FICTION
1. THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER
by Kim Edwards
Penguin
A doctor's decision to secretly send his newborn daughter, who has Down syndrome, to an institution haunts everyone involved.
2. CELL
by Stephen King
Pocket Star
What remains of humanity fights to survive after a mysterious force scrambles mobile phone user's brains.
3. S IS FOR SILENCE
by Sue Grafton
Berkley Kinsey Millhone searches for a woman who disappeared 34 years ago.
4. THE TENTH CIRCLE
by Jodi Picoult
Washington Square
When his teenage daughter is date-raped, a comic-book artist is overwhelmed by rage.
5. ON THE RUN
by Iris Johansen
Bantam
A girl and her mother, a horse trainer who once worked for the CIA, are targeted by a Middle Eastern magnate.
6. READY FOR LOVE
by Debbie Macomber
Mira
Reprints of two romances involving two brothers.
7. TURNING ANGEL
by Greg Iles
Pocket
To defend a friend wrongly accused of murder, a Mississippi lawyer must investigate local students.
8. THE LAST TEMPLAR
by Raymond Khoury
Signet
A coding device stolen from an exhibit of Vatican artifacts may hold clues to the medieval Knights Templar's long-lost treasure — and their secrets.
9. VALLEY OF SILENCE
by Nora Roberts
Jove
The circle of six goes into battle to save humans from the vampire Lilith in the final Circle Trilogy book.
10. DROP DEAD GORGEOUS
by Linda Howard
Ballantine
As she prepares for her wedding, Blair Mallory becomes the target of a killer.
11. REBELLION
by Nora Roberts
Silhouette
A reprint of an early historical romance about a Scottish beauty who finds love in the enemy camp.
12. FOREVER ODD
by Dean Koontz
Bantam
Odd Thomas, a character from Koontz's 2003 novel of the same name, searches for a missing friend.
NONFICTION
1. THE IRAQ STUDY GROUP REPORT
by James A. Baker III, Lee H. Hamilton et al
Vintage
An assessment of America's involvement in the Iraq war with proposals for a plan of action.
2. RUNNING WITH SCISSORS
by Augusten Burroughs
Picador
In the 1970s, a young boy lives with a crazy psychiatrist in a squalid household.
3. FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
by James Bradley with Ron Powers
Bantam
The story of the six men who raised the flag at Iwo Jima.
4. THE GLASS CASTLE
by Jeannette Walls
Scribner
The author recalls a bizarre childhood during which she and her siblings were constantly moved.
5. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
by Chris Gardner with Quincy Troupe and Mim Eichler Rivas
Amistad/HarperCollins
Gardner's life story, from a grim childhood to homelessness to, finally, the success he had long sought.
6. DREAMS FROM MY FATHER
by Barack Obama
Three Rivers
The Democratic senator from Illinois reflects on life in the United States as the son of a black African father and white American mother.
7. AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
by Al Gore
Rodale
The former US vice president sounds an alarm about global warming.
8. AMERICA (THE BOOK)
by Jon Stewart, Ben Karlin, David Javerbaum et al
Warner
The Daily Show offers an illustrated parody of a civics text.
9. TEAM OF RIVALS
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Simon & Schuster
The genius of Abraham Lincoln revealed in his relationship with his Cabinet.
10. THE TIPPING POINT
by Malcolm Gladwell
Back Bay/Little, Brown
A journalist's study of social epidemics, otherwise known as fads.
11. 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN
by Don Piper with
Cecil Murphey
Revell
A Baptist minister describes the otherworldly experience he had after a car accident.
12. HOLIDAYS ON ICE
by David Sedaris
Back Bay/Little, Brown
Comic essays about Christmas by the author of Naked.
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
In a stark demonstration of how award-winning breakthroughs can come from the most unlikely directions, researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for discovering that mammals can breathe through their anuses. After a series of tests on mice, rats and pigs, Japanese scientists found the animals absorb oxygen delivered through the rectum, work that underpins a clinical trial to see whether the procedure can treat respiratory failure. The team is among 10 recognized in this year’s Ig Nobel awards (see below for more), the irreverent accolades given for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” They are not
This Qing Dynasty trail takes hikers from renowned hot springs in the East Rift Valley, up to the top of the Coastal Mountain Range, and down to the Pacific Short vacations to eastern Taiwan often require choosing between the Rift Valley with its pineapple fields, rice paddies and broader range of amenities, or the less populated coastal route for its ocean scenery. For those who can’t decide, why not try both? The Antong Traversing Trail (安通越嶺道) provides just such an opportunity. Built 149 years ago, the trail linked up these two formerly isolated parts of the island by crossing over the Coastal Mountain Range. After decades of serving as a convenient path for local Amis, Han settlers, missionaries and smugglers, the trail fell into disuse once modern roadways were built