Publishers Weekly articles from May 2009, page 5

Publishers Weekly archives from May 2009

Hiding in the Spotlight: A Musical Prodigy's Story of Survival, 1941-1946.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Hiding in the Spotlight: A Musical Prodigy's Story of Survival, 1941-1946 Greg Dawson. Pegasus (Norton, dist.), $25 (288p) ISBN 978-1-60598-045-4 In this remarkable recreation of the WWII years, Dawson, a columnist at the Orlando...

An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town David Farley. Gotham, $25 (304p) ISBN 978-1592-40454-4 Until one mysterious day in 1983, the foreskin of Jesus--once one of the Catholic...

Black Tooth Grin: The High Life, Good Times, and Tragic End of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Black Tooth Grin: The High Life, Good Times, and Tragic End of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott Zach Crain. Da Capo, $15.95 paper (240p) ISBN 978-0-306-81524-9 Darrell Abbott, known to fans of rock band Pantera as "Dimebag Darrell," was...

Year of the Cock: The Remarkable True Account of a Married Man Who Left His Wife and Paid the Price.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Year of the Cock: The Remarkable True Account of a Married Man Who Left His Wife and Paid the Price Alan Wieder. Grand Central, $23.99 (316p) ISBN 978-0-446-58216-2 In this raucous, shallow, "87% true" memoir, Wieder, producer...

Recently reviewed online.
May 11, 2009... Nonfiction Cheek by Jowl: Talks and Essays on How and why Fantasy Matters Ursula K. Le Guin. Aqueduct (www.aqueductpress.com), May Haunting Museums: The Strange and Uncanny Stories Behind the Most Mysterious Exhibits John Schuster. Forge,...

Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo?: And Other Questions I Wish I Never Had to Ask.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo?: And Other Questions I Wish I Never Had to Ask Jancee Dunn. Villard, $14 paper (224p) ISBN 978-0-345-50192-9 Dunn's travails will be instantly recognizable to readers in their late 30s and 40s--a...

We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel According to U2.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel According to U2 Greg Garrett. Westminster John Knox, $16.95 paper (176p) ISBN 978-0-664-23217-7 U2 may be the most popular rock band in the world, but unlike the Beatles' John Lennon, they never...

The Friends We Keep: Row to Hold On, When to Let Go, and the Essence of Friendship.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... The Friends We Keep: Row to Hold On, When to Let Go, and the Essence of Friendship Sarah Zacharias Davis. WaterBrook, $12.99 paper (224p) ISBN 978-1-4000-7424-2 Evangelical Christian author Davis (Transparent) has created a...

I Can't See God ... Because I'm in the Way: Getting Beyond Self-Centered Religion to a Passionate Faith.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... I Can't See God... Because I'm in the Way: Getting Beyond Self-Centered Religion to a Passionate Faith Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz. Harvest House, $13.99 paper (224p) ISBN 978-0-7369-2619-5 Through this companion book to I'm...

Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge Dallas Willard. HarperOne, $24.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-06-088244-0 In prose that is both decisive and austere, Willard (The Spirit of the Disciplines) throws down the gauntlet...

Finding the Quiet: Four Simple Steps to Peace and Contentment--Without Spending the Rest of Your Life on a Mountaintop.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Finding the Quiet: Four Simple Steps to Peace and Contentment--Without Spending the Rest of Your Life on a Mountaintop Paul Wilson. Tarcher, $16.95 (256p) ISBN 9781-58542-705-5 Sometimes styled the "guru of calm," meditation...

Jesus and Prayer: What the New Testament Teaches Us.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Jesus and Prayer: What the New Testament Teaches Us Daniel J. Harrington. The Word Among Us (Ingram/Spring Arbor, dist.), $10.95 paper (128p) ISBN 978-1-59325-153-6 Harrington, chairman of biblical studies at Weston Jesuit School...

The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children Stormie Omartian. Harvest House, $13.99 paper (224p) ISBN 978-0-7369-2086-5 Omartian offers a follow-up to her million-plus seller The Power of a Praying Parent, focusing this time on...

