Publishers Weekly articles from October 2004

Publishers Weekly archives from October 2004

AMS probe yields first charges: former advertising director pleads guilty in criminal case as investigations continue.(news)(Advanced Marketing Services)
October 4, 2004... THE TWO INVESTIGATIONS into Advanced Marketing Services' advertising practices produced their first charges last week, with both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney's office focusing on the former AMS advertising...

Storming the Hill.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Booksellers took their drive to amend Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act to Capitol Hill last week, delivering a petition signed by 180,000 readers that calls for an end to the government's ability to arbitrarily examine bookstore and library...

Publishers sue Treasury Dept. over publishing restrictions.(News)
October 4, 2004... WORRIED THAT RECENT rulings by the Treasury Department are having a chilling effect on American publishers' ability to work with authors who live in countries that fall under the U.S. trade embargo, four industry players filed a lawsuit last...

B&T buys J.A. Majors.(Acquisition)(Baker and Taylor)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... IN A DEAL that combines two of book wholesaling's largest companies, Baker & Taylor has acquired the J.A. Major Company, a major distributor of STM titles to the medical bookstore and library markets. Based in Dallas, Majors has an inventory of...

Bloomsbury grows in U.K., U.S.(Expanding)
October 4, 2004... REVENUE AT U.K.-based Bloomsbury, rose 6.7% in the first half of 2004, to 31 million [pounds sterling] ($56 million) and operating profit increased 15%, to 2.8 million [pounds sterling]. Company chairman Nigel Newton said that in the first half...

Meredith broadens Marvel deal.(Partners)(Meredith Books)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Meredith Books continued its push into the children's book market last week, reaching an agreement with Marvel Enterprises to publish a range of titles featuring Marvel characters. Under the multiyear agreement, Meredith will publish sound...

Court backs DC Comics in 'Kryptonite' suit.(Trademark of Steel)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... A FEDERAL JUDGE has ruled that DC Comics can move forward with a trademark infringement lawsuit against a bicycle lock company that uses Kryptonite--a term associated with Superman, DC Comics's most famous trademark--as the company name and on...

Jenkins, LaHaye plan more left behind titles.(No Deals Left Behind)(Tim LaHaye)(Jerry Jenkins)
October 4, 2004... THE BESTSELLING TEAM OF Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins is partnering again for two more titles in the Left Behind series in addition to the series' so-called prequel and sequel titles previously under contract. The new books create a total...

Roger Straus Memorial.(news)
October 4, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: An impressive group of authors and colleagues gathered at the 92nd Street Y on September 29 to pay tribute to the late FSG founder and chairman, Roger W. Straus. Seated (l. to r.) are Michael Cunningham,...

Pearson Education acquires Dominie Press.(Deals)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... PEARSON EDUCATION added to its supplementary publishing holdings late last month with the purchase of Dominie Press. Based in Carlsbad, Calif., Dominie has a catalogue of about 2,300 titles targeted for the k-8 supplemental market. Its line...

Surprise arrival: a new Sachar.(hot deals)(Louis Sachar)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... A book that bestselling children's author Louis Sachar had played so close to the vest that not even his agent, Ellen Levine at Trident Media Group, knew about it until last week, is right now being eagerly read by the American and British...

Big deal for debut novelist.(hot deals)(Delaune Michel)
October 4, 2004... Delaune Michel is a member of a literary family that includes the late Andre Dubus (an uncle) and James Lee Burke (a cousin), and has written award-winning short stories, so her first novel was eagerly awaited. It was swiftly pre-empted as part...

'Raising Cain' author on girls.(hot deals)(Dan Kindlon's new book is "Alpha Girls: Understanding hte New American Girl and How She Will Change the World")
October 4, 2004... The bestselling author of Raising Cain; Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys has now turned his attention to young girls, and Rodale's Leigh Haber was quick off the mark to pre-empt him. The author is Dan Kindlon and his new book is called...

'Maisie Dobbs' goes to holt.(hot deals)(Henry Holt signs author Jennifer Winspear)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... The spunky former nurse who sets out her shingle as a pioneer female PI in London just after World War I has been gaining many fans, particularly among independent booksellers, and Henry Holt publisher John Sterling and editor-in-chief Jennifer...

