Weekend picks for book lovers

What should you read this weekend? Paste BN’s picks for book lovers include Jon Meacham's headline-making biography of President George H.W. Bush.

Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush by Jon Meacham; Random House; 864 pp; non-fiction

Jon Meacham has written the memoir that President George H.W. Bush didn’t — and probably couldn’t.

Alone among modern ex-presidents, Bush ruled out producing an account of his White House tenure that would defend his decisions and settle some scores. George W. Bush, who followed his father to the White House, attributes that reluctance to the elder Bush’s lifelong abhorrence of what his mother labeled braggadocio.

Now, however, George and Barbara Bush have provided extraordinary cooperation, including access to their diaries, for an account of his life and presidency that has depth and value. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush is sympathetic but not sycophantic, written from Bush’s perspective but with a journalist’s rigor.

Paste BN says **** out of four. “Illuminating… there is plenty of dish.”

Charlie Mike: A True Story of Heroes Who Brought Their Mission Home by Joe Klein; Simon & Schuster, 320 pp.; non-fiction

Follows veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan as they fight through guilt, injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Paste BN says ***1/2. “Few writers have captured the grief and suffering of combat veterans making the transition from war to home better than journalist Joe Klein.”

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King; Scribner, 512 pp.; fiction

Collects short fiction, and even poetry, by the prolific horror novelist.

Paste BN says ***1/2. “King’s usual homespun style and storytelling swerves are fully evident.”

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith; Little, Brown, 489 pp.; fiction

Someone has knives out for P.I. Cormoran Strike and his young assistant (and aspiring investigator) Robin Ellacott, we discover when a package containing a woman’s severed leg is delivered to their London office.

Paste BN says ****. The “best” in the series written by J.K. Rowling under a pseudonym… “this perfectly paced mystery is packed with surprises.”

M Train by Patti Smith; Knopf, 272 pp.; fiction

The rocker (Just Kids) writes a memoir that proceeds, through countless cups of coffee at tables for one, on planes and in hotels across Latin America, Europe and Asia (and back home to New York).

Paste BN says ****. “A great meditation on solitude, independence, age, a ride-along with the last Romantic standing.”

Contributing reviewers: Susan Page, Ray Locker, Brian Truitt, Jocelyn McClurg, Matt Damsker