Believer, Beware: First-Person Dispatches from the Margins of Faith.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Believer, Beware: First-Person Dispatches from the Margins of Faith Edited by Jeff Sharlet, Peter Manseau and the editors of Killing the Buddha. Beacon, $16 paper (288p) ISBN 978-0-8070-7739-9 This is the second collection of...

The Evolution of God.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... The Evolution of God Robert Wright. Little, Brown, $25.99 (576p) ISBN 978-0-316-73491-2 In his illuminating book, The Moral Animal, Wright introduced evolutionary psychology and examined the ways that the morality of individuals might...

Does God Hate Women?(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Does God Hate Women? Ophelia Benson and Jeremy Stangroom. Continuum, $24.95 (192p) ISBN 978-0-8264-9826-7 Frequent coauthors Benson and Stangroom (Why Truth Matters) theorize that God is against women, recounting in their short book...

The New Jew: An Unexpected Conversion.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... The New Jew: An Unexpected Conversion Sally Srok Friedes. O Books (NBN, dist.), $19.95 paper (256p) ISBN 978-1-84694-189-4 This easy-to-read memoir describes how a Catholic girl from Milwaukee came to New York, married a well-to-do Jew...

Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl: Wide-Eyed Wonder in God's Spoken World.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl: Wide-Eyed Wonder in God's Spoken World N.D. Wilson. Thomas Nelson, $14.99 paper (224p) ISBN 978-0-7852-2884-4 Hold your breath and throw your hands in the air! This theological ride thrills with a...

A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church: Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church: Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland. Eerdmans, $35 (384p) ISBN 978-0-8028-6382-9 When Weakland resigned as Milwaukee archbishop in 2002 after revelations of a past homosexual...

Wrestling with Our Inner Angels: Faith, Mental Illness, and the Journey to Wholeness.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Wrestling with Our Inner Angels: Faith, Mental Illness, and the Journey to Wholeness Nancy Kehoe. Jossey-Bass, $24.95 (176p) ISBN 978-0-470-45541-8 The shadow of Freud and his view of religion as illusion still looms over...

The Sleepy Little Alphabet: A Bedtime Story from Alphabet Town.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... The Sleepy Little Alphabet: A Bedtime Story from Alphabet Town Judy Sierra, illus, by Melissa Sweet. Knopf, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-84002-9 Sierra and Sweet (Schoolyard Rhymes) collaborate on an alphabet rhyme about rambunctious...

Dinotrux.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... * Dinotrux Chris Gall. Little, Brown, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-316-02777-9 Combine dinosaurs and trucks and what do you get? In Gall's (There's Nothing to Do on Mars) case, a passel of grateful readers, especially those of the young male...

Magic Box.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Magic Box Katie Cleminson. Disney-Hyperion, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4231-2109-1 Cleminson's debut, while short on narrative momentum, is full of cheer. Eva jumps into the cardboard box she's received as a birthday present...

Tiny and Hercules.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Tiny and Hercules Amy Schwartz. Roaring Brook/Porter, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-59643-253-6 In this buoyant collection of five stories, marked by peppy dialogue and pastel-hued cartoons, Tiny the elephant and Hercules the mouse help each...

Catfish Kate and the Sweet Swamp Band.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Catfish Kate and the Sweet Swamp Band Sarah Weeks, illus, by Elwood H. Smith. S&S/ Atheneum, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4169-4026-5 Rocking out on her banjo, the bodacious Catfish Kate gradually adds members to her band ("Hum...

Rhino, Rhino, Sweet Potato.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Rhino, Rhino, Sweet Potato Francine Prose, illus, by Matthew S. Armstrong. HarperCollins, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-008078-5 Think of that axiom about teaching a man to fish--switch rhinos for the guy and sweet potatoes for fish,...

You Are the First Kid on Mars.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... You Are the First Kid on Mars Patrick O'Brien. Putnam, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-24634-0 O'Brien (Captain Raptor and the Moon Mystery) takes an inventive leap into the future, bringing readers on a journey to Mars. Made captivatingly...

