Publishers Weekly articles from March 2005

Publishers Weekly archives from March 2005

For love or numbers: BookScan's fickle figures of fate.(editorial)(Editorial)
March 7, 2005... In the January 31 issue of PW, author, publisher and now bookseller Joan Drury made this memorable statement--about authors, publishers and booksellers--"We're all masochists, in our own ways." I'd say "perverse" is an even better word. ...

Publishers examine the good, bad and ugly: speakers at annual meeting address need for change.(news)
March 7, 2005... PETER SKARZYNSKI, founder of the consulting firm Strategos, warned publishers not to "underestimate the rate of change" that's occurring around them. Publishers need to "guard against being inflexible" and should "think like an outsider" to...

From the summit.
March 7, 2005... The inevitability of change, and the question of how to calibrate the best response to it, emerged as a theme at last Thursday's joint AAP annual meeting/PW Summit. Among those addressing the gathering were Borders chairman Greg Josefowicz,...

After record year, S&S expects 'modest' '05.(News)(Simon & Schuster )(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... SPARKED BY A string of political bestsellers at the beginning of the year and some surprise hits at the end, revenue at Simon & Schuster rose 9% in 2004, to an estimated $740 million, while profits increased 12%. "I never had a year where...

Industry sales inch ahead.(Results 2004)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... REVISED FIGURES from the Association of American Publishers confirmed what preliminary estimates from the AAP suggested earlier last month: there was little growth in the industry in 2004. New estimates from the association show that total book...

Thomas Nelson diversifies.(A Year in the Job)
March 7, 2005... A LITTLE MORE than one year after being named president of Thomas Nelson, Michael Hyatt said he is happy with the company's diversification efforts, which have expanded the company's publishing program beyond its traditional base in the...

Sales fall at Penguin; layoffs protested.(Transition Year)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Pearson had been warning for several months that sales and earnings for the Penguin Group would be off in 2004, and final results showed that sales dropped 6.4%, to 786 million [pounds sterling] ($1.44 billion), while operating profit tumbled...

Industry stocks: February performances.(Market Watch)(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
March 7, 2005... Market Watch Industry Stocks: February Performances Winners COMPANY JAN 31 FEB 30 % CHANGE Reed International 36.66 40.85 11.4% Reader's...

'Disappearance' appears big time.(Surprise!)
March 7, 2005... WHAT PROPELS A book to the number 2 spot on Amazon--second only to the new Harry Potter--when there have been no major trade reviews, no advertising, no national media exposure and no placement on any regional or national bestsellers lists?...

Picador: say it with Doodles.(10th Anniversary)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... PICADOR'S 10TH ANNIVERSARY was approaching and its publisher, Frances Cody, was facing the usual publisher dilemma. "I'm obsessed with whether anyone really knows the name of the imprint," said Cody. What to do? Doodles--Cody's idea....

Ripken bats for Penguin.(hot deals)(Cal Ripken Jr. )(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Legendary Baltimore Orioles star Cal Ripken Jr. has signed a three-book deal with Penguin, for two adult books at Gotham and a children's title at Philomel. First at bat will be a parenting guide in the star's trademark style, offering his...

A time for sequels.(hot deals)
March 7, 2005... Just as in the movies, publishers love to follow up hits with a second helping of the same, and a couple of notable sequels were signed last week. Lalita Tademy, the former top software exec whose Cane River, a fictionalized account of her...

New setting for Diamond.(hot deals)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Pulitzer Prize-winning environmental historian Jared Diamond, fresh from his current bestselling triumph with Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, is moving far back in time to study the most primitive human societies in his next...

Within days of the arrest in Kansas of church-going family man Dennis Rader as the alleged BTK serial killer who has terrorized Wichita for years, a book was in the works.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Within days of the arrest in Kansas of church-going family man Dennis Rader as the alleged BTK serial killer who has terrorized Wichita for years, a book was in the works. As often, it was SMP's Charles Spicer who was fastest out of the gate,...

The proper relationship between church and state in America is the subject of two new books just signed.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... The proper relationship between church and state in America is the subject of two new books just signed. Random's Wil Murphy bought a book by Beliefnet founder and CEO Steven Waldman on the Founding Fathers' beliefs, world rights from agent...

