Ian Frazier
Frazier’s dense and fascinating look at Siberia from seven trips over two decades makes a nowhere place into somewhere. Most often associated with gulag camps and cold, Siberia is as as vast and varied hunk of land as the US. Starting with his early fascination with the country, …
Graeme Kent
Kent has managed to create one of the rarest of novels. Set in the Solomon Islands in the 1960s as colonial rule is disintegrating, many of the bright boys are given a European education in preparation to take over control of the country. These men vacillate between their …
Michael Robertson
Robertson’s first book, The Baker Street Letters, had an excellent premise. Two brothers, both barristers, set up shop at 221 Baker St. Part of their lease stipulates that they must answer all letters written to Sherlock Holmes with a form letter. The younger brother, Nigel, starts reading …
Andrew Moore
I find something incredibly satisfying about Moore’s photos of a decaying post-apocalyptic Detroit. While the building are crumbling to nothing, nature is reasserting herself. Man has not conquered nature, nor ever will. We may be doing our damnedest to overpopulate and pollute the planet, but nature will have …
Ann Cleeves
The first in her Shetland Island thrillers, Cleeves’ story is dark and gripping. The isolation, small-town atmosphere and like of privacy on the tiny island add to the tense atmosphere and ominous air. Suspicion over the death of two local girls bounces from one resident to the other, …
Alice Loweecey
Written by an actual former nun, Force of Habit is the first in an excellent new series from Midnight Ink. Guilia Falcone, an escapee from the sisterhood, finds her new secretarial job for a private detective to be a lot more adventure than she had planned for. The …
Eric Brende
There is something so alluring about the idea of just chucking it all, turning it all off, throwing it all away. Eric and Mary Brende decide to do just that. With only a few thousand dollars, they rent a house in a rural Amish-ish community. They make do …
Josh Kilmer-Purcell
This is one of those books that has me vacillating wildly between seething jealousy and abject horror. When Josh and Brent, overworked Manhattanites, find the perfect old mansion for a song it seems like their dreams have come true. The first months of farming and spending weekends at …
thebeautybrains.com
Yes, yes you can. But the the lip balm question is only one of hundreds in this fascinating little book. Full of delightfully refreshing skepticism, various beauty products and myths are put through the rigors of scientific inquiry. Not surprisingly, most claims by the beauty industry are either false …
Mark Boyle
With our current economy a mess, the growing realization that we as a society buy and waste a ton of stuff and the desire for a simpler lifestyle, Boyle’s book and site have garnered immense amounts of attention. By slowly paring down his life, Boyle becomes focused on …
Karen Bergreen
A perfect blend of mystery, chick-lit, tension and snark. Bergreen’s heroine (of sorts) Alice acts like a real person. She holds grudges, creates fantasies and often does nonsensical and stupid things. But they all make their own wacky, forgivable sense. Out of work and looking to occupy herself, …
Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio
Photographers Menzel and D’Aluisio have outdone themselves – again – with their fantastic new book What I Eat. Their incredible work was first brought to my attention through their book Material World. The husband and wife pair bring make the most mundane exotic and …
The theme-song for those of us who REALLY HATE being interrupted when we’re reading a book:
McSweeney’s
Sheer silliness for the well-read and deeply snarky. Entries include
…Thirteen Writing Prompts: Imagine if your favorite character form nineteenth-century fiction had been born without thumbs. Then write a short story about them winning the lottery.
Klingon Fairy Tales: There was an old woman who lived in a shoe
Stephen Fry
A true Renaissance man, actor and comedian Stephen Fry has written a wonderful biography of his childhood. Mostly set in his childhood of boarding schools, Fry tells about the loneliness of being gay and British, his love of music, family problems and eventual life of crime. Brilliant and …
Edward Ugel
It is a bit sad how many Americans use the phrase “when I win the lottery…” before expressing a dream or desire. What is surprising is how many people do win the lottery – and what a lousy deal it often is. Many states don’t allow lump-sum payments. …
