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CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

June 9, 2011

LIGHTHEARTED ROMANTIC COMEDY stars a jaded heroine and the golden boy of a hilariously ridiculous Texas town.

Grade: SOLID B

CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE
HarperCollins
2011

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HISTORY OF A SUICIDE: MY SISTER’S UNFINISHED LIFE, by Jill Bialosky

June 8, 2011

A SISTER’S SHORT LIFE, and her suicide at age 21, are explored by a writer in this poetic, touching memoir.

Grade: B PLUS

HISTORY OF A SUICIDE: MY SISTER'S UNFINISHED LIFE
Atria
2011

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MEDICAL MUSES, by Asti Hustvedt

June 7, 2011

ENGROSSING HIDDEN HISTORY of three 19th-century Frenchwomen whose cases inspired modern neurology, psychology.

Grade: B PLUS

MEDICAL MUSES: HYSTERIA IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY PARIS
W. W. Norton & Company
2011

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ONE WAS A SOLDIER, by Julia Spencer-Fleming

June 6, 2011

RETURNING VETERANS’ ANGUISH, challenges are at the core of this complex, thoughtful mystery, 7th in a series.

Grade: A MINUS

ONE WAS A SOLDIER
St. Martin's
2011

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TITANIC THOMPSON: THE MAN WHO BET ON EVERYTHING, by Kevin Cook

June 5, 2011

FASCINATING BIOGRAPHY of the old-time extreme gambler “Titanic” Thompson, inspiration for GUYS AND DOLLS.

Grade: SOLID B

TITANIC THOMPSON: THE MAN WHO BET ON EVERYTHING
W. W. Norton & Company
2010

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THE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE DETECTIVE CROSSES THE LINE, by Richard Yancey

June 4, 2011

HAPLESS, NEUROTIC SLEUTH Teddy Ruzak is back with  another complicated (and less lighthearted than usual) case.

Grade: SOLID B

THE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE DETECTIVE CROSSES THE LINE
St. Martin's/Minotaur
2011

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SPENT, by Avis Cardella

June 3, 2011

A COMPULSIVE SHOPPER shares her story in this admirably candid memoir. Vivid, if skimpy on larger insights.

Grade: SOLID B

SPENT: MEMOIRS OF A SHOPPING ADDICT
Little, Brown
2010

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MECHANIQUE, by Genevieve Valentine

June 2, 2011

A STEAMPUNK CYBORG CIRCUS roams a postapocalyptic world in a dreamlike, poetic, vividly imagined tale.

Grade: B PLUS

MECHANIQUE
Prime
2011

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THE TELL-TALE BRAIN, by V. S. Ramachandran

June 1, 2011

A MASTERFUL OVERVIEW of cognitive neuroscience and the wonders of the human brain; richly informative for all.

Grade: A MINUS

THE TELL-TALE BRAIN: A NEUROSCIENTIST'S QUEST FOR WHAT MAKES US HUMAN
W. W. Norton & Company
2011

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