What's on my night stand

The heft in your hand of a new book followed by its fresh, papery scent. The rush of anticipation as you flip it open. The almost sensual flick of your fingers on the turn of a page, and that pleasurable final thump when you close the cover on a satisfying ending. There's nothing like a real print-on-paper book.

But digital books are so convenient. Kindle, Nook, whatever the eReader, it carries thousands of volumes compressed into a few ounces of techno-brilliance. In bed, it's the perfect companion. A thumb press automatically turns the page. And if you snooze off, the clever device shuts itself down to reopen at the page you left. It's perfect for travel. Slip it into a briefcase or a handbag and you're on your way. E also stands for Easy. There's nothing like a book projected on an eReader.

So which do you choose? Admittedly, the bound book skyscraper on my night table has been whittled down to a three-story stack topped by my eReader. Honestly, it's a win-win choice. Whether appearing magically on a screen or seducing with the intimacy of the printed page, good books are good whatever the format. Here are a few of my new favorites.

Faithful Place
Like Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, this is a mystery, a family drama, and a psychological exploration skillfully woven into an compelling read. Faithful Place--the Mackey clan's grimy Dublin neighborhood--is the perfect background for this coffin-dark story where secrets hidden for decades worm their way into the present.

Faithful Place is third in Tana French's series about the city's police murder squad and according to many critics, the best of the lot . . . so far. With a different character in the spotlight from book to book, each volume also works as a brilliant stand-alone. I was into the multilayered plot in the first few pages, hooked by the fascinating cast and by prose written in perfect pitch. French's characters are sharply drawn but cast deep shadows, especially Frank Mackey who long ago escaped his abusive, disorderly kin only to be drawn back into the family by a temptation he can't resist: the possible resolution of the unsolved disappearance of the girl he loved as a teenager. You'll be thinking about Faithful Place long after you've left this dangerous, memory-haunted neighborhood.

Cleopatra: A Life
Depending upon who's rewriting history (Roman historians maligned her from a blurry distance; Shakespeare and Shaw took dramatic license) or who's tampered with the scant evidence that survived the centuries, Cleopatra was a experienced temptress, a consummate politician, a power-mad poisonous offshoot of an incestuous and murderous family tree. Well, maybe. Then again, maybe not. With no paintings or sculpures done from life as physical reference and contemporary written accounts of the woman long disintegrated, Stacy Schiff constructs the life Cleopatra likely lived from the author's knowledge of the world in which she lived. Sure, that's a grand jete' from research and imagination to supposition but--bravo!--Schiff lands on her feet. And who's to dispute her version of history when others are grounded in even less provable fact.

Cleopatra may not have been a great beauty a la Liz Taylor or the driving force behind political conquest and cultural renaissance that was Elizabeth I, but this queen emerges as a complex woman bound to fulfill her destiny. The book's bonus is Schiff's narrative style. No pedantic porridge-bland biography, it's spiced with wit and charm and a flair for the memorable image. Is it history, her-story or just a story? Who knows? But it's one heckuva read.

The Gentleman Poet
In this case, there's no question we're into fiction. Author Kathryn Johnson starts with a 17th century environment wonderfully recreated, then takes fabulous liberties to produce an engaging novel, The Gentleman Poet. I don't want to give away too much, but the title hints at the clever premise. And that premise produces a suspenseful plot loaded with twists and turns. All the characters are finely drawn especially Elizabeth, a servant girl in whose appealing voice the tale is told. She dips into all her resources to survive when the ship ferrying some fascinating passengers from England to the New World is storm-wrecked on a mysterious island. Could one of her shipmates be the Bard of Avon? The book is rife with possibilities. Elizabeth is a teenager and although the book is written for adults, it's sure to be a hit with YA readers, as well. Courage, resourcefulness, humor, loyalty and love all figure into her geographic and emotional journey. No doubt even the "gentleman poet" would appreciate this gem of a novel.

~*~

Next on my reading list: composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim's Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes. How's that for a title? I love Sondheim's music; look forward to this inside glimpse of the writing process and of his creative life backstage and personal.

Then, Jane Leavy (who wrote the masterful Sandy Koufax bio) has given us The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood. The Mickey his fans cherished was the consummate sports hero--invulnerable, invinceable, beautiful and pure. Behind the image? I'll let you know next time.