The majority of Alexander McCall Smith's previous novels have been mere installments in various sagas, including the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. This time around, however, Smith seems to have crafted a novel that truly stands on its own.

Some people are born with natural talents and abilities. We hear about young children excelling in calculus, dance and piano. Olympic athletes often have been practicing and competing in their respective sports from a very young age. Nicola Keegan's novel, Swimming, is such a tale — it's the story of a Kansas-born Catholic girl who learned to swim at the ripe age of nine months.

The fractured concept of writing a historical novel, especially a biographical one, is often plagued by two major pitfalls. However, in the case of Madison Smartt Bell's Devil's Dream, the life of the man in question is a subject of such ambiguity that a delicate balance of fact and fiction is well within reach.

It's a sure bet that nearly every reader has heard of Twilight, Stephanie Meyer's young-adult series of vampire novels. Safely refusing to confront the inherent sexuality of the modern vampire mythos, Meyer's books tease, but remain imminently safe. In fact, not much happens for a very long time in a Meyer book.