Simon&Schuster

I love that the subtitle of this book is “The Story,” because that’s really how this book reads. David Maraniss has written a thorough, lyrical, and very literary biography of our 44th president, a book that includes hundreds of interviews (including some with the president himself), as well as letters, journals, and other documents. The result is a fascinating, un-put-downable narrative that circles the globe and lands in the White House.

I have a new favorite word: wonk. Not to be confused with wonky (although this book is also a little bit of that). Wonk—defined as a studious person—is the self-adopted moniker for “mapheads”—those who are interested in everything map, and Ken Jennings is leader of the map pack. In a charming and witty tone, Jennings blends memoir, humor, anecdote, and serious research to talk about his devotion to the world of maps. From map making to map collecting, to Google maps, to the ways pop icons plan their tour stops (there is in fact an order to the chaos), Jennings wrote this book with one aim in mind: to “rescue geography from irreverence.” Delightful, funny, and perfect for Bill Bryson fans.

This may be book #2 from the internationally bestselling author Camilla Läckberg, but I jumped right into it without reading her first (The Ice Princess) and I was wonderfully thrilled. The suspense builds for detective Patrik Hedström as fresh victims revive a series of unsolved murders from the previous generation. There’s intense family drama—a twisted mesh of relation, resentment, and secrets—as well as a wonderfully fleshed-out cast of supporting characters. Evil lurks in the Scandinavian summer heat. Will Patrik solve the murders and locate the missing girl, or will a killer’s legacy claim another victim?   

After I finished Book 7 in 2004, I wasn’t ready for the Dark Tower series to be over—and neither, it seems, was Stephen King! In this eighth Dark Tower novel, which takes place between Books 4 and 5, King explores his fascination with storytelling. Roland tells his ka-tet a story from his youth, when he was sent to investigate a slaughter by a shape-shifting “skin-man” witnessed by one terrified young man, Bill Streeter. Young Roland in turn tells Bill a story to calm his nerves: the story of The Wind Through the Keyhole. “A person’s never too old for stories,” he says to Bill. “Man and boy, girl and woman, we live for them.” I’ve read the first pages and I cannot wait to read the rest!

Alice Hoffman is known for her lyrical style and novels that are dosed with magic and surrealism. But in The Dovekeepers, she breaks away from the world of fantasy and retells the story of the Romans’ siege of Masada in 70 CE, during which all but a handful of the 900 Jewish defenders were slaughtered. Using the voices of four separate women, who intersect in surprising ways, the story unfolds into one of determined strength, unity, and faith. With an almost biblical feel, Hoffman’s novel has a cadence and depth that makes it feel timeless—she has truly brought history to life—so perhaps there is a bit of magic in her telling after all.

Chiro, a young bat, learns that he must make his first night trip alone. When he complains that it will be “…darker even than the water before dawn,” his mother explains that there are many ways to see the world. Some parents and educators will have to explain echolocation, but children will delight in this lesson as they see the light pouring from Chiro’s singing mouth. Chiro’s mother is featured as end-caps in this story, but her wisdom and tenderness are undeniable. Grades K–3.