JOURNALIST’S MEMOIR of a wine trip with her hotelier father takes the “fun” right out of “dysfunctional”. B MINUS

CORKED
Grand Central Publishing
2010

CRISP WRITING, CLARITY of focus distinguish memoir by a mother of her son’s complex neuro/psychological illness. B PLUS

THE BOY WHO LOVED TORNADOES
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
2010

EASYGOING YET COMPREHENSIVELY researched, this history of the Beat movement and its writers is a treasure. A MINUS

THE TYPEWRITER IS HOLY: THE COMPLETE, UNCENSORED HISTORY OF THE BEAT GENERATION
Free Press
2010

THE MOST AMBITIOUS time-travel novel ever written? Probably. The sequel to BLACKOUT is a triumph. A MINUS

ALL CLEAR
Random House Publishing Group
2010

GREECE IS THE VIVIDLY drawn setting for this latest World War II thriller from master of the genre Alan Furst. B PLUS

SPIES OF THE BALKANS
Random House
2010

CLASSIC CARL HIASSEN! This cynical celebrity caper features a picaresque cast of misfits, twisty plot. A MINUS

STAR ISLAND
Knopf Publishing Group
2010

FASCINATING STUDY of North Korea’s internal propaganda offers nuanced perspective on the country’s worldview. SOLID B

THE CLEANEST RACE: HOW NORTH KOREANS SEE THEMSELVES AND WHY IT MATTERS
Melville House Publishing
2010

JOHN WATERS’S best book yet! A delightfully off-kilter collection of essays on his favorite people and things. A MINUS

ROLE MODELS
Farrar Straus Giroux
2010

SOME CHARMING PIECES (especially travel) in this second collection from Sloane Crosley, but not enough pizzazz. SOLID B

HOW DID YOU GET THIS NUMBER
Riverhead Books
2010

FASCINATING HISTORY of early forensic medicine is a compendium of great true crime with a science-y twist. SOLID A

THE POISONER’S HANDBOOK: MURDER AND THE BIRTH OF FORENSIC MEDICINE IN JAZZ AGE NEW YORK
Penguin Group (USA)
2010