Library Journal articles from April 2006

Library Journal archives from April 2006

Unabashed PLA fan: inspiration at its best.(editorial)(A.L.A. Public Library Association)
April 15, 2006... THE 11TH PUBLIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION (PLA) CONFERENCE in Boston in late March was one of the best library conferences in years. Attendance skyrocketed to 11,000, and the number of librarians alone (8,459) nearly equaled the entire showing at...

Nontraditional equals.(feedback)(Raised by Wolves by James G. Neal)
April 15, 2006... I found the metaphor used in James G. Neal's "Raised by Wolves" highly inappropriate (LJ 2/15/06, p. 42-44). The connotation of "feral" implies that the new recruits are undisciplined and untamed. It might be more constructive to admit that...

Silly comes to the reference desk.(front desk)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... A high school student asked for a photo of the "Big Bang" for The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Allan Poe A patron asked, "Who invented water?" Source: Publib

And we thought the ad industry got there first.(front desk)
April 15, 2006... "Libraries and librarians should not be usurping the role of parents.... The American Library Association is out to sexualize our children --State Rep. Sally Kern (R.-Oklahoma City), in the Daily Oklahoman, 3/16/06 (see News, p. 20)"

Readin' round Kansas City.(front desk)
April 15, 2006... A Literary TripTik[R]: Librarians at the Johnson County Library, Overland Park, KS, have created "Readin' 'Round Kansas City--A Literary Ramble," a map with 47 locations from books set in and around the city. Reference librarian Susan Bogart...

When librarian Mary Piorun began training for a 2004 triathlon, two colleagues at the Lamar Soutter Library, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, joined her for the relay (one swimming, one biking, and one running) in the all-woman Danskin Triathlon in Webster, MA.(front desk)
April 15, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: When librarian Mary Piorun began training for a 2004 triathlon, two colleagues at the Lamar Soutter Library, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, joined her for the relay (one swimming,...

Heard.(front desk)
April 15, 2006... "Don't blame the white man for nothing.... I came to this country--I didn't know how to speak English, I made something of myself. I went to the library.... They got libraries in the 'hood. And if they don't got libraries, tell your mayor,...

Google gains with librarians: newsletter sign-ups boom; book sales launch; where's library link?(lj news)
April 15, 2006... The Google statistic most impressive to librarians at the Public Library Association (PLA) conference in Boston came from Ben Bunnell, an engaging librarian on Google's Book Search team. As of March 22, Bunnell announced, there were 24,000...

ALA relief fund hits $300k.(lj news)(Disaster relief funds to rebuild hundreds of libraies damaged by hurricanes )(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... The American Library Association's (ALA) Hurricane Katrina Library Relief Fund (www.ala.org/katrina) has raised more than $300,000 to help rebuild hundreds of libraries damaged or destroyed by hurricanes in the Gulf Coast region in 2005. Over...

Report questions Boston PL.(lj news)(Bernie Margolis of Boston Public Library)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Margolis says leaked study is wrong but agrees branches could close Is the Boston Public Library (BPL), the host library for the Public Library Association conference last month, lagging behind peer libraries? So said a preliminary...

Reading room: the new Central Library of the Des Moines Public Library.(lj news)
April 15, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Reading room: The new Central Library of the Des Moines Public Library--which was scheduled to open on April 8--is considered a "library within a park" and a "park within a library." Located in Gateway...

Saskatoon nixes library loss.(LJ NEWS)(Saskatoon, Sasketchewan and Roanoke, Virginia public library funding)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... In Roanoke, stadium money will help fund library expansion The Saskatoon Public Library, Saskatchewan, found itself on the right side of a public battle over diverting taxes for a new development. The city council had proposed shifting...

Brooklyn PL head faces bad press: ULC fact-finding trip rejected by board.(LJ NEWS)(Ginnie Cooper of the Brooklyn Public Library)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Ginnie Cooper, director of the Brooklyn Public Library, has been the subject of two highly negative articles in the New York Daily News regarding unauthorized use of leave and her plan, stymied by the library board, to take three colleagues...

