The artist of disappearance : three novellas

 by Anita Desai. In three ensnaring novellas of consummate artistry and profoundly disquieting perceptions, master storyteller Desai (The Zigzag Way, 2004) reflects on the transforming power and devastating limitations of art. In The Museum of Final Journeys, an Anglo magistrate in a district deep in the impoverished flatlands of India accepts an elderly caretaker's beseeching invitation to visit the vast estate his employer has abandoned. In the dilapidated mansion, he finds a treasury of exquisite objects collected the world over, now forgotten artifacts in exile, their luster and stories lost. In Translator Translated, a tale of brilliantly refined suspense, Prema, an English teacher dulled by routine and loneliness, seizes the opportunity to translate the work of an author writing in her little-known mother tongue and is soon in way over her head. As Desai charts Prema's cruel exposure, she considers the plight of indigenous languages, the ethics of translation, and the heartbreak of those seeking affirmation in the creations of others. In The Artist of Disappearance, Ravi, the unloved adopted son of frivolous wealthy parents, finally returns to his beloved Himalayan home to live simply and creatively, immersed in the glory of nature, only to witness its destruction. Desai's provocative and mysterious tales of displacement trace the reverberations when the dream of art collides with crushing reality. --Booklist (Check catalog)

MWF seeking BFF : my yearlong search for a new best friend

 by Rachel Bertsche. Moving from New York City to take the long distance out of her relationship, journalist Bertsche found herself in a tough spot two years into her Chicago tenure a young, married professional past her hard-partying days, far from her BFFs (best friends forever), desiring meaningful friendships, and feeling utterly lost as to how to go about it. Challenging herself to 52 friend-dates in a calendar year and reading up on relationship research along the way, what Bertsche learns and relays anecdotally alongside rundowns of each friend-date could be classified as the science of friendship. Some dates are great; some just so-so; some hilariously terrible and readers can really feel that they're along for each one. In another's voice, the material could easily have become trite or annoying, but Bertsche is just so darn, well, friendly that readers might even find themselves questioning or conquering their own occasional antisocial tendencies. Bertsche deserves applause for the profundity of her research, and she exhausts her topic without tiring readers. Useful index of friend-dates and recommended reading included. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Sniper elite : the world of a top special forces marksman

 by Rob Maylor. Readers of Stephen Hunter's novels about sniper Bob Lee Swagger should be steered to this memoir written by Maylor, an Australian SAS sniper, with the assistance of veteran military writer Macklin. Maylor counts among his earliest and, apparently, fondest memories playing with toy soldiers and watching war movies. He was born to be a soldier, he tells us, and it sure seems that's true. But he became a sniper almost by accident. Looking for an escape from a rocky marriage, he intended to join the British Army's Parachute Regiment but wound up enlisting in the Royal Marines. After several years, he moved to the Australian SAS, seeing action in, among other places, Afghanstan and East Timor. The book is a treat for fans of sniper-related material, being full of information about surveillance techniques, makes and models of weaponry, and other technical matters. On the personal side, Maylor describes his experiences in quite a lot of detail, giving the reader a good sense of what it takes and feels like to be a professional soldier. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

V is for vengeance

 By Sue Grafton.  V may stand for vengeance, but think V for Vegas, too that's where the latest in Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series begins. It's there, in 1986, that 23-year-old Phillip Lanahan runs afoul of Santa Teresa Mob boss Lorenzo Dante and finds himself spinning off a multilevel parking structure to an unpleasant end. V is also for Vance, shoplifter Audrey Vance. To meet her, fast-forward two years. Eagle-eyed Millhone spots her lifting silk pj's in Nordstrom's and turns her in. Later, Kinsey is surprised when the woman is found dead at the bottom of a ravine, and even more suprised when the woman's fiance hires Kinsey to prove Audrey didn't commit suicide and wasn't, as Kinsey suspects, part of an organized ring of shoplifters, or pickers. Trust Kinsey to find the truth, and trust Grafton to bring together in crazy harmony a set of circumstances and an oddly assorted bunch of characters (old acquaintances and new) that, in a lesser writer's hands, would have produced narrative chaos. With only four alphabet mysteries to go, speculation on the final installment has already begun. In the meantime, Grafton's devoted fans should sit back and enjoy a terrific installment in the here and now. --Booklist (Check catalog)

