I found the perfect book to get me through the rainy winter doldrums now that the hype of the Oscar season is over. So you've already read the books that inspired the Academy Award winners - No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy; Oil! (the basis for There Will Be Blood) by Upton Sinclair; Atonement by Ian McEwan; Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi; and listened to Edith Piaf CDs as well as the soundtrack to Once. Maybe it's time for another literary drama that is just begging to be made into a movie. (And this author's books have made that successful transition before. . .) Here's a high-flying (literally) suspense in the vein of The Aviator about Howard Hughes, including wealthy financiers, impetuous and stylish artists, murder, intrigue, and illicit affairs.

Russell Banks spends some time setting the stage in his new book, The Reserve, and takes a bit longer to achieve the drama of some his earlier books - Cloudsplitter, about John Brown's revolutionary zeal, or The Sweet Hereafter, about a court case that overwhelmed the families in a small town after a deadly school bus crash, but the intrigue and the emotional entanglements for which he has become known still draw a reader in and hold attention.

The action takes place in a remote Adirondack retreat for wealthy socialites, financiers, and industrialists. The class element of those who rest and the local people who work for them is clearly defined from the outset. An heiress - beautiful, intelligent, scandal-provoking, impetuous - Vanessa Cole; her mother, Evelyn, who naturally questions her judgment and her behavior; a local adventurer, WWI pilot, and artist Jordan Groves and his artist and naturalist wife Alicia; and a local hunting and fishing guide Hubert St. Germain.

So The Reserve does have these questionable cinematic-style stock elements, putting it on the dangerous edge of being a thriller or a romance, but Mr. Banks merely uses them to engage the reader and then elaborates the characters enough to get to the critical climaxes of the book. He manages to skirt a line of treacle to explore the complex motivations and faulty decisions of the characters. Ultimately in question are marital and familial fidelity, artistic integrity, whether loyalty to self is at the expense or to the benefit of personal relationships, and how much emotion helps or hurts in making these decisions. Is anyone ever exempt from emotion in trying to make clear-headed decisions? Banks is not quite Ian McEwan in style or in exploring the labyrinth of the human heart, but he is a companionable guide to the human condition.

The Reserve (HarperCollins, 9780061430251) is $24.95, now on sale until Sunday for $18.71 during our Leap Year 25% off sale!

- Andrew

Last night I was fortunate enough to catch the sole United States exhibition of Japanese performance artist Mari Natsuki in her new piece "The Impressionist - Vol. 8" during The Kennedy Center's Japan! Culture + Hyperculture event.

This was the best performance art I've seen in a long time. Weird, beautiful, emotive, musically rich, visually powerful. It included elements of the John Lennon songs "You Say You Want a Revolution" and "Imagine", Gershwin's "Summertime", "Amazing Grace", Iroquois ritual chant, as well as her musical group's original work. Her voice had nuance and range and the dancing was animated, expressive, and visually impressive. Ms. Natsuki has been a popular singer since 1973, and also a successful stage and screen actress with an extensive list of appearances.

Unfortunately, you'll have to pursue her CDs at a store that specializes in imports, but we can help you with her DVDs! Japanese film fetishists may have seen her as the self-involved, neglecting mother in Shoujyo - an adolescent which bears a visual and thematic resemblance to Stanley Kubrick's Lolita and Jean-Jacques Beineix's Diva, or as the female gambling tycoon in Samurai Fiction, a movie which is both a successful parody and visual homage to classic black-and-white samurai films. Both of these are worth a look for the artistry and style.

However, Ms. Natsuki is mostly known in this country for her vocal credits as the witch Yubaba in Hayao Miyazaki's exquisite animated film Spirited Away - Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi. Spirited Away is rather spooky, so it really should be reserved for older kids. The lead character Chihiro must rescue her parents from a spell cast by the spirits who have come to cleanse themselves in a paranormal therapeutic spa, but the plot and animation is sophisticated enough for adults to enjoy as well.

Interest in Hayao Miyazaki then points one to My Neighbor Totoro - Tonari no Totoro, which is also visually wonderful, but a more gentle and soothing child-friendly animation. Like Spirited Away, it focuses on a fantasy world only accessible to children. This time two girls spending the summer in the country make friends with magical forest creatures called Totoro, who help them face their mother's illness. All of these films are available through Olsson's ordering department (well, except Diva, which, currently in the midst of a 25th anniversary cinematic rerelease, you can catch at E St. Cinema).

