This week's picks are books I've been waiting for. One finally came out today, while the other will be out in a few weeks. Enjoy!

For Young Adult Readers...

The Grim Grotto (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 11) by Lemony Snicket
Available September 21, 2004
The latest in this series, I will no doubt stay up way too late tonight reading it. Continuing the saga of the Baudelaire orphans and their quest to locate the sugar bowl, The Grim Grotto follows the three children aboard the Queequeg submarine, which is piloted by VFD "allies" Captain Widdershins and his stepdaughter Fiona. While the Queequeg might seem like a safe haven at first, the orphans' luck quickly turns sour after they search the Grim Grotto for the bowl and return with Sunny's life in mortal danger. Of course, Count Olaf and his scheming cohorts don't make things any easier -- especially concerning Fiona -- but thankfully, smart thinking restores Sunny's health and a Volunteer Factual Dispatch yields a shocking surprise.

For Adult Readers...

The Whitney Chronicles by Judy Baer
Available October 1, 2004
I have to admit that I am more than a little curious to read this. I don't normally read Inspirational Fiction, but Christian Chicklit sounds too interesting to pass up. Her mother, sister and friends fear spinsterhood may be the fate of thirty-year-old Whitney Blake. And while she doesn't believe she'll actually end up weaving her own tablecloths, Whitney does wonder whether Mr. Right will ever arrive, despite her mom's adoption of matchmaking as the prime project of her "postmenopausal zest." Maybe Whitney needs to be more proactive. And so she starts a journal, stating her goals: "This month — lose two pounds (sensibly), stand up straight with my stomach sucked in so I appear tall and thin, don't let my mother drive me crazy (a particularly difficult project). GET ORGANIZED. Start by cleaning closets. Have friends over for dinner. Pray more, obsess less." It must be working — suddenly there's more than one man in Whitney's life. But are any of them marriage material, or is "fabulous, single, Christian man" an oxymoron?

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