“The Ladies of Grace Adieu” by Susanna Clarke

Apparently this is the latest from the author of “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell,” and it looks like a good one to cuddle up to on a black, mysterious, winter’s eve. The flowers on the front aren’t giving much up by way of plot, but the back promises “petulant princesses” and “vengeful owls.” Oh boy! Brew yourself some whole-leaf elderberry-flower tea and tell Petunia Maplethorpe the Sufjan concert will have to wait. This cloth-bound beauty is so nice you may not even want to read the damn thing.


“A Stew or a Story: An Assortment of Short Works” by M. F. K. Fisher

M. F. K. Fisher has a whole lot of initials. She uses them to cook and write, and sometimes she writes about cooking. On the cover of this anthology she also holds a cat. The works have been “gathered,” like fresh herbs from the garden, by Joan Reardon. It’s even got one of those pen and ink David Levine cartoons on the front. This book is a New York Review of Books circle-jerk.


“Thunderstruck” by Erik Larson

The back of this book quotes a description of one of Larson’s earlier books: “The ‘Jaws’ of hurricane yarns.” I guess that makes this the “Lake Placid” of books about boats that get hit by lightning.


—RICHARD S. BECK