The Dinner

The Dinner 
by Herman Koch
Hogarth, 2012. 292 pgs. Fiction


The reader is lead through a four course meal by the decidedly unreliable narrator, Mr. Lohman, as he negotiates a ‘small’ family problem with his brother. As Mr. Lohman captures the reader’s trust with sly jabs at the upper-class and witty complaints, he slowly reveals his own history and the real trouble in his family. The narrator tries to uncover only what he wants his readers to see, but it becomes impossible to keep ignoring the strange contradictions in his story. What the reader glimpses through the cracks is both thrilling and disturbing.

 Hailed as the ‘European Gone Girl’, the Dinner doesn’t disappoint. Most thrillers capture the reader’s attention through fast-paced, action packed plotlines with young, glamorous protagonists and clearly defined villains. Not so here. The Dinner thrills because of its masterful storytelling, which slowly and creepily reveals the hero and the villain to be the same person. This is the sort of book that worms its way into your subconscious, so a small part of you will always think: people can justify anything to themselves.

 - JM

Norwegian by Night

Norwegian by Night
by Derek B. Miller
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.  290 pgs. Mystery

When 82-year old Sheldon Horowitz finds himself an uneasy transplant to Norway, living with his granddaughter and her new husband, he doesn't have much time to reflect on his situation before he is thrust into the role of protector of a young boy from the upstairs apartment whose mother has been murdered practically in front of his eyes. Leaving his granddaughter a cryptic note about "lighting out for the territories," Sheldon and the young boy must avoid the killers, one of whom is the boy's father, and the police who may unwittingly hand the boy over to his dad. Multiple perspectives show the two heading directly into danger when they think they will soon be safe. Even more engaging than the suspense of the story, though, is Sheldon's mental and emotional journey as he simultaneously travels through his past with his deceased wife, a friend from next door who has passed away, and most importantly, with his son who was killed in Vietnam. Rich in philosophy, love, regret, and hope, Norwegian by Night is not just one of the best mysteries of 2013, but one of the best books.

LW

The World Until Yesterday

The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn From Traditional Societies? 
By Jared Diamond
Viking, 2012. 499 pgs. Nonfiction

 In his previous bestsellers (Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse), Jared Diamond has discussed his theories on why some cultures modernized more quickly than others. In The World Until Yesterday he takes a much more personal tone, describing what he has learned from those people of the world who have remained untouched by the rise of modern societies.

Having spent decades living with and studying traditional cultures in places like Papua New Guinea, the Amazon, and Kalahari, Diamond has vast catalog of personal experiences to draw upon. He provides descriptions of how these primitive peoples deal with each other, strangers, conflict, child-rearing, the elderly, danger, religion, language, health, and death. I have truly enjoyed Jared Diamond’s previous works and I enjoyed a great deal of this one. The first-hand accounts were by far the best parts and overshadowed some of the more dry portions of the book.

CZ

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker

Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker 
By Jennifer Chiaverini
Dutton, 2013. 356 pgs. Historical Fiction

Elizabeth Keckley was born a slave, but thanks to her skills as a dressmaker she was able to purchase her freedom. Eventually she worked her way to Washington D.C. and becomes one of the most sought after ‘modistes’ in the city. After Lincoln’s election, Elizabeth was hired by First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. The two women began their relationship on a professional level, but Mrs. Lincoln comes to rely heavily on Elizabeth’s calming influence and steady support as she navigates the trials of being the First Lady during a civil war, grieves over the loss of her son,and later as she survives the horrors of her husband’s assassination.

In Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker, Jennifer Chiaverini gives us what the best historical fiction should, a new perspective on familiar history. Elizabeth’s intimate access to the First Family provides a very personal and female version for the American Civil War. This is a standout addition to the vast amount of literature dealing with the Lincolns.

