Three things our writers love this week

Books

"Lean Mean Thirteen"

When was the last time you were reading a book and you started laughing so hard the book ended up on the floor? That's what happened to me in the exploding-beaver scene of Janet Evanovich's latest best-seller, "Lean Mean Thirteen," in which bounty-hunter heroine Stephanie Plum puts a taxidermist's wares to unorthodox use (St. Martin's Press, $27.95).

Melinda Bargreen, Seattle Times arts writer

"James Tiptree, Jr."

This book by Julie Phillips, subtitled "The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon," is a dazzling biography of a science-fiction pioneer. Sheldon crossed and recrossed Africa with her parents, became a CIA agent and psychologist and finally found her niche when she began to pen groundbreaking science fiction — under the male name James Tiptree, Jr., keeping her "cover" for a decade. A profound meditation on gender, identity and creativity, and winner of the National Book Critics' Circle biography prize (Picadore, $18).

Mary Ann Gwinn, Seattle Times book editor

Restaurants

Voilà! Bistrot

A cozy outdoor patio, a very French waiter and a perfectly prepared dish of Boeuf Bourguignon. That's Madison Valley's Voilà! Bistrot on a balmy summer evening. What could be sweeter? Here's one thing: Voilà's celestial crème brûlée — a layer of creamy-smooth custard hiding under a crispy, caramelized surface (2805 E. Madison St., 206-322-5460, www.voilabistro.com).

Lynn Jacobson, Sunday E&A editor

Your turn, readers: Tell us about that book you can't put down, that song you can't stop singing, that movie you can't get out of your head. Send an email to ljacobson@seattletimes.com and tell us what's on your short list.