Complete books coverage for Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009

Chickens play an important role in many young adult and children’s stories. What is it about these critters that appeals to storytellers?

The first of three journals shows the late American critic and novelist wrestling with issues of her own identity.

A talk with the author about her new book, its sources and why she writes.

Herbert Spencer promoted evolution as a progression in nature and society.Herbert Spencer promoted evolution as a progression in nature and society.

A novel about a 14-year-old attorney offers a welcome measure of real-world sensibilities for young-adult readers steeped in dark fantasies such as the ‘Twilight’ series.

Feel safe and secure in your suburban lives? Raymond’s stories of middle-class lives in the Pacific Northwest show how easily any assurance can be dissolved.

The London-based editor and writer offers a wealth of rules, tips and strategies for improving one’s interpersonal, nonelectronic communication skills.

Characters and authors attempt to “only connect” - through food, music and art

Fiction weeks on list1.Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. 25 2.A Mercy by Toni Morrison (Knopf: $23.95) A slave girl is sold by her mother in late-1600s America to give her a better life.7 3.Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: $27.95) Forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta travels to New York to examine a psychiatric patient at Bellevue.4 4.The Private Patient by P.D.

Fiction 1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer ($10.99) 2. The Shack by William P. Young ($14.99) 3.