CZ

The Golem and the Jinni

The Golem and the Jinni
by Helene Wecker
HarperCollins, 2013.  486 pgs. Fantasy

In this remarkably accomplished first volume, Helene Wecker brings to bright life two mythical characters in turn of the century New York.  Chava the golem was created as wife to a man emigrating from Poland to the United States, who dies just after he awakens her.  She arrives in New York alone and totally lost until a rabbi sees her nature and lets her into his home.  Ahmad, the jinni, has been imprisoned in a copper jar and is accidentally released from the bottle but not from his unknown master by a Syrian tinsmith who takes him on as an apprentice.  The apprentice soon outstrips the master and the golem works in a bakery where she has to conceal her extraordinary strength and speed.  Chava and Ahmad meet.  She sees a man with a face of flame, and he sees that she is made of clay.  Against all odds they become friends, and wander the streets of New York together during the night when neither has need of sleep.  The city reveals itself to them, as do the immigrant populations they move among as carefully as they can. A terrifying menace from the old country threatens them both, as do their own differences and abilities. Not much more can be said without ruining this touching and terrifying story, but trust me that you will fly through the book wishing it would not end while desperately needing to know the ending.

LW

The Inside Ring

The Inside Ring
by Mike Lawson
Grove Press, 2005.  429 pgs. Mystery

Joe DeMarco is a smart guy, a Washington lawyer who can't get a job because his father was a mobster. But the Speaker of the House sees his skills and hires  him as a go-to guy, a man who can solve problems outside the normal protocols and processes of the nation's capital. In his first case, Joe is asked to investigate an assassination attempt on the president himself in which the president is wounded and his best friend killed. A local yokel is found dead, an apparent suicide who left a note claiming responsibility, but Speaker Mahoney's friend Andy Banks, head of Homeland Security, received a warning note from a Secret Service agent before the attempt on the president's life and thinks there is more going on here than a crackpot on a ridge across the Potomac. Joe leans on this guy, follows that guy, but needs help as he quickly gets in over his head and is lucky that one of his friends is an extraordinarily resourceful woman recently retired from an ultra-secret federal agency. Violent, profane, but compulsively readable, The Inside Ring is a great beach book, just as the beach book season begins.

LW

Dark Triumph

Dark Triumph
By Robin LaFevers
Houghton Mifflin, 2013. 385 pgs. Young Adult

This sequel to Grave Mercy follows Sybella, another daughter of Death himself,  as she is assigned to the D'Albret household in fifteenth-century Brittany. She must be careful of everything she says and does in a place ruled by fear and brutality. She thinks she might go mad until she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons. As she struggles to help the Duchess of Brittany and to stop D'Albret she discovers that there may be more to life than vengeance.

I have to be honest and say that I did not enjoy this sequel as much as I enjoyed Grave Mercy. I did like that a couple of the characters from the first book make an appearance but this is really a book about Sybella. She is a very troubled character who has experienced unspeakable things in her life. The majority of the book focuses on the inner turmoil she must face instead of the historical events of the time. This books deals with murder, seduction, incest, and the killing of innocent people. I would recommend this only to older teens and adults who have already read the first book.

AL

Jerusalem: A Cookbook

Jerusalem: A Cookbook

by Yotem Ottolenghi

Ten Speed Press, 2012. 318 pgs. Nonfiction.

Yotem Ottolenghi interweaves traditional recipes from all quarters of Jerusalem with personal stories and fascinating information about the city. Essential for a modern cookbook, Jerusalem includes gorgeous matte photographs of the food set in traditional cookery, and of the city itself. Readers will find familiar, yet perfected, recipes for falafel and hummus and more surprising suggestions for insane things to do with ground lamb and dried chickpeas. In fact, all of Ottolenghi’s cookbooks are wonderful, and you can always spot them by their characteristic pillowy covers. 

I am, self-admittedly, a cookbook snob. I prefer my cookbooks to be like my literature: philosophic with sparse, evocative language and thin on plot. If this doesn’t sound like any cookbook you’ve looked at, it's probably because you’ve never read one cover-to-cover: a habit I highly recommend. A cookbook with a lot of theory and back-story not only provides better reading, but also fits nicely into my daily cooking by providing ideas and structures rather than one-off gourmet recipes. Jerusalem is an excellent example of a readable, practical cookbook.

JM

2312

2312

By Kim Stanley Robinson

Orbit, 2012. 561 pgs. Science Fiction.

2312 is a science fiction epic set just before the year 2312, when all the people who could afford it have left earth and populated each planet in the solar system. Mars is a snobby upper-class planet, Mercury an artistic haven, and Venus a large work camp. Humanity travels space on beautiful asteroids hollowed out and terraformed to resemble anything at all. The plot, such as it is, centers around a small group of ‘spacers’ trying to fix earth’s environmental and political issues in the hope that it will stop holding back the human race. It is a sublimely beautiful and entirely strange work of science fiction that envisions a future where art and science are seamlessly intertwined. 

