April Books

These are some titles from last month's New York Times Book Review section that I might like to read at some point:

Fiction

A Conspiracy of Kings - Megan Whalen Turner; "Following The Thief, a 1997 Newbery Honor Book, and The King of Attolia, a 2007 Best Book for Young Adults, Turner’s plotting remains deft, and the subtlety with which she balances her characters’ inner and outer worlds will delight both series newcomers and fans, who will be waiting to grab this stand-out, stand-alone adventure, filled with all the expected intrigue and political machinations, from the shelves.

How It Ended: New and Collected Stories - Jay McInerney; "Spans the nearly three decades of McInerney's career, beginning with early stories like "It's Six A.M. Do You Know Where You Are?," which grew into his first novel, Bright Lights, Big City."

Savvy - Ingrid Law; "Mibs is about to turn 13, the age at which supernatural talents are conferred on members of her family." (sounds like the X-Men)

The Solitude of Prime Numbers - Paolo Giordano; "An alienated mathematician and a scarred ex-skier, find refuge together but hurt those who care for them."

Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children's Literature - Julia L. Mickenberg and Philip Nel; "44 texts, mostly from the 20th century and from books aimed at pre-teen readers."

Nonfiction

Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years - Diarmaid MacCulloch; "A professor traces the faith's history through classical philosophy and Jewish tradition, fantastical visions and cold calculations, loving sacrifices and important ambitions."

The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education - Diane Ravitch; "An education historian re-evaluates her support for market-driven accountability in education and defends public schools."

Match Day: One Day and One Dramatic Year in the Lives of Three New Doctors - Brian Eule "follows three young female doctors from the spring of their last year of medical school through the first year of their internships. He is most interested in how the system of training and practice affects doctors' personal lives."

Mount Pleasant: My Journey from Creating a Billion-Dollar Company to Teaching at a Struggling Public High School - Steve Poizner; "A technology entrepreneur spends a year teaching 12th grade . . . and is changed by the experience."

The Way of Herodotus: Travels With the Man Who Invented History - Justin Marozzi; "A journalist and travel writer, follows the footsteps of Herodotus, the 'father of history,' around the Middle East. He moves from Turkey to Iraq to Egypt to Greece, engaging the locals and discussing Herodotus' experience. He concludes, as a Greek hotelier puts it, that all myths have a nucleus of truth."