From last week's Book Sense bestseller lists, available at
BookSense.com, here are the recommended titles, which are also Book
Sense Picks:
Hardcover
The Indian Clerk by David Leavitt
(Bloomsbury, $24.95,
9781596910409/1596910402). "Paul Erdos once asked G.H. Hardy, the noted
20th century British mathematician, to name his greatest contribution
to their field. Hardy unhesitatingly replied that it was the
'discovery' of Srinivasa Ramanujan, one of the great mathematical
geniuses in recent centuries. Across the chasm created by color,
nationality, education, language, and colonialism, they spoke to each
other in the language of pure numbers. Their collaboration plays out in
this novel of intellectual history against the clubby atmosphere of
British academics, homosexuality, food, and, finally, WWI."--Chris
Stier, Shaman Drum Bookshop, Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam's Holiest Shrine
and the Birth of al-Qaeda by Yaroslav Trofimov (Doubleday, $26,
9780385519250/0385519257). "As the Iranian Revolution of 1979 unfolded
next door, the Saudis were alarmed and embarrassed by an armed takeover
of the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979. The counter-siege of Islam's
holiest shrine dragged on into bloody absurdity, revealing corruption
and incompetence in the highest levels of the Saudi government.
Trofimov illuminates a highly suppressed, almost-forgotten chapter in
radical Muslim terror."--James Tremlett, Schuler Books & Music,
Lansing, Mich.
Paperback
Samedi the Deafness by Jesse Ball (Vintage, $12.95,
9780307278852/0307278859). "James Sim is a mnemonist who one day finds
himself abducted and taken to a sprawling mansion. The mansion is a
psychiatric hospital, a home for chronic liars. Here, James discovers a
sinister conspiracy of epic proportions. The problem is, if everyone is
a liar, what, if anything, is true? This is modern literary fiction at
its experimental best."--Grant Outerbridge, DIESEL, A Bookstore,
Oakland, Calif.
For Ages 9 to 12
Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf: A Year Told Through Stuff by
Jennifer L. Holm, illustrated by Elicia Castaldi (Ginee Seo Books,
$12.99, 9780689852817/0689852819). "First the title caught my eye, then
the format hooked me. I read it through before I did another thing.
What a unique way to portray a middle schooler's life--through the
variety of stuff she uses, saves, and creates."--Gayle Wingerter,
Inklings Bookshop, Yakima, Wash.
Piper Reed: Navy Brat by Kimberly Willis Holt, illustrated by Christine
Davenier (Holt, $14.95, 9780805081978/0805081976). "This first book in
a new series details the life of Piper Reed, middle child of a Navy
Chief. She's lived in San Diego, Texas, Guam, Mississippi, and New
Hampshire by the time she's nine. Piper relishes each move, her older
sister resents it, and her younger sister goes with the flow. Using
experiences from her life as a Navy brat, Holt has created a delightful
new character."--Cathy Berner, Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston, Tex.
[Many thanks to Book Sense and the ABA!]