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EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, by Shelly Mazzanoble

February 19, 2012

HUMOROUS LITTLE BOOK bridges the worlds of self-help and gaming; amid the jokes are some surprising insights.

Grade: SOLID B

EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
Wizards of the Coast
2011

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UNORTHODOX, by Deborah Feldman

February 18, 2012

CANDID AND ENGROSSING memoir of a young woman’s decision to leave New York’s Satmar Hasidic Jewish community.

Grade: B PLUS

UNORTHODOX: THE SCANDALOUS REJECTION OF MY HASIDIC ROOTS
Simon and Schuster
2012

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HOLIDAY (OBSERVED)

With apologies to Franklin P. Adams, and to Messrs. Tinker, Evers, and Chance–

These are the gladdest of possible words:

“Pitchers and catchers reporting today!”

Baseball fans’ hearts sent a-soaring like birds–

“Pitchers and catchers reporting today!”

The drear of your office, or doldrums of class time

Will soon be cheered up by our national pastime;

Winter’s not over, but Spring’s on its way–

“Pitchers and catchers reporting today!”

$10,000 IN SMALL, UNMARKED PUZZLES, by Parnell Hall

February 17, 2012

PUZZLE LADY CORA Felton sleuths again, in a mystery that involves blackmail, puzzles, and one of her many exes.

Grade: B PLUS

$10,000 IN SMALL, UNMARKED PUZZLES
St. Martin's/Minotaur
2012

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IN MALICE, QUITE CLOSE by Brandi Lynn Ryder

February 16, 2012

ART-WORLD SOAP OPERA is a compulsively readable pageturner depite its over-the-top melodramatic plot.

Grade: SOLID B

IN MALICE, QUITE CLOSE
Viking
2011

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THE SHAKESPEARE THEFTS, by Eric Rasmussen

February 15, 2012

ROBBERIES, FORGERIES, DRAMA abound in this history of the Shakespeare First Folio, a Holy Grail among books.

Grade: SOLID B

THE SHAKESPEARE THEFTS: IN SEARCH OF THE FIRST FOLIOS
Palgrave Macmillan
2011

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BOHEMIAN GIRL, by Terese Svoboda

February 14, 2012

DARK AND DREAMLIKE novel follows a young girl’s harrowing 1861 journey across the US’s western frontiers.

Grade: SOLID B

BOHEMIAN GIRL
University of Nebraska Press
2011

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THE RAGGED EDGE OF THE WORLD, by Eugene Linden

February 13, 2012

INTENSELY ABSORBING ACCOUNT by a veteran traveler of technology’s impact on geographically isolated cultures.

Grade: B PLUS

THE RAGGED EDGE OF THE WORLD: ENCOUNTERS AT THE FRONTIERS WHERE MODERNITY, WILDLANDS AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLE MEET
Viking
2011

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FATHERMOTHERGOD, by Lucia Greenhouse

February 12, 2012

A WOMAN’S PAINFUL tale of clashes with her folks’ anti-medicine Christian Science beliefs, and her mom’s cancer.

Grade: B PLUS

FATHERMOTHERGOD: MY JOURNEY OUT OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
Crown
2011

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MURDER ON MUSIC ROW, by Stuart Dill

February 11, 2012

LOTS OF INSIDER DETAIL about the country music industry is the saving grace of this debut Nashville mystery.

Grade: SOLID B

MURDER ON MUSIC ROW
John F. Blair
2011

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