Fiction

Laura Rider's masterpiece by Jane Hamilton

The tower, the zoo, and the tortoise by Julia Stuart

Skippy dies by Paul Murray

Dancing with bears: the postutopian adventures of Darger & surplus by Michael Swanwick

The strange affair of Spring Heeled Jack by y Mark Hodder

The lover's dictionary by David Levithan

Non-fiction

He crashed me so I crashed him back: the true story of the year the King, Jaws, Earnhardt, and the rest of NASCAR's feudin', fightin', good ol' boys put stock car racing on the map by Mark Bechtel

Mr. America: how muscular millionaire Bernarr Macfadden transformed the nation through sex, salad, and the ultimate starvation diet by Mark Adams

The guinea pig diaries: my life as an experiment by A.J. Jacobs

Packing for Mars: the curious science of life in the void by Mary Roach

Half empty by David Rakoff

Operation Mincemeat: how a dead man and a bizarre plan fooled the Nazis and assured an Allied victory by Ben Macintyre

Looking for more? Look at Fascinating Stories Behind Everyday Things and More Stories Behind Everyday Things.