Another book in the vein of What's the Matter with Kansas? was signed for S&S/Touchstone after a lively auction by Brett Valley.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Another book in the vein of What's the Matter with Kansas? was signed for S&S/Touchstone after a lively auction by Brett Valley. It's Foxes in the Henhouse by Democratic party campaign organizers Steve Jarding and Dave Saunders, who claim that...

Small publisher Bruce McPherson made an unprecedented (for him) movie sale with the option of his novel Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shots, the family saga behind the building of the Taj Mahal, to actor Erik Lasalle's Humble Journey Films.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Small publisher Bruce McPherson made an unprecedented (for him) movie sale with the option of his novel Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shots, the family saga behind the building of the Taj Maha, to actor Erik Lasalle's Humble Journey Films....

Hillel Black at Sourcebooks bought a combined book and CD offering the key speeches of JFK, assembled by Kennedy historian Robert Dallek and journalist and author Terry Golway.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Hillel Black at Sourcebooks bought a combined book and CD offering the key speeches of JFK, assembled by Kennedy historian Robert Dallek and journalist and author Terry Golway. It's Let Every Nation Know: The Speeches of John Fitzgerald Kennedy...

The prolific Dr. Nicholas Perricone has moved to Random, in the person of Caroline Sutton, for his next, The Perricone Weight Loss Promise, after stints at Warner and Harper; as usual with the doctor, the new book also offers to help defeat aging and wrinkles.(Short Takes)
March 7, 2005... The prolific Dr. Nicholas Perdcone has moved to Random, in the person of Caroline Sutton, for his next, The Perricone Weight Loss Promise, after stints at Warner and Harper; as usual with the doctor, the new book also offers to help defeat...

The same week that Paris Hilton's PDA.(Hollywood Reader)(Candace Bushnell's work)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... THE SAME WEEK THAT PARIS HILTON'S PDA was leaked all over the Internet by a hacker, Candace Bushnell's film agent was busy shopping her latest novel, Lipstick Jungle (due from Hyperion this fall). Coincidence? Probably, but the timing seems...

Chip Kidd, the wunderkind graphic designer.(Hollywood Reader)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... CHIP KIDD, THE WUNDERKIND GRAPHIC DESIGNER responsible for some of the industry's most striking book covers (Bret Easton Ellis's Glamorama, David Sedaris's Naked), has sold his satirical novel The Cheese Monkeys to L.A.--and Toronto-based 3Geez...

Briefs ...(Hollywood Reader)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... BRIEFS... Hollywood's wait-and-see attitude toward books may be costing it big bucks. Witness Elizabeth Kostova's blockbuster-in-waiting, The Historian, involving a daughter's quest to complete her father's research about Dracula. In...

Rice revives death memoir.(First-Class Friend)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... IN ITS FIRST INCARNATION as a paperback original, Howard Storm's My Descent into Death: And the Message of Love Which Brought Me Back, published by Clairview Books in 2000, barely registered on the publishing world's radar. Enter Anne...

Books on the side: why are so marry big-name authors taking temporary leave of their publishers?(Commentary)
March 7, 2005... PETE TOWNSHEND had Who Came First. Beck had Mutations. Jeff Tweedy had Loose Fur. For rock stars, side projects are a tradition as honorable as the farewell tour and detox. But it turns out they're not just for musicians anymore. Big...

More indictments at AMS.(Probe)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION of the advertising practices at Advanced Marketing Services resulted in a second indictment last week. Sandra Miller Christie, former v-p of advertising, was charged with one count of conspiracy, 19 counts of wire...

Bookstore sales dipped in '04.(Trends)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES from the U.S. Census Bureau show total bookstore sales in 2004 fell 0.8%, to $16.67 billion. Sales for the entire retail segment rose 8% in the year. Bookstore sales in December were flat, at $2.12 billion, compared to a...

Holt heads to 'PW'.(People)(Karen Holt)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... KAREN HOLT will join PW March 14 in the newly created post of deputy editor. Holt, currently editor of the Book Standard, will report to PW editor-in-chief Sara Nelson. Before joining the Book Standard last year, Holt worked in several...

Silver for Silva.(behind the bestsellers)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... The newest fiction bestseller, Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva, lands in the #5 spot with a total of 199,000 copies in print. It's the fourth in the Gabriel Allon series from Putnam and the fourth to hit the national charts. Sales for each...

