Have you been by our New & Forthcoming Mysteries page lately? We recently updated the list to include forthcoming titles through June.

In related news, check out the New York Times reviews of some new crime and mystery books.

Detailed info available at the Big Tent page.

Having the privilege of reading books before their publication date is one of the joys of working at the Raven Bookstore.  You all have a treat to look forward to April 6th, with the publication of THE BLACK CAT by Martha Grimes, who once again has brought us Superintendent Richard Jury of the London Metropolitan Police, along with a talking dog, Mungo!

Mungo can speak to the black cat, and we the readers have the fun of hearing the dialogue.  Not so for Richard Jury, but he solves the crime anyhow.  And the ending will surprise you.  Somehow Martha Grimes can convey murder without making me run away from the details - a nice balance to some of the other mystery writers I enjoy, like Carol O’Connell. (Hardcover, $25.95) Julie recommends.

SNOOP: WHAT YOUR STUFF SAYS ABOUT YOU by Sam Gosling will vindicate any of you closet snoopers out there. You can learn a lot about a person by rifling through their bathroom cabinet, bookshelf, and spice rack. And, according to psychologist Gosling, you should want to do so. Not only is this book filled with interesting ways to interpret stuff and associated ways of arranging it, it also has many nifty, quick Reader’s Digest-type personality quizzes to take that will give you quick insight even into people you thought you knew through and through. (Paperback, $15.95) Recommended by Kelly.

Friday, February 19 at 7PM, The Raven is proud to host a reading by three poets who are deeply involved in the Kansas City poetry world.

Phyllis Becker, Silvia Kofler, and Pat Lawson will be reading at this special event.  See the Events page for more detailed information on each of the authors.

For those of you familiar with the mystery, “Who in the Hell is Wanda Fuca?” By G.M. Ford, you are aware of this writer’s sense of humor.  That humor continues in NAMELESS NIGHT, not one of his Waterman or Corso series, but a fine suspense novel on its own.

Paul has been living in an assisted living home since an accident 7 years ago, which not only messed up his face, but left him unable to remember anything, even daily tasks.  He has another accident and the resultant surgery to his head starts releasing some memories.  In pursuit of his lost identity he stirs up government forces, which in the post 9/11 era puts him and those close to him in danger.  The action gets intense and scary, but the humor relieves the tension.  I will be reading more G.M. Ford novels even if it takes me into early morning, as this one did. (Paperback, $7.99) Recommended by Julie.

THE GATHERING STORM by Robert Jordan is the 12th in “The Wheel of Time” series that I began reading about 15 years ago, following the recommendation of a KU student.  It’s pure fantasy, taking you into a world that speaks of strange, frightening creatures, as well as telepathic abilities.  The fate of the wold hangs in the hands of Ran, who was raised in a small town, discovered to be the “Dragon Reborn” and destined to fight the corruption causing the death of the planet.

The author, Robert Jordan, died about 2 years ago, leaving his followers anxious about the fate of this series.  His widow found Brandon Sanderson, and he has done a superb job of continuing the series in Jordan’s original voice.

For pure escapism these are great, but start with number 1.  There are three more after this 12th one. (Hardcover, $29.99) Recommended by Julie.

The Imagination & Place Press headquartered in Lawrence, Kansas, seeks original essays, poetry, and fiction for an interdisciplinary publication on the theme of seasonings. For a full description and submission guidelines, go to www.imaginationandplace.org and click on “Coming Up.” Deadline August 31, 2010.

If you are like us, you miss the broadsheet newspaper — full of investigative reporting, in-depth feature writing, book reviews, comics and big, beautiful pictures that threaten to swallow you whole. The always-innovative McSweeney’s Quarterly has produced a beautiful one-time newspaper. THE PANORAMA is full of both the glory that the news used to be delivered in and the creative swagger for which McSweeney’s is known. Initial printings sold out quickly, but The Raven has received copies!

The issue has ovver 150 contributors, including journalism, features, reviews, and fiction by the likes of Michael Chabon, Stephen King, Dave Eggers, Miranda July, Bob Porterfield and William T. Vollman. Featuring a 16 page comics section with contributions from Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware and others, 16 pages of sports, a 96 page section about books and a food section. ($16).

Ernst Haeckel’s astonishingly beautiful scientific drawings from ART FORMS IN NATURE (KUNSTFORMEN DER NATUR) take you to another planet, one where strange and delicate Faberge eggs grow naturally; Haeckel drew them and carefully laid them out, arranged so that every aspect of them can be seen and admired. But Haeckel wasn’t just a talented draftsman and scientist — his colors are delicious and unusual, especially considering that he made these pieces in the early 1900s. (Paperback, $14.95) Recommended by John