Stevo's Book Picks for March

[st...@prospero.com]

There are few things that can improve the quality of life more than
reading a book. Whether it's teaching you how to do something new or
taking you to another universe, a good book is a rare treat. Here is my
list of recommended new and recently published nonfiction and fiction
(and a few children's) books for the month of March, 2005. Since many
books fall into more than one category, please make sure you read the
entire list, as you never know where you'll find that gem that will
change your life.

Nonfiction:

Best of the Bunch:

Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through
Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn (Hyperion, $24.95 - In the national
bestseller "Wherever You Go, There You Are," Jon Kabat-Zinn struck
a chord in contemporary society that continues to reverberate to this
day. It has been embraced by politicians, business leaders, and
celebrities and endures as a classic with readers. In his
groundbreaking new book, Dr. Kabat-Zinn teaches us how to harness the
power of mindfulness to effect profound change in our personal lives
and in the world. As stress continues to exact a toll on everyday life,
people are increasingly turning to ancient, meditative methods, which
have been tested by science, to relieve the ill effects and become more
focused, healthy, and proactive. Kabat-Zinn has been for decades at the
forefront of this mind/body movement and the revolution in medicine and
health care it has spawned, demystifying it and bringing it into the
mainstream. In "Coming to Our Senses," he shares how every human
has the capacity to mobilize deep, innate resources for continual
learning, growing, healing, and transformation through mindfulness.
Woven into eight parts, "Coming to Our Senses" uses anecdotes and
stories from Kabat-Zinn's own life experiences and work in his clinic
to illustrate healing possibilities. At its core, the book offers
remarkable insight into how to use the five senses -- touch, hearing,
sight, taste, and smell, plus awareness itself -- as a path to a
healthier, saner, and more meaningful life)

Encyclopedia of Leadership edited by George R. Goethals, Georgia J.
Sorenson, and James MacGregor Burns (Sage Publications, Inc., $595.00 -
The Encyclopedia of Leadership brings together for the first time
everything that is known and truly matters about leadership as part of
the human experience. Developed by the award-winning editorial team at
Berkshire Publishing Group, the Encyclopedia includes hundreds of
articles, written by 400 leading scholars and experts from 17
countries, exploring leadership theories and leadership practice. Over
a third of the work-some 500,000 words-is devoted to biographical
essays and to case studies focused on leaders (and their followers).
Articles and sidebars show leadership in action-in corporations and
state houses, schools, churches, small businesses, and nonprofit
organizations. Also new: The Nature of Leadership")
The Hurried Woman Syndrome by Brent W. Bost (McGraw Hill, $22.95 - Also
called predepression, hurried woman syndrome affects 30 million women
annually in the United States. HWS is most commonly found in mothers
who live with the chronic stress of trying to fulfill many roles for
many people and is characterized by a set of chronic physical,
emotional, and psychological symptoms that can include fatigue, weight
gain, moodiness, sleep problems, and low libido. Torn between the
demands of managing children's school and activities, keeping up a
home, work (paid or volunteer), social obligations, and more, hurried
women feel as if they are on an endless emotional roller-coaster ride.
Unfortunately, most HWS sufferers are unaware that they have a
clinically identified and treatable problem. With proper guidance, most
sufferers can quickly reverse the symptoms of HWS and regain their
energy and love of life. Without it, they are in serious danger of
developing full-blown clinical depression. Based on Dr. Brent W. Bost's
experiences treating his patients, The Hurried Woman Syndrome offers
the first integrated program for overcoming the symptoms that make up
the syndrome. An indispensable survival guide for busy women who feel
stressed, tired, and dissatisfied, it features: A mood assessment test
to help determine if they have HWS, or more serious depression; A
complete, seven-step program for managing stress and overcoming HWS
symptoms; and Expert guidance on how to manage weight, set priorities,
get adequate exercise, create firm limits, talk with doctors about
antidepressants, rekindle the romance in their relationships, and more)

The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner's Manual by David Hurwitz (Amadeus
Press, $19.95 - Since Gustav Mahler was rediscovered in the early
1960s, his symphonies have become arguably the most popular works in
the modern orchestral repertoire. Mahler's Symphonies: An Owner's
Manual is the first discussion of the ten completed symphonies (No. 1-9
plus "The Song of the Earth") to offer music lovers and record
collectors a comprehensive overview of the music itself, what it sounds
like, how it is organized, its form, content, and meaning, as it
strikes today's listeners. The book caters to the novice as David
Hurwitz describes what the listener will hear, section by section,
using simple cues such as important instrumental solos, recognizable
tunes, climaxes, and other easily audible musical facts. He explains
how each work is arranged, how the various parts relate to each other,
and how one work leads to the next. It describes the emotional
extravagance that lies at the root of Mahler's popularity, the
consistency of his symphonic thinking, the relationship of each work to
its companions, and his dazzling and revolutionary use of orchestral
instruments to create an expressive musical language that is varied in
content and immediate in impact. The accompanying CD contains
recordings from Symphony No. 1, Third Movement; Symphony No. 2, First
Movement; Symphony No. 5, Third Movement; and Symphony No. 7, Second
Movement: "Nachtmusik I." Also new: "Decoding Wagner: An Invitation
to His World of Music Drama" and "Ives and Copeland: A Listener's
Guide")

Ray: A Tribute to the Movie, the Music, and the Man (Newmarket Press,
$30.00 - Born in a poor town in Georgia, Ray Charles went blind at the
age of seven shortly after witnessing his younger brother's accidental
death. Inspired by a fiercely independent mother who insisted he make
his own way in the world, Charles found his calling and his gift behind
a piano keyboard. The soulful singer exploded with worldwide fame when
he pioneered an inimitable style incorporating gospel, rhythm and
blues, country, orchestral, and jazz influences. As he revolutionized
the way people appreciated music, he simultaneously fought segregation
in the very clubs that launched him and championed artists' rights
within the corporate music business. "Ray" provides an unflinching
portrait of Charles' musical genius as he overcomes personal demons
while transforming into one of this country's most beloved performers.

The Newmarket Pictorial Moviebook includes the complete screenplay
illustrated throughout with movie stills, historical photos,
storyboards, and commentary by friends, musicians, and historians, as
well as complete cast and crew credits, and original introductions by
director Taylor Hackford and actor Jamie Foxx. In addition, the book
showcases a special 16-page tribute section on Ray Charles created
after his death on June 10 with excerpts of articles and eulogies.
Also new: "Hotel Rwanda: The Shooting Script", "Sideways: The
Shooting Script", and "Spanglish: The Shooting Script")
Art, Architecture, Photography, and Design:

Tracing Modernity: Manifestations of the Modern in Architecture and the
City by Mari Hvattum and Christian Hermansen (Routledge, $47.95 - The
aim of this anthology is to trace the modern project through its
multifarious manifestations in order to understand contemporary culture
in a deeper sense than facile discussions of modernism and
postmodernism often great. Drawing on architectural and urban history
as well as philosophy and sociology, the chapters outline the complex
and conflicting roots of modernity by tracing its manifestations in
architecture and the city)

The Best of Designer's Challenge edited by Any Tincher-Durik
(Meredith Corporation, $19.95 - Just like they do on the HGTV show,
three designers find different solutions for each of 18 rooms in the
book. All three design options are shown as thumbnail sketchs,
watercolors, or floorplans along with photographs of the finished room
showing the homeowners final design choice. Detailing the most popular
rooms from the show, the book ranges from redecorating to complete
remodeling. Packed with ideas to refresh rooms by changing surface
treatments and rearranging furnishings-all without a designer. The book
also contains solutions for almost every room: kitchens, bedrooms,
baths, and more; shows how to budget for large projects and survive the
remodeling process; gives tips and techniques from the design
professionals featured on Designers' Challenge; and featured creative
room renovations for problem spaces. Also new: "Mission:
Organization: Strategies and Solutions to Clear Your Clutter")

Interior Photography by Eric Roth (Amphoto, $29.95 - Here is a
comprehensive overview, written by a practicing master in the field, on
shooting interior photography professionally for artistic, technical,
and financial success. Solid information is supported by varied
interior photography of the quality seen in advertising, coffee table
books, and shelter magazines. Clear, instructive lighting setup
diagrams are provided for 30 different lighting techniques. This guide
focuses on all the techniques needed to achieve success, including
lighting, location, props, styling, using both traditional and digital
equipment, and adding people, pets, and action to a shot)

Great City Parks by Alan Tate (Spon Press, $39.95 - "Great City
Parks" is a celebration of some of the finest achievements of
landscape architecture in the public realm. It is a comparative study
of twenty significant public parks in fourteen major cities across
western Europe and North America. As a collection they give a clear
picture of why parks have been created, how they have been designed,
how they are managed, and what plans are being made for them at the
beginning of the twenty-first century. The twenty parks are documented
in ascending order of size. Each park is examined in terms of the
condition of the site at the time of designation, the reason for its
designation and the key figures behind the decision to build it. The
principal designers are profited in terms of their backgrounds and the
values that they brought to the projects. Each park is then examined in
terms of its planning and design, and the original design concept is
reviewed in terms of spatial structure, circulation systems and
intended character. The current status of the parks is reviewed in
terms of the organizations that manage them: how they are appointed;
how they canvass users' views; how the parks are funded and how they
are used. The final section on each park looks at current plans for
them. The study concludes by considering whether there are clear
planning, design and management criteria for successful city parks.
"Great City Parks" is based on unique research including extensive
site visits and interviews with their managing organizations. The text
is amplified by new plans and photographs of each park. This book
reflects a belief that well-planned, well-designed and well-managed
parks remain invaluable components of livable and hospitable cities.
Great City Parks will appeal to practitioners and students of landscape
architecture, architecture, urban planning and park management, and to
people who appreciate the special rote of parks in urban environments)

The New Acrylics by Rheni Tauchid (Watson Guptill, $24.95 - The
acrylics of today have grown into the most adaptable art material of
the modern age. Focusing on a popular art medium that has been around
for over 50 years, The New Acrylics illustrates how artists can create
lush textures, color, and luster with the modern acrylics readily
available in any art supply store. These are nontoxic, environmentally
sound, and exist in the most dazzling array of chemical formats-from
the most fluid to the highly viscous. Not only do artists paint with
acrylics these days, they can create rich metallic effects, or even
3-dimensional sculptures. Traditional technique based books on acrylics
cover traditional methods of painting. However, The New Acrylics is
geared toward more nonconventional ways in which to manipulate
modern-day acrylics, and demonstrates new applications such as glazing,
textured effects, soft sculpture effects, or staining, thus reinventing
the old way of handling acrylics, and revealing a fabulous new artistic
medium. The underlying theme of this dazzling and sophisticated book is
to encourage artists to interpret and handle acrylic paints in a
vibrant, fresh, and above all, individualistic style)

Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing by Hugh Leach
and Branko Kolarevic (Spon Press, $99.95 - This major reference
describes and analyses the recent developments in the architectural
application of the latest digital design and fabrication technologies)

Biography, Autobiography, Memoir, and Essays:

Essence: Wisdom of the Ages: Extraordinary People Ages 19-90 by Susan
L. Taylor (Essence Books, $24.95 - For more than 30 years, Essence has
been the voice of African-American women. Throughout these years,
Essence has collected and shared the wisdom of African-Americans-famous
or not-on a wide range of issues. Now, in one book, Wisdom of the Ages
offers advice on celebrating life to the fullest and dealing with its
most important issues. The book is organized with profiles of people
and their words of wisdom. Whether Halle Berry speaks about overcoming
obstacles, or Samuel and LaTanya Jackson discuss their intimate
relationship, this book gives the reader an in-depth look at the
fascinating stories of these interesting people. From people aged 19 to
90, both men and women will want this book on their coffee tables and
in their bookshelves as an inspiring reference to a fulfilling life)

Soren Kierkegaard: A Biography by Joakim Garff, translated by Bruce H.
Kirmmse (Princeton University Press, $35.00 - "The day will come when
not only my writings, but precisely my life--the intriguing secret of
all the machinery--will be studied and studied." Soren Kierkegaard's
remarkable combination of genius and peculiarity made this a fair if
arrogant prediction. But Kierkegaard's life has been notoriously hard
to study, so complex was the web of fact and fiction in his work.
Joakim Garff's biography of Kierkegaard is thus a landmark achievement.
A seamless blend of history, philosophy, and psychological insight, all
conveyed with novelistic verve, this is the most comprehensive and
penetrating account yet written of the life and works of the enigmatic
Dane who changed the course of intellectual history. Garff portrays
Kierkegaard not as the all-controlling impresario behind some of the
most important works of modern philosophy and religious thought--books
credited with founding existentialism and prefiguring
postmodernism--but rather as a man whose writings came to control him.
Kierkegaard saw himself as a vessel for his writings, a tool in the
hand of God, and eventually as a martyr singled out to call for the end
of "Christendom." Garff explores the events and relationships that
formed Kierkegaard, including his guilt-ridden relationship with his
father, his rivalry with his brother, and his famously tortured
relationship with his fiancée Regine Olsen. He recreates the squalor
and splendor of Golden Age Copenhagen and the intellectual milieu in
which Kierkegaard found himself increasingly embattled and mercilessly
caricatured)