Alien Feast.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Alien Feast Michael Simmons, illus, by George O'Connor. Roaring Brook/Porter, $15.95 (240p) ISBN 978-1-59643-281-9 The aliens that have landed in the town of Willoughby are mean and ugly--and they eat people (everything except their...

The Eternal Hourglass.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... The Eternal Hourglass Erica Kirov. Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, $16.99 (256p)ISBN 978-1-4022-1501-8 Kirov sends the Magickeepers series off to a promising start with this adventure starring a boy whose life takes a dramatic turn on his 13th...

The Beautiful Stories of Life: Six Greek Myths, Retold.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... The Beautiful Stories of Life: Six Greek Myths, Retold Cynthia Rylant, illus, by Carson Ellis. Harcourt, $16 (88p) ISBN 978-0-15-206184-5 Rylant (All in a Day) hones six myths into clear, accessible stories for younger readers....

In My Pond.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... In My Pond Sara Gillingham, illus, by Lorena Siminovich. Chronicle, $8.99 (10p) ISBN 978-0-8118-6556-2 This mixed-media board book has an organic, arts-and-crafts quality. Die-cut pages form wavy contours that mimic ripples; inside the...

The Big Night-Night Book.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... The Big Night-Night Book Georgie Birkett. Barron's, $7.99 (14p) ISBN 978-0-7641-6234-3 This touch-and-feel board book has textures galore. As a little boy prepares for bed, he says a singsongy goodnight to all the objects around him:...

I Can Eat a Rainbow: A Fun Look at Healthy Fruits and Vegetables.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... I Can Eat a Rainbow: A Fun Look at Healthy Fruits and Vegetables Annabel Karmel. DK, $7.99 (18p) ISBN 978-0-7566-5162-6 This board book is an exuberant appeal to eat colorful fruits and vegetables: "Eating a variety of different colors...

Simms Taback's City Animals.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Simms Taback's City Animals Simms Taback. Blue Apple (Chronicle, dist.), $12.99 (20p) ISBN 978-1-934706-52-7 Full-page flaps unfold vertically, then horizontally, to create bold, large-scale images of city fauna in a sturdy guessing...

Opposnakes: A Lift-the-Flap Book About Opposites.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Opposnakes: A Lift-the-Flap Book About Opposites Salina Yoon. S&S/Little Simon, $9.99 (16p) ISBN 978-1-4169-7875-6 This clever book about opposites stars a cast of eclectic snakes. One kind of snake stretches across a spread (a pink...

Please Pass the Manners! Mealtime Tips for Everyone.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Please Pass the Manners! Mealtime Tips for Everyone Lola Schaefer, illus, by Kellie Lewis. S&S/Little Simon, $7.99 (12p) ISBN 978-1-4169-4826-1 This amusing guide to good manners features earnest cartoon animals whose habits...

You and Me: We're Opposites.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... You and Me: We're Opposites Harriet Ziefert, illus, by Ethan Long. Blue Apple (Chronicle, dist.), $12.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-934706-48-0 This fun book offers a lesson on opposites: "I'm nice," says a cheery pink flamingo to a...

Dull Boy.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Dull Boy Sarah Cross. Dutton, $16.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-525-42133-7 In her engrossing first novel, Cross introduces Avery Pirzwick, a misunderstood teenager with mysterious superpowers he keeps secret. Avery tries to use his...

Wings.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Wings Aprilynne Pike. HarperTeen, $16.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-06-166803-6 Pike's debut novel--a faerie story with a touch of Arthurian legend--offers a botanical twist on the genre. Laurel Sewell, the new girl in town, discovers a strange...

The Vast Fields of Ordinary.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... The Vast Fields of Ordinary Nick Burd. Dial, $16.99 (320p) ISBN 978-08037-3340-4 This debut novel is deceptively quiet--the story of a recent high school graduate, Dade, struggling to come out and yearning to get to college and away from...

Radiant Darkness.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 11, 2009... Radiant Darkness Emily Whitman. Greenwillow, $16.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-06-172449-7 In Whitman's debut, a retelling of the Persephone myth, Persephone feels trapped by her overbearing mother, Demeter ("Mrs....

