'CALYPSO,' by David Sedaris. Billed by the publishers as "beach reading for people who detest beaches," this latest collection from author of "Theft by Finding" and "Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls" offers a darkly funny take on middle age, mortality and even Donald Trump. (Little, Brown; $28)
'THE DANTE CHAMBER,' by Matthew Pearl. This clever literary mystery is a follow-up to the "The Dante Club," which saw Boston plagued with murders styled after the hellish punishments in Dante's "Inferno." This time the setting is London, and the players include poets Christina Rosetti and Robert Browning. (Penguin Press, $28)
'PLANET FUNNY: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture,' by Ken Jennings. The author and "Jeopardy!" champion explores the explosion of comedy in our culture at a time when 88 percent of millennials define themselves by their sense of humor. As the title of one chapter asserts: "Everyone's a Comedian." (Scribner, $26)
