Richard Wright: The Life and Times
By Hazel Rowley
University of Chicago Press, $22.50
The biography of a man who began life in a Mississippi shack, made his way to the South Side of Chicago and turned himself into an internationally acclaimed author.
Leap! What Will We Do With the Rest of Our Lives?
By Sara Davidson
Ballatine, $15
As a follow-up to her book about the Baby Boomer generation 30 years ago, the author explores the possibilities facing Boomers.
The Tenderness of Wolves
By Stef Penney
Simon & Schuster, $15
A mystery and historical romance set in 1867 Canada.
Brick Lane
By Monica Ali
Scribner, $15
This novel follows Nazneen, a Muslim girl from a Bangladeshi village who moves to London after an arranged marriage.
My Father’s Secret War
By Lucinda Franks
Miramax, $24.95
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author is surprised to discover her father was a secret agent for the Allies in World War II.
The Fish Can Sing
By Halldor Laxness
Vintage, $14
Originally published in 1957, this novel by the Nobel Prize-winning author is set in Iceland and tells of a young boy’s encounter with a famous singer.
Nada
By Carmen Laforet
Modern Library Classics, $14
A new translation by Edith Grossman of the classic post-Civil War Spanish novel, originally published in 1944.
A Curious Earth
By Gerard Woodward
Norton, $14.95
A novel about an older man who searches for a new life after his wife’s death.
Because the Rain
By Daniel Buckman
Picador, $15
This crime novel brings together a Chicago police officer, a Vietnam War veteran and a call girl.
A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants
By Jaed Coffin
Da Capo, $16
This coming-of-age memoir chronicles a New England man’s journey to Thailand to be ordained as a Buddhist monk.
Angelica
By Arthur Phillips
Random House, $14
Set in 1880s London, this novel tells a family’s haunting ghost story from multiple perspectives.
Sweet: An Eight-Ball Odyssey
By Heather Byer
Riverhead, $15
The memoir of a movie executive who entered the late-night pool world as an escape from the pressures of her job.
Perfect, Once Removed: When Baseball Was All the World to Me
By Phillip Hoose
Walker, $10.95
In this memoir about the love for baseball, a young boy learns his cousin is the famous Yankee pitcher Don Larsen.
Matters of Honor
By Louis Begley
Ballatine, $15
A novel chronicling the friendship of three young men who first meet at Harvard University in the 1950s and spend many years struggling with their identities.
The Double Bind
By Chris Bohjalian
Vintage, $14.95
A social worker becomes obsessed with the life and work of a dead photographer in this novel.
Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World
By Margaret MacMillan
Random House, $17
Chronicles the 1972 summit in Beijing that transformed the relationship between the U.S. and China.
