New & Recommended New & Recommended (September 01, 2004)

This month's picks by Frank Sanchez, head book buyer at Kepler's, include a novel set in the Napoleonic wars, a biography of former star children's author, a wry look at the future, and more.

"Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clark is a novel that Sanchez predicted will be the season's hit book. It's a historical tale, set in 1806 England, and is about a magician and his apprentice, who serves under Wellington in the war against Napoleon. The book is rich in historical detail. This may be Harry Potter for adults, since magic plays a central role in the story.

"The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll: The Search for Dare Wright" by Jean Nathan is a biography of the woman who wrote a children's book in the 1950s -"The Lonely Doll"- that became a sensation and made a star out of its beautiful author, Dare Wright. She was a glamorous woman, a former model and photographer, who had a troubled life after her burst of fame. The book is a staff favorite at Kepler's.

"The Future Dictionary of America" edited by Jonathan Safran Foer has more than 200 contributors - artists, writers and musicians - and is a combination book and CD. The book pokes fun at politics from a decidedly progressive stance, and makes up future definitions of words in the era when Chelsea Clinton serves as president. Bush-wacked is one of the terms defined. Sales of the book, created by some of the folks at McSweeney's magazine in San Francisco, will help liberal causes.

"Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney's, Humor Category" edited by Dave Eggers is a compilation of the humor pieces that have appeared on McSweeney's Web site. The goal of the pieces is "to be funny without being humorous."

"Borges: A Life" by Edwin Williamson is a biography of the great Argentine writer. Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) was one of the seminal Latin American writers who also had a big impact on literature here. Borges was also an outspoken critic of conservative politics in his native country, which was not a popular thing at the time.

"D.B." by Elwood Reid is a fictionalization of the story of D.B. Cooper, the man who hijacked an airliner in 1971, asked for ransom money and a parachute, and then bailed out over the Pacific Northwest, never to be seen again. In the story, Cooper meets his match in a woman south of the border and is finally brought to justice.

"Checkpoint" by Nicholson Baker is a novel by the popular author of "Vox." In this story, two friends meet in a hotel room for a long chat. One of them is planning a political murder.

--Don Kazak

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