Former publisher turned novelist Joe Kanon has signed again with Henry Holt publisher John Sterling for another new book.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Former publisher turned novelist Joe Kanon has signed again with Henry Holt publisher John Sterling for another new book. It's called Alibi, and like most of Kanon's work is set in the period immediately after WWII, this time with a setting in...

Broadway's Gerry Howard bought a study of Oklahoma's neo-psychedelic rock group Flaming Lips by Chicago Sun-'Times music critic Jim DeRogatis, who will have the full cooperation of the oddball group admired by the likes of Paul McCartney and the Stones.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Broadway's Gerry Howard bought a study of Oklahoma's neo-psychedelic rock group Flaming Lips by Chicago Sun-'times music critic Jim DeRogatis, who will have the full cooperation of the oddball group admired by the likes of Paul McCartney and...

ReganBooks' Judith Regan is resurrecting an old-style "broadside" formula--a short political pamphlet--for presidential candidate Ralph Nader to air his views about the lack of choice he sees between existing political parties.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... ReganBooks' Judith Regan is resurrecting an old-style "broadside" formula--a short political pamphlet--for presidential candidate Ralph Nader to air his views about the lack of choice he sees between existing political parties. It will be...

A book called The Fine Art of Small Talkby Debra Fine.(Short Takes)
October 4, 2004... A book called The Fine Art of Small Talk by Debra Fine, who runs seminars on the subject and small-talks on radio and IV, was pre-empted by Kelly Notaras at Hyperion in a mid-six-figures deal made by Penny Nelson at Manus & Associates on the...

Colin Dickerman at Bloomsbury USA won a best-bid playoff with a six-figure one for The Crushed Grape Club by Natalie Maclean, a sommelier and wine writer (she has her own widely read wine newsletter) that takes readers behind the mysteries of the wine business.(Short Takes)
October 4, 2004... Colin Dickerman at Bloomsbury USA won a best-bid playoff with a six-figure one for The Crushed Grape Club by Natalie Maclean, a sommelier and wine writer (she has her own widely read wine newsletter) that takes readers behind the mysteries of...

'Matrix' creators plan to publish graphic novels.(Evolution)(Burlyman Entertainment to publish periodical comics and graphic novels)
October 4, 2004... IN ANOTHER EXAMPLE of sympatico between comics, publishing and the movies, Larry and Andy Wachowski, the writers and directors of the blockbuster The Matrix Trilogy, have founded Burlyman Entertainment, a publishing company focusing on...

New Atlas, 'Portraits' from National Geographic.(Big Books)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... OCTOBER IS SHAPING UP to be a big month for National Geographic as the company ships two big books. Out this week is In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits, while later this month the company will ship the eighth edition of its...

HC lays out overview of internal initiative.(Makeovers)(HarperCollins Publishers Inc.)
October 4, 2004... HARPERCOLLINS OUTLINED the results of the first phase of its Publishing+ program last week, listing downloadable audio, online marketing and proprietary publishing as areas that the company has identified as having the best growth...

Ripley starts book line.(Niche)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS after Robert Ripley published his first Believe It or Not! book of "oddities" with Simon & Schuster, Orlando, Fla.-based Ripley Entertainment has begun publishing its own books. The company, which operates 10 museums,...

Audible, B'mann in French venture.(Expanding)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... BERTELSMANN HAS STRUCK its second agreement in as many months with Audible Inc. to support the launch of Audible's service overseas. In a deal announced in late September, Bertelsmann, through its French book club, France Loisirs, will back the...

Purcell to head Random House marketing unit.(People)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... REACTING TO WHAT Random House says are "enormous changes" in the library and academic markets brought about by federal funding cutbacks and municipal budget constraints, the publisher has combined its library and academic marketing departments...

Richardson memorial.(Remembering)(Sandy Richardson)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... A memorial service will be held for former Doubleday chief Sandy Richardson on Wednesday, October 13, at the Century Club, 7 W. 43rd Street, New York City, beginning at 6 p.m. All friends and former colleagues are welcome.

The King has left the tower.(behind the bestsellers)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... For only the second time this year, the top spots on both our fiction and nonfiction lists are held by books making their first appearances. (For trivia fans, the earlier instance was on July 5, when Bill Clinton's memoirs and Janet Evanovich's...

Stewart the Stalwart.(behind the bestsellers)(Jon Stewart)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... King's "mate" on the nonfiction roster is irreverent comedian Jon Stewart, the Emmy-winning host of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, whose first literary effort, America (The Book), was published by Warner Books on September 20 (copies in...

