Before I get into this week's column, I want to send belated congratulations to MJ, that Hoopy Frood, for having not one, but two, University projects featured on the Front Page – Animal Heroes and Forgotten Heroines. MJ is the first researcher to have his projects hit the Front Page since the University became active again. The University is a wonderful way to present material about a subject that is too detailed to put into a single article or to group similar articles. So keep them in mind when you're researching a subject and just can't find a way to pare it to a single article length.

I also want to call your attention to a new series starting in the Post written by your President. Nothing like using one column to plug another column, is there? Anyway, I am finally getting around to publishing my travel diary from last spring's vacation in England, which was in effect a sixteen day mini-meet. I hope everyone enjoys it. There was a spot of camera trouble, so the photos are few and far between. Other than that, it was a great experience for me. The first column in the series starts with, well, Day One and is scheduled to start in the 6th April edition.

Okay. Let's talk about books. People are always asking me what I'm reading or if I can recommend a good book. In light of this, I have decided to use this column occasionally to alert my readers to upcoming titles I think you might enjoy. Please keep in mind that books are released at different times in the UK and the US. For example Labyrinth by Kate Mosse just came out in the US but has been available in Europe for many months. (This is one of those novels that doesn't live up to its hype, by the way. Don't waste your money.)

A book that is absolutely delightful, on the other hand, is A Year in the World: Journeys of a Passionate Traveller by Frances Mayes. In it Mayes leaves her beloved Tuscany for many spots in Western Europe and a brief interlude in Africa. She and her husband visit Spain, Portugal, Sicily, Italy, the Cotswolds, Wales and Scotland, Greece and Turkey. This is a book about food and culture and enjoying life. Even if you don't like travel books, you should give this one a try.

Now for some books I'm looking forward to reading. One of my favourite mystery/suspense writers has a new book coming out in April. Harlan Coben is finally bringing back Myron Bolitar in a novel called Promise Me. We last saw Bolitar in Darkest Fear which was released in 2000. In Promise Me a teenage girl disappears and Bolitor is the last person to see her. A suspect in her disappearance, he must race against time to find her before it's too late.

Also coming in April is a book about two of my favorite topics – food and baseball. Molly O'Neill, former food columnist for the New York Times, has written Mostly True: A Memoir of Family, Food, and Baseball. In it she talks about growing up in Ohio with five younger brothers in a family obsessed with baseball. One brother is former Yankee right-fielder Paul O'Neill. I can't wait for this one.

A book sure to set tongues wagging is April's The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family and the Birth of Christianity by James D Tabor. Reviewers agree that it is a bold, speculative reconstruction of the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. In it Tabor posits, among other things, that the real father of Jesus may have been a Roman soldier named Pantera. Tabor is a well-respected scholar and is the chair of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Anyone searching for the historical Jesus is going to have to take this book seriously.

April will be a good month for fantasy fans. Raymond E Feist begins a new trilogy – 'The Darkwar Saga'. The first offering is Flight of the Nighthawks. Set in the world of Midkemia, it follows a sorcerer named Pug as he searches for the meaning of a prophetic nightmare that portends the destruction of Midkemia. Another new series by David Drake premiers - The Fortress of Glass is book one of 'The Crown of the Isles'. Tracy and Laura Hickman give us Mystic Empire, book three of 'The Bronze Canticles' and Mercedes Lackey hits the shelves again with a book in the 'Luna' series, One Good Knight. And for science fiction fans, CJ Cheryh adds to the 'Foreigner' saga with Pretender.

So, get out there and read a good book!

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