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.
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
The last time Mrs Hsieh came to Cihu Park in Taoyuan was almost 50 years ago, on a school trip to the grave of Taiwan’s recently deceased dictator. Busloads of children were brought in to pay their respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), known as Generalissimo, who had died at 87, after decades ruling Taiwan under brutal martial law. “There were a lot of buses, and there was a long queue,” Hsieh recalled. “It was a school rule. We had to bow, and then we went home.” Chiang’s body is still there, under guard in a mausoleum at the end of a path
Last week the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released a set of very strange numbers on Taiwan’s wealth distribution. Duly quoted in the Taipei Times, the report said that “The Gini coefficient for Taiwanese households… was 0.606 at the end of 2021, lower than Australia’s 0.611, the UK’s 0.620, Japan’s 0.678, France’s 0.676 and Germany’s 0.727, the agency said in a report.” The Gini coefficient is a measure of relative inequality, usually of wealth or income, though it can be used to evaluate other forms of inequality. However, for most nations it is a number from .25 to .50