Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting edited by Ann Hood (hardcover, WWNorton). Why does knitting occupy a place in the hearts of so many writes? What's so magical and transformative about yarn and needles?

Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity by Emily Matchar (harcover, Simon & Schuster) Amid today's rising anxieties—the economy, the scary state of the environment, the growing sense that the American Dream has't turned out to be so dreamy after all—a groundswell of women (and more than a few men) are choosing to embrace an unusual rebellion: domesticity....

The Hundred Dresses: The Most Iconic Styles of Our Time by Erin McKean with illustrations by Donna Mehalko (hardcover, Bloomsbury) The dress is the last bit of femininity in our closets—and every style conveys a different message.