CHARMING AND HIGHLY READABLE overview of personal space travel is a great layperson’s introduction to the field. B PLUS

HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN SPACESHIP: THE SCIENCE OF PERSONAL SPACE TRAVEL
Plume
2009

TRULY OFFBEAT MEMOIR from an ex-greeting card writer in love with words. SOLID B

HOUSE OF CARDS: LOVE, FAITH, AND OTHER SOCIAL EXPRESSIONS
Riverhead Hardcover
2009

AIRY HIGH-SOCIETY ROMP about Manhattan’s rich and powerful is flossy, forgettable fun, great for bath or beach. SOLID B

QUEEN TAKES KING: A NOVEL
Simon & Schuster
2009

WISE, WITTY meditation on age, challenges of facing life’s challenges by REVIVING OPHELIA author Mary Pipher. B PLUS

SEEKING PEACE: CHRONICLES OF THE WORST BUDDHIST IN THE WORLD
Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
2009

GRITTY ENGLISH POLICE PROCEDURAL is long on atmosphere and character, a bit short on plot. Still a decent read. SOLID B

DEATH MESSAGE: A NOVEL OF SUSPENSE
Harper
2009

POIGNANT, QUIRKY little novel follows an elderly couple and their sick dog through a weekend of tension in NYC. B PLUS

HEROIC MEASURES
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
2009

TERRY PRATCHETT’S 37th Discworld novel, in which soccer comes to Ankh-Morpork and supernatural hijinks ensue. A MINUS

UNSEEN ACADEMICALS
Harper
2009

AN UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTER, the extraordinary Roma fortune-teller Lola, takes center stage in a flawed memoir. SOLID B

LOLA’S LUCK: MY LIFE AMONG THE CALIFORNIA GYPSIES
GemmaMedia
2009

STRANGE, UNSETTLING, frenetic real-life picaresque saga of middle-aged American medical tourists in China. B PLUS

LARRY’S KIDNEY: BEING THE TRUE STORY OF HOW I FOUND MYSELF IN CHINA WITH MY BLACK SHEEP COUSIN AND HIS MAIL-ORDER BRIDE, SKIRTING THE LAW TO GET HIM A TRANSPLANT–AND SAVE HIS LIFE
William Morrow
2009

WELL-CRAFTED BUT TRULY REPULSIVE thriller about a charismatic sociopath taking lottery winners hostage. C PLUS

RAVENS
Grand Central Publishing
2009