Library Journal articles from December 2007

Library Journal archives from December 2007

Make "best books" matter: a list is just a list, until we let it work for us.(editorial)
December 1, 2007... THANKSGIVING HAS COME AND GONE, THE HOLIDAYS are upon us, and the best books season is well underway. Most of the "best" lists have appeared already or are about to do so. This year, LJ finally has joined the crowd in announcing its picks...

Hopes and fears for Boston: we don't teach these politics in library school.(blatant berry)
December 1, 2007... BERNIE MARGOLIS WAS TOLD THAT HIS CONTRACT as president of the Boston Public Library (BPL) will not be renewed (see news, p. 16). Margohs is a strong librarian, the last of a series of great librarians who have directed BPL. I've known the last...

Required experience.(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... I strongly agreed with Francine Fialkoff's "Grad School Confidential" (Editorial, LJ 10/15/07, p. 8). I graduated from San Jose State University (SJSU) with my MLIS in spring 2005. New to the profession, I assumed that having the degree-plus...

Unfair to Israel.(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... Elizabeth Hayford's "Israel-Palestine" book roundup (LJ 10/15/07, p. 78ff.) includes her evaluations of [about] a half-dozen largely tendentious books that she considers "solid works." Who selected these books--Hayford or LJ? The reviews stress...

Anti-Israel slant.(feedback)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... I am surprised that LJ would choose to highlight Elizabeth Hayford's "Israel-Palestine" roundup (LJ 10/15/07, p. 78ff.) by including only books by authors with a decidedly anti-Israel slant. Did Hayford find no 2007 titles to be "solid works"...

Family values at Oregon state library.(front desk)
December 1, 2007... At Oregon State University (OSU), Corvalis, the idea of "family values" has real meaning: over the past semester, OSU's Valley Library and the Associated Students of OSU (ASOSU) have teamed up to create Our Little Village-Library, billed as a...

Boston PL's Margolis gets the axe: director says mayor was heavy-handed; were branches neglected--or starved?(lj news)(Pulic Library, Bernard Margolis, Thomas Menino)
December 1, 2007... Under direction from Mayor Thomas Menino, the board of the Boston Public Library (BPL) voted November 13 not to renew the contract of Bernard Margolis, president for the past ten years. Margolis's contract expires June 30, 2008. Board president...

New digital center at Johns Hopkins.(lj news)(Johns Hopkins University )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... It's time for academic libraries to go beyond simply supporting and preserving the digital output of faculty and students to more actively assisting in their application and use, according to the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Sheridan...

At Charleston, content is king.(CONFERENCE REPORT)
December 1, 2007... At South Carolina's 27th Annual Charleston Conference, held November 7-10, librarians, publishers, and vendors gathered to talk about trends in academic libraries, and the consensus was clear: content is king. Under the theme "What Tangled Webs...

LC report begins to emerge.(NEWS)( Library of Congress )
December 1, 2007... Working Group on Bibliographic Control prepares for "sea changes" Some big changes may be coming from the Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control (www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future), convened by Deanna Marcum, associate...

Yale, Microsoft join in scan plan.(NEWS)
December 1, 2007... UM library dean, in blog, defends Google digitization deal Yale University officials announced that they have partnered with Microsoft and Kirtas technology to scan and host up to 100,000 unique volumes held by the Yale University...

Five libraries get IMLS awards.(NEWS)(Institute of Museum and Library)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Five libraries and five museums have been selected for the 2007 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, awarded by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Each recipient institution will be awarded a medal at a...

Louisville rejects tax increase.(NEWS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... San Francisco renews library funding, allowing for construction On November 6, Election Day, voters in Louisville, KY, thoroughly rejected an occupational licenses and business profits tax increase that would have funded major expansions to...

Halloween cleanup in San Jose.(NEWS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... An earthquake (5.4 on the Richter scale) that hit San Jose, CA, on October 30 prompted an immediate evacuation of the eight-story Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, a joint-use facility shared by San Jose State University (SJSU) and San Jose...

$10B needed for PL construction.(NEWS)(public library)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... COSLA survey says 40 percent of buildings are in fair/poor condition The Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA), in a national survey, have found that there's an enormous need to fund public library construction around the...

