LYRICAL WRITING, wealth of detail are plusses in tale of rich, social New Yorkers; downside is meandering plot. SOLID B

THE PRIVILEGES
Random House Publishing Group
2010

CHARMINGLY WRITTEN tale of fae exiled to a mundane modern world is evocative, spooky, but a bit formulaic. SOLID B

EXCEPT THE QUEEN
Roc
2010

GRIMLY EVOCATIVE but oddly flat book about a desert town haunted by fears of aliens, apocalypse. SOLID B

WORMWOOD, NEVADA
St. Martin's Press
2009

ENGAGINGLY WRITTEN look at how the brain sees in 3-D by a scientist who lacked that ability until her late 40s. SOLID B

FIXING MY GAZE: A SCIENTIST’S JOURNEY INTO SEEING IN THREE DIMENSIONS
Basic Books
2009

CHARMING, IF SLIGHT, story of a very English boy coping with the woes of his French and Bangladeshi parents. SOLID B

CORNER SHOP
St. Martin's Press
2009

INFORMATIVE LOOK AT ANTI-AGING medicine and technology reports on cutting-edge research in a flip, breezy tone. SOLID B

ETERNITY SOUP: INSIDE THE QUEST TO END AGING
Random House USA Inc
2010

SWEET, IF A BIT SLIGHT, memoir about a 40-something urbanite going home to her Mennonite Brotherhood family. SOLID B

MENNONITE IN A LITTLE BLACK DRESS: A MEMOIR OF GOING HOME
Henry Holt & Company
2009

FAST-PACED WALL STREET THRILLER is rich in insider detail, twists and turns. Characterization a bit flat, alas. SOLID B

TOP PRODUCER
St. Martin’s Press
2009

SWEEPING NOVEL of 40 years in the rock-band business has tons of insider detail, but old-fashioned prose style. SOLID B

EVENING’S EMPIRE
Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
2010

FOLKSY FABLE of family secrets in upstate New York recalls early John Irving, Carolyn Chute but lacks oomph. SOLID B

THE LITTLE GIANT OF ABERDEEN COUNTY
Grand Central Publishing
2010