CONCISE, ELEGANT, highly readable look at Vladimir Nabokov’s art and life by a prominent scholar. B PLUS

SPEAK, NABOKOV
Verso Books
2010

SPARE, ELOQUENT story of family dysfunction from a top young Brazilian novelist, here in deft translation. B PLUS

SYMPHONY IN WHITE
Texas Tech University Press
2010

DESMOND TUTU, Peace Nobelist and archbishop, writes simply and gracefully on ethics, religion, human goodness. B PLUS

MADE FOR GOODNESS: AND WHY THIS MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE
HarperOne
2010

EXPERTLY HANDLED chick lit tale of a woman’s choice to be her sister’s pregnancy surrogate. Touching, fun. B PLUS

GET LUCKY
Random House Publishing Group
2010

1903 NEW YORK is brought to vivid life in this ninth Molly Murphy private-eye novel, with Houdini as guest star. B PLUS

THE LAST ILLUSION (MOLLY MURPHY MYSTERIES)
Minotaur Books
2010

HORROR MASTER Peter Straub’s vivid tale of a supernatural event’s five decades of impact on a group of friends. B PLUS

A DARK MATTER
Doubleday
2010

ENGAGING SAGA of a young African American woman’s quest to learn which of three 40-somethings is her mother. B PLUS

TAKE YOUR PLEASURE WHERE YOU FIND IT
St. Martin’s Press
2010

SILLY, ENTERTAINING “weird news” compilation of stories about people who blamed their rash actions on God. B PLUS

GOD MADE ME DO IT: TRUE STORIES OF THE WORST ADVICE THE LORD HAS EVER GIVEN HIS FOLLOWERS
Sourcebooks, Incorporated
2010

TIGHTLY PLOTTED COZY, fifth in the Dixie Hemingway pet-sitter series, has memorable human and animal characters! B PLUS

RAINING CAT SITTERS AND DOGS: A DIXIE HEMINGWAY MYSTERY
Minotaur Books
2010

LOVELY, MEDITATIVE essays from a writer observing four decades of wilderness, humans and other animals in Maine. B PLUS

SETTLED IN THE WILD: NOTES FROM THE EDGE OF TOWN
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
2010