Nonfiction
Shockaholic, by Carrie Fisher (Simon & Schuster)
In this funny and sad memoir, Fisher (“Wishful Drinking”) tackles her difficult decision to pursue ongoing electroshock therapy. Publishers Weekly
Blue Nights, by Joan Didion (Knopf)
Didion reflects on her daughter’s short life, her own imperfect parenting, and the sudden illuminations that we gain by growing older.
A History of the World in 100 Objects, by Neil MacGregor (Viking)
Director of the British Museum, MacGregor uses 100 objects, ranging from a 2-million-year-old hand ax to a solar-powered lamp and charger, circa 2010, to survey human history. Library Journal
I Want My MTV, by Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum (Dutton)
When MTV launched in August 1981, only a few thousand people in northern New Jersey could actually watch it. The rest, as these authors tell it, is history.
Barnes & Noble
Built for Adventure: The Classic Automobiles of Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt, by Clive Cussler (Putnam)
A picture-and-story book that weaves Cussler’s fiction with his real-life car collection.
Fiction
Out of Oz, by Gregory McGuire (Morrow)
This fourth volume of Gregory Maguire’s Wicked Years completes a series begun with 1995’s Wicked.
Barnes & Noble
The Batman Files, by Matthew Manning (Andrews McMeel)
Whether you think of him as Bruce Wayne or the Caped Crusader, Batman ignites the imagination. The truly spectacular “Batman Files” coffee-table giant qualifies as the ultimate treasure trove of this incomparable superhero.
Barnes & Noble
City of Whispers, by Marcia Muller (Grand Central)
An e-mailed cry for help from Sharon McCone’s troubled half-brother, Darcy Blackhawk, sucks McCone into a treacherous vortex of madness, greed and murder. Publishers Weekly
Dearly Departed, by Lia Habel (Del Rey)
Centuries after a series of catastrophes destroys much of the planet, two human civilizations based on two loose 21st-century interpretations of Victorian England thrive in South America. Publishers Weekly
