SEAMY, SORDID, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN 1930s noir from Megan Abbott. Fact-based plot pinches a bit, but wow. A MINUS #beachread

BURY ME DEEP: A NOVEL
Simon & Schuster
2009

CHARMING, TOUCHING funny memoir by a 20-something who found her path to cooking after a stroke. Great recipes, too! A MINUS

COOKING AND SCREAMING: FINDING MY OWN RECIPE FOR RECOVERY
Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
2009

A LOOK AT STAMP COLLECTING branches out to a meditation on mid-life crises, infidelity, and fear of tall buildings. A MINUS

THE ERROR WORLD: AN AFFAIR WITH STAMPS
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)
2009

THE GREATEST MULTICULTURAL SPACE OPERA ever written continues with this gritty, action-packed adventure. A MINUS #beachread

SLY MONGOOSE
Tor Books
2008

THE SCIENCE OF SEEING presented in engaging, witty prose. Rich in detail, yet clear enough for everyone to enjoy. A MINUS

NATURAL HISTORY OF SEEING
Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
2008

ALASKA NATIVE activist and politician looks at almost 70 years of changes in his homeland, and in Inupiat culture. A MINUS

FIFTY MILES FROM TOMORROW: A MEMOIR OF ALASKA AND THE REAL PEOPLE
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2008

THE FUNNIEST, most touching book ever written about instant ramen, sex addiction, and the meaning of life. A MINUS

THE RAMEN KING AND I: HOW THE INVENTOR OF INSTANT NOODLES FIXED MY LOVE LIFE
Gotham Books
2009

RICHLY DETAILED BIOGRAPHY of Victorian England’s greatest acting duo follows the public and private lives of each. A MINUS

A STRANGE EVENTFUL HISTORY: THE DRAMATIC LIVES OF ELLEN TERRY, HENRY IRVING, AND THEIR REMARKABLE FAMILIES by Michael Holroyd
New York: Farrar Straus Giroux
March 2009

SPOOKY TALE outlines a grim near-future in spare, simple language reminiscent of Palahniuk, early Stephen King. A MINUS

THE SUICIDE COLLECTORS by David Oppegaard
New York: St. Martin’s Press
December 2008

20th-CENTURY FABLE of a black family and community in Oklahoma, told in rich, lyrical language. Vivid characters. A MINUS

LIFE IS SHORT BUT WIDE by J. California Cooper
New York: Doubleday
March 2009