Fretting over fighting the crowds to forage for holiday gifts? Limit your shopping to a good bookstore or two, and an abundance of options awaits you.
Some of the season`s best choices by and about women are:
Fiction
– ”Seventh Heaven” (G.P. Putnam`s Sons, $19.95). Alice Hoffman`s luminous work about the transformation of a 1950s suburb after the arrival of an unusual woman.
– ”Going Wrong” (Mysterious Press, $18.95), by Ruth Rendell. The British mystery maven`s new suspense novel.
– ”Lucy” (Farrar Strauss Giroux, $16.95), by Jamaica Kincaid. A young Caribbean woman is transplanted to New York.
– ”Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart” (E.P. Dutton, $19.95)
Joyce Carol Oates` latest was a National Book Award finalist.
– ”Old Wives` Tales Fairy Tale Book” (Pantheon, $22.95), edited by Angela Carter. Women star in this compilation of stories.
Non-fiction
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– ”You Just Don`t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation” (William Morrow, $17.95), by Deborah Tannen. A fascinating exploration of why the sexes collide in communication.
– ”The Female Advantage: Women`s Ways of Leadership” (Doubleday, $19.95). A cathartic and invaluable resource.
– ”Frida: a Biography of Frida Kahlo” (Harper & Row, $16.95), by Hayden Herrera. A comprehensive journey through the life and works of the Mexican painter.
– ”Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much” (Harper & Row, $8.95, paperback), by Anne Wilson Schaef, Ph.D. A pocket-sized collection of humorous and thoughtful quotes.
– ”Running Mates: The Making of a First Lady” (William Morrow, $21.95), by Ann Grimes. Why Barbara Bush, Kitty Dukakis and other candidates` spouses deserve their due as powerful political partners.