An Invisible Sign of My Own
by Aimee Bender
Anchor Books, pb, $12.00

It's rare that I read such a short novel that leaves such an impression on me. Yes, it's true -- I couldn't put it down, but I also went on a mad search for anyone I could find to read it once I was done. This is the kind of book you want to talk about, to discuss over coffee with a good friend, and I really liked that response. Ms. Bender has given readers a window into the life and mind of a character in a world that is sometimes strange, often unpredictable, but it is our world. I loved the plot, I loved the voice, and I am now waiting with anticipation for whatever she puts out for us in the future. -- Laurie Nadeau

The Secret Life of Puppets
by Victoria Nelson
Harvard University Press, $29.95

An historical account of puppetry gives way to a magical ontology. Tracing the lineage of various types of human simulacrae back to the roots in religious idolatry, Nelson composes a study of animate matter and the meaning it holds and bestows. I'm quaking in my boots. -- Jessie Clarke

People of the Sea: a Journey in Search of the Seal Legend
by David Thomson
Counterpoint, pb, $14.50

Do you miss the awe and wonder of a wide-eyed, hungry-eared child hearing a fairy tale for the first time? I didn't realize how much I did until I picked up this book. Thomson was a master storyteller, there's not a word too many, too few, or out of place. Settle yourself by a fire or reading lamp for an evening of magic and mystery that will change your perception of the real world. -- Jen Schoonover

Invention of Clouds
by Richard Hamblyn
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $27.00

People use clouds to daydream with, but what are they? What's the history behind them? Something that was deemed the mantle of gods have always been theorized upon, but it was one man, Luke Howard, who defined them in 1802. A mix of history, science, and beauty, the Invention of Clouds is a wonderful walk through the clouds. -- Vicki Yuen