The Hamilton Case by Michelle de Kretser
Against the backdrop of the heyday and fall of the British Empire, de Kretser plunges us into the dream-like lives of the Obeysekeres, an eccentric Ceylonian family disintegrating as it loses its fabled wealth. Sam Obeysekere, an arrogant Anglophile lawyer with a taste for detective fiction, works to solve the Hamilton case, a scandalous murder mystery overwhelming the colonial community in Ceylon. With hallucinatory stories and images, the author echoes the mystery at the heart of the novel through shape- and time-shifting portrayals of Sam’s enigmatic and isolated family members: his spendthrift father, flamboyant narcissist of a mother, neglected wife, rabble-rousing brother-in-law, and high-strung, guilt-ridden sister. Written in shimmering, fevered prose, de Kretser’s intricate novel suspects any tidy solutions suggested by facts, implying that reality lies deep within the jungle of the human heart.

The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
An astutely observed and critically acclaimed study of the brittle, glamorous world of New York’s literary elite, The Emperor’s Children presents the intertwined lives of three friends from Brown University who are working and living in New York on the cusp of their thirties. Julian, an erstwhile Village Voice critic who is scraping by on the Lower East Side, seems on the verge of realizing his dream of domestic bliss with the perfect man, his boss from a Wall Street temp job. Danielle, a documentary film maker, is fascinated with a chilling but charming Australian editor intent on catalyzing intellectual revolution through launching a magazine in New York. Her best friend, the beautiful, entitled Marina, keeps finding excuses to not fulfill her contract for a book on children’s fashion. In the meantime, she continues to live on the Upper West Side with her lawyer mother and literary lion of a father, the famed journalist Murray Thwaite. Set on the eve of 9/11, Messud’s compelling social satire and comedy of manners poignantly reveals the very real longing for meaning and intimacy underlying the aspirations of social climbers inhabiting a world about to shatter into unrecognizable shards.

Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl
Vicarious voyagers yearning to escape civilization and winter weather should embark on Thor Heyerdahl’s gripping classic, Kon-Tiki. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the Norwegian anthropologist devised the then-radical theory that pre-Incan South Americans had helped populate the Polynesian Islands, sailing on balsa wood rafts via currents that swept them from the Peruvian coast to the South Seas. After academic peers pooh-poohed his proposal, he vowed to prove it possible. With a hardy Scandinavian crew of non-sailors at his side, Heyerdahl made and sailed Kon-Tiki, a traditionally constructed balsa wood raft, to Polynesia. A thrilling and moving communion with the sea, stars, and creatures of the deep, Heyerdahl’s journey celebrates all explorers who push beyond the edges of known lands to realize their fates.

The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World by Lonely Planet
Bursting with gorgeous images, Lonely Planet’s coffee table book is the perfect complement to any map lover’s National Geographic Atlas. With a picture-rich spread dedicated to each of the 192 countries recognized by the United Nations, in addition to 12 other engaging spots, The Travel Book also offers a condensed column of basic information about each place. Sections such as “Essential Experiences,” “Getting Under the Skin,” “Trademarks,” and “Surprises” feature Lonely Planet’s typically cheeky and informative asides. Included with each country are a map, little-known facts, and suggestions for traditional music or relevant books. When trying to fix upon your next vacation destination, you will find a cornucopia of possibilities here.

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