A lionized architect flees a real estate disaster in L.A. to hide in the soggy wilds of Seattle with her Microsoft wunderkind husband and her precocious daughter.  There, they become completely mired in a bog of stultifying local mores, the petty social machinations of an ambitious neighbor and a work colleague, and perversions of sheer chance.  As the plot thickens, a proposed family trip to Antarctica—which initially seems like a self-indulgent, exotic plan—may be their only hope.  The satire and charm of this epistolary novel emerges in the unsaid, and the suspense is great.

Many have observed that travel sharpens self-awareness.  This effect occurs for me with Alice Kaplan's triptych of young women from mid-century America, a compelling history of the transformative effects of a student year abroad in Paris.  Because these three influential women--Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Susan Sontag, and Angela Davis--are from three successive generations and diverse social spheres, a broad picture of the era emerges, exploring women's history and social class mobility and mores.  For personal history and feminist history fans, not to be missed.

Author Julie Otsuka tells the story of Japanese immigrants in the first part of the 20th century in a unique way.  She describes the experience of the multitude by listing through a single observation of individuals in succession.  It has the effect of a survey, but the detail she has chosen in each case is so telling, the survey forms a rich human tapestry and creates a powerful impression of this historic moment.  Beginning with migrant labor camps and ending with internment camps, she produces a portrait of hopes dashed after a great struggle.  Haunting.

 Though I don’t often read thrillers, I burned through this one.  Set in present-day underworld London, a wrongfully-charged murder and the low road of pharmaceutical licensing underpin a suspenseful plot.  The characters are well-imagined, and Boyd’s prose style is fabulous.  I am on the hunt for all work by this author.

If you haven’t discovered Deborah Eisenberg’s beautifully crafted short stories, this is a good choice, because you will want to read and reread them all. These stories are rich and delicate, and linger in the memory to shift and amplify their values.  Eisenberg’s subtle, intelligent observations put readers in the best company.

Richard Louv asserts that today’s children, stewards of tomorrow’s natural world, are growing up with “nature deficit disorder”. This persuasive study warns that the electronic media-saturated generation are more at risk for ADD, obesity and depression because of this disconnect. Louv suggests simple remedies for parents and caregivers.

Barber illuminates the issues surrounding our culture of consumption, describing the market mania that misdirects our lives, choking out our more vital concerns as individuals and as a nation. Besides producing a vapid character in the populace, consumer culture acts in direct opposition to the needs of a democratic government. This compelling study makes a convincing case for re-evaluating many recent legislative actions, and for citizens to recognize, speak out and act for our true imperative interests rather than market-manufactured "needs".