Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child (200() Delacorte Press

People are watching Reacher.  They intend to kill him.  But they don’t know Jack Reacher, and that’s their problem.

E by Kate Wrath (2014) CreateSpace 

First offence, erasure.  Second offense, death.  A nameless girl is dropped into an outpost where the most basic needs are almost impossible to come by.  Robots enforce the law without recourse.  How can people escape, let alone survive in such a world?

This is the first best-selling book (according to Amazon) from a self-publisher to become popular with the general public.  It will be interesting to see how the platform/publisher fares with regards to promoting their authors to the New York Times best selling list.

Battle Lines: A Graphic History of the Civil War - Ari Kelman & Jonathan Fetter-Vorm (2015) Hill and Wang 

A beautiful rendition of ordinary scenes mixed with battles that represent the darkest period of our history.

Death: The Time of Your Life by Neil Gaiman (1997) Verigo 

A successful singer-songwriter loses her child from her only heterosexual encounter.  When death arrives, she promises to take her son’s place, the next time death returns in trade for letting her son live a while longer.

Julio's Day by Gilbert Hernandez (2013) Fantagraphics 

The story of a man born in 1900 who lives for 100 years.  One century told from a single life.  At his birth, the family thinks he will become an opera singer or a politician.  What he becomes is a surprise to himself and everyone else.

Glacial Period by Nicolas De Crecy (2007) Nbm Publishing Co.

An artist imagines a future ice-age where a team has discovered the ruins of the Louvre, buried in the snow.  They try to interpret the artifacts they see from their future perspective.  Accompanied by their pig-like talking dogs, the presentation is amusing and wonderfully drawn.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (1998) 

Nathaniel Price, an evangelical Baptist, takes his family to the Congo on a mission.  Everything they planned is turned on its head.  Their garden refuses to grown, their attempt to convert the local populous only works to enrage their enemies.  Told over three decades from the point of view of one of the daughters, the family is torn apart and reconstructed.

Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi (2006) Pantheon

What do women in Iran do when they get together?  They talk about love, sex and men.  The discussions cover faking virginity, escaping arranged marriages, and the benefits of being a mistress.  The women range in age and the subject is presented with humor and dignity, or something that seems to be the same.

Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi (2006) Pantheon

The author of Persepolis brings her sense of humor and insight with a man who is the pre-eminent player of the stringed tar. He instrument is broken beyond repair and he cannot find another one that speaks to him the same way.  So, he decided to lay down and die.  His family and friends try to change his mind but cannot. 

O Jerusalem by Laurie R King (1999) Bantam 

Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, visit Palestine under the auspices of Holmes’ brother Mycroft.  They work with two Arabs, Ali and Mahmoud, and track a murderer to Jerusalem, a man who wants to destroy the most sacred place in the city to ignite more war.

The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar (2005) Pantheon 

A rabbi’s cat eats a parrot and gains the ability to speak.  He argues with the rabbi about Talmudic vs Kabbala teachings and wants a Bar Mitzvah.  The rabbi’s daughter loves the cat and he accompanies the rabbi and his daughter to France to meet her prospective husband’s family.

Jack and Jill by James Patterson (1996) Little Brown & Co.

Alex cross tracks the killer of a little girl.  But this was only a trial run for the killer’s real target.

A Caress of Twilight by Laurell K Hamilton (2002) Ballentine Books

Meredith Gentry is an L.A. private eye.  She’s also a fae princess.  To become queen, she must bear a child before her cousin can father one of his own.  So she proceeds to attempt the feat with the warriors of her royal guard.  And she has to stop an ancient evil that is trying to destroy the fabric of reality.

Goldfinger by Ian Fleming (1959) Penguin Books

Bond investigates the gold smuggling operation of Auric Goldfinger, a financier of SMERSH.  Goldfinger has a plan to steal the gold from Fort Knox.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012) Ballentine Books

The book was so good, I hated it.  Ms. Flynn can pull your emotions every which way.  

On Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary, with the celebration planned and ready to get underway, Amy disappears.  The police jump to the regular conclusion that the husband killed the wife.  And Nick does himself no favors, caught in lie after lie.  The ending will make you jump.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (2014) Viking 

Sarah Grimke, living in pre-Civil War Charleston, is given Handful, a slave, to be her handmaiden.  Sarah doesn’t want a slave, but she is given no choice.  Over the next thirty-five years as the girls get closer and Handful looks for a way to freedom, Sarah and her younger sister, Angelina, go north to help with abolition and women’s rights.

Deadwood by Peter Dexter (1986) Random House

Deadwood, Dakota territories, 1876.  Wild Bill Hickock, his friend, Charlie Utter, and Calamity Jane come together in a real wild-west story.  There are Chinese immigrants, gamblers, whore masters, miscreants, and a man who is convinced that Hickock has bested him and ruined his reputation.  He also knows he could not beat the legendary gunman in a fair fight.  But what’s fair in real life?

Allegiant by Veronica Roth (2013) Katherine Tegen Books 

Told in a completely different way from the first two volumes, as a he-said, she-said approach to the tale.  It was difficult for me to stay in the story.  The movie did not attempt this viewpoint and as better for it. 

This time, the two main characters choose to trust each other and follow their choice of allegiance and love.

Insurgent - Veronica Roth (2012) Katherine Tegen Books

War surges between the factions of the city.  Can Tris save the people she loves?  Can she save herself?

Divergent by Veronica Roth (2011) Katherine Tegen Books 

Beatrice Prior lives in a future dystopian Chicago and chooses to diverge from the faction that her family is a part of.  She chooses to be Dauntless, those who are brave and sworn to protect the factions.  But can she rise in the ranks of her faction, or will she be pushed out of the city?