Getting silver for others.(behind the bestsellers)(T. Harv Eker)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... The latest financial self-help bestseller, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth by T. Harv Eker, is selling fast. It was the leading nonfiction bestseller at Barnes & Noble last week (the only book that sold more...

Food Network winner.(behind the bestsellers)(Giada De Laurentiis)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Giada De Laurentiis's Food Network show, Everyday Italian, is also the name of her new bestselling book, landing on our list in the #12 spot. Clarkson Potter initially planned a 75,000-copy printing, but sales heated up and now the book is up...

Tome out for Mickey.(behind the bestsellers)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Certainly the Mouse House is no stranger to controversy, but now the long-running contretemps has morphed into an appropriately titled bestseller, DisneyWar, which marks its second week on Pigs list. As a result of the extra-loud pre-pub buzz...

Killer book party: Austin stays 'weird': BookPeople hosts party for book about former manager's murder case.(bookselling)
March 7, 2005... Bookstores have provided the setting for numerous detective novels, but rarely does one appear in a true crime book--or host a party about a former manager's murder ease. Until now. This spring, two new books--The Fortune Hunter by Suzy...

As seen on TV.(bookselling)
March 7, 2005... The story of the murder by the BookPeople manager is not new to aficionados of true crime. Celeste Beard's trial was carried live on Court TV and covered by national news stations. The story was featured in a 2004 episode of CBS's 48 Hours...

Disappearing mug reappears in bookstores.(Sideline Spotlight)(Company Profile)
March 7, 2005... At least one left-leaning entity did well in the November election: the Unemployed Philosophers Guild, a Brooklyn, N.Y., company that makes witty and intellectual gift items in the style of long-gone Largely Literary. The guild's Disappearing...

Washington, D.C.'s Island Press shifted its distribution from its own warehouse in Covelo, Calif., to Chicago Distribution Center.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Washington, D.C.'s Island Press shifted its distribution from its own warehouse in Covelo, Calif., to Chicago Distribution Center, which handles distribution for 40 scholarly publishers, including University of Chicago Press.

Other Press, in New York, founded five years ago to do psychoanalytic titles, signed with W.W. Norton.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Other Press, in New York, founded five years ago to do psychoanalytic titles, signed with W.W. Norton. Since then Other has added trade titles to its product mix, as well as a literary imprint, Handsel Press. Its spring list includes Amity...

Stylus Publishing in Sterling, Va., has added the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala, Sweden.(Short Takes)(publisher Karnac; and London-based James & James)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Stylus Publishing in Sterling, Va., has added the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala, Sweden, which has published more than 600 academic titles on African politics, economics and social issues; psychoanalytic publisher Karnac; and London-based...

Canadian Talonbooks signed with Publishers Group Canada for Canadian distribution.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Canadian Talonbooks signed with Publishers Group Canada for Canadian distribution and with Northwestern University Press for representation to the trade in U.S. and international markets.

Sounds like celebration: Listening Library marks its golden anniversary.(audio)(Company Profile)
March 7, 2005... One might say that the late Anthony Ditlow had an ear for a good book. In 1955, the former teacher put his knowledge of literature and yen for a good yarn together and changed careers, founding the audiobook publishing company Listening...

Retailers' event kit.(audio)
March 7, 2005... In honor of Listening Library's first half-century, the publisher has prepared a 50th Anniversary Celebration-in-a-Box event kit for retailers. Packaged in what looks like an old suitcase plastered with travel stickers, the kit contains...

Ditlow's fan club.(audio)(Tim Ditlow)
March 7, 2005... "I have a secret weakness: I am a huge sucker for a good sentimental tearjerker novel. I remember one of the last books I read for Tim Ditlow at Listening Library; it was The Teacher's Funeral by Richard Peck. Its story of smalltown life on a...

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
March 7, 2005... THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION LAUREN WILLIG, READ BY KATE READING. Penguin Audio, unabridged, 12 CDs, 14 hrs., $34.95 ISBN 0-14-305732-4 It's difficult to narrate one book, much less a story within a story that spans two...

Fleshmarket Alley: An Inspector Rebus Novel.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
March 7, 2005... FLESHMARKET ALLEY IAN RANKIN, READ BY JAMES MACPHERSON. Brilliance Audio, abridged, six CDs, 7 hrs., $26.95 ISBN 159600-340-5 * This abridgement of Rankin's 15th novel about Edinburgh police investigator John Rebus ends with an interview in...

