A Peculiar Grace
By Jeffrey Lent
Grove, $15
A novel about a blacksmith in a small New England town who tries to learn how to love after years of isolation and family secrets.
In Europe: Travels Through the Twentieth Century
By Geert Mak
Vintage, $20
A collection of columns by a journalist who traveled through dozens of European countries on an assignment just before the millennium.
Black & White
By Dani Shapiro
Anchor, $13.95
In this novel, the daughter of a well-known New York photographer struggles with being her mother’s often-nude muse for so many years, as told through flashbacks when they reunite on the mother’s deathbed.
Warm Springs: Traces of a Childhood at FDR’s Polio Haven
By Susan Richards Shreve
Mariner, $13.95
In this coming-of-age story, the author describes the two years she spent as a child at a former spa in Georgia that was turned into a polio hospital.
Anything for Jane
By Cheryl Mendelson
Random House, $15
A novel centered on a dysfunctional Manhattan family and the people with whom they interact.
Off the Record
By Norman Pearlstine
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $15
The former editor-in-chief of Time Inc. reports on his experiences in the White House and freedom of the press.
Seizure
By Erica Wagner
Norton, $13.95
A dark novel about a woman forced to explore her past after her mother dies, having been told she was already dead.
Dorothy on the Rocks
By Barbara Suter
Algonquin, $13.95
A novel about a self-destructive, middle-age actress who wakes up with a hangover — and a hot, young man next to her.
The Amnesiac
By Sam Taylor
Penguin, $14
In this murder mystery, a man finds a 19th Century manuscript and discovers it may be the key to his own mysterious past.
A Diary of the Century: Tales From America’s Greatest Diarist
By Edward Robb Ellis
Union Square, $17.95
A journalist shares his thoughts from the diaries he kept for nearly 70 years.
Girls of Riyadh
By Rajaa Alsanea
Penguin, $14
In this novel, four Saudi women seek romance and independence within the strict constraints of their Islamic culture.
The Thief and the Dogs
By Naguib Mahfouz
Anchor, $12.95
The late Nobel laureate’s 1961 novel tells the story of an Egyptian freed from prison who returns to his murderous ways during his first day out.
American Armageddon
By Craig Unger
Scribner, $16
This account of the war in Iraq was originally published as “The Fall of the House of Bush.”
Away
By Amy Bloom
Random House, $14
In this novel, a desperate Russian woman who has recently made a new life for herself in New York drops everything to return to her former home when she learns the daughter she thought was murdered may be alive.
Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar — : Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes
By Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein
Penguin, $12
A comedic crash course in philosophy, tackling one major concept at a time through humorous explanation.
