A riveting account of the flawed leadership, bad luck and virulent personalities that led to the 2006 murder of an entire Iraqi family by American soldiers.

Health care and bank accounts loom large in Lionel Shriver’s multifaceted 10th novel, in which plans, relationships and families are changed by illness.

A science writer addresses the question: What makes a sage?

New collections of classic comics, including “Peanuts,” “Bloom County” and “Popeye.”

As death draws near, Chang-rae Lee’s heroine, a Korean War orphan who now lives in New York, sets off for Europe to look for her wayward son.

With an assist from others’ quotations, David Shields argues that our deep need for reality is not being met by the old and crumbling models of literature.

The boldness and the folly of the explorers who sought the Northwest Passage.

This “character driven” account of two centuries of religious combat is the best recent history of the Crusades.

A journalist’s adventures in the world of taxidermy, where she observes the art of incising, skinning, sculpturing and reassembling.

Vietcong guerrillas capture a female reporter in this vivid Vietnam War novel.

Novels by Dominick Dunne, Sadie Jones, Melanie Benjamin, Brian Hart and Elizabeth Kostova.

A documentary approach to Anne Frank’s life and diary; and a novel about Jewish refugee children during World War II.

An entertaining, graphic-novel style account of Amelia Earhart’s stay in Newfoundland before she crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1928.

More children’s books reviewed.

Top 5 at a Glance
1. HOUSE RULES, by Jodi Picoult
2. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett
3. FANTASY IN DEATH, by J. D. Robb
4. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER, by Seth Grahame-Smith
5. WORST CASE, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Top 5 at a Glance
1. NO APOLOGY, by Mitt Romney
2. LIFT, by Kelly Corrigan
3. GAME CHANGE, by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin
4. NOT WITHOUT HOPE, by Nick Schuyler and Jeré Longman
5. THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS, by Rebecca Skloot

Top 5 at a Glance
1. LITTLE BEE, by Chris Cleave
2. A RELIABLE WIFE, by Robert Goolrick
3. THE LAST SONG, by Nicholas Sparks
4. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Stieg Larsson
5. THE 8TH CONFESSION, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Top 5 at a Glance
1. THE LAST SONG, by Nicholas Sparks
2. DEAR JOHN, by Nicholas Sparks
3. FIRST FAMILY, by David Baldacci
4. SHUTTER ISLAND, by Dennis Lehane
5. LONG LOST, by Harlan Coben

Top 5 at a Glance
1. A PATRIOT'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, by Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen
2. THE LOST CITY OF Z, by David Grann
3. THE BLIND SIDE, by Michael Lewis
4. THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
5. THE SURVIVORS CLUB, by Ben Sherwood

Top 5 at a Glance
1. PAYBACK TIME, by Phil Town
2. SWITCH, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
3. THE HAPPINESS PROJECT, by Gretchen Rubin
4. USE YOUR HEAD TO GET YOUR FOOT IN THE DOOR, by Harvey Mackay
5. THE 4-HOUR WORKWEEK, by Timothy Ferriss

Top 5 at a Glance
1. NOW EAT THIS!, by Rocco DiSpirito
2. FOOD RULES, by Michael Pollan
3. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING, by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel
4. THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES, by Gary Chapman
5. THE NEW ATKINS FOR A NEW YOU, by Eric C. Westman, Stephen D. Phinney and Jeff S. Volek

Top 5 at a Glance
1. THE EASTER EGG, written and illustrated by Jan Brett
2. POET EXTRAORDINAIRE!, by Jane O’Connor
3. DISNEY’S ALICE IN WONDERLAND: THE VISUAL GUIDE, by Jo Casey and Laura Gilbert
4. THE LION AND THE MOUSE, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
5. LISTEN TO THE WIND, by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth

Top 5 at a Glance
1. KICK-ASS, by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.
2. DARK TOWER: THE FALL OF GILEAD, by Robin Furth and Peter David
3. THE BOOK OF GENESIS: ILLUSTRATED, by R. Crumb
4. BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE, by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland
5. WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN, by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven

Work has become central to most people’s self-conception. Why does fiction have so little to say about it?

Mystery novels by Jo Nesbo, Cara Black, Simon Lelic and Robert Goddard.

As Newsweek’s Jerusalem bureau chief from 2001 to 2004, Joshua Hammer “covered Iraq extensively, embedding with United States troops as the insurgency spiraled out of control.”

Seth Grahame-Smith’s “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” enters the hardcover fiction list at No. 4.

Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

Paperback books of particular interest.