NYPL site to become hotel.(NEWS)(New York Public Library)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Smaller Donner Library to reemerge in lower floors of building In the first example of an apparent new strategy to make the most of valuable land housing outmoded library facilities (as hinted in News, LJ 11/1/07, p. 12ff.), the New York...

OCLC hires Pace, Cunningham.(NEWS)(Online Computer Library Center)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Honprofit organization gains more top library talent OCLC, the nonprofit giant library service and research organization, continues to hire major figures from the library world, most recently Andrew Pace of North Carolina State University...

Chicago PL gets $83.4m tax hike.(NEWS)(public library)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Chicago mayor Richard Daley has maintained his position as a strong advocate for punic libraries, as the city council on November 13 approved by a 40-10 vote his proposal for the city's largest property tax increase ever--$83.4 million to build...

Calendar.(Brief article)(Calendar)
December 1, 2007... FEBRUARY 2008 28-Mar. 2--Alaska Library Assn., Fairbanks www.akla.org MARCH 2008 4-6--Louisiana Library Assn., Shreveport www.llaonline.org APRIL 2008 9-11--Kansas Library Assn., Wichita skyways.lib.ks.us/KLA 9-11--New Mexico...

Monterey County Free Libraries (MCFL).(people)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Jayanti Addleman has been named County Librarian of the Monterey County Free Libraries (MCFL), Marina, CA. She succeeds the retired Bob McElroy. Addleman worked at the Salinas Public Library, CA, before joining MCFL as Managing Librarian for...

Sacramento Public Library.(people)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Sarah Dentan is the new Branch Services Manager at Sacramento Public Library, CA, supervising nine of the system's 27 branches. She previously was employed at the Anthropology Library and History Libraries of Cambridge University,...

University of Dayton.(people)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Hector Escobar has joined the University of Dayton as Director of Education and Information Delivery. He previously was Latino Studies Librarian at the University of Notre Dame, IN.

Westmoreland County Federated Library System.(people)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Nancy Gresko is the new Member Services Coordinator for the Westmoreland County Federated Library System, Murrysville, PA. She previously was Director of the Butler Area Public Library, PA.

Marin County Free Library System.(people)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Gall Haar has been named Director of the Marin County Free Library System, CA. She previously was Deputy Director.

Columbia University Libraries.(people)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Rebecca Kennison has joined Columbia University Libraries, New York, as Director of the new Center for Digital Research and Scholarship. From 2002 to 2006, Kennison was Director of Production at the Public Library of Science, San Francisco....

Fort Vancouver Regional Library District.(people)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Kwang Kye has been hired as Director of the newly established technology division at the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, Vancouver, WA. He previously was Information Technology Manager at Oak Park Public Library, IL.

California State Library's Braille and Talking Book Library.(people)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Mike Marlin has been appointed Manager of the California State Library's Braille and Talking Book Library, Sacramento. Marlin most recently was Program Coordinator and Special Needs Librarian at the Pima County Public Library, Tucson, AZ.

Tulsa City-County Library.(people)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Richard Parker has retired after more than 30 years of service at the Tulsa City--County Library. He was the system's Deputy Director and oversaw all construction and renovation projects.

Florida International University.(people)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Laura Probst is the new Dean of University Libraries at Florida International University, Miami. Probst came from Pennsylvania State University, University Park, where she was Head of Public Services and Associate Librarian.

Library Services, Wilkes University.(people)(appointments)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Robert Shaddy has been named Dean of Library Services, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA. He most recently was Professor of Library and Chief Librarian at Queens College Libraries, Flushing, NY.

Old Dominion University Libraries.(people)(appointments)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Frederick "Rob" Tench has been hired as the Acquisitions and Preservation Services Librarian at Old Dominion University Libraries, Norfolk, VA. Tench was Head of Technical Services at the Newport News Public Library System, VA.

County of Los Angeles Public Library.(people)(appointments)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Felicia Wilson has been appointed Library Administrator of Technical Services, County of Los Angeles Public Library. She most recently was the Technical Services Manager, Tacoma Public Library.

