Here are some books to look out for this month. For even more recommendations of new and notable titles currently on our shelves, check out this month’s edition of The Independent, which you can also find free-of-charge in the store.
Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire
After the phenomenal success of The Wicked Years, Gregory Maguire has written the fourth (and probably final) book in the series. In the newest novel, readers will find Glinda under house arrest and the Cowardly Lion on the run from the law, and will finally see Dorothy Gale make her long-awaited appearance in Oz. According to early reviews, Out of Oz is complex and compelling, and provides a satisfying conclusion to this beloved series.
The New Yorker Stories by Ann Beattie
New in paperback, this collection of Ann Beattie’s stories published in The New Yorker spans from 1974 to 1986. Beattie’s fiction is known for its spare, minimalist style, but her stories are incredibly moving in their careful depictions of disappointment and unfulfilled expectation. Beattie’s influence on the American short story tradition is made clear in this masterful collection.
Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
Get your hands on a paperback copy of An Object of Beauty—the latest from actor/comedian/writer
Steve Martin. This novel revolves around Lacey Yeager, a young art dealer who sleeps with patrons and engages in questionable behavior to advance her career and eventually opens her own gallery in Chelsea. Prestige and greed fuel her world until 9/11, which changes everything. Martin provides a detailed, one-of-a-kind view into the art-collecting world of Manhattan, with a splash of his droll humor.
Iliad translated by Stephen Mitchell
The Iliad may be about 2,700 years old, but Stephen Mitchell’s recent translation puts some new pep in
Homer’s step. Homeric scholar Martin L. West has determined that many of The Iliad’s passages were added after the epic was first written down. Based on this scholarship, Mitchell’s energetic new translation omits those passages, resulting in a simpler, cleaner, more briskly-paced, and musical story.
Made By Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throw Away World by Mark Frauenfelder
In this passionate ode to the DIY lifestyle, Frauenfelder (the editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine) undertakes a plethora of projects from crafting cigar-box guitars to keeping bees to gardening organically. Not all of his projects work out perfectly, but Frauenfelder’s philosophy is primarily grounded in the joys of learning by doing. John Hodgman says, “Buy this book, read it, and then maybe make it into a clarinet. I bet you can!” And here at BookPeople, we do whatever John Hodgman tells us to do.
4% Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality
by Richard Panek
In 2011, Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and Adam Riess shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for their scientific quest to find and define “dark matter” and “dark energy”: the unknown 96% of matter in the universe that doesn’t fit into the 4% humans currently understand. But along with the collaborations between these scientists, there were also bitter rivalries. Drawing on in-depth research, Richard Panek tells a fascinating story about the high-stakes race to redefine our view of the cosmos.
Blabber Blabber Blabber by Lynda Barry
For the past 30 years, Lynda Barry has been a whirlwind of creative activity on the alternative comic scene, producing novels, graphic memoirs, plays, and weekly comic strips. Blabber Blabber Blabber collects Barry’s comics from 1978-81,
including the entire series of Ernie Pook’s Comeek(parts of which have been out of print for decades), as well as her early books Girls and Boys and Big Ideas. Themes range from bad perms to miserable break-ups to Prince to the meaning of life.
Kitchen on Fire! Mastering the Art of Cooking in 12 Weeks (or Less) by Olivier Said & MikeC.
Chefs Olivier Said and MikeC. are co-founders of the Kitchen on Fire! culinary school in Berkeley, California. Infused with their fun, irreverent humor, this book prepares readers to put their cookbooks on the shelf and create their own original recipes. Full-color, step-by-step illustrations accompany the descriptions of basic cooking tips and techniques, such as prepping ingredients, determining cooking time, and gauging temperature successfully.
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