Life & Times: Trotsky by Dave Renton (Haus Publishing, $15.95 - The
"Life & Times" series tells the stories of those who have shaped
our present and our past, from Beethoven to Curie, Dietrich to Wilde.
Offering expert, eminently readable texts by distinguished authors,
these beautifully designed books feature chronologies, full indices,
and striking color photos and illustrations. Together, they form a
superb modern library of biography. Leon Trotsky was the leading
spokesman of the Russian Revolution, the founder of the victorious Red
Army, and was instrumental in the creation of the early Soviet State.
Yet despite being recognized as Lenin's obvious successor, Trotsky
was out-maneuvered by Stalin. In the years that followed, he
developed the first systematic critique of Stalin's dictatorship. In
1929, he was forced out of Russia, moving from Turkey, to France, and
finally to Mexico, where, in 1940, he was brutally assassinated by a
Spanish communist. Also new: "Brahms", "Joyce", "Dali",
and "Orwell")

The Sibyl Sanderson Story by Jack Winsor Hansen (Amadeus Press, $29.95
- For the first time in operatic history, this revealing and
long-awaited biography uncovers the tragically short yet elegant life
and glorious career of the beautiful California soprano Sybil
Sanderson. A great read for opera romantics of all generations and a
true story with all the drama of period fiction, this biography is
enhanced by Jack Winsor Hansen's complete access to the Sanderson
family archives and decades of dedicated research about her life in
Europe and the United States. It includes exclusive, previously
unpublished correspondence, diaries, memoirs, and extensive interviews
with the people who knew Sanderson and those around her)

Footprints: The Life and Work of Wayne Shorter by Michelle Mercer
(Tarcher/Penguin, $24.95 - The first biography about the man The New
York Times recently called "jazz's all-around genius, matchless in his
field as a composer, utterly original as an improviser." Saxophonist
and composer Wayne Shorter is one of the great architects of jazz, and
a man whose influence will be felt by musicians and music fans for
generations to come. In this first biography of Shorter, Michelle
Mercer traces the amazing trajectory of his fifty-year career. As
fellow jazz great Herbie Hancock puts it: "Wayne Shorter has evolved as
a human being to a point where he can synthesize all the history of
jazz into a very special, very alive musical expression. Nobody else
can do that now." In many ways, Wayne Shorter's story is the story of
modern American music. Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1933, he learned
bebop as an adolescent in cutting contests with Sonny Stitt and Sonny
Rollins. In the 1950s, he graduated to some "hard-drinking, hard bop
years" with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. The saxophonist was the
catalyst in the famous 1960s quintet of Miles Davis, then followed the
trumpeter on his avant-garde electric excursions. In the 1970s, he and
Joe Zawinul pioneered fusion in Weather Report. Into the 1980s and
1990s Wayne's solos graced pop recordings like Steely Dan's "Aja" and
Joni Mitchell's "Hejira." And today, at age seventy, he is leading the
Wayne Shorter Quartet, a group that critics have compared to Coltrane's
classic quartet and to Davis's own groundbreaking quintet)

Hello to All That: A Memoir of War, Zoloft, and Peace by John Falk
(Henry Holt, $25.00 - His own chemistry was his worst enemy, and it
took John Falk to some very strange places-from Garden City, Long
Island, to sniper-infested Sarajevo during the Bosnian bloodbath. But
through it all, in the face of chronic depression, he kept reaching out
for the life he'd always wanted. Hello to All That is his story-crazed,
comic, poignant, suspenseful, hopeful. Falk was an average Long Island
kid, until depression left him ashamed and trapped behind an
impenetrable chemical wall. Barely surviving on "chin-up" tips from his
big, loyal, boisterous family, Falk tried to fight his disease-or hide
it. But by twenty-four, he was alone, living on books by war
correspondents, their adventures his only escape. Then he found a blue
pill called Zoloft and set out on a mission to make his own name as a
correspondent during one of the most dangerous conflicts in recent
memory. Falk's journey has never been predictable, and neither is his
moving, outrageous, and sometimes frightening memoir. Here is the
riveting tale of a man's lifelong battle-the struggle to defeat his
greatest enemy and to connect, cure himself, and finally live)

Men Of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book by
Gerard Jones (Basic Books, $26.00 - By the author of "The Comic Book
Heroes, Killing Monsters," and scores of successful comic books and
screenplays, "Men of Tomorrow" is the first book to tell the
surprising story of the young Jewish misfits, hustlers and nerds who
invented the superhero and the comic book industry. Among the
characters in this vibrant panorama: Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster, the
goofy myopic creators of Superman, who sold the rights to the Man of
Tomorrow for $130 to...Harry Donenfield, former pornographer and
con-man, and his partner, Jack Liebowitz, founder of DC Comics, who
went on to help build Steve Ross's legendary Warner Communications;
Batman's Bob Kane, who rose to fame and fortune in a career based
entirely on lies and self-promotion; Mort Weisinger, the ruthless
editor of Superman, who suffered a nervous breakdown when he tried to
be a superhero himself; plus Stan Lee, founder of a new kind of hero,
including Spiderman, at Marvel Comics; Will Eisner, whose creation "The
Spirit" has become a cult classic, and many, many more. Springing
unheralded out of working-class Jewish immigrant neighborhoods in the
depths of the Depression, these young men transformed an odd mix of
geekdom, science fiction, and outsider yearnings into blue-eyed
chisel-nosed crime-fighters and adventurers who quickly captured the
mainstream imagination. Within a few years their inventions were being
read by 90% of American children and had spawned a new genre in movies,
radio and TV that still dominates youth entertainment seventy years
later. Drawing on exhaustive research, including interviews with
friends and relatives of the creators, Jones reveals how the immigrant
experience and the collision of Yiddish and American culture-forged in
the crucible of two world wars-shaped the vision of the make-believe
hero. He chronicles how the comics sparked a frightened counterattack
that nearly destroyed the industry in the 1950's and how later they
surged back at an underground level, to inspire a new generation to
transmute those long-ago fantasies into art, literature, blockbuster
movies and graphic novels. Animated by the stories of some of the last
century's most charismatic and conniving artists, writers and
businessmen, "Men of Tomorrow" brilliantly demonstrates how the
creators of the superheroes gained their cultural power and established
a crucial place in the modern imagination)

The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe by Sarah Churcwell (Metropolitan
Books, $26.00 - There are many Marilyns: sex goddess and innocent
child, crafty manipulator and dumb blonde, liberated woman and tragic
loner. Indeed, the writing and rewriting of this endlessly intriguing
icon's life has produced more than six hundred books, from the long
procession of "authoritative" biographies to the memoirs and plays by
ex-husband Arthur Miller and the works by Norman Mailer and Joyce Carol
Oates. But even as the books have multiplied, myth, reality, fact,
fiction, and gossip have become only more intertwined; there is still
no agreement about such fundamental questions as Marilyn's given name,
the identity of her father, whether she was molested as a child, and
how and why she died. "The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe" reviews
the unreliable and unverifiable-but highly significant-stories that
have framed the greatest Hollywood legend. All the while, cultural
critic Sarah Churchwell reveals us to ourselves: our conflicted views
on women, our tormented sexual attitudes, our ambivalence about
success, our fascination with self-destruction.
In incisive and passionate prose, Churchwell uncovers the shame,
belittlement, and anxiety that we bring to the story of a woman we
supposedly adore. In the process, she rescues a Marilyn Monroe who is
far more complicated and credible than the one we think we know)

Business and Economics:

Handbook Of U.S. Labor Statistics: Employment, Earnings, Prices,
Productivity, and Other Labor Data 2005 by Eva E. Jacobs (Bernan Press,
$147.00 - The "Handbook of U.S. Labor Statistics" continues and
enhances the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) discontinued
publication, "Labor Statistics." It brings recent, authoritative
data from the BLS and other government and private agencies together
into a convenient, single-volume source of labor data. The Handbook
provides recent and historical data on U.S. employment, earnings,
prices, productivity, living conditions and related topics. This
popular resource also includes data on training, alternative work
arrangements, union affiliation, and occupational injuries. New to this
edition are two articles, the first, describing differences in the
characteristics of the various sets of wage data produced by BLS, and
the second, introducing the new definitions of metropolitan areas
promulgated by the Office of Management and Budget. The first two
chapters have been changed as a result of the new industrial and
occupational classification systems and benchmarking to 2000 Census
population estimates. A wide variety of new, easy-to-use tables present
authoritative data on mean hourly earnings and weekly hours by
occupation; employment-population ratios for 14 countries; average
annual pay and employment for all covered workers by state; NAICS
industry average annual pay and employment for all workers in private
industry; and more. Other volumes in the U.S. DataBook Series™
include, "Business Statistics of the United States," "Vital
Statistics of the United States," and "State Profiles")

Computers and Science:

Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown by Michael Shermer
(Times Books, $26.00 - A scientist pretends to be a psychic for a
day-and fools everyone. An athlete discovers that good-luck rituals and
getting into "the zone" may, or may not, improve his performance. A
historian decides to analyze the data to see who was truly responsible
for the Bounty mutiny. A son explores the possiblities of alternative
and experimental medicine for his cancer-ravaged mother. And a skeptic
realizes that it is time to turn the skeptical lens onto science
itself. In each of the fourteen essays in "Science Friction,"
psychologist and science historian Michael Shermer explores the very
personal barriers and biases that plague and propel science, especially
when scientists push against the unknown. What do we know and what do
we not know? How does science respond to controversy, attack, and
uncertainty? When does theory become accepted fact? As always, Shermer
delivers a thought-provoking, fascinating, and entertaining view of
life in the scientific age)

Evolving Cosmos by Govert Schilling (Cambridge University Press, $40.00
- Science journalist Govert Schilling takes the reader on a whirlwind
journey through time by describing the evolution of the cosmos, from
the beginning of space and time fourteen billion years ago, to the
creation of the Earth and humankind. Ending with a glance into the
distant future of the universe, the book's combination of compelling
text and breathtaking photographs provides an impressive vision of the
place of man in the cosmos. Govert Schilling is a Dutch science writer
and astronomy publicist. He is a contributing editor of Sky and
Telescope magazine, and regularly writes for the news sections of
Science and New Scientist. Schilling is the astronomy writer for de
Volkskrant, one of the largest national daily newspapers in The
Netherlands, and frequently talks about the Universe on Dutch radio
broadcasts. He is the author of more than twenty popular astronomy
books, including Flash! (Cambridge, 2002), and hundreds of newspaper
and magazine articles on astronomy)
No Easy Answers: Science And The Pursuit Of Knowledge by Allan Franklin
(University of Pittsburgh Press, $29.95 - Science is too important in
our lives for the public not to have an accurate and reasonable view of
how it works. As George Levine has said of his own book, "One
Culture": "It takes seriously the view that science is one of the
great achievements of the human mind, that it matters powerfully to us,
for better or worse, in the way we live, the way we think, and the way
we imagine. There is no literature more important." In "No Easy
Answers," Allan Franklin offers an accurate picture of science to
both a general reader and to scholars in the humanities and social
sciences, who may not have any background in physics. Through the
examination of nontechnical case studies, he illustrates the various
roles that experiment plays in science. He uses both examples of
unquestioned success, such as the discoveries of the electron and of
three types of neutrino, and studies that were dead ends, wrong turns,
or just plain mistakes, such as the "fifth force," a proposed
modification of Newton's law of gravity. Franklin concludes that
science is a reasonable enterprise that provides us with knowledge of
the natural world based on valid experimental evidence and reasoned and
critical discussion, and he makes clear that it behooves all of us to
understand how it works)

Many Skies: Alternative Histories Of The Sun, Moon, Planets, And Stars
by Arthur Upgren (Rutgers University Press, $24.95 - What if Earth had
several moons or massive rings like Saturn? What if the Sun were but
one star in a double-star or triple-star system? What if Earth were the
only planet circling the Sun? These and other imaginative scenarios are
the subject of Arthur Upgren's inventive book Many Skies: Alternative
Histories of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars. Although the night sky
as we know it seems eternal and inevitable, Upgren reminds us that,
just as easily, it could have been very different. Had the solar system
happened to be in the midst of a star cluster, we might have many more
bright stars in the sky. Yet had it been located beyond the edge of the
Milky Way galaxy, we might have no stars at all. If Venus or Mars had a
moon as large as ours, we would be able to view it easily with the
unaided eye. Given these or other alternative skies, what might Ptolemy
or Copernicus have concluded about the center of the solar system and
the Sun? This book not only examines the changes in science that these
alternative solar, stellar, and galactic arrangements would have
brought, it also explores the different theologies, astrologies, and
methods of tracking time that would have developed to reflect them. Our
perception of our surroundings, the number of gods we worship, the
symbols we use in art and literature, even the way we form nations and
empires are all closely tied to our particular (and accidental)
placement in the universe. Many Skies, however, is not merely a
fanciful play on what might have been. Upgren also explores the actual
ways that human interferences such as light pollution are changing the
night sky. Our atmosphere, he warns, will appear very different if we
have a belt of debris circling the globe and blotting out the stars, as
will happen if advertisers one day pollute space with brilliant
satellites displaying their products. From fanciful to foreboding, the
scenarios in Many Skies will both delight and inspire reflection,
reminding us that ours is but one of many worldviews based on our
experience of a universe that is as much a product of accident as it is
of intention)

Precalculus Demystified: A Self-Teaching Guide by Rhonda Huettenmueller
(McGraw Hill, $19.95 - Calculus is a cinch with pre-calculus under your
belt -- and calculus is a must for any science, math, or computer
science major. Pre-calculus by itself deepens your understanding of
mathematics and improves your performance on standardized pre-college
and college tests. Now anyone can master pre-calculus -- without formal
training, unlimited time, or a genius IQ. In Pre-Calculus Demystified,
best-selling author and teacher Rhonda Huettenmueller breaks
pre-calculus down into manageable bites with practical examples,
solutions, graphs, practice questions, and a fresh approach that
removes the mystery from pre-calc concepts. Unlike most books on
pre-calculus, general concepts are presented first -- and the details
follow. In order to make the process as clear and simple as possible,
long computations are presented in a logical, layered progression with
just one execution per step)

