FICTION
1. T IS FOR TRESPASS
by Sue Grafton
Putnam
Kinsey Millhone must contend with a woman who has stolen a nurse’s identity in order to take advantage of Kinsy’s elderly neighbor.
2. THE DARKEST EVENING OF THE YEAR
by Dean Koontz
Bantam
A woman who rescues golden retrievers and one special dog she takes in are shadowed by an evil stranger.
3. FOR ONE MORE DAY
by Mitch Albom
Hyperion
A troubled man gets a last chance to reconnect and restore his relationship with his dead mother.
4. DOUBLE CROSS
by James Patterson
Little, Brown
Alex Cross and his new girlfriend, a police detective, confront a Washington killer who boasts of his killings on his own Web site, as well as an old adversary who has escaped from prison.
5. A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
by Khaled Hosseini
Riverhead
A friendship between two women in Afghanistan against the backdrop of 30 years of war.
6. WORLD WITHOUT END
by Ken Follett
Dutton
Love and intrigue in Kingsbridge, the medieval English cathedral town at the center of Follett’s Pillars of the Earth.
7. STONE COLD
by David Baldacci
Grand Central
Members of Washington’s Camel Club are being murdered to prevent them from uncovering government secrets.
8. THE CHOICE
by Nicholas Sparks
Grand Central
How a North Carolina man’s choices play out in his life; from the author of At First Sight.
9. PLAYING FOR PIZZA
by John Grisham
Doubleday
An American third-string quarterback joins the Italian National Football League’s Parma Panthers.
10. HOME TO HOLLY SPRINGS
by Jan Karon
Viking
The Mitford character Father Tim returns to his native town to reconnect with family and friends.
11. THE CHASE
by Clive Cussler
Putnam
In the early 20th century, a detective tracks a killer all over the West.
12. BOOK OF THE DEAD
by Patricia Cornwell
Putnam
The forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta opens a private practice in Charleston, South Carolina.
NONFICTION
1. I AM AMERICA (AND SO CAN YOU!)
by Stephen Colbert et al
Grand Central
The wit and wisdom of the mock pundit of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report.
2. BOOM!
by Tom Brokaw
Random House
The retired news anchor recalls and assesses the 1960s.
3. BORN STANDING UP
by Steve Martin
Scribner
Martin, now a writer and actor, recalls his years as a stand-up comedian, from the early 1960s to 1981.
4. AN INCONVENIENT BOOK
by Glenn Beck and Kevin Balfe
Threshold Editions
The conservative TV and talk-radio host offers his solutions to problems including global warming, and poverty.
5. CLAPTON
by Eric Clapton
Broadway Books
The great guitarist looks back on his life and his music.
6. RESCUING SPRITE
by Mark R. Levin
Pocket Books
A family's love for an older dog they adopted.
7. GOOD DOG. STAY
by Anna Quindlen
Random House
Life lessons from a black Lab.
8. QUIET STRENGTH
by Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker
Tyndale
A memoir by the first black coach to win a Super Bowl. (He did it with the Indianapolis Colts in February.)
9. A FAMILY CHRISTMAS
edited by Caroline Kennedy
Hyperion
Poetry, prose and lyrics from a diverse group of authors.
10. THE AGE OF TURBULENCE
by Alan Greenspan
Penguin Press
A memoir by the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
11. THE NINE
by Jeffrey Toobin
Doubleday
A portrait of the Supreme Court since the Reagan administration focuses on the influence of its moderates.
12. LONE SURVIVOR
by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson
Little, Brown
The only survivor of a Navy SEAL operation in northern Afghanistan describes the battle, his comrades and his courageous escape.
13. MUSICOPHILIA
by Oliver Sachs
Knopf
The neurologist and author of Awakenings examines the interaction between music and the brain.
Last week saw the appearance of another odious screed full of lies from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian (肖千), in the Financial Review, a major Australian paper. Xiao’s piece was presented without challenge or caveat. His “Seven truths on why Taiwan always will be China’s” presented a “greatest hits” of the litany of PRC falsehoods. This includes: Taiwan’s indigenous peoples were descended from the people of China 30,000 years ago; a “Chinese” imperial government administrated Taiwan in the 14th century; Koxinga, also known as Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功), “recovered” Taiwan for China; the Qing owned
In Taiwan’s politics the party chair is an extremely influential position. Typically this person is the presumed presidential candidate or serving president. In the last presidential election, two of the three candidates were also leaders of their party. Only one party chair race had been planned for this year, but with the Jan. 1 resignation by the currently indicted Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) two parties are now in play. If a challenger to acting Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) appears we will examine that race in more depth. Currently their election is set for Feb. 15. EXTREMELY
Jan. 20 to Jan. 26 Taipei was in a jubilant, patriotic mood on the morning of Jan. 25, 1954. Flags hung outside shops and residences, people chanted anti-communist slogans and rousing music blared from loudspeakers. The occasion was the arrival of about 14,000 Chinese prisoners from the Korean War, who had elected to head to Taiwan instead of being repatriated to China. The majority landed in Keelung over three days and were paraded through the capital to great fanfare. Air Force planes dropped colorful flyers, one of which read, “You’re back, you’re finally back. You finally overcame the evil communist bandits and
They increasingly own everything from access to space to how we get news on Earth and now outgoing President Joe Biden warns America’s new breed of Donald Trump-allied oligarchs could gobble up US democracy itself. Biden used his farewell speech to the nation to deliver a shockingly dark message: that a nation which has always revered its entrepreneurs may now be at their mercy. “An oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms,” Biden said. He named no names, but his targets were clear: men like Elon Musk
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