Library Journal articles from August 2007

Library Journal archives from August 2007

The Hollywood Librarian: a new documentary delivers some unintentional messages.(editorial)(Movie review)
August 1, 2007... DESPITE ALL THE GOODWILL THE HOLLYWOOD Librarian seems to have engendered, with endorsements from notables like Vartan Gregorian, the name librarians and unsung ones who "star" in it, and the standing ovation it drew at its "premiere," the...

Coaching up: how the young teach us the new information paradigm.(blatant berry)
August 1, 2007... I'VE AVOIDED THE NEW LITERATURE OF "THE intergenerational workplace," a genre becoming a fad. The boomers and their predecessors like me hang on as young GenXers and whoever comes next get jobs alongside us. I know we need help to...

Tough job hunt.(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... I can certainly sympathize with the newly minted librarian who was told there was a librarian shortage and a wealth of opportunities would soon be opening up owing to mass retirements who now finds it impossible to get a job (Christen Orbanus,...

No dream job.(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... I guess some things never change (Christen Orbanus, "Where Are All the Jobs?" NextGen, LJ 6/15/07, p. 46). When I graduated from library school some 30-plus years ago, I applied for more than 350 jobs of all types before I even got an...

The adjunct's world.(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... I thoroughly enjoyed Stephanie Willen Brown's "The Adjunct Life" (LJ 6/15/07, p. 42-44) about being an adjunct professor as well as a "real" working librarian.... She is correct that "there is absolutely nothing as rewarding as helping create...

Erroneous review.(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... Among the errors in the review of my new book, The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics (LJ 4/15/07, p. 98).... is the statement that I propose to "replace our current economic systems of capitalism and socialism." I never...

Correction & clarification.(feedback)(Correction notice)
August 1, 2007... In the July editorial, "The Library Market" (LJ 7/07, p. 8), we incorrectly attributed a statement made by Publishers Weekly editor in chief Sara Nelson ("You publish too many books") to a "librarian." Also, to give credit where it's due, St....

Heard about the hipster librarians?(front desk)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... With a July 8 article in the New York Times's trendy Sunday Styles section headlined (ouch) "A Hipper Crowd of Shushers," a group of young librarians in Brooklyn, NY, who formed the group Desk Set (from the fare 1957 Tracy/Hepburn movie), has...

If there were no public libraries today.(front desk)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... "[C]an you imagine modern publishers being willing to sell one copy of a book and then have the owner let an unlimited number of strangers borrow it?" --Freakonomics coauthor Stephen J. Dubner, July 10, 2007, on the Freakonomics blog...

In Omaha, a tabloid annual report!(front desk)(Omaha Public Library)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... The 12-page tabloid annual report from the Omaha Public Library apes the kind of publication to which libraries typically don't subscribe. It contains such headlines as "Willa Gone Wild!" (about Willa Cather, namesake of an Omaha branch),...

Carding kids for cash.(STAT WATCH)
August 1, 2007... $50 The payment to families in a pilot antipoverty program in New York City if their child gets a library card. See LJ Insider: www.libraryjournal.com/povertypilot.

A winning video.(front desk)(Dozier Middle School and Main Street Libraries)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... More than 175 public, school, and academic libraries submitted two-minute videos for Gale's "I Love My Library!" contest, the first initiative from the company's librareo online community (www.gale.com/librareo). The winner of the $10,000...

LC cataloging consolidates: report on bibliographic control coming in November.(news)(Library of Congress)
August 1, 2007... The Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control, aimed to recommend changes to the library community and advise the Library of Congress (LC), held its third and final public meeting on July 9 at LC, focusing on "The Economics and...

NYC PLs restore six-day service.(news)(New York City Public Libraries)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Six years after significant post-9/11 budget cuts, New York City public libraries have seen their hours restored, and more, thanks to $42.7 million in the FY08 city budget. "This will be the highest number of hours that we've ever had," said...

Canadian Library Association Meets.(CONFERENCE REPORT)
August 1, 2007... The Canadian Library Association (CLA) came to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, at the end of May for its annual conference for the first time in 38 years (and the second time ever). More than 1000 delegates and exhibitors attended what...