Obituary.(Leo Melrose)(Obituary)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Leo Melrose, a longtime library professional, died on August 30. He was Director of Libraries for the City of Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Tampa-Hillsborough County Library System. He retired in 1992 from his position as Director of Clermont County...

Hachette adopts IDPF ebooks standard: first major publisher could lure others, but there's a catch with DRM.(infotech)(The Hachette Group; International Digital Publishing Forum; digital rights management)
December 1, 2007... At the 2007 International Digital Publishing Forum (see InfoTech, LJ 6/1/07, p. 27), IDPF president Steve Potash suggested that a "reading revolution" was within reach if publishers could, like the movie industry did with the DVD, agree on a...

Gale/ProQuest titles linking.(INFOTECH)
December 1, 2007... Reference Goliaths ProQuest (www.il.proquest.com) and Gale (gale.cengage.com) have announced an electronic bridge between two of their databases on early modern English books, which the duo claim are used by more than 200 universities...

Scopus adds new features.(INFOTECH)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Scopus has beefed up its database. "New features," the company said, "include the ability to search for and browse through relevant content derived from cited references, additional and flexible clustering categories in 'Refine Results,' the...

ANSI approves NISO's SUSHI.(INFOTECH)(American National Standards Institute; National Information Standards Organization; Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has given the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) Z39.93 standard, Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative SUSHI), its final approval. According to NISO, the standard...

CIG names Chung COO.(INFOTECH PEOPLE)(Cambridge Information Group, Michael K. Chung, chief operating officer)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Cambridge Information Group (CIG) has tapped Michael K. Chung as its chief operating officer, reporting to company president Andy Snyder. CIG said that Chung will "oversee the operations of several CIG companies and take responsibility for the...

Libtime adds Denault.(INFOTECH PEOPLE)(Debra Denault)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Open source solutions outfit Lib-Lime has hired Debra Denault as is operations manager. A librarian and 15-year library automation veteran, Denault formerly worked at VTLS as associate director of development and product manager and has held...

Cunningham joining OCLC.(INFOTECH PEOPLE)(Cindy Cunningham)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Cindy Cunningham will become OCLC's Partner Programs director on January 7, 2008, and "will play a leadership role in expanding coverage of WorldCat, and in managing external partnerships," the vendor said. Librarian Cunningham was head of...

Credo adds Greenwood titles.(INFOTECH)(Credo Reference; Greenwood Publishing)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Credo Reference has cut a deal with Greenwood Publishing to acid to its Credo General Reference collection eight of the reference publisher's titles: * Contemporary Youth Culture: An International Encyclopedia * Dictionary of...

Web 2.0: our cultural downfall?(ONLINE DATABASES)
December 1, 2007... ANDREW KEEN, FORMER INTERNET entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, has become an articulate contrarian regarding all of the Web 2.0 excitement. His recent polemic, The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet Is Killing Our Culture (reviewed in LJ...

A road map to transparency.(THE TRANSPARENT LIBRARY)
December 1, 2007... IN OUR EXPERIENCES AT A LARGER public library system and in a university setting (after numerous years in a medium-sized public library), respectively, we often have had access to resources that smaller libraries/systems do not. While that...

The bloggers among us: a survey of the library blogosphere shows the mainstreaming of the medium.(INFOTECH FEATURE)(Table)
December 1, 2007... Say "librarian blogger," and most people would probably imagine a tech-savvy person in his/her late 20s or early 30s, working in a technology-oriented area of the field. They might assume that bloggers are low on the career ladder and...

Going, going, green: LJ's annual wrap-up features 168 public library projects and 21 academic buildings.(LIBRARY BUILDINGS 2007)(Table)(List)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The year in architecture offered grand facades, creative collaborations, and calamities overcome and viewed as opportunities. The 168 public building projects and 21 academic facilities completed between July 1,...

Best books 2007.
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Notice anything different this year? Yes, LJ has moved its Best Books list forward; from now on, the list will appear in the December issue of the year in question instead of the January issue that follows. In the...