Lost chords: the inherent problem of describing music's ethereal art in book form.(Soapbox)
May 11, 2009... Whoever said, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture" was obviously an exasperated musician. Whether it was Zappa, Mull or Costello (what a law firm that would have been), they were probably lamenting the inherent problem of...

Amateur Barbarians.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Amateur Barbarians Robert Cohen. Scribner, $26 (448p) ISBN 978-0-7432-3036-0 Artfully juxtaposing two contrasting personalities (as he did in Inspired Sleep), Cohen explores the terrain of male middle age in a...

Penguin, Hachette gained in tough 2008: top five trade houses posted sales of $4.6 billion last year.(Foreword)
May 4, 2009... Despite a weak economy, the five largest American trade publishers generated revenue of $4.60 billion in 2008, according to PW's ranking of the major houses. Although three of the five publishers are owned by foreign companies, the American...

B&N adds audio store.(Barnes & Noble Inc. launched its Audiobook MP3 Store)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Barnes & Noble has launched its Audiobook MP3 Store on its barnes andnoble.com Web site. The store will feature spoken-word audiobook MP3s available for download to iPods, iPhones, MP3 players and other portable devices. The site is...

Amazon buys Lexcycle.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Amazon has acquired Lexcycle, the company that produces Stanza, the e-book reading app for the iPhone. Unlike the Kindle's proprietary e-book format, Lexcycle's Stanza app supports the e-pub format developed by the International Digital...

Extension, possible review challenge Google settlement.(Problems?)(Google Book Search settlement)
May 4, 2009... For the first time since its preliminary approval in November 2008, the Google Book Search settlement is looking less like a done deal. On April 28, New York federal judge Denny Chin granted a four-month extension, delaying the initial May 5...

Sales down, loss cut at MHE.(McGraw-Hill Education)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Revenue at McGraw-Hill Education fell 5.3% in the first quarter ended March 31, to $312.6 million, but the company was able to cut its quarterly operating loss from $90.9 million to $76.6 million. The strong dollar reduced revenue at MHE,...

CBE cancels consumer show.(Christian Book Expo)(Conference news)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... ECPA will not hold a second Christian Book Expo in 2010. The first CBE drew only 1,500 people this March in Dallas, far below the 10,000-15,000 ECPA had expected. The weak attendance left the organization with a $250,000 shortfall.

Cuts at Aperture.(Aperture Foundation)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... The Aperture Foundation, the New York City-based nonprofit photography publisher and resource center cut its workforce by 20%, eliminating seven jobs from the Foundation's 47 positions. Aperture has also instituted "temporary salary reductions"...

Quarto slips in quarter.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... U.K.-based Quarto Group had a dip in sales and earnings in the first quarter ended March 31, with revenue down 5%, to 19.8 million [pounds sterling], and operating income falling to 252,000 [pounds sterling], from 268,000 [pound sterling]. U.K....

Morris, Endeavor merge.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... William Morris Agency and Endeavor announced last week they will merge following Justice Department approval. Once the deal is completed, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and Suzanne Gluck--currently co-heads of WM's literary division--will remain at the...

Correction.(Correction notice)
May 4, 2009... In the April 20 International Bestsellers column it was incorrectly reported that a new book by actor Hugh Laurie was set to be published in the U.K. this fall. No new book is planned.

It books gets design-y with Spade.(Deals)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... In a deal that's as much creative partnership as acquisition, Carrie Kania and Cal Morgan, of Harper's newly launched It Books imprint, have bought world rights to six titles from the brand consultants/gallery owners, Partners & Spade. Ira...

A bestseller's son.(Deals)(Daniel James Palmer's Delirious)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Kensington has nabbed world English rights to the debut thriller Delirious by Daniel James Palmer, son of bestselling author Michael Palmer. Kensington editor-in-chief John Scognamiglio acquired the title, part of a three-book deal for hardcover...