Recorded Books, NetLibrary in Suit.(news)(Recorded Books L.L.C.)(netLibrary inc.)
August 1, 2007... Dispute over issues of exclusivity, contract breach, customer service Recorded Books and NetLibrary are suing each other for breach of contract, violation of copyright, unfair competition, and defamation, among other charges, according to...

Congress Backs NIH Access Plan.(news)(U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate)(National Institutes of Health)
August 1, 2007... Publishers remain bitterly opposed, hint at copyright challenge After two ineffective years of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) policy that requested researchers deposit copies of their final papers in PubMed Central (PMC), both the...

Study: bandwidth, workstations still lag.(news)(insufficient workstations and internet connection of libraries)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Preliminary results from the 2007 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study suggest that even though nearly every public library in the country is connected to the Internet and more and more offer wireless service, libraries face...

IMLS: $28M for recruitment.(news)(The Institute of Museum and Library Services)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Projects range from digital reference to community librarianship The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in June announced some $28 million in grants to 43 universities, libraries, and library organizations nationwide to recruit...

Cuts, caps hurt NJ libraries.(news)(New Jersey libraries)(New Jersey Knowledge Initiative)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Database funding declines; several PLs seek state waivers New Jersey library advocates are scrambling to respond to legislation that cuts database funding and caps municipal spending increases. The New Jersey Knowledge Initiative (NJKI;...

Nixon library in national system.(news)(Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... The only presidential library beyond oversight; policies tightened After years of controversy as the sole presidential library beyond the oversight of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and criticism from historians for its...

Gulf coast libraries get $4M.(news)(New Orleans Public Library, Jefferson Parish Library, Hancock County Library System, Harrison County Library System)(Americans for Libraries Council getting a support from the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund)
August 1, 2007... Four Gulf Coast public library systems still struggling to revive in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 will receive a total of $4 million for repairs and rebuilding, thanks to awards from the Americans for Libraries Council (ALC),...

Gay/lesbian library protested.(news)(Fort Lauderdale archive gets new home)
August 1, 2007... Fort Lauderdale archive gets new home in city building Despite protests by Fort Lauderdale, FL, mayor Jim Naugle that its collection includes "hard-core pornography," the private Stonewall Library, one of the largest gay and lesbian...

WebJunction gains $12.6M for upgrade.(news)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... WebJunction, the online community for library staff that has gained significant support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation since it launched in 2003, has been awarded $12.6 million from 'the foundation over four years. It will be used to...

PLA gets $7.7M from gates for advocacy.(news)(Public Library Association)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a $7.7 million grant to the Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association, to offer a national advocacy training program over three years for public librarians....

Calendar.(news)(Calendar)
August 1, 2007... OCTOBER 1-3--West Virginia Library Assn., Morgantown www.wvla.org 3-5--Missouri Library Assn., Springfield molib.org 3-6--Idaho Library Assn., Nampa www.idaholibraries.org 4-6--Nevada Library Assn., Carson City...

East Baton Rouge Parish Library.(people)(Andi Abraham appointed as head of the Adult Services Division of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Andi Abraham has been named Head of the Adult Services Division of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library, LA. Previously, Abraham worked as Manager of the library system's Greenwell Springs Road Regional Branch. She replaces Jane Beyer, who...

Wayne State University.(people)(Stephen Bajjaly appointed as Director of the Library and Information Science program at Wayne State University, Detroit)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Stephen Bajjaly has been named Director of the Library and Information Science program at Wayne State University, Detroit, effective August 1, 2007. Most recently, he served as an Associate Professor and Associate Director for Undergraduate...

Four County Library System.(people)(Pamela Brown appointed as Deputy Director at the Four County Library System in Vestal, New York)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Pamela Brown is the new Deputy Director at the Four County Library System in Vestal, NY. She previously was Director of Information Technology at the Metropolitan Library System, Chicago.

Cochise County Library District.(people)(Donna Gaab, Director of the Cochise County Library District, has retired)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Donna Gaab, Director of the Cochise County Library District, Bisbee, AZ, since 1981, has retired. She served the library system for 30 years.

Demopolis Public Library.(people)(Lindsay Gardner resigns as Director of the Demopolis Public Library)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Lindsay Gardner, Director of the Demopolis Public Library, AL, has announced her resignation at the end of this summer. She will become Director of the Lancaster Community Library, Kilmarnock, VA.

