Speed Reads: November

Autobiography of Mark
Twain Volume 1

By Mark Twain, out now

In what will supposedly be the
first of three volumes, the life of Mark Twain will be revealed in full
detail by the man’s own words.

To
Sound in the Know: Twain wouldn’t allow this material to be published
until 100 years after his death because he didn’t want anyone he knew or
their kids to be scandalized. US Weekly does not approve.

Life

By Keith Richards and James Fox, out now

The autobiography of the
Rolling Stone who continues to defy the odds by simply being alive.

To
Sound in the Know: Richards has confessed that he would love to be a
librarian. Makes sense—rock icon, librarian. Really, that could have
gone either way.

Lost
Boys of the Bronx—The Oral History of the Ducky Boys Gang

By James
Hannon, out now

The true story of a gang of preteen kids from the Irish
Bronx who wreaked havoc and formed fierce bonds in the 1960s.

To Sound
in the Know: The Ducky Boys Gang was the basis for Richard Price’s
novel, The Wanderers.

Moonlight Mile

By Dennis Lehane, out now

In this sequel to Gone, Baby, Gone, two
Boston PIs return to find that the 4-yearold kidnapped girl they saved
in the previous novel is now a teenager who has disappeared.

To Sound in the Know: Apparently, Lehane novels are like crack for big name directors—Scorsese (Shutter Island), Eastwood (Mystic River) and Affleck (Gone, Baby, Gone). Let’s guess who’ll take on this one.

Simple
Times: Crafts for Poor People

By Amy Sedaris, out now

Sedaris takes on
the bright side of a terrible economy and, with her characteristic wit,
explores the process of turning junk into craft… or at least less junky
junk.

To Sound in the Know: Sedaris runs Dusty Food Cupcakes, a cupcake
and cheeseball business, out of her Greenwich Village apartment kitchen.

Sunset
Park

By Paul Auster, out now

In his 16th novel, Auster tells the story
of a group of squatters occupying a house in Sunset Park, Brooklyn,
including Miles, who is running from a Lolita-ish love he found in
Florida and the father he hasn’t talked to in years.

To Sound in the
Know: Auster lets go a bit of his usual surrealist bent in this novel.

Decoded

By Jay-Z, out Nov. 16

A twist on the conventional memoir, Jay-Z takes
his lyrics and decodes them as a way to explore the stories from his
childhood in Brooklyn and his life as a worldwide superstar.

To Sound in
the Know: Jay-Z has started a “treasure hunt” where fans follow clues
on a website to find the locations of pages from his book all over NYC.