1. ttyl, ttfn, l8r, g8r (series) by Lauren Myracle. Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs
2. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson. Reasons: Homosexuality
3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Anti-Family, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide
4. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Reasons: Racism, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer. Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group
6. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
7. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Reasons: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, Violence
8. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Carolyn Mackler. Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
9. The Color Purple Alice Walker. Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
10. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

The contract calls for Browne to publish the titles over the course of three years and will also see HarperOne create The Sylvia Browne Collection, a series that will feature books about spirituality and the supernatural that Browne will have a large role, per the publisher, in selecting and also supporting through various ways, from writing introductions to promoting on her Web site.

As many as 10,000 retail stores will close nationwide this year, led by clothing stores, electronics and food-and-beverage stores, and department stores, in that order, a study released Tuesday shows.

If the forecast holds, the store closings this year will be nearly double that of last year, when store closings stood at 5,100, said Sandra Reese, a principal at Grant Thornton LLP's offices in Chicago. Last year, the biggest store closings occurred in electronics, followed by home improvement-furnishings stores and in third place, apparel stores.

"It's been amazing to me how, in conversations, everyone from the low-end to the high-end shopper is cutting back on spending and not spending on lavish purchases," Reese said.

*****

Though bookstores represented only a fraction of the total, their closings are forecast to jump 500 percent from last year, to 400 stores.

Under the multi-year agreement, Mr. Lagasse is set to release his first book -- with a focus on indoor and outdoor grilling -- in May 2009. Although the chef, who is known for his enthusiastic cooking style, has produced 12 titles with HarperCollins since 1993, the book will be his first in four years. It will also be one of HarperCollins' first releases under its new HarperStudio imprint.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though Mr. Lagasse will receive a modest advance, as well as 50% of profits generated from the titles, according to Robert Miller, head of HarperStudio.

Launched in April 2008, the new imprint made waves as the most recent effort by book publishers to cope with stagnant book sales and increasing production costs. It is unique because it splits profits with authors in lieu of paying them hefty advances and aims to eliminate the costly practice of allowing booksellers to return unsold copies. HarperStudio also focuses on electronic books and digital audio editions, one of the key reasons MSLO executive chairman Charles Koppelman pushed Mr. Lagasse to the experimental imprint. "Emeril is the perfect author for HarperStudio's cutting-edge book publishing formula," Mr. Koppelman said.

Swank, who is eyeing the project as a potential starring vehicle, and Smith will produce via their recently formed Alcon Entertainment-based 2S Films, along with Aaron Geller and Darryl Porter of PorterGeller Entertainment.

"Women," written by former Veuve Clicquot champagne executive Mireille Guiliano, was a domestic and international sensation when it was first published in 2004. The nonfiction, lifestyle book offered insight on how French women manage to stay slim despite enjoying such calorie-rich fare as wine and pastries. The book sold more than 1 million copies, reached No. 1 on the New York Times nonfiction best-seller list and was translated into 40 languages. Mireille became a fixture on TV, appearing on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," morning news shows and other programs around the world.

2S and PorterGeller, with Hach, are developing the project as a romantic comedy following a "girl-next-door champagne company middle manager who learns some tough life lessons which help her become the woman she's always wanted to be," the companies said.

Developing features around nonfiction book titles or concepts isn't new. New Line has "He's Just Not That Into You," an adaptation of the dating lifestyle tome by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo.

• The Last Oracle by James Rollins (William Morrow), the spine- tingling new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Black Order and Map of Bones.
  
  
• This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosely (Little, Brown), the must-have writing guide from the bestselling author of the Easy Rawlins and Fearless Jones mystery series.
  
  
• Don't Make Me Choose Between You and My Shoes by Dixie Cash (Avon), the hilarious new chick lit novel about two Texas female private investigators/hairdressers that head for New York City in search of some fun and some fabulous shoes.
  
  
• The Write Type: Discover Your True Writer's Identity and Create a Customized Writing Plan by Karen E. Peterson, Ph.D. (Adamas Media)
  
  

"There's going to be a lot of untold stories and untold anecdotes," said Will Weisser, Sentinel's associate publisher. "But the other part is the governor's vision for the future of American politics and society and what should we be working towards? How does the (Republican) party become more unified?"

*****

The publishing company wouldn't say how much Huckabee will be paid. Weisser acknowledged that they've agreed to the book at a time when Huckabee's political future is uncertain. The former governor recently formed a political action committee to raise money for McCain and other Republicans, and has also been mentioned as a potential running mate for the Arizona senator.