Programs and play: American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting, January 11-16, in Philadelphia.(ALA MIDWINTER PREVIEW 2008)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This year, as always, the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting will host more than 2000 meetings of task forces, committees, round tables, boards, some 200 discussion groups, and other bodies that...

North by Northeast.(Collection Development: Regional Gardening)
December 1, 2007... Gardening in the Northeast (NE) United States is a pleasure, even with its unique challenges. The terrain, ranging from coastal plains to mountain valleys, from rolling hillsides to breathtaking seasides, offers nearly endless horticultural...

What drives you?(NEXTGEN)(librarianship)
December 1, 2007... THE WAY I SEE IT, THERE ARE two major drives that motivate librarians. One is a desire to organize information so that they're in greater control of an unpredictable world. To those motivated by this drive, librarianship is a duty because the...

Prepub alert.
December 1, 2007... FICTION Altschul, Andrew Foster. Lady Lazarus. Harcourt. Apr. 2008. 576p. ISBN 978-0-15-101484-2. $25. A hot debut novel featuring Calliope Bird Morath, daughter of a punk-rock legend. Armstrong, Kelley. Personal Demon. Spectra:...

Mystery.(Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues: A Dixie Hemingway Mystery; The Blue Door: A Mystery; The Book of Old Houses: A Home Repair Is Homicide Mystery)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... MISS MARPLE GETS A FACE-LIFT Contemporary cozies, such as Rosemary Harris's Pushing Up Daisies and Blaize Clement's Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues, are reinventing themselves with likable female amateur sleuths who are smarter, less nosey,...

Prepub mystery.
December 1, 2007... Albert, Susan Wittig. Nightshade. Berkley Prime Crime. Apr. 2008. 304p. ISBN 978-0-425-21956-0. $23.95. Sixteen-year-old secrets of her father come back to haunt herbalist China Bayles and family in the 16th in the series by Albert, who...

Romance.(Tycoon's Valentine Vendetta; Tex Appeal; Valentine's Secret Child)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... FROM CUPID, WITH LOVE... One might assume the romance market would soon be overflowing with Valentine's Day offerings; however, in recent years, stories focusing specifically on the traditional holiday for lovers have been in relatively short...

Ahern, Cecelia. There's No Place Like Here.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Ahern, Cecelia. There's No Place Like Here. Hyperion. Jan. 2008. c.352p. ISBN 978-1-4013-0188-0. $24.95. F Ahern's (If You Could See Me Now) latest novel veers away from traditional chick lit, blending mystery and fantasy. Sandy Shortt, a...

Banks, Russell. The Reserve.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Banks, Russell. The Reserve. Harper: HarperCollins. Feb. 2008. c.304p. ISBN 978-0-06-143025-1. $24.95. F It all begins on July 4, 1936, in the achingly beautiful and unspoiled Adirondack Mountains, where the wealthy built their summer...

Cobb, Thomas. Shavetail.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... * Cobb, Thomas. Shavetail. Scribner. Feb. 2008. c.384p. ISBN 978-1-4165-6119-4. $25. F A shavetail is a young mule paired with an older mule to learn its work. Brickner, who is as wise and as contrary as any old mule, dubs 17-year-old Ned...

Cornwell, Bernard. Sword Song: The Battle for London.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... * Cornwell, Bernard. Sword Song: The Battle for London. Harper: HarperCollins. Jan. 2008. c.336p. ISBN 978-0-06-088864-0. $25.95. F Once more into another exciting breach, and this time, Uhtred, warrior hero of Cornwell's previous entries...

Cullin, Mitch. The Post-War Dream.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Cullin, Mitch. The Post-War Dream. Nan A. Talese: Doubleday. Mar. 2008. c.304p. ISBN 978-0-365-51329-6. $24. F Hollis and Debra Adams are spending their retirement years in a planned community in Arizona, where Hollis relaxes in his...

Delinsky, Barbara. The Secret Between Us.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... * Delinsky, Barbara. The Secret Between Us. Doubleday. Jan. 2008. c.368p. ISBN 978-0-385-51868-0. $25.95. F [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Small-town physician Deborah Monroe has a plethora of family problems on her plate. Her husband has...

