Bookworm

Jackstraws (Harcourt Brace) Award-winning poet Charles Simic on the objects (stones, forks, dolls) that form the internal puppet theater of his imagination.

Ron Hansen &quotHitler;?s Niece" (Harper Collins). Ron Hansen?sreconstruction of Hitler?s affair with Geli Raubal gives us a glimpse of acreepy, hypothetical menage ---rois: the novelist in bed with innocence andmonstrosity.

Susan Minot &quotEvening;" (Knopf). The past recaptured! Susan Minot haswritten a swoony, lyrical novel about loss. We talk about that rare thing: aromantic novel that is literary (and close to perfection).

Bone by Bone (Random House). On the culmination of his momentous trilogy, Peter Matthiessen speaks about history, fiction and the destiny of an American anti-hero.

The Red Leaves of Night (Harper Collins). As David St.John's poems grow more elegant, they become more sexual and obsessive...

Close Range: Wyoming Stories (Scribner)Annie Proulx has written an ominous of Western tales -- tall tales, rodeo bragging, cowboy love stories -- profusely illustrated and emotionally dark...

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (Little, Brown)Witness the uproarious frenzy of definition when David Foster Wallace cuts loose and tries to make a straightforward statement about the hideous men (and women) in his new book.

Arthur Sze &quotThe; Redshifting Web: Poems 1970-1998" (Copper Canyon) ArthurSze on the fascinating intersection of astrophysics and Asian metaphysics. Hiswork embodies a sense of time that is both ancient and post-modern.

Andre Dubus III &quotHouse; of Sand and Fog" (Norton) Andre Dubus III is the son of a prize-winning Catholic author. How does the son write about the extreme conflicts of life without the resource of his father's faith?

Carolyn See &quotThe; Handyman" (Random House) Carolyn See solves the problems of love, life and art by wittily applying practicality, compassion and humor. In her new book, she offer what every woman needs: a handyman.