Nonfiction
The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History, by Jason Vuic. Here’s all you ever wanted to know about the Yugo — and more! In fact, Vuic provides an exhaustive chronicle of the rise and fall of the Yugoslav car made by Zastava, as well as the people and political situations that played a part in the story. — Library Journal
From Splendor to Revolution: The Romanov Women, 1847-1928, by Julia P. Gelardi. While providing insight into famously doomed Empress Alexandra Romanov, Gelardi focuses on four lesser- known but indomitable women who achieved glory at the height of czarist Russia’s global power only to witness its fall to revolution. — Publishers Weekly
Fiction
Witches on the Road Tonight, by Sheri Holman. Past and present, reality and dreams, harsh truths and dangerous delusions mingle intriguingly in this unusual fourth novel from the versatile author of vivid historical and contemporary fiction. — Kirkus Reviews
One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, by Jasper Fforde. Thursday Next, the protagonist of many of the author’s previous novels, is back . . . or rather, she’s not, for she’s the missing girl of the title. And although she vanishes, the written Thursday Next does not. — Kirkus Reviews
Paperback
Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy, by Melissa Milgrom. The author’s coverage of the World Taxidermy Championships — a biennial gathering where taxidermists “strut their stuff as celebrated animal artists” — is hilarious but respectful. — The Washington Post
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell. Mitchell startles us again with a rich historical romance set in feudal Japan, an epic of sacrificial love, clashing civilizations and enemies who won’t rest until whole family lines have been snuffed out. — The Washington Post
Volt, by Alan Heathcock. The stark realism of Heathcock’s book is leavened by a lyric energy that matches the brutality of the surface. And as you move through the wind-lashed landscape of these stories, faint signs of hope appear underfoot. — Graywolf Press
