A SAVVY AND SLY memoir of life in the trenches at a big-city fast food restaurant. Not always appetizing!  SOLID B

THE WILD, DREAMLIKE WORLDS of M. John Harrison span galaxies and centuries, woven with science and magic. SOLID B

A SPRAWLING EXISTENTIAL DETECTIVE novel that only Thomas Pynchon could have written. Wonderful and baffling. B PLUS

THE LASTING IMPACT OF WAR on four generations of an English family; everyday tragedies shown with compassion. SOLID B

HOME FIRES
Bloomsbury USA
2013

THE GLOBAL RECYCLING INDUSTRY, explored in unexpectedly entertaining depth. Informative, but never dry! B PLUS

JUNKYARD PLANET: TRAVELS IN THE BILLION-DOLLAR TRASH TRADE
Bloomsbury Press
2013

APPEALING NEW YORK cozy mystery draws on the publishing world and the city’s old-money elite for color. SOLID B

ALMOST TRUE CONFESSIONS : CLOSET SLEUTH SPILLS ALL
William Morrow & Company
2013

SEXUAL POLITICS IN the Arab world, presented in depth (via years of interviews), with compassion, with wit. B PLUS

SEX AND THE CITADEL
Pantheon
2013

TAUT, FAST-PACED THRILLER combines non-stop action, a gripping plot, and plenty of local Boston detail. B PLUS

BROTHERS AND BONES
James Hankins
2012

BEST WORST MOVIE ever? It might be THE ROOM; an inside account of how this glorious turkey was made delights. A MINUS

THE DISASTER ARTIST
Simon & Schuster
2013

A MONTAGE OF MEMORIES, a love letter to New York; Roger Rosenblatt’s latest memoir is bittersweet, thoughtful. B PLUS

THE BOY DETECTIVE : A NEW YORK CHILDHOOD
Ecco Press
2013