Publishers Weekly articles from May 2004

Publishers Weekly archives from May 2004

'PW' Confab: new mindset needed: speakers advocate trying new methods to increase sales, improve margins.(news)
May 3, 2004... THE NEED TO CHALLENGE the status quo was one of the themes discussed at Publishers Weekly's second annual Industry Summit. Held April 26 in New York City, the event was sponsored by Phoenix Color Corp. and featured speakers from the publishing,...

To the summit.(Publishers Weekly)
May 3, 2004... Approximately 200 people from all segments of the publishing industry attended PW's second annual publishing summit, held last week in New York (see story above). Preparing for the day's events are Lou LaSorsa, chairman, Phoenix Color Corp.;...

Clinton memoir set for June.(News)(Bill Clinton)
May 3, 2004... KNOPF ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK that it will release former President Bill Clinton's memoir in late June. And BookExpo America officials said Clinton will give the keynote address at this year's show. Knopf has set a 1.5 million-copy first...

Holtzbrinck wins Roaring Brook.(Acquisition)(Holtzbrinck Publishers)(Roaring Brook Press)
May 3, 2004... HOLTZBRINCK PUBLISHERS FOUGHT off a bid by Random House to acquire Roaring Brook Press. The Bridgeport, Conn., court overseeing the bankruptcy of Roaring Brook's parent, Millbrook Press, approved the deal last week, and the final closing was...

Solid sales gains at Amazon, B&N.com.(First-Quarter Results)(Barnes & Noble.com Inc.)
May 3, 2004... AMAZON.COM AND Barnes & Noble.com both reported stronger first-quarter sales gains in 2004 over the same period of 2003. Net sales at B&N.com rose 8.4%, to $114.9 million, and the company reduced its net loss to $9.8 million from $13.1...

Words Distributing to close.(No Deal)
May 3, 2004... WORDS DISTRIBUTING Company's hopes of finding a new buyer came to an end last week when a Northern California bankruptcy court judge rejected the sale of the company's exclusive distribution contracts. A hearing on the formal termination of the...

Shorter reviews among possible NYTBR changes.(New Times)(New York Times Book Review)
May 3, 2004... The New York Times Book Review is rethinking its design and content and may decide to shrink some reviews from their typical length of about 1,400 words. "Janet [Maslin] and Michi [Kakutani] review books very thoroughly in 700 or 800...

AMS gets new credit line.(Finance)(Advanced Marketing Services Inc.)
May 3, 2004... IN ITS FIRST significant actions since taking the helm of Advanced Marketing Services in April, the new management team has signed a new lending agreement. The five-year deal, with Wells Fargo Foothill, provides AMS with a $60-million credit...

Courier counting on strong second half.(Second-Quarter Results)
May 3, 2004... DESPITE A SECOND consecutive quarter in which results did not quite hit expectations, executives at Courier Corp. said they still believe the company will meet its sales and earnings goals for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004. The...

Sells, cuts & eats.(news)(Lynne Truss)
May 3, 2004... Penguin's Gotham Books imprint threw a party for Lynne Truss, author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves, the bestselling book (in the U.K. and the U.S.) on punctuation. Truss slices cake while Gotham publisher Bill Shinker looks on.

Revenue up 6% at M-H Education.(First-Quarter Results)(McGraw-Hill Education. McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media)
May 3, 2004... SALES AT McGraw-Hill Education increased 6.4%, to $278.2 million, for the 2003 first quarter ended Marcia 31, while the company's operating loss was reduced to $68.8 million from $70.1 million. The increase was led by an 8.6% gain in the school...

Sterling adds to B&N sales.(Notes from the 10-K)(Barnes & Noble Inc.)
May 3, 2004... The addition of sales from Sterling Publishing combined with sales from the Calendar Club resulted in a 71% increase in revenue in Barnes & Noble's "other" segment in 2003, Barnes & Noble reported in its year-end filing with the Securities and...

Airie Stuart joins Palgrave Macmillan.(People)
May 3, 2004... AIRIE STUART has been named editorial director and head of trade in the scholarly and reference division at Palgrave Macmillan (USA). Stuart, who served as executive editor at John Wiley for four years, told PW that while she was named to...

Tina Brown writing for Random.(hot deals)(Random House Inc.)
May 3, 2004... The former editor of Vanity Fair, the New Yorker and Talk is writing a nonfiction book for Random House, where her husband, Harold Evans, used to hold sway. It's to be called The Icarus Complex and was signed for North American rights only by...