And now a segue, to children's books, because Miyazaki's Totoro bears a resemblance to watercolorist John J. Muth's panda Stillwater, both in physical appearance and in temperament. Both are patient guides and friendly companions who appear quietly to the children and offer to assists with life's problems. And we're always crazy for pandas here in Washington, DC!

You may know that Mr. Muth collaborated with Caroline Kennedy by contributing his wonderful illustrations to her A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children and helping the poems to be even more engaging and accessible to young readers. Muth now has two books of his own about Zen instruction for children told through parables. First the wildly popular Zen Shorts and now his new book which is currently on the independent booksellers bestseller list Zen Ties.

Zen Shorts is quietly philosophical, with additional information for older readers and parents about Zen Buddhism at the back of the book, but the appeal for younger children are the bright color washes of the giant panda Stillwater and the three short stories he tells which encourage a thoughtful response and many rereadings. (0439339111, $16.95)

In Zen Ties, we meet Stillwater's tiny nephew Koo, who always speaks in haiku verse, joins his uncle in meditative poses, and helps the children make friends with an older neighbor who at first appears scary but they learn is a "good friend". It's a lesson about the interconnectedness of human beings and the importance of community and friendship, even with people who may not necessarily seem approachable. Again the lessons are told with a gentle touch and the vibrant pictures that draw children in so easily. Zen Ties (0439634253) is usually $17.99, but as a Booksense Bestseller is on sale for 10% off.

So enjoy Japan, both from original films and animation, and filtered through Jon Muth's impressions.

-Andrew

Since I’m a book nut, I don’t generally rave about CDs as there are plenty of others more articulate about this format who work for Olsson's, but I know what I like, and I am excited about the new KD Lang release Watershed. This is her latest since 2004 when she recorded Hymns of the 49th Parallel, her covers of songs by Canadian artists, and once again she maintains her exacting studio work, with moody lyricism, her ethereal vocals floating over bluesy instrumentation - liltingly haunting stringed and improvisational-sounding keyboard accompaniment. It’s once again what she prefers to do, the torch song style to which she has returned several times since Ingenue and "Miss Chatelaine". Watershed is on sale now for $16.99 in basic format and $21.99 for the deluxe limited edition featuring an interview and live tracks. A great gift for your moody valentine.

If you need help composing your love letters, we have pocket size selections of Pablo Neruda and Rumi, as well as handy little anthologies such as and "Only Companion: Japanese Poems of Love and Longing" and the Everyman's Library Pocket Poets series which include Love Songs and Sonnets, Love Poems, and Chinese Erotic Poems. Maybe Olsson's can help those poor benighted guys out there save their bacon.

On the flip side, those of us who are unlucky or simply grouchy about love have taken an (unhealthy?) interest in the competitive sales of the off-beat, non--traditional, and quirky DVD selections in the past week. These include CLASSICS like Harold & Maude, Blue Velvet, Emmanuelle, Belle du Jour, Hedwig & the Angry Inch, and Fatal Attraction (for sale and/or rent). Of course, for the romantics among you, we can also supply the traditional fare for a romantic movie evening: An Affair to Remember, What Dreams May Come, Casablanca, Shakespeare in Love, The Princess Bride, and the newly released, brilliantly-conceived, Beatles-inspired, 1970s New York homage, Julie Taymor experience Across the Universe (on sale for $23.99). Help us keep the competition alive - with Lovers vs. Losers, Doubters vs. Dreamers.

And finally, a wonderful little book that makes its appearance at this time every year - Against Love: A Polemic (Random House/Vintage, $12.95) by Laura Kipnis, the notorious cultural studies wonk. She asks the important questions - is it really in our evolutionary interest to become entangled in the emotional roller coaster of romantic passion? And how often do these (perhaps unhealthy) emotions get us into unsavory or even fatally dire predicaments? Don't single people have more fun as well as the ability to look after their own self-interests? Are they just more honest about the demands of relationships and their inability to stay committed? Questions worth asking. Consider what she says, and decide if she has a valid point, or if she's just arguing for the sake of argument.

Andrew