Outsourced PLs form consortium: state grant outside TN State Library helps fund project.(LJ NEWS)(public libraries)(Tennessee)(Wolf River Library Consortium)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Four suburban libraries that left the library system serving Memphis and Shelby County to outsource library management to Library Systems & Services, LLC (LSSI) (see News, LJ 6/15/05, p. 17ff.) have formed a new consortium to share books and...

LJ seeks politician of the year nominees.(LJ NEWS)
April 15, 2006... Is there a political figure making a difference in your library community? The editors of LJ want to know about them and what they've achieved for libraries in your area. Past winners include Philadelphia City Councilors Frank DiCicco and...

Oklahoma targets gay books: bill would require libraries to limit titles to adult areas.(LJ NEWS)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Last May, the Oklahoma House of Representatives approved a resolution asking Oklahoma libraries to "confine homosexually themed books and other age-inappropriate material to areas exclusively for adult access and distribution" (see News, LJ...

University of Florida faces serials cuts.(LJ NEWS)(University of Florida Smathers Library)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Faced with flat state funding and high inflation, the University of Florida, Gainesville, Smathers Library is beginning a massive serials cancellation project that would trim a hefty $750,000 worth of journals, both electronic and paper, for...

Controversial cartoons criticized.(LJ NEWS)(Western Standard publishes controversial Danish cartoons)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... The Western Standard, a Calgary-based conservative newsmagazine, is the most prominent publication in Canada to publish the controversial Danish cartoons that include caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. As such, some Muslim residents have...

Hate-speech filters draw lawsuit.(LJ NEWS)(Council of Conservative Citizens sues Maplewood City Library, University City Public Library, Valley Park Community Library, and Festus Public Library cases)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... The Council of Conservative Citizens, which calls itself "America's largest paleo-conservative organization" and is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a "hate group," has sued four libraries in the St. Louis area, claiming that...

Calendar.(LJ NEWS)(Calendar)
April 15, 2006... JUNE 1-2--Rhode Island Library Assn., Smithfield www.uri.edu/library/rila/ rila.html AUGUST 9-12--Pacific Northwest Library Assn., Eugene, OR www.pnla.org 15-19--Nevada Library Assn., N. Las Vegas www.nevadalibraries.org ...

Boynton Beach City Library.(people)(director Virginia Farace retires)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Virginia Farace has retired as Director of the Boynton Beach City Library, FL, after 35 years of service. She set an early retirement date five years ago and will leave before a 30,000 square foot addition to the library is completed.

Deerfield Public Library.(people)(director Jack Hicks to retire )(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Jack Hicks, Director of the Deerfield Public Library, IL, will retire in June 2006. He joined the library in 1972, serving as Head of Reference before becoming director 18 years ago.

Hennepin County Library.(people)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Judy Hohmann is the new Partnerships and Communications Division Manager at the Hennepin County Library at its headquarters in the Ridgedale Library, Minnetonka, MN. She was Director of Marketing and Communications at Twin Cities Public...

Lilly Library.(people)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... John Lamborn, formerly Assistant Dean for Public Services, Ohio University Libraries, Athens, is the new Head of the Lilly Library at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, IN. He replaces Larry Frye, who is retiring after 26 years of service.

Broward County Library.(people)(African-American Research Library and Cultural Center)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Samuel Morrison, retired Director of Broward County Library, Fort Lauderdale, FL, was honored March 3 for having the vision to create the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) as part of the library system. More than...

Columbia College.(people)(appoints Sue Peacock)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Sue Peacock has been named Reference/ Instruction Librarian and Coordinator of Electronic Resources at Columbia College, Chicago. She was Assistant Coordinator of Library Web Services at DePaul University, Chicago.

Chemung County Library District.(people)(retirement)
April 15, 2006... Sylvia Tuller, Head of Adult Services, Steele Memorial Library, Chemung County Library District, Elmira, NY, retired March 24. She had worked at the system since 1974, serving also as bookmobile driver, branch coordinator, and reference...

