The book is David Ebershoff’s The Danish Girl (2000). Being of Danish heritage, the title interests me, but the story never does … no matter how many times I pick it up and read the description.

Danish Girl is not about any of my international relatives (that I know of). It is a “fictionalized account of the life of Lili Elbe (shown in photo), the first person to undergo sex reassignment surgery,” according to Wikipedia. And now it’s making headlines.

Ebershoff’s debut, acclaimed novel is being turned into a big budget movie. Nicole Kidman will star as post-op Lili Elbe (who was Einar Wegener pre-op), and Charlize Theron will play Einar’s wife Greta Wegener.

The Wegners are a happily married couple who are both painters. Greta implores her husband’s help when a model bails on her mid-painting. Einar dresses up in the silk dress, stockings, and high heels that the model had donned. From there, the couple’s love is tested in unprecedented ways. Einar falls in love with feminine attire and Greta plays along, calling her husband “Lili” as a joke. But can their marriage - and Greta’s love - continue when Einar physically becomes Lili?

So if you are intrigued by the previews, and want to snag a paperback copy of The Danish Girl sans Kidman on the cover, I know a little used bookstore in Delaware that probably still has a copy.

David Ebershoff has also written a short story collection - The Rose City (2001) - and two other novels: The 19th Wife (2008) and Pasadena (2002).

In 2007, Lifetime Television Network produced and played four original movies based on four novel by Roberts. These films were met with such enthusiasm and success, that Lifetime has ordered four more films based on four more of Roberts’ novels, to be aired in 2009.

Nora Roberts’ High Noon is the first to begin production, with stars including Emilie de Ravi, Ivan Sergei, and Golden Globe winner Cybill Shepherd. The other three films will include Nora Roberts’ Midnight Bayou, Nora Roberts’ Tribute and Nora Roberts’ Northern Lights. True Betrayals and Carnal Innocence were also considered.

High Noon follows Phoebe, a hostage negotiator, as she juggles her working, family, and love lives, all while receiving threats from a psychopathic killer.

Northern Lights is third in line for filming with announced cast members including Grammy Award winner LeAnn Rimes, Eddie Cibrian, and Rosanna Arquette. Jerry O’Connell, Lauren Stamile, and Faye Dunaway lead the cast of Midnight Bayou. The cast of Tribute is yet to be announced.

“I’m delighted,” said Roberts. “The care and attention to detail they gave the four movies that aired in 2007 made for wonderful entertainment. … I’m anticipating another four exciting adaptations to air in 2009.”

The four 2007 Lifetime movies were Angels Fall, Montana Sky, Blue Smoke, and Carolina Moon. Previously, two other Roberts books were adapted into TV movies: Sanctuary in 2001, and Magic Moments in 1989.

Nora Roberts is a New York Times bestselling author who has written more than 150 romance novels, plus an additional collection - the In Death series - under the pen name J. D. Robb.

But I know nothing about the books that were popular in the decade. Here are the top ten best-selling books from the year 1958, the year my mother was born:

1. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
2. Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver
3. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
4. Around the World with Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis
5. From the Terrace by John O’Hara
6. Eloise at Christmastime by Kay Thompson
7. Ice Palace by Edna Ferber
8. The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton
9. The Enemy Camp by Jerome Weidman
10. Victorine by Frances Parkinson Keyes

Cader Books provides a year by year run down of best-selling fiction and non-fiction books. Visit Cader to check out the rest of the top books from the ’50s and other decades.

The 66-year-old man of many hats was a medical doctor, wrote best-selling novels such as the Jurassic Park series, helped to create popular TV shows including ER, and warned the public about consensus science, urging them to be skeptic. His cautionary scientific beliefs often played out in his works, which told worst case scenarios of scientific advancements.

Crichton won an Emmy, a Peabody, a Writer’s Guild of America Award, and many other awards. He stood tall at 6′9″ and graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Medical School.