"We kind of had to think about that because obviously it's possible he could be the running mate," Weisser said. "It could certainly be hard to do a traditional book promotion if he's the vice president-elect. But some people here have pointed out that that's a nice problem to have."

Q: Did having writers in your family lead you to write?

A: "Growing up surrounded by people who wrote for a living made it seen like a viable reality. Had I grown up with parents or grandparents in classic nine-to-five jobs, it would have felt further away. It was always something I wanted to do."

Q: Do you mind people comparing you work to your grandfather's — or even your mother, Tessa Dahl, who is a writer?

A: "It is such an easy route to take, comparing me with my grandfather, but I couldn't take that sort of comparison or criticism on board. It is really irrelevant as you are talking about totally different mediums. He was a genius, beloved pretty universally, a great children's writer and adult fiction writer. I am just at the beginning of my career."

Q: Did you get on with him? (Roald Dahl died in 1990)

A: "I adored him. I grew up spending a lot of time with him, with all my grandparents. He was a great story-teller. He was sparky and wonderful and curious and never patronized children, which comes across in his writing."

"If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs" has won the Diagram Prize for the oddest title of the year, The Bookseller magazine announced Friday. Big Boom, the apparently pseudonymous author, calls it a "self-help book, written by a man for the benefit of women."

It's a book, he writes, that is "raw, honest and about you," distilling "the sweat off my back, the wrinkles in my forehead from anger and thinking all the time."

The title triumphed in a public vote over runner-up "I Was Tortured by the Pygmy Love Queen" and the third-place finisher, "Cheese Problems Solved." The deputy editor of The Bookseller Joel Rickett says the title of the book is so effective that "you don't even need to read the book itself."

Jane Fonda's 2005 memoir My Life So Far became a best seller (it peaked at No. 11 on the list), thanks to its largely unflinching look at her headline-making life. So it stands to reason the thespian turned scribe is hard at work on an equally hefty sequel. She has been at it a year and has roughly another year left before she finishes it.

"It's called The Third Act: Entering Prime Time," says Fonda, 70. "I've been traveling the country, interviewing scientists, gerontologists, sexologists. It's forcing me to go deep into what it means to be aging." Not that Fonda has any plans to slow down. "I'm claiming this third act," she says. She's eager to act again if another juicy role comes her way. But mostly, she's focused on the printed word. "I really like writing. I really do," she says. "It's slow. I don't know why they thought I could churn it out."

The 21-year-old twins -- who topped last year's Forbes Top Earning Stars Under 21 list with an estimated fortune of $40 million each -- are publishing a coffee table book, Influence, through Penguin Young Readers Group. It will feature "the most interesting, challenging, creative people we know -- the ones who helped pave the way for us and our generation," Ashley said in a statement.

Among them: shoe guru Christian Louboutin, actress Lauren Hutton, photographer Terry Richardson and writer Bob Colacello. "Ashley and I interviewed the people who have inspired us, with the hope that they will inspire and teach others," Mary-Kate said.

The book -- due this fall -- will also feature exclusive photos of the twins and never-before-seen interviews with the two.

Tea For Ruby is about a little girl with a marvelous imagination, who, though well intentioned, is not always as well-mannered and proper as she might be. When she suddenly receives a mysterious invitation to Tea, she enthusiastically shares her excitement with everyone from her mom and dad to the postman! Along the way she learns valuable lessons in manners from everyone in preparation for the big day. Will she be ready? Tea For Ruby teaches proper etiquette in a fanciful way that will appeal to the everyday princess: for the high spirited little girl who also knows when it is time to be a poised young lady. Ruby's endearing character will return for more animated adventures in future books by the Duchess of York and Robin Preiss Glasser.

Of the 53 percent of U.S. adults who said they visited a library in 2007, the biggest users were young adults aged 18 to 30 in the tech-loving group known as Generation Y, the survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project said. "These findings turn our thinking about libraries upside down," said Leigh Estabrook, a professor emerita at the University of Illinois and co-author of a report on the survey results. "Internet use seems to create an information hunger and it is information-savvy young people who are most likely to visit libraries," she said.

Internet users were more than twice as likely to patronize libraries as non-Internet users, according to the survey. More than two-thirds of library visitors in all age groups said they used computers while at the library. Sixty-five percent of them looked up information on the Internet while 62 percent used computers to check into the library's resources. Public libraries now offer virtual homework help, special gaming software programs, and some librarians even have created characters in the Second Life virtual world, Estabrook said. Libraries also remain a community hub or gathering place in many neighborhoods, she said.