Cobb County Public Library System (CCPLS).(people)(Tamara George is appointed as new Director of the Cobb County Public Library System (CCPLS))
August 1, 2007... Tamara George is the new Director of the Cobb County Public Library System (CCPLS), Marietta, GA. She replaces the retiring Gall Rogers. George has worked at CCPLS since 1979, earning an MLS in 1986. She most recently was Associate Director of...

College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA.(people)(Berna Heyman resigns as Associate Dean of University Libraries at the College of William and Mary)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Berna Heyman, Associate Dean of University Libraries at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, retired July 1, after 40 years as a librarian. Heyman started her career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and...

Stowe Free Library.(people)(Charlotte Maison Kastner has retired as Director of the Stowe Free Library)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Charlotte Maison Kastner, Director of the Stowe Free Library, VT, has retired after 30 years in the profession. She previously (1992-2001) was the sixth librarian in the 156-year history of the Nantucket Atheneum, MA. She is succeeded at Stowe...

Johnson County Library (JCL).(people)(Donna Lauffer was appointed as County Librarian for the Johnson County Library)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Donna Lauffer is the new County Librarian for the Johnson County Library (JCL), Shawnee Mission, KS. Lauffer has been with JCL since 1979, most recently as Interim County Librarian and, before that, as Associate Director for Branch Services and...

Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries.(people)(Virginia Massey-Burzio retired as Head of Research Services and Collections at the Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Virginia Massey-Burzio, Head of Research Services and Collections at the Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries, Baltimore, retired July 1 after 15 years at the university and over 41 years of service to the profession. She began her career at the...

University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire.(people)(John Pollitz appointed as Director of Libraries at the University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... John Pollitz has been named Director of Libraries at the University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire, effective August 1. He currently is Associate University Librarian for Public Services and Innovative Technology at Oregon State University,...

Urbana Free Library.(people)(Kathy Wicks has been appointed as Associate Director at the Urbana Free Library)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Kathy Wicks has been promoted to Associate Director at the Urbana Free Library, IL. She most recently was Director of Circulation Services at the library.

Glendale Public Library.(people)(Rodeane Widom has retired as Director of the Glendale Public Library)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Rodeane Widom, Director of the Glendale Public Library, AZ, for 26 years, has retired. She began her career 38 years ago as a Children's Librarian at the King County Library System, Issaquah, WA, eventually becoming the Manager of two branches....

Buyouts and consolidations have ripple effects: many new products and services debut at Washington ALA, but are librarians looking elsewhere?(CONFERENCE REPORT)(American Library Association)(Xrefer change its name to Credo)
August 1, 2007... After 2006's lackluster gathering in still-recovering New Orleans, the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference came back with a vengeance in Washington, DC, June 22-28, garnering record attendance (see ALA coverage, p. 36). More...

Looking back to go forward.(DIGITAL LIBRARIES)
August 1, 2007... My story is probably similar to many others. We saw, we learned, we used, and we eventually discarded. For every technology like the web, there are at least five other technologies that have passed into oblivion. We all must learn to excel...

Ask for what you want.(THE TRANSPARENT LIBRARY)(librarians too shy to demand)
August 1, 2007... When was the last time someone said lawyers or doctors needed to update their images into the 21st century? How many skits on Prairie Home Companion or Saturday Night Live have you seen where doctors appear as outdated, dowdy spinsters in need...

Lots of librarians can keep stuff safe: libraries are able to safeguard content with LOCKSS, open source digital preservation software.(INFOTECH FEATURE)(Lots of Copies Keep StuffSafe)
August 1, 2007... The image of lost or destroyed library collections conjures up floodwater pouring into libraries in New Orleans or firefighters in Fahrenheit 45I dousing books with gasoline. But for digital collections, the reality, though subtler, is equally...

Scan this book! In the race to digitize the public domain, is the future of the library at stake? All interview with the Open Content t Alliance's Brewster Kahle.(Interview)
August 1, 2007... For all the potential of Web. 2.0 technologies, our literary future still rests on what we make of our past, specifically, the centuries of ideas and human thought recorded in the miles of print books sitting on library shelves around the...

