FICTIONPOLAR STAR by Martin Cruz Smith (Ballantine:...

FICTION

POLAR STAR by Martin Cruz Smith (Ballantine: $5.95). The protagonist of Gorky Park is banished to obscurity in the Bering Sea until called upon to apply his exceptional detective skills to solve a murder aboard ship.

EMMA WHO SAVED MY LIFE by Wilton Barnhardt (St. Martin’s: $4.95). Novel set in 1970s New York, spotlighting a would-be actor and one of his two female roommates.

PALM-OF-THE-HAND STORIES by Yasunari Kawabata, translated by Lane Dunlop and J. Martin Holman (North Point: $9.95). These spare stories span the life of the only Japanese Nobel Prize laureate.

THE BRIDESMAID by Ruth Rendell (Mysterious: $4.95). At a party, an unassuming young man meets a woman who simultaneously is beauty and evil incarnate.

THE CONFESSION OF JOE CULLEN by Howard Fast (Dell: $5.95). Ex-Vietnam fighter pilot murders a priest--at least he thinks he did.

NONFICTION

IT’S ALWAYS SOMETHING by Gilda Radner (Avon: $4.95). Remarkably, this SNL veteran scoured the depths of disease and found humor.

TORSO: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run by Steven Nickel (Avon: $4.95). His inability to solve one of the first American serial murder cases knocked some holes in Ness’s seemingly impenetrable armor.

NEW AMERICANS: An Oral History by Al Santoli (Ballantine: $10.95). These are some of the individual stories often lost in the blur of United States immigration statistics.

MY ENEMY, MY SELF by Yoram Binur (Penguin: $8.95). Reminiscent of the book, “Black Like Me,” an Israeli journalist disguises himself as an Arab to understand their plight firsthand.

LEARNING BY HEART: AIDS and Schoolchildren in America’s Communities by David L. Kirp (Rutgers University Press: $14.95). Sentiments of school board members, community leaders, health professionals and state legislators are presented here and demonstrate the diverse effects children with AIDS have on the school system.

SELF-HELP / REFERENCE

THE FRUGAL GOURMET COOKS AMERICAN by Jeff Smith (Avon: $5.95). Smith’s culinary tour includes dishes indigenous to the colonies, regional and ethnic recipes, all sauteed with a little American history.

THE VEGETARIAN LUNCHBASKET by Linda Haynes (Nucleus Publications (1-800-762-6595): $10.95). Easy, packable, low-fat, low-cholesterol sandwiches, spreads, Thermos items, snacks and desserts are featured.