the buzz log

A Bond reborn, a White House exposé, and rhymes about eating bugs. The next best thing to reading good books is recommending them. Outlets like NPR have posted their summer literary shopping lists, and USA Today provides a helpful guide, noting new titles' release dates. While the Washington Post released its mix of critical and readers' favorites after Memorial Day, Salon drags out the pleasure with a weekly dip into the juiciest summer passages. Most recently—literary responses to "Sex and the City."

Political tell-alls are hot again, as publishers who rejected former White House press secretary Scott McClellan's (sold-out) memoir now see. Other revelatory reading includes a former high-level commander who gives the military lowdown in Iraq. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Chronicle aims for closure with the 'Good Riddance Lit' round-up devoted to the lame-duck president, including the night-time reader "Goodnight Bush."

In the fiction category, many critics agree on a fictional imagining of Nikolas Tesla in "The Invention of Everything Else," and Samantha Hunt (among others authors), reads a snippet from her work in NPR's fiction addict round-up. Sports lovers can get a wincing look into how female physiology may explain higher rates of injuries in "Warrior Girls." The New York Times compiles a wistful reading list that brings back the heyday of America's vehicular culture. Reviews have been mixed for Sebastian Faulk's "Devil May Care" redux of spy James Bond, but read an excerpt and judge for yourself. 

Not enough hours to stay lit? Die-hard readers can sneak in a few pages right under the boss' nose with a program that disguises the classics as Powerpoint presentations. The drama need never end.

As for what readers have been seeking out in new titles, below are the top "book" searches from the past 30 days.

1. James Patterson Book ("Sail," June 9 release date)
2. Scott McClellan Book ("What Happened," May 28)
3. Barbara Walters Book ("Audition: A Memoir," May 6)
4. Meg Wolitzer Book 2008 ("The Ten-Year Nap," March 27)
5. "Hello Cupcake" Book (April 24)
6. "Millionaire by 30" Book (April 30)
7. "Quantum Wellness" Book (May 20)
8. Terrance Dean Book ("Hiding in Hip Hop," May 13)
9. "The Grandmother" Book (March 1)
10. Randy Pausch Last Lecture Book ("The Last Lecture," April 8)