Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child By Bob Spitz (Knopf, $28.95)

Biography traces the chef’s life and lasting influence.

The Book of Mormon Girl: A Memoir of an American Faith
By Joanna Brooks (Free Press, $14)

Lyrical, resonant memoir about growing up Mormon in Southern California.

Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep
By David K. Randall Norton, 290 pp., $25.95

Witty and comforting journey through the history as well as recent developments

in sleep habits.