A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Eagan Centered on the members of an '80s punk band and their followers, the interlocking stories of A Visit from the Goon Squad focus on the dark side of the twin industries of music and marketing. Like songs on a concept album whose theme is the passage of time and the meaning of memory, the interwoven narratives are by turn funny, violent, poignant, and experimental, and illustrate how time, technology, and spin can alter our perceptions of reality. Changing in point-of-view, spanning several decades from the 1980s to the near future, and varying in tone, this is an exhilarating hodgepodge of a novel.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot In 1951 Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman, sought treatment for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital. During treatment, and without her consent, samples of her cancer tissue were taken for medical and scientific experimentation. For 60 years, cells reproduced from those samples have been used in research that has led to dozens of medical breakthroughs. This truly fascinating account is not only a biography of Lacks and her family, many of whom live in poverty, unable to afford healthcare, but also a revealing account of medical research and the variety of ethical questions it poses.

The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher Chabris and Dan Simons Is it possible to miss the obvious by paying too much attention? According to this fascinating survey, it just might be. This premise is based on a 1999 psychological experiment in which observers were asked to watch a video of people playing basketball and to count the number of passes made, but in the process observes failed to notice a person in a gorilla suit walk through the scene. The book's discussion of "illusions of intuition" offers an explanation for why we are often convinced that our faulty memories are correct, and cautions a bit of skepticism about our own recollections and convictions.

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers Syrian-American housepainter and contractor Abdulrahman Zeitoun chose to ride out Hurricane Katrina in order to protect his home and business, while his wife, Kathy, and their children left New Orleans for safer ground. After the levees broke, Zeitoun spent nights camped on his rooftop and spent days helping others escape from their destroyed houses in his second-hand canoe, until he was detained incommunicado by police, leaving Kathy to fear him dead. This true story is not only a riveting account of survival in storm-damaged New Orleans, but is also a searing portrayal of post-9/11 security run amok.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier Years before Darwin would posit his theory of evolution, and before the word "dinosaur" was even invented, Mary Anning, a cabinetmaker's young daughter who would later make remarkable paleontological discoveries, was selling fossils to tourists at Regency-era Lyme Regis, England. This historical novel of manners imagines Mary's friendship with a fellow fossil hunter, the 25-year-old society "spinster" Elizabeth Philpot. The book explores in chapters that alternate between their two voices—one rustic and one cultured—the stifling and patronizing social mores of the time that discouraged scientific pursuits by women, and the suspicions aroused by such endeavors because they challenged people's understanding of nature and religion.