The Second Tree: An Investigation into Stem Cells, Cloning, and the
Quests for Immortality by Elaine Dewar (Carrol and Graf, $28.00 - In
the past century and a half, the evolution of biology has outstripped
that of any of its subjects. Since Darwin's monumentally influential
but rudimentary discoveries, biologists have advanced their knowledge
of genetics and genomics with such astonishing speed as to be able not
just to understand life processes but also to control them. While
expanding our therapeutic and reproductive capabilities, these
innovations also serve to obscure the very notion of life and its
sanctity. In "The Second Tree," award-winning journalist Elaine
Dewar seriously reexamines our identity, rights, and responsibilities
in a world where scientists can invent new creatures at their whim. She
also turns her journalistic eye to the culture of acquisitiveness and
secrecy at the highest levels of biological research, revealing the
scientific community as one in which greed has replaced intellectual
curiosity as the primary motivation of advancement, and in which the
race for near-omnipotence is veiled by a supposed desire to do good.
This is a powerful and fascinating book about an elite group of
researchers who see mortality itself as just another disorder that they
intend to cure-and the moral ramifications of their work)

Cooking, Cookbooks, and Food:

New Cook Book Bridal Edition edited by Better Homes and Gardens Books
and Stephanie Karpinske (Meredith Books, $29.95 - A special edition
of the red plaid classic, with the recipes, tips, and information plus
much more: The book contains a special bonus chapter created especially
for newlywed couples-featuring dinners for two, top 10 recipes for new
cooks, entertaining friends, hosting holiday meals, contemporary
cocktails, and more! Includes advice and tips for couples on how to set
up their first kitchen together and more than 1,200 kitchen-tested
recipes that never fail, including appetizers, breads, soups and
salads, fruits and vegetables, casseroles, meats, poultry and fish,
sauces and relishes, cookies, candy, cakes and desserts, eggs and
cheese, quick cooking, outdoor cooking, and more! Each recipe provides
ingredients list, nutrition information, plus prep and cook times.
Inspiring photos and helpful hints to make meal prep easier than ever)

Back to the House of Health: Rejuvenating Recipes to Alkalize and
Energize for Life! by Shelley Redford Young (Woodland Publishing,
$24.95 - Reflecting Dr. Rob Young's philosophy of promoting an alkaline
environment in the body, Shelly Young's attractive and comprehensive
recipe book features over 100 delicious recipes that do just that. From
AsparaZincGusto Soup to Popeye Mousse Pie, these recipes can help
anyone become "alkalized")

Healthy Eating Every Day by Ruth Ann Carpenter and Carrie E. Finley
(Human Kinetics, $24.95 - Improve your health and the quality of your
life through balanced eating! Healthy Eating Every Day is a unique,
self-paced plan that teaches you how to improve your eating habits in
ways that fit your lifestyle. This practical, research-based strategy
addresses the root causes of unhealthy eating, and gives you the tools
to succeed in eating better. In Healthy Eating Every Day, you'll
discover how to choose the right balance of the right foods for optimal
health, set realistic goals and rewards, and cope with triggers for
unhealthy eating. You'll also learn other helpful tips: Keep healthy
eating in mind while shopping for food, Eat well when dining out or
away from home, and Make sense of nutrition information and diet
product claims. Plus, "Healthy Eating Every Day" contains
checklists, charts, and other features that will help you personalize
the program and keep it fun all the way through. This book is also used
in the "Healthy Eating Every Day" course, which was developed in
partnership with The Cooper Institute)
Crafts, Hobbies, and Games:

Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Ideas for Under $50 edited by Vicki
Christian (Meredith Corporation, $14.95 - This new decorating book
contains new ideas for decorating entryways, living spaces, kitchens,
baths, bedrooms, kids' rooms, porches, and decks. It includes fast,
easy, and inexpensive ideas for creative window treatments,
accessorizing, and more; quick decorative painting techniques, from
ragging and sponging to combing and calligraphy; an easy-to-follow,
step-by-step format that do-it-yourselfers will appreciate; and
practical advice on how and where to shop for home furnishing bargains)
Collector's Guide to Ideal Dolls: Identification and Values, Third
Edition by Judith Izen (Collector Books, $24.95 - This book will
introduce the reader to the genius of the men and women who led the
Ideal Toy Company to its great successes and who provided us with so
many hours of joy. Readers will let out short exclamations of joy as
they recognize dolls they played with or wished for in their youth)

Health and Self Improvement:

Nutrition for Life by Lisa Hark and Darwin Deen (DK Publishing, Inc.,
$30.00 - Written and designed in a user-friendly split-page format
where theory and practical application appear together, "Nutrition
for Life" is the complete practical guide to every aspect of healthy
eating. Explaining how to achieve a balanced diet, with recipes and
sample menus throughout, this new home reference contains essential
food facts, and focuses on good nutrition as a way of life)

When Dad Hurts Mom: Helping Your Children Heal the Wounds of Witnessing
Abuse by Lundy Bancroft (Berkley, $15.00 - More than two-thirds of
abused women have children, and the overwhelming majority of those
children witness one or more incidents of violence. And that number
would be even greater if we include children who have watched their
mothers be verbally abused and intimidated. Studies have shown that
children's exposure to domestic abuse is linked to virtually every
category of emotional and behavioral problems. "When Dad Hurts Mom"
offers comfort, understanding, and a concrete plan of action to any
woman concerned about the distress being caused to her children by her
angry, controlling, or abusive partner. Written for mothers, this book
aims to enlighten women about the effects of abuse on children, how an
abusive partner distorts familial relationships, and what can be done
about it. Abused mothers are desperately seeking guidance on how to
help their children heal from the abuse they witness. This is the first
book to provide these women with the insight, support, and, most
important, the solutions they need)

PowerSculpt For Women: The Complete Body Sculpting & Weight Training
Workout Using the Exercise Ball by Paul Frediani and Peter Field Peck
(Hatherleigh Press, $19.95 - One of America's elite trainers, Paul
Frediani, has developed an exciting, effective personal fitness program
that provides a fun, full-body workout and delivers fast and wonderful
results. PowerSculpt combines the best elements of strength training,
body sculpting, flexibility, and core conditioning. With PowerSculpt
you will: Take inches off-all over; Boost your metabolism to burn
mega calories; Jump start your energy and stamina; Strengthen your
chest, shoulders and core for perfect posture and a figure you'll love
showing off; and Look great and feel beautiful! This new DVD edition
brings you complete follow-along instructions so you get the perfect
form for the perfect results. Also new: "PowerSculpt for Men,"
"Circuit Shaping Workouts for Women")

Open to Desire: Embracing a Lust for Life Insights from Buddhism and
Psychotherapy by Mark Epstein (Gotham Books, $25.00 - Bringing wisdom
to a fresh and compelling topic, Mark Epstein shows how desire can be a
teacher in its own right, helping us to reconcile our conflicting
thoughts about it from both a Buddhist and a psychological point of
view. It is common in both Buddhism and Freudian psychoanalysis to
treat desire as the root of all suffering and problems, but
psychiatrist Mark Epstein believes this to be a grave misunderstanding.
In his defense of desire, he makes clear that it is the key to
deepening intimacy with ourselves, one another, and our world. An
enlightening tapestry of psychotherapeutic practice, contemporary case
studies, Buddhist insight, and narratives as diverse as the Ramayana
and Sufi parables, "Open to Desire" brings a refreshing new
perspective to humanity's most paradoxical emotion. Proposing that
spiritual attainment does not have to be detached from intimacy or
eroticism, Open to Desire begins with an exploration of the
dissatisfaction that causes us to both cling to, and fear, desire.
Offering a new path for traversing this ambivalence, Dr. Epstein shows
us how we can overcome these obstacles, not by indulgence or
suppression, but by learning a new way to be with desire. Full of
practical advice, this is a lasting guide for finding peace both in
ourselves and in our most highly charged interactions)

Billy Yamaguchi Feng Shui Beauty: Bringing The Ancient Principles Of
Balance And Harmony To Your Hair, Makeup And Personal Style by Billy
Yamaguchi (Sourcebooks, Inc., $29.95 - What are your Feng Shui
elements? Feng Shui is an ancient and proven system for balance and
harmony. Billy Yamaguchi gives you everything you need to find out
which Feng Shui elements are the strongest for you right now and how to
choose the hairstyle, makeup and clothing that will bring out your true
inner self: Figure out your elements from your lifestyle and
personality; Find out whether you need to balance, harmonize or enhance
your elements; Learn which hair lengths, cuts and highlights are the
best for your elements and face shape; and Discover the best makeup and
hair color for your elements and skin tone. You'll end up with hair
and makeup that reflect who you really are-your outer appearance will
finally express your true self. Most hairstylists are trained in a
particular cut and give this same haircut to all of their clients,
regardless of differences in lifestyle and personality. Now Billy
Yamaguchi, internationally known hairstylist to the stars, helps you
bring the principles of Feng Shui to your hairstyle, makeup and
fashion, so your look will express your true self. Using the five
elements of Feng Shui-Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood-Billy
shows you who you really are in the world, and then designs your
haircut, color, makeup and fashion choices to really express your
unique style. For example, the Fire element tends to be passionate and
adventurous, while the Metal element is more precise and goal oriented.
While everyone has all five elements in their nature, two elements are
predominant at any given time. Once you know what they are, your
hairstyle, makeup and clothing can be used to enhance, balance or
harmonize your elements. You've never felt so natural, comfortable
and self-expressed in your own skin before. For the first time, you
will have a simple way to communicate your personality to your
hairstylist and to figure out what makeup colors and fashion styles
suit you best)

Sick and Tired?: Reclaim Your Inner Terrain by Robert Young PhD, with
Shelley Redford Young (Woodland Publishing, $19.95 - "Sick and
Tired?" presents the revolutionary theories of Dr. Robert Young, a
scientist who passionately cares for his work concerning how foods
positively and negatively affect the body. This book provides a
comprehensive view of Dr. Young's research and ideas, and is a
wonderful tool to helping anyone start on the road to once again
reclaiming good health)

History:

102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin
Towers by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn (Times Books, $26.00 - At 8:46 am
on September 11, 2001, 14,000 people were inside the twin
towers-reading e-mails, making trades, eating croissants at Windows on
the World. Over the next 102 minutes, each would become part of a drama
for the ages, one witnessed only by the people who lived it-until now.
Of the millions of words written about this wrenching day, most were
told from the outside looking in. New York Times reporters Jim Dwyer
and Kevin Flynn have taken the opposite-and far more
revealing-approach. Reported from the perspectives of those inside the
towers, "102 Minutes" captures the little-known stories of ordinary
people who took extraordinary steps to save themselves and others.
Beyond this stirring panorama stands investigative reporting of the
first rank. An astounding number of people actually survived the plane
impacts but were unable to escape, and the authors raise hard questions
about building safety and tragic flaws in New York's emergency
preparedness. Dwyer and Flynn rely on hundreds of interviews with
rescuers, thousands of pages of oral histories, and countless phone,
e-mail, and emergency radio transcripts. They cross a bridge of voices
to go inside the infernos, seeing cataclysm and heroism, one person at
a time, to tell the affecting, authoritative saga of the men and
women-the nearly 12,000 who escaped and the 2,749 who perished-as they
made 102 minutes count as never before)

The Goddess and the Bull: Catalhoyuk: An Archaeological Journey to the
Dawn of Civilization by Michael Balter (The Free Press, $27.00 -
Thousands of years before the pyramids were built in Egypt and the
Trojan War was fought, a great civilization arose on the Anatolian
plains. "The Goddess and the Bull" details the dramatic quest by
archaeologists to unearth the buried secrets of human cultural
evolution at this huge, spectacularly well-preserved 9,500-year-old
village in Turkey. Here lie the origins of modern society -- the dawn
of art, architecture, religion, family -- even the first tangible
evidence of human self-awareness, the world's oldest mirrors. Some
archaeologists have claimed that the Mother Goddess was first
worshipped at Çatalhöyük, which is now a site of pilgrimage for
Goddess worshippers from all over the world. The excavations here have
yielded the seeds of the Neolithic Revolution, when prehistoric humans
first abandoned the hunter-gatherer life they had known for millions of
years, invented farming, and began living in houses and communities.
Michael Balter, the excavation's official biographer, brings readers
behind the scenes, providing the first inside look at the remarkable
site and its history of scandal and thrilling scientific discovery. He
tells the very human story of two colorful men: British archaeologist
James Mellaart, who discovered Çatalhöyük in 1958 only to be banned
from working at the site forever after a fabulous ancient treasure
disappeared without a trace; and Ian Hodder, a pathbreaking
archaeological rebel who reinvented the way archaeology is practiced
and reopened the excavation after it had lain dormant for three
decades. Today Hodder leads an international team of more than one
hundred archaeologists who continue to probe the site's secrets. Balter
reveals the true story behind modern archaeology -- the thrill of
history-making scientific discovery as well as the crushing
disappointments, the community and friendship, the love affairs, and
the often bitter rivalries between warring camps of archaeologists.
Along the way, Balter describes the cutting-edge advances in
archaeological science that have allowed the team at Çatalhöyük to
illuminate the central questions of human existence)

Secret Weapons of the Cold War: From the H-Bomb to SDI by William Yenne
(Berkley, $7.99 - The highly classified Doomsday weapons that agents on
both sides of the Iron Curtain once risked their lives to protect.
Military expert Bill Yenne reveals the sophisticated weaponry that
would have launched Armageddon if the Cold War had turned hot--weapons
so closely guarded that people would kill to learn their secrets. Go
behind the Curtain: SAC--the secret weapon that prevented World War
III, Spy satellites and spy planes, Stealth aircraft and submarines,
Ballistic and cruise missiles, The Strategic Triad of MAD--Mutual
Assured Destruction, Human warriors on the battlefield of outer
space--the Cold War in orbit, "Star Wars"--the controversial weapons
system that ended the Cold War, And much more)

Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya by
Caroline Elkins (Henry Holt, $27.50 - As part of the Allied forces,
thousands of Kenyans fought alongside the British in World War II. But
just a few years after the defeat of Hitler, the British colonial
government detained nearly the entire population of Kenya's largest
ethnic minority, the Kikuyu-some one and a half million people. The
compelling story of the system of prisons and work camps where
thousands met their deaths has remained largely untold-the victim of a
determined effort by the British to destroy all official records of
their attempts to stop the Mau Mau uprising, the Kikuyu people's
ultimately successful bid for Kenyan independence. Caroline Elkins, an
assistant professor of history at Harvard University, spent a decade in
London, Nairobi, and the Kenyan countryside interviewing hundreds of
Kikuyu men and women who survived the British camps, as well as the
British and African loyalists who detained them. The result is an
unforgettable account of the unraveling of the British colonial empire
in Kenya-a pivotal moment in twentieth- century history with chilling
parallels to America's own imperial project)

Humor:

Southern Fried Divorce by Judy Conner (Gotham Books, $23.00 - Set
against the colorful backdrop of New Orleans, "Southern Fried
Divorce" raucously recounts the author's divorce from "That X"-a
classic bad boy-and the unpredictable roles he plays in her life
afterward. The book opens with his showing up on her doorstep, in
mid-Spring, covered in red and green ribbon, smelling of Jim Beam, and
bearing a belated Christmas gift-a home security package in the form
of a .38 revolver and a brown puppy. After wondering what kind of
ex-husband gives his wife a gun, she gives the puppy back and the
adventures with that ex-husband and the brown dog, who are soon
inseparable, begin. The hilarious vignettes that ensue include: the
rules to Redneck Roulette; post-divorce sex ("Smurfing"); a divorce
settlement that includes a bar tab for life; how to teach a dog to
drive a Cadillac; getting mugged with her own cutlery; wearing a keg
into a football game; instructions on how to cook the best Christmas
roast south of the Mason-Dixon line and other fine Southern recipes;
and the antics of her infamous ex and the brown dog-two cohorts
mythic and so inseparable they performed naked synchronized swimming
together at the 1984 World's Fair. Conner weaves together a
one-of-a-kind love story that exposes the humility of all human
relationships, and shows that the end of marriage is not the end of
love)
Literature and Reading:

Uncensored: Views and (Re)views by Joyce Carol Oates (Ecco, $24.95 -
Oates states in her preface, "In the essay or review, the dynamic of
storytelling is hidden but not absent," and indeed, the voice of these
"conversations" echoes the voice of her fiction in its dramatic
directness, ethical perspective, and willingness to engage the reader
in making critical judgments. Under the heading "Not a Nice Person,"
such controversial figures as Sylvia Plath, Patricia Highsmith, and
Muriel Spark are considered without sentimentality or hyperbole; under
"Our Contemporaries, Ourselves," such diversely talented figures as
William Trevor, E. L. Doctorow, Kazuo Ishiguro, Michael Connelly, Alice
Sebold, Mary Karr, Anne Tyler, and Ann Patchett are examined. In
sections of "homages" and "revisits," Oates writes with enthusiasm and
clarity of such cultural icons as Emily Brontë, Ernest Hemingway,
Carson McCullers, Robert Lowell, Balthus, and Muhammad Ali ("The
Greatest"); after a lapse of decades, she (re)considers the first film
version of Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Americana, Don DeLillo's first
novel, as well as the morality of selling private letters and the
nostalgic significance of making a pilgrimage to Henry David Thoreau's
Walden Pond. Through these balanced and illuminating essays we see
Oates at the top of her form, engaged with forebears and
contemporaries, providing clues to her own creative process: "For prose
is a kind of music: music creates 'mood.' What is argued on the surface
may be but ripples rising from a deeper, subtextual urgency")

Natural Science, Environment, and Gardening:

American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia Of Garden Plants by
Christopher Brickell, Marc Cathey, et al. (DK Publishing, Inc., $60.00
- The most comprehensive, detailed, and lavishly illustrated guide to
garden plants ever published, first published in 1997, has now been
completely revised to include nearly 250 new plants and photos. The
"AHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants" is an essential reference
for all gardeners, from novices to experts)

Soil Erosion and Conservation, Third Edition, by R.P.C. Morgan
(Blackwell, $64.95 - provides a comprehensive treatment of the
processes of soil erosion, the methods that can be used for their
control, and the issues involved in designing and implementing soil
conservation programs. Features of the third edition of this
internationally recognized textbook include: New material on gully
erosion, tillage practices, erosion risk assessment, use of erosion
models, incentives for farmers and land users, and community approaches
to erosion control; Updated sections on the mechanics of wind erosion,
soil erodibility, use of vegetation in erosion control, traditional
soil conservation measures, socio-economic issues and the role of
government; Describes the methods used to assess the risk of erosion
and predict rates of soil loss; Outlines the social, economic,
political and institutional constraints on implementing soil protection
measures; Covers erosion and its control for agriculture, grazing,
forestry, mining land, road banks, pipeline corridors and recreation;
and Provides worldwide coverage of the success and failure of erosion
control using material from Europe, Africa, Australia, America and
Asia)

Earthquakes in Human History : The Far-Reaching Effects of Seismic
Disruptions by Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald Theodore Sanders
(Princeton University Press, $24.95 - On November 1, 1755-All Saints'
Day-a massive earthquake struck Europe's Iberian Peninsula and
destroyed the city of Lisbon. Churches collapsed upon thousands of
worshippers celebrating the holy day. Earthquakes in Human History
tells the story of that calamity and other epic earthquakes. The
authors, Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald Theodore Sanders, recapture
the power of their previous book, Volcanoes in Human History. They
vividly explain the geological processes responsible for earthquakes,
and they describe how these events have had long-lasting aftereffects
on human societies and cultures. Their accounts are enlivened with
quotations from contemporary literature and from later reports. In the
chaos following the Lisbon quake, government and church leaders vied
for control. The Marquis de Pombal rose to power and became a virtual
dictator. As a result, the Roman Catholic Jesuit Order lost much of its
influence in Portugal. Voltaire wrote his satirical work Candide to
refute the philosophy of "optimism," the belief that God had created a
perfect world. And the 1755 earthquake sparked the search for a
scientific understanding of natural disasters. Ranging from an
examination of temblors mentioned in the Bible, to a richly detailed
account of the 1906 catastrophe in San Francisco, to Japan's Great
Kanto Earthquake of 1923, to the Peruvian earthquake in 1970 (the
Western Hemisphere's greatest natural disaster), this book is an
unequaled testament to a natural phenomenon that can be not only
terrifying but also threatening to humankind's fragile existence,
always at risk because of destructive powers beyond our control)

Biodiesel: Growing A New Energy Economy by Greg Pahl (Chelsea Green,
$18.00 - Has world oil ouptut peaked? Recent price spikes and dwindling
reserves have spurred fears that we are fast approaching the critical
tipping point that will trigger severe global economic depression,
political instability, and human suffering. Today 95 percent of global
oil is consumed for transportation, and other alternatives are distant
possibilities at best. We need a solution now, one that will pave the
way to a saner, more sustainable energy future without massive
reinvestments in infrastructure and technology transfer. We need
biodiesel. A crop-derived liquid fuel, biodiesel can be made from a
wide range of renewable, locally grown plant sources--even from
recycled cooking oils or animal fats. The technology is simple and
available today, and the benefits of biodiesel are enormous, as both a
cleaner-burning vehicle fuel and a source for residential or commercial
heating. Greg Pahl's essential new book explores the history and
technology of biodiesel, its current use around the world, and its
exciting potential in the United States and beyond. While biodiesel is
not the answer to all our energy problems, it is an important step in
the long overdue process of weaning ourselves from fossil fuels)

New Age:

Goddesses: Ancient Wisdom for Times of Change from Over 70 Goddesses by
Sue Jennings (Hay House, $17.95 - Goddesses explores the ancient wisdom
of the goddesses to help you reconnect with the old ways in a modern
context. The goddesses are presented in their elements, in their
heavenly bodies, or as symbols of the journey of life to give support,
provoke us to explore new ideas and challenges, and to bring balance to
our lives. The folklore, myth, and traditional associations of the
goddesses will inspire you on your journey. Pele, the Hawaiian goddess
of the volcano, demonstrates that volatile fire energy is life-giving
and creative but needs to have focus. Water goddesses such as Isis,
Sedna, and Yemaya offer us wisdom in times of stress and grief. They
help us flow in the right direction and remind us that water supports
us. The sun goddesses lead us through our feelings as well as our
intellect to our divine spark-the sun within us. If our lives are
stormy, we can take comfort from the story of the sun goddess,
Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami, and find peace within ourselves. Cerridwen, the
Celtic goddess of poetry, is a source of wisdom, inspiration, and
creativity. The reflections, meditations, rituals, chants, and
exercises in this book will help you bring about the changes you wish
for in your life. Some of the exercises are for you to undertake alone;
others you can share with friends, family, and children. Let the
goddesses guide and inspire you!

The Love Spell by Phyllis Curott (Gotham Books, $25.00 - In the highly
anticipated sequel to her acclaimed memoir, "Book of Shadows,"
Phyllis Curott explores the power of magic to manifest love in a
captivating mix of love story, spirituality, Wiccan spell book, and
erotica. This is the story of a love spell that worked. Ivy League
lawyer and Wiccan priestess Phyllis Curott has a supercharged career in
law and filmmaking, but one thing is missing: love. She casts a sexy
spell, and her dream lover soon arrives. But he's not who he appears
to be and there are unforeseen consequences. In this hip, compelling
tale of spiritual and sexual awakening, she must seek the aid of an
otherworldly suitor, a daemon, to discover how modern relationships and
their problems are paths to the greatest magic of all-true love. This
wise and erotic memoir is rich with spells, potions, and rituals for
love. The author shares accessible techniques of sexual magic for the
accomplishment of personal goals and growth, revealing how sexual
ecstasy can lead to the discovery of our innate divinity and an
empowered life)

Attunements for Dawn and Dusk: Music to Enhance Morning and Evening
Meditation by Harish Johari (Destiny Recordings, $24.95 - This two-CD
set features music designed to facilitate morning and evening
meditation and the spiritual development of the listener through the
effects of sound on consciousness, inspired by the sounds of nature,
with birds, insects, rivers, and wind specific to morning or evening.
Harish Johari draws upon classical Indian compositions in his
meditation music for the early morning and evening hours.
Traditionally, these compositions, called ragas, facilitate meditation
and the development of the listener through the effects of sound on
consciousness. The music is inspired by nature, reflecting the sounds
of birds, insects, rivers, and wind, which change in quality depending
on the hour of the day. Ragas also imitate temple gongs, whose
tonalities are altered by daily changes in temperature and atmospheric
pressure. The music in this two-cd set is produced on authentic Indian
flute, tambura, and swarmandal. The tambura produces a droning sound
that includes unusual overtones capable of alleviating suffering. The
organic, rich tones have a soothing, healing effect on the sympathetic
nervous system, internal organs, endocrine glands, and blood chemistry.
Listening to the compositions, which are synchronized with specific
hours of the day, puts us in harmony with our natural environment,
regulates our moods, and provides spiritual inspiration)

Intelligence In Nature by Jeremy Narby (Tarcher/Putnam, $23.95 -
Anthropologist Jeremy Narby has altered how we understand the shamanic
cultures and traditions that have undergone a worldwide revival in
recent years. Now, in one of his most extraordinary journeys, Narby
travels around the globe-from the Amazon basin to the Far East-to probe
what traditional healers and pioneering researchers perceive about the
intelligence present in all forms of life. "Intelligence in Nature"
offers overwhelming illustrative evidence that independent intelligence
is not unique to humanity. Indeed, bacteria, plants, animals, and other
forms of nonhuman life display an uncanny proclivity for
self-deterministic decisions, patterns, and actions. The Japanese
possess a word for this universal knowing: chi-sei. For the first time,
Narby presents an in-depth anthropological study of this concept in the
West. He not only uncovers a mysterious thread of intelligent behavior
within the natural world but also probes the question of what humanity
can learn from nature's economy and knowingness in its own search for a
saner and more sustainable way of life)

Pets and Animals:

Nature's Strongholds: The World's Great Wildlife Reserves by Laura
Riley and William Riley Princeton University Press, $49.40 - Bengal
tigers in the jungles of India. Birds of Paradise in the wilds of New
Guinea. Penguins on frozen beaches in Antarctica. These and other
charismatic and endangered species find homes within the world's great
wildlife reserves. Only a few persons have had the opportunity to visit
many of these wildlife sanctuaries and witness these magnificent
animals firsthand. Now, for the first time, the splendor of the world's
most impressive wildlife reserves is captured on the printed page in
this gloriously illustrated book by naturalists Laura and Bill Riley.
The Rileys, who received Pulitizer Prize nominations for their book on
American wildlife refuges, spent ten years researching this book,
visiting reserves on every continent. The 600 sanctuaries featured were
chosen on the basis of exhaustive on-scene reports, interviews, and
personal experiences. From Ecuador's Gálapagos Islands to Tanzania's
renowned Serengeti, they represent the last places on earth where the
natural world remains intact. Some of the reserves are as large as
European countries, others the size of small farms. Many are growing as
people everywhere become aware of their beauty and importance. The book
includes information on each sanctuary's historical and ecological
significance, details about how to visit and what to see, and a
comprehensive index for locating individual species)
Poetry and Plays:

