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THE MIND’S EYE, by Oliver Sacks

May 11, 2011

OLIVER SACKS CONSIDERS the neurology of visual crises with clarity, compassion, and a moving personal account.

Grade: B PLUS

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780307272089
Knopf
2010

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THE TRIAL, by Larry Thompson

May 10, 2011

MEDICAL/LEGAL THRILLER’S timely Big Pharma theme, vivid courtroom detail are sadly undermined by clunky prose.

Grade: B MINUS

THE TRIAL
St. Martin's
2011

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MERIT BADGES, by Kevin Fenton

May 9, 2011

QUIET, POWERFUL, POETIC, VIVID novel follows four Minnesota Gen Xer friends from junior high through their 30s.

Grade: A MINUS

MERIT BADGES
New Issues Poetry and Prose
2011

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HEADS YOU LOSE, by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward

May 8, 2011

WACKY META-MYSTERY is also a parody of dysfunctional collaborations, authors undermining each other. Good fun!

Grade: SOLID B

HEADS YOU LOSE
Putnam
2011

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ENDGAME: BOBBY FISCHER’S REMARKABLE RISE AND FALL, by Frank Brady

May 7, 2011

THOUGHTFUL BIOGRAPHY of the complex and troubled chess prodigy Bobby Fischer combines sympathy with insight.

Grade: B PLUS

ENDGAME: BOBBY FISCHER'S REMARKABLE RISE AND FALL -- FROM AMERICA'S BRIGHTEST PRODIGY TO THE EDGE OF MADNESS
Crown
2011

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A YOUNG MAN’S GUIDE TO LATE CAPITALISM, by Peter Mountford

May 6, 2011

MOODY, PICARESQUE TALE of disillusion, politics, finance, and love set against Bolivia’s 2005 elections.

Grade: SOLID B

A YOUNG MAN'S GUIDE TO LATE CAPITALISM
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Mariner
2011

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LONG SHOT, by Sylvia Harris

May 5, 2011

PIONEERING AFRICAN-AMERICAN JOCKEY shares her inspiring story of facing mental illness, addiction, homelessness.

Grade: B PLUS

LONG SHOT: MY BIPOLAR LIFE AND THE HORSES WHO SAVED ME
HarperCollins
2011

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DEATH OF A CHIMNEY SWEEP, by M.C. Beaton

May 4, 2011

SCOTLAND’S MOST ECCENTRIC DETECTIVE, Hamish Macbeth, is back with another taut mystery all snuggled up in cozy.

Grade: B PLUS

DEATH OF A CHIMNEY SWEEP
Grand Central Publishing
2011

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THE GOOD DAUGHTER, by Jasmin Darznik

May 3, 2011

AN IRANIAN-AMERICAN WRITER looks at her mother’s experiences, including marriage at age 13. Moving, revelatory.

Grade: B PLUS

THE GOOD DAUGHTER: A MEMOIR OF MY MOTHER'S HIDDEN LIFE
Grand Central Publishing
2011

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LONDON’S SINFUL SECRET, by Dan Cruickshank

May 2, 2011

RACY, ENGAGING, SCHOLARLY but never dry, this history of 18th-century London’s red-light spots is eye-opening.

Grade: B PLUS

LONDON'S SINFUL SECRET: THE BAWDY HISTORY AND VERY PUBLIC PASSIONS OF LONDON'S GEORGIAN AGE
St. Martin's
2010

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