Listen up, ladies.(behind the bestsellers)
October 4, 2004... Not that the folks at Simon & Schuster's new Spotlight Entertainment division need any advice, but we have a book proposal for them: How to Launch an Imprint and Create a Wildly Successful Bestseller at the Same time. Well before its September...

Chick lit's big star.(behind the bestsellers)(Jennifer Weiner)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... That's what Entertainment Weekly called author Jennifer Weiner in a September 17 feature story, highlighted by a striking photo of the full-figured writer, who asked, "Why should skinny girls have all the fun?" And fun this lady's having:...

A quirky gift book season: despite an uncertain market, booksellers tout their favorite impulse books.(book news)
October 4, 2004... The season for ordering gift books has arrived. But booksellers are having a hard time seeing past the upcoming presidential elections as they assess the selection of eye candy and stocking stuffers. Some, like Walter Boyer, co-owner of...

Unbridled Books starts at a trot.(Pre-pub Buzz)
October 4, 2004... Unbridled Books might be a newcomer on the national publishing scene, but the small literary, press, headed by the former publishers of Putnam's BlueHen imprint, is making its presence known. Its first release, The Green Age of Asker Witherow...

MPBA: back in black: budget cuts spark change, new creative energy and financial stability.(bookselling)(Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association)
October 4, 2004... "For the first time in three years, our budget is back in the black," announced the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association's president, Kathy Westover, at the MPBA gathering in Denver, which ran September 16-20. Preparing to dip into the...

SPD turns 35.(distribution daybook)(Small Press Distribution)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... "Thirty-five years is an incredible milestone for any arts organization," said Laura Moriarty, acquisition and marketing director for Small Press Distribution in Berkeley, Calif., which serves 500 small and independent presses. "We feel that...

Other news.(distribution daybook)
October 4, 2004... Eight-year-old Profile Books, the small publisher that made a big splash with Lynne Truss's surprise bestseller on punctuation, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, signed with Trafalgar Square for U.S....

Sounds to savor: three authors write--and read--about food.(audio)(Audiobook Review)
October 4, 2004... A good meal and a good yarn go together like turkey and stuffing, lobster and melted butter or even peanut butter and jelly. In fact, food plays a starring role in many people's most vivid memories, which often become favorite stories to...

Prince of Chives.(audio)(Pat Conroy)(Interview)
October 4, 2004... Fans of Pat Conroy will soon learn that the author more than knows his way around the kitchen. He mixes his own secret blend of food and story and serves up the resulting melange in his own voice on Recipes from My Life. Publishers Weekly:...

Penn, Dylan: one rebel reads another.(audio bits)(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
October 4, 2004... Fans have long been waiting (for about four years) for folk/rock music icon Bob Dylan to put the finishing touches on his memoirs. At last, listeners and readers have something to celebrate. Dylan's Chronicles: Volume One, first in a series of...

Audiobooks calling.(audio bits)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... This is definitely not your father's technology. As if cell phones weren't ubiquitous enough, their capabilities continue to increase, making them the go-to gadget for many people. Now audiophiles will be able to play back audiobooks and other...

MediaBay goes digital.(audio bits)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... MediaBay, the Cedar Knolls, N.J.-based spoken word audio and marketing company, has joined the digital revolution, revealing its strategy for digital media distribution. The move is one of the company's efforts to improve recent financial...

Audie Awards call for entries.(audio bits)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... The 2005 Audie Awards, which recognize achievement and excellence in various aspects of the audio industry, will be handed out at a gala event June 3 in New York City at Tavern on the Green. But there's plenty of work to do before then....

An Unfinished Life.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
October 4, 2004... AN UNFINISHED LIFE MARK SPRAGG, READ BY TONY AMENDOLA AND JUDITH MARX. HighBridge Audio, unabridged, six CDs, 7 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 1-56511-900-2 A sober reading by Amendola and Marx fits the slow pacing of Spragg's newest offering...

Love Is Murder.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
October 4, 2004... LOVE IS MURDER LINDA PALMER, READ BY CELESTE LAWSON. Blackstone Audiobooks, unabridged, six cassettes, 7.5 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 0-7861-2736-8 Combining romance, humor and suspense, this offbeat debut mystery from Palmer, a screenwriting...

