Last weekend was Bouchercon, a mystery convention for writers & readers. Lots of awards were presented -

ANTHONY AWARD WINNERS
--------------------------------------------------

Chosen by voted by members of Bouchercon 2002.

* Best Novel: MYSTIC RIVER, by Dennis Lehane (Morrow)

Also Nominated: THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO AUSTIN, by Rick Riordan (Bantam); FLIGHT, by Jan Burke (Simon & Schuster); REFLECTING THE SKY, by S. J. Rozan (St. Martin's Minotaur); and TELL NO ONE, by Harlan Coben (Delacorte)

* Best First Novel: OPEN SEASON, by C. J. Box (Putnam)

Also Nominated: AUSTIN CITY BLUE, by Jan Grape (Five Star); THE JASMINE TRADE, by Denise Hamilton (Scribner); THIRD PERSON SINGULAR, by K. J. Erickson (St. Martin's); and A WITNESS ABOVE, by Andy Straka (Signet)

* Best Paperback Original: DEAD UNTIL DARK, by Charlaine Harris (Ace)

Also Nominated: DEAD OF WINTER, by P. J. Parrish (Pinnacle); DIM SUM DEAD, by Jerrilyn Farmer (Avon); THE HOUDINI SPECTER, by Daniel Stashower (Avon); and A KISS GONE BAD, by Jeff Abbott (Onyx)

* Best Short Fiction: "Chocolate Moose," by Bill & Judy Crider (in DEATH DINES AT 8:30, edited by Claudia Bishop and Nick DiChario; Berkley Prime Crime)

Also Nominated: "Bitter Waters," by Rochelle Krich (in CRIMINAL KABBALAH, edited by Lawrence W. Raphael; Jewish Lights Publishing); "Double-Crossing Delancy," by S.J. Rozan (in MYSTERY STREET, edited by Robert J. Randisi; Signet); "My Bonnie Lies," by Ted Hertel Jr. (in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF LEGAL THRILLERS, edited by Michael Hemmingson; Carroll & Graf); "Virgo in
Sapphires," by Margaret Maron (in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, December 2001)

* Best Nonfiction/Critical Work: SELDOM DISAPPOINTED: A MEMOIR, by Tony Hillerman (HarperCollins)

Also Nominated: DASHIELL HAMMETT: A DAUGHTER REMEMBERS, by Jo Hammett (Carroll & Graf); THE HISTORY OF MYSTERY, by Max Allan Collins (Collector's Press); WHO WAS THAT LADY? CRAIG RICE: THE QUEEN OF THE SCREWBALL
MYSTERY, by Jeffrey Marks (Delphi Books); and WRITING THE MYSTERY: A START TO FINISH GUIDE FOR BOTH NOVICE AND PROFESSIONAL, by G. Miki Hayden (Intrigue)

* Best Young Adult Mystery: THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED CAVES, by Penny Warner (Meadowbrook)

Also Nominated: DEATH ON A SACRED GROUND, by Harriet R. Feder (Lerner); GHOST SITTER, by Peni Griffin (Dutton); TTHEW'S WEB, by Jeri Fink and Donna Paltrowitz (Bookweb); and THE VIKING CLAW, by Michael Dahl (Simon & Schuster)

* Best Cover Art: REFLECTING THE SKY, by S. J. Rozan, cover design by Michael Storrings from a photograph by Josef Beck/FPG (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Also Nominated: CHAPEL NOIR, by Carole Nelson Douglas, cover art by Glenn Harrington (Forge); GRAPE NOIR, by Kit Sloane, cover art by Annie Sperling (Deadly Alibi); THE TAINTED SNUFF BOX, by Rosemary Stevens, cover art by Teresa Fasolino (Berkley Prime Crime); and UNDER THE COLOR OF LAW, by Michael McGarrity, cover design by Anthony Ramondo from a photograph by
Index Stock Imagery/John Warden (Dutton)


SHAMUS AWARD WINNERS
--------------------------------------------------

Presented by the Private Eye Writers of America.

