This was an amazing book, I could not put it down. It's the story of Ivan and Francesca, who open The Good Novel bookstore in Paris. Their goal is to sell good novels to their customers, nothing more. All of the books in their store were suggested by a secret committee of eight novelists, but someone is trying to kill these writers and there seems to be a conspiracy against the bookstore. The store is under siege via cyber attacks and propaganda appearing all around the neighborhood, simply because they only want to sell good novels! There is also a love triangle between Ivan and a student who does not seem very interested in him, and Francesca, of course, is secretly in love with Ivan.

The characters in the this book talk about the difficulty of finding another good book after you have read one. I have this problem too. I had it after I finished this novel. But it's always a joy to read a good novel and then go searching for another one. -JM

A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse, 424 pages; Europa Editions, 2010.

5 olives

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is about just what you'd expect--the story of a circus open only at night. It appears out of nowhere, and has no set schedule. The whole circus is black and white with just a touch of red. The tents hold the most amazing wonders; the Garden of Ice, an illusionist, a tarot card Reader, the Wishing Tree and so much more. The story tells of two old magicians who place a bet to see whose prodigy can perform the best magic. They are the Illusionists Celia and Marco, who do not know who their opponent is, how to win or what they must do to win. The beautifully described circus serves as the arena and the characters are wonderful, both good and bad. Of course, Celia and Marco fall in love, but they must play out the game, as their magic is the only thing that keeps the circus going. This is a great read you'll find hard to put down. -JM

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, 400 pages; Doubleday, 2011.

5 olives

The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo

Jo Nesbo is one of my new favorite authors. He is part of the Scandinavian crime writer phenomenon that includes Henning Mankell and Steig Larsson.

Nesbo's protagonist is Harry Hole (yes, really), an alcoholic, pain in the ass and truly outstanding detective. He has a heart but it is drowning in booze. Because he is such a good detective and the only one experienced with serial killers, Harry is protected by his boss and allowed to continue working cases. In this book, he is obsessed with finding out who killed his partner, Ellen. Harry is convinced it's a cop who is, unfortunately, a favorite with the higher ups in his division. Meanwhile, Harry is not much a favorite of anybody's. Given one last case before he has to retire or be fired, Harry must discover who is killing women, taking a finger and leaving a pentagram shaped diamond with the bodies. As with all Nesbo books, the plot is intricate and very well written. The characters are well developed and really twisted. -JM

The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo, 464 pages; Harper, 2011.
 
5 olives

If you love the 80s (and who doesn't?), then this is the book for you. There's a great premise: a beloved tech guru who is also the richest man in the world dies and leaves his entire fortune to the person who locates the easter egg he's hidden within his virtual world, OASIS. A serious knowledge of 80s pop culture is required if you want to win this game since the deceased adored everything about the era in which he came of age. Think Monty Python, Ferris Bueller, Pac Man and Billy Idol references. Everyone in the real world has been searching for it for five years when the story opens and our narrator tells us he has found the egg and what follows is the true story. Why else should you read Ready Player One?

• Cline's version of the future America
• There's a cool robot battle
• The statement (not overbearing) the novel makes about society being too plugged-in
• Cline is a Hollywood writer and Warner Bros has already picked up the movie rights
• It's a damn good read -SL

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, 384 pages; Crown Publishing, 2011.

5 olives