After the Rain.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
October 4, 2004... AFTER THE RAIN CHUCK LOGAN, READ BY KEVIN CONWAY. Harper Audio, abridged, five CDs, 6 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 0-06-075774-4 An anti-terrorist Della force, operating in such covert isolation that practically no one knows about them (and those who...

Magical Thinking.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
October 4, 2004... MAGICAL THINKING AUGUSTEN BURROUGHS, READ BY THE AUTHOR. Audio Renaissance, unabridged, seven CDs, 9 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 1-59397-421-3 It would be tempting to call these highly personal and uninhibited essays painfully honest, except that...

Bushworld: Enter at Your Own Risk.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
October 4, 2004... BUSHWORLD: Enter at Your Own Risk MAUREEN DOWD, READ BY KATHE MAZUR. Penguin Audio, unabridged, 12 CDs, 13.5 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 0-14-305716-2 Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Dowd's first collection of op-ed pieces tightly...

America (the Audiobook): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
October 4, 2004... THE DALLY SHOW WITH JON STEWART PRESENTS AMERICA (The Audiobook): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction JON STEWART AND THE WRITERS OF THE DAILY SHOW, READ BY THE AUTHORS. Time Warner Audiobooks, abridged, three CDs, 4 hrs., $24.98 ISBN...

Homegrown Democrat: a Few Plain Thoughts from the Heart of America.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
October 4, 2004... HOMEGROWN DEMOCRAT: A Few Plain Thoughts from the Heart of America GARRISON KEILLOR, READ BY THE AUTHOR. HighBridge Audio, unabridged, four CDs, 4.5 hrs., $22.95 ISBN 1-56511-928-2 Characteristically soothing and lyrical, Keillor's voice...

The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
October 4, 2004... THE ISLAND AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan, the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America RUSSELL SHORTO, READ BY L.J. GANSER. Recorded Books, unabridged, 13 CDs, 15 hrs., $34.99 ISBN 1-4193-0044-X Mining a trove...

Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Journey into the Heart of Fan Mania.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
October 4, 2004... RAMMER JAMMER YELLOW HAMMER: A Journey into the Heart of Fan Mania WARREN ST. JOHN, READ BY THE AUTHOR. Random House Audio, abridged, four CDs, 5 hrs., $27.50 ISBN 0-7393-1576-5 St. John, a New York Times reporter and native Alabaman,...

Audio bestsellers.
October 4, 2004... Available online the Friday before issue date at: www.publishersweekly.com October 2004 Audio Bestsellers Fiction 1 The Da Vinci Code (unabr. CD). Dan Brown. Read by Paul Michael. Random House Audio. 13 CDs, 16 hours, $44.95...

Fantasy: too much of a good thing? Booksellers weigh in on the proliferation of titles in the genre.(children's books)
October 4, 2004... A good many come from Britain. Others come from American authors, including one who is barely older than his target audience. And most come in twos, threes, fours or more. Such is the current plentiful crop of fantasy titles for middle graders...

An embarrassment of niches: illustrated gift books--arranged by theme--offer a broad spectrum of striking imagery.(illustrated gift books)(Bibliography)
October 4, 2004... THIS FALL'S SELECTION of beautiful coffee-table books offers an embarrassment of riches, with titles on art, entertainment, natural wonders and high style, to name only a few of the categories listed below. In a separate feature, illustrated...

Art, architecture, design, lifestyle, photography & travel: fall 2004.(Thames & Hudson)(Bibliography)
October 4, 2004... ANONYMOUS Enigmatic Images from Unknown Photographers Robert Flynn Johnson 200+ illus. $45.00 cloth ANTONIO'S PEOPLE Paul Caranicas 230 illus. $29.95 paper THE ART OF RACHEL WHITEREAD Chris Townsend 60...

Hero worship: biographies, football and horse books abound this holiday season.
October 4, 2004... NAMATH, Hornung, Unitas, Auerbach, Starr, Palmer, Gehrig. These legendary sports names have been imprinted on the American mind just as deeply as Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Kennedy. And this fall, sports publishers have produced a...

Protean talent: Emma Donoghue.(interview)
October 4, 2004... Already a prolific novelist at 34, Emma Donoghue is distinguished by her generous sympathy for her characters, sinuous prose and an imaginative range that may soon rival that of A.S. Byatt or Margaret Atwood. "In my 20s, I wanted to try even,...