* Best P.I. Novel: REFLECTING THE SKY, by S.J. Rozan (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Also Nominated: ANGEL IN BLACK, by Max Allan Collins (NAL); ASHES OF ARIES, by Martha C. Lawrence (St. Martin's Minotaur); THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO AUSTIN, by Rick Riordan (Bantam); and COLD WATER BURNING, by John Straley (Bantam)

* Best First P.I. Novel: CHASING THE DEVIL'S TAIL, by David Fulmer (Poisoned Pen Press)

Also Nominated: EPITAPH, by James Siegel (Mysterious Press); RAT CITY, by Curt Colbert (UglyTown); A WITNESS ABOVE, by Andy Straka (Signet); and PILIKIA IS MY BUSINESS, by Mark Troy (LTD Books)

* Best Paperback P.I. Novel: ARCHANGEL PROTOCOL, by Lyda Morehouse (Roc)

Also Nominated: ANCIENT ENEMY, by Robert Westbrook (NAL); and KEEPERS, by Janet LaPierre (Perseverance Press)

* Best P.I. Short Story: "Rough Justice," by Ceri Jordan (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine)

Also Nominated: "The Jungle," by John Lantigua (in AND THE DYING IS EASY, edited by Joseph Pittman and Annette Riffle; ignet); "Last Kiss," by Tom Sweeney (in MYSTERY STREEt, edited by Robert J. Randisi; Signet); "The Cobalt Blues," by Clark Howard (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September/October 2001); and "Golden Retriever," by Barbara Paul (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, December 2001)

* Friend of PWA: Jan Grape

* The Eye (lifetime achievement): Lawrence Block

* St. Martin's/ PWA contest for new writers: Michael Siverling


BARRY AWARD WINNERS
--------------------------------------------------

Chosen by subscribers to Deadly Pleasures magazine and visitors to its Web site.

* Best Novel: MYSTIC RIVER, by Dennis Lehane (Morrow)

Also Nominated: TELL NO ONE, by Harlan Coben (Delacorte); A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT, by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown); PURGATORY RIDGE, by William Kent Krueger (Pocket); SILENT JOE, by T. Jefferson Parker (Hyperion); and
BAD NEWS, by Donald E. Westlake (Mysterious Press)

* Best First Novel: OPEN SEASON, by C. J. Box (Putnam)

Also Nominated: THIRD PERSON SINGULAR, by K.J. Erickson (St. Martin's Minotaur); CHASING THE DEVIL'S TAIL, by David Fulmer (Poisoned Pen Press); PERHAPS SHE'LL DIE, by M.K. Preston (Intrigue); BLINDSIGHTED, by Karen Slaughter (Morrow); and BUBBLES UNBOUND, by Sarah Strohmeyer (Dutton)

* Best British Crime Novel: DANCING WITH THE VIRGINS, by Stephen Booth (HarperCollins)

Also Nominated: BLOOD JUNCTION, by Caroline Carver (Orion); THE KILLING KIND, by John Connolly (Hodder & Stoughton); DIALOGUES OF THE DEAD, by Reginald Hill (HarperCollins); DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS, by P.D. James (Knopf); and KILLING THE SHADOWS, by Val McDermid (HarperCollins)

* Best Paperback Original: KILLING GIFTS, by Deborah Woodworth (Avon)

Also Nominated: RODE HARD, PUT AWAY DEAD, by Sinclair Browning (Bantam); DEATH IS A CABARET, by Deborah Morgan (Berkley Prime Crime); THE FOURTH WALL, by Beth Saulnier (Warner); and STRAW MEN, by Martin J. Smith (Jove)

* Don Sandstrom Memorial Award: Gary Warren Niebuhr


HERODOTUS AWARD WINNERS
--------------------------------------------------

Presented by the Historical Mystery Appreciation Society.

* Best Historical Mystery Novel: BROTHERS OF CAIN, by Miriam Grace Monfredo (Berkley Prime Crime)

Also Nominated: THE LAST KASHMIRI ROSE, by Barbara Cleverly (Carroll & Graf); THE GOOD GERMAN, by Joseph Kanon (Henry Holt); CALL EACH RIVER JORDAN, by Owen Parry (Morrow); and ISLAND OF TEARS, by Troy Soos (Kensington)

* Best First Historical Mystery Novel: MURPHY'S LAW, by Rhys Bowen (St. Martin's)

Also Nominated: CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL, by Glen David Gold (Hyperion); MUTE WITNESS, by Charles O'Brien (Poisoned Pen Press); THE RIGHT HAND OF SLEEP, by John Wray (Knopf); and THE BIRTH OF BLUE SATAN, by Patricia Wynn (Pemberley Press)

* Best Historical Mystery Short Story: "Kiss of Death," by Max Allan Collins (in KISS OF DEATH; Crippen & Landru)

Also Nominated: "The Invisible Spy," by Brendan DuBois (in THE BLUE AND THE GRAY UNDERGROUND, edited by Ed Gorman; Forge); "Hobson's Choice," by John Lutz (in THE BLUE AND THE GRAY UNDERGROUND, edited by Ed Gorman;
Forge); "Beyond the Lost Man Mountains," by Anne Weston (in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, July/August 2001); and "A Perfect Crime," by Derek Wilson (in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF MORE HISTORICAL WHODUNNITS, edited by Mike
Ashley; Robinson)

* Lifetime Achievement: Max Allan Collins


MACAVITY AWARD WINNERS
--------------------------------------------------

Chosen by members of the reader/fan organization Mystery Readers International.

