CLASSIC CARL HIASSEN! This cynical celebrity caper features a picaresque cast of misfits, twisty plot. A MINUS

STAR ISLAND
Knopf Publishing Group
2010

FASCINATING STUDY of North Korea’s internal propaganda offers nuanced perspective on the country’s worldview. SOLID B

THE CLEANEST RACE: HOW NORTH KOREANS SEE THEMSELVES AND WHY IT MATTERS
Melville House Publishing
2010

JOHN WATERS’S best book yet! A delightfully off-kilter collection of essays on his favorite people and things. A MINUS

ROLE MODELS
Farrar Straus Giroux
2010

SOME CHARMING PIECES (especially travel) in this second collection from Sloane Crosley, but not enough pizzazz. SOLID B

HOW DID YOU GET THIS NUMBER
Riverhead Books
2010

FASCINATING HISTORY of early forensic medicine is a compendium of great true crime with a science-y twist. SOLID A

THE POISONER’S HANDBOOK: MURDER AND THE BIRTH OF FORENSIC MEDICINE IN JAZZ AGE NEW YORK
Penguin Group (USA)
2010

MAGIC (SOVIET) REALISM in this little parable inspired by the endless lines of Moscow; truly touching moments. SOLID B

THE LINE
Putnam Adult
2010

PART WORLD WAR II SPY thriller, part proto-cyberpunk SF, part demon-haunted fantasy, completely fascinating. B PLUS

BITTER SEEDS
Tor Books
2010

DELIGHTFULLY COMPLEX gangster thriller is Thomas Perry at his finest. Seedy LA detail adds richness, texture. A MINUS

STRIP
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2010

FASCINATING, WELL RESEARCHED history of the Statue of Liberty is entertaining read, great scholarly resource. A MINUS

ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD: THE CREATION OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
Cornell University Press
2010

POINTED SATIRE of celebrity scientists, jet-set environmentalists is blunted a bit by unappealing protagonist. B PLUS

SOLAR
Nan A. Talese
2010