2312 is a difficult read, technically classified as ‘hard sci-fi’, so it is terribly important to evaluate how much time and effort you are willing to put into the book before picking it up. Not only is the book difficult, but it is also incredibly, almost unjustifiably, weird. Yet, for all of its faults, I finished this slow, strange, beautiful book in under a week, while I’ve left many a perfectly good, normal book unfinished or un-started. What held on to my imagination here was the complete originality of the world: you’ve never read science fiction like this before.

I’ve had a hard time figuring out who to recommend this book to, and I’ve decided I’d only do it if someone came up to me and said: “I’m sick of everything I’ve ever read or thought about, I want something new”. If that statement fits your reading state of mind, you might want to give Kim Stanley Robinson a try. 

JM

The Angel's Kiss

The Angel’s Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery
By Justin Richards
AudioGO, 2013. Science Fiction

In New York, Melody Malone is the owner and sole employee of the Angel Detective Agency. Angels are her business. When the famous movie star Rock Railton comes to her for help, she is intrigued by his fear of the “kiss of the Angel.” She takes the case and while attending a party for Rock’s latest film, Melody discovers that fame can come with a very high price.

Narrated by Alex Kingston, this audiobook will appeal primarily to fans of the TV show Doctor Who, and especially fans of River Song. Alex Kingston falls into character perfectly and brings this audiobook to life as its narrator. Like the TV show, this book is pretty clean but Melody Malone is often very suggestive. I would recommend this to Whovians familiar with Weeping Angels and River Song, but that’s probably about it.

ACS

Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game

Baseball as a Road to God:  Seeing Beyond the Game
by John Sexton, with Thomas Oliphant and Peter J. Schwartz
Gotham, 2013. 242 pgs. Nonfiction.


Believers both in God and in the sanctity of the game of baseball will love Sexton's new book, a logical and mythological extension of his NYU seminar of the same name.  Sexton (what a great name for a writer of such a book!) finds in baseball and in the cathedral ineffable feelings, both the ballpark and the sanctuary as sacred space.  His chapters, or innings,  consider everything from the saints and sinners of baseball--Hank Greenberg and Ty Cobb, respectively--to the miraculous; e.g., Kirk Gibson's walk off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.  Drawing from sources as variant as Paul Tillich's theological writings to W. P. Kinsella's "Shoeless Joe," Sexton beautifully links the ineffable fruits of the spirit with the ineffable delights of baseball for fans of both faith and the summer game.

LW

Familiar

Familiar

By J. Robert Lennon

Graywolf Press, 2012. 205 pgs. Fiction

Driving home from her yearly pilgrimage to her son’s grave, Elisa Brown finds herself instantly changed. One moment, she is driving an old car with a cracked windshield, and the next she’s ten pounds heavier, in different clothes, and driving an air-conditioned SUV. As she stumbles through this new life, trying to learn her job and piece together her recent past, she also attempts to solve the mystery of what happened to her. Did her consciousness somehow jump into a parallel world? Is she here to fix a mistake from her other life? Or is she suffering a psychotic break? Lennon does not do the work of answering these questions for the reader; instead he lets the unsettling tension between the familiar and unfamiliar pull the reader through the book without succumbing to the temptation of a tidy ending. 

I relished reading this book, racing through it in under a day, but I enjoyed it in the way that one enjoys an old black and white horror movie: it made me look over my shoulder obsessively and have curious thoughts about whether I am who I think I am or not. This book is definitely not for everyone, but those who loved the mild and haunting creepiness of, say, I am the Cheese, might find that J. Robert Lennon is their new favorite author. 

JM

The Disaster Diaries

The Disaster Diaries: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Apocalypse 
By Sam Sheridan
Penguin Press, 2013. 324 pgs. Nonfiction.