Elegy on Toy Piano by Dean Young (University of Pittsburgh Press,
$12.95 - In "Elegy on Toy Piano," Dean Young's sixth book of poems,
elegiac necessity Þnds itself next to goofy celebration. Daffy Duck
enters the Valley of the Eternals. Faulkner and bell-bottoms cling to
beauty's evanescence. Even in single poems, Young's tone and style
vary. No one feeling or idea takes precedence over another, and their
simultaneity is frequently revealed; sadness may throw a squirrelly
shadow, joy can find itself dressed in mourning black. As in the
agitated "Whirlpool Suite": "Pain / and pleasure are two signals
carried / over one phoneline." In taking up subjects as slight as the
examination of a signature or a true/false test, and as pressing as the
death of friends, Young's poems embrace the duplicity of feeling, the
malleability of perception, and the truth telling of wordplay)
Cooling Time: An American Poetry Vigil by C.D. Wright (Copper Canyon
Press, $15.00 - C. D. Wright takes her title from a line of legal
defense, peculiar to Texas courts, in which it is held that if a man
kills before having had time "to cool" after receiving an injury or an
insult he is not guilty of murder. "Cooling Time" is a new type of
book, an unruly vigil that is an interconnected memoir-poem-essay about
contemporary American poetry. Ever focused on possibilities, Wright
demonstrates that "the search for models becomes a search for
alternatives," and thereby defines the terms by which poets can chart
their own course)

Spoken Word Revolution: Slam, Hip Hop & The Poetry Of A New Generatio
by Mark Eleveld (Sourcebooks, Inc., $16.95 - We're about to take you
off the road you expected to be on when you heard the word "poetry."
Sandburg, Kerouac, Whitman, and Millay were all radicals in their early
days. They outraged the status quo. The poets you'll experience in
this book and audio CD travel on that same track. "The Spoken Word
Revolution" is a continuation and rebirth of the oral tradition in
our country, and in countries around the world, where the power of
poetry performed out loud compels an audience to listen. The "Spoken
Word Revolution" brings to life the written and performed works of
more than 40 of the most influential slam, hip hop, performance art and
contemporary poets in the world today. This defining collection of
spoken word poetry captures today's electrifying words and voices, in
text and immediately live on one audio CD. Includes poems by: Sherman
Alexie, Billy Collins, Regie Gibson, Celena Glenn, Edward Hirsch, Jean
Howard, Taylor Mali, Viggo Mortensen, Beau Sia, Patricia Smith, and
Saul Williams)

Politics:

Sorry, Everybody: An Apology to the World for the Re-election of George
W. Bush by Ted Rall (Hylas Publishing, $14.95 - They've come together
between the covers of this book to say, "Sorry, everybody." There are
democrats and Republicans; priests and marines; professors and
veterans; suburban moms and hipsters and hipster suburban moms; gay
people, straight people; people from California to New York to Ohio to
Texas to Arkansas. The apologies range from the silly to the sublime,
and their collected effect is awesome; a heart-stopping, inspiring, and
hopeful portrait of America--or at least around half of it. Foreword by
Ted Rall, cartoonist and columnist for Universal Press Syndicate)

Pop Culture, Performing Arts, and Music:

Accents: A Manual for Acting - Revised and Expanded Edition by Robert
Blumenfeld (Hal Leonard, $29.95 - This practical reference manual, with
its precise, authentic instructions on how to speak in more than 100
dialects, has established itself as the most useful and comprehensive
guide to accents available, now increased by a third in this revised
printing. As before, the accents range from regional U.S. and British
dialects to European accents that include, among others, the Germanic,
Slavic and Romance Languages. Completing his around-the-world journey,
the author then covers the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Includes two
CDs)

The Joy of Music by Leonard Bernstein (Amadeus Press, $22.95 - This
classic work is perhaps Bernstein's finest collection of conversations
on the meaning and wonder of music. This book is a must for all music
fans who wish to experience music more fully and deeply through one of
the most inspired, and inspiring, music intellects of our time.
Employing the creative device of "Imaginary Conversations" in the first
section of his book, Bernstein illuminates the importance of the
symphony in America, the greatness of Beethoven, and the art of
composing. The book also includes a photo section and a third section
with the transcripts from his televised Omnibus music series, including
"Beethoven's Fifth Symphony," "The World of Jazz," "Introduction to
Modern Music," and "What Makes Opera Grand")

Einstein's Violin by Joseph Eger (Tarcher/Putnam, $27.95 - Joseph
Eger's life is a testimony to the power of music. Among the most
venerated classical conductors of his generation, Eger has discovered
within music a universal language that not only unites people across
cultures but also suggests something about the physical rules of life
itself. In "Einstein's Violin," Eger distills more than half a
century of personal experience and what it has taught him about how
music is uncannily similar in its design to the concepts of "string
theory" that have become overwhelming popular in today's theoretical
physics. Eger deals with how music relates not only to the physical
world but to the social one as well. He was among the first classical
performers to see music as a force for change, leading him to cross
enemy lines in the Middle East, to perform fusion concerts with rock
stars including John Lennon, and to become a voice for social advocacy
from the hearing rooms of the House Un-American Activities Committee to
the stage of Harlem's Apollo Theater. Eger's life is a tour through the
music and science of the twentieth century. In "Einstein's Violin,"
readers encounter intimate portraits of prominent figures such as
Leonard Bernstein, David Bohm, and Albert Einstein. Eger also probes
the origins of ancient music in the hands of the Hebrews, Egyptians,
Hindus, ancient Chinese, and the schools of Pythagoras to plumb the
sources of this unifying language of the universe)

Getting the Most out of Mozart: The Instrumental Works by David Hurwitz
(Amadeus Press, $19.95 - In this book, Hurwitz takes the
reader/listener through Mozart's chamber and orchestral music. This
music doesn't sound like anyone else's - only Mozart could have written
it. What makes it so special and how to enjoy it are explored in this
book. The CD contains excerpts from BMG Classics Recordings)

Reference:

How to Pay Zero Taxes, 2005 by Jeff A. Schnepper (McGraw-Hill, $16.95 -
Publishers Weekly called it "a can't-miss title." The New York Daily
News praised it for "pushing the envelope" and taking "a consumerist
approach that's helpful during all the other months before next April."
Best of all, more than half a million people have consulted "How to
Pay Zero Taxes" for solid guidance on paying less to the IRS. This
fully updated 22nd edition contains: The latest tax changes, More
tax-saving tips than any other guide, and Easy, practical strategies to
lower taxes this year, next year, and beyond)

American Map 2005 Large Scale Road Atlas (American Map, $21.95 -
Featuring brilliant new digital maps that are 30% bigger than normal,
the United States is given highly detailed treatment. With rounded
edges and durable, easy-opening spiral binding, this atlas gets you
from coast to coast without eye strain or squinting. Major city
inserts, mileage tables, "3-D" elevation shading, are added bonuses.
Co-branded with the Discovery Channel, included are 8 pages of vacation
and sightseeing tips from their editors)

How to Buy Your First Home by Diana Brodman Summers (Sphinx Publishing,
$18.95 - Take the fear out of buying your first home! For many, the
process of buying a home for the first time can seem intimidating and
overwhelming. "How to Buy Your First Home" is your resource for
information on the subject. This book guides you through the entire
process, including: Preliminaries-Renting versus buying, determining
what you can afford, deciding where to live; Searching for your
home-What to look for in a home, hiring a realtor;
Finances-Mortgage basics, government agencies, home loans for
veterans; The Buying Process-Hiring an attorney, making an offer,
inspecting and appraising your home; and The Future-Caring for your
home and increasing the value of your investment. Included within the
text are Attorney Tip boxes that highlight important facts. Extensive
appendices contain a glossary of important terms, contact information
for state offices of real estate regulation and sample worksheets to
help you as you make your decisions)

Religion and Philosophy:

Wittgenstein: Understanding And Meaning: Volume 1 of an Analytical
Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations, Part II: Exegesis
§§1-184, Second Edition by G. P. Baker and P. M. S. Hacker (Blackwell
Publishing, $99.95 - This is a new edition of the first volume of
G.P.Baker and P.M.S. Hacker's definitive reference work on
Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations. Takes into account much
material that was unavailable when the first edition was written.
Following Baker's death in 2002, P.M.S. Hacker has thoroughly revised
the first volume, rewriting many essays and sections of exegesis
completely. Part One - the Essays - now includes two completely new
essays: 'Meaning and Use' and 'The Recantation of a Metaphysician'.
Part Two - Exegesis §§1-184 - has been thoroughly revised in
the light of the electronic publication of Wittgenstein's Nachlass,
and includes many new interpretations of the remarks, a history of the
composition of the book, and an overview of its structure)

Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century, Volume 1: The Dawn of
Analysis and Volume 2: The Age of Meaning by Scott Soames (Princeton
University Press, $24.95 each - This is a major, wide-ranging history
of analytic philosophy since 1900, told by one of the tradition's
leading contemporary figures. The first volume takes the story from
1900 to mid-century. The second brings the history up to date. As Scott
Soames tells it, the story of analytic philosophy is one of great but
uneven progress, with leading thinkers making important advances toward
solving the tradition's core problems. Though no broad philosophical
position ever achieved lasting dominance, Soames argues that two
methodological developments have, over time, remade the philosophical
landscape. These are (1) analytic philosophers' hard-won success in
understanding, and distinguishing the notions of logical truth, a
priori truth, and necessary truth, and (2) gradual acceptance of the
idea that philosophical speculation must be grounded in sound
prephilosophical thought. Though Soames views this history in a
positive light, he also illustrates the difficulties, false starts, and
disappointments endured along the way. As he engages with the work of
his predecessors and contemporaries--from Bertrand Russell and Ludwig
Wittgenstein to Donald Davidson and Saul Kripke--he seeks to highlight
their accomplishments while also pinpointing their shortcomings,
especially where their perspectives were limited by an incomplete grasp
of matters that have now become clear. Soames himself has been at the
center of some of the tradition's most important debates, and
throughout writes with exceptional ease about its often complex ideas.
His gift for clear exposition makes the history as accessible to
advanced undergraduates as it will be important to scholars. Despite
its centrality to philosophy in the English-speaking world, the
analytic tradition in philosophy has had very few synthetic histories)

The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims by
Robert Spencer (Prometheus Books, $26.00 - Brings to light the deeply
ingrained historical, cultural, and religious elements of a profound
modern crisis--the violence, fanaticism, and contempt for outsiders
that characterizes much of the Islamic world today. This wide-ranging
group of essays clearly explains how these poisonous attitudes are
rooted in laws and cultural habits that are connected organically to
the concept of jihad and its corollary institution, dhimmitude--which
are in turn a primary impetus for global terrorism today. The scholars
presented in this essential volume come up with many surprising and
disturbing conclusions)

On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt (Princeton University Press, $9.95 -
One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so
much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share.
But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather
confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being
taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate
concern. We have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there
is so much of it, or what functions it serves. And we lack a
conscientiously developed appreciation of what it means to us. In other
words, as Harry Frankfurt writes, "we have no theory." Frankfurt, one
of the world's most influential moral philosophers, attempts to build
such a theory here. With his characteristic combination of
philosophical acuity, psychological insight, and wry humor, Frankfurt
proceeds by exploring how bullshit and the related concept of humbug
are distinct from lying. He argues that bullshitters misrepresent
themselves to their audience not as liars do, that is, by deliberately
making false claims about what is true. In fact, bullshit need not be
untrue at all. Rather, bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression
of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is
true. They quietly change the rules governing their end of the
conversation so that claims about truth and falsity are irrelevant.
Frankfurt concludes that although bullshit can take many innocent
forms, excessive indulgence in it can eventually undermine the
practitioner's capacity to tell the truth in a way that lying does not.
Liars at least acknowledge that it matters what is true. By virtue of
this, Frankfurt writes, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than
lies are)

A Call to Compassion: Bringing Buddhist Practices of the Heart into the
Soul of Psychology by Aura Glaser(Nicholas Hayes, $16.95 - Aura Glaser
wrote this book to remedy a deficiency she discovered while engaged in
psychological research--a nearly complete omission of the importance
and cultivation of compassion. Other books exploring Buddhism and
psychology have focused on what the Theravada school of Buddhism--which
teaches personal liberation through enlightenment--can offer
psychology. A call to Compassion works with Mahayana Buddhism, in which
practitioners commit to the liberation of all sentient beings, with
compassion central to attaining that goal. In her fascinating and
exceptionally clear and concise review of the work of Freud, Jung, and
others, Glaser shows how psychology has been ambivalent about the
subject of compassion and therefore has developed no methodology for
helping individuals cultivate this essential quality in the service of
helping others. Glaser introduces as a remedy the Buddhist practice of
the lojong, expressed in the text of The Seven Points of Mind Training,
for developing love and compassion. With modern-day life examples, she
illustrates the four major points-- compassion for self, compassion for
others, exchanging self and others, and no self and no other--
affirming that these points are indeed attainable. If we make the
effort to contemplate, understand and truly integrate these four
essentials, we will have a sound basis for both psychological health
and genuine transformation)

Sociology and Social Sciences:

