A NURSE’S MEMOIR of her drug addiction and its consequences offers honesty, recovery wisdom, but a familiar tale. B MINUS

IMPAIRED: A NURSE’S STORY OF ADDICTION AND RECOVERY
Kaplan Publishing
2009

BREEZY, DETAIL-RICH BIO of pioneering fitness guru, early 20th-century tabloid mogul Bernarr McFadden. A MINUS #beachread

MR. AMERICA: HOW MUSCULAR MILLIONAIRE BERNARR MACFADDEN TRANSFORMED THE NATION THROUGH SEX, SALAD, AND THE ULTIMATE STARVATION DIET
HarperCollins Publishers
2009

INTERESTING, LIGHTHEARTED LOOK at changes in Ireland’s pub industry, and in the international “Irish pub” industry. SOLID B

PINT OF PLAIN: HOW THE IRISH PUB LOST ITS MAGIC BUT CONQUERED THE WORLD
Walker & Company
2009

BIG-HEARTED, CLEAR-EYED MEMOIR of a poor white Georgia childhood offers humor, vivid characters, lots of insight. SOLID B

THE CRACKER QUEEN: A MEMOIR OF A JAGGED, JOYFUL LIFE
Gotham
2009

SMART, MOPEY LAD-LIT with flashes of humor follows an angry blogger’s unrequited love for a brilliant older artist. B PLUS

GLOVER’S MISTAKE
Penguin Group (USA)
2009

NEAR-FUTURE HORRORS fill a spooky suite of science fiction short stories, set in a world beset by an alien plague. SOLID B

A IS FOR ALIEN
Subterranean Press
2009

ANOTHER QUIRKY POLICE PROCEDURAL from a Dutch master of the genre. Believable characters, taut plotting. SOLID B #beachread

DEKOK AND THE DEAD HARLEQUIN (INSPECTOR DEKOK) (INSPECTOR DEKOK INVESTIGATES)
Speck Pr
2009

JUST IN TIME FOR THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY, a well-researched oral history of Woodstock spotlights performers, fans. SOLID B

BACK TO THE GARDEN: THE STORY OF WOODSTOCK
Touchstone
2009

THE GREAT UK INDIE-ROCK NOVEL delivers spot-on but warmhearted satire on music geeks and fandom culture. B PLUS #beachread

THE ALTERNATIVE HERO
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
2009

WORLD WAR TWO MYSTERY from John Gardner has intriguing plot, spunky heroine, but seems a bit hasty in places. SOLID B

NO HUMAN ENEMY (SUZIE MOUNTFORD MYSTERIES)
Minotaur Books
2008