* Best Mystery Novel: FOLLY, by Laurie R. King (Bantam)

Also Nominated: MYSTIC RIVER, by Dennis Lehane (Morrow); THE DEADHOUSE, by Linda Fairstein (Scribner); TELL NO ONE, by Harlan Coben (Delacorte); and SILENT JOE, by T. Jefferson Parker (Hyperion)

* Best First Mystery Novel: OPEN SEASON, by C. J. Box (Putnam)

Also Nominated: THE JASMINE TRADE, by Denise Hamilton (Scribner); BLINDSIGHTED, by Karin Slaughter (Morrow); and PERHAPS SHE'LL DIE, by M.K. Preston (Intrigue)

* Best Biographical/Critical Mystery Work: WRITING THE MYSTERY: A START TO FINISH GUIDE FOR BOTH NOVICE AND PROFESSIONAL, by G. Miki Hayden (Intrigue)

Also Nominated: SELDOM DISAPPOINTED: A MEMOIR, by Tony Hillerman (HarperCollins); THE HISTORY OF MYSTERY, by Max Allan Collins (Collectors Press); MY NAME'S FRIDAY: THE UNAUTHORIZED BUT TRUE STORY OF DRAGNET
AND THE FILMS OF JACK WEBB, by Michael J. Hayde (Cumberland House); and WHO WAS THAT LADY? CRAIG RICE: THE QUEEN OF SCREWBALL MYSTERY, by Jeffrey Marks (Delphi Books)

* Best Mystery Short Story: "The Abbey Ghosts," by Jan Burke (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, January 2001)

Also Nominated: "My Bonnie Lies," by Ted Hertel (from THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF LEGAL THRILLERS, edited by Michael Hemmingson; Carroll & Graf); "Bitter Waters," by Rochelle Krich (from CRIMINAL KABBALAH, edited by Lawrence W. Raphael; Jewish Lights); and "The Would-Be Widower," by Katherine Hall Page (from MALICE DOMESTIC 10, edited by Nevada Barr; Avon)

Life of Pi Wins 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction

On October 22, 2002, Canadian author Yann Martel's second novel, Life of Pi (Harcourt), was named the winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Martel's fable is about a boy stranded at sea with a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra, and a Bengal tiger.

The Man Booker Prize is awarded to the best full-length novel written in English by a citizen of the British Commonwealth or Ireland. The winner was announced at an awards dinner in the Great Court of the British Museum, London, and was televised live on BBC Two and BBC Four.

New historical thriller

From PW Daily for Booksellers
October 17, 2002

The Baltimore Sun calls Philip Kerr "one of our most gifted novelists, yet his name has not achieved the widespread recognition it deserves. His new novel may change that." The new novel is Dark Matter: The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton (Crown, $24), which the Sun describes as "a fast-paced historical thriller that makes both science and history seem anything by dry and abstract."

It's 1696, and Newton has assumed the position of warden of the Royal Mint at the Tower of London. Christopher Ellis has been hired as his assistant, and together, the two are directed by the king to find and prosecute counterfeiters. While investigating several murders at the Tower, they uncover a diabolical conspiracy involving the murder of thousands of Catholics, the passing of counterfeit guineas and reigniting the war with France.

The murders are accompanied by esoteric clues, encrypted documents and references to the pseudoscience of alchemy.

In addition to this rich tapestry of interesting characters and page-turning intrigue, Kerr has woven an illuminating look at life at the end of the 17th century: London is beset by whores and ruffians, opium dens, pestilence, grisly executions and a sparkling array of historical figures.--Judi Baxter

From the NY Times, October 17, 2002

Books for the Asking
By ERIC A. TAUB


AFTER spending a year trying to sell her book to publishers and receiving 70 rejection letters as a reward, Laurie Notaro, a newspaper columnist in Phoenix, decided to do it herself. Working with iUniverse, one of many companies that offer "print on demand" services, Ms. Notaro paid $99 to have her book designed, laid out, stored as a digital file and printed and bound only as copies were ordered. Several months later she sold the rights to her book, plus the concept for a new one, to a major publisher for a six-figure sum.

Joe Vitale, on the other hand, had already published several business books with traditional publishers. But for a new book, Mr. Vitale, a marketing consultant in Austin, Tex., decided to try a print-on-demand company, 1stBooks Library. For two days in June, Mr. Vitale's book was the best-selling title on Amazon.com.