A Century of Genocide: Utopias of Race and Nation by Eric D. Weitz
(Princeton University Press, $19.95 - Why did the twentieth century
witness unprecedented organized genocide? Can we learn why genocide is
perpetrated by comparing different cases of genocide? Is the Holocaust
unique, or does it share causes and features with other cases of
state-sponsored mass murder? Can genocide be prevented? Blending
gripping narrative with trenchant analysis, Eric Weitz investigates
four of the twentieth century's major eruptions of genocide: the Soviet
Union under Stalin, Nazi Germany, Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, and
the former Yugoslavia. Drawing on historical sources as well as trial
records, memoirs, novels, and poems, Weitz explains the prevalence of
genocide in the twentieth century--and shows how and why it became so
systematic and deadly. Weitz depicts the searing brutality of each
genocide and traces its origins back to those most powerful categories
of the modern world: race and nation. He demonstrates how, in each of
the cases, a strong state pursuing utopia promoted a particular mix of
extreme national and racial ideologies. In moments of intense crisis,
these states targeted certain national and racial groups, believing
that only the annihilation of these "enemies" would enable the dominant
group to flourish. And in each instance, large segments of the
population were enticed to join in the often ritualistic actions that
destroyed their neighbors. This book offers some of the most absorbing
accounts ever written of the population purges forever associated with
the names Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, and Milosevic. A controversial and
richly textured comparison of these four modern cases, it identifies
the social and political forces that produce genocide)

Slave Nation: How Slavery United The Colonies And Sparked The American
Revolution
by Alfred Blumrosen and Ruth G. Blumrosen (Sourcebooks, Inc., $24.95 -
This carefully documented, chilling history presents a radically
different view of the profound role that slavery played in the founding
of the republic, from the Declaration of Independence and the American
Revolution through the creation of the Constitution. The book begins
with a novel explanation about the impact slavery had on the founding
of the republic. In 1772, a judge sitting in the High Court in London
declared slavery "so odious" that it could not exist as common law and
set the conditions which would consequently result in the freedom of
the 15,000 slaves living in England at that time. This decision
eventually reached America and terrified the predominantly southern
slaveholders because America was then a collection of British colonies
and as such were subject to British law, and they feared that this
decision would cause the emancipation of the slaves here. Thus, to
ensure the preservation of slavery, the southern states joined the
northern colonies in their fight for "freedom" and their rebellion
against England. This decision was codified in the First Continental
Congress in 1774 when John Adams promised southern leaders the support
of their right to maintain slavery and drafted a Declaration of
Colonial Independence from Parliament. What follows is a fascinating
account of the role slavery played in the drawing of the United States
Constitution. It was only in the end, when the northern states
threatened to walk out over the issue of slavery, that the southern
states agreed to the prohibition of slavery north of the Ohio River,
embodied in the Northwest Ordinance which created the largest
slave-free area in the world. This would eventually give birth to the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 which codified Benjamin Franklin's affirmative
action plan)

Sports and Recreation:

Surf Flex: Flexibility, Yoga, and Conditioning Exercises for Surfers by
Paul Frediani and Peter Field Peck (Hatherleigh Press, $14.95 - Surfing
is one of the fastest growing recreational sports in the United States.
More than 5 million men and women regularly pick up a surfboard and hit
the waves. "Surf Flex" is the first book to address the fitness and
conditioning requirements of this popular sport. Perhaps no other sport
requires more agility and flexibility than surfing. Wiping out is no
fun and a solid flexibility program will help prevent injuries, and
keep you surfing longer and stronger. So before you hit the water, try
the exercises in "Surf Flex." It's guaranteed to keep your
Wednesdays big and your summers endless. Whether you are a beginning or
advanced surfer, "Surf Flex" will get you in top form to ride the
waves. With contributions by leading surfers from around the world,
"Surf Flex" includes sections on: yoga-based pre- and post-surfing
stretches, cardio and strength conditioning, balance and coordination
training, swimming, injury prevention and more)

Travel:

Eyewitness Travel Guides: Arizona and Grand Canyon by Aruna Ghose (DK
Publishing, Inc., $15.00 - This heavily illustrated guide to Arizona
and the Grand Canyon is packed with the best outdoor activities, as
well as special features on history and culture, plus a comprehensive
guide to what to eat and where to stay)

Fiction:

Best of the Bunch:

Aloft by Chang-Rae Lee (Riverhead Books, $14.00 - Set on affluent Long
Island, Aloft follows the life of a suburban, upper-middle-class man
during a time of family crisis. Jerry Battle's favorite diversion is to
fly his small plane over the neighboring towns and villages. When his
daughter and her fiancé arrive from Oregon to announce their marriage
plans, he looks back on his life and faces his disengagement with
it-his urge to fly solo-and the people he loves. Chang-rae Lee burst on
the scene with Native Speaker, which won numerous awards, including the
PEN/Hemingway Award. His second novel, "A Gesture Life,"
established him as one of the preeminent writers of his generation.
Now, with "Aloft," Lee has expanded his range and proves himself a
master storyteller, able to observe his characters' flaws and
weaknesses and, at the same time, celebrate their humanity. Aloft is an
unforgettable portrait, filled with vitality and urgency, of a man who
has secured his life's dreams but who must now figure out its meaning)

Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland (Bloomsbury, $22.95 - A riveting,
witty, and profound story of loneliness and connection from
internationally bestselling author Douglas Coupland. The 1997 night
that Hale-Bopp streaks across the skies over Vancouver, Liz Dunn has
nothing in her life but impending oral surgery and an armful of
schmaltzy video rentals to get her through her solitary convalescence
in her sterile condo. She's overweight, crabby, and plain, but behind
her eyes lurk whole universes that she's never had the opportunity to
express. Just as Liz makes a quiet decision to seek peace in her life
rather than certainty, along comes another comet, in the form of a
young man admitted to the local hospital with her name and number
inscribed on his Medic Alert bracelet: In case of emergency, contact
Liz Dunn. A charming lost soul and a strange visionary, Jeremy upends
Liz's quiet existence, triggering a chain of events that take her to
the other side of the world and back, endangering her life just as a
real chance at happiness finally seems within reach. By turns funny and
heartbreaking, Eleanor Rigby is a fast-paced read and a haunting
exploration of the ways in which loneliness affects us all)

Creature Cozies edited by Jill M. Morgan (Berkley, $23.95 - Featuring a
lovable cast of crime-solving canines and sly, sleuthing cats, this
unique collection of 11 mysteries-written by some of today's most
beloved authors, with a little inspiration from their four-legged
friends-takes the age-old friendship between pets and their providers
and stands it on its fuzzy ear. For every reader who has a furry friend
to curl up with, or just likes to curl up with a good story, this
unique volume is a rewarding treat-complete with photos of the authors
and their pets. Get ready to meet this mystery menagerie. They're cute,
they're cuddly-and they're on the case. Featuring: J.A. Jance, Jan
Burke, Jill M. Morgan, Carole Nelson Douglas, Dick Lochte, Marlys
Millhiser, Ed Gorman, Jane Haddam, Maxine O'Callaghan, Gary Phillips,
and Noreen Ayres)

General Fiction:

Miranda's Vines by Kimberly Kafka (Plume, $14.00 - From the acclaimed
author of "True North" comes a moving novel about unexpected
destinies and the timelessness of true friendship, set in Oregon's
scenic wine country. Hailed by reviewers from coast to coast, True
North marked the exhilarating debut of Kim Kafka's writing career.
Now Kafka takes us to another captivating corner of the world, as seen
through the eyes of a remarkable young mother named Miranda Perry.
Miranda has risen to the top of San Francisco's competitive culinary
world, and investors are willing to help her launch her own restaurant.
She is also a successful single parent, building an endearing
relationship with her little boy, Ruben. But her life suddenly takes a
different turn when she learns that her father has died, leaving the
family vineyard to Miranda. Returning to Oregon, she leaves city life
behind her. An adventuresome lifelong friend, Bridie, soon joins
Miranda in Oregon after sustaining a debilitating injury. By returning
to their roots, both women find unforeseen healing and hope, while
helping each other through the challenges of accepting fate)

Swimming Naked by Stacy Sims (Plume, $14.00 - Despite a lifetime of
ambivalence about her mother, Fay, thirty-year-old Lucy Greene arrives
in overheated Florida to take care of her mother as she lies dying of
cancer. In this novel about growth and transformation, Lucy, a
hard-living, droll, and self-aware young woman, finds herself in
strange, new emotional territory and begins sizing up her life by
setting the past against the present. She shares the story of her
family's history-including the stunning signature events of one
fateful summer when a violent storm results in a freak accident that
literally shatters her family. Afterward, the father seemingly
disappears and the mother and her daughters move forward on a very
different course. It is Lucy's one treasured memory-a midnight swim
with her mother-that reminds her there is grace in her graceless
world, a fact that helps her to forgive her mother and, ultimately, let
her go)

Seek the Living by Ashley Warlick (Houghton Mifflin, $24.00 - Reading
Ashley Warlick is like listening to the bluesy heartbreak of a country
song. Set in the landscape of the new South, with its aging farms and
low-rent strip malls, Seek the Living tells the story of a
strong-minded young woman whose past catches up with her. When Joan
Patee's wayward brother, Denny, breaks one heart too many and takes a
beating for it, their father sends Joan to set him straight. Since her
mother's death, Joan has had to keep the peace between these two proud
men. She yearns for the support of her husband, Marshall, whose job
keeps him constantly on the road. His visits home are all too brief,
filled with a passion made even more urgent by their desire to have a
child. Joan finds Denny worse off than she expected. After losing a
string of odd jobs, he's tending an old churchyard and hiding out with
an enigmatic new girlfriend. And he's onto a money-making scheme: he
has discovered some artifacts in unmarked graves that may date to the
Civil War, and he intends to profit from them, legally or otherwise.
Joan turns for help to the only person she can think of, an old friend
from their wild youth, the renegade Lewis, a man of great charm and
dubious wealth. Through Denny and Lewis, Joan is drawn into a spiral of
shady dealings and peculiar town secrets, some dangerously close to her
heart. For years she has harbored the memory of a willful affair that
ended tragically. As Denny unearths hidden graves, Joan unearths
long-buried emotions that threaten to harm everyone she loves)

Tropical Animal by Pedro Juan Gutierrez (Carrol and Graf, $24.00 -
Echoing the raw vitality of Henry Miller, "Tropical Animal" brings
the return of the already infamous Pedro Juan, the seductive
protagonist at the heart of Dirty Havana Trilogy. Pursued by Gloria, a
proud and sophisticated prostitute on a mission to curb his predatory
instincts, Pedro Juan is holed up in his crumbling Havana apartment,
painting, with a growing sense of melancholy as he observes the lives
of the hustlers, hipsters, and hookers in the city below him. An
invitation to Sweden, of all places-cold, unwelcoming, the antithesis
of Pedro's Cuba-gives him an official way out, and the phone manner of
his potential hostess offers incentive enough for him to leave for the
literary life in Europe. However, once there he finds himself haunted
by memories of the passionate Gloria and increasingly uninspired by his
new environment. Does Pedro Juan, legendary seducer and imbiber of hard
liquor, finally have to admit that his game is over-to be replaced by
this more balanced, more secure, colder existence? In tight, tough
prose Pedro Juan Gutiérrez explores human animalism with a joyous
fearlessness absent from much of our contemporary culture and sheds a
brilliant new light into the depths and complexities of the soul)

The Ninth Life of Louis Drax by Liz Jensen (Bloomsbury, $23.95 - Meet
Louis Drax, the Amazing Accident-Prone Boy. Louis Drax is a boy like no
other. He is brilliant and strange, and every year something violent
seems to happen to him. His psychologist is baffled, and his mother
lives in a constant state of panic. He has always managed to survive-to
land on his feet, like a cat. But cats have only nine lives, and Louis
has used up eight, one for every year. On his ninth birthday, Louis
goes on a picnic with his parents and falls off a cliff. The details
are shrouded in mystery. Louis's mother is shell-shocked; his father
has vanished. And after some confusion Louis himself, miraculously
alive but deep in a coma, arrives at Dr. Pascal Dannachet's celebrated
coma clinic. Was the fall really an accident? If anyone knows, they're
not telling. Until one day, still deep within his coma, Louis meets the
bandaged figure who calls himself Gustave, and begins to tell his
tale...)

Sight Hound by Pam Houston (Norton, $23.95 - This is the story of a
woman, Rae, and her dog, Dante, a wolfhound who teaches "his human"
that love is stronger than fear (the dog has always known this). Dante
is the catalyst for change in other characters as well, and they step
forward with their narratives: Rae's house-tender; her therapist; two
veterinarians; and an anxiety-ridden actor, Howard, who turns out to be
as stalwart as Dante himself. As the "seer" who hunts by sight rather
than smell, Dante has some things to add, as does Rose, another dog who
lives at Rae's heels, and Stanley the cat. Among and above these myriad
voices, Rae voices her own challenges)

The Last Pope by David Osborn (Sourcebooks, Inc., $14.00 - In the
tradition of Morris West's bestselling The Shoes of the Fisherman,
this evocative and moving novel takes the reader deep inside the inner
world of the Vatican and the American branch of the Holy See to
dramatize the great moral issues that are eviscerating the church. The
story begins with the passing of Gregory XVIII, a humble and beloved
pope. The Lords of the Church meet in the secret recesses of the
Basilica to elect a successor. At that point, forces of reaction and
humanity are joined in mortal combat. Father Ignatius Heriot, an
American cardinal and a man of decency and caring, struggles with his
own inner demons as he faces the possibility of being elected pope.
Torn inside, everything changes when he fulfills a promise to the dying
pope to meet Father John Zacharias, a charismatic priest who has begun
to attract hundreds of thousands of followers, as he preaches for the
reforms the church has so bitterly rejected. As the election gets
underway, the battle among the Lords of the Church catches fire and
cardinals must decide whether Cardinal Mancini, whose soul belongs to
the Inquisition, or Cardinal Heriot, who would bring the reforms to the
church so avidly sought by millions of its troubled members, will be
elected. In this unrelentingly readable novel of suspense, the reader
will not only learn the fascinating secrets of the Vatican, but will
confront in his or her own soul the great issues of faith, divinity and
good and evil)
A World For Julius (The Americas) by Alfredo Bryce Echenique,
translated by Dick Gerdes (University of Wisconsin Press, $19.95 -
Julius's father is dead, and his beautiful young mother passes through
her children's lives like an ephemeral shooting star. Set in Lima)

The Five People You Will Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (Hyperion,
$19.95 - Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in
his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside
amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he
tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the
afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It's a
place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom
you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from
childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit their
connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his
"meaningless" life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the
eternal question: "Why was I here?")

