What's in my reading queue this week, and what new titles I'm psyched about

My "books to read" pile is a bit shorter than usual this week, coming in at only a book a day.  It's an interesting variety of books -- one popular fiction novel, a cookbook, two historical nonfiction books, a book on poker, a book on the Bible, and a book on monsters (titled "On Monsters," appropriately enough).  Higher education wins the week, with Oxford University Press and Harvard University Press as the publishers of two of the seven books.  Chronicle Books, Atria, FSG, Knopf, and the Jewish Publication Society round out the rest.
Saturday is for practicing my poker face...



Monday is for suspense and messy familial relationships: The Promised World by Lisa Tucker
Tuesday is for a carbohydrate sponsored tour of the Mediterranean: Rice Pasta Couscous by Jeff Koehler
Wednesday is for delving deep into the 18th century art world of Venice: Tiepolo Pink by Roberto Calasso
Thursday is for careful scrutiny of religious texts: Subversive Sequels in the Bible by Judy Klitsner
Friday is for learning about murder in a historical context: American Homicide by Randolph Roth
Saturday is for practicing my poker face: Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker by James McManus
Sunday is for mythical monsters and irrational fears: On Monsters by Stephen T. Asma


In other news, quite a few fantastic looking books crossed my desk today.  A half dozen of the ones that caught my eye: Cooking for Friends by Gordon Ramsay, Good Without God by Greg M. Epstein, The Union of Their Dreams by Miriam Pawel, Love & Free by Ayumu Takahashi, The Journey of Little Gandhi by Elias Khoury, and Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou.

Happy reading!