Read the entire article

WHERE ARE THE LOVELY BONES???

2002 National Book Award Nominees
Winners to be announced November 20 in NYC

Fiction

Big If by Mark Costello (Norton)
Three Junes by Julia Glass (Pantheon)
You Are Not a Stranger Here by Adam Haslett (Doubleday)
Gorgeous Lies by Martha McPhee (Harcourt)
The Heaven of Mercury by Brad Watson (Norton)


Nonfiction

Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro
(Knopf)
When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales of Environmental Deception and the
Battle Against Pollution by Derva Davis (Perseus)
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul
Gawande (Metropolitan)
The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert (Viking)
Mapping Human History: Discovering the Past Through Our Genes by Steve
Olson (Houghton Mifflin)


Young People's Literature

Feed by M.T. Anderson (Candlewick)
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (Atheneum/Jackson)
19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East by Naomi Shihab Nye
(HarperCollins/Greenwillow)
This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life & Songs of Woody Guthrie
by Elizabeth Partridge (Viking)
Hush by Jacqueline Woodson (G.P. Putnam's Sons)


Poetry

Sleeping with the Dictionary by Harryette Mullen (University of
California Press)
The Unswept Room by Sharon Olds (Knopf)
The Smallest Muscle in the Human Body by Alberto Rmos (Copper Canyon)
In the Next Galaxy by Ruth Stone (Copper Canyon)
Shadow of Heaven by Ellen Bryant Voigt (Norton)

From The Miami Herald
Posted on Sun, Oct. 13, 2002

Moby launches book club

Who needs Oprah, anyway? Ever the intellectual, techno/dance guru Moby has started a book club as part of his current world tour, reports Ananova.com.

The singer and musician (real name Richard Melville Hall) -- who can trace his ancestry to Moby Dick author Herman Melville -- wants fans to bring along second-hand books to swap.

''When someone finishes a book, they put it in a little box and when someone else wants a new book, they look into the box and find one,'' he said.

`` Ozzy Osbourne used to snort ants. Led Zeppelin had sex with hookers on private planes. And I start a book club. Because one can only snort so many ants and have so much sex before one starts to long for the comfort and companionship of a book.''

I am enraged over an online column entitled "Who Needs Librarians, Get Some Trained Monkeys." This viciousness is from Uncle Frank's Diary #10, which you may read in its moronic entirety at http://www.newpages.com/unclefrank/Number10.htm

Luckily, I also have a forum for expressing opinion. I wrote the author of that piece, and I'm posting a copy of my rebuttal here:

Dear Mr. Burns,

As a Library Associate, AKA clerk, AKA trained monkey, I must take umbrage with your column, "Who Needs Librarians, Get Some Trained Monkeys - Uncle Frank's Diary #10." It is attitudes like yours that continually besmirch extremely knowledgeable and skillful paraprofessionals, simply because they haven't earned that magical piece of paper with "MLS" stamped on it. Having a degree does not ensure superior customer service, and conversely being non-degreed does not indicate inferior service.

I am the only person in my entire library system, with or without an MLS, to write reviews for the Library Journal. My branch had no Reader's Advisory service until I asked for, and established it. That process included creating a training manual, generating genre lists, and training other "monkeys" and volunteers to work with the patrons. The reference librarians, a lovely group of MLS-clad professionals, were using outdated, outmoded genre lists until I supplied them with mine. They are understaffed and overworked, and consequently are appreciative of the assistance that clerks provide.

Furthermore, when a patron comes into my library with one or two words of a title, no author, a vague memory of plot or perhaps the color of the cover, I am the one who supplies that title. That recall doesn't come with any degree, but rather with being well read and caring enough to pursue it, which as I'm sure you are aware, is merely a personal choice, not an educational or job requirement.

As for collection development, part of my job is to research and recommend titles for leasing for my branch. I also contribute titles to the selection committee on an ongoing basis for the permanent collection, mainly because new authors are often overlooked without this bit of prodding. Cataloguing? I have found errors in our catalogue with regards to translated authors and children's books classified as adult and vice versa. Would I be doing a better job with a degree? Maybe. But I'm certainly not incapable of doing it without it, and that is the point that you don't seem to understand.

Perhaps you are simply unaware that there is a shortage of degreed librarians. My library system has recently created a new position called "Librarian Trainee" because they have had problems filling vacant librarian positions. They are being a little more conservative than the Orange County Library you cited in your piece in that clerks are only able to apply for this new position if they are currently enrolled in an MLS program and have completed at least six classes, and they do not even offer the position until they have exhausted a search for a degreed librarian. Many libraries are migrating towards unconventional methods of filling librarian positions not only to save money, but also because they have needs that cannot be met through conventional means.

