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INHERITANCE by Sharon Moalem

May 21, 2014

A DOCTOR AND GENETICS RESEARCHER’S informal overview of how our environment can affect our gene expression. SOLID B

Grade: SOLID B

INHERITANCE: HOW OUR GENES CHANGE OUR LIVES---AND HOW OUR LIVES CHANGE OUR GENES
Grand Central Publishing
2014

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AUTHORITY by Jeff VanderMeer

May 20, 2014

AS THE COMMAND POST outside the mysterious Area X decays, eerie things are happening. Thrilling, uncanny SF! B PLUS

Grade: B PLUS

AUTHORITY
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2014

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HEMP BOUND by Doug Fine

May 19, 2014

CHATTY TOUR OF WORLDWIDE industrial hemp production points to future opportunities for US farmers, factories. SOLID B

Grade: SOLID B

HEMP BOUND: DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT LINES OF THE NEXT AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
Chelsea Green
2014

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SPENT by Antonia Crane

May 18, 2014

THOUGHTFUL, ELOQUENT MEMOIR of a writer’s day jobs in sex work and in human services work. Stunning, raw! B PLUS

Grade: B PLUS

SPENT: A MEMOIR
Rare Bird Books
2014

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THE DEVIL I KNOW by Claire Kilroy

May 17, 2014

WICKEDLY CLEVER SATIRE takes on Ireland’s “Celtic Tiger” boom and bust, along with love, death, metaphysics. B PLUS

THE DEVIL I KNOW
Grove Press
2014

Grade: B PLUS

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THE DEVIL I KNOW by Claire Kilroy

May 16, 2014

WICKEDLY CLEVER SATIRE takes on Ireland’s “Celtic Tiger” boom and bust, along with love, death, metaphysics. B PLUS

Grade: B PLUS

THE DEVIL I KNOW
Black Cat Books
2014

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FAMILY LIFE by Akhil Sharma

May 15, 2014

GENTLY DEVASTATING NOVEL tells the story of a family shaken by emigration, and by sudden tragedy. Amazing! SOLID A

Grade: SOLID A

FAMILY LIFE
W. W. Norton & Company
2014

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FROM MOON CAKES TO MAO TO MODERN CHINA by Zhu Fayuan

May 14, 2014

AN AMBITIOUS OVERVIEW OF CHINESE civilization yields a loosely assembled grab bag of fascinating information. SOLID B

FROM MOON CAKES TO MAO TO MODERN CHINA : AN INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE CIVILIZATION
CN Times Books
2014

Grade: SOLID B

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THE FIRST TRUE LIE by Marina Mander

May 13, 2014

SAD, THOUGHTFUL NOVEL follows a seven-year-old Italian boy through a major life crisis. Beautifully observed. B PLUS

THE FIRST TRUE LIE
Hogarth
2014

Grade: B PLUS

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MR. BOARDWALK by Louis Greenstein

May 12, 2014

ATLANTIC CITY IN its 1970s heyday comes alive in this richly evocative novel of love, loss, and the boardwalk. B PLUS

MR. BOARDWALK
New Door Books
2014

Grade: B PLUS

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