The Martian

Andy Weir (Get this book)
Weir combines the heart-stopping with the humorous in this brilliant debut novel about an astronaut stranded on Mars. When its mission is scrubbed as a result of a powerful windstorm, the team of "Ares 3" move from their habitat to the ascent vehicle. In transit, Mark Watney's spacesuit is punctured by debris, knocking him unconscious and disabling the suit's biosign monitor so that he appears to be dead. When he regains consciousness, Mark realizes that his crew has left him. By placing a nail-biting life-and-death situation on Mars and adding a snarky and wise-cracking nerdy hero, Weir has created the perfect mix of action and space adventure. Mark is hilarious, which makes the terror of marooned death on Mars not just bearable but downright fun.--Library Journal

Uprising: A New Age Is Dawning for Every Mother's Daughter

Sally Armstrong (Get this book)
A Canadian journalist and human rights activist chronicles the acts of empowerment undertaken by women and girls across the globe against inequities and acts of brutality, which have been perpetrated against them for decades. After 25 years of reporting on the dehumanizing conditions confronting females around the world, Armstrong sensed a shift in attitudes concerning their rights. "Until recently," she writes, "the oppression and abuse and second-class citizenship that we endured were seen as women's immutable lot in life, dictated by culture and religion. Women of all persuasions will appreciate Armstrong's in-depth, passionate exploration of this important topic.--Kirkus

The Traitor's Wife: The Woman Behind Benedict Arnold and the Plan to Betray America

Allison Pataki (Get this book)
A young lady's maid is witness to Benedict Arnold and his wife's treachery in this fictional account set during the American War for Independence. In a well-balanced narrative that interweaves historical detail with the lives of servant Clara Bell and her employers, Peggy Shippen Arnold and her husband, Pataki successfully captures an infamous act in American history. Those familiar with U.S. history may already know how Arnold's saga unfurls, but the author's interpretation of events offers fresh perspective, plenty of intrigue and a host of interesting, multidimensional characters. Benedict Arnold isn't a name that's popular among patriotic Americans, but Pataki delivers an admirable book focused on the betrayal.--Kirkus

Alena

Rachel Pastan (Get this book)
Hitchcockian suspense infiltrates the cloistered contemporary art scene in Pastan's riveting third novel. On her first trip to the Venice Biennale, the unnamed narrator, a naive young curator, is taken under the wing of a wealthy, well-bred man named Bernard Augustin, who offers her the job of a lifetime at the Nauquasset, his jewel-box museum on Cape Cod, Mass. She seizes the opportunity, but not without some hesitation: all she knows about "the Nauk, " as it's called, is that its previous curator, an enigmatic Russian beauty named Alena, disappeared two years ago under mysterious circumstances, and that her disappearance broke Bernard's heart. Flush with erotic intrigues and insights into real, working artists, Pastan has written a smart, chilling thriller that leaves readers thoroughly spooked. Publisher's Weekly

Piero's Light: In Search of Piero Della Francesca: A Renaissance Painter and the Revolution in Art, Science, and Religion

Larry Witham (Get this book)
Cultural historian Witham returns with a wide-ranging account of the life, work and legacy of Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca (1412-1492). The author writes that he was drawn to Piero because of the interplay of art, religion and science in his work, and throughout this illuminating treatment, he unwinds and examines each of these cultural threads. First, Witham examines Piero's life, a life, the author admits, whose details are hard to come by. The author also pauses periodically to describe and appreciate Piero's key artistic works--The Baptism of Christ, The Flagellation of Christ and others--as well as his various publications, including Abacus Treatise and On Perspective for Painting. A thorough account of an actual "Renaissance man"--in every way.--Kirkus

The Good Luck of Right Now

Matthew Quick (Get this book)
Quirky, feel-good fiction from the author of The Silver Linings Playbook. Bartholomew Neil describes himself as having above-average intelligence, though it's clear his intelligence is unconventional and idiosyncratic. Neil tells his story in a series of letters he writes to Richard Gere, a figure much admired by Neil's mother. A whimsical, clever narrative.--Kirkus

My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind

Scott Stossel (Get this book)
In this captivating and intimate book, the editor of the Atlantic spares no detail about his lifelong struggle with anxiety and contextualizes his personal experience within the history of anxiety's perception and treatment. Stossel, whose assorted phobias and neuroses began to manifest when he was a toddler, provides an exceptionally relatable and frequently hilarious account of a modern sufferer. Throughout, the author's beautiful prose and careful research combine to make this book informative, thoughtful and fun to read. Powerful, eye-opening and funny. Pitch-perfect in his storytelling, Stossel reminds us that, in many important ways, to be anxious is to be human.--Kirkus

One more thing: stories and other stories

B.J. Novak (Get this book)
An adept zeitgeist miner, Novak excels at topsy-turvy improvisations on a dizzying array of subjects, from Aesop's fables to tabloid Elvis to our oracular enthrallment to the stock market. A master of cringe, Novak imagines a blind date with a warlord, a Comedy Central TV roast of Nelson Mandela, and a mortifying misunderstanding between mega-best-selling novelist John Grisham and his new editor. Writing with zing and humor in the spirit of Woody Allen and Steve Martin, Novak also ventures into the realm of George Saunders and David Foster Wallace. Baseline clever and fresh, at best spectacularly perceptive, and always commanding, Novak's ingeniously ambushing stories of longing, fear, pretension, and confusion reveal the quintessential absurdities and transcendent beauty of our catch-as-catch-can lives.--Booklist

The Contest of the Century: The New Era of Competition with China--And How America Can Win

Geoff Dyer (Get this book)
After decades of dominance in world geopolitics, the U.S. is now facing a growing rivalry with China that will be the major factor in world politics in the coming decades. But that rivalry is not likely to be as intense and bitter as the Cold War rivalry with the Soviet Union. Instead, it will be characterized by a constant balancing of power and shifting coalitions, according to Dyer, economics correspondent for the Financial Times. Dyer focuses on three phenomena: the rising Chinese challenge to U.S. power in military might in Asia, nationalist policies on the world stage, and the challenge to the U.S. dollar by the strengthening Chinese currency. A thoughtful, insightful look at changing geopolitics.--Booklist