Your ignorance about the capabilities of clerks is baseless yet all encompassing. What you obviously perceive as intellectual elitism is actually just a prejudicial smear against those who haven't had a formal education through the graduate level. The virulence you spew not only hurts paraprofessionals, but also contributes to the negative stereotyping of professional librarians as being conservative, resistant to change, superior and smug.

Do you even see the delicious irony here? The patrons that use the library, the very ones you feel are too ignorant to know they are receiving this inept service, lump all of us together. To the overwhelming majority of the public, everyone who works in a library is a librarian.

I have no tolerance for prejudice or bigotry of any type. Personally, I feel sickened to be included in any group of which you are a member.

"PERFORMANCE ANXIETY
BY JOY PRESS
Literary Stars Fight the Second–Novel Syndrome

Everyone nurses a soft spot for the wunderkind—the Jonathan Safran Foer, Alicia Keys, or Harmony Korine who swoops fully formed out of oblivion and into Entertainment Weekly. The publishing industry has become as besotted with these instant prodigies as the music or fashion worlds. Where publishers once allowed a writer's voice to develop over long, wiry careers, now they're impatient for that instant payoff, the debut blockbuster.

All this mad love for the first novel could have long-term repercussions, though, dumping unrealistic expectations on the follow-up. The Second-Novel Syndrome has long been an occupational hazard in the world of letters, as authors struggle with writer's block, intense scrutiny, and the self-consciousness induced by sudden celebrity. Take Ralph Ellison, who spent more than 40 years after Invisible Man laboring over his unfinished novel Juneteenth (which Ellison's executor finally "completed" and published a few years ago). Or Harper Lee, whose output ended abruptly after she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, and who eventually became the literary equivalent of a hermit (she hasn't given an interview since 1964)... "

~~From the Village Voice Literary Supplement, Fall 2002

To read the complete article:
http://www.villagevoice.com/vls/178/press.shtml

Thanks to Morvarn for this link.

HOW TO BE A BOCA MOM
by Anonymous

There are many different kinds of moms in the world. Some are warm and nurturing, some strict and disciplined. Then there is the Boca mom.

It takes work and energy to become a member of this fabled group. Training begins long before marriage. It is advantageous to be born the daughter of a Boca mom, lessons learned by example make a strong impression. For those not so blessed, the task requires determination.

The right look is imperative. Hair should be lightened, or at least highlighted. The hours spent in a beauticians chair are good training for later play group gab fests. Weekly manicures and pedicures are mandatory. Nail enamel choices include a French for the extroverted and bright red for the smouldering, moody types. Should your genes have denied you long, strong fingernails, the miracle of acrylics can make up for the deficiency.

Breast argumentation is another popular procedure for increasing one's desirability. A wardrobe of tight tee shirts and sequined tube tops are required follow up to the operation. The metamorphosis can be completed with designer bags and shoes and the obligatory cell phone. A diamond encrusted model that plays the latest Broadway tunes is guaranteed to move you to the top of the trend setter list.

Dressed to kill and made up within an inch of perfection, our Boca woman is ready to become a Boca mom. All she needs now is a man. And since it is as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor one, the choice is clear. The astute Boca babe will check out a mans financial statement before agreeing to the first date. This is not as callous as it may sound. The Boca man seeking the
perfect woman has already decided trophies are of greater value than intellectual discussions. Matches of this sort satisfy the wants of both parties, even if they fail to meet their emotional needs.

With a huge diamond and a band of gold securely on the left hand, the final phase begins. Working around her salon appointments and her husbands business schedule, she manages to conceive. This is when all her training is called into play.

As soon as the delivery date is known, she must set an appointment for her epidural, followed by the post birth massage and hairdressing. With that settled, she can begin to think about her child to be.

With a scant nine months before the arrival, she must organize well to accomplish all the needed tasks. First its off to the mall to register for all the high ticket baby items at the best stores. Then to the auto dealership to trade in that cramped Mercedes for a huge SUV. And in her spare time she has to interview potential nannies (no Scandinavians..they might want to sunbathe nude!), cooks, housekeepers and social secretaries. Its enough to make a woman hire a temp!

When the blessed event finally occurs and the video of the birth has been sent to everyone they know, the Boca mom can finally begin to enjoy all she has worked so hard to attain. There are story times available at bookstores and libraries. It is important to attend as many as possible so you can keep up on all the gossip. Proper attire requires you bring your cell phone to story time so everyone can gauge your importance by the number of calls you have to answer. Although the hosts believe this time is for the children, every Boca mom knows it is the perfect time to share adult conversation and compare the latest fashions. If the children miss a word or two of the
story, they can stay for the next one and hear it again. Besides, its good training for those little girls who want to grow up just like mommy!

