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NICE TRY By Shane Maloney Arcade 320 pp., $23.95 THE DEADER THE BETTER By G.M. Ford Avon Twilight 384 pp., $22 MURDER@MAGGODY.COM By Joan Hess Simon & Schuster 256 pp., […]

The Twisted Root by Anne Perry Ballantine 320 pp., $25 The sinister plot played out in Anne Perry's "The Twisted Root" is a storm of murder and deception. Perry chucks […]

Gish Jen takes her position behind the podium with a book and two bananas and peers out at the group waiting to hear her speak. Waving the bananas in the […]

Explains that two operators of campus bookstores have launched online bookstores. Online services from Follett Corp., and Barnes & Noble College Bookstores Inc.; Sagging publishers' profits; Students' book purchasing habits; Number of hits for the Follett site; Features of the sites; Mailing costs.

Describes the fate of former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. His relations with the United States; Accusations of illegal activities; Invasion of Panama by the US in 1989; Noriega's surrender and trial; Questions about his trial; His sentence which he is serving in Florida.

Profiles impressionist Rich Little. How he became popular for his impressions of politicians and celebrities; Performances in Las Vegas, Nevada; His memoir `People I've Known and Been'; His appearance on `The Judy Garland Show' in 1964.

Explains the work of Edwin Meese since resigning as attorney general of the United States in 1988. His time as an advisor to President Ronald Reagan; His notoriety; Investigation into his ethics; His passion for public policy; His work at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and The Heritage Foundation; His memoirs, `With Reagan: The Inside Story.'

Focuses on communication-skills instructor Debra Fine, and how she teaches people the art of small talk. Importance of small talk and socialization to survival in the business world and development of any kind of relationship; Fine's start in the business of teaching conversational skills; Basic principles of small talk; Conversation killers.

Reports on the first-ever November 1998 statewide School Scrabble Championship in Springfield, Massachusetts. Sponsorship of the event by Scrabble game manufacturer Hasbro and the National Scrabble Association (NSA); Educational aspects of the game; Number of United States schools that use the game; Number of Scrabble tournaments sanctioned by the NSA.

Reports on the whereabouts of Leonardo da Vinci's horse sculpture that was commissioned by Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan. Why da Vinci never completed the bronze horse; Charles Dent's vow to recreate the horse in 1977; The money and years of research spent on the project; The appearance of the statue scheduled for September 1999.

Takes a look at musicians that get their start performing on subway station platforms.

Focuses on teen vernacular. How college graduates carry the slang into the professional world; Comments of Paul Ciborowski, author of `Working with Tomorrow's Teens: A 21st Century Challenge'; Stepping up on speaking instruction; How young people's ability to speak articulately has gone down; How presentation skills are lacking.

Focuses on science education in the United States as of March 23, 1999. Details of the release of the 1998 Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), showing loss of interest in science as students advance; Focuses of researchers on how to interest students in science; The need for more teacher training in science; Comments from teachers and students; The National Science Teachers Association's (NSTA) role; Outlook.

Presents reviews of the top five fiction books for children and the top five children's picture books for September 21, 1998, according to `Publishers Weekly.' Fiction books including `The Giver,' by Lois Lowry and `The View from Saturday,' by E.L. Konigsburg; Picture books including `Mulan Classic Storybook,' from Disney and `If You Give a Pig a Pancake,' by Laura Joffe Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond.

Presents news and information about education in the United States for September 22, 1998. postcardsfrom.com, a Web site offering travel and history information; Members of Richard Nixon's administration; The interest of high school students in after-school clubs; The indictment of Phi Gamma Delta in the alcohol-related death of Scott Krueger; Increased scholarships at Harvard University; The lack of interest in Western Governors University, a virtual university.

Focuses on hydrothermal vent worms, or worms which live in the superheated water of the ocean where cracks in the earth's surface vent water and chemicals. Comments from Bob Feldman, a senior scientist at Diversa Corp., which collects bacteria living in extreme conditions; The temperatures that the Alvinellid worms can withstand; How the vents are small patches of life in deep sea.

Discusses the efforts of the oceanic research community to find a live giant squid. Comments from James Bellingham of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who led a three week expedition to find giant squid in 1997; Why scientists want to find a live giant squid; Estimates for the size of the giant squid, based on research on dead ones found in whale or in fishing nets; Questions which remain unanswered about giant squid. INSET: More ocean mysteries, revealed.

Debunks some of the ancient myths related to the sea, including sea monsters and mermaids. How many of the myths began from misinterpretations; The science of cryptozoology, which seeks to find and study animals thought to be mythical; Why many scientists feel the bowhead whale is the origin of sea monster myths; The dugong, thought to be the origin of mermaid myths; Sea creatures which science knows little about.

Presents information about Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber, who starred as Jane and Michael Banks in the movie `Mary Poppins.' Other movies the two were in; Garber's death in 1977; What Dotrice is doing in 1998.

Presents a variety of information pertaining to learning and education. Details about web sites for home schooling; How it is important for college freshmen to contact their roommate before the semester begins; Girls outperform boys in academic achievement; Police in Cambodia deployed to prevent cheating on exams.

Profiles songwriter and performer Tom Lehrer. Brief biographical background.

Reports on the creation of coins at the United States Mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. How a coin is born; Issuance of a quarter in 1999 to commemorate all 50 states over a 10-year time frame; Why the Mint stopped using precious metals to make coins; History of coins. INSET: The case of the missing coins by Xabier Escalante.

Reports on the activity of Bill Watterson, creator of the cartoon strip Calvin and Hobbes. His statement announcing his retirement; Preference of Watterson for a quiet life; His avoidance of interviews; Pursuit of painting somewhere in the Midwest by Watterson.

Provides information about the members of the popular 1980s group New Kids on the Block in 1998. Their success in the 1980s; How many of the five members are still involved in show business; Number of them that went to college.

Looks at Rainforest Reptile Shows, an educational project which teaches children about conservation, the rain forest and reptiles that is run by Michael Ralbovsky and his family. Number of animals that the family has in their house; Types of animals including iguanas, baby alligators, turtles, lizards and frogs; Ralbovsky experiences as a herpetologist, one who studies reptiles and amphibians; Costs of caring for all the animals; How the family views the work they do for the animals. INSET: Lizards as pets: Friendly, costly.

Focuses on gasoline and petroleum prices in the United States as of March 12, 1998. Why analysts feel that the petroleum market is weak enough that low prices will continue for quite a while; How overproduction has lowered the price of petroleum, thus hurting the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); Decreased demands for oil across the world, which has kept the excess oil high; Average price for a gallon of gas in the US.

Provides information about children in the American Great Plains in the 19th century. The `Little House' series by Laura Ingalls Wilder; The work that children did; Types of chores they were expected to perform; What they did for fun. INSETS: More about the frontier;Play like a pioneer.