The survey showed 62 percent of Generation Y respondents said they visited a public library in the past year, with a steady decline in usage according to age. Some 57 percent of adults aged 43 to 52 said they visited a library in 2007, followed by 46 percent of adults aged 53 to 61; 42 percent of adults aged 62 to 71; and just 32 percent of adults over 72.

"We were surprised by these findings, particularly in relation to Generation Y," said Lee Rainie, co-author of the study and director of the Pew project. In 1996 a survey by the Benton Foundation found young adults saw libraries becoming less relevant in the future.

The 58-year-old model and actress has signed a deal with Penguin to write "an indispensable guide" for the mature woman on retaining and enhancing their style through the decades. Those Fab Forties, Fifties and Sixties offers advice to older women on revitalising their image with clever styling, well-applied makeup and the right skincare regime.

Louise Moore, managing director of Penguin's Michael Joseph imprint, tipped the book to become a best-seller when it is released next June. "Twiggy is as beautiful a woman in her fifties as she was in her twenties, and has been at the forefront of the fashion industry since she was a 60s supermodel," she said. "This book will act as a practical, essential, indispensable guide to how to rethink your style and carry it through the decades, find what suits you best, source new skincare and make up tricks, and incorporates Twiggy's in depth philosophy on what makes women truly stylish."

The six-figure deal came after the phenomenal success of the model's Marks and Spencer advertising campaign, which was largely credited with reversing the brand's ailing fortunes. A blouse worn by Twiggy in one advert sold more in a week than any other in the history of the store.

Victoria, who signed a deal with HarperCollins this week to publish a Stateside style guide. That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between, has already hit bestseller status in the U.K., where it was published earlier this year, and is now primed to guide the grooming habits of American women as well.

"I've always been a girl's girl," the fashion icon said about the book's U.S. release. "And I know from experience that making the very best of yourself is something any woman can do. I was never the six-foot-tall pinup."

"I've always been the girl next door who got lucky. I've come a long way in the last 10 years, but this book isn't my attempt to tell you what or what not to do. It's just to share some of what I've learned." The guide will hit bookstores this November.

Founder Judy Piatkus will continue as m.d. until the end of the year, when she will retire from publishing. Piatkus, which has a turnover of around £10m, will become an independent imprint within Little, Brown. It will continue trading at its current premises until the end of October, after which the team will move to Little, Brown's new offices at 100 Victoria Embankment.

Little, Brown said it would ask "the majority of the directors and staff" to stay with the business. It added that while a small number of staff may not have continuing roles within Piatkus, they would wherever possible be offered jobs within Little, Brown or the wider Hachette Livre UK group to keep job losses "to an absolute minimum".

The transaction was structured as a purchase by Little, Brown of a 100% shareholding in Piatkus, which remains intact as a company. All contracts remain valid and will be honoured. The shareholders of Piatkus Books were represented by The van Tulleken Company. Piatkus, founded by Judy Piatkus in 1979, publishes commercial fiction, including Nora Roberts, and a range of mind body spirit, health, business and self-development titles. Authors include Patrick Holford, David Allen and Brian L Weiss.

Librarians? Aren't they supposed to be bespectacled women with a love of classic books and a perpetual annoyance with talkative patrons - the ultimate humorless shushers? Not any more. With so much of the job involving technology and with a focus now on finding and sharing information beyond just what is available in books, a new type of librarian is emerging - the kind that, according to the Web site Librarian Avengers, is "looking to put the 'hep cat' in cataloguing."

*****

....library organizations have been trying to recruit a more diverse group of students and to mentor younger members of the profession. "I think we're getting more progressive and hipper," said Carrie Ansell, a 28-year-old law librarian in Washington. In the last few years, articles have decried the graying of the profession, noting a large percentage of librarians that would soon be retiring and a seemingly insurmountable demand for replacements. But worries about a mass exodus appear to have been unfounded.

Michele Besant, the librarian at the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the Association of Library and Information Science statistics show a steady increase in library information science enrollments over the last 10 years. Further, at hers and other schools there is a trend for students to be entering masters programs at a younger age. The myth prevails that librarians are becoming obsolete. "There's Google, no one needs us," Ms. Gentile said, mockingly, over a drink at Daddy's.

