'THE FISHERMEN: A NOVEL' by Chigozie Obioma, Back Bay, 297 pages, $15.99
Obioma's debut novel is told through the voice of 9-year-old Benjamin, the youngest of four brothers. "The Fisherman," a modern take on the biblical story of Cain and Abel, takes place in the '90s in a small Nigerian town where, left unsupervised, the boys skip school to go fishing. On their way back home, a deranged homeless man makes a prophecy to the oldest: One of his siblings will kill him.
'AND WEST IS WEST: A NOVEL' by Ron Childress, Algonquin, 315 pages, $15.95
Childress demonstrates the snowball effect of people's actions with the help of his two main characters. Jessica, a young Air Force drone pilot in Nevada, is ordered to launch a missile against a terrorist, risking the deaths of innocent civilians. Meanwhile, Ethan, a Wall Street analyst, helps his company gain from these antiterrorist strikes. They both end up being shunned by the same flawed systems in which they participated.
'THE MEMORY PAINTER: A NOVEL OF LOVE AND REINCARNATION' by Gwendolyn Womack, Picador, 320 pages, $16
"The Memory Painter" follows the story of Bryan Pierce, a world-renowned painter with a dark secret: His inspiration comes from lucid dreams. Pierce interprets them as flashbacks from another life, and his encounter with neurogeneticist Linz Jacobs only deepens the mystery. He dreams of a team of scientists close to discovering a cure for Alzheimer's, who died in a lab explosion decades ago. As Linz and Pierce get closer to the truth, a killer plots to stop them.
'THE MOST GOOD YOU CAN DO: HOW EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM IS CHANGING IDEAS ABOUT LIVING ETHICALLY' by Peter Singer, Yale University, 211 pages, $16.00
Singer, an Australian philosopher, investigates effective altruism, which implies that living a virtuous life means doing the "most good you can do." Singer shows that by being highly altruistic, many remarkable people achieve personal satisfaction. The book offers practical ways to live less selfishly and do more by taking a pragmatic approach to charitable giving.
'THE WAR AT HOME: A WIFE'S SEARCH FOR PEACE (AND OTHER MISSIONS IMPOSSIBLE)' by Rachel Starnes, Penguin, 245 pages, $16
Starnes' memoir documents her life as the wife of a Navy pilot and a mother of two. After growing up with an absent father due to his job away from home, Starnes swore to avoid making her parents' marriage mistakes. Insecurities surrounding parenthood and struggles to find a sense of home are interlaced with lighthearted moments like the time she and her husband spent their honeymoon in van.