A Book Club for the Ages
Virginia Women Have Read Along Together for Six Decades

Sept. 28, 2002 -- In 1941, a group of women in Northern Virginia formed a book club. Their husbands were just starting their careers and nearly all the wives were in their 20s. They would meet in the afternoons, bringing their babies along. During World War II, many took jobs, so meetings were switched to evenings.

Years passed. Then decades. Today, 61 years on, the group -- which they simply call "Book Club" -- is down to six members, age 86 through 92. They still meet regularly. Two of them still drive, one is a Senior Olympics champion, and one is an avid canoeist. They all know each other intimately.

As the members tell Howard Berkes for All Things Considered, every few meetings, they have a "book selection." Each member brings three titles she'd be willing to buy. The group votes on which one the member should buy, and at the next meeting, the books are passed on. If the group likes a suggested title that doesn't make the rotation, the woman who suggested it is asked to read it and present a "book report" to the group.

They meet every three weeks, with some longer breaks in the summer. Their favorite authors over the years have been Wallace Stegner, Barbara Kingsolver and Jill Kerr Conway.

In the early days they avoided the bestseller list, sticking to the weightier stuff of classic literature and non-fiction.

That's changed. The women don't pooh-pooh the bestseller list anymore, but they certainly don't follow it slavishly. Their reading remains as varied as ever, from academic tomes to light novels. They haven't kept count, but they have read an estimated 1,000 books each -- just for the group. That doesn't include books they've read on their own.

How much longer will they go? "The book club would never consider disbanding," says member Mary Lathram. "I think that's a terrible word for Book Club. I feel that when we get too frail, maybe we'll just… fade away."

The group's current reading list is:

John Adams by David McCullough
The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan
Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Travels with Myself and Another by Martha Gellhorn
Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
The Last Time We Met by Anita Shreve

From NPR.
For an audio report: http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2002/sept/bookclub/index.html

The Bookmobile Reinvented
Va. Start-Up Booksfree.com Delivers Dime Novels, Adjusted for Inflation

By a Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 2, 2002; Page E05

Roxanne Volkmann, who describes herself as addicted to mysteries, reads an average of six books a month. At $5.95 per paperback, the cost of that addiction can add up.

But Volkmann has found a particularly frugal way of feeding her habit: She orders books online from Booksfree.com, receives them by mail, and drops them in an envelope and sends them back when she's done. All in all, her membership costs $9 a month.

"I love it, I love it, I love it," said Volkmann, a Chicago resident, who has helped four other "freak book junkie" friends sign up.

Booksfree.com has 4,000 members, 93 percent of them women, who pay $6.99 to $14.99 a month to rent from the start-up's online library, which is stocked with 34,000 paperback titles. Its most popular titles are mysteries, romances and action novels.

Booksfree, which makes its home in a 3,000-square-foot Vienna warehouse next to a pizza-delivery joint and several industrial outfits, is run by unlikely entrepreneurs in a hostile economy. Its founders, W. Douglas Ross and Andrew E. Bilinski, at 60 and 54, respectively, are a generation older than the twentysomethings who rode the Internet boom to its peak three years ago. Booksfree, which came late to the online commerce scene, is one of the few remaining survivors.

"Our timing wasn't exactly good," concedes Ross, president and chief executive of Booksfree, who spent 23 years owning and operating a computer systems integration business just two doors away. Bilinski previously worked for EDS Corp., the Air Force and BDM International Inc.

"Doug had the idea for an entertainment services company, and at first I said, 'Nah, we are too old for the Internet,' " said Bilinski, who describes himself as a "full-time volunteer" who hasn't taken a salary since Booksfree started.

The company started in September 2001 with $1 million in capital raised from friends and former business associates. Since then, it has raised just short of $1 million more and has operated with four full-time employees, plus six or eight part-timers who take inventory and package the books.

Membership has grown steadily, from word of mouth and online advertising. One recent afternoon, part-time worker Carlos Luna, who is working toward a PhD in computer science at George Mason University, pushed a tray cart around the warehouse, filling orders placed online by customers from Maine to Texas.

The business model is similar to that of Netflix Inc., which rents DVDs by mail and raised $82.5 million when it went public this spring. Booksfree customers can take out as many as six books at a time, depending on their membership level. The company trades mostly in mainstream books that it orders from distributors Ingram Book Group and Baker & Taylor Inc., but it also boasts a limited number of out-of-print books by romance novelist Nora Roberts, for example, that Ross or Bilinski brought back from book shows. Its most popular book, with several hundred copies circulating, is Carly Phillips's "The Bachelor."