In his younger years, Sam Sheridan was something of an adventurer. At different times he worked as a martial arts fighter, an EMT, a cowboy, a sailor, a wilderness firefighter, and even a South Pole construction worker. He’d seen and survived harsh conditions and loved every minute of it. Then his son was born. Almost overnight, he became obsessed with the thought that he was not prepared to assure the survival of his family if the world as we know it came to an end. The Disaster Diaries follows Sheridan has he gains the skills and knowledge he feels will be necessary when the zombies, aliens, earthquakes, volcanoes, ice ages, and/or deadly viruses wreak havoc on our civilization. From carjacking to rope making, fire starting to igloo construction, Sheridan travels the world to find experts and instructors willing to teach him.

 This book is a lot more fun than it sounds! Each chapter begins with the author’s imagined story of death and destruction caused by a number of apocalyptic villains including giant alien spiders. Next, he describes his quest to prepare himself for those possible challenges or crises. This is not a survivalist how-to manual. It is more a memoir of the author’s journey toward his own preparedness. But it’s a great journey and sure to inspire readers to evaluate and maybe even improve their own chances of surviving the end of the world as we know it.

CZ

Saturday Night Widows: The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives

Saturday Night Widows: The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives 
By Becky Aikman
Crown, 2013. 337 pgs. Nonfiction

Soon after her husband died of a prolonged cancer diagnosis, Becky Aikman felt she needed people around her that understood her loss, but could also help her move on with courage and optimism. To this end, she joined a local grief support group and after one painful meeting was asked to leave. So began a search for a more healthy and effective way to help herself and other relatively young widows to move through the loss and adjustments necessary when a spouse is taken. Several years later her dream became a reality as she gathered 5 other women, none of whom knew each other but each who had recently lost their spouses, to create their own support group that would provide new adventures and hopefully a few healing friendships as well.

Saturday Night Widows is a great book, not only for those who may have recently suffered the tragic loss of a loved one, but also for their friends and family. Aikman candidly describes her highs and lows, giving readers valuable insights into how to support and encourage others in situations like hers. She writes with warmth, sympathy, hope, and even humor which keeps the narration from becoming too depressing.

CZ

Aviator's Wife

The Aviator’s Wife 
By Melanie Benjamin
Delacorte Press, 2013. 402 pgs. Historical Fiction

Charles and Anne Lindbergh's names are familiar to most. "The Aviator's Wife" tells, from Anne's perspective, of their marriage and life together. Charles was a larger than life icon in the years following his historic flight. Anne was a somewhat timid ambassador's daughter who could not help but fall in love with the daring young captain, her own personal hero. Their seemingly idyllic lives, however, were never far from the public's eye. The Lindberghs were continuously hounded by the press and a never-ending stream of admirers and hangers-on. And when true tragedy struck with the loss of their infant son, the world's fascination with the famous aviators would make a horrible situation immensely worse.

Few people in history have had to cope with the level of public interest and scrutiny the Lindberghs were faced with. Anne's story is one of both tragedy and achievement. Benjamin does an excellent job melding fact and fiction to tell a story that is at once familiar and surprising. Historical fiction fans will not want to miss out on this carefully crafted portrait of a true American heroine.

CZ

Jungleland

Jungleland: A Mysterious Lost City, a WWII Spy, and a True Story of Deadly Adventure 
By Christopher Stewart
Harper, 2013. 263 pgs. Biography

With the ever-expanding scope of GPS and satellite imaging, there are few truly uncharted regions left in the world. There are still a few, however, and in "Jungleland," journalist Christopher Stewart follows the celebrated explorer Theodore Morde's 1940 expedition deep into the rain forests of Honduras seeking a fabled hidden city. Christopher becomes almost obsessed with the idea of finding the White City as he researches Morde's fearless travels, rumored discoveries and mysterious death. His fixation drives him, an inexperienced camper or hiker, on a parallel journey in an attempt to see what Morde saw and find for himself, and the world, what treasures lie hidden in this almost impenetrable wilderness.

Readers who enjoyed Mitchell Zuckoff's "Lost in Shangri-La" or David Grann's "The Lost City of Z" will certainly want to pick up "Jungleland." This is a worthy addition to the armchair adventurer's bookshelf. Stewart balances his own travels and explorations with those of his subject and provides a fascinating look at how some parts of the world retain their mystery and wonder -- which is fortunate for all those adventurous souls with an itch to explore and discover.

CZ

Because I Said So!