Still, these are high-tech times. Why are people getting into this profession when libraries seem as retro as the granny glasses so many of the members of the Desk Set wear? "Because it's cool," said Ms. Gentile, who works at the Brooklyn Museum. Ms. Murphy, 29, thinks so, too. An actress who had long considered library school, Ms. Murphy finally decided to sign up after meeting several librarians - in bars. "People I, going in, would never have expected were from the library field," she said. "Smart, well-read, interesting, funny people, who seemed to be happy with their jobs."

The new books follow Fiddy's memoirs released as a collaboration with MTV/Pocketbooks, From Pieces To Weight: Once Upon A Time In Southside Queens. He told allhiphop.com: "Last year, my memoirs, From Pieces to Weight, marked the beginning. Now, I'm rounding up some of the top writers, same way I rounded up some of the top rappers in the game, to form G-Unit and take this series to the top of the literary world."

"The stories in the G-Unit series are the kinds of dramas me and my crew have been dealing with our whole lives: death, deceit, double-crosses, ultimate loyalty, and total betrayal. It's about our life on the streets and no one knows it better than us. Not to mention, when it comes to delivering authentic gritty urban stories of the high and low life, our audience expects the best."

"It's about our life on the streets and no one knows it better than us. You know I don't do anything halfway, and I'm going to take this street lit thing to a whole other level. Are you ready?"

Publishers traditionally target the post-holiday period in early January to release diet and fitness books, and 2007 is no exception with a bewildering array of fat-burning tips, suggestions and statistics to help people get back into shape.

But several commentators noted a shift away from extreme regimes to a more common sense approach to weight loss as obesity becomes a growing problem although nutritionists warn not all bookshelf advice is worth the money.

"I think what is important for people is to spot the fad diets," said Dr. Toni Steer, a nutritionist at Britain's Medical Research Council.

Also highlighted in the media in recent weeks have been "Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat" by Naomi Moriyama, "The Best Life Diet" by Oprah Winfrey's personal trainer Bob Greene and "Feed Your Tiger" by Letha Hadady.

In Britain, Audrey Eyton, author of the bestselling "F-Plan Diet" in 1982, returns with "The F2 Diet".

For those seeking enjoyment and relaxation with health, Roger Corder, professor of experimental therapeutics at the William Harvey Research Institute in London, recommends a moderate daily intake of red wine in "The Wine Diet".

And Cherie and John Calbom say not sleeping enough raises the risk of obesity, diabetes and other complaints. The publisher's tagline for "Sleep Away the Pounds" is "You snooze, you lose".

"They are aimed at all ages. They are written in a childlike way like the 'Mr Men' books but they are for adults as well as kids," he told Reuters. "I particularly loved the idea of writing a book about Michael Jackson that you could read to children." In "A Boy Called Michael" Robinson writes: "If you were to line up lots of pictures of Michael, you might think that he had changed himself lots to look different. You would be wrong to think that -- most of this has happened by itself!"

"In the book on Britney Spears, I said she should stop having babies and make another album. She is now doing that so I hope we played a small part," Robinson said. He has now signed a deal to turn the slim volumes into an animated TV series. Elton John is satirised for his shopping sprees and short temper. Recalling one of his outbursts about lip-synching at concerts, Robinson writes: "Once Sir Elton was very mean about a girl called Madonna. "He said that Madonna should not make people pay to watch her pretend to sing songs. Elton was very angry about this. He was so angry his head almost fell off."

Feedback, as far as Robinson knows, has been positive. "Robbie Williams was given a copy early on of the book about him. He really liked it and took it home," he said. No collection of cautionary pop tales would be complete without the story of "A Boy Called Pete" about singer Pete Doherty, the self-confessed drug addict and on-again off-again boyfriend of supermodel Kate Moss. "I didn't set out to make it moral but it's difficult not to see it as a good example of why you should not take drugs all the time," Robinson said.

As the book explains, Pete "likes to take lots of mind-bending Class A drugs. Unfortunately Class A drugs are not very good for you. They make you smelly and a bit untidy-looking."

"We believe 'Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones' is detrimental and dangerous to the thousands of women who will read it," Dr. Erika Schwartz, a Manhattan internist on the board of the SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, told Page Six. "The book freely and repeatedly blurs the line of medical ethics and science with hearsay."

Schwartz and five other top docs have written Somers and her publisher, Crown, to complain because "we cannot stand by and allow nonexperts to dispense medical advice that could potentially harm women." The "Three's Company" star - best known for hawking the ThighMaster exercise gadget - touts "bioidentical hormone-replacement therapy," in which supplemental doses of synthetic sex-steroid hormones replace conventional hormone-replacement therapy for menopausal women.