Making our presence felt: librarians come to Washington and get their concerns on the agenda.(LJ REPORT: WASHINGTON, DC: ALA 2007)
August 1, 2007... The nation's capital, with unseasonably gorgeous weather, an array of high-profile speakers, and a chance for national notice, proved a record-setting location for the 2007 American Library Association (ALA) annual conference. The show drew...

Knitting in a digital age.(Collection Development / Knitting)
August 1, 2007... Once embraced by a few grandmotherly types and rejected as out of fashion by feminists, knitting is back big time, its new status evident nowhere more than on the Internet, where knitting groups, blogs, video tutorials, and podcasts are present...

Librarian, or author?(BACKTALK)
August 1, 2007... FRESH OUT OF COLLEGE, I WAS dissuaded from pursuing a writing career by countless stories of embittered and starving writers eking out meager existences as dishwashers or janitors, unpublished and disheartened by rejection letters from agents...

Prepub alert.
August 1, 2007... Gordimer, Nadine. Beethoven Was One-Sixteenth Black: And Other Stories. Farrar. Dec. 2007. 160p. ISBN 978-0-374-10982-0. $20. The Nobel prize winner offers new stories that plumb the past, with characters ranging from an anti-apartheid...

Mystery.
August 1, 2007... THE BRIT INVASION So many British mysteries are published today that it is easy to overlook some notable authors who have attracted faithful readers. A number of these writers are published by St. Martin's Minotaur imprint and Severn House,...

Romance.
August 1, 2007... LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY... It is no secret that historical romance has played the perennial bridesmaid to contemporary romance's bride. And because the Harlequin empire accounts for roughly half of all romances published annually, and most of...

Adams, Carrie. The Godmother.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Adams, Carrie. The Godmother. HarperCollins. Sept. 2007. c.400p. ISBN 978-0-06-123260-2. $24.95. F Tessa King is godmother to four children but desperately wants to be married and have her own family. At least she thinks she does. She's...

Althouse-Wood, Jill. Summers at Blue Lake.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Althouse-Wood, Jill. Summers at Blue Lake. Algonquin. Aug. 2007. c.325p. ISBN 978-1-56512-496-7. $23.95. F In this first novel, Barbara Jean "BJ" Ellington is facing a summer filled with change, reminiscence, new beginnings, and hard...

Auchincloss, Louis. The Headmaster's Dilemma.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Auchincloss, Louis. The Headmaster's Dilemma. Houghton. Sept. 2007. c.192p. ISBN 978-0-618-88342-4. $25. F This is an effortlessly masterful novel from a legend in American letters who has spent his career chronicling the morally complex...

Audeguy, Stephane. The Theory of Clouds.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Audeguy, Stephane. The Theory of Clouds. Harcourt. Sept. 2007. c.272p, tr. from French by Timothy Bent. ISBN 978-0-15-101428-6. $24. F Ever since witnessing the cloud that formed over Hiroshima when the atom bomb was dropped, Akira Kumo has...

Barrett, Andrea. The Air We Breathe.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Barrett, Andrea. The Air We Breathe. Norton. Oct. 2007. c.320p. ISBN 978-0-393-06108-6. $24.95. F In the early 1900s, patients at the Tamarack State Sanatorium for the Treatment for Tuberculosis are of two different sorts. The wealthy can...

Benedek, Emily. Red Sea.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... * Benedek, Emily. Red Sea. St. Martin's. Sept. 2007. c.384p. ISBN 978-0-312-35491-6. $24.95. F The world's intelligence services are riveted by their investigations of four crashed jetliners, but a far dirtier game is afoot. Working...

Bennett, Alan. The Uncommon Reader.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Bennett, Alan. The Uncommon Reader. Farrar. Sept. 2007. c.128p. ISBN 978-0-374-28096-3. pap. $15. F British screenwriter, playwright, and novelist Bennett, author of the Tony Award-winning play The History Boys, has written a wry and...

Cain, Chelsea. Heartsick.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... * Cain, Chelsea. Heartsick. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Sept. 2007. c.336p. ISBN 978-0-312-36846-3. $23.95. F Portland, OR, never felt drearier than it does in this thriller debut. Without a doubt, psychopathic Gretchen Lowell, a convicted...