East Side Story.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... EAST SIDE STORY LouIs AUCHINCLOSS. Houghton Mifflin, $24 (240p) ISBN 0-618-45244-3 Venerated author Auchincloss serves up solid tales but few surprises in his 60th novel of upper-crust New York life. When retired nurse Loulou Carnochan...

Seven Type of Ambiguity.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY ELLIOT PERLMAN. Riverhead, $27.95 (672p) ISBN 1-57322-281-X By copping the title of William Empson's classic of literary criticism, Australian writer Perlman (Three Dollars) sets a high bar for himself, but he...

Out of My Head.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... OUT OF MY HEAD DIDIER VAN CAUWELAERT, TRANS. FROM THE FRENCH BY MARK POLIZZOTTI. Other Press, $18 (168p) ISBN 1-59051-085-2 Van Cauwelaert's trademark absurdist-existential angst is evident again in this follow-up to his Prix...

The Year is '42.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... THE YEAR IS '42 NELLA BIELSKI, TRANS. FROM THE FRENCH BY JOHN BERGER AND LISA APPIGNANESI, Pantheon, $18.95 (224p) ISBN 0375-42286-2 Karl Bazinger, a Wehrmacht officer stationed in occupied Paris on a "deluxe tourist trip, paid for by the...

Hannah Coulter.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... HANNAH COULTER WENDELL BERRY. Shoemaker & Hoard, $25 (208p) ISBN 1-59376-036-1 * "This is the story of my life, that while I lived it weighed upon me and pressed against me and filled all my senses to overflowing and now is like a dream...

Moe's Villa & Other Stories.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... MOE'S VILLA & OTHER STORIES JAMES PURDY. Carroll & Graf. $14 paper (288p) ISBN 0-7867-1417-4 Jewels, songs, grandmothers, wills and Ouija boards--the stuff of an old storyteller's magic--keep popping up in these 12 unusual, often...

Mercy.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... MERCY ALISSA YORK. Delphinium, $22.95 (336p) ISBN 1-883285-25-9 Lust and sin grapple with religious piety in this moving, occasionally overwrought novel by Canadian writer York. As August Day's first dub as priest of St. Mary's church in...

Casanova in Bolzano.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... CASANOVA IN BOLZANO SANDOR MARAL TRANS. FROM THE HUNGARIAN BY GEORGE SZIRTES. Knopf, $22 (304p) ISBN 0-375-41337-5 October 31, 1756: the incorrigible playboy and roving gambler Giacomo Casanova escapes from a pestilent Venetian prison....

Darwin's Wink.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... DARWIN'S WINK ALISON ANDERSON. St. Martin's, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 0-712-7; 199-1 Two lonely hearts try to protect an endangered species of bird and the paradisiacal island on which they live from mysterious agents of destruction in...

Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... BAD DIRT: Wyoming Stories 2 ANNIE PROULX. Scribner, $25 (240p) ISBN 0-7432-5799-5 The beautiful and harsh terrain of Wyoming and the tough and often eccentric people who make their lives there are again on display in this collection of...

The Best American Short Stories 2004.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2004 EDITED BY LORRIE MOORE, SERIES EDITOR KATRINA KENISON. Houghton Mifflin, $14 paper (368p) ISBN 0-618-19735-4 Moore takes a tried and tree tack in this current edition of the popular series, choosing...

Best New American Voices 2005.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... BEST NEW AMERICAN VOICES 2005 EDITED BY FRANCINE PROSE, SERIES EDITORS JOHN KULKA AND NATALIE DANFORD. Harcourt, $14 paper (400p) ISBN 0-15-602899-9 "How can the written word be dead when it is being deployed with such spirit and...

The Indian Agent.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... THE INDIAN AGENT DAN O'BRIEN. Lyons, $21.95 (288p) ISBN 1-59228-244-X In this sequel to The Contract Surgeon, the winner of the 2000 Western Heritage Award for Fiction, O'Brien resumes his fictionalized biography of renowned physician...

The Painting.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... THE PAINTING NINA SCHUYLER. Algonquin, $23.95 (320p) ISBN 1-56512-441-3 A host of brittle characters populate this oblique historical novel, set in two very different locations at the same moment in history: Tokyo during the Meiji...

