This week in picks: Prof. Dale Carpenter examines the 2002 case that struck a huge blow to the nation’s anti-sodomy laws (see our Q&A), Marilynne Robinson makes a delicate investigation into her life with books, Mark Bittman returns to show you the basics of cooking everything, and Jon Gertner takes a look inside Bell Labs. In fiction, there’s history-spanning fiction from M.J. Rose and (on a more limited scale) Laruen Groff; fun new novels for adults and teens from Heidi Julavits (see our excerpt) and Madeline George (respectively); the usual gathering of suspense-thrillers, this week from Olen Steinhauer, Tim Powers, Lyndsay Faye, and newcomer Ted Kosmatka; plus a missing hippopotamus and a tough-minded fantasy prequel—for kids! And your Bonus Pick: the first comprehensive English translation of Roland Barthes’s classic essay collection Mythologies.
Adults
March 12
Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas: How a Bedroom Arrest Decriminalized Gay Americans by Dale Carpenter (Norton, $29.95; ISBN 978-0-393-06208-3).
March 13
The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose (Atria, $24; ISBN 978-1-4516-2130-3).
The Games by Ted Kosmatka (Del Rey, $25; ISBN 978-0-345-52661-8).
The Vanishers by Heidi Julavits (Doubleday, $25.95; ISBN 978-0-385-52381-3).
When I Was a Child I Read Books: Essays by Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $26; ISBN 978-0-374-29878-40).
Mythologies by Roland Barthes, trans. from the French by Richard Howard and Annette Lavers (Hill and Wang, $28; ISBN 978-0-374-53234-5).
Arcadia by Lauren Groff (Hyperion/Voice, $25.99; ISBN 978-1-4013-4087-2).
An American Spy by Olen Steinhauer (Minotaur, $25.99; ISBN 978-0-312-62289-3).
Hide Me Among the Graves by Tim Powers (Morrow, $25.99; ISBN 978-0-06-123154-4).
How to Cook Everything: The Basics: All You Need to Make Great Food by Mark Bittman (Wiley, $35; ISBN 978-0-470-52806-8).
March 15
The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by Jon Gertner (Penguin Press, $29.95; ISBN 978-1-59420-328-2).
March 16
The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (Putnam/Amy Einhorn, $25.95; ISBN 978-0-399-15837-7).
Children’s/YA
March 13
Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta (Candlewick, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-7636-4759-9).
I've Lost My Hippopotamus by Jack Prelutsky, illus. by Jackie Urbanovic (Greenwillow, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-06-201457-3).
March 15
The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George (Viking, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-670-01128-5).