Kearney Public Library and Information Center.(people)(appoints Matthew R. Williams)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Matthew R. Williams, formerly Director of the Watertown Public Library, WI, is the new Director, Kearney Public Library and Information Center, NE.

Obituary.(people)(Obituary)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Wayne Gossage, cofounder of Gossage Regan Associates, now Gossage Sager Associates, Inc., Buffalo Grove, IL, possibly the first executive search firm for library personnel, has died at the age of 79. Beginning in the early 1980s, the firm...

Techies talk Turkey at PLA Boston: librarians cover technology planning, digitizing on the cheap, and LII.(PLA CONFERENCE REPORT)(Public Library Association)
April 15, 2006... The Public Library Association's (PLA) 11th national conference consumed Boston's Hynes Convention Center, March 21-25, with a record 11,000 attendees and over 400 exhibitors on two floors. The numerous panel sessions were distributed over...

DRA users fund free speech.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Data Research Users' Group)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... The Data Research Users' Group (the last holdouts still using DRA systems, which are owned by Sirsi-Dynix) has promised donations of $15,000 apiece to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Freedom To Read Foundation (www.ftrf.org) to...

Hunter wins serials prize.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Karen Hunter)(CSA/Ulrich's Serials Librarianship Award)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Karen Hunter, Elsevier's senior VP of strategy, is this year's winner of the CSA/Ulrich's Serials Librarianship Award for "distinguished contributions to serials." Presented by the American Library Association's Association for Library...

AGent adds book-buying power.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Auto-Graphics has added a book-purchasing component to its AGent platform, which the company confirms will allow "libraries to offer online book-buying functionality to their patrons while sharing in sales revenue." The program, developed in...

AquaBrowser for Toledo-Lucas.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Library Corporation)(Toledo-Lucas County Public Library)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... The Library Corporation (TLC) has racked up another sale of its AquaBrowser Library visual mapping tool: the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library has selected AquaBrowser Library as an add-on to its Innovative Millennium system. Patrons will be...

Endeavor ups TDNet deal.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Endeavor Information Systems)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... Endeavor Information System has taken its existing partnership with TDNet a step further with the selection of the latter's Discovery: Resolver as a replacement for its LinkFinderPlus product. Endeavor already uses TDNet technology for its...

A whole new world.(E-VIEWS AND REVIEWS)
April 15, 2006... WHO, WHAT, WHERE A reader wrote in asking about "the source(s) of [the] large country datasets" from my review of Euromonitor International (LJ 3/1/06). Marketing manager Rose Gilliver responded: "Primarily, we go to national statistics...

Praeger Security International Online.(E-VIEWS AND REVIEWS)(www.praeger.com/psi)(Product/service evaluation)
April 15, 2006... Greenwood; www.praeger.com/psi A file of over 500 books, 1000 primary documents, monthly scholarly commentaries, articles, a chronology, and an annotated bibliography, Praeger Security International Online (PSIO) is a one-stop source for...

The new cataloger.(DIGITAL LIBRARIES)(metadata)
April 15, 2006... I'VE OFTEN SAID LIBRARIANS should like any metadata they see. This is because we are entering an age where MARC no longer rules, since the 21st-century library will be handling increasing amounts of born-digital material. Even now, librarians...

Professional at 28: at work with a new academic librarian.(LJ SERIES: A DAY IN THE LIFE)(Metropolitan State University)(Cover story)
April 15, 2006... It is 6:50 on Wednesday, my Minneapolis day. I lie in bed, stare out the window for 42 minutes as I think about everything I have to do today. I push back the covers at 7:32 a.m., leave the house at 7:57 a.m.. and unlock my office door at...

Journals in the time of Google: while the struggle over open access plays out, librarians, vendors, and publishers continue to trade within a market dominated by all things electronic.(PERIODICALS PRICE SURVEY 2006)(Industry overview)
April 15, 2006... It was a year of competing realities: the buying and selling of electronic journals continued apace, while the posting and crawling of every kind of free content on the web captured the imagination of the scholarly world. The former was...

