Debutante, Gioia Diliberto

"Debutante" is a biography of Brenda Diana Duff Frazier, Glamour Girl No. 1 in 1938. A product of a socially grasping mother and grandmother, Brenda Frazier became famous at age 17 for her beauty and fortune. Made much of by the press of the day, featured on the cover of Life magazine, set to inherit millions, Frazier was nonetheless a poor little rich girl whose home life left much to be desired. "Debutante" is the story of her unhappy childhood, adolescence and adult life. Though beautiful, rich and feted, Brenda became a drug addict and alcoholic who also suffered from anorexia and bulimia. Diliberto's book never makes a convincing case for why Frazier was considered interesting and not simply bizarre. Brenda Frazier makes a poor subject and an uninteresting story. Boring.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon

Christopher John Francis Boone is autistic, a detective and an author. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" is a murder mystery written by Christopher after a neighborhood dog is killed with a gardening tool. Briefly suspected of the dastardly deed, Christopher sets out to discover what really happened, in the process unravelling the lives of his parents and neighbors. Haddon has written a piercing look at the inner life of an autistic child. Most interesting are Christopher's explanations of people's emotions, his understanding of social interactions and the way in which he experiences new places and people. Christopher leaps off the page with immediacy, alternately hilarious and heart-breaking.

The Virgin Blue, Tracy Chevalier

Chevalier's "The Virgin Blue" is the story of two women, one a French Calvinist in the 1600s, the other a present day midwife. The book switches between the stories of Isabelle and Ella, the story of one informing the genealogical research of the other. Ella moves to France with her architect husband and embarks on French lessons, a search for her French ancestors and, ultimately, she stumbles across a terrible family secret. In the process, she falls in love with a French historian and her marriage begins to unravel. Chevalier's story is interesting, but her writing is disappointing -- the transitions from one woman's life to the others are disjointed and abrupt. Ella's character is ultimately shallow and unappealing, vastly less interesting than that of 16th century Isabelle. A first novel that shows promise but tries a little too hard.

City of Glass: Douglas Coupland's Vancouver, Douglas Coupland

admittedly, i'm a fan of the city, but coupland's vancouver is irresistable. his city is gritty enough to be a real place, but is also blessed with surreally beautiful scenary. the photo of the yellow sulfur piles against an intensely blue sky sums it all up -- industry in paradise. coupland hasn't written a travelogue here, but something more like a photo album with really great captions. he talks about vancouver's pot enterprises, its monorail, its transient population of ultra-hip japanese teens and the ubiquity of fleece. the photography is beautiful. this book is about flavor rather than museums and walking tours.

Brick Lane, Monica Ali

Books like this make me feel like I've read too many books. "Brick Lane" has been well-received by critics, and put on various must-read lists, but ultimately it's a story I've read before, many times. The Bangladeshi heroine, Nazneen, narrowly survives birth and grows up in an unhappy home. Her parents marry her to a Bengali immigrant in London -- a much older man whose personal appearance leaves much to be desired. Nazneen embarks on a (not surprisingly) closed-in life of cooking and cleaning for her husband, trimming his corns and nose hair and listening to him rant pedantically about history and politics. She has two children and watches her husband go from bad job to worse. When Nazneen takes a younger man as a lover, she embarks on a path to independence. Add in 9/11 and immigrant politics for current topical interest. There's nothing wrong with "brick lane;" ali's writing has its moments, but overall i'm underwhelmed.

The Hot House, Pete Earley

Reading this book has inspired me to stay out of jail, by whatever means necessary. Since the easiest way to do that seems to be to obey the law, I'll start there. Earley wrote this book after spending two years visiting Leavenworth prison, talking with prisoners, guards and management. He doesn't attempt to explain why people become prisoners or guards, but does look closely at life inside. There is a parallel universe, folks, and prison is it. Many of the prisoners Earley writes about speak of having integrity and following their principles, while saying at the same time that they have no interest in playing by the rules of the outside world. If you ever had the idea that prison could rehabilitate, this should take care of it. Disturbing, depressing, and should be required reading at a very young age.