If you need a book to see you through the long weekend you could do worse than one of these:
“Before Happiness”
Shawn Achor (Random House)
You might know Harvard teaching fellow Achor form his over-caffeinated TED talk. The author of “The Happiness Advantage” is here to tell you, think happy thoughts and you’ll be successful, not the other way around. (Useful tip: Eliminate negative noise.) He also delves into why positive psychology doesn’t work for everyone. This is not your founding fathers’ happiness.
“Nine Inches”
Tom Perotta (Macmillan)
Gently amusing and moving tales of quiet desperation in other people’s suburbia. Soft satire that goes down easy. The title refers to how close kids can dance at a middle school hop.
“Orange Is the New Black”
Piper Kerman (Spiegel & Grau)
Originally out in 2010, the Brooklyn woman’s memoir of life in pokey became a summer hit on Netflix. A good one to binge read on the bus upstate, but the first person perspective might put you off Smith College grads.
“Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero”
Travis Beacham and Sean Chen (Legendary/Marvel Entertainment.)
If you liked the movie, you’ll love the graphic novel. Machines Vs. monsters, in awesome 2D.
“The Asylum, a collage of couture reminiscences…and hysteria”
Simon Doonan (Blue Rider Press)
Barneys dude Doonan nibbles the hand that feeds him, telling hilarious tales of nutso models and pompous designers from his ringside seat at the high fashion circus. Cool stories, bro.
“The Bone Season”
Samantha Shannon (Bloomsbury)
Paige is 19, has supernatural powers and lives in a future London where “voyants” like her are hunted and sent to the penal colony called Sheol. (Tales of women in prison are suddenly hot.) Good if you have to go in to the office Monday – this dense fantasy might require a spreadsheet.
“High Rise Stories: Voices from Chicago Public Housing”
Audrey Petty (Voice of Witness)
Inspiring first person tales of life – lives – in a Chicago public housing project. It’s not all poverty and despair, there’s hope and humor too.
“Claire of the Sea Light”
Edwidge Danticat (Knopf)
This novel about a small girl in Haiti whose father wants to sell her will have your stomach in knots. A fairytale in tin shack land. Seven is the new black.