Be Cool.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
March 7, 2005... BE COOL ELMORE LEONARD, READ BY CAMPBELL SCOTT. Harper Audio, unabridged, six CDs, 7 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 0-06-077520-3 Despite the title and the cover shot of John Travolta and Urea Thurman, who star in the MGM film based on Leonard's...

The Ha-Ha.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
March 7, 2005... THE HA-HA DAVE KING, READ BY TERRY KINNEY. Time Warner AudioBooks, abridged, five CDs, 5 hrs., $29.98 ISBN 1-58621-741-0 Kinney offers a deeply genuine performance of this subtle yet affecting novel told from the perspective of Howard...

The Big Four: a Hercule Poirot Mystery.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
March 7, 2005... THE BIG FOUR: A Hercule Poirot Mystery AGATHA CHRISTIE, READ BY HUGH FRASER. AudioEditions, unabridged, five CDs, 5.5 hrs., $27.95 ISBN 1-57270-432-2 One of mystery fiction's most beloved heroes, Hercule Poirot, is brought vividly to life...

Son of a Wanted Man.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
March 7, 2005... SON OF A WANTED MAN LOUIS L'AMOUR, READ BY FULL CAST. Random House Audio, unabridged, three CDs, 3 hrs., $14.99 ISBN 0-7393-1730-X In the thrilling radio serials of yesteryear, the momentum of the tale kept listeners from imagining actors...

Forests of the Night.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
March 7, 2005... FORESTS OF THE NIGHT JAMES W. HALL, READ BY LAURAL MERLINGTON. Brilliance Audio, unabridged, eight cassettes, 11 hrs., $32.95 ISBN 1-59600-318-9 Possessing an almost supernatural ability to read people's facial expressions and body...

Space between the Stars: My Journey to an Open Heart.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
March 7, 2005... SPACE BETWEEN THE STARS: My Journey to an Open Heart DEBORAH SANTANA, READ BY THE AUTHOR. Random House Audio, abridged, five CDs, 6 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 0-7393-1684-2 "I am Carlos's wife, but I am first myself" is the message of this candid...

Finding her voice.(PW Talks with Deborah Santana)(Interview)
March 7, 2005... PW: How did you come to be the narrator of Space Between the Stars [reviewed above]? Deborah Santana: I had the idea to ask a couple of actresses, but my agent, Random House and some of the people here [at Santana Management] said I should...

Audio bestsellers.(Bibliography)
March 7, 2005... Fiction 1 The Broker (CD). John Grisham. Read by Michael Beck. Random House Audio. Five CDs, six hrs., $27.95 ISBN 0-7393-1644-3 2 The Da Vinci Code (unabr. CD). Dan Brown. Read by Paul Michael. Random House Audio. 13...

Fellowship thrives in Jerusalem: the fair's intimate setting offers unique opportunities for young professionals.
March 7, 2005... COMEDIAN GROUCHO MARX once said that he didn't want "to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members." No one who is part of the Jerusalem International Book Fair's special club--the Editorial & Agent Fellowship Program--would ever...

Bucking the odds: indie publishers tap new channels to spur growth.(Industry Overview)
March 7, 2005... HOT TOPIC, the rapidly expanding chain store specializing in music and related items for teenagers, is not the typical place Red Wheel/ Weiser sells its books. But fire New Age publisher gambled that its What Is Goth? would appeal to the...

Spring comics: PW surveys the big new books, the big movie-tie-ins and a big new trend--yaoi--in manga.
March 7, 2005... THE BIG NEWS in graphic novels this spring is that the stratospheric growth rate of manga may finally be cresting--not that Asian comics aren't still huge and getting even more so in America, but the market is becoming a bit more selective when...

Miller's double noir: 'Sin City' and 'Batman Begins'.
March 7, 2005... For the past two years, movies inspired by comics have ended up selling quite a few graphic novels and 2005 won't break the string. The first half of 2005 will see two major comics-based movies--Frank Miller's Sin City and Batman Begins...

R. Crumb is back with comics memoir.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Mr. Unnatural is back. That's right, R. Crumb, the legendary underground comics artist, will publish The R. Crumb Handbook, a fat 430-page memoir that will offer a fresh look at his life, work and endless peculiarities, both in prose and...

