Should you be in need of a good paperback-Aren't we all? Always?-here are a half-dozen newly published options:
"The Late Show" by Michael Connelly (Grand Central, $15.99). For his 30th book, the author of the beloved Harry Bosch detective series introduced a new and intriguing character: Detective Renee Ballard, who works the night shift at LAPD's Hollywood Station.
"This Is How It Always Is," by Laurie Frankel (Flatiron, $16.99). Local author Frankel's third novel, about a family with a transgender child, was described in a Seattle Times review as having "so very much to enjoy a carefully tooled narrative that is expansive, perceptive, and gracious; dialogue that is both witty and deep; characters who are remarkably self-actualized."
"A Horse Walked Into a Bar" by David Grossman (Vintage, $15.95). This novel, about a failing stand-up comic taking the stage in an Israeli dive bar for his final show, won the Man Booker International Prize last year.
"Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis," by Annie Jacobsen (Little, Brown, $17.99). A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history, journalist Jacobsen's book is currently being developed-by Steven Spielberg's production company-as a television series.
"The Girl at the Baggage Claim: Explaining the East-West Culture Gap," by Gish Jen (Vintage, $17). This book, a transcript of Jen's William E. Massey Sr. Lectures in the History of American Civilization delivered at Harvard University, continues the conversation about the East-West dichotomy that Jen began in an earlier title, "Tiger Writing: Art, Culture, and the Independent Self."
"The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley," by Hannah Tinti (Random House, $17). Tinti's literary thriller, about a father and daughter with a mysterious past, was recently nominated for an Edgar Award (presented by the Mystery Writers of America) for best novel.