DAVID FOSTER WALLACE -- CONSIDER THE LOBSTER

In one of this volume's 10 essays, David Foster Wallace characterizes, in his entertainingly digressive and accessible style, a handbook on American usage as a "record of one bright person's attempts to work out answers to certain very difficult questions," a phrase that might also describe Wallace's own book. Though he is -- as recipient of a MacArthur grant -- a certifiable genius, it's not only Wallace's breadth of knowledge that impresses but also his inquisitiveness, which leads to fascinating investigations of cultural artifacts as mundane as grammar guides and rituals as titillating as an Oscar-style awards banquet for pornographers. On whatever subject Wallace chooses to ruminate, he makes the essays immensely fun to read by using keenly observed humor and his talent for narrative prose. He's also widely known as a fiction writer, and so it's no surprise the essays are especially engaging when he plays the self-conscious journalist, creating a personable and brainy ethos readers might remember from his last book of essays, 1997's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. In addition to his intellect and skill as a writer, he also displays a heartfelt and tireless respect for opinions that vary from his own, which is especially persuasive in his essays on John McCain's 2000 presidential bid, right-wing talk radio and Sept. 11 -- all contain his take on some "very difficult questions" about patriotism, politics and personal responsibility. Consider the Lobster approaches these issues in "the Democratic Spirit" that combines "passionate conviction plus a sedulous respect for the convictions of others," a spirit Wallace readily acknowledges, in his essay on usage and rhetoric, that is difficult to cultivate but necessary for "100 percent intellectual integrity." (Alex DeBonis) Grade: A

PHILLIPA GREGORY -- THE CONSTANT PRINCESS

PHILLIPA GREGORY -- THE CONSTANT PRINCESS (TOUCHSTONE BOOKS)

This is historical, romantic fiction in the vein of Diana Gabaldon but not nearly as dense or epic in scale. The story revolves around Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife. It tells the tale of her childhood in Spain, growing up under Ferdinand and Isabella and learning about battle from the front lines. Gregory then moves on to her betrothal and eventual marriage to Arthur, Henry VIII's older brother who died at 15, and ultimately to her second marriage to the younger son who would be king. It's fascinating to see Gregory's vision of Henry VIII's indulgent childhood and to view the contrasts between the English and Spanish courts during the early 16th century. Allegedly, Catalina (her name in Spain before she became Queen of England) kept quite a secret in order to put herself on the throne. But she doesn't come off as conniving. That role is reserved for Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife. The book ends before much of the history beyond Katherine's reign is revealed or discussed. Instead, the political intrigues between the courts and the papacy, between Scotland and England, England and France, Spain and just about everyone else, come alive. Gregory humanizes Katherine, Arthur and Henry. As she ages, Katherine grows up on the page, learning that true love is sometimes fleeting and that her parents, while brilliant strategists, weren't always right. The characters are more than just names. If I could have read this in high school when I was studying world history, I would have enjoyed class so much more. (Allyson Jacob) Grade: B

TERRY COLEMAN -- OLIVIER

TERRY COLEMAN -- OLIVIER (HENRY HOLT)

When Sir Laurence Olivier died in 1989, he was acknowledged as the greatest actor of the 20th century. He portrayed everyone from Katherine in Taming of the Shrew to James Tyrone in Long Day's Journey into Night. His films of Hamlet, Henry V and Richard III are masterpieces of cinematic art and acting. His performance as a human being was less than stellar, and Terry Coleman's Oliver is an unapologetic study of the consummate performer and a complex, elusive man. Coleman is concise, insightful and objective -- quite an accomplishment for the biography authorized by Olivier's family, who made available Olivier's papers for the first time. The actor's most difficult role was playing himself, and he continually avoided the challenge by masking his personal history and his emotions. He squelched a biography written by his sister when he felt threatened by its revelations. Coleman doesn't attempt to analyze Olivier's technique or his artistic development, but his acting appears to have been fueled by sex, which was readily available. He points out that Olivier was a 10-year veteran of stage and screen before he took on Shakespeare. He was equally famous for his tempestuous affair with and second marriage to Vivien Leigh, and, with access to Leigh's personal papers, Coleman documents the couple's rise, decline and fall. There are long chapters on his often bitter struggles to establish the National Theater and acknowledgment of a string of mediocre films, which Olivier claimed he was doing solely to support his family. The book's highlights are its cover -- a darkly handsome Olivier -- and an excellent discussion on Olivier's sexuality, entitled "The Androgynous Actor. " (Anne Arenstein) Grade: B+

TRISTAN EGOLF -- KORNWOLF

TRISTAN EGOLF -- KORNWOLF (BLACK CAT)

Deep in the honky tundra, where suburban Sprawl Marts and modular housing compete with Pennsylvania farmland, a mute and motherless Amish kid in the middle of Rumspringa gives new meaning to the word "alienation." Throw in a growing fascination with Death Metal and a bloodline linking him to a 16th-century German werewolf legend, and Ephraim has all the makings of the classic, lycanthropic teenage anti-hero. With adrenalin-fueled prose, Tristan Egolf stacks Vonnegut-style social satire and Kafkaesque psychological metaphor, layer upon layer, beneath the conventional horror elements of his third novel, Kornwolf. Also exploring his roots is a reporter whose recent homecoming finds him, at first unwittingly, then grinningly, turning local werewolf folklore into a national news commodity, inviting thrill-seeking tourists to escalate mounting hysteria in the small town of Blue Ball. A boxing coach with a mysterious past and a more-than-casual interest in recent livestock attacks and strange creature sightings adds to the mix. The villains range from caricatures (a small-town cop with a short-man complex) to stereotype defying (Ephraim's drunk, minister father who holds little regard for the pacifism his religion espouses). But the true demons to be illuminated in the madness of the blue moon prove to be neither human nor supernatural but what lurks in the shadows of middle-American values. Between the lines is the question of whether silence about the past leaves us doomed to repeat it, a question one can't help but put to the author himself. Also known for political stunts that landed him in jail during the Bush campaign, Egolf ended a lifelong struggle with manic depression by taking his own life last year. His story parallels that of the father he barely knew, also a writer and activist who committed suicide. (Emily Lieb) Grade: B+