Book reviews and more!

EVERYTHING IS PERFECT WHEN YOU’RE A LIAR, by Kelly Oxford

May 23, 2013

SCREENWRITER AND TWITTER CELEB Kelly Oxford shares wacky stories of her wild youth, snarky mommying.  SOLID B

Grade: SOLID B

EVERYTHING IS PERFECT WHEN YOU'RE A LIAR
HarperCollins/It Books
2013

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LITTLE GREEN, by Walter Mosley

May 22, 2013

SLEUTH EASY RAWLINS’S near death in a brutal crash adds a metaphysical perspective to this intricate LA noir.

Grade: B PLUS

LITTLE GREEN: AN EASY RAWLINS MYSTERY
Doubleday
2013

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A THOUSAND PARDONS, by Jonathan Dee

May 21, 2013

A SUBURBAN FAMILY SHATTERS in a time of crisis, but builds new futures in this sly comedy of manners.

Grade: B PLUS

A THOUSAND PARDONS
Random House
2013

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MAY I BE HAPPY, by Cyndi Lee

May 20, 2013

A YOGA TEACHER, BUDDHIST practitioner shares thoughts for women on making peace with body and mind. Candid!

Grade: B MINUS

MAY I BE HAPPY: A MEMOIR OF LOVE, YOGA, AND CHANGING MY MIND
Dutton
2013

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IS THIS TOMORROW, by Caroline Leavitt

May 19, 2013

A CHILD’S DISAPPEARANCE plays out against a backdrop of Cold War paranoia in this complex, deft historical.

Grade: A MINUS

IS THIS TOMORROW
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
2013

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LITTLE ELVISES, by Timothy Hallinan

May 18, 2013

MARVELOUS COMIC NOIR stars a sleuthing burglar embroiled with mobsters and old-school rock ‘n’ roll.

Grade: A MINUS

LITTLE ELVISES: A JUNIOR BENDER MYSTERY
Soho Crime
2013

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WEIRD LIFE, by David Toomey

May 17, 2013

EARTH’S STRANGEST LIFEFORMS and the hunt for other “extremophiles” on land, in ocean, in space.  Fun science!

Grade: B PLUS

WEIRD LIFE: THE SEARCH FOR LIFE THAT IS VERY, VERY DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN
W. W. Norton & Company
2013

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THE INGENIOUS GENTLEMAN AND POET FEDERICO GARCIA LORCA ASCENDS TO HELL, by Carlos Rojas (translated by Edith Grossman)

May 16, 2013

GLORIOUS, DREAMLIKE SPANISH novel riffs on the life and death of poet García Lorca.  Luminous new translation!

Grade: B PLUS

THE INGENIOUS GENTLEMAN AND POET FEDERICO GARCIA LORCA ASCENDS TO HELL
Yale University Press
2013

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THE MAGIC CIRCLE, by Jenny Davidson

May 15, 2013

GAMES, THEATER, MAGIC, and the tangled relationships of young Manhattan academics.  Absorbing, complex novel.

Grade: A MINUS

THE MAGIC CIRCLE
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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HIDDEN CITIES, by Moses Gates

May 14, 2013

URBAN EXPLORATION, FROM the catacombs of Paris to the bridges of New York, captured in an exciting memoir.

Grade: B PLUS

HIDDEN CITIES: TRAVELS TO THE SECRET CORNERS OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST METROPOLISES---A MEMOIR OF URBAN EXPLORATION
Penguin/Tarcher
2013

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