WITTY, WELL-RESEARCHED take on self-acceptance and body image from “fat-o-sphere” bloggers offers fresh perspective. B PLUS

LESSONS FROM THE FAT-O-SPHERE: QUIT DIETING AND DECLARE A TRUCE WITH YOUR BODY
Perigee Books
2009

SARDONIC, RAUNCHY first novel follows a Hollywood techie’s mid-life crisis, professional and personal travails. B PLUS

BASED ON THE MOVIE: A NOVEL
Atria
2008

1931 HOLLYWOOD is the setting for a noir detective novel. Rich details of time, place get lost in too-complex plot. SOLID B

DEATH WAS IN THE PICTURE: A MYSTERY
Minotaur Books
2009

ALASKA NATIVE activist and politician looks at almost 70 years of changes in his homeland, and in Inupiat culture. A MINUS

FIFTY MILES FROM TOMORROW: A MEMOIR OF ALASKA AND THE REAL PEOPLE
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2008

FUNNY, FASCINATING, fact-filled look at invented languages from Esperanto to Klingon makes for a great beach read. SOLID A

IN THE LAND OF INVENTED LANGUAGES: ESPERANTO ROCK STARS, KLINGON POETS, LOGLAN LOVERS, AND THE MAD DREAMERS WHO TRIED TO BUILD A PERFECT LANGUAGE
Spiegel & Grau
2009

PRIVATE-EYE ROMP with wisecracking Latina detective scores on charm, originality, but the plot never catches fire. B MINUS

LIVING THE VIDA LOLA: A LOLA CRUZ MYSTERY (LOLA CRUZ MYSTERIES)
Minotaur Books
2009

THE FUNNIEST, most touching book ever written about instant ramen, sex addiction, and the meaning of life. A MINUS

THE RAMEN KING AND I: HOW THE INVENTOR OF INSTANT NOODLES FIXED MY LOVE LIFE
Gotham Books
2009

ORANGE COUNTY through the eyes of the creator of “Ask A Mexican!”; well-researched, irreverent, poignant, and real. B PLUS

ORANGE COUNTY: A PERSONAL HISTORY by Gustavo Arellano
New York: Simon and Schuster
September 2008

RICHLY DETAILED BIOGRAPHY of Victorian England’s greatest acting duo follows the public and private lives of each. A MINUS

A STRANGE EVENTFUL HISTORY: THE DRAMATIC LIVES OF ELLEN TERRY, HENRY IRVING, AND THEIR REMARKABLE FAMILIES by Michael Holroyd
New York: Farrar Straus Giroux
March 2009