Best reference 2005.(BEST REFERENCE SOURCES 2005)(Bibliography)
April 15, 2006... Whether in print or online or both, reference publishing had a wonderful year in 2005, as evidenced by the following list. This year we have altered our approach, combining print and electronic formats in an effort to reflect trends and show...

Web sites.(BEST REFERENCE SOURCES 2005)(www.azlyrics.com)(www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/ AllAboutBirds)(projects.washingtonpost.com/congress)(www.encyclopedia.chicagohistnry.org)(gethuman.com/us)(www.give.org/reports/index.asp)(www.olympic.org/uk/games/index_uk.asp)(www.marxists.org)(www.merck.com/mmhe/index.html)(www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastall.shtml)(www.loc.gov/rr/frd/powmia-home.html)(www.seatguru.com)(www.timeanddate.com)(www.urbandictionary.com)(uscis.govlgraphics/shared/statistics/ yearbook/index.htm)(Website list)
April 15, 2006... In 2005, Internet users numbered more than one billion, almost 200 million of whom are from the United States. The Pew Internet & American Life Project reported that by the end of 2005, the gap between rural and urban web users in the United...

Getting competitive: competitive intelligence is a smart next step for information pros.
April 15, 2006... Janet wanted to make the change from corporate library and information science (LIS) to competitive intelligence (CI) and sought me out to coach her in this transition. She enjoyed her exposure to marketing, possessed some CI and management...

Memo: new librarian orientation.(BACKTALK)
April 15, 2006... From: Amanda Rogers, Director To: Tom Smithers, Assistant Director TOM, CARLY HENDERSON WILL be starting as a new reference librarian on the 15th, and we should meet and go over her orientation. As you know, we here at Really Too Big...

Preaching to the choir.(NEXTGEN)(diverse working groups)
April 15, 2006... WORKING IN OUR DIVERSE PROFESSION has the happy side effect of keeping us both interested and interesting, especially when we have the courage to learn from others and are willing to acknowledge the benefits of different perspectives....

Prepub alert.(Jackal)(Hit Parade)(Untitled)(The Driftless Area)(The Younger Gods)(Smonk)(Helen of Troy)(Dollar Daze: The Bottom Dollar Girls in Love)(My Blue Blood: A Comedy of Sex and Manners)(The Garden of Eden and Other Criminal Delights)(Second Wave)(The Scent of Your Breath)(The Night Gardener)(Special Topics in Calamity Physics)(Three Days to Never)(Deceit)(Pound for Pound)(Happiness Sold Separately)(Winter's Bone)(Orson Welles)(The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban)(Wins, Losses, and Lessons: An Autobiography)(Bitchfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine)(Tupac Shakur Legacy)(Babylon by Bus)(Mommies Who Drink: Sex, Drugs, and Other Distant Memories of an Ordinary Mom)(Hothouse Kids: The Dilemma of the Gifted Child)(Elizabeth)(First into Nagasaki: The Censored Eyewitness Dispatches on Post-Atomic Japan and Its Prisoners of War)(I Feel Earthquakes More Often Than They Happen: Coming to California in the Age of Schwarzenegger)(Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America--and What We Can Do About It)(Bibliography)
April 15, 2006... Bell, Ted. Jackal. Atria: S. & S. Aug. 2006. 432p. ISBN 0-7432-7723-4. $25.95. Hawke, Assassin, Pirate, Spy: Alex Hawke's assignments are certainly to the point. Here he finds trouble in South America. With a 12-city tour. Block,...

Sugar & spice and ... erotica?(erotic literature)(Brief article)
April 15, 2006... From sweet, innocent love stories that end with chaste kisses and closed bedroom doors to steamy, supersexy romps that leave nothing to the imagination, the romance genre is nothing if not inclusive when it comes to sensuality. Over the past...

Forster, Suzanne. Tease.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Forster, Suzanne. Tease. Spice: Harlequin. May 2006. 377p. ISBN 0-373-60506-4. pap. $13.95. CONTEMPORARY Tess Wakefield has sworn off sex. Now her main goal is to prove her worth as an ad exec by bringing off a major campaign. But her...