Mideast expert on 'Jihadists'.(hot deals)(The Jihadists: Unholy Warriors)(Fawaz Gerges)
May 3, 2004... A Lebanese-born Middle East expert familiar to TV viewers, Fawaz Gerges, is writing a book about fighters in the jihad, Muslim extremists opposed to the West, and it was Tim Bent's first buy in his new spot at Harcourt. The book, The Jihadists:...

Feynman letters bought at Basic.(hot deals)(Richard P. Feynman)(Basic Books Inc.)
May 3, 2004... A trove of never-published letters by the late Nobel physics laureate and popular author Richard P. Feynman has been gathered together by his daughter Michelle, and Basic Books editor Megan Hustad has signed to publish them. The legendary...

Eleni Gage, the granddaughter of the Eleni who appeared in that bestselling title by her father, Nicholas Gage, has now written her own book, about her return to the Greek village where her forebears suffered 40 years ago.(Short Takes)
May 3, 2004... Eleni Gage, the granddaughter of the Eleni who appeared in that bestselling title by her father, Nicholas Gage, has now written her own book, about her return to the Greek village where her forebears suffered 40 years ago. Another...

New Penguin imprint Chamberlain Bros. has bought its first hardcover title, a bio of diet guru Dr. Robert Atkins by author-journalist Lisa Rogak.(Short Takes)
May 3, 2004... New Penguin imprint Chamberlain Bros. has bought its first hardcover title, a bio of diet guru Dr. Robert Atkins by author-journalist Lisa Rogak. Editor Anna Cowles bought North American rights to Dr. Robert Atkins: The True Story of the Man...

Political thriller author Vince Flynn, whose contemporary novels starring antiterrorism operative Mitch Rapp have been bestsellers for Atria and Pocket, has signed with those houses for four more titles.(Short Takes)
May 3, 2004... Political thriller author Vince Flynn, whose contemporary novels starring antiterrorism operative Mitch Rapp have been bestsellers for Atria and Pocket, has signed with those houses for four more titles. The world rights plus audio deal was...

Villard's editorial director Bruce Tracy signed a new two-novel deal with Bret Lott, whose A Song I Knew by Heart is just out.(Short Takes)
May 3, 2004... Villard's editorial director Bruce Tracy signed a new two-novel deal with Bret Lott, whose A Song I Knew by Heart is just out. The first of the new books, Ancient Highway, will share some characters with his Jewel and the North American rights...

The third book in a YA trilogy by Isabel Allende that began with City of the Beasts in 2003 was signed by Terry Karten at HarperCollins.(Short Takes)(Forest of the Pygmies)
May 3, 2004... The third book in a YA trilogy by Isabel Allende that began with City of the Beasts in 2003 was signed by Terry Karten at HarperCollins. It's called Forest of the Pygmies, with an English-language edition coming from the children's division and...

The Yellow Submarine Picture Book.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... A new children's picture book starring the Yellow Submarine made famous by the Beatles record and animated movie is on its way to an August pub date on both sides of the Atlantic. The Yellow Submarine Picture Book is produced by the group's...

Viz switches to Simon & Schuster for distribution.(More Manga)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... IN A MOVE THAT will bolster manga's growing presence in the bookstore market, Viz announced that it is switching its U.S. distribution to Simon & Schuster from Publishers Group West, its U.S. distributor since 1991. Effective June 1, the...

DC Comics brings U.K. graphic novels to U.S.(Licensing)(Rebellion)
May 3, 2004... FOLLOWING A JANUARY deal with French graphic novel publisher Humanoids, DC Comics has acquired the North American publication rights to comics material from U.K. comics publisher Rebellion. Paul Levitz, president and publisher of DC Comics,...

Woodward's 10th hit.(behind the bestsellers)(Bob Woodward)
May 3, 2004... It's not surprise that Bob Woodward's latest #1 bestseller, Plan of Attack, is also his fastest selling book ever (he has had 10 bestsellers over the last 30 years). Politics has been the hot category in the past year or two, and with the war...

Courage marks the spot.(behind the bestsellers)(Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life)
May 3, 2004... Arizona Sen. John McCain's two bestselling memoirs written with Mark Salter, Faith of My Fathers and Worth the Fighting For, chronicle his Vietnam War experiences and his many years as a prisoner of war. His new bestseller, Why Courage Matters:...

