Emma's Picks

This new mystery is compelling, funny, noirish, meditative, scary, & absorbing. If you like the thoughtfulness of McCall Smith's Mma Ramotswe, the exuberance of Adams' Dirk Gently, or the grit of a Kate Atkinson novel, this may be the mystery for you. Claire DeWitt reluctantly returns to New Orleans to solve the unsolvable in the wake of Katrina. Her methods are unorthodox, her encounters with the city riveting. I can't wait to read what Claire DeWitt might do next.

Read this to feel good about your earthbound life, to marvel at the unsung details & work & research that send astronauts into space, and to laugh with Roach over the myriad detours her research into the science of space travel makes and at her own surprising discoveries. This one is as wonderful as her other books, too.

Bee's essays run the gamut from unflinching self-examination to riotous speculation. Like a great night of stand-up, the book leaves the reader feeling both more intimate with the writer and more unsettled about the strangeness that attends so much of our lives. Bee has written a funny, unsettling, and strangely true book--I'd urge fans of either Sedaris, Sloane Crosley, or Shalom Auslander to give it a go, and of course any fan of Bee's from the Daily Show should pick this up right away.

"If only I had some summer reading that made me laugh," your kid says. "If only we could read something besides the Magic Tree House," you think. Don't let the movie's existence stop you--run right out and try Cressida Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon books. Gentler than the movie, and more outrageous, these books are fun to read aloud and exciting enough for the listener to pick up the book and read ahead when your voice is gone. Hiccup is the hero we all could be, and his efforts to find a new way to be the Viking leader his dad hopes him to be are funny and touching and never soppy. It's a great series. (And if you are wondering if your young reader will have the Monty-Python-appreciation gene, these books may be the predictor to soothe your fears.)

In this funny, sharp satire, Mr. Mandery's concisely drawn & vivid characters, his "translation" of the novel's aliens' daily lives, and his insightful commentary woven gently throughout the book make for a surprisingly accessible novel. You might worry this is a knock-off of Vonnegut or Adams--don't. The author's handling of the post-modern, self-referential trope is masterful, multilayered, & refreshingly light. The aliens' rabbi prank is hilarious and disturbingly insightful, and the shrinking universe jokes, the heartbreaking kindness collapsing universe's last minutes, and thoughts on celebrated Gordons all come together to make an absorbing read.

The sometimes This American Life commentator's memoir about the New Orleans flood and its aftermath takes an intimate tone. Wagner focuses tightly on her own neighborhood and experience, and yet her story reveals much about the whole disaster without explicitly doing so. She makes this memoir of flood recovery--or perhaps I mean survival--encompass a good deal, narratively and tonally. Her vision is often unflinching, and her insights are not highlighted or drawn out, but they are acute. Plus, the title completely rocks.

This collection of Blount's essays is funny, smart, and incisive. He may or may not want to be the "modern Mark Twain," but in any case, he's the definitive Roy Blount, Jr. Pick up this book and pick a few pages to peruse--he's a great writer to spend time with, and you'll come away with your eyes and ears opened in new ways, too.

A hopeful, and surprisingly festive memoir.

An illuminating and funny ride--Pinkwater's at the top of his form here, and his hero is, as ever, a pleasure to travel with. A great gift for the summer reader on break from school, or even for the young at heart of any age.

A very funny and surprisingly insightful novel. For any fan of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, or Jasper Fforde. Or for those you hope will grow up to be fans of theirs, too.