Laurens, Stephanie. What Price Love?(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... * Laurens, Stephanie. What Price Love? Morrow. Apr. 2006. 389p. ISBN 0-06-084084-6 [ISBN 978-0-06-084084-6]. $22.95. HISTORICAL Fearing that her headstrong twin brother has inadvertently become involved in a horseracing scheme that could...

Michaels, Jess & others. Parlor Games and Other Stories.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Michaels, Jess & others. Parlor Games and Other Stories. Avon Red. Jun. 2006. c.304p. ISBN 0-06-088229-8 [ISBN 978-0-06-088229-7]. pap. $13.95. HISTORICAL The first of two titles in the publisher's new line of erotic romances, this...

Perrin, Kayla. Getting Even.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Perrin, Kayla. Getting Even. Spice: Harlequin. May 2006. c.400p. ISBN 0-373-60507-2. pap. $13.95. CONTEMPORARY Claudia is about to marry the man she has loved for years, Annelise has new hope for her sexless marriage, and Lishelle is...

Jacobs, Holly. Night Calls.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Jacobs, Holly. Night Calls. Avalon. May 2006. c.192p. ISBN 0-8034-9764-4. $21.95. CONTEMPORARY Talk-show host Cassie Grant can give expert advice on the subject of love, but when she calls off her own wedding--and not for the first...

James, Eloisa. The Taming of the Duke.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... * James, Eloisa. The Taming of the Duke. Avon. Apr. 2006. c.400p. ISBN 0-06-078158-0. pap. $6.99. HISTORICAL The last person the unconventional Imogen, Lady Maitland, expects to fall in love with is her troubled guardian, the Duke of...

Kurland, Lynn. Much Ado in the Moonlight.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Kurland, Lynn. Much Ado in the Moonlight. Jove. May 2006. c.464p. ISBN 0-515-14127-5. pap. $7.99. HISTORICAL/PARANORMAL Thrilled when her brother, Thomas, offers her the use of his castle for her theater company's production of Hamlet,...

Maxwell, Cathy. In the Bed of a Duke.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Maxwell, Cathy. In the Bed of a Duke. Avon. May 2006. c.384p. ISBN 0-06-074058-2 [ISBN 978-0-06-074058-0]. pap. $6.99. HISTORICAL Charlotte Cameron and the Duke of Colster have every reason to despise each other, but when they suddenly...

Novak, Brenda. The Other Woman.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Novak, Brenda. The Other Woman. Harlequin. (Superromance). May 2006. c.384p. ISBN 0-373-78089-3. pap. $5.75. CONTEMPORARY Cruelly betrayed by her bigamist husband, Liz O'Connell is determined to get on with her life, raise her daughters,...

Quick, Amanda. Second Sight.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... * Quick, Amanda. Second Sight. Putnam. May 2006. c.400p. ISBN 0-399-15352-7. $24.95. HISTORICAL/PARANORMAL Thrilled to be chosen to photograph the Arcane Society's collection of strange alchemical artifacts, psychic Venetia Milton is...

Robb, J.D. & others. Bump in the Night.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Robb, J.D. & others. Bump in the Night. Berkley Jove. Apr. 2005. c.416p. ISBN 0-515-14117-8. pap. $7.99. PARANORMAL Loosely linked by all things otherworldly and magical, this diverse quartet of novellas treats readers to tales of ghosts...

Thornton, Elizabeth. The Bachelor Trap.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Thornton, Elizabeth. The Bachelor Trap. Dell. May 2006. c.386p. ISBN 0-553-58754-4. pap. $6.99. HISTORICAL When Brand Hamilton--journalist, aspiring politician, and the bastard son of a duke--decides to honor the wishes of the late Edwina...

Jeffries, Sabrina. A Dangerous Love.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Jeffries, Sabrina. A Dangerous Love. Avon. Apr. 2006. 384p. ISBN 0-380-80928-1 [ISBN 978-0-80928-8]. pap. $6.99. HISTORICAL First published in 2000, this lively Regency-set historical is the first of what began as Jeffries's Swanlea...