Gotham's holy roller.(Deals)(Holy Ghost Girl: Scenes from the Apocalypse)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Lauren Marino at Gotham won North American rights, at auction, to Donna Johnson's memoir about growing up evangelical, Holy Ghost Girl: Scenes from the Apocalypse. Dan Conaway at Writers House sold the book, which won the top prize at the...

Da Capo's Pigeon adds two bloggers.(Deals)(Bob Pigeon)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Executive editor at Da Capo Press, Bob Pigeon, has just nabbed two books for his list. The first, tentatively titled The History of Our Future by Wired.com editor Alexis Madrigal (who also oversees the popular science blog Wired Science), went...

And twins.(Deals)(Linda and Terry Jamison's Psychic Intelligence)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Natalie Kaire at Grand Central acquired, at auction, world rights to Psychic Intelligence by Linda and Terry Jamison, aka the Psychic Twins. Eileen Cope at Trident Media Group brokered the deal, which was for mid-six-figures. The Twins, who...

BookMasters building strengths in niches.(Starting Up)(BookMasters Distribution Services)
May 4, 2009... Six months after launching BookMasters Distribution Services, the company has signed on 10 clients, said Rich Freese, the former PGW president who was recruited by BookMasters Inc.'s president, Dave Wurster, to start a distribution arm for the...

Norton deal part of new push for Dalkey Archive.(Distribution)
May 4, 2009... With an expanded list that includes more high-profile books, Dalkey Archive Press has signed on with W.W. Norton to take over distribution for the nonprofit press at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill. Martin Riker, associate director...

Keeping the Mailer spirit alive.(Schiller's Mission)(Norman Mailer Writing Awards)
May 4, 2009... A few months before Norman Mailer died in November of 2007, his longtime collaborator Lawrence Schiller sat down with the legendary author to discuss his legacy. "There's a whole generation of people out there who don't know who you are,"...

Weissberg to join ISBN board.(People)(Andy Weissberg, International ISBN Agency)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Andy Weissberg has been named to the board of directors for the International ISBN Agency, the organization that promotes, coordinates and supervises the worldwide use of the ISBN system. Weissberg is currently v-p of identifier services and...

McGuire leaving Pelican.(People)(Frank McGuire of Pelican Publishing Company Inc.)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Frank McGuire, southeastern sales rep for Pelican Publishing, is retiring. McGuire's spent the last 18 years at the Louisiana-based publisher. Before joining Pelican he worked as a bookseller.

Promos, hire at HMH.(People)(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Josh Harwood has been promoted from sales representative to national accounts director at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Beth Ineson has been promoted to director of field sales and distribution clients; she was previously distribution client...

Industry stocks: April performances.(Market Watch)(Table)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Led by spectacular gains from three companies whose stock prices have been beaten down for quite a while, the Publishers Weekly Stock Index rose 6.4% in April. The big winner was Borders, as investors, apparently convinced that the bookstore...

Hardcover bestsellers/fiction.
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Alexander McCall Smith has a request. With Wyoming and Idaho on his Tea Time tour, the author has now been to 48 U.S. states--and wants his publishers to get him to North and South Dakota next year. Clad in his Macauley...

Hardcover bestsellers/nonfiction.
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sex and the City hits the Midwest? The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and Friendship has reaped the benefits of topnotch week of sale coverage, chief being a story in Tara Parker-Pope's "Well" column in the New York...

Paperback bestsellers/mass market.
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Iris Johansen might be giving Noah a run for his money: the bestselling novelist, says her publisher, is a "big-time animal lover" who has buffalos, cows, horses and seven dogs on her Georgia property. Her latest mass...

Paperback bestsellers/trade.
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Frankel, a celebrity natural foods chef and a Real Housewives of New York City cast member, covered last Saturday's 135th Kentucky Derby with NBC Sports and Bravo. Sure to keep book sales percolating are the May 5 Real...

Comics bestsellers.(Table)
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The story of an orphan girl taken in by a magical family--turns out if you hug them, they turn into animals from the Chinese Zodiac!--Fruits Basket is an enormously popular series that mixes humor, fantasy and romance....

