FICTION
CRITIC'S CHOICE
The ageless Steve Martin—does he look five minutes older than he did when Jimmy Carter was President?—continues to mature as a writer. His second charming novella (after 2000's Shopgirl) is about a mildly crazy guy who crawls out of his shell thanks to a road trip and a little lad. Think Rain Man meets About a Boy. Our obsessive-compulsive narrator, Daniel Cambridge, is able to function on his own in his Santa Monica apartment, but barely; he can't hold a job, so he lives off Granny's checks. He also has to have 1125 watts of light burning at all times, even when he's asleep. He's lonely, of course—"There are few takers for the quiet heart"—but also a little bit brilliant.
It's a mistake to think of Martin as just a gut buster of a comedian. On the page his gifts for subtlety and slyness compare to those of the finest comic novelists. This sweet, simple, gentle story is dusted with confectioner's sugar, not floating in syrup.
By Dan Kennedy
MEMOIR
Befitting his slacker-meets-sad-sack pedigree, McSweeney's contributor and Atlantic Records director of creative development Kennedy recounts his 30-odd years of career pratfalls and social stumblings with insouciant self-mockery. A geeky kid, he grows up to fail entertainingly at rock stardom (there was the little problem of mastering an instrument), manning an outdoor espresso cart, fighting fires and professional bass fishing—and that's just for a start. The stories would be a hoot as is (e.g., he tries to revive a dead fish), yet his twisted wit raises the bar of hilarity. Though Kennedy sometimes hops among topics as if he were jacked up on Red Bull, by the time his epiphany strikes (duh, write a book), he is already on track to becoming the winnings loser of them all.
By Julie Orringer
SHORT STORIES
If the Britney Spears film Crossroads is your idea of a powerful coming-of-age tale, this book may be too much for you. Gritty and gorgeously rendered, Orringer's short stories uncover the dark, electric world of young girls on the cusp of woman-hood. "The Isabel Fish" depicts a teen's struggle with guilt at being the sole survivor of a car crash; "Note to Sixth-Grade Self" captures the anguish of a girl desperate to belong. Orringer's heroines share their sorrows with unflinching candor, yet the pain is tempered by humor. Growing up is hard to do, but under Orringer's masterful care, these young girls—imperfect, broken and searching—find ways to thrive.
By Mariane Pearl with Sarah Crichton
NONFICTION
In early 2002 Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was kidnapped by Islamic extremists in Karachi, Pakistan. Four weeks later a video depicting his murder was released. This brave, moving book, written by Pearl's widow, Mariane (with former Newsweek editor Sarah Crichton), tells how the then-pregnant Mariane worked with the Pakistani and American officials who hunted the kidnappers. Part of Mariane's suffering was not knowing whom to trust. Some of the Pakistani authorities treat Mariane with hostile defensiveness. But others, especially a counterterrorism agent whom she called Captain, reveal inspiring resourcefulness and courage.
A French radio journalist of Cuban and Dutch descent, Mariane sweeps the reader up in the ebb and flow of fear and hope. One quibble: Details of Danny's life are sketchy. But the warmth of his personality glows on every page.
By C.J. Tosh
NOVEL
Sex is fun. But starting your own magazine is better. Agree? Then you'll savor Bite, which follows a gang of smart young Manhattanites through adventures in romance and publishing: Call it Text and the City. For magazine mavens the inside references come fast and furious. (C.J. Tosh is a pseudonym for friends Rebecca Ascher-Walsh, a senior writer at PEOPLE's sister publication ENRETAINMENT WEEKLY, and Erik Torkells, an editor at Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel.) Bite is funny, sexy and more realistic than most chick-lit (though I don't get how journalists can afford those designer outfits. Should I ask for a raise?). It's juicy enough that readers whose dreams don't revolve around the perfect man and the perfect font may still want to take a nibble.
The Epic of Rockefeller Center
By Daniel Okrent
NONFICTION
Okrent, a former editorial executive for Time Inc. (PEOPLE's parent company), more than matches the giant scale of his subject in this massive and absorbing 500-page volume, which covers New York City's Rockefeller Center from its beginnings as a garden plot for medicinal plants in 1801 to its present as one of the most famous architectural complexes in the world. Chronicling the planning, financing, building and decorating of the center, Great Fortune is filled with cultural asides that make the past sparkle. At its heart this is the story of the men behind the center, especially John D. Rockefeller Jr., whose money and reputation ensured that the largest construction project of its time would succeed.
By Mark Salzman
NONFICTION
This book will open your eyes to our brutal system of juvenile justice and leave you heartbroken. That is what two years teaching writing at Los Angeles' Central Juvenile Hall did to author Mark Salzman. He recounts his time among the "high-risk offenders" with compelling candor. By the end of the book all of Salzman's students have been shipped to adult prison to serve from 30 years to life. Without downplaying the brutality of their crimes—nearly all gun-and gang-related—Salzman still manages to create a true sense of outrage about their treatment and the lackadaisical legal representation they receive. "Weeks later, you will find yourself wondering about the stunted, hopeless men these kids may become.
By Jane Green
NOVEL
In this witty, satisfying ode to the single-but-looking life, British author Jane Green (who wrote the 2000 bestseller Jemima J) introduces us to Tasha, a successful 30-year-old producer of a popular TV chat fest. Tasha is smart, funny and fabulously dressed, but she just can't seem to get things right in the romance department. Her three best friends also suffer from less-than-ideal love lives: Andy's the reigning queen of one-night stands, Emma is endlessly waiting for her boyfriend to propose, and Mel is trapped in a relationship with a man who treats her horribly. It may not sound like a load of laughs, but Green's breezy, chatty tone and humorous observations ("We were more or less the same height. Possibly he was even shorter, but time and memory have added a few inches. Don't they always?") make this fast-paced read as enjoyable as commiserating with real-life girlfriends.
Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson, 34, conservative cohost of CNN's Crossfire, recently wrote Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News.
ON LIBERALS HE LIKES "I love Al Sharpton. He's very clever about politics, and he likes other people."
ON LIBERALS HE DOESN'T "I don't like [Massachusetts congressman] Barney Frank. Barney Frank treats others like they're his servants."
ON HIS TRADEMARK BOW TIE "I've been wearing one since ninth grade. I think of it as an anti-adultery device. You don't have a shot when you're wearing a bow tie. Not that I'm interested."
ON PROMISING TO EAT HIS SHOE IF HILLARY CLINTON'S BOOK SOLD MORE THAN A MILLION COPIES "I fulfilled my obligation with the shoe-shaped cake she brought on. I ate a grotesque amount."
ON BILL O'REILLY "A really talented broadcaster, obviously. He's more talented than I am. But he's such a phony, a demagogue, that I can't watch."
- Contributors:
- Kyle Smith,
- Andrea L. Sachs,
- Ting Yu,
- Tom Conroy,
- Samantha Miller,
- Scott Nybakken,
- Lee Aitken,
- Marisa Sandora Carr.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