Dovey, Ceridwen. Blood Kin.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Dovey, Ceridwen. Blood Kin. Viking. Mar. 2008. ISBN 978-0-670-01856-7. $23.95. F Dovey's debut novel opens in the tense moments preceding a coup d'etat in which the president is deposed and replaced by an also nameless commander. However,...

D'Souza, Tony. The Konkans.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... * D'Souza, Tony. The Konkans. Harcourt. Feb. 2008. c.320p. ISBN 978-0-15-101519-1. $25. F The narrator of D'Souza's (Whiteman) second novel is Francisco D'Sai, the firstborn son of a firstborn son from a proud family of Konkans, Catholic...

du Boucheron, Bernard. The Voyage of the Short Serpent.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... * du Boucheron, Bernard. The Voyage of the Short Serpent. Overlook, dist. by Penguin Group (USA). Jan. 2008. c.208p, tr. from French by Hester Velmans. ISBN 978-1--58567-920-1. $24.95. F Now translated into English, this prize-winning...

Gilchrist, Ellen. A Dangerous Age.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Gilchrist, Ellen. A Dangerous Age. Algonquin. May 2008. c.256p. ISBN 978-1-56512-542-1. $23.95. F Gilchrist here returns to the wealthy Hands of North Carolina, introduced in The Anna Papers and I Cannot Get You Close Enough. As they...

Hannah, Kristin. Firefly Lane.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Hannah, Kristin. Firefly Lane. St. Martin's. Feb. 2008. c.496p. ISBN 978-0-312-36408-3. $23.95. F When Kate first sees Tully as she's waiting for the bus to take her to her first day at a new school, Kate thinks Tully's the coolest girl in...

Hardy, Edward. Keeper and Kid.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Hardy, Edward. Keeper and Kid. Thomas Dunne Bks: St. Martin's. Jan. 2008. c.304p. ISBN 978-0-312-37524-9. $24.95. F James Keeper has it made. He and Leah, his beautiful architect girlfriend, are blissfully happy after their respective,...

Helms, Beth. Dervishes.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Helms, Beth. Dervishes. Picador. Mar. 2008. c.320p. ISBN 978-0-312-42619-4. pap. $14. F This first novel by the winner of the 2003 Iowa Short Fiction Award is set mostly in Ankara, Turkey. That's where 12-year-old Canada moves with her...

Jandrey, G. Davies. A Garden of Aloes.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Jandrey, G. Davies. A Garden of Aloes. Permanent. Jan. 2008. c.240p. ISBN 978-1-57962-158-2. $28. F Jandrey's first novel combines the narratives of five dissimilar women living in the same rundown motor court near Tucson's notorious...

Johansen, Iris. Quicksand.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Johansen, Iris. Quicksand. St. Martin's. Apr. 2008. c.352p. ISBN 978-0-312-36806-7. $26.95. F Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan (Stalemate) is drawn into killer Henry Kistle's sick game as she desperately tries to find her missing daughter,...

Jordan, Hillary. Mudbound.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... * Jordan, Hillary. Mudbound. Algonquin. Mar. 2008. c.320p. ISBN 978-1-56512-5698. $21.95. F Jordan's poignant and moving debut novel, winner of the 2006 Bellwether Prize, takes on social injustice in the postwar Mississippi Delta. Here,...

Kelly, Cathy. Past Secrets.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Kelly, Cathy. Past Secrets. Downtown: Pocket. Jan. 2008. c.616p. ISBN 978-1-4165-3159-3. pap. $15. F Irish author Kelly follows up Always and Forever with this feel-good novel about the secret lives of women. From the outside, the houses...

Kennedy, A.L. Day.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Kennedy, A.L. Day. Knopf. Jan. 2008. c.288p. ISBN 978-0-307-26683-5. $24. F As an extra on the set of a POW film, former Royal Air Force tail gunner Alfie Day has plenty of time to brood on a military career riddled with violence and...