Almost president : the men who lost the race but changed the nation

 by Scott Farris. Farris (former bureau chief, United Press International) bases this book on the premise that the losers of our country's presidential elections can be as influential-and as interesting to read about-as the winners. From Henry Clay, "the greatest legislator in American history," to Al Gore, who went on to devote his efforts to fighting global warming, to John Kerry to John McCain, Farris effectively demonstrates that many party nominees in presidential races were able to accomplish more in defeat than they ever could have achieved through victory. He profiles 12 losing candidates, e.g., Al Smith, who lost to Herbert Hoover in 1928, who fought bias and bigotry simply in being the first Roman Catholic presidential nominee and helped change the landscape for Catholics in politics. Ross Perot's surprisingly successful campaign challenged the political status quo and set the stage for future "outsider" candidates. Verdict Based on published sources, this book does a great job supporting the thesis that the profiled figures had greater ability to promote their agendas precisely because they did not win the presidency. A terrific resource for general presidential history buffs and high school and undergraduate libraries. --Library Journal (Check catalog)

To win her heart

 by Karen Witemeyer. Levi Grant emerges from prison with little more than renewed faith and a blacksmith's job in Spencer, Texas, but his first meeting with Eden fosters hope for a wife, family, and home as well. Tall, well muscled, and hesitant, he realizes that he comes across as taciturn and uncouth. But he perseveres in engaging Eden's attention, even though his lisp presents difficulties. Eden was raised as the indulged only child of a wealthy and influential Austin family, and moved to this small town five years ago after being jilted only days before her wedding. She has been content to do good works and maintain a low profile, until Levi challenges her to help Chloe, a 15-year-old raised in the local saloon by her prostitute mother, escape her would-be rapist and become respectable. Witemeyer's hard-hitting Christian historical romance skillfully incorporates Jesus' parables of the prodigal son and the adulteress' rock-toting accusers into her characters' struggles with redemption, worthiness, and new beginnings. A commendable addition to the genre. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Willpower : rediscovering the greatest human strength

 by Roy F. Baumeister. The Victorians came up with the term willpower to describe resisting temptation. Most psychologists never bought it, especially the related notion that willpower was a manifestation of energy within the body. Thanks largely to research conducted by Baumeister, however, it looks like the Victorians were right. In one of many startling revelations, Baumeister and science-writer Tierney show how willpower, aka self-control, is linked to glucose, which explains, for example, why PMS is commonly associated with an inability to control food cravings (glucose is diverted to the reproductive system, leaving less for the rest of the body). Willpower, the authors persuasively argue, isn't merely a quaint notion; it's real. Each of us has a finite amount of it, and the sooner one understands how it works, the sooner one will learn how to avoid depleting one's personal supply. If the book weren't so lucid, it would be tempting to dismiss it as hokum. But it's hard to ignore or ridicule the ideas here. In fact, they seem not just plausible but blindingly obvious. --Booklist (Check catalog)

Legacy : an Event Group thriller

 by David Lynn Goleman. Nothing less than the fate of the earth is at stake in bestseller Goleman's sweeping sixth Event Group thriller (after Primeval). A small alien named Mahjtic, a secret our government has kept for years, warns that the Grays, a branch of evil aliens, are headed toward our planet bent on domination. Earth's only salvation is to acquire advanced weaponry left on the surface of the moon and in an Ecuadorian mine by the remnants of another alien society 700 million years ago. Tasked with the weapons acquisition assignment is the Event Group, a secret government unit headed by Col. Jack Collins that takes on scientific and military missions that fall far beyond the bounds of normality. A subplot involving a wealthy televangelist slows the action somewhat, but as soon as he has been dealt with, the book hits its massive stride and seldom slows. --Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)

Veterinary guide for animal owners : caring for cats, dogs, chickens, sheep, cattle, rabbits, and more

 by C. E. Spaulding. The ten chapters in this animal care guide explain the housing, feeding, breeding, and basic medical treatment of cattle, goats, sheep, horses, pigs, chickens, ducks, turkeys, rabbits, dogs, and cats. The practical approach provides simple solutions to common problems and recommends when to hire a veterinarian for more difficult conditions. Originally published in 1976 by Rodale Press. Spaulding is a retired veterinarian and Clay works as a veterinary field technician. --Summary (Check Catalog)