Somers says her book is a "medically validated approach" that can help reverse "the aging process" and maintain "a healthy, vibrant, mentally sharp, sexually active life - while building the body's natural defenses against age-related diseases." But Schwartz says that many of the claims in the book are "scientifically unproven" and that Somers mixes "quotes from qualified physicians who are experts . . . with those of a person with no medical or scientific background" - which "will further confuse women and, we believe, may potentially put their health at risk."

Somers' rep didn't get back to us, but a Crown rep said the perky blond actress "spoke with 16 credentialed doctors whose interviews are all included in the book . . . She states clearly, and repeatedly throughout the book, that women need to consult with a responsible doctor who is practicing this new approach to health and together determine an individualized course of action. She has embraced this medicine because she has seen the results in her own body."

Carmen Electra is set to add author to her impressive resume after writing a new book revealing her sexy secrets. The model/actress has written Carmen Electra: How to Look Sexy, which is set to hit bookstores in December 2006, according to American publication Life + Style. A source says, "It's a guide for how to wear clothes, how to put on the right make-up and even how to do your hair up so you look sexy."

Wearing flats with skinny jeans is just wrong... At least, that's what fashion guru Victoria Beckham says in her new book. And Posh doesn't mind which A-listers she offends. The book, called That Extra Half Inch, will have trend-setters rethinking their wardrobes.

Take Kate Moss - she often steps out in flatties and drainpipe denims but even she runs the risk of looking "like a golf club" by sporting such a combination, according to VB. And then there's the wedge... not a great fave with our Victoria, even if they are the current trend. "Some wedges are great but you can look like your feet are cased in cement," she writes.

*****

"I hate those silly lacy bras with all those bits poking out beneath your top. "You end up looking like you have four breasts," she claims. Fashion's always been a passion for Mrs Beckham, who confessed to carrying her school books around in a Gucci shopping bag. There are style tips aplenty in the book, which is co-written by Hadley Freeman.

"I'm excited to bring such a well known brand into the Wiley fold," said Robert Chiarelli, vice president and publisher at Wiley. "Microsoft is synonymous with quality, integrity and cutting-edge technology. Microsoft Executive Circle books will show how the interaction between business needs and technological innovation impacts all aspects of global business."

The series is expected to generate six to 12 books a year on such topics as communications, security, data integrity, technological and strategic alignment, performance, value, research, and investments in the future. Authors will come from both inside and outside Microsoft. The books are a strong strategic fit with Wiley's successful list of titles for C-level executives in global corporations.

"Senior executives have asked us to help them bridge the gap between business strategy execution and technological capabilities. By working with John Wiley & Sons, the leader in business publishing, we are investing in exciting new resources to help line-of-business and IT executives speak a common language. Ultimately, we hope this insight assists them in their effort to gain greater ROI on technology investments and grow in their ability to innovate," said Jeffrey James, director of Microsoft's Executive Circle program.

• Once Upon Stilettos by Shanna Swendson (Ballantine Books), the hilarious and enchanting new urban fairy tale that combines chick-lit, magic and romance.
  
  
• Body Intelligence: Lose Weight, Keep It Off, and Feel Great About Your Body Without Dieting by Edward Abramson, Ph.D. (McGraw Hill), the revolutionary book that will help you lose those unwanted pounds permanently.
  
  
• The Alpine Recluse by Mary Daheim (Ballantine), the fascinating new Emma Lord mystery in which amateur sleuth Emma faces murder and arson in the tiny town of Alpine, Washington.
  
  
• The Jury Master by Robert Dugoni (Warner Books), the exciting new legal thriller about a brilliant trial attorney that is thrust into a whirlwind of danger and adventure.

Tuscany put her on the map, but "as a writer," says Mayes, "you need to keep moving on. .. . I've got a sort of restless streak." Which makes perfect sense for a woman who's not only written four books about her adopted homeland but also a novel and six books of poetry.

"It just seemed to me that I wanted some way of writing about the transformative aspect of travel -- what happens to you, what would happen to you," says Mayes from her home in North Carolina. She and Ed traded in their longtime California digs for a new U.S. base outside the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, where they live "in splendid nature," as Mayes says. Not only does one of her best friends live here, but the Tar Heel State is home to furniture companies such as Drexel Heritage, for which Mayes helps design collections like "At Home in Tuscany."