Rice, Luanne. Angels All over Town.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Rice, Luanne. Angels All Over Town. Bantam. Apr. 2006. c.309p, ISBN 0-553-38389-2. pap. $14. CONTEMPORARY Rice's first novel (1985), poignant, humorous, and slightly paranormal, will have special appeal for readers who were raised with...

Andrews, Mary Kay. Savannah Breeze.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Andrews, Mary Kay. Savannah Breeze. HarperCollins. Apr. 2006. c.448p. ISBN 006-056466-0 [ISBN 978-0-06-056466-7]. $24.95. F In former journalist Andrews's sequel to Savannah Blues, thrice-divorced restaurateur BeBe Loudermilk loses...

Baer, Robert. Blow the House Down.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Baer, Robert. Blow the House Down. Crown. Jun. 2006. c.304p. ISBN 1-4000-9835-1 [ISBN 978-1-4000-9835-4]. $25.95. F In his fiction debut, former CIA agent Baer (Sleeping with the Devil) merges fact and conjecture to suggest that Iran was...

Boyle, T.C. Talk Talk.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Boyle, T.C. Talk Talk. Viking. Jul. 2006. c.340p. ISBN 0-670-03770-2. $25.95. F In his latest work, Boyle (Drop City) explores the nightmare of identity theft as deaf teacher Dana Halter is pulled over for running a four-way stop sign...

Brooks, Brenda. Gotta Find Me an Angel.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Brooks, Brenda. Gotta Find Me an Angel. Raincoast, dist. by Publishers Group West. May 2006. 219p. ISBN 1-55192-717-9. $29.95. F Canadian poet Brooks's first novel is a compelling meditation on mourning. Written as a first-person...

Carter, Vincent O. Such Sweet Thunder.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Carter, Vincent O. Such Sweet Thunder. Zoland: Steerforth, dist. by Random. Jun. 2006. c.424p. ISBN 1-58195-217-1. pap. $16.95. F Carter's coming-of-age novel, set in the African American community of Kansas City, MO, in the 1920s and...

Collinsworth, Eden. It Might Have Been What He Said.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Collinsworth, Eden. It Might Have Been What He Said. Arcade, dist. by Little, Brown. Jun. 2006. c.288p. ISBN 1-55970-812-3. $23.95. F Isabel Simpson is sophisticated, intelligent, bitingly clever, and practical to her core; at 28, she...

Dorner, Francoise. The Woman in the Row Behind.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Dorner, Francoise. The Woman in the Row Behind. Other. Jun. 2006. c.128p. tr. from French by Adriana Hunter. ISBN 1-59051-1867. pap. $14. F Dorner's debut novel, winner of the 2004 Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman, offers a disturbing yet...

Egan, Jennifer. The Keep.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Egan, Jennifer. The Keep. Knopf. Aug. 2006. c.256p. ISBN 1-4000-4392-1. $24. F Egan's first work after National Book Award finalist Look at Me relates the story of aimless Danny, whose only talent is being in the right place at the right...

Forbes, Charlotte. The Good Works of Ayela Linde: A Novel in Stories.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Forbes, Charlotte. The Good Works of Ayela Linde. Arcade, dist. by Little, Brown. May 2006. c.240p. ISBN 1-55970-807-7. $24. F We meet the beautiful and enigmatic 17-year-old Ayela Linde in 1950, in the Texas border town of Santa Rosalia,...

Guene, Faiza. Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... * Guene, Faiza. Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow. Harvest: Harcourt. Jul. 2006. c.156p, tr. from French by Sarah Adams. ISBN 0-15-6030489. pap. $13. F Fifteen-year-old Doria lives with her mother in Paradise Estates, a mostly Muslim housing project...

Hilderbrand, Elin. The Love Season.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Hilderbrand, Elin. The Love Season. St. Martin's. Jun. 2006. c.304p. ISBN 0-31232230-5 [ISBN 978-0-312-32230-4]. $24.95. F Here's a classic beach book with a summer locale (Nantucket), a sanctified dead mother, a child searching out the...

