Weekend picks for book lovers

'The Entertainer: Movies, Magic and My Father's Twentieth Century' by Margaret Talbot

Margaret Talbot writes a warm memoir of her actor father'The Black Box' may be best Michael Connelly yetKeith Richards is a fan of 'Me and the Devil'

What should you read this weekend? USA TODAY's picks for book lovers include an engaging portrait of character actor Lyle Talbot by his daughter, and Michael Connelly's hot new Harry Bosch thriller.

The Entertainer by Margaret Talbot; Riverhead, 432 pp.; non-fiction

New Yorker writer Margaret Talbot has written a unique memoir of her late father, character actor Lyle Talbot, using him as a symbol to explore the rise of mass entertainment in the 20th century and the cult of personality.

It's a fascinating social history of America, and an endearing portrait of her dad, who was best known as the affable next-door neighbor on the popular Ozzie and Harriet TV series in the 1950s and '60s.

At the same time, The Entertainer is a warm father/daughter story.

Lyle Talbot (1902-1996), although good-looking and charming, lacked the essential charisma to be a movie star. But he didn't care. He knew his strengths and limitations as an actor and was happy just to be working regularly during the Depression.

USA TODAY says *** out of four. "Thoughtful and well-researched."

The Black Box by Michael Connolly; Little, Brown, 400 pp.; fiction

In this 18th in a 20-year-old series starring L.A.P.D. detective Harry Bosch, Harry hunts down the killer of a Danish journalist dumped in an L.A. alley in 1992.

USA TODAY says ****. "Could be the best (Connelly) yet."

Me and the Devil by Nick Tosches; Little, Brown, 387 pp.; fiction

An aging, cynical writer named Nick narrates this graphically sexual tale of depraved darkness in the lineage of Henry Miller and William F. Burroughs.

USA TODAY says ***. "Disturbing yet compelling …brilliantly bizarre."

Dead Asleep by Jamie Freveletti; Harper, 403 pp.; fiction

In this fourth in the Emma Calridge series, set on a Caribbean island, the biochemist struggles to solve the the mystery of why islanders are falling into a paralyzing sleep from which they can't wake up.

USA TODAY says ***. "A wonderfully entertaining bit of escapism."

38 Nooses: Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier's End by Scott W. Berg; Pantheon, 309 pp.; non-fiction

With Lincoln a hit at the movies, this history examines a little-known 1862 uprising of Dakota warriors impoverished by decades of broken treaties, and the president's role in the crisis.

USA TODAY says *** ½ out of four. Berg "crafts a heady narrative from his extensive research …an impressive new history."

Contibuting reviewers: Bill Desowitz, Carol Memmott, Don Oldenburg and Matt Damsker

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