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THE WORLD THAT NEVER WAS, by Alex Butterworth

March 21, 2011

ENGAGING HISTORY of the early 20th century’s most influential anarchists, communists, Utopians, fringe thinkers.

Grade: B PLUS

THE WORLD THAT NEVER WAS: A TRUE STORY OF DREAMERS, SCHEMERS, ANARCHISTS, AND SECRET AGENTS
Pantheon
2010

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HALF BAKED, by Alexa Stevenson

March 20, 2011

THOUGHTFUL, WARM-HEARTED, and snarky memoir of high-risk parenting by the mother of an extremely premature baby.

Grade: SOLID B

HALF BAKED: THE STORY OF MY NERVES, MY NEWBORN, AND HOW WE BOTH LEARNED TO BREATHE
Running Press
2010

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INDIA BLACK, by Carol K. Carr

March 19, 2011

ROLLICKING HISTORICAL MYSTERY adds a salty madam of a heroine to the usual Victorian intrigue.

Grade: SOLID B

INDIA BLACK
Penguin/Berkley
2011

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THE NAIVE AND THE SENTIMENTAL NOVELIST, by Orhan Pamuk

March 18, 2011

A JOURNEY INSIDE the power and processes of reading and writing, delicately led by Turkish Nobelist Orhan Pamuk.

Grade: B PLUS

THE NAIVE AND THE SENTIMENTAL NOVELIST
Harvard University Press
2010

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CHARLIE CHAN: THE UNTOLD STORY… by Yunte Huang

March 17, 2011

CHARLIE CHAN LIVES in this utterly absorbing look at the real Hawai’i cop who inspired the fictional detective.

Grade: A MINUS

CHARLIE CHAN: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE HONORABLE DETECTIVE AND HIS RENDEZVOUS WITH AMERICAN HISTORY
W. W. Norton & Company
2010

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I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR BAND, by Julie Klausner

March 16, 2011

SNARK MEETS SELF-HELP in this comedian’s memoir of her past relationship disasters. Some laughs, some insights.

Grade: SOLID B

I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR BAND
Gotham
2010

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TWILIGHT AT THE WORLD OF TOMORROW, by James Mauro

March 15, 2011

INSIDE LOOK AT the 1939 World’s Fair contrasts its official optimism with corruption, terrorism, world war.

Grade: SOLID B

TWILIGHT AT THE WORLD OF TOMORROW
Ballantine
2010

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HOW I KILLED PLUTO, by Mike Brown

March 14, 2011

REMAPPING THE SOLAR SYSTEM with the astronomer whose discoveries led to Pluto’s demotion. Surprisingly funny!

Grade: B PLUS

HOW I KILLED PLUTO, AND WHY IT HAD IT COMING
Spiegel & Grau
2010

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LOUD IN THE HOUSE OF MYSELF, by Stacy Pershall

March 13, 2011

FUNNY/SAD/QUIRKY/HAUNTING memoir of a difficult childhood and coming of age as an outsider in rural Arkansas.

Grade: B PLUS

LOUD IN THE HOUSE OF MYSELF
W. W. Norton & Company
2011

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THE OCTOBER KILLINGS, by Wessel Ebersohn

March 12, 2011

INTRICATE SOUTH AFRICAN THRILLER contrasts the hunt for a serial killer, a tangle of post-apartheid politics.

Grade: B PLUS

THE OCTOBER KILLINGS
St. Martin's/Minotaur
2011

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