REVIEWED BY MOIRA BAILEY
NONFICTION
Liz Perle's emotional relationship with money was stickier than the one she had with her first husband, who sent Perle and their 4-year-old son packing five weeks after they'd joined him on a job assignment in Singapore. That surprise split prompted this clear-eyed accounting of the cash in her life—and in the lives of the more than 200 mostly middle-class women she interviewed. Perle uncovers a wealth of emotions attached to money and a sisterhood of denial about finances. Those feelings don't exist in a vacuum—family, consumer culture and the changing roles of women all contribute. (As she puts it, "I'm trying to live up to the financial expectations of my father's world and the maternal ones of my mother's.") Perle, who repeats familiar yet sobering statistics about why women need to own up (pay inequity, pension instability, longevity), offers no quick fixes. Now remarried, she adheres to "the fiscal equivalent of Weight Watchers," facing the fact that spending in one place means she can't in another and no longer "pinning my hopes on that white knight, dream job, unknown dead uncle or winning lottery number that will rescue me." Reading her book may not help you do the same, but it will make you realize you're not alone.
By Maria Dahvana Headley
REVIEWED BY JUDITH NEWMAN
MEMOIR
This book starts with a wonderful premise. Headley, then a 20-year-old N.Y.U. student, is tired of the guys she dates—men who are more in love with their own voices droning on about, say, Middlemarch than with her. So she decides that for a year she will say Yes to anyone (single, and not an obvious freak) who asks her out—millionaires, guys who pass on bikes ... even women. Hilarity should ensue, and occasionally it does, though more often the situations strain credulity. Still, Headley has a knack for coining terms ("Gayts" are dates who are gay, and everyone knows it but them). And she does find love, though in the most conventional way. One has to cheer for a book that suggests letting go of preconceptions—and perhaps embracing a little chaos—to find happiness.
By Wesley Strick
REVIEWED BY POPE BROCK
MYSTERY
Why any successful Hollywood screenwriter—a life that generally comes with an ocean view, a hot car and regular meals—would want to become a novelist is hard to fathom. But Strick (Arachnophobia) has plunged in with this smoky tale of '40s Tinseltown. A disgraced cop, a star and a director who may be a Nazi cause each other a lot of trouble. It's atmospheric and interesting, but Strick can't seem to decide on a main character. Still, if you like the thought of climbing inside a black-and-white movie, this could be your dish.
My Lucky Star by Joe Keenan The ex-Frasier writer and producer channels Niles's and his brother's sharp, urbane wit in this delirious Hollywood send-up about a closeted action star, his diva mom and a dysfunctional studio exec.
An Imperfect Lens by Anne Roiphe This vivid medical detective story is inspired by the cholera epidemic in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1883; love, death and mystery abound.
Girls of Tender Age by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith The author of the Poppy Rice mystery series writes a riveting memoir that encompasses the murder of a schoolmate by a pedophile and life with a brother who suffered from autism.
The Last of Her Kind by Sigrid Nunez In her fifth novel, Nunez tells the story of a friendship that begins in college and changes two women forever. A complex, well-told tale.
The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle A moving novel about the ways in which healing can occur after a child's sexual abuse; Kittle's clear prose gives a luminous quality to her story of thriving against the odds.
Looking to supplement the hearts and flowers with a little substance this year? These books fit the mood.
FOR THE CHOCOHOLIC Confectionary consultant Chloé Doutre-Roussel's The Chocolate Connoisseur includes fun facts—and where to buy the really good stuff your friends have never heard of.
FOR THE WIFE VoiceMale author Neil Chethik surveyed nearly 360 men about commitment (they like it!), sex (it's not all they think about!) and much more. An intriguing window into guy-think.
FOR KIDS A true tale of the unlikely bond between a 130-year-old giant tortoise and a baby hippo saved from 2004's tsunami, Owen & Mzee features photos by Peter Greste and text by 7-year-old Isabella Hatkoff (and two grown-ups). Scores high on the "awww" meter.
FOR THE BRIDE-TO-BE INSTYLE's sumptuous, envy-inducing guide to planning the big day, with details and photos from celeb weddings including (oops) Tori it-only-lasted-15-months Spelling's.
FOR THE HEDONIST The Sex Life of Food by Bunny Crumpacker—A delectable exploration of the sometimes surprising ways our two major appetites intersect. (Top smell that arouses men: pumpkin pie mixed with lavender.) Just the thing to get you cooking.
CELINE’S INFERTILITY STRUGGLE: MY PRIVATE HEARTBREAK
Daily injections, painful tests and four failed IVF attempts: The singer, 41, reveal her dreams for a second baby. ‘I’ll try until it works’
