The Ridiculous Race
by Steve Hely and Vali Chandrasekaran (Holt, $15)
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The Punch
by Noah Hawley (Chronicle Books, $24)
Noah Hawley’s “provocative” new novel features two brothers who accompany their exasperating mother on a chaotic cross-country quest to scatter their deceased father’s ashes in Maine, said Karen Campbell in The Boston Globe. Hawley “seeds the book with fascinating tangential musings” about religion, time, and memory, and he “has a wonderful way with irony.” The book is rich in “dryly comic vignettes,” but what you will remember most are its many “surprisingly moving” moments.
The Cactus Eaters
by Dan White (Harper Perennial, $15)
More than half the hikers who try to walk the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada give up before they finish, said Susan Salter Reynolds in the Los Angeles Times. When writer Dan White and his girlfriend quit their East Coast jobs to make the trek, they were woefully ill-prepared for the challenge. But “there’s great joy to be had” in reading about their brief escape from the rat race, and White delivers his account in a wry voice “you will grow to love.”
Just Do It
by Douglas Brown (Crown, $22)
You can’t blame Denver Post writer Douglas Brown for jumping at the chance when his wife of 11 years suggested they try having sex for 101 consecutive days, said Patti Thorn in the Denver Rocky Mountain News. It’s also not surprising that the experiment drew them closer and gained national media attention. But “the dramas are little” and the repetition numbing in Brown’s account. “By Day 35, I would have rather watched depilatory infomercials” than “spend another night” with this diligent pair.
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'Enforcement of rulings remains spotty at best'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
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Book reviews: 'King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution' and 'Gwyneth: The Biography'Feature How the Iranian Revolution began and Gwyneth Paltrow's life in the spotlight
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Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War IIFeature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more
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Also of interest...in picture books for grown-upsfeature How About Never—Is Never Good for You?; The Undertaking of Lily Chen; Meanwhile, in San Francisco; The Portlandia Activity Book
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Author of the week: Karen Russell
feature Karen Russell could use a rest.
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The Double Life of Paul de Man by Evelyn Barish
feature Evelyn Barish “has an amazing tale to tell” about the Belgian-born intellectual who enthralled a generation of students and academic colleagues.
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Book of the week: Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis
feature Michael Lewis's description of how high-frequency traders use lightning-fast computers to their advantage is “guaranteed to make blood boil.”
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Also of interest...in creative rebellion
feature A Man Called Destruction; Rebel Music; American Fun; The Scarlet Sisters
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Author of the week: Susanna Kaysen
feature For a famous memoirist, Susanna Kaysen is highly ambivalent about sharing details about her life.
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You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood’s Golden Age by Robert Wagner
feature Robert Wagner “seems to have known anybody who was anybody in Hollywood.”
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Book of the week: Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire by Peter Stark
feature The tale of Astoria’s rise and fall turns out to be “as exciting as anything in American history.”