Weekend picks for book lovers

What should you read this weekend? Paste BN’s picks for book lovers include the cute canine novel Jonathan Unleashed, and a new biography of George W. Bush.

Jonathan Unleashed by Meg Rosoff; Viking, 275 pp.; fiction

Jonathan Trefoil’s life appears to be everything he imagined his “adult life” would be. He lives in his dream city in what he envisions is a true "NYC" apartment. He still dates his college girlfriend Julie and he's working his first post-grad job with childhood friend Max. Every aspect of the life he imagined is, it seems, on track. That is, until he takes in his brother’s two dogs.

Not long after taking in Sissy, a spaniel, and Dante, a collie, Jonathan realizes they both appear to disapprove of his life.

After Jonathan decides his canine companions must be suffering from some sort of doggie ennui, he starts to address his own dissatisfaction. What is it to be an adult? Is creating what you imagine life should be the best blueprint for happiness?

Paste BN says ***½ out of four stars. “Charming…a delightful literary romp.”

Bush by Jean Edward Smith; Simon & Schuster, 832 pp.; non-fiction

This new biography of George W. Bush, who called himself the “Decider,” is critical of many of the decisions the president made.

Paste BN says *** stars. “Smith writes with a deft sweep and sense of history …a swift and damning judgment on the 43rd president.”

The Gilded Years by Karin Tanabe; Washington Square Press, 379 pp.; fiction

Historical novel about Anita Hemmings, the first African-American woman to graduate from Vassar; she did so by passing as white.

Paste BN says ***½ stars. “An elegant and extremely gratifying imagining of one remarkable woman's life.”

Into the Lion's Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov by Larry Loftis; Berkley Caliber, 384 pp.; non-fiction

Biography of double-agent Dusko Popov, a Serbian playboy who was the real-life inspiration for Ian Fleming's James Bond.

Paste BN says *** stars. “A work of non-fiction that's more thriller than biography…well-researched.”

Barkskins by Annie Proulx; Scribner, 713 pp.; fiction

The new novel by Annie Proulx tracks the gradual but ceaseless ravaging of the forests of the new world between 1693 and 2013.

Paste BN says ***½ stars. “Barkskins is masterful, full of an urgent, tense lyricism, its plotting beautifully unexpected…a marvel.”

Contributing reviewers: Mary Cadden, Ray Locker, Charisse Jones, Bill Desowitz, Charles Finch