His plate is full.(behind the bestsellers)(The Full Cupboard of Life)
May 3, 2004... Alexander McCall Smith's newest title in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, The Full Cupboard of Life, lands on our hardcover fiction list in the #8 spot, with more than 150,000 copies in print. Pantheon notes that the five books in the...

Fiction long lifers.(behind the bestsellers)
May 3, 2004... Two first novels that had very impressive runs in their hardcover editions now begin their trade paperback tenure. Landing in the #3 spot this week is The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, which had a 65-week hardcover run; it had 27 printings, for...

Oprah's 50th pick.(behind the bestsellers)
May 3, 2004... Back in 1940, 23-year-old Carson McCullers became an overnight literary sensation with her first novel, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. Houghton Mifflin reports that the book has sold over a million copies, in various editions, in the years...

Viner out at New Millennium.(Change)(Michael Viner)
May 3, 2004... MICHAEL VINER has departed New Millennium as part of a bankruptcy-court agreement, and a trustee has been appointed to oversee the company in his place. The trustee, whose identity was not known at press time, will determine whether to continue...

More than a book fair: on BEA weekend, Printers Row Book Fair celebrates its 20th anniversary.(bookselling)(BookExpo America)
May 3, 2004... Chicago is going to be the center of the universe when it comes to books and authors the first week in June. Not only will publishers, authors, media, booksellers and everybody else associated with the book industry descend upon McCormick...

Joseph-Beth's new gift card and Web look.(Changes)
May 3, 2004... The Cincinnati-based Joseph-Beth Group is kicking offspring by introducing corporate gift cards and redesigned Web sites for its six stores in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. According to Michele Sulka, the group's v-p for marketing, the two...

Spotlight on Kentucky authors.(Changes)
May 3, 2004... Z.Z. Packer (Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, Riverhead), Fenton Johnson (Keeping Faith, Houghton Mifflin), and Charles Semones (Afternoon in the Country of Summer, Wind Publications) were announced as the winners of this year's $1,000 Kentucky...

Batter up! New baseball audiobooks step up to the plate.(Audio)
May 3, 2004... Baseball season is just under way, and fans have home runs, star players, great games (and perhaps peanuts, Crackerjacks and suspected steroid use) on the brain. But away from the ballpark, the season also ushers in a strong roster of audiobook...

Deja vu all over again.(PW Talks with Yogi Berra)(Interview)
May 3, 2004... Yogi Berra surely must have felt like he was living one of his most famous quotes as he prepared the introduction for Yogi Berra's Favorite Baseball Radio Shows. The former New York Yankee star recently answered some questions about his latest...

BEA, Audiobook Month events set.(Ready to Roll)(Book Expo America)
May 3, 2004... The Audio Publishers Association has finalized details for its extensive programming during the Book Expo America convention and planned for its annual June Is Audiobook Month industry awareness campaign. The Audio Publishers Association...

The Priestly Sins.(Audiobook Review)
May 3, 2004... THE PRIESTLY SINS ANDREW M. GREELEY, READ BY OLIVER WYMAN. Audio Renaissance, abridged, five CDs, 6 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 1-59397-408-6 In an interview at the end of this audiobook, sociologist and priest Greeley confesses that the idea for...

The Confession.(Audiobook Review)
May 3, 2004... THE CONFESSION OLEN STEINHAUER, READ BY ROBERTSON DEAN. Blackstone Audiobooks, unabridged, eight cassettes, 10.5 hrs., $35.95 ISBN 0-7861-2657-4 Ferenc Kolyeszar, the main character in this sharp tale of murder, political intrigue and...

So 5 Minutes Ago.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
May 3, 2004... SO 5 MINUTES AGO HILARY DE VRIES, READ BY LAURA HAMILTON. Listen & Live Audio, abridged, five CDs, 6 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 1-59316-022-4 Containing all the guilty pleasure of a fluffy beach read, this lighthearted debut novel from veteran...

The Last Juror.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
May 3, 2004... THE LAST JUROR JOHN GRISHAM, READ BY MICHAEL BECK. Random House Audio, unabridged, 10 CDs, 12 hrs., $59.95 ISBN 0-7393-0901-3 Longhaired 23-year-old college dropout Willie Traynor purchased a bankrupt Mississippi newspaper, The Ford County...

The Zero Game.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
May 3, 2004... THE ZERO GAME BRAD MELTZER, READ BY SCOTT BRICK. Time Warner Audiobooks, unabridged, 10 cassettes, 13 hrs., $44.98 ISBN 1-58621-604-X * After just a few chapters, Meltzer's latest (after The Millionaires) completely throws the listener for...

