Do you know what time it is? I'll tell you what time it is. It's reach-for-the-Rolaids, turn-to-the-Tums time. At least it is for the book industry, as it gears up for The Fall Publishing Season, THE high-stress time of year when new releases metastasize along bookstore shelves, and my e-mail inbox bulges with pleas to interview this "gorgeous looking" author or that "brilliantly inventive" new voice.

There is much at stake over the next 10 weeks, for author and publisher alike, and in the next weeks I will examine what looks appetizing amid all the offerings. For now, I'd like to go back over previous offerings, the ones that went wrong, the ones that went cheap, the ones that ended up in an embarrassing heap. I give you, of course, the remainder bin. Sure you're likely to find too many copies of The World Beard and Moustache Championships: The Official Book, but you can also get some very fine works of literature (OK, mostly fine). And cheap too.

Yes, it's been made into a film, but the book is better. It's more poetic, more raw and more frightening. I spoke with Swofford when the book first came out, as the current Iraq war was just starting. Quiet and soft-spoken, he hated what was happening, and felt helpless as he listened to reports that his former Marine unit was leading the charge into Iraq. To me, he seemed anything but a "savage, trained killer" and more the brilliant writer he trained himself to become.

Go ahead, see what all the fuss was about. This novel, a day in the life of successful neurosurgeon Harry Perowne, begins with a blazing jet scorching the pre-dawn sky and ends with an ordinary day having been anything but. Critics drooled all over this book, with the New York Times reviewer calling it "one of the most powerful pieces of post-9/11 fiction yet published." Me? I thought it was a tad slow. Decide for yourself. Now you can afford it.

What would we do without the Brits? This novel, Hollinghurst's fourth, is another Brit crit hit, a novel that is not only a "masterpiece," but is "perfectly written" and a "classic." The book takes aim at the excesses of the Thatcherite '80s and centres upon Nick Guest, 20, a gay man who is just discovering his sexuality. There's plenty here to keep you occupied: Greed, AIDS, drugs and a plethora of gay sex. If that's your thing. Even if it's not, you'll still love it. It's a terrific book and won the 2004 Man Booker Prize. Which makes it a nice companion to ...

... the winner of the Prize. Granted, Pierre was the surprising winner, but the winner nonetheless. This story, which takes place in the aftermath of a school shooting massacre in a dinky Texas town called Martirio, is narrated by 15-year-old Vernon Little, who is roundly suspected of being an accomplice in the school shootings, which was carried out by his best friend Jesus. The book's a little uneven -- sometimes Little's nasty voice becomes tiresome -- but there's much here to be savoured.

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