USC hopes autism novel inspires freshmen - Across South Carolina, and here and there and elsewhere, about 3,600 18-year-olds should be carrying around a little red book. The readers are USC’s incoming freshmen. The book with the bright red cover is Mark Haddon’s “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” For the first time, all freshmen are participating in USC’s First-Year Reading Experience. Before, participation was limited to several hundred students in the S.C. Honors College or University 101, the school’s college introduction course.

Dr Spock advises new generation - From teething to potty-training and childhood infections, Dr Benjamin Spock's The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care instructed a generation of new mothers. The first edition of the book was published in the United States in 1946. For two decades it was the best selling book after the Bible. In 1998, Dr Spock died at the age of 94. Now, almost 60 years after its first print run, his classic tome has been updated for the 21st century. New sections have been added, including the benefits and risks of vaccines, how to talk about sex and how to help children respond to terrorism. By Jane Mulkerrins

New Book "ADHD and The Criminal Justice System" / A new book designed for people who work in the criminal justice system from police officers to jail staff, judges, attorneys, probation, prison and parole staff. Also useful for family members of loved ones who have gotten in trouble with the law.- Patrick J. Hurley is co-author of "ADHD and the Criminal Justice System." Hurley said his contributions to the book largely are based on his own battle with and observations of others with ADHD. Press-Citizen / Jason A. Cook. Living with attention-deficit, hyperactivity disorder is akin to living within a personal mental prison, Patrick J. Hurley says. And it's no wonder that those with ADHD often times end up in trouble with the law, he said.  That's one reason why Hurley co-wrote "ADHD and the Criminal Justice System." Released Dec. 14, Hurley, 51, said his contributions to the book largely are based on his own battle with and observations of others with ADHD. - Press Release

A Dog's Best Friend / Inspirational guide 'written' by Koontz's pooch penned to help Canine Companions - The latest Koontz to become a published author likes to chew squeaky toys and tends to drool when she eats peanut butter.  Her writing — though edited by mega-author Dean Koontz — is a bit rough. You might say the book's a real dog.  "Playing games is fun, makes life good," advises one passage."Bacon is good. Bacon is very good," reads another."Life Is Good: Lessons in Joyful Living" is an inspirational guide credited to Trixie Koontz, the beloved and photogenic golden retriever of Dean Koontz and his wife, Gerda, by Ben Fox

Readers make 'Curious' selection - Wake County readers have chosen British writer Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" for the third edition of Wake Reads Together, which kicks off Jan. 11.  Between now and mid-February, people can read the international best seller before a series of readings, discussions and other events begins at various bookstores and libraries. The program is sponsored by Wake County Public Libraries and the Friends of the Library, by Bridgette L. Lacy

Author publishes book on 'decoding' mental illness - After nearly 20 years of writing and research, John LaMuth has published a book that creates a system to decode the vagaries of vices and virtues.  The 275-page softbound study, "Communication Breakdown: Decoding the Riddle of Mental Illness,' pinpoints a wide range of ethical and unethical practices. It examines conflicting personalities complicated by anxiety, obsession, suspicion, compulsion and depression by Chuck Mueller

Comedy works well on surface - Unanswered voice messages, missed cues, false identity, journeys, banishment and the opposing needs of two gentlemen -- one, the heroine's brother, the other, her lover ... the course of true love is anything but smooth in Margot Livesey's fifth novel, Banishing Verona, by Diane Scharper

Dog’s best friend - "...“Life Is Good: Lessons in Joyful Living” is an inspirational guide credited to Trixie Koontz, the beloved and photogenic golden retriever of Dean Koontz and his wife, Gerda. A short, lavishly illustrated work, it was created to benefit an organization that provides canine assistance to people with disabilities. The book chronicles the pampered and contented life of Trixie, a retired service dog, as she pads about the palatial Koontz home overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, by Ben Fox

Forked tongue - "...For those who have not read any of the 36 translations - “which only leaves Rockall and Mars to go”, Haddon notes wryly - the medical condition at the book’s core is related to autism. Sufferers inhabit a rigorously literal world, one experienced without emotion or guile. This is rich with explored comic potential and is probably why the book has appealed to all ages. The pleasure comes from a genuine puzzle, but also from a touching main character simply unable to lie in a world full of dissembling adults," by Toby Moore

