DAZZLING, TOUCHING, BITTERSWEET, loving memoir of growing up at the epicenter of gay literary San Francisco. A MINUS

FAIRYLAND: A MEMOIR OF MY FATHER
Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
2013

1980s MANHATTAN AND ITS music scene (brilliantly revisited) and a “what if?” story about a woman’s choices. SOLID B

THE ORIGINAL 1982
William Morrow & Company
2013

A TOUGH, COMPASSIONATE WOMAN sleuth amid the beauty (and class divisions!) of Santa Barbara: cool new series! SOLID B

BLOOD ORANGE
Minotaur Books
2013

A COMPLICATED MARRIAGE and dysfunctional family of origin: unlikely sources of humor in witty, frank memoir. SOLID B

LIFE IN A MARITAL INSTITUTION: TWENTY YEARS OF MONOGAMY IN ONE TERRIFYING MEMOIR
St. Martin’s Press
2013

LOVE IN A HIGH-TECH FUTURE, bleak despite a century’s scientific advancement. Smart, emotionally engaging SF. B PLUS

LOVE MINUS EIGHTY
Orbit
2013

A CHINESE POET AND DISSIDENT’S beautiful, wrenching memoir of his political imprisonment. Vivid, haunting. A MINUS

FOR A SONG AND A HUNDRED SONGS : A POET’S JOURNEY THROUGH A CHINESE PRISON
New Harvest
2013

A VERY ENGLISH GHOST story, complete with family secrets and haunted house. Crisp writing, strong characters. B PLUS

THE SILENCE
Severn House
2013

A YEAR OF LIVING MARTHA-STYLE (Martha Stewart, that is) with the delightfully snarky Jen Lancaster. #beachread B PLUS

THE TAO OF MARTHA: MY YEAR OF LIVING; OR, WHY I’M NEVER GETTING ALL THAT GLITTER OFF OF THE DOG
NAL Trade
2014

GORGEOUS, LYRICAL FABLE by an influential Cuban novelist, newly (well!) translated—a shining Candide remix. B PLUS

FIREFLY
Archipelago
2013

A WORRYWART STATISTICIAN FINDS himself in the business of disaster consulting. Near-future satire with snap! SOLID B

ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW
Farrar
2013