maureen Corrigan, the book critic for NPR's "Fresh Air," points out that, while THE GREAT GATSBY may be one of the most popular novels in America, many of us first read it when we were too young to fully comprehend its power. Offering a fresh perspective on what makes GATSBY so great and utterly unusual, SO WE READ ON takes us into archives, high school classrooms, and even out onto the Long Island Sound to explore the novel's hidden depths. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.

STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel (Post-Apocalyptic Fiction)
One snowy night, a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. STATION ELEVEN charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor's first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

STONE MATTRESS: Nine Tales by Margaret Atwood (Fiction/Short Stories)
Margaret Atwood turns to short fiction for the first time since her 2006 collection, MORAL DISORDER, with nine tales of acute psychological insight and turbulent relationships. A recently widowed fantasy writer is guided through a stormy winter evening by the voice of her late husband in "Alphinland," the first of three loosely linked stories about the romantic geometries of a group of writers and artists. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

STRANGE SHORES: An Inspector Erlendur Novel by Arnaldur Indridason (Mystery)
When a young woman went missing in the woods outside of Reykjavik, she left behind a tempest of lies, betrayal and revenge. Decades later, Detective Erlendur reopens the case in pursuit of the woman, whose fate may be tied to his long-lost brother. But as Erlendur uncovers a story about the limits of human endurance, he realizes that many people would prefer their pasts to stay buried. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

TIGERMAN by Nick Harkaway (Thriller/Adventure)
Sergeant Lester Ferris is serving out his last weeks before retirement on the backwater island of Mancreu, a former British colony which now harbors a multinational array of shady businesses. When the island's fragile society erupts in violence, Ferris must rediscover the man of action he once was in order to salvage the unexpected life and friends he has made and come come to love. Reviewed by Roz Shea.

YOU MIGHT REMEMBER ME: The Life and Times of Phil Hartman by Mike Thomas (Biography)
Beloved comedic actor Phil Hartman is best known for his eight brilliant seasons on "Saturday Night Live," but his life was cut tragically short when he was shot to death while he slept by his jealous and intoxicated wife. YOU MIGHT REMEMBER ME is both a celebration of Hartman’s multi-faceted career and an exhaustively reported, warts-and-all examination of his often intriguing and sometimes troubled life. Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller.