The Age of Conglomerates
By Thomas Nevins
Ballatine, $14
A good versus evil, futuristic novel taking place in 2048.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
By Junot Diaz
Riverhead, $14
In this Pulitzer Prize-winning work, a comically inept hero’s quest for love leads us deep into the blood-stained labyrinth of Dominican history.
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
By Tom Wolfe
Picador, $16
This rollicking chronicle is the book-length definition of what came to be known as the New Journalism.
Frida’s Bed
By Slavenka Drakulic
Penguin, $13
A fictionalized look at the life, and pain, of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.
Heart in the Right Place
By Carolyn Jourdan
Algonquin, $14.95
In this memoir, a Washington, D.C., lawyer returns to her Tennessee roots after her mother’s heart attack, taking over her receptionist job and learning about herself and her family.
Here At The End of the World We Learn To Dance
By Lloyd Jones
Dial, $12
A sensuous love story that alternates between two different time periods.
The Land of No
Right Angles
By Daphne Beal
Anchor, $13.95
This coming-of-age novel follows a young girl abroad in Nepal and the adventures she and her friends share.
Letters To a Young Teacher
By Jonathan Kozol
Three Rivers, $12.95
A public-school activist comments on education through letters to an inner-city Boston teacher.
Live A Little
By Kim Green
5 Spot, $13.99
When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, her closest relationships improve, which makes it hard for her to tell the truth when she learns she isn’t sick at all.
The Lotus Still Blooms: Sacred Buddhist Teachings for the Western Mind
By Joan Gattuso
Tarcher, $14.95
A simplification of Buddhist principles.
New Stories from the South 2008
Edited by ZZ Packer
Algonquin, $14.95
A collection of the best published stories by Southern writers.
Practicing: A Musician’s Return to Music
By Glenn Kurtz
Vintage, $13.95
A classical guitar prodigy recounts his journey back to the instrument that is the source of so much of his joy.
The Psychology of Genocide
By Steven K. Baum
Cambridge, $25.99
A study of the human behavior characterizing the patterns of hate that have claimed millions of lives over the years.
Steel Drivin’ Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend
By Scott Reynolds Nelson
Oxford University Press, $25
Often immortalized in ballads and folk tales, this work explores the real man behind the railroad legend.
The Street of a Thousand Blossoms
By Gail Tsukiyama
St. Martin’s Griffin, $14.95
Two Japanese brothers are greatly affected by World War II as they embark on their careers.
Um — Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean
By Michael Erard
Anchor, $14.95
The author explores “applied blunderology,” revealing the meaning of imperfect speech.
Waiting to Surface
By Emily Listfield
Washington Square, $14
With their marriage on the rocks, a woman’s husband is reported missing as the family looks for answers and tries to move on.
