CHECK IT OUT:

Katharine Weber will discuss her newest novel, “Triangle” at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Friends Meeting Room of the Newport Beach Public Library.

This is free and open to the public. No reservations are required.

Weber was inspired to write this novel after reading an obituary about the last survivor of the notorious 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, but this book works on deeper levels than the obvious narrative of tragedy and survival.

Along with her previous book “Objects in the Mirror are Closer than They Appear” Weber uses both past and present to expose the darkness underlying each character’s life.

What passes for candor, may conceal and obfuscate.

Like a reflection in the mirror, upon closer examination images may be distorted. Many characters and themes are not what they appear on the initial reading. For examples in different genres, try some of these titles.

“Rashomon and Other Stories” by Ryunosuke Akutagawa; translated by Takashi Kojima: This collection of Japanese short stories includes the classic murder mystery, “Rashomon,” which is told from multiple points of view. Rather than a typical “who-done-it,” the narrative concentrates on the various characters’ recollections of events, all of which differ upon reflection.

“Case Histories” by Kate Atkinson: Much private detective fiction relies on factual red herrings and keeping the reader in suspense. This thriller keeps to the traditional format, but also offers humor and plot surprises while exploring loss, fate and a shocking clue to a sister’s disappearance. Join Jackson Brodie on his search where all is not as it seems.

“Lime Ricky” by Jill Winters: This has all the latest “chick lit” romance novel elements; i.e. a feisty heroine, a handsome fireman, a big misunderstanding, a preoccupation with food ala a cooking channel, a light mystery and lusty, racy physical attractions to whet the imagination. Can you guess the ending? How wrong could you be?

“Lost Paradise: A Novel” by Cees Nooteboom; translated from the Dutch by Susan Massotty: Psychological fiction, also known as “metafiction” is meant to observe and reveal postmodern lives. Holland’s popular Dutch author Nooteboom reflects on misunderstandings in life and literature using surreal overtones and dreamlike settings in a tale entangling two seemingly separate lives. And yes, think of Milton’s “Paradise Lost” for inspiration.

“East is East” by T. C. Boyle: Ready for a “tragicomic” novel? This is the story of a half-Japanese, half-American sailor who jumps ship and is washed up on a writer’s colony in Georgia. Misunderstandings, cultural miscalculations and illegal immigration status clash with writers seeking material, consummate manipulators and mismatched characters interacting on a small, southern island.

“Bed and Breakfast” by Lois Battle: “Woman’s fiction” usually details lives intersecting in a genteel, sometimes conflicting domestic scenario. Coming home for the holidays to the big bed-and-breakfast house of the title, four sisters reveal 10 years of misunderstandings, family secrets and recriminations as they visit their 70-something mother.

“Ordinary Life: Stories” by Elizabeth Berg: Sometimes the smallest incident is the catalyst to memories and understanding. Some call it the “click” moment. Berg’s short stories reflect on what seems ordinary and common-place to transformative insights of significance and wholeness. Try this contemporary 20th-century fiction with flare.

CHECK IT OUT is written by Newport Beach staff member Mary Ellen Bowman. Use your Newport Beach Public Library card to reserve these titles at www.newportbeachlibrary.org or call (949) 717-3800 and press 2.