Death By Meeting: a Leadership Fable.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... DEATH BY MEETING: A Leadership Fable PATRICK LENCIONI, READ BY JACK ARTHUR. Audio Renaissance, unabridged, four CDs, 5.25 hrs., $22.95 ISBN 1-59397-441-8 The business meeting--a necessary evil or a vital and invigorating component of...

Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... AGAINST ALL ENEMIES: Inside America's War on Terror RICHARD A. CLARKE, READ BY THE AUTHOR. Simon & Schuster Audio, abridged, four cassettes, 6 hrs., $26 ISBN 0-7435-3637-1 A few bars of heavy, ominous-sounding orchestral music set the tone...

Bobby Fischer Goes to War.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
May 3, 2004... BOBBY FISCHER GOES TO WAR DAVID EDMONDS AND JOHN EIDINOW, READ BY SAM TSOUTSOUVAS. Harper Audio, unabridged, eight cassettes, 11 hrs., $34.95 ISBN 0-06-059190-0 Tsoutsouvas turns in a steady, suitably understated performance of this...

Audio Bestsellers.
May 3, 2004... Fiction [1] The Da Vinci Code (abr. CD). Dan Brown. Read by Colin Stinton. Random House Audio. Five CDs, six hours, $29.95 ISBN 0-7393-0204-34 [2] Glorious Appearing (unabr.). Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. ...

Bookseller of the year: A. David Schwartz, Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops, Milwaukee, Wis.(BEA 2004)
May 3, 2004... TALK ABOUT NEW beginnings. Last May, A. David Schwartz, owner of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops, which has four stores in and around Milwaukee, was diagnosed with lung cancer. The illness was as surprising as it was sudden--Schwartz is not a...

Rep of the Year: Jason Gobble: the Penguin rep from Nashville flies high.(BEA 2004)(Biography)
May 3, 2004... JASON IS SARCASTIC AS HECK," says Michele Sulka, v-p for marketing and communications of Joseph-Beth Booksellers, who, with Jen Reynolds, is hosting PW and Jason Gobble for coffee at the company's corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. "So...

Celebrating in Chicago.
May 3, 2004... AFTER VISITING BOTH coasts, BookExpo America is back in Chicago for the first time since 2001. Some say familiarity breeds contempt, but most attendees PW spoke with were glad to be headed back to the Windy City. Former President Bill...

Galleys to grab: our annual preview of the hottest giveaways at BEA.(Bibliography)
May 3, 2004... AFTER SLOW FICTION sales last year, publishers are hoping their BEA offerings will rebound this fall--though that's far from certain in an election year where nonfiction is ruling the airwaves. Still, our annual preview of the show's hottest...

Convention schedule & information.(Calendar)
May 3, 2004... Note: Some workshops and non-BEA, non-ABA meetings charge admission and require advance registration. If a phone number is listed, please call for more information, reservations and tickets. Unless otherwise indicated, all events will be held...

Working the floor.(AAA Publishing-Elsevier Health Sciences)
May 3, 2004... AAA PUBLISHING Featured: new AAA Essential Guides series titles, including Australia, Dominican Republic, England, London, New Zealand, Rome, Scotland, Tuscany and Florence; Traveling with Your Pet: The AAA Petbook (6th edition); 2004 AAA...

Working the floor.(Emida Int'l Publishing-Lobster Press)(Bibliography)
May 3, 2004... EMIDA INT'L PUBLISHING Booth: PSP4554. EMMA TREEHOUSE Exbibiting with Publishers Assn. (U.K.). Featured: novelty concept books for preschoolers. Booth: 414. EMMIS BOOKS This first-time exhibitor is a nonfiction publisher....

Working the floor.(Lodima Press Books-Sanctuary Publishing)
May 3, 2004... LODIMA PRESS BOOKS This first-time exhibitor publishes high-quality photography books, and makes them available at reasonable prices. Featured: Edward Weston by Edward Weston, Sarah Lowe and Dody Weston Thompson; Tuscany: Wandering the...

Working the floor.(S&C Trading Ltd.-YMAA Publication Center)
May 3, 2004... S&C TRADING LTD. Booth: 663. S&L SALES Booth: 860. SANDS PUBLISHING Booth: 3505. SANDVIK INNOVATIONS/ GOBO PUBLISHING This first-time exhibitor offers children's books and sound books (newborn to early reader);...