Crime, comics and the movies.(PW Talks with Frank Miller)(Interview)
March 7, 2005... PW: You're a big crime fiction fan. Who were the writers who inspired Sin City? Frank Miller: I can't avoid mentioning the obvious ones, like Hammett, Chandler, Spillane. It's like a bottomless treasure trove when you really get into this...

Yaoi manga: what girls like?
March 7, 2005... Although shonen-ai manga is not as popular in Japan as it used to be, yaoi, its wickedly sexy successor genre, is alive and kicking here in the States. Americans have adopted both the term yaoi and shonen-ai--which translates as "boy's...

The Coast of Akron.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... THE COAST OF AKRON ADRIENNE MILLER. Farrar, Straus Giroux, $25 (392p) ISBN 0-374-12512-0 The soul of the Haven family decays inside a massive faux Tudor dubbed On Ne Peut Pas Vivre Seul--"One Cannot Live Alone." Barraged with the spiraling...

Maps for Lost Lovers.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... MAPS FOR LOST LOVERS NADEEM ASLAM. Knopf, $25 (384p) ISBN 1-4000-4242-9 In this poignant, lushly written novel, Aslam (Season of the Rainbirds) explores the interwoven lives of Pakistani immigrants in an English town they have rechristened...

Thirty-Three Swoons.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... THIRTY-THREE SWOONS MARTHA-COOLEY. Little, Brown, $23.95 (320p) ISBN 0-316-15901-8 Cooley (The Archivist) delivers a craftily plotted, multilayered Manhattan adventure involving the incongruous intersection between an American perfumer and...

Junior Ray.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... JUNIOR RAY JOHN PRITCHARD. NewSouth, $23.95 (150p) ISBN 1-58838-111-0 Mississippi state tourist officials won't be handing this book out anytime soon, though they might be surprised by its effectiveness if they did. Pritchard's hilariously...

Wasted Beauty.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... WASTED BEAUTY ERIC BOGOSIAN. Simon & Schuster, $24 (256p) ISBN 0-7472-3588-6 Actor Bogosian (Mall) takes the "opposites attract" conceit to an extreme in a well-crafted novel that's also a vicarious walk on the wild side. Before he crashes...

Before Elvis There Was Nothing.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... BEFORE ELVIS THERE WAS NOTHING LAURIE FOOS. Coffee House, $14 paper (145p) ISBN 1-56689-168-X Absurdist characters in surreal situations populate Foos's spare fifth novel, which despite its comedic charms, derails in a confused jumble of...

The Missing Person.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... THE MISSING PERSON ALIX OHLIN. Knopf, $22.95 (304p) ISBN 0-375-41524-6 Although the title makes this sound like a mystery, it is a knowing and witty take on family ties, the politics of art and academia, and eco-terrorism. When art history...

Let It Rain Coffee.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... LET IT RAIN COFFEE ANGIE CRUZ. Simon & Schuster, $22 (256p) ISBN 0-7432-1203-7 An immigrant family is tested by a series of problems in this unsentimental American dream story by Cruz (Soledad). Heavily influenced by American television,...

Sudden Death.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... SUDDEN DEATH DAVID ROSENFELT. Mysterious, $23.95 (320p) ISBN 0-89296-783-8 * Edgar-finalist Rosenfelt scores another touchdown with his fourth Andy Carpenter novel (after 2004's Bury the Lead) and proves he's in the game to stay. Andy's...

Breath and Bones.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... BREATH AND BONES SUSAN COKAL. Unbridled (www.unbridledbooks.com), $23.95 (416p) ISBN 1-932961-06-2 This steamy historical novel (Cokal's second, after Mirabilis) chronicles the adventures--sexual and otherwise--of its consumptive,...

The Fifth Season.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... THE FIFTH SEASON DON BREDES. Three Rivers, $12 paper (308p) ISBN 0-609-60688-3 The idea of the big city cop who accidentally kills his partner and then shakes up his life by going back to his rural hometown receives fresh treatment in...

Andy in the endzone.(PW Talks with David Rosenfelt)(Interview)
March 7, 2005... PW: In Sudden Death [see review p. 48] the wickedly witty Andy Carpenter defends an NFL star accused of killing another football player. Is there a lot of David Rosenfelt in Andy Carpenter? David Rosenfelt: I'm afraid so. We share a warped...

