With the successful start of "Special Topics in Calamity Physics," the obvious question is: What's next?

The extremely good news: "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" soon jettisons its booster rockets and begins to soar.

Q: Is "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" required reading for devotees of inventive new fiction?

Special Topics in Calamity Physics (2006)

Special Topics in Calamity Physics (2006) is a novel by American writer Marisha Pessl.

The butterfly species has an important role in Marisha Pessl's 2006 novel Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

Excel spreadsheets helped Marisha Pessl structure her novel "Special Topics in Calamity Physics," published last year.

Marisha Pessl (born October 26, 1977) is an American writer best known for her debut novel, Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

That distinction goes to Marisha Pessl's Nabokovian novel "Special Topics in Calamity Physics."

Instead this season's schoolbook of choice is Marisha Pessl's "Special Topics in Calamity Physics," a novel that trades on classroom cachet.