Other written works by Michael Crichton include: The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Disclosure, Timeline, State of Fear, and Prey. Odds On (1966), written under the pen name John Lange, was Crichton’s first published work of fiction; Next (2006) was his most recent. One unnamed novel was completed before his death and is set to be released December 2.

Get a sneak peak at the cover, inside blurb, and first few pages here:

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And now there is a time-appropriate fiction novel that is also seemingly riding the 2008 election wave.

Promoted as a what-if political novel, David L. Dukes’s The First Black President Blues goes there. Yes, there. As in speculating that America is not ready for a African-American president because there would be an assassination attempt.

Here is President Blues synopsis: “Re-elected to a second term, Louis Hayes, America’s first black president, finds himself lying speechless and paralyzed after having been shot at his inaugural party. During the ensuing struggle to survive, Louis retraces his life’s path - from a childhood in Baltimore’s projects to leader of the free world - and comes to grips with his own true American identity”

I’m not sure what Dukes was thinking.

This is Dukes’s third alternate history fiction book where he speculates on possible future scenarios surrounding current sociopolitical conditions. His first two such novels are The Zebra Confessions, about America’s second civil war, and The Last White Soldier, about World War III. All three novels were self published through leading independent book publisher Author House.

Want to know who I’m voting for tomorrow? Read about my struggle to find a candidate that I like.

Hillerman was best known and loved for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels, and had five books made into big screen films. He pioneered was is known today as the tribal mystery genre, focusing not only on Navajo tradition, but also hat of the Hopi, Zuni, and European-American.

According to the New York Times, his writing had a goal; it set out “to instill in his readers a respect for Indian culture. The plots of his stories, while steeped in contemporary crime and its consequences, were invariably instructive about ancient tribal beliefs and customs, from purification rituals for a soldier returned from a foreign war to incest taboos for a proper clan marriage.”

Aside from writing, Hillerman was a decorated combat veteran, having served in World War II and earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart. He then went on to pursue a career as a journalist, earning a Master’s degree, and going on to teach at the University of New Mexico.

His last published work was The Shape Shifter (2006), the 18th book in his series about characters Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee of the Navajo tribal police.

Hillermans other works included a memoir, nonfiction pieces about mystery writing, and photo collections. The 2002 movie Skinwalkers was one of the five Hillerman books that were made into films, based on his 1986 novel of the same name, which featured Leaphorn and Chee.

The film is now expected to hit theaters on July 17. This weekend, a trailer was released, and is available to watch on YouTube.

Click here to check out the sneak preview of the new Harry potter movie.

Twilight will be stepping its release date up to fill the space left by Potter for the teenage market on Thanksgiving weekend.

* Not only is Michael Cunningham’s homage to Virginia Woolf - The Hours - on sale for $4.99, but the hit flick of the same name starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, and Julianne Moore that was based on it is also on sale for $7.99.

There are currently 138 other books under $5 at Amazon. Sure, a lot of them are obscure self help ones with 25-word long titles, but dig around a little and you’ll find a good read.

Saturday, beginning at 2 p.m., stores nationwide will host guests of all ages for free story time, coloring and activities, games, a treasure hunt for letters throughout the store, treats, and a costume contest.

Borders and Waldenbooks have also highlighted a number of Halloween-themed book suggestions for the whole family, from picture books to thrilling mysteries.

Beginner readers, ages 6-8 might enjoy:
* Magic Tree House: Haunted Castle on Hallow’s Eve
* Junie B. Jones: Boo and I Mean It
* Babymouse: Monster Mash

Kids ages 9-12 should check out:
* Inkdeath
* The Wandmaker’s Guidebook
* The Graveyard Book

Teens and adults can find:
* The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home by Stephen King
* World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
* Deeper by Jeff Long
* Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton

Many of these book stores sell other formats of fun, too. While you’re there, grab a pumpkin carving kit, a DVD copy of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and more.