Graphic Novels:

Buddy Does Seattle (The Complete Buddy Bradley Stories from "Hate"
Comics, Vol. I, 1990-94) by Peter Bagge (Fantagraphics Books, $14.95 -
The Harvey Award-winning cartoonist Peter Bagge remains one of the
comics' industry's great crossover successes of the past decade, having
sold more comics than any underground cartoonist through the 1990s to
the present. After editing R. Crumb's Weirdo magazine in the mid-'80s
and then creating the Bradley family within the pages his first comic
book series, Neat Stuff, Bagge decided to take the Bradleys' alienated
and pessimistic teenage son, Buddy, and move him to Seattle (where
Bagge lived) to star in a new series called Hate. The rest is comic
book history. Hate became the best-selling "alternative" comic book of
the 1990s at the same time that Seattle found itself in the eye of a
media hurricane. With its satirical depiction of twentysomething life
in Seattle, Hate became one of the defining voices of not only the
Seattle "grunge" scene, but all of Generation X nationwide (and has
been spotted in many films through the years, from Larry Clark's Kids
to John Waters' Pecker). In addition, critics hailed it for its
brilliant characterization. The Seattle Weekly wrote, "20 years from
now, when people wonder what it was like to be young in 1990's Seattle,
the only record we'll have is Peter Bagge's Hate." For 15 issues, the
rock 'n' roll emanating from the damp garages of the Pacific Northwest
came to life in glorious black-and-white in the pages of Hate. Bagge
more or less cemented his association with the subculture in 1992 when
he devoted two issues of Hate to a story where Buddy Bradley manages
his best pal Stinky's grunge band, Leonard and the Love Gods, whose
original lineup included three guys named Kurt. "Buddy Does
Seattle" collects the entire Seattle arc from the pages of Hate; this
is the first time the entire saga has appeared under one cover. Bagge's
characters are some of the most fully-realized in comics-Buddy, the
slacker antihero, Valerie, Buddy's Prozac-normalized ex, Lisa, his
masochistic, worm-eating latest flame, Stinky, his selfish,
venereal-warted roommate, and George Cecil Hamilton III, the resident
"intellectual," who sits in his room scribbling depressive arcana into
his notebook-they display their emotions so openly, so helplessly, so
graphically, and with such precision as they attempt to negotiate the
ragged terrain of early adulthood that it would all be rather
horrifying if it weren't such a riot. Bagge's cartooning aids the
cause, with one of the most idiosyncratic and inspiredly elastic and
cartoony drawing styles in comics history)

Mystery and Suspense:

The Serpent's Trail by Sue Henry (Onyx, $6.99 - From an author whose
"twists and turns keep you turning the pages" (Denver Post) comes a
brand-new mystery series starring Maxie McNabb-an independent retiree
whose adventures across the country in her motor home are destined for
murderous roadblocks. At 63, Maxie is cruising down the Alaska Highway
in her brand-new Winnebago. She's always been a gypsy at heart-and with
her mini-dachshund at her side, and the open road ahead, she's never
been happier. But before her exploration of the Lower Forty-eight gets
underway, Maxie needs to figure out who burglarized her friend's
Colorado home-and why. But the closer Maxie gets to solving the puzzle,
the more it becomes chillingly clear that her friend's life isn't the
only one on the line)

Till the End of Tom: An Amanda Pepper Mystery by Gillian Roberts
(Ballantine Books, $22.95 - Traditionally, Old Philadelphians keep a
low profile. They associate with one another and leave life as
discreetly as they have lived it. So Philly Prep English teacher Amanda
Pepper, who thinks her only current problems are keeping her
well-meaning family from hijacking her wedding, is understandably
stunned to discover a perfect specimen of the species dying at the foot
of the school's marble staircase. It is anybody's guess what led to
Tomas Severin's apparent fall and, indeed, why he was in the building
in the first place. More questions arise when Amanda enters her
otherwise empty classroom and finds a take-out cup of herbal tea laced
with the party drug her students call roofies. Why would a middle-aged
Philadelphian have a date-rape drug in his tea? Why does he have
Amanda's name scribbled in his pocket notebook? Hired by a member of
the Severin family household, Amanda and her fiancé, C. K. Mackenzie,
realize that many people felt their lives would improve if Tom's life
ended-making it seemingly impossible to determine who'd been
harassing Severin with threatening phone calls. Tom Severin leaves
behind angry ex-wives, one recently dropped fiancée, and the current
(about to be exed) Mrs. Tomas Severin. As secrets are unearthed, and
cruelties old and new revealed, it's apparent that The End of Tom is
just the beginning of the grief he caused)

A Window in Copacabana by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza (Henry Holt, $23.00
- Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. Three policemen have been killed over the
course of a few days. They were mediocre cops, and their deaths have a
lot in common: they were eliminated by a cold-blooded assassin, who
leaves no trace and likes to fire at point-blank range. Immediately the
police world is thrown into turmoil. Who would risk running around the
city killing cops, even unpopular ones? People involved in drug
trafficking? Other policemen? Espinosa, chief of the 12th Precinct,
doesn't have much to go on. And when the body of a woman connected to
one of the dead cops is found on the sidewalk below her apartment
window, things get even more complicated, as a reputed "witness"-the
wife of a high-ranking government official--becomes obsessed with the
case, and with Espinosa. Nothing is quite as it first appears as
Espinosa finds himself in his old haunts of Leme and Copacabana, and in
the all-too-familiar murky terrain of corruption, secret lives, greed,
and fear)

The Magyar Venus by Lyn Hamilton (Berkley, $6.99 - After the unveiling
of the Magyar Venus--a head and torso of a woman carved from mammoth
ivory during the Upper Paleolithic period--one of Lara's friends
commits suicide. Determinedly tracing the Venus's provenance to
Budapest, Lara discovers a truth that arises from the secrets of the
past)

Bubbles A Broad by Sarah Strohmeyer (Onyx, $6.99 - A high-profile
murder has landed at Bubbles's pretty feet. The victim: a local steel
executive. The accused: his lovely wife. The weapon: cyanide-laced
fingernails. If anyone can solve a well-manicured slaying like this,
it's Bubbles. And nothing's going to stop her. Not even hunky
photojournalist Steve Stiletto, who vows that this time, he's getting
everything he wants from Bubbles. But how far is the amateur sleuth in
spandex willing to go to get what she wants?)

Who Killed the Queen of Clubs? By Patricia Sprinkle (Signet, $5.99 -
State bridge champion and club woman Edie Whelan Burkett has been dealt
many a bad hand, but after being widowed, the only things she has to
sustain herself are a job at the library and a thousand-acre pecan
grove. And just when the stress of it all seems too much, the grove's
foreman dies...followed by Edie-and not by natural causes. Now, county
magistrate Mac Yarbrough is on the case to prove the foreman's son
innocent of murder, and figure out who's playing with a full deck-and
who's not)

Short Stories and Collections:

Dangerous Women edited by Otto Penzler (Mysterious Press, $24.95 - With
an unprecedented lineup of authors, Mysterious Press proudly presents
an extraordinary collection of short stories. Lorenzo Carcaterra,
Michael Connelly, John Connolly, Jeffery Deaver, Nelson DeMille, J.A.
Jance, Andrew Klavan, Elmore Leonard, Laura Lippman, Ed McBain, Jay
McInerney, Walter Mosley, Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Perry, Ian Rankin,
S.J. Rozan, and Thomas H. Cook combine their talents in a collection
which is certain to find a large audience eager to read stories by some
of the most distinguished names in the genre)

Children's Books

Best of the Bunch:

Guess How Much I Love You? by Sam McBratney, pictures by Anita Jeram
(Unabridged CD, Candlewick Books, $7.99 - Listen to a dramatic reading
of this beloved tale accompanied by music and sound effects, and get
ready for a whole story experience! Acclaimed actor Adrian Dunbar
presents nearly a full hour of interactive fun, including
story-inspired games, activities, songs, and suggestions for simple
crafts. Perfect for both individuals and groups - at home, in the
car, in a classroom, or at a party - this lively recording is sure to
energize little ones' imaginations time and again. For all ages)

Read and Understand Poetry Grades 2-3 edited by Sarita Chavez Silverman
(Evans-Moor, $14.99 - "Read and Understand Poetry, Grades 2-3"
contains 27 poem selections organized around these engaging themes:
Beasts Birds & Bugs, Seasons & Celebrations, Stuff & Nonsense, Step
Outside, Poems in Song, and A World of Sights & Sounds, Included are
poems by such well-known poets as Christina Rossetti, Robert Louis
Stevenson, Robert Frost, and Pat Mora. The first follow-up activity
emulates the format students are likely to encounter on standardized
language arts tests. Item content covers: literal comprehension,
sequence, word meaning, context clues & inferences, and main idea and
details. Also new: ""Read and Understand Poetry, Grades 3-4",
"Read and Understand Poetry, Grades 4-5", and "Read and
Understand Poetry, Grades 5-6")

The Collected Tales: Nurse Matilda by Christina Brand, illustrated by
Edward Ardizzone (Bloomsbury, $16.95 - Mr. and Mrs. Brown were forever
having trouble with their numerous and incredibly naughty children . .
. until the day Nurse Matilda entered their lives. First published
nearly fifty years ago, "Nurse Matilda" and its two companion
books-"Nurse Matilda Goes to Town" and "Nurse Matilda Goes to
Hospital" - have charmed readers ever since. Now the inspiration for
the major motion picture Nanny McPhee, all three beloved books are
available once again in a deluxe hardcover edition which features the
three complete and unabridged books by Christianna Brand, along with
Edward Ardizzone's charming black-and-white illustrations)

Baby/Preschool:

Daily Summer Activities: Moving From Pre-K to K by Jill Norris
(Evans-Moor, $14.95 - Daily Summer Activities is comprised of ten
weekly sections that provide skill practice in several subject areas.
The activities are full-color, fun, and engaging. There are two pages
of short, focused practice for each day of the week. The subject areas
vary somewhat depending on the grade levels addressed, but include:
Reading, Mathematics, spelling and other language skills, handwriting,
creative writing, and geography. Each weekly section begins with a
record form where the child tracks work completed, logs the number of
minutes of recreational reading, and records interesting events of the
week. Other features of each Daily Summer Activities book include:
certificate of completion, answer key, parent suggestions, and a Summer
reading list. The transition from PreK to Kindergarten is a big step
for most children and the exercises in "Daily Summer Activities,
Moving from PreK to Kindergarten" can help give little learners a big
head start. Specific content in this volume includes: practice for two
or three letters of the alphabet each week, tracing the letter,
listening for the letter sound, sequencing events, one word to spell
each week, simple picture directions to complete a drawing, responding
to pictures, words and stories, number recognition, counting, patterns,
sorting, beginning addition, recognizing shapes, and pennies. Also
new: "Daily Summer Activities, Moving from K-1", "Daily Summer
Activities, Moving from 1-2", "Daily Summer Activities, Moving from
2-3", "Daily Summer Activities, Moving from 3-4", and "Daily
Summer Activities, Moving from 4-5")

Ages 4-8:

Will You Carry Me? by Heleen van Rossum, illustrated by Peter van
Harmelen Kane/Miller, $15.95 - Thomas has been playing in the park all
morning, and now it's time to go home. But Thomas is very, very tired.
He's much too tired to walk. Luckily, Mommy is very, very clever)

Brand New Readers: Fish and Frog by Michele Knudsen, illustrated by
Valeria Petrone (Candlewick, $14.99 - Fish and Frog swim, make faces,
and play silly games in four simple stories enhanced by enticingly
vibrant illustrations."Brand New Readers" are the most effective
way to make reading a success -- the very first time. Parents,
teachers, and librarians everywhere report that they really work! They
include Funny stories; Pictures that make words easy to guess;
Eight-page stories that can be finished in one sitting, ensuring a
satisfying reading experience; and Notes for parents and teachers to
help them guide beginning readers)

The Never-Bored Kid Book Ages 4-5 by Joy Evans and Jo Ellen Moore
(Evans-Moor, $14.99 - While being engaged in fun activities, your
children will be practicing important age-appropriate skills such as
visual discrimination, sequencing, small muscle coordination, following
directions, and critical and creative thinking. The activities in
"The Never-Bored Kid Book, Ages 4 and 5" are organized around 16
age-appropriate themes, including: teddy Bear, my wagon, creepy
caterpillar, snowman, many pets, rainbows, yummy fruit, chickens,
rabbits, rain rain, Is Anyone Home?, Elephant, Who Is the Driver?, the
zoo, mouse, and spider home. Also new: "The Never-Bored Kid Book,
Ages 6 and 7" and "The Never-Bored Kid Book, Ages 8 and 9")

Nobody's Diggier Than a Dog by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, illustrated
by Beppe Giacobbe (Hyperion, $15.99 - Nobody's waggier than a dog - a
meet-'n'-greet, belly-up, rub-a-dub dog. Often words cannot describe
man's best friend, so sometimes you've got to break the rules! Susan
Campbell Bartoletti unleashes a whole new pack of adjectives in this
howling ode to the hound dog. Together, with Beppe Giacobbe's feist-y
art, Bartoletti re-domesticates the dictionary and revolutionizes the
way pets are portrayed, in a list poem wordsmiths and dog devotees will
sit up and beg for)

Eye Wonder: Plant by Fleur Star (DK Publishing, Inc., $9.95 - Examine
what a plant is, find out how plants support all other life on the
planet, and discover their tricks of attracting pollinators and the
secret weapons they use to keep predators at bay. Also new:
"Invention")

Jonathan Swift's Gulliver by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Chris
Riddell (Candlewick Press, $19.99 - Gulliver sets sail for adventure
and finds a country beyond his wildest dreams. He's certainly never met
anyone like the people of Lilliput. But then the people of Lilliput
have never met anyone quite like Gulliver... This work includes the
complete authoritative text with biographical & historical contexts,
critical history and essays from five contemporary critical
perspectives.