Echoes.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... ECHOES DANIELLE STEEL. Delacorte, $27 (336p) ISBN 0-385-33634-9 Europe in the throes of WWI and II serves as backdrop for this latest dose of melodrama from megabestseller Steel. Bookish, ravenhaired beauty Beata Wittgenstein meets dashing...

Mosaic.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... MOSAIC SOHEIR KHASHOGGI. Forge, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 0-765-31235-2 Khashoggi (Mirage) blends a family drama's thoughtfulness with a thriller's tension in this fast-paced novel about a half-Lebanese Manhattanite whose husband, in doing what he...

Scream Queens of the Dead Sea.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... SCREAM QUEENS OF THE DEAD SEA GILAD ELBOM. Four Walls Eight Windows, $22 (288p) ISBN 1-56858-322-2 * What is sanity? In a smart animated debut novel set in a Jerusalem mental hospital, Israeli writer Elbom searches for an answer (via a...

A Beggar at the Gate.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... A BEGGAR AT THE GATE THALASSA ALI. Bantam, $14 paper (320p) ISBN 0-553-38177-6 In this sequel to A Singular Hostage, native Bostonian and Muslim convert All continues the saga of Marianna Givens, a young English-woman living in...

Whirlwind.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... WHIRLWIND MICHAEl, GRANT JAFFE. Norton, $23.95 (256p) ISBN 0-393-05961-8 When a deadly hurricane touches down in tiny Bentleyville, N.C., a TV weatherman is literally blown away during a live shot and launched into fame and celebrity in...

Kissing in Technicolor.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... KISSING IN TECHNICOLOR JANE MENDLE. Avon, $12.95 paper (352p) ISBN 0-06-059568-X Charlotte Frost--film student, yoga teacher, workaholic and single gift--is the gutsy heroine of this chick-lit debut. Charlie is intelligent, independent and...

In the Night Room.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... IN THE NIGHT ROOM PETER STRAUB. Random, $21.95 (352p) lSBN 1-4000-6252-7 * In Black House, Straub and Stephen King wrote of "slippage," whereby the borders between reality and fantasy blur. This entire brilliant novel is an act of...

American Girls About Town.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... AMERICAN GIRLS ABOUT TOWN JENNIFER WEINER, LAUREN WEISBERGER, ADRIANA TRIGIANI ET AL. Downtown Press, $13 paper (384p) ISBN 0-7434-9695-7 Now that the Scottish girls and the Irish girls have had their chance (Irish Girls About Town;...

The Journal of Mortifying Moments.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... THE JOURNAL OF MORTIFYING MOMENTS ROBYN HARDING. Ballantine, $21.95 (320p) ISBN 0-345-47628-X "It was my therapist's idea--the journal of mortifying moments." Thus begins Kerry Spence's revisitation of all the most miserable episodes in...

The Stupidest Angel: a Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... THE STUPIDEST ANGEL: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror CHRISTOPHER MOORE. Morrow, $14.95 paper (288p) ISBN 0-06-059025-4 Hilarity abounds in Moore's latest satirical gem. Sleepy Pine Cove, Calif., is abuzz with Christmas spirit, but...

Family Blessings.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... FAMILY BLESSINGS FERN MICHAELS. Atria, $18 (240p) ISBN 0-7434-7747-2 Fanciful premises and implausible turns of events are the stuff Christmas fiction is made of, but Michaels takes matters too far in this contrived sequel to her 2002...

A Christmas Promise.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... A CHRISTMAS PROMISE THOMAS KINKADE & KATHERINE SPENCER. Berkley, $23.95 (304p) ISBN 0-425-19825-1 A pregnant woman finds love after fleeing from her abusive ex-husband in this syrupy holiday concoction from Kinkade and Spencer, which is...

Truecrime.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... TRUECRIME JAKE ARNOTT. Soho, $25 (338p) ISBN 1-56947-373-0 Talk about antiheroes: the three narrators of this novel of London's gritty underworld are set on murder, revenge and larceny. Tony Meehan is a washed-up crime journalist currently...

Cross Current.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 4, 2004... CROSS CURRENT CHRISTINE KLING. Ballantine, $27.95 (720p) ISBN 0-745-44829-4 Salvage boat captain and sometime sleuth Seychelle Sullivan returns in Kling's follow-up to her well-received debut, Surface Tension, this time to aid a frightened...