Children's sales to stay soft.(Children's Books)
May 4, 2009... A report from Publishers Weekly and the Institute for Publishing Research projects soft sales for children's books through the end of 2012, with the lowest numbers in the five-year span expected for 2009. According to the new PW/IPR Book Sales...

Charlie Winton: PGW founder making mark as publisher.(CHANGE MAKERS)(Publishers Group West )(Interview)
May 4, 2009... Since Charlie Winton's career in publishing has been based on non-traditional business models, it's no wonder that two of his most profound inspirations have been the Grateful Dead and Grove Press's controversial founder, Barney Rossett. ...

New Harbinger's new context.(Independent Publishing)
May 4, 2009... At a time when many businesses are retooling and often retrenching, New Harbinger Publications is expanding and acquiring. On May 1, the independent press, known for its self-help, psychology and health titles, toasted not only the opening of...

Some like it mild: the traditional cozies--think death by knitting needle--have changed with the times while remaining true their light-hearted spirit.(Cover story)
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "I specialize," Agatha Christie once said, "in murders of quiet, domestic interest." Today, almost 90 years after the publication of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, her first novel featuring the fastidious Belgian...

Why I write ...(Viewpoint essay)
May 4, 2009... I was a little kid living in Oklahoma City, Okla., during WWII. Even for a child, it didn't take long to understand the importance of newspapers. The bigger and blacker the headlines, the more important the story. The war dominated our lives,...

Ruth Cavin--the doyen of the mystery novel: St. Martin's Press celebrated Ruth Cavin's 90th birthday and 20 years as an editor in December 2008.(Q n A)(Interview)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Did you have an interest in mysteries and mystery writers from an early, age? That's hard to say, since my early age is so long ago. But, yes, I was pretty young when I discovered them, and after a few years I became a real mystery lover. I'd...

Amigold.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 4, 2009... * Amigoland Oscar Casares. Little, Brown, $23.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-316-15969-2 Casares expands the clean, tender prose of his debut collection, Brownsville, into a winning novel. In an American town just north of the Mexican border, the...

In This Way I Was Saved.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 4, 2009... In This Way I Was Saved Brian DeLeeuw. Simon & Schuster, $25 (320p) ISBN 978-1-4391-0313-5 DeLeeuw's spellbinding debut is told from the point of view of a being who assumes the persona and desires of a boy's repressed self. The...

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 4, 2009... The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder Rebecca Wells. Harper, $25.99 (400p) ISBN 978-0-06-017531-3 Wells (Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood) weaves more of the magic that made her a bestseller. At first, Calla Lily Ponder appears to be...

The Castaways.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 4, 2009... The Castaways Elin Hilderbrand. Little, Brown, $24.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-316-04389-2 In the close-knit group of four successful Nantucket couples who call themselves the Castaways, Greg and Tess MacAvoy "had what everybody wanted." Or so it...

Six Suspects.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 4, 2009... Six Suspects Vikas Swarup. Minotaur, $24.99 (480p) ISBN 978-0-312-60503-2 This satirical crime novel from Swarup (Q&A, the basis for Oscar-winner Slumdog Millionaire) opens promisingly, but suffers from the absence of a genuine...

Johannes Cabal: The Necromancer.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 4, 2009... Johannes Cabal: The Necromancer Jonathan L. Howard. Doubleday, $24.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-385-52808-5 When Johannes Cabal, a haughty sorcerer, finds that the absence of a soul is an impediment to his occult studies, he strikes a bargain with...

Swimming.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 4, 2009... Swimming Nicola Keegan. Knopf, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-307-26997-3 Keegan takes on death, religion, relationships and coming-of-age in her gorgeously stylized and irreverent debut about a rising Olympic swimming star. Not even a year after...

Missing Mark.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 4, 2009... Missing Mark Julie Kramer. Doubleday, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-385-52477-3 A for-sale ad for a never worn wedding dress sparks Minneapolis TV reporter Riley Spartz to chase an intriguing story in Kramer's slick sequel to 2008's Stalking...