Bilinski and Ross say their biggest competitors are other online book sites, which sell rather than rent books, and local libraries, which don't deliver. Consumer retail books are a $13 billion business, according to the American Booksellers Association, so there's plenty of room for growth.

The company is not yet making a profit, although it only needs to sign up 3,000 more subscribers to break even, Bilinski said, and its goal is to reach 100,000 subscribers. With enough money to last through next year, the company's modest goal is "to grow and be profitable as soon as we can," Ross said.

In the meantime, Booksfree operates without delusions of grandeur. Everyone doubles as a book bagger, especially on days when 300 orders have to ship. Maryanne Fadul, Booksfree's comptroller, doubles as the company's customer service department. Ross is often recruited to take the afternoon shipment to the post office before it closes at 6 p.m.

From Publishers Weekly Daily Online
09.25.02

Kiriyama Prize Finalists: Fostering Pacific Rim Understanding

Finalists for the 2001 Kiriyama Prize, which honors titles that
"encourage greater understanding among the peoples and nations of the
Pacific Rim," have been announced. The two winners, who will be
revealed October 29, will receive $15,000 each.

The fiction finalists (with the prize committee's notations):

Red Poppies by Alai, translated by Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun
Lin (Houghton Mifflin). This witty first novel by an ethnic Tibetan
living in Sichuan, China, is a complex political parable. Like the
"idiot" son who is the novel's narrator and unlikely hero, Alai's
story echoes a legendary Tibetan wise man who "preferred wisdom masked
by stupidity."

Melal: A Novel of the Pacific by Robert Barclay (The University of
Hawai'i Press). This debut novel by a doctoral student is a gripping
story and powerful social commentary. Set in a marginalized indigenous
community in the Marshall Islands, which the U.S. military used as a
nuclear testing ground, Barclay traces the horrific and tragic results
suffered by native islanders. The author is a former resident of
Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry (Knopf). In this beautifully paced
and elegantly crafted novel, the acclaimed Indian-Canadian author
tells a story of familial love and obligation, political and personal
corruption, and religious complexity. In focusing on a Parsi family
living in Bombay, Mistry illustrates the universal in the particular.
Mistry was born in Bombay and immigrated to Canada in 1975.

The Girl From the Coast by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, translated by Willem
Samuels (Hyperion East). Widely considered Indonesia's greatest living
novelist, Ananta Toer's words were so feared by the Indonesian
government that he was held as a political prisoner for over 17 years.
This translation marks the first time The Girl From the Coast--the
story of a poor village girl who is forced into a loveless marriage
with a wealthy politician in late 19th century Java--has been
available in English.

Dirt Music by Tim Winton (Scribner). A lucid portrayal of three very
different characters as they journey to the Australian wilderness to
escape and atone for their pasts. In his seventh novel, Winton, one of
Australia's preeminent writers, has created a vivid and powerful
evocation of climate and landscape, along with a garrulous chorus of
supporting characters.

Shortlist Announced
24 September 2002

Yann Martel, Rohinton Mistry, Carol Shields, William Trevor, Sarah Waters and Tim Winton are the six authors shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2002, the UK's best known literary award. The shortlist was announced by chair of judges, Professor Lisa Jardine, at a press conference in London today (24 September, 2002).

The six shortlisted books for the Man Booker Prize 2002 are:

Yann Martel - Life of Pi (Canongate)

Rohinton Mistry - Family Matters (Faber and Faber )

Carol Shields - Unless (4th Estate)

William Trevor - The Story of Lucy Gault (Viking)

Sarah Waters - Fingersmith (Virago)

Tim Winton - Dirt Music (Picador)

Bold Type proudly presents the 2002 O. Henry Awards, judged this year by Joyce Carol Oates, Dave Eggers and Colson Whitehead. Read Kevin Brockmeier's First Prize story "The Ceiling" along with "March 15, 1997", an exclusive story that previews Brockmeier's
first novel, as well as "Charity" by Richard Ford. Listen to Anthony Doerr, Deborah Eisenberg and David Gates read from their superb stories with grace and humor. Also included in this feature is a full list of winners since 1919 and an index of literary magazines that publish original fiction.
http://www.boldtype.com/ohenry/0902/

Adam Haslett
A stranger no more
Adam Haslett balances law school with explosive literary success
David Wiegand, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, September 21, 2002
©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/09/21/DD222445.DTL&type=books



There probably aren't too many Elis running around New Haven these days who think of Yale Law School as a kind of career halfway house, but that's what Adam Haslett is doing in his final year of classes there. For three days of the week, he's focusing on criminal and appellate law at Yale. The rest of his time is spent back in his New York apartment, working on his first novel and, in essence, preparing for next year, when he will devote full time to an out-of-nowhere literary career that's made him one of the most talked about young writers of the year.