Because I Said So!: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales & Warnings Every Generation Passes Down To Its Kids
 By Ken Jennings
Scribner, 2012. 237 pgs. Nonfiction

Is that feather you picked up in the parking lot really as saturated with deadly germs as your mother warned you? Are there really additional nutrients in the crust of bread warranting their consumption? Will sitting too close to the TV really injure your vision? Parents work so hard to protect their precious young ones from all the dangers of our world. But are those dangers actually as dangerous as we were led to believe? Ken Jennings has saved you the trouble of researching all those little warnings your parents or grandparents shared with you and that you may have already passed along to the next generation. Some warnings are completely legitimate, others are completely bogus, the rest are somewhere in the middle.

Jennings provides these answers with actual facts and a healthy dose of humor. "Because I Said So!" is a completely entertaining literary "Mythbusters." The short essays covering each topic make for a quick read. Jennings may have earned his initial notoriety by winning on "Jeopardy!," but he has since earned the right to be considered an exceptional writer as well.

CZ

In the Shadow of the Banyan

In the Shadow of the Banyan 
By Vaddey Ratner
Simon & Schuster, 2012. 322 pgs. Fiction

"In the Shadow of the Banyan" by Vaddey Ratner is the story of 7-year-old Raami. She was born to privilege and wealth as the daughter of a minor Cambodian prince. Within the walls of her home she knew only love and security while outside the gates, a civil war raged. But one day the war came to an end and her entire family was forced, along with millions of others, to leave their home and travel from town to town, fighting for survival. The Khmer Rouge regime spent four years trying to strip the entire populace of their individual identities. Raami's childhood was left behind, but she still clung to the stories, legends and poetry her father had shared with her in those idyllic years before the chaos.

Based on some of the author's actual experiences, this story is filled with tragedy and despair. But it's also a beautiful tribute to the power of love and family. This is a wonderful choice for book clubs because when that last page is turned, you will want to talk to someone about the heartbreaking story and the beautiful writing.

CZ

No Easy Day

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Ladin: The Autobiography of a Navy SEAL 
By Mark Owen with Kevin Maurer
Dutton, 2012. 316 pgs. Biogrpahy

 Told by a Navy Seal who witnessed the final shots first-hand, No Easy Day recounts the events that led to the death of Osama Bin Ladin. However, this is more than just a narrative of the mission that ended the life of the infamous terrorist leader. Instead, readers will find a look into the lives of the soldiers that regularly risk their lives completing mission that are, while just as dangerous, performed with a great deal less public notice.

A number of memoirs written by Navy Seals have been published in the past year. Some of this is due to the media coverage and notoriety this particular mission has brought to these special ops soldiers. No Easy Day, while not in my opinion the best, certainly deserves a place among the top.

CZ

The Twelve

The Twelve 
By Justin Cronin
Ballantine Books, 2012. 592 pgs. Horror

The Twelve does not simply pick up where The Passage left off. It returns to the present day, before the virals decimated the human population, and introduces the readers to new characters. These new characters set in motion events that, one hundred years into the future, work both for and against the survival of mankind. Amy and her friends, after surviving their flight across the countryside, take separate paths but will still need to rely on each other if they are to fight the ultimate evil. Justin

Cronin is amazing. His storytelling, character development, writing, and imagination bring this post-apocalyptic world to mesmerizing life. The pages seriously flew by and when I read that final sentence, the dread of waiting another two years for the conclusion of this trilogy sounds like torture. A sure pick for any fan of horror....or of fantastic writing.

CZ

America Again: Re-Becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t

America Again: Re-Becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t 
By Stephen Colbert
Grand Central Pub., 2012. 240 pgs. Nonfiction

 On his TV show, Colbert provides his enthusiastic fans with an interesting and entertaining version of the news. In his second book, he provides an interesting and entertaining look at his version of America. Hot topics include jobs, healthcare, Wall Street, and, my favorite, food. Always funny, sometimes offensive, and never to be taken seriously.

The truth is, Stephen Colbert is hilarious, regardless of the medium. I listened to the audio version of America Again and I believe that is the perfect way to experience it. You miss out on the charts and the glossy illustrations, but Colbert’s narration adds more than you lose. For fans of Colbert or Jon Stewart type humor, this is a no brainer.

CZ