The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine.
Knopf, fiction, $25.95.
Alameddine has given us an Arabian Nights for this century. It is the grand saga of a Beruit family (with Armenian, English, and Druze roots) unfolding side-by-side with interwoven narratives of mythical, Biblical, and Arabian origin, all creatively reimagined by Alameddine. The present-day return of Lebanese-American Osama Al-Kharrat to his dying father's bedside in Beruit sets off a cascade of memories and a modern version of the 1001 stories ensues. The novel is magical and epic in scope, utilizing ingeniusly constructed stories within stories that reveal a modern Lebanon disintegrating into a battleground of competing religions, ethnicities, and ideologies. This is boundry-defying fiction and an impressive feat of storytelling. Ed was enthralled, enchanted, and highly recommends this novel!

Lavinia by Ursula K. LeGuin.
Harcourt, fiction, $24.00.
LeGuin brings the early days of Rome and a minor character (Lavinia) in Virgil's Aeneid to vivid life in a novel that explores love, war, duty, leadership, and grief. While celebrating her characters' spiritual lives and religious experiences, this is not the fantasy novel one might expect from LeGuin, it is a work of historical fiction. Life in ancient Italy is so powerfully rendered that you'll feel the sun, smell the forest, taste the wine, and hear the bawl of cattle in the fields. Robert recommends this masterful work, which manages to breathe new life into Virgil's tale while honoring the female characters Virgil mostly ignores.

Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels by David Berona.
HNA Books, non-fiction, $35.00.
In this fascinating work, David Berona explores the esoteric subject of pantomime storytelling with woodcuts, the original graphic novels. A visual treat, the volume is filled with gorgeous images, while the lively text provides historical context and artistic analysis. Berona also convincingly discusses the strong influence that these early woodcut novels have on current graphic novel work. It's just sad that the woodcut novel genre is nearly dead! Shane loved this essential part of art, graphic, and comic history!

The Triumph of Caesar by Steven Saylor.
St. Martins, fiction, $24.95.
This may be the best of the Gordianus mysteries! It's absolutely gripping! When an old friend who was investigating a plot against Caesar's life is found murdered, Gordianus is summoned out of retirement to continue the inquiry. While he's no fan of Caesar's, he seeks justice for his slain friend. During his investigation he meets and interviews many of the era's prominent and colorful characters, including Ciciero, Brutus, Cleopatra, (and her sister Arsinoe) Antony, and even Vercigetorix, the defeated leader of the Gauls. Saylor has always paid exceptional attention to historical detail, and this, combined with his development of character and plot and his elegant writing, convincingly transports us into the ancient world. Ianni recommends!

Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin.
Pantheon, non-fiction, $24.00.
Think: "I am just a fancy fish!" This frame of mind will help you appreciate Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish, a fresh and accessible book about deciphering patterns of relatedness, including our fish-to-human framework. Shubin presents biological and evolutionary concepts with clarity and enthusiasm, making for a fun read, all the while taking a well-armed swipe at intelligent design theory: we are not designed rationally, but are products of a convoluted history (and thus our bodies fall apart in certain predictable ways!) Ed highly recommends!"