ROMANCING SPAIN  by Lamar Herrin (Unbridled Books).When Lamar Herrin sailed to Spain in 1969, he fell in love not only with his future wife but with her country as well. Herrin, former director of the Cornell creative writing program and author of five novels, including House of the Deaf and The Lies Boys Tell, weaves his memoir between the past and the present. He tells the story of this quixotic courtship and how the young lovers were able to surmount the obstacles of the Catholic Church, Franco's government, and Spanish tradition in order to marry.

PARADOXY OF MODERNISM  by Robert Scholes, PhD '59 (Yale University Press). Scholes, the Research Professor of Modern Media and Culture at Brown University, contends that the neat binary opposition of high versus low espoused in modernist art and literature is misleading. He examines works in the middle ground that earlier critics have trivialized, and argues for the worth of "durable fluff," "formulaic creativity," and "iridescent mediocrity." The book reconsiders major writers like James Joyce while paying attention to minor figures who are rarely studied.

SECRET GIRL  by Molly Bruce Jacobs '76 (St. Martin's Press). Jacobs was thirteen before she discovered the existence of her younger, mentally retarded sister, Anne. Her upper-class parents rarely spoke of Anne and seldom visited her. But at age thirty-eight, separated from her husband and trying to bring her alcoholism under control, Jacobs decided to meet her sister for the first time. From this tentative beginning the sisters form a bond, and Jacobs learns acceptance and forgiveness.

THE STRONGEST BOY IN THE WORLD  by Philip R. Reilly '69 (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press). From his perspective as a physician, geneticist, and attorney, the CEO of Interleukin Genetics explores the science and the social issues behind such topics as human evolution, the impact of genetics on the future of sports, the mysteries of genetic diseases, the similarities between dogs and people, the consequences of genetically modified foods, and the ethical dimensions of stem cell research.

AMERICAN PLACES  by M. Perry Chapman '58, BArch '64 (Praeger Publishers).Many colleges are trying to reclaim the sense of cohesion that was lost during the rise in attendance after World War II.Chapman, a professional planner and principal architect at Sasaki Associates, argues for campuses to be designed as working examples of healthy environments that enhance the virtues of human scale and physical setting. He cites the practical benefits of such design: better student and faculty recruitment, increased alumni donations, and stronger linkage between institutional traditions and societal change.

THE LITTLE GUIDE TO YOUR WELL-READ LIFE by Steve Leveen, PhD '82 (Levenger Press). Steve Leveen is the CEO of Levenger, the company that supplies well-heeled bibliophiles with reading lights, lap desks, and other bookish accessories. But he admits that he was not a great reader in college. "Virtually any list of important classics would have precious few check marks from me," he says. "Somehow, with Cliffs Notes and cunning, I faked my way through." In midlife, he was "reborn to a life of reading" after listening to unabridged audio books, and has been making up for lost time. In this short guide to opening up the world through the pleasure and power of books, Leveen interviews writers, librarians, booksellers, and editors about their reading techniques. "Far from being solitary and indulgent, a well-read life can be one that connects us to each other and that does good in the world."

Recently Published | Fiction

ASK ME NO QUESTIONS by Marina Budhos '83 (Atheneum). Nadira and her family live in New York City on expired visas and dream of becoming legal citizens. But their dreams end after 9/11.When her father is arrested at the Canadian border, Nadira fears that her family will be deported to a Bangladesh they hardly know.

TWO HOT DOGS WITH EVERYTHING by Paul Haven '93 (Random House).Writing his novel about a young boy's love of baseball provided Haven, a bureau chief for the Associated Press, a way to connect with American culture while reporting on war and terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Recently Published | Children's

BEETHOVEN'S WIG by Richard Perlmutter '71, illustrated by Maria Rosetti (Rounder Books). Based on the Sing Along Symphonies music series, the book (and accompanying CD) combines illustrated adventures and lyrics set to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

CREATING CLEVER CASTLES & CARS by Mari Rutz Mitchell '98, MS Ag '03 (Williamson Books). Mitchell, a lecturer of art history at Ithaca College, encourages children to build imaginative structures out of boxes, sheets, cardboard, newspaper, and other everyday materials.

Recently Published | Non-fiction

RUSSIA'S DANGEROUS TEXTS by Kathleen Parthé, PhD '79 (Yale University Press). The director of Russian studies at the University of Rochester examines the history of writers' uneasy relationship with the state, whether czarist or Communist, and explores changes in Russian literary tradition since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

TOO STRESSED TO THINK by Annie [Larris] Fox '72 and Ruth Kirschner (free spirit publishing). This guide for teens explains the roots of stress and gives advice on how to make good decisions and lead more balanced lives.

NURSES ON THE MOVE by Mireille Kingma '70 (Cornell University Press). A consultant on nursing and health policy for the International Council of Nurses examines how globalization influences the labor market for highly skilled nurses.

DRAWING DISTINCTIONS by Patrick Maynard, PhD '70 (Cornell University Press).Maynard, a professor of philosophy at the University of Western Ontario, surveys the practice of drawing, from prehistoric cave markings to modern artists, from children's art to complex schematics.

THE PROMISE OF THE FOREIGN by Vicente L. Rafael, PhD '84 (Duke University Press). Through close readings of newspapers and novels, vernacular theater, and accounts of the 1896 revolution, a professor of history at the University of Washington argues that translation was key to the emergence of Filipino nationalism in the nineteenth century.

MIEN RELATIONS by Hjorleifur Jonsson, PhD '96 (Cornell University Press). Jonsson, an assistant professor of anthropology at Arizona State University, questions the ethnographic research on Thailand's hill tribes and reveals its blindness to history and to political manipulation.

GOAL-FREE LIVING by Stephen M. Shapiro '86 (John Wiley & Sons). A guide for achieving a good life without the tyranny of a play-by-play handbook or rigid goals.

THE JOLLY PRESIDENT by Joey Green '80 (Lunatic Press). This parody of The Jolly Postman features pocket pages with satiric letters and cards addressed to President George W. Bush from Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, Dick Cheney, and others.

THE QUEST FOR HUMAN LONGEVITY by Lewis D. Solomon '63 (Transaction Publishers). Significant life extension will have profound social, political, economic, and ethical consequences for society, argues Solomon, a rabbi and professor of business law at George Washington University.

THE MASTERS OF SUCCESS by Ken Blanchard '61, PhD '67, Diane Hanson '68, Jack Canfield, John Christensen, et al. (Insight Publishing). The authors of several well-known business books explain their methods for discovering new ideas and attaining success.

6 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE BOSSES by Stephen E. Kohn '80 and Vincent D. O'Connell (Career Press). The president of Work & People Solutions and a corporate trainer present techniques for developing intelligent and effective leadership.

DISEASES OF TREES AND SHRUBS by Wayne A. Sinclair, PhD '62, and Howard H. Lyon (Cornell University Press). This standard reference on the diseases of forest and shade trees and woody ornamental plants is thoroughly revised and updated, and includes a CD-ROM with additional information.

DISCOVERING NATURAL PROCESSES by Gray Merriam, PhD '60, and Jeff Amos (Penumbra Press). Photographs and text illustrate the fundamental processes that enable environmental systems to be self-sustaining.

AMPHIBIANS OF EAST AFRICA by Alan Channing and Kim M.Howell '67 (Cornell University Press). A comprehensive study of the 194 species of frogs and nine species of caecilians in East Africa.

ABSOLUTE BEAUTY by Gerald Imber (William Morrow). A clinical assistant professor of surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center explores new methods for staying young-looking.