"I know about place because Southern writers used place as one of their characters," says Mayes, her gentle accent still evident decades after leaving Georgia. "It's always shaping you and forming you. I knew that from William Faulkner and Eudora Welty. I felt it most when I first started going to Italy. That realization was in my mind when I thought of writing this book. Everybody in my family was always house-obsessed, the house being a metaphor for the self.

"There were many places I could be at home," continues Mayes, one of those folks who always leafs through real estate brochures in unfamiliar towns. "I felt like I could live in Greece and not look back. I loved Portugal and felt it was like Italy was 20 years ago before I started going there. Of all the places I traveled, Turkey was the most interesting. Morocco was deeply fascinating. It's extremely foreign, and that's what I loved about it. There was no way to fit it into my experience."

The series, which is not yet named, will be based on Reichl’s own life, according to Women’s Wear Daily. Reichl’s two books—both memoirs—tell the story of her food-critic gigs at the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, and Comfort Me with Apples gives steamy details about a romance she had with her first boss, Colman Andrews (author of Catalan Cuisine and Flavors of the Riviera, and editor-in-chief of Saveur magazine).

According to WWD, Reichl and her co-producers would be pleased to see their new show pitched as Sex and the City’s successor. "Certainly, the thought has flown around the room," Reichl told WWD.

LOS ANGELES—Greg Behrendt, the co-author of the bestsellers He's Just Not That Into You and It's Called A Breakup Because It's Broken, has written a book targeted at younger readers, which will be released by Simon & Schuster next week. In Your Parents Aren't That Into You, I train my funky wit and refreshing frankness on a very difficult time of childhood—the moment when kids realize they're just accessories, tax write-offs, or even mistakes," Behrendt said. "After all, the collapse of the child-parent relationship sets the tone for those to come." Your Parents Aren't That Into You, which features illustrations by Gary Panter, will also be available in an abridged stocking-stuffer size in time for Christmas.

It is no secret that authors write some of the very best blogs. Our editors have compiled a list of author blogs that they believe are truly outstanding. Although the styles and subject matter of the author blogs vary widely, they all share two important qualities: they are all frequently updated and interesting to read.

Twenty-five-year old Bobby Henderson's The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, purporting to assert another theory of "intelligent design" which the author feels should be taught alongside evolution (cited by many newspapers since he wrote to the Kansas Board of Education), showing how the Flying Spaghetti Monster actually created the universe, accompanied by scripture, proofs, and rites observed by Pastafarians, to Chris Schluep at Villard, for publication as a trade paperback, by Paula Balzer at Sarah Lazin Books (world).

She may have mastered the art of French cooking, but don't call amateur cook-turned-author Julie Powell a foodie. "Foodie to me implies being really taken with the trappings of the more elitist aspects of enjoying food, so I try to veer away from the term," she says.

*****

"It was very clear to me from the beginning that I couldn't just take the blog and plop it into a book form, because that would be excruciatingly boring," she says. But publisher Little, Brown (a division of Time Warner, as is CNN) had faith in her, even though it was the first time it had picked up a book based on a blog. Critics, however, have gotten snagged on the transformation. Some say the book is too, well, bloggy.

"'Julie and Julia' still has too much blog in its DNA: it has a messy, whatever's-on-my-mind incontinence to it, taking us places we'd rather not go," writes David Kamp of The New York Times. (Powell's disclosure that she sold her ova to pay off her credit card debt springs to mind.)

"Turning a breakup into a break-over" is how Behrendt describes his newest self-help book. "We want women to know that as bad as it can be, it can also be an opportunity to reinvent yourself."

*****

Behrendt tells women to transform themselves into what he calls a "hot happening super fox." "It's your version of whatever that is. We use those words because they are kind of empowering. Try to get back into your life and get back on track with dreams you have. There's nothing more attractive than a person who likes herself."

Behrendt is, himself, obviously on a roll. He's scheduled to plug his new book on the Today show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien this week, and he and Tuccillo are collaborating on the movie script for He's Just Not That Into You. How do you make a movie out of a self-help book? "You'll just have to wait and see," he says.

Stephen Lanzalotta created what he called the "Da Vinci Diet" in response to the decline in bread consumption brought on by the popularity of the Atkins Diet. The diet consists mostly of Mediterranean foods, including bread, fish, cheese, vegetables, meat, nuts and wine.

He signed a deal last year with Warner Books, a division of Time Warner Book Group, that included a six-figure advance. Warner announced this week that the book, The Diet Code: Revolutionary Weight-Loss Secrets From Da Vinci and The Golden Ratio, will be the first in its new line of books called Warner Wellness, which will focus on health, fitness, relationships and similar topics. The book is scheduled for release in April 2006.