Kashua, Sayed. Let It Be Morning.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... * Kashua, Sayed. Let It Be Morning. Black Cat: Grove. Jun. 2006. c.288p, tr. from Hebrew by Miriam Shlesinger. ISBN 0-80217021-8. pap. $13. F The protagonist of Kashua's second novel (after Dancing Arabs) is a young Arab-Israeli...

Esquivel, Laura. Malinche.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Esquivel, Laura. Malinche. Atria: S. & S. May 2006. c.191p. ISBN 1-7432-9033-X. $22.95. F Malinche (1505-29) is infamous in Mexican history and folklore as a traitor to her people, having sacrificed her Indian heritage to become...

Sherwood, Frances. Night of Sorrows.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Sherwood, Frances. Night of Sorrows. Norton. Apr. 2006. c.384p. ISBN 0-393-058255. $24.95. F Following the death of her beloved and indulgent father, ten-year-old Malintzin, an Aztec princess, is sold into slavery by her mother. Over the...

Kilroy, Claire. Tenderwire.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Kilroy, Claire. Tenderwire. Harvest: Harcourt. Jun. 2006. c.312p. ISBN 0-15-603204-X. pap. $14. F After collapsing at a debut performance with the New Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra in New York, Irish-born Eva Tynes has two significant...

Martinez, Tomas Eloy. The Tango Singer.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Martinez, Tomas Eloy. The Tango Singer. Bloomsbury, dist. by St. Martin's. May 2006. c.256p, tr. from Spanish by Anne McLean. ISBN 1-58234-601-1 [ISBN 978-1-58234601-4]. $23.95. F Written by veteran novelist Eloy Martinez, who was born in...

Montefiore, Santa. Last Voyage of the Valentina.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Montefiore, Santa. Last Voyage of the Valentina. Touchstone: S. & S. Jun. 2006. c.416p. ISBN 0-7432-7686-8 [ISBN 978-07432-7686-3]. pap. $15. F This historical romance sandwiched within a contemporary is the London author's first book to...

Motew, Becky. Coupon Girl.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Motew, Becky. Coupon Girl. Dorchester. May 2006. c.336p. ISBN 0-8439-5693-3. pap. $12.95. F In this charming debut, Massachusetts girl Jeanie Callahan doesn't exactly lead a glamorous life: a few pounds overweight, she sells coupons to...

Orner, Peter. The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... * Orner, Peter. The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo. Little, Brown. Apr. 2006. c.320p. ISBN 0-316-73580-9 [ISBN 978-0316-73580-3]. $23.95. F In Orner's beautiful debut, Larry Kaplanski, a teacher from Ohio, volunteers at a boys'...

Pickard, Nancy. The Virgin of Small Plains.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Pickard, Nancy. The Virgin of Small Plains. Ballantine. May 2006. c.352p. ISBN 0-34547099-0. $23.95. F Cold case, indeed: a blizzard with too many parallels to a long-ago storm shocks 33-year-old Abby Reynolds into unraveling the mystery...

Shepard, Karen. Don't I Know You?(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Shepard, Karen. Don't I Know You? Morrow. May 2006. c.240p. ISBN 0-06-078237-4 [ISBN 978-0-06-078237-5]. $23.95. F This intriguing mystery in four parts by Shepard (An Empire of Women) opens in 1976 with 12-year-old Steven entering his...

Weir, John. What I Did Wrong.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... Weir, John. What I Did Wrong. Viking. 2008. c.243p. ISBN 0-670-03484-3. $23.95. F Seated in a West Village coffee shop, Tom, a middle-aged gay man who teaches creative writing at Queens College, unexpectedly encounters Richie, the former...

Donoghue, Emma. Touchy Subjects: Stories.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 15, 2006... * Donoghue, Emma. Touchy Subjects. Harcourt. Jun. 2006. c.288p. ISBN 0-15-101386-1 [ISBN 978-0-15-101386-9]. $24. F Among the touchy subjects that Donoghue (Slammerkin) deals with in this wonderfully wide-ranging collection are childbirth...