A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms by Paul B.
Janeczko, illustrated by Chris Raschka (Candlewick Press, $17.99 - In
this splendid and playful volume, acclaimed poetry anthologist Paul B.
Janeczko and Caldecott Honor illustrator Chris Raschka present lively
examples of twenty-nine poetic forms, demonstrating not only the
(sometimes bendable) rules of poetry, but also the spirit that brings
these forms so wonderfully to life. Featuring formal poems, some
familiar and some never before published, from the likes of Eleanor
Farjeon (aubade), X. J. Kennedy (elegy), Ogden Nash (couplet), Liz
Rosenberg (pantoum), and William Shakespeare, the sonnet king himself,
" A Kick in the Head" perfectly illustrates Robert Frost's maxim
that poetry without rules is like a tennis match without a net)

Popsi: The Daughter of Mother Nature by Geraldine B. Lewis, illustrated
by Randy Jennings (GBL & CLjr Publishing, 16.99 - Mother Nature is
lonely. She yearns for a daughter but, with her heavy workload, her
dream has been pushed aside. However, one smoggy day while picking up
trash she came across a pile of plastic bottles and had an idea.
Magically with a sweep of her hands, turns the plastic bottles into a
soft, cuddly rag doll and names her Popsi. Mother Nature wishes with
all her might that Popsi would become a real girl to give her a hand
caring for the earth)

Read and Understand Spanish/English Grade 1 by Jill Norris (Evans-Moor,
$29.99 - Spanish/English Read & Understand is designed to provide
practice in reading and language arts for children who read in English,
Spanish, or both languages. Students can experience a variety of
genres: Nonfiction, realistic fiction, fairy tales, myths, and more.
The reading selections and follow-up exercises provide practice with
essential reading comprehension skills. Activities that focus on
comprehension, vocabulary, and higher-order thinking skills are similar
in both English and Spanish. A dual-language answer key is included.
"Spanish/English Read & Understand, Grade 1" contains 29 four-page
selections ranging in difficulty from early emergent readers through
the beginning of second grade.Each reading selection is followed by
three pages of exercises that provide targeted practice in key reading
and language arts skills. The skill pages are ideal for focused
instruction with small or large groups or for students to complete
independently. Also new: "Spanish/English Read & Understand, Grade
2" and "Spanish/English Read & Understand, Grade 3")

Heian's Fairy Tale Series: Goldilocks and the Three Bears: With 15
Colored Origami Papers by Ken Kuroi (Heian International, Inc., $7.95 -
Favorite fairy tales come to life when young children create the main
characters out of colorful origami paper and act them out again and
again inventing new stories as they go! Each classic tale is told using
simple text and colorful illustrations. Easy-to-follow diagrams show
children how to create dwarves, bears and wolves -- up to six different
characters for each story. Also new in the series: "Hansel and
Gretel," "Snow White," and "Little Red Riding Hood")

What is My Song? by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn, and Matthew
Linn, illustrated by Francisco Miranda (Paulist Press, $16.95 - The
young hero Deo looks at his life to ask its God-given purpose or
"song," in this eloquent, lyrical story, a retelling of an East African
fable, by the Linns. Along the way, he discovers answers to other
important questions--the nature of life, particularly when life begins,
and death. He begins by straightforwardly asking: "When did I begin to
be me?" He learns that life begins before birth ("I began to be me even
before I was born"). He learns that his God-given purpose or "song" in
life-to be a "protector" of all people, including himself-is to be
remembered, oftentimes with help, and used for the good of all, and
God. In illustration, together with the scenes of Deo saving his little
sister, baby brother and himself in dangerous situations, there is the
dramatic presentation of the pivotal scene where Deo forgets his
purpose and temporarily blinds another village boy Matani for taking
and tearing his fishing net. It is only after the village gathers and
sings Deo's song to remind him of his purpose, that he remembers who he
is and offers to become Matani's "eyes" for him until he can see,
physically, and perhaps, spiritually. For the scene ends with Deo
singing Matani's song to him, suggesting that Matani's purpose in life,
like Deo's, involves taking care of people. Deo ends his story with the
knowledge that he will die, accompanied by a final song, and that he
will return to God)

Michael Rosen's Sad Book by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Quentin
Blake (Candlewick Press, $16.99 - Sad things happen to everyone, and
sometimes people feel sad for no reason at all. What makes Michael
Rosen sad is thinking about his son, Eddie, who died suddenly at the
age of eighteen. In this book the author writes about his sadness, how
it affects him, and some of the things he does to cope with it-like
telling himself that everyone has sad stuff (not just him) and trying
every day to do something he can be proud of. Expressively illustrated
by the extraordinary Quentin Blake, this is a very personal story that
speaks to everyone, from children to parents to grandparents, teachers
to grief counselors. Whether or not you have known what it's like to
feel deeply sad, the truth of this book will surely touch you)

Veggie Tales: A Knight to Remember by Cindy Kenney and Doug Peterson
(ZonderKidz, $9.99 - Introducing a new Veggie character, Princess
Petunia! The beautiful princess has devoted her life to caring for her
family. Now she is falling in love with a handsome-but silly-Duke.
But true love never comes easy. The Duke must enter a jousting match
against the sly Otis the Elevated in order to win the hand of the
princess. Will true love prevail? Or will Otis's devious tricks
triumph and send the Duke away? Kids ages 4-8 will find laughter and
fun on each page of this VeggieTales® story as they learn the value of
loving others)

Hot Jazz Special by Jonny Hannah (Candlewick Press, $16.99 - Join young
Henry at the Body & Soul Cafe and enter a world of hipsters, flipsters,
and finger-poppin' daddies - where to jump is to jive and to bop is
to be! Some of the greatest names in jazz are about to hit the scene,
ready to blow those blues away. Meet Jelly Roll Morton, Django
Reinhardt, Walter Page, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa,
Billie Holliday, Charlie Parker, and Duke Ellington, all on one stage
for a night you'll never forget. Jonny Hannah has created a one-night
special of red-hot rhymes and bold poster-style art that captures the
rhythms and feel of jazz for newcomers and fans alike. Musicians'
biographies at the end offer suggested listening for savoring the true
flavor of each cat's style)

Ages 9-12:

Indigenous Peoples: Aboriginal Australians by Diana Marshall (Weigl
Publishers, Inc., $24.25 - This title provides a wealth of information
on traditionally underrepresented people in children's books. Each one
discusses the history, social structure, language, culture, and current
issues facing the indigenous group. Sidebars offer profiles of
individuals and additional notes on customs, clothing, and more. Also
new: "Exploring Planets: Earth," "Science Matters: Telescope,"
"Nature's Food Chain: Herbivores," and "Caring for Your
Frog")

Moon Runner by Carolyn Marsden (Candlewick Books, $15.99 - The "Fellow
Friends" have a secret handshake and a special Friendship Ball made of
scraps of colored yarn. The four of them -- Ruth, the athlete; Sammy,
the bug collector; Alana, the avid reader; and Mina, the newest friend
-- take turns bringing the ball home from school every day, each one
adding something new. Gradually, the ball has grown as fat and round as
a full moon. But when Mina, a self-professed "girlie-girl," learns that
she excels at track, the other Fellow Friends are as shocked as she is,
especially the competitive Ruth. Even more surprising is the way
running seems to lift Mina up and make her happy. When Coach chooses
her to run the fifty-meter against Ruth, Mina faces an unhappy
predicament. Should she slow down on purpose and let Ruth hold on to
the spotlight? Or let herself soar?)

Chicken Friend by Nicola Morgan (Candlewick Press, $15.99 - I suppose
they're all saying I messed up. Yes, well, I'd like to see you cope any
better if you had a family like mine . . .straight out of Crazyville.
Getting plucked out of school, uprooted from your city home, separated
from a loyal friend, and plunked into the boonies to be homeschooled is
hard enough. Add to that a seriously weird family -- Dad, the
convention-flouting writer; Mom, the scatter-brained inventor; and
gross younger twin brothers -- and eleven-year-old Becca is sure she
will never find another friend, especially if she reveals that she has
diabetes. Just when it seems her pet chickens are destined to be her
only confidants, Becca meets up with a cool, super-trendy pair of girls
who not only want to be friends but also invite their whole gang to
Becca's twelfth birthday party, which her parents are letting her have
in the empty barn (no grownups allowed). Life is finally looking up --
so why does Becca have the nagging feeling that things are about to
spin out of control?
When her eccentric parents suddenly move their family to a new home, an
insecure girl discovers the downside of changing herself to fit in)

Young Adults:

The Pagan Chronicles Vol. 4: Pagan's Scribe by Catherine Jinks
(Candlewick Press, $16.99 - Impressed by the bookish Isidore, Pagan
Kidrouk - now Archdeacon of Carcassonne - hires the boy as his
scribe. Eager to flee a cloistered existence, naive Isidore quickly
discovers that the real world isn't as the poets and philosophers
claim. The year is 1209, and papal forces from the north are driving
their bloody crusade against the Cathar heretics to Carcassonne. With
the battle lines inching ever closer, the world of Father Pagan, Lord
Roland, and Roland's mysterious brother grows more real to Isidore -
and more terrifying - by the day. The last of four books in an
acclaimed series, Pagan's Scribe casts the worldly, wise-cracking Pagan
in an unexpected role as friend and mentor to a young soul in need.
New in paperback: "The Pagan Chronicles Vol. 2: Pagan in Exile)

For Parents:

What It Takes To Pull Me Through: Why Teenagers Get in Trouble and How
Four of Them Got Out by David L. Marcus (Houghton Mifflin, $25.00 -
Millions of parents struggle to grasp what goes on in their kids"
heads, on their computers, and among their friends. As an education
correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, David L. Marcus wrestled
with similar questions while reporting on the maze of pressures
American teenagers now face -- a resurgent drug culture, proliferating
temptations and threats on-line, skyrocketing suicide rates (three
times higher than in the 1960s), and more.To find answers, Marcus
gained unfettered access to students, staff, and parents at the Academy
at Swift River in western Massachusetts. The kids who come to Swift
River have already headed down some of the dangerous paths that all
parents fear their children may take -- drug use, violence, theft,
Internet addiction, eating disorders, even prostitution. Known for
combining rigorous courses, wilderness survival, and group therapy in
an intensive fourteen-month program, the school helps troubled
teenagers regain emotional health. With the cooperation of the kids at
Swift River, their parents, counselors, and teachers, Marcus gained
full access to students" group therapy sessions and journals; he
discovered astonishing crises and surprising truths. He focuses on four
remarkable kids who run the demographic gamut: a southern girl whose
privileges cannot save her from sinking into drug abuse and unsafe sex;
the self-destructive son of teachers grappling with his anger about
being adopted; a black kid from a tough New York neighborhood who is
silenced by consuming depression; and a once high-achieving Florida
girl broken by the death of her mother. While uncovering what drove
these kids and their parents to Swift River, Marcus opens the black box
of the teenage mind. As he reveals the intense, dramatic process that
sets most of these kids right, he weaves a taut, absorbing tale and
charts a path to hope that any kid, any parent, can take)
Why Boys Don't Talk - and Why it Matters by Susan Morris Shaffer and
Linda Perlman Gordon (McGraw-Hill, $14.95 - Adolescent boys are
notoriously uncommunicative. Unfortunately, too many parents equate not
talking with not feeling, and, as authors Susan Morris Shaffer and
Linda Perlman Gordon explain in this groundbreaking guide, parents who
make that assumption end up validating only the most superficial
aspects of their sons. Recent bestsellers such as Real Boys and The
Wonder of Boys have done a good job of sensitizing parents to the inner
lives of boys and opening their eyes to how society shortchanges boys
emotionally. Now, "Why Boys Don't Talk--and Why It Matters" goes a
step further. Coauthored by a nationally acclaimed expert on gender
equity and a social worker--both of whom successfully raised teenagers
of both sexes--it: Arms parents with proven techniques for
communicating with their adolescent sons and reestablishing strong
emotional bonds with them and Draws upon focus groups as well as the
authors' considerable experience in gender equity research and
counseling, to analyze the subtle ways boys communicate connection.
Also new: "Why Girls Don't Talk - and Why it Matters")

The Complete Parenting Book: Practical Help From Leading Experts by
David, Dr. Stoop and Dr. Jan Stoop (Revell, $21.99 - In The Complete
Parenting Book, editors David and Jan Stoop offer encouragement and
collect the tried-and-true insights of more than twenty renowned
parents and experts to help moms and dads piece together their
child-rearing philosophy. Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott offer tips on the
changing roles of husband and wife into mom and dad, Cheri Fuller helps
parents teach their children how to pray, Lynda Hunter Bjorklund
guides character building exercises, and Dr. Archibald Hart writes on
children and divorce)