Two weeks worth of fascinating (well, mostly) new books have piled up and so! Here they are, compiled for your eyeball pleasure. Or earball pleasure, should they be audio formatted yet. Er… you know what I mean.

Anyway, in no particular order, here are those that I’ve chosen to highlight. Sorry if I missed anything awesome! It happens.

The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick’s Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption by Jim Gorant.
“Expanding on his Sports Illustrated cover story, Gorant (Fanatic) offers a chilling investigation into Michael Vick’ s dog-fighting operation and the men and women who brought him to justice and rehabilitated the rescued dogs. Gorant outlines the rise of Bad Newz Kennels, describing in sometimes painful detail the abuse, torture, and execution of the animals–particularly disturbing is an episode in which Vick and a friend swing a failed fighting dog over their heads like a jump rope and kill it by repeatedly slamming it into the ground–and tracing the rescue of dozens of pit bulls seized from Vick’ s property. Gorant outlines the efforts to save these animals from euthanasia, challenging the negative public perceptions of pit bulls and reporting back on the status of dogs like Sox (now a certified therapy dog), Zippy (adopted by a family of five), and Iggy (still shy but growing comfortable with his adopted circle of friends). At a time when Vick has returned to professional football and much of the public outcry about Bad Newz Kennels has been forgotten, this book provides a stark reminder about the horror and prevalence of dog fighting.” (That’s Publisher’s Weekly’s blurb on the book, I liked it.)
Amazon link!

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race by Jon Stewart.
The eagerly awaited new book from the Emmy-winning, Oscar-hosting, Daily Show-anchoring Jon Stewart–the man behind the megaseller America (The Book).

Where do we come from? Who created us? Why are we here? These questions have puzzled us since the dawn of time, but when it became apparent to Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show that the world was about to end, they embarked on a massive mission to write a book that summed up the human race: What we looked like; what we accomplished; our achievements in society, government, religion, science and culture — all in a tome of approximately 256 pages with lots of color photos, graphs and charts.

After two weeks of hard work, they had their book. EARTH (The Book) is the definitive guide to our species. With their trademark wit, irreverence, and intelligence, Stewart and his team will posthumously answer all of life’s most hard-hitting questions, completely unburdened by objectivity, journalistic integrity, or even accuracy.
Amazon link!

The Fall: Book Two of The Strain Trilogy by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
The vampiric virus unleashed in The Strain has taken over New York City. It is spreading across the country and soon, the world. Amid the chaos, Eph Goodweather—head of the Center for Disease Control’s team—leads a small band out to stop these bloodthirsty monsters. But it may be too late. Ignited by the Master’s horrific plan, a war erupts between Old and New World vampires, each vying for total control. Caught between these warring forces, humans—powerless and vulnerable—are no longer the consumers, but the consumed. Though Eph understands the vampiric plague better than anyone, even he cannot protect those he loves from the invading evil. His ex-wife, Kelly, has been turned by the Master, and now she stalks the city, in the darkness, looking for her chance to reclaim Zack, Eph’s young son. With the future of the world in the balance, Eph and his courageous team, guided by the brilliant former professor and Holocaust survivor Abraham Setrakian and exterminator Vasiliy Fet, must combat a terror whose ultimate plan is more terrible than anyone first imagined—a fate worse than annihilation.
Amazon link!

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins
“The final installment of the trilogy that began with CRANK and GLASS examines the impact of Kristina’s methamphetamine addiction on three of her children, now teens. Though not raised by their mother, they are still ‘dealing with the fallout of choices’ she made, beginning in her own teenage years, as the narrative shifts among them. Hunter is quick to anger and experiments with substances, too; Autumn suffers from OCD and panic attacks because ‘things happened’ when she was little; and Summer bounces around to different foster homes before running away with her boyfriend. Fans will recognize the author’s trademark style: this is a gritty, gripping collection of free verse and concrete poems. Hopkins neatly creates news articles attributed to Associated Press, Variety, and other sources, clueing reading in to the fates of other characters from the first two books. In the end, readers will be drawn into the lives of each of these struggling teens as they deal with complicated home lives, first loves, and a mostly absent mother who ‘wants to love them’ but is too damaged to do so.”  A Publisher’s Weekly’s review, lovely!
Amazon link!

The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel by Diana Gabaldon with Hoang Ngyuen illustrating!

If you’re a fan of Gabaldon, you may be a fan of this! I’m not sure how people feel about graphic novel conversions these days, though. I tend to dislike them but! Who the hell am I to say?
Amazon link!

Aaaaand that’s about it, at least for what I’ve decided to highlight. Like I said above, and probably every time a new releases post is put up, I just pick out the few books I think might be relevant to you wonderful nerds and your wonderful nerdly interests. Leave a comment if something fabulous that I missed is out! Just don’t mention Nicholas Sparks in my presence. I don’t care if his new book is out or if it made a bazillion dollars. Sorry. (Sorta.)

As always, drop me an email, write me on twitter or just comment here if you’ve got something interesting to say! Happy reading! (And if you’re a publishing agent/house or an author wanting me to read a particular work, don’t hesitate to email! I try to be timely in my responses!)

Images: Margaret K. McElderry Books, William Morrow, Grand Central Publishing, Gotham