Tall and lanky, with a retreating hairline over a wide forehead, brown eyes and a sharply angular nose, Haslett, 31, is still a bit stunned at the reception his debut book of stories, "You Are Not a Stranger Here" (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday), has received since its publication this summer. Not only has the book drawn critical raves, it was also recently chosen by author Jonathan Franzen ("The Corrections") as the second selection in the NBC "Today" show's fledgling on-air book club. So far, there are 100,000 copies in print, a fairly amazing number for a first book of stories by a virtual unknown.

The nine stories in the book represent an unusual breadth of human experience, much of it at least initially disturbing: A man travels to England with his wife with the idea of committing suicide and meets an old woman who

is tending to a dying youth in a room that reeks of the ointment she spreads on the boy's ravaged body to ease his pain; a psychiatrist believes that he can help a woman whose now-dead son severed the fingers of one of her hands during a crystal meth binge; a teenage boy invites repeated physical and sexual brutalization by a school bully in order to unleash his repressed grief over his mother's suicide.

While some might simplistically call the stories sad or depressing, Haslett isn't defensive when he disagrees.

"I don't find them sad at all because for me the saddest thing is compulsory happiness, the notion that a happy ending is something we have to have," he says, sitting in the window seat of a Noe Valley Starbucks earlier this week. "I don't think stories have to have happy endings in order to be stories that contain a kind of redemptive quality."

While Haslett's stories may not fit the Aristotelian definition of comedy, their characters all undergo some kind of transformation, usually through contact with others who, often unwittingly, enable a kind of benedictive catharsis. The teenage boy is finally able to grieve; the suicidal man, whose wife is constantly afraid of leaving him alone for fear of what he'll do, finds solace in the company of the dying boy whose time is also growing short; the shrink reaches a new understanding of his own pain once he accepts the lonely mother's resolve to live with the loss of her son because it is now and forever a part of who she is.

"Depression is really like a total lack of emotion in a way, and I feel that if anything it's the opposite of depression or numbness that is the definition of true sadness," he says. "These people are flooded with feeling."

Haslett, the youngest of three children, was born in Kingston, Mass., to a businessman and a schoolteacher. His brother is a music journalist living in Cambridge, Mass., and his sister, with whom he stayed during his Bay Area book tour, is a documentary filmmaker at Stanford. During the equivalent of his junior high years, Haslett and his family lived in England, where his father was born.

"I was just a kid, then," he says. "At first I didn't want to go, and once I got there, I didn't want to leave. I did the whole British prep school thing,

with the shorts and the tie."

He still returns to the Scottish Highlands, where his stepfather lives, and several of his stories are convincingly set in England.

Haslett began writing fiction as an undergraduate at Swarthmore College, where he happened to take one seminar with Franzen. After college, he found himself trying to choose between writing and what he calls "a reliable life" in a solid profession, such as law. He was able to defer Yale while he studied at the Iowa Writers and the Provincetown Fine Arts Workshops. Today, he says, "it's still an open question" as to whether he'll ever practice law, now that he's making a name for himself as a writer.

Following its English sojourn, Haslett's family returned to upscale Wellesley, Mass., where his widowed mother still lives.

And now her handsome, single, gay son is the literary toast of the town and finishing his law studies at Yale. On the surface, Haslett's is an enviable life. One might even go so far as saying his has been a life of privilege and opportunity.

But a suggestion of something else begins, haltingly, to emerge when he is asked about his late father, who suffered from manic depression.

"It definitely impacted the family. It was a formative experience," he says,

adding that "there were times when he got to a point where he couldn't work."

He struggles for the right words for a second, admitting that he's never really talked much about his father's illness before.

"He was in psychiatric care. He wasn't necessarily always wanting to be in the care."

Although mental illness figures in some of Haslett's work, "there's nothing really literal [from his past] in the stories."

"I feel more liberated as a writer when I find things that are 45 degrees off to the side [of his own life], so that some of my experiences flow into them and shape them.

"I feel lucky to be able to write. It's the only thing I've ever done that sort of integrates the past with what happens in the present, and what could happen in the future. There aren't many activities in life that can do all of those things, and writing is one of them. So when it goes well it feels like a privilege."

If so, it's a privilege Adam Haslett has clearly earned.

E-mail David Wiegand at dwiegand@sfchronicle.com.

©2002 San Francisco Chronicl