Year of the Tiger?

It's not the Year of the Tiger according to the Chinese Zodiac, but evidence shows otherwise. India's latest tiger census shows an increase in the numbers of the endangered big cat. The census counted at least 1,706 tigers in forests across the country, about 300 more than four years ago. And so far in 2011, five books have been published with tiger in the title, and they are not about the big cat.

FICTION

The Tiger's Wife: a Novel by Téa Obreht

Drawing on the former Yugoslavia’s bloody history, Belgrade-born Obreht portrays two besieged doctors in a story where realism collides with myth, superstition with empirical fact, and allegory with history.

Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna Set in Southern India at the end of the nineteenth century, magnificent debut follows the fortunes of two childhood friends throughout their lives.

Montecore: the Silence of the Tiger by Jonas Khemiri Inventive, tricky tale that follows a Tunisian immigrant's rise from poor orphan to world-famous photographer is also an indictment of Swedish racism and nationalism.

NONFICTION

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua Memoir about parenting two girls to be over-achievers.

Tiger, Tiger: a Memoir by Margaux Fragaso Disturbing memoir of sexual abuse explores with unflinching honesty the ways in which pedophiles can manipulate their ways into the lives of children.

If you want to read about the real thing, check out The Tiger: a True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant, published in 2010.