The Good Nanny.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... THE GOOD NANNY BENJAMIN CHEEVER. Bloomsbury, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 1-58234-122-2 The perfect nanny exposes the shortcomings of her not-so-perfect employers in his scathing satire by Cheever, author of the memoir Selling Ben Cheever and three...

Garden of Beasts.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... GARDEN OF BEASTS JEFFERY DEAVER. Simon t5 Schuster, $24.95 (432p) ISBN 0-7432-2201-6 * Deaver fans expect the unexpected from this prodigiously talented thriller writer, and the creator of the Lincoln Rhyme series and other memorable yarns...

A Movie and a Book.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... A MOVIE AND A BOOK DANIEL WAGNER. Knopf, $17.95 (128p) ISBN 1-400-04188-0 Story one in this convoluted, philosophically dense novella concerns a hen-pecked struggling writer who wishes he could dispense with commercially necessary plot...

The Madman's Tale.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... THE MADMAN'S TALE JOHN KATZENBACH. Ballantine, $24.95 (4.32p) ISBN 0-345-46481-8 * The conceit of this impossible-to-put-down thriller--the story of the hunt for a serial killer-rapist who has concealed himself among a psychiatric asylum's...

Reproduction is the Flaw of Love.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... REPRODUCTION IS THE FLAW OF LOVE LAUREN GRODSTEIN. Dial, $23 (224p) ISBN 0-385-33770-1 Grodstein's first novel (after 2002's collection The Best of Animals) is a sweet, honest account of the life and loves of 20-something Joel Miller. It's...

Truth be Told.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... TRUTH BE TOLD VICTORIA CHRISTOPHER MURRAY. Touchstone, $14 paper (464p) ISBN 0-7432-5567-4 This is not your mother's faith fiction. Murray knows how to make the sex scenes sizzle in her latest novel about Christians and the power of...

Resistance.(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... RESISTANCE BARRY LOPEZ. Knopf, $18 (176p) ISBN 1-4000-4220-8 Lopez, author of the National Book Award-winning Arctic Dreams and numerous other works of fiction and nonfiction (Light Action in the Caribbean; Of Wolves and Men; etc.),...

My Nine Lives: Chapters of a Possible Past.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... MY NINE LIVES: Chapters of a Possible Past RUTH PRAWER JHABVALA. Shoemaker & Hoard, $24 (288p) ISBN 1-59376-028-0 After 17 books thorny with existential and intellectual issues, Jhabvala has unleashed her imagination to rewrite her own...

Transmission.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... TRANSMISSION HARI KUNZRU. Dutton, $24.95 (288p) ISBN 0-5259-4760-4 * With this taut and entertaining novel, London native Kunzru paints a satirized but unsettlingly familiar tableau in which his alienated characters communicate via e-mail...

The Hollywood Dodo.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... THE HOLLYWOOD DODO GEOFF NICHOLSON. Simon & Schuster, $23 (304p) ISBN 0-7432-5779-0 An extinct 17th-century flightless bird is at the heart of Nicholson's strained 15th novel, which follows three very different men from different times in...

Loverboy.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... LOVERBOY MICHELE JAFFE. Ballantine, $14.95 paper (448p) ISBN 0-345-45923-7 A consensual union between a lustful young lady and a nameless stud kicks off this clunky thriller by Jaffe (Bad Girl, etc.), in which a serial killer taunts the...

Monday Mourning.(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... MONDAY MOURNING KATHY REICHS. Scribner, $25 (320p) ISBN 0-7432-3347-6 Forensic scientist Tempe Brennan isn't happy: it's freezing in Montreal, her detective boyfriend is giving her the cold shoulder and her macho colleagues won't take her...

The Splitting Storm.(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... THE SPLITTING STORM RENE GUTTERIDGE. Tyndale, $12.99 paper (360p) ISBN 0-8423-8602-5 Gutteridge launches her new trilogy with style in this first installment, which offers fast-paced suspense and some intriguing insight into the world of...

Old Boys.(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... OLD BOYS CHARLES MCCARRY. Overlook, $25.95 (480p) ISBN 1-58567-545-8 McCarry is another ace spy novelist from the past to whom Overlook's Peter Mayer is giving a new lease on life (as with Robert Littell's The Company two years ago). Both...

Under the Boardwalk.(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... UNDER THE BOARDWALK CARLY PHILLIPS. Warner, $18.95 (288p) ISBN 0-446-53237-1 Ariana Costas, the heroine of Phillips's (The Heartbreaker, etc.) featherweight confection, is a Jersey girl with a wacky family who quickly gets caught up in...

