A LOOK INSIDE the underground newspaper revolution of the 1960s in this deeply researched (if a bit dry) book. SOLID B

SMOKING TYPEWRITERS: THE SIXTIES UNDERGROUND PRESS AND THE RISE OF ALTERNATIVE MEDIA IN AMERICA
Oxford University Press
2011

QUIRKY, LARGER-THAN-LIFE characters abound in this latest Wyoming picaresque from Tim Sandlin. SOLID B

LYDIA
Sourcebooks Landmark
2011

ENGROSSING LOOK AT some of Victorian England’s key figures and their fascination with erotica, sexual freedom. SOLID B

PLEASURE BOUND: VICTORIAN SEX REBELS AND THE NEW EROTICISM
W. W. Norton & Company
2011

INTRIGUING JAPANESE THRILLER centers around a complex plot to frame an average man for political assassination. SOLID B

REMOTE CONTROL
Kodansha USA
2011

DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY DRAMA from J. D. Mason is as well-crafted as ever, but even grimmer than her other books. SOLID B

SOMEBODY PICK UP MY PIECES
St. Martin’s Press
2012

AMBITIOUS, QUIRKY PARABLE of NJ suburbanites compelled to reenact LYSISTRATA’s sex strike feels a bit uneven. SOLID B

THE UNCOUPLING
Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
2011

FANS OF CHELSEA HANDLER will laugh at these stories about her many pranks and impostures; others might shrug. SOLID B

LIES THAT CHELSEA HANDLER TOLD ME
Grand Central Publishing
2011

AN EPISTOLARY ROMANCE for the social media era adds witty touches, some strong characterizations to its gimmick. SOLID B

SAVE AS DRAFT
Simon & Schuster
2011

INSIDE INDIA’S CHANGING society with an Indian-American expatriate journalist. Fascinating interviews, insights.

THE LAST THRILLER from the late, great William G. Tapply may lack polish, but has suspense and sizzle to spare.