Callahan, John. A Man You Could Love.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Callahan, John. A Man You Could Love. Fulcrum. 2007. c.448p. ISBN 978-1-55591-620-6. $26. F Callahan's first novel outlines the ebb and flow of Democratic politics in America, from the Vietnam era through today, by following the career of...

Campbell, Gordon. Missing Witness.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Campbell, Gordon. Missing Witness. Morrow. Oct. 2007. c.400p. ISBN 978-0-06-133751-2. $24.95. F In Campbell's debut legal thriller, Dan Morgan is a Phoenix-based Perry Mason-like defense attorney trying to uncover the true culprit behind a...

Carrell, Jennifer Lee. Interred with Their Bones.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... * Carrell, Jennifer Lee. Interred with Their Bones. Dutton. Sept. 2007. c.416p. ISBN 978-0-525-94970-1. $25.95. F Carrell (The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox), a Harvard Ph.D. and Shakespeare specialist, crafts an...

Cela, Camilo Jose. Christ versus Arizona.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Cela, Camilo Jose. Christ Versus Arizona. Dalkey Archive. Sept. 2007. c.288p, tr. from Spanish by Martin Sokolinsky. ISBN 978-1-56478-341-7. pap. $13.95. F Redefining the term Wild West, this experimental novel about the aftermath of the...

Christensen, Kate. The Great Man.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Christensen, Kate. The Great Man. Doubleday. Aug. 2007. c.320p. ISBN 978-0-385-51845-1. $23.95. F This novel might more accurately be titled "The Women Who Supported the Good Painter," since it's more about the three women in Oscar...

Coupland, Douglas. The Gum Thief.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Coupland, Douglas. The Gum Thief. Bloomsbury, dist. by Holtzbrinck. Oct. 2007. c.272p. ISBN 978-1-59691-106-2. $24.95. F Bethany, transitioning from goth teen to adult, and Roger, flailing in his forties, have washed up at Staples, a modern...

Delaney, Frank. Tipperary.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... * Delaney, Frank. Tipperary. Random. Nov. 2007. c.448p. ISBN 978-1-4000-6523-3. $26.95. F With this follow-up to his acclaimed Ireland, Delaney has crafted another meticulously researched journey though his homeland. The focus this time is...

Delson, Rudolph. Maynard & Jennica.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Delson, Rudolph. Maynard & Jennica. Houghton. Sept. 2007. c.304p. ISBN 978-0-618-83448-8. $24. F This is a pre- and post-9/11 story with multiple characters and agendas. But mainly it's a love story. Maynard is an artist--or desperately...

Eca de Queiros, Jose Maria. The Maias: Episodes from Romantic Life.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Eca de Queiros, Jose Maria. The Maias: Episodes from Romantic Life. New Directions, dist. by Norton. 2007. c.640p, tr. from Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa. ISBN 978-0-8112-1649-4. pap. $17.95. F This great saga (1888) by Portugal's...

Enright, Anne. The Gathering.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Enright, Anne. The Gathering. Black Cat: Grove. Sept. 2007. c.272p. ISBN 978-0-8021-7039-2. pap. $14. F It seems that large, extended families are brought together for two events, weddings and funerals, and such is the case in Enright's...

Erickson, Carolly. The Secret Life of Josephine: Napoleon's Bird of Paradise.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Erickson, Carolly. The Secret Life of Josephine: Napoleon's Bird of Paradise. St. Martin's. Sept. 2007. c.336p. ISBN 978-0-312-36735-0. $24.95. F As she approaches the end of her life, Josephine Bonaparte reflects on her glamorous and...

Faulks, Sebastian. Engleby.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Faulks, Sebastian. Engleby. Doubleday. Sept. 2007. c.352p. ISBN 978-0-385-52405-6. $24.95. F And now for something completely different: fans of Faulks's highly acclaimed "Birdsong" trilogy depart wartime Europe for a historical tour...

Goodjohn, B.A. Sticklebacks and Snow Globes.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Goodjohn, B.A. Sticklebacks and Snow Globes. Permanent. Oct. 2007. c.192p. ISBN 978-1-57962-155-1. $26. F Set in the early Seventies in middle-class London, this first novel is framed around scenes of daily life featuring Tot, an...

