Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil
“It’s a simultaneously brutal and beautiful work, dreamlike without ever being sentimental or vague or soft-hearted. Narcopolis is a truly impressive achievement.” –Emily St. John Mandel, The Millions
Hotels, Hospitals, and Jails by Anthony Swofford
“Well-worn memoir material, this, but it’s saved from tedium by Swofford’s brisk storytelling, deadpan humor, and appealing swagger.” –Probably not James Wood, The New Yorker
Fooling Houdini by Alex Stone
“To perform magic and fool people is easy. To perform magic marvelously or create magic brilliantly is incredibly difficult. Not to know the difference means you should not be writing a book. In the words of David Mamet, "never open your mouth till you know what the shot is." –Ricky Jay, The Wall Street Journal
I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts: Drive-By Essays on American Dread, American Dreams by Mark Dery
“Dery’s dark you-can’t-think-this-stuff-up carnival tour of present-day America is far more thought-provoking than anything virtual reality can offer.” –Eric Been, The Los Angeles Review of Books
Into The War by Italo Calvino
“Given the stunning literary achievements of his later years, we should be grateful for his adolescent stutters.” –Joseph Luzzi, The Times Literary Supplement
The Whispering Muse by Sjón
“The main test of a book like this is not how incisively one can analyse it, but whether it lingers in the mind and takes root there. Give it a year, or 3,000, and let's see.” –Michel Faber, The Guardian