The diet is based on the Golden Ratio or Phi, a mathematical value that was used to build the pyramids and has since been found to exist most everywhere in nature. Da Vinci is said to have used the Golden Ratio to proportion the human figures in his paintings — which is how it found its way into Dan Brown’s hugely popular novel.

"The basic premise is most universal patterns are based on the Golden Ratio, including our bodies," Lanzalotta said Thursday in his bakery-restaurant, Sophia’s. His biggest sellers are now combination plates — typically bread or polenta, cheese, olives and braised chard or Italian coleslaw — featuring the basic mix of his diet: 20 percent protein, 52 percent carbohydrates and 28 percent fat. Lanzalotta said his dietary regimen has helped him maintain a fit 160 pounds without giving up on the foods he loves.

"I have had many women approach me, sharing their own stories, and ask me how it feels to have a second chance at 40," Hatcher said in a statement released Tuesday by Hyperion. "With this book, I truly hope to reach everyone that I don't bump into on the street and share my story."

Simple yet profoundly effective, it embodies the radically common sense notion that with a complete and current inventory of all your commitments organized and reviewed in a systematic way, you can focus clearly, view your world from optimal angles, and make trusted choices about what to do (and not do) at any moment.

GTD includes an easy, step-by-step, highly effective method for achieving this relaxed, productive state. It includes:

Capturing anything and everything that has your attention

Defining actionable things discretely into outcomes and concrete next steps

Organizing reminders and information in the most streamlined way, in appropriate categories, based on how and when you need to access them

Keeping current and "on your game" with appropriately frequent reviews of the six horizons of your commitments (purpose, vision, goals, areas of focus, projects, and actions)

"My goal with this book is to help people turn their passions into successful businesses, as I did myself through many of the things I learned over the years," said Martha Stewart. "While the advice I impart in the book was developed through my own experiences as an entrepreneur, many of the examples I provide can apply to anyone about to start or build or expand a venture, whether it is a business, a philanthropic endeavor, or a personal improvement program."

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A Levine Books), the most anticipated book release of the summer.
  
  
• Hero, Come Back (Avon Books), a collection of three wonderful historical romances from bestselling authors Stephanie Lauren, Christina Dood and Elizabeth Boyle.
  
  
• 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published & 14 Reasons Why it Just Might by Pat Walsh (Penguin), the lively and plainspoken guide to getting published.
  
  
• Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (Back Bay Books), the hilarious, bestselling book of essays from David Sedaris.

First, the reference quality: How many recipes does it provide? What kind of glossaries, nutritional information, or conversion charts does it offer? Are the illustrations helpful or purely decorative?

Next, the mushier but crucial category of style: Does the book have panache? Is it written in a way that motivates the neophyte chef? Is it organized well? Does it reflect the way people cook and eat today? How enticing are the recipes?

Finally, what I call "the husband test": How clearly did the recipes direct Andrew? Did the books succinctly define the terms used in the recipes? How did the resulting food taste? And crucially, would Andrew cook from the book when he wasn't helping with this experiment?

MS is an intimate cook's notebook. The recipes have a fine-tuned quality that is hard to find in more comprehensive books, and Andrew responded to them immediately. His veal braised in milk and capers, rapini sautéed with chickpeas, and boiled rice with olives and chili were not stressful to cook, and the meal was, hands down, the best he made, with more complex flavors than any of his other offerings. "I'd eat this in a restaurant," he said without a hint of braggadocio.

1. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Publication date: 1848, Score: 74

2. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, Publication date: 1925-26, Score: 41

3. Quotations from Chairman Mao by Mao Zedong, Publication date: 1966, Score: 38

4. The Kinsey Report by Alfred Kinsey, Publication date: 1948, Score: 37

5. Democracy and Education by John Dewey, Publication date: 1916, Score: 36

6. Das Kapital by Karl Marx, Publication date: 1867-1894, Score: 31

7. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, Publication date: 1963, Score: 30

8. The Course of Positive Philosophy by Auguste Comte, Publication date: 1830-1842, Score: 28

9. Beyond Good and Evil by Freidrich Nietzsche, Publication date: 1886, Score: 28

10. General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes, Publication date: 1936, Score: 23

• Autographed Advance Reading Copy of Creepers (CD Books), the spine-tingling upcoming thriller from multiple New York Times bestselling author David Morrell.
  