The Innocent.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... THE INNOCENT HARLAN COBEN. Dutton, $26.91; (416p) ISBN 0-525-94874-0 Coben seems to delight in making bad things happen to good people (Tell No One; Gone for Good; etc.), and he does it again in this, his best book to date. A paralegal,...

Bleedout.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... BLEEDOUT JOAN BRADY. Touchstone, $24.95 (384p) ISBN 0-7432-7008-8 Whitbread Award-winning novelist Brady (Theory of War) has crafted an action-packed, densely woven thriller set in Springfield, Ill., about a blind attorney and the young man...

Trial By Fire.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... TRIAL BY FIRE D.W. BUFFA. Putnam, $24.95 (304p) ISBN 0-399-15281-4 In this intelligent, gripping legal thriller, the latest in Buffa's Edgar-nominated series to feature San Francisco DA Joseph Antonelli (The Defense, etc.), Antonelli agrees...

Small Island.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... SMALL ISLAND ANDREA LEVY. Picador, $14 paper (448p) ISBN 0-312-42467-1 * After winning the Orange Prize and the Whitbread Book of the Year Award, Levy's captivating fourth novel sweeps into a U.S. edition with much-deserved literary...

No Man's Land.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... NO MAN'S LAND DUONG THU HUONG, TRANS. FROM THE VIETNAMESE BY NINA MCPHERSON AND PHAN HUY DUONG. Hyperion, $24.95 (416p) ISBN 1-4013-6664-3 Acclaimed author and political dissident Huong (Memories of a Pure Spring, etc.) takes a hard look...

Mother of Sorrows.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... MOTHER OF SORROWS RICHARD MCCANN. Pantheon, $20 (208p) ISBN 0-679-41176-3 Though it is a work of fiction, this slim volume of interconnected stories--a collection 18 years in the making by the codirector of the graduate program in creative...

The Last Masquerade.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... THE LAST MASQUERADE ANTONIO ORLANDO RODRIGUEZ, TRANS. FROM THE SPANISH BY ERNESTO MESTRE-REED. HarperCollins/Rayo, $24.95 (480p) ISBN 0-06-058632-X Like a circus barker, Rodriguez touts 1920s Latin America in an ambitious tome, featuring a...

The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... THE BOY WHO LOVED ANNE FRANK ELLEN FELDMAN. Norton, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 0-393-05944-8 Feldman (Lucy) pens a deeply affecting, unsettling look into the soul of a man whose attempts to bury his past cannot prevent it from seeping into his...

In Dahlia's Wake.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... IN DAHLIA'S WAKE YONA ZELDIS MCDONOUGH. Doubleday, $23.95 (304p) ISBN 0-385-50362-8 Infidelity serves as both consolation and punishment in this domestic drama by McDonough (The Four Temperaments) about a Brooklyn couple who try to piece...

A Thousand Tomorrows.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... A THOUSAND TOMORROWS KAREN KINGSBURY. Warner/Center Street, $18.95 (246p) ISBN 0-446-52967-2 Kingsbury, a CBA bestselling author, delivers her signature mix of melodrama, formula and genuine emotional punch in this novel about two young...

The Dwelling Place.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... THE DWELLING PLACE ELIZABETH MUSSER. Bethany, $12.99 paper (400p) ISBN 0-7642-2926-5 In this enjoyable, somewhat complicated sequel to The Swan House, Musser continues the tragedy-scarred story of artist Mary Swan Middleton through the...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
March 7, 2005... Correction: In the review of Gods in Alabama (Forecasts, Feb. 28), the name of the agent, Jacques de Spoelberch, was spelled incorrectly.

War's End: Profiles from Bosnia 1995-96.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... WAR'S END: Profiles from Bosnia 1995-96 JOE SACCO. Drawn & Quarterly, $14.95 (80p) ISBN 1-896597-92-0 * These two stories by Sacco bookend his definitive works of comics journalism on the Bosnian War, The Fixer and Safe Area Gorazde. Like...

Pacific Bound: the Adventures of Lewis & Clark.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 7, 2005... PACIFIC BOUND: The Adventures of Lewis & Clark LAURI OLSEN AND TOONZ ANIMATION. Gossamer, $15.95 (44p) ISBN 0-9742502-5-2 Although short in page count, this educational graphic novel is quite wordy. On top of that, its tone is fiat: events...