Guo Xiaolu. A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Guo Xiaolu. A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers. Nan A. Talese: Doubleday. Sept. 2007. c.304p. ISBN 978-0-385-52029-4. $23.95. F This first English-language novel from Guo, who has written two other novels and is also a...

Ha Jin. A Free Life.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... * Ha Jin. A Free Life. Pantheon. Nov. 2007. c.672p. ISBN 978-0-375-42465-6. $26. F "Crossing over from China to America" describes not only the theme behind this latest work from National Book Award-winning author Ha (Waiting) but also his...

Harvey, Kenneth J. Inside.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Harvey, Kenneth J. Inside. Harcourt. Oct. 2007. c.304p. ISBN 978-0-15-101483-5. $24. F After serving 14 years in prison on a murder conviction overturned by DNA evidence, Myrden is released, returning to his family and hardscrabble...

Hegi, Ursula. The Worst Thing I've Done.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Hegi, Ursula. The Worst Thing I've Done. Touchstone: S. & S. Oct. 2007. c.272p. ISBN 978-1-4165-4375-6. $25. F In Hegi's latest, the life of the protagonist, Annie, is framed by two catastrophes. One is the death of her parents on her...

Hellenga, Robert. The Italian Lover.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Hellenga, Robert. The Italian Lover. Little, Brown. Sept. 2007. c.352p. ISBN 978-0-316-11763-0. $23.99. F Hellenga puts a twist on familiar terrain in this sequel to Tire Sixteen Pleasures. Metafictional gymnastics ensue when a Hollywood...

Homsher, Deborah. The Rising Shore--Roanoke.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Homsher, Deborah. The Rising Shore--Roanoke. Blue Hull. Aug. 2007. c.273p. ISBN 978-0-9790516-0-9. pap. $13.95. F Owing to perpetual interest in the subject matter, the 2007 release of the English film Roanoke: The Lost Colony, and the...

Hospital, Janette Turner. Orpheus Lost.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... * Hospital, Janette Turner. Orpheus Lost. Norton. Oct. 2007. c.368p. ISBN 978-0-393-06552-7. $24.95. F A graduate student in mathematics particularly interested in her subject's application to music, Leela Moore is mesmerized by the sound...

Humphreys, C.C. The Blooding of Jack Absolute.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Humphreys, C.C. The Blooding of Jack Absolute. Thomas Dunne Bks: St. Martin's. Oct. 2007. c.320p. ISBN 978-0-312-35823-5. $24.95. F This intriguing prequel to Humphreys's swashbuckling historical adventure debut, Jack Absolute, which was...

Hunter, Stephen. The 47th Samurai: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Hunter, Stephen. The 47th Samurai: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel. S. & S. Sept. 2007. c.384p. ISBN 978-0-7432-3809-0. $26. F Memo to bad guys: Don't mess with Bob Lee Swagger (Black Light), even if he is getting old. Swagger returns in an...

Jacobson, Douglas W. Night of Flames: A Novel of World War II.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Jacobson, Douglas W. Night of Flames: A Novel of World War II. McBooks. Oct. 2007. c.384p. ISBN 978-1-59013-136-7. $23.95. F Jacobson's debut is a wide-ranging historical tale that starts and ends with the fate of a married couple. Jan...

Johansen, Iris. Pandora's Daughter.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Johansen, Iris. Pandora's Daughter. St. Martin's. Oct. 2007. c.384p. ISBN 978-0-312-36804-3. $25.95. F Best-selling author Johansen captivates readers with her latest suspense thriller. The paranormal element is eerily believable as Megan...

Johnson, Denis. Tree of Smoke.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... * Johnson, Denis. Tree of Smoke. Farrar. Sept. 2007. c.624p. ISBN 978-0-374-27912-7. $27. F This major Vietnam novel depicts the era's distinctive psychedelic brutality, the ineptitude of the U.S. military effort, and the otherworldly...

Khakpour, Porochista. Sons and Other Flammable Objects.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Khakpour, Porochista. Sons and Other Flammable Objects. Grove. Sept. 2007. c.416p. ISBN 978-0-8021-1853-0. $24. F Born in Iran and raised in Los Angeles, Xerxes Adam straddles two cultures in his effort to negotiate a place for himself...