Harvard tell-all book tells little - "...In passing, Bradley lets slip that some colleagues think Summers has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism sometimes called ''geek syndrome" or ''little professor syndrome." ''It's not my supposition," Bradley says. ''It's something that people kept raising with me. It reflected a profound confusion about President Summers's behavior. How could a man attain a position of such power with such bad interpersonal skills?" by Alex Beam

Koontz has become a real dog of an author - The latest Koontz to become a published author likes to chew squeaky toys and tends to drool when she eats peanut butter. Her writing - though edited by mega-author Dean Koontz - is a bit rough. You might say the book's a real dog.  "Playing games is fun, makes life good," advises one passage. "Bacon is good. Bacon is very good," reads another. "Life Is Good: Lessons in Joyful Living" is an inspirational guide credited to Trixie Koontz, the beloved and photogenic golden retriever of Dean Koontz and his wife, Gerda. A short, lavishly illustrated work, it was created to benefit an organization that provides canine assistance to people with disabilities. The book chronicles the pampered and contented life of Trixie, a retired service dog, as she pads about the palatial Koontz home overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, by Ben Fox

Lawrence briefs - KU researchers start Asperger book club.  Kansas University researchers are forming a book club for boys with Asperger syndrome.  The club, for boys between 12 and 14, is being led by Jane Wegner, director of the speech-language-hearing clinic at the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies. The eight-week group will focus on social language and reading comprehension.  Asperger syndrome is a neurobiological disorder named for a Viennese physician, Hans Asperger, who described behaviors in boys who had normal intelligence and language development, but who also had autisticlike behaviors.  For more information, contact Wegner by today at 864-0645 or jwegner@ku.edu.

One Author's Life - Award Winning Author Seeks Public's Help - Amy Hillgren Peterson, whose first novel "The Swedish Lie" was submitted for the Pulitzer Prize and is an American Book Award recipient, is appealing to the public for help.  The 33 year old mother of 3 is leaving her emotionally abusive husband of 12 years. She's found a new house to rent, but lacks money to set up the utilities and pay other moving expenses, and refurnish the house for herself and the children.  When she isn't working on "Rock Candy," her second novel, Hillgren Peterson runs her own corporate writing and graphics enterprise. Business, however, has been slow, by PR Leap

One chapter, twice a day / Books are replacing pills in a novel approach to treating depression, reports Christine Doyle - Just as local gyms increasingly devise programmes for people whose GPs have "prescribed" exercise, a new mental health scheme hopes that a "book prescription" will similarly help thousands who suffer mild to moderate depression, anxiety or other psychological illness by Health Telegraph - UK

New Book Treats Dyslexia with a Smile and Innovation - The Other Side of Dyslexia Offers Successful Alternative Approaches to Overcoming the Pain and Confusion that Can Accompany Dyslexia. Dyslexic Ann Farris shares her research and personal experience of overcoming the pain and confusion of dyslexia in her new book, The Other Side of Dyslexia. ISBN # is 0-9758894-1-9. - Farris’ innovative approach, which she documents through words and illustrations, weaves a fascinating story of her own personal journey to managing dyslexia. The book presents positive outcomes and provides tools for other dyslexics to accomplish a similar goal. Ken Follett, noted British Author and President of the British Dyslexia Institute, has praised the book: "Ann Farris is certainly an intellectual and knows how to present complex ideas." / Press Release

Welcome 'Banishing Verona' for its originality - "...Zeke, 29, is an angelically handsome house painter who lives in London and pieces life together slowly in small bits. He suffers from Asperger's syndrome, an affliction akin to autism," by Jackie Pray

Will truth set him free? - New Book:  BANISHING VERONA By Margot Livesey
Henry Holt, $24  / Zeke is a house painter in London who one day hopes to learn how to lie.  Asperger syndrome has certainly complicated his life, but it has simplified it as well. Shadings of meaning may elude him, but there's strength in Zeke's literalness. Particularly in the swirl his life becomes after Verona bursts into it.

Write-minded - It's not easy being George. A mailman in his mid-30s who lives with his sister, he has just been fired from his job. George is autistic and the fictional subject of a play of the same name written by Kate Reynolds, 16, of Delray Beach, the top winner among three in the 2004 VSA arts Playwright Discovery Program, by Ivette M. Yee