Kunzru, Hari. My Revolutions.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... * Kunzru, Hari. My Revolutions. Dutton. Feb. 2008. c.288p. ISBN 978-0-525-94932-9. $25.95. F It's the 1970s, and Chris Carver, briefly imprisoned for participating in a demonstration and increasingly disillusioned with the British...

Langer, Adam. Ellington Boulevard: A Novel in A-Flat.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Langer, Adam. Ellington Boulevard: A Novel in A-Flat. Spiegel & Grau. Jan. 2008. c.352p. ISBN 978-0-385-52205-2. $24.95. F Ike and his dog, Herbie, have just returned to New York City after six months in Chicago. They find changes...

Liking, Werewere. The Amputated Memory: A Song-Novel.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Liking, Werewere. The Amputated Memory: A Song-Novel. Feminist Pr., dist. by Consortium. Jan. 2008. c.45Bp, tr. from French by Marjolijn de lager. ISBN 978-155861-555-7. $24.95. F Multitalented author Liking (It Shall Be of Jasper and...

McBride, James. Song Yet Sung.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... McBride, James. Song Yet Sung. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Feb. 2008. c.464p. ISBN 978-1-59448-972-3. $25.95. F McBride's second novel, following Miracle at St. Anna (soon to be a Spike Lee--directed major motion picture), might better...

Mamdouh, Alia. The Loved Ones.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Mamdouh, Alia. The Loved Ones. Feminist Pr, dist. by Consortium. 2007. 336p. tr. from Arabic by Marilyn Booth. bibliog. ISBN 978-1-55861-556-4. pap. $15.95. F Winner of the 2004 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Arabic Literature, this is the story...

Mazza, Cris. Waterbaby.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Mazza, Cris. Waterbaby. Soft Skull. 2007. c.320p. ISBN 978-1-933368-84-9. $14.95. F When she was 12 and swimming in a race she was about to win, Tam Mart-Burgess had her first epileptic seizure. The consequences of this life-changing event...

Robbins, David L. The Betrayal Game.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Robbins, David L. The Betrayal Game. Bantam. Feb. 2008. c.384p. ISBN 978-0-553-80442-3. $25. F In the first Mikhal Lemmeck novel, The Assassins Gallery, Lemmeck was assigned to head off the assassination of President Franklin D. Roosevelt....

Schlink, Bernhard. Homecoming.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Schlink, Bernhard. Homecoming. Pantheon. Jan. 2008. c.272p, tr. from German by Michael Helm. ISBN 978-0-375-42091-7. $24. F Schlink's phenomenal The Reader is a hard act to follow, and while this new work doesn't quite measure up, it's...

Serge, Victor. The Unforgiving Years.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Serge, Victor. The Unforgiving Years. New York Review. 2007. c.376p, tr. from French by Richard Greeman. ISBN 978-1-59017-247-6. pap. $15.95. F In pre-World War II Paris, Secret Agent D. and his lover and protegee, Nadine, attempt to...

Sokoloff, Alexandra. The Price.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Sokoloff, Alexandra. The Price. St. Martin's. Feb. 2008. c.288p. ISBN 978-0-312-35751-1. $23.95. F Will Sullivan has his sights set on becoming the next governor of Massachusetts. With everything falling into place on his campaign, Will is...

Suri, Manil. The Age of Shiva.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Suri, Manil. The Age of Shiva. Norton. Jan. 2008. c.448p. ISBN 978-0-393-06569-5. $24.95. F This second novel in a proposed trilogy is not really a sequel to Suri's first, the 2002 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award-winning...

Vyleta, Dan. Pavel & I.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Vyleta, Dan. Pavel & I. Bloomsbury, dist. by Macmillan. Feb. 2008. c.304p. ISBN 978-1-59691-451-3. $24.95. F The son of Czech refugees who immigrated to Germany in the late 1960s, Berlin-based Vyleta sets his debut in Berlin in the terrible...

Walker, Wendy. Four Wives.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Walker, Wendy. Four Wives. St. Martin's. Feb. 2008. c.368p. ISBN 978-0-312-36771-8. $23.95. F Walker's first novel is a treat. It's well written and features great characters, lots of humor, and dead-on analysis of friendship, marriage,...