REQUIRED READING

Tiny Imperfections Alli Frank and Asha Youmans (f iction, GP Putnam’s Sons)

Josie Bordelon is the director of admissions at one of San Francisco’s most prestigious private schools. She’s got a talented teenage daughter, Etta, and her beloved Aunt Viv overseeing all her decisions as she juggles the chaos and hilarity of her work life (crazed parents!) with dating and parenting.

The Paris Hours Alex George (f iction, Flatiron Books)

Paris between the world wars is the setting for this novel, which unfolds over the course of one day in 1927 and includes a cast of characters such as Camille, the maid of Marcel Proust, a journalist named Jean-Paul, a downon-his-luck artist named Guillaume who has a meeting with Gertrude Stein, and more.

Dirt: Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French Cooking Bill Buford (cooking, Knopf )

Delightful escapism from the New Yorker editor/writer, who heads with his wife and 3-year-old twins to Lyon, the gastro capital of France. Culinary adventures ensue as he studies at L’Institut Bocuse, apprentices at a bakery, and cooks at a Michelinstarred restaurant.

Mothers Before: Stories and Portraits of Our Mothers As We Never Saw Them Edan Lepucki (photography, Harry N Abrams)

Who were our mothers before they become mothers? This collection of essays and photographs takes a look.

Empire City Matt Gallagher (f iction, Atria Books)

Thirty years after the war in Vietnam, the United States is involved in an endless war overseas while the country is aflame with violent protests, domestic drama, and a group of Super Soldiers known as the Volunteers. For fans of titles like “The Plot Against America.” From the author of “Youngblood.”

The Book of V Anna Solomon (f iction, Henry Holt & Co.)

A novel intertwining the lives of three different women over three vastly different time periods, from ancient Persia to Watergate-era Washington, DC, to Brooklyn 2016.