John Mortimer, Paradise Postponed

John Mortimer, Paradise Postponed. An hilarious story of an eccentric vicar and his family in the postwar years.

Jonathan Dee, The Privileges

Jonathan Dee, The Privileges. Ew. What crap people. I though at first it was going to be a witty social comedy and then I thought it would be a financial thriller, but it fell flat on all fronts.

Patti Smith, Just Kids

Patti Smith, Just Kids. I found the writing style exasperatingly earnest, but I felt affection for Patti and enjoyed her story of friendship and adventure with Robert Mappelthorpe. The photographs were lovely.

Lan Cao, Monkey Bridge

Lan Cao, Monkey Bridge. A pretty story of Vietnamese-American immigrants and the aftermath of the Vietnam war in their lives here. It's a traditional format: a daughter recounts her experience in America as an immigrant and her complex relationship with her mother and her gradual understanding of her own history through that of her mother unfolds.

Judith Schalansky, Atlas of Remote Islands

Judith Schalansky, Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Never Set Foot On and Never Will. Since being cabin-boy on an Antarctic expedition is not in my future, this book was a good substitute for exploring barren, desolate, and weird landmasses without the risk of scurvy or mutiny. In short, a perfect atlas for those of us afflicted with severe motion sickness who also possess an unrequited love for seagoing exploration.