WILL EISNER, dean of American comic book arts, is profiled in this readable, meticulously researched biography. B PLUS

WILL EISNER: A DREAMER’S LIFE IN COMICS
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
2010

ENGAGING LOOK at mathematical misinformation and disinformation challenges our critical thinking skills. A MINUS

PROOFINESS: THE DARK ARTS OF MATHEMATICAL DECEPTION
Viking Books
2010

CHARLIE MUFFIN’S BACK as the shambling counterspy copes with crises at Moscow’s UK embassy, and in his own life. B PLUS

RED STAR RISING
St. Martin’s Press
2010

PROFESSIONAL CRANKYPANTS Jen Lancaster’s latest comic memoir follows her through a quixotic quest for culture. SOLID B

MY FAIR LAZY: ONE REALITY TELEVISION ADDICT’S ATTEMPT TO DISCOVER IF NOT BEINGA DUMB ASS IS THE NEW BLACK OR A CULTURE-UP MANIFESTO
New American Library
2010

LATEST PIRATE NOVEL in Arturo Perez-Reverte’s Alatriste series is long on historical detail, short on action. SOLID B

PIRATES OF THE LEVANT
Putnam Adult
2010

JOURNALIST’S MEMOIR of a wine trip with her hotelier father takes the “fun” right out of “dysfunctional”. B MINUS

CORKED
Grand Central Publishing
2010

CRISP WRITING, CLARITY of focus distinguish memoir by a mother of her son’s complex neuro/psychological illness. B PLUS

THE BOY WHO LOVED TORNADOES
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
2010

EASYGOING YET COMPREHENSIVELY researched, this history of the Beat movement and its writers is a treasure. A MINUS

THE TYPEWRITER IS HOLY: THE COMPLETE, UNCENSORED HISTORY OF THE BEAT GENERATION
Free Press
2010

THE MOST AMBITIOUS time-travel novel ever written? Probably. The sequel to BLACKOUT is a triumph. A MINUS

ALL CLEAR
Random House Publishing Group
2010

GREECE IS THE VIVIDLY drawn setting for this latest World War II thriller from master of the genre Alan Furst. B PLUS

SPIES OF THE BALKANS
Random House
2010