Mortal Love.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... MORTAL LOVE ELIZABETH HAND. Morrow, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 0-06-105170-5 * Hand (Black Light) explores the theme of artistic inspiration and its dangerous devolvement into obsession and madness through three interwoven narrative threads in...

The View from Delphi.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... THE VIEW FROM DELPHI JONATHAN ODELL. MacAdam/Cage, $24 (515p) ISBN 1-931561-68-0 Prejudice threatens to tear apart a small Mississippi town during the 1950s in Odell's first novel, a well-told but familiar and slow-moving story about a...

New Stories from the South: the Year's Best 2004.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... NEW STORIES FROM THE SOUTH: The Year's Best 2004 EDITED BY SHANNON RAVENEL, PREFACE BY TIM GAUTREAUX. Algonquin, $13.95 paper (352p) ISBN 1-56512-432-4 Like last year's edition, the 19th installment of this annual showcase of Southern...

Tastes Like Chicken.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... TASTES LIKE CHICKEN LOLITA FILES. Simon & Schuster, $22 (288p) ISBN 0-7432-4525-3 Sizzling high drama unfolds as Files revisits the lives and loves of two African-American best girlfriends previously featured in Scenes from a Sistah and...

Ordinary Wolves.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... ORDINARY WOLVES SETH KANTNER. Milkweed, $22 (312p) ISBN 1-57131-044-4 * In the small but growing genre of ecological fiction, the great challenge is to balance political and environmental agendas with engrossing storytelling. This riveting...

Dancing Arabs.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... DANCING ARABS SAYED KASHUA, TRANS. FROM THE HEBREW BY MIRIAM SHLESINGER. Grove, $12 paper (240p) ISBN 0-8021-4126-9 Kashua resists stereotype in this slyly subversive, semi-autobiographical account of Arab Israeli life, telling the story of...

Miriam the Medium.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... MIRIAM THE MEDIUM ROCHELLE JEWEL SHAPIRO. Simon & Schuster, $23 (320p) ISBN 0-7432-4478-8 If, round about page 40, you want to tell Miriam Kaminsky to stuff it up her aura, you're in good company. Her pharmacist husband, Rory, has had it...

A Certain Chemistry.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... A CERTAIN CHEMISTRY MIL MILLINGTON. Villard, $13.95 paper (384p) ISBN 0-8129-6667-8 A British ghostwriter fades romantic temptation in Millington's sharp, hilarious second novel. Native Brit Tom Cartwright is a funny, slightly...

Little Black Book of Stories.(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF STORIES A.S. BYATT. Knopf, $21 (240p) ISBN 1-4000-4177-5 * From secret agonies to improper desires and the unthinkable, this slyly titled collection touches on more than a little bit of darkness. Booker Prize-winning...

Here Kitty Kitty.(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... HERE KITTY KITTY JARDINE LIBAIRE. Little, Brown, $22.95 (224p) ISBN 0-316-73688-0 They say the best nonfiction reads like fiction. But is the reverse also true? It would seem so after reading this gorgeously written debut novel, whose...

The Night She Died.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... THE NIGHT SHE DIED JENNIFER PATRICK. Soho, $24 (336p) ISBN 1-56947-363-3 Love leads to murder in this moody, luminous debut set in modern-day Georgia. Grief stricken by the sudden death of her boyfriend in an auto accident, 30-year-old...

The News from Paraguay.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... THE NEWS FROM PARAGUAY LILY TUCK. HarperCollins, $23.95 (256p) ISBN 0-06-620944-7 Beautiful Ella Lynch left her native Ireland at 10 and married a French officer at 15; by 19, she is divorced, living with a Russian count and struggling to...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
May 3, 2004... Mia Yun's Translations of Beauty is not her debut novel, as stated in the PW review (Forecasts, April 19); her first novel was House of the Winds.

The Filth.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... THE FILTH GRANT MORRISON, CHRIS WESTON AND GARY ERKSINE. DC/Vertigo, $19.95 paper (304p) ISBN 1-4012-0013-3 The mutant child of Alan Moore, Terence McKenna and Robert Anton Wilson, Morrison has emerged as one of only a handful of comics...

Mister O.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 3, 2004... MISTER O LEWIS TRONDHEIM. NBM, $12.95 (32p) ISBN 1-56163-382-8 * There couldn't be a simpler premise than the one that drives every one of this book's 30 cartoons of 60 tiny, wordless panels apiece: Mr. O is a tiny geometrical stick figure...