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In April of 1943, the body of a British Royal Marine washed ashore in Spain, carrying top secret letters about Allied plans to invade Greece and Sardinia. Or so it seemed. In reality, the body was that of a homeless Welsh laborer, and the letters were fakes designed to direct German attention away from the real Allied invasion target: Sicily.

Whether you're vacationing for a week or a weekend, Alan Cheuse has a fiction recommendation to fit. Novels from Jennifer Egan and Laurence Gonzales for your weeklong escapes; a novella from Ann Beattie for those three-day getaways; and stories from Robert Stone for all you day-trippers.

The actor and director shares memories and discusses the work of his late father, journalist and novelist Dominick Dunne, who became famous for covering the lives and trials of celebrities. He died in August 2009 at age 83.

Dominique Browning ran the magazine House & Garden until it folded in 2007. Her new memoir, Slow Love, reveals how Browning refocused her life by baking, playing the piano and wearing pajamas all day.

We're not even halfway through 2010, but we can all probably agree it's not going to be the funniest year of the millennium — what with melting glaciers, two wars and a pesky recession. The 54 pieces Ian Frazier collects in Humor Me won't make you forget the state of the world, but at the very least, they'll keep you chuckling.

Sebastian Mallaby's book is an expert primer on hedge funds — the "Ferraris of finance" — and a detailed portrait of Wall Street's daredevils. Reviewer Susan Jane Gilman says More Money Than God is illuminating ... and infuriating.

First published in 1964 as La violence et la derision, Albert Cossery's The Jokers is light in tone. But underlying its ridiculous set-up and playful nature are dissent and rage — a railing against the idea of an intractable political fate. The Jokers is Cossery's sixth book to be translated from French to English.

More than 20 years after a car accident left Dr. Dan Gottlieb paralyzed, his young grandson Sam was diagnosed with autism. Gottlieb, a psychologist, started writing his thoughts to his grandson about what it's like to be different — and what they can both teach the world.

Alexander McCall Smith, author of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books, carries on the grand old tradition of serialized novels in Corduroy Mansions. There's plenty of quirk and charm in this high-spirited, rambling tale about the inhabitants of a genteel, comfortably worn apartment block in London.

Allegra Goodman's well-told tale of two young sisters begins in the halcyon days of 1999. Ambitious Emily works at a dot-com startup, while aimless Jess studies philosophy and drifts from boyfriend to boyfriend. Goodman demonstrates her gifts as a graceful writer and an uncommonly astute observer of human foibles.