  
• Autographed copy of Forced Mate by Rowena Cherry (Dorchester), the steamy futuristic romance novel which was a finalist for Best Futuristic Romance at the PEARL Awards.
  
  
• Set of two books: Sandstorm by James Rollins (Avon) with the new lenticular special edition cover and Map of Bones by James Rollins (William Morrow). These two exciting thrillers from the New York Times bestselling author are the perfect summer reading for fans of Dan Brown and Michael Crichton.
  
  
• Advance Reading Copy of the upcoming mystery Relics by Mary Anna Evans (Poisoned Pen Press), in which an archeologist finds more than she bargained for while investigating a centuries-old ethnic group which seems to have strange immunity to most modern diseases, including AIDS.

In a May 20 letter, the Association of American University Presses (AAUP) blasts Google's so-called Print for Libraries program for posing a risk of "systematic infringement of copyright on a massive scale."

The AAUP isn't the only organization to put Google on notice. BusinessWeek Online has also learned that in recent months, major publishers John Wiley & Sons and Random House have also sent letters to Google expressing similar concerns about the libraries program. "We don't see how a for-profit company compiling this would be considered fair use," says Allan Adler, head of legal and government affairs for the Association of American Publishers, the principal trade organization of the book publishing industry

"I think my defining moment was before I even graduated. I was taking a class on business law -- an interactive course, where we split up into teams and negotiated business deals for large multi-miliion dollar corporations. All pretend, of course -- but almost everyone in that class went through a radical personality shift -- myself, included. I became a mean person. Really mean. Like, outright nasty. Now, I'm no Pollyanna, and I've never touted myself as some sweet doe-eyed pussycat -- but I shocked myself. I didn't like it, either. I realized after that experience that given enough time and enough opportunity, that was who I could become. Ten or twenty years down the line, I would be the person I used to hate. An asshole. So I was already disillusioned when I graduated. Very much so.

The former employee at Armstrong Library pulled a mystery novel off a shelf and noticed a bulge in its dust jacket. She opened the book and discovered what library officials termed was a "substantial" sum of money.

"I felt something in there, and from my time working here, I just had to straighten it out and felt in there and pulled it out," Armstrong said. "I thought, 'Whoa, wait a minute.'"

Library officials declined to say how much money was discovered, or what the title of the book was, so they could locate the money's rightful owner. The book hasn't been checked out since March 2004, when the library switched its system of tracking books. Before then, the book had been checked out 45 times, but the library's record-keeping system doesn't track previous checkouts.

The letter said: "Book Club members stopped buying new fiction, and this changed the face of American publishing." It thanked Winfrey for her contribution to book sales and asked her to "consider focusing, once again, on contemporary writers in your book club".

The 158 writers who signed the letter included Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri and Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club.

Salz der Erde publishers, Heyne, part of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG, said they were printing more after a surge of interest in recent days. "It's a five-figure print run," a spokeswoman said. Ratzinger's latest book, Werte in Zeiten des Umbruchs (Values in Times of Upheaval), was already sold out after its release a week ago. Publishers Herder plan a reprint of 20,000 after an initial 3,000 copies.

Bookstores in Berlin were running out of Ratzinger stock. "There's been a run in the last week as his name has gained prominence. People are wanting to find out about the man," said the owner of a Christian bookshop in the German capital.

The books will be published by Birmingham, Ala.-based Oxmoor Books, a division of Time Inc.'s Southern Progress Corp., under an agreement with Manhattan-based Hearst Magazines, publisher of O magazine. Oxmoor specializes in lifestyle titles, including cooking and gardening books.

Live Your Best Life, the first book in the new series, will be published in September and feature 100 articles from the magazine's past two years. Contributors will include such Oprah regulars as relationships expert Dr. Phil and financial adviser Suze Orman. Oxmoor will sell the Oprah titles in both traditional bookstores and by direct mail.

The book will be the second compilation offered to O readers. The May issue of the magazine will come with a paperback compendium of the television icon's wit and wisdom.

"She had absolutely no help on the writing; she's been working on the book for five years and it's been coming to me in pieces for three years. It was always remarkably good; the only thing we had to do was cut, and she was great about that. She said, 'I don't want my book to be so fat that people won't read it. Tell me what you didn't like; tell me where you lost interest.' It's true, it was long. I told her, 'the only problem was that you didn't have any off decades.'"

"There is an amazing creative community in Los Angeles that is untapped on the publishing side," Regan told Daily Variety, noting that close to half her authors live on the West Coast. "Hopefully, we will have more day-to-day contact with people in the film and TV business," she said.