As Flaubert famously replied, “Madame Bovary, c’est moi!” Of Myron Bolitar, the hero of Harlan Coben’s best-selling mysteries (“Drop Shot,” “Fade Away”), Coben says, “He’s kind of me, with wish fulfillment. He’s faster, funnier, smarter, but I’m a better dancer and slightly wiser in the ways of women.” Indeed, the happily married father of four compares his counterpart’s love life to the Hindenburg, adding, “When he’s too happy, the series will be over!” Luckily, the New Jersey native — and childhood pal of Gov. Chris Christie — has other irons in the fire. Just out is “Seconds Away,” the second book in his YA series about Myron’s nephew, Mickey, who Coben says has problems real kids — like his own — can relate to. Here’s what’s in his library.
Those We Love Most
by Lee Woodruff
When someone sends me an advance copy, I usually go “Oy!” But Woodruff’s novel is the best debut I’ve read this year. It’s a breathtaking, heartbreaking story of family, betrayal, love, forgiveness and tragedy in the aftermath of a family crisis. When I turned the last page, I found myself missing the characters already.
The Happiness Project
by Gretchen Rubin
I’m not a fan of self-help books — how can something be “self-help” if the book itself is purportedly helping you? — but imagine the brightest girl in your class spending a year researching the question, “What makes us happy?” and then writing a concise, clear, practical book on her findings. Also try her newest: “Happier at Home.”
Gone Baby Gone
by Dennis Lehane
Dennis and I sort of started together. We did a book tour in the San Francisco area in 1998, and hardly anybody showed up! If I had to pick just one of his books, it’s this. Gritty, violent, moving and written by an angel touched by the gods, it’s probably the best crime novel written in the past two decades.
Marathon Man
by William Goldman
Before I lost my father at a fairly young age, he gave me this book and we both adored it. Reading it as a teen, I was so enthralled I wouldn’t put it down if you put a gun to my head. The suspense was excruciating! I think that’s when I realized that this was what I wanted to do — keep people up all night turning pages so fast their fingers burn.