What does the Chinese government fear from the exercise/philosophic movement of Falun Gong? Danny Schechter explores the subject in his new book, Falun Gong’s Challenge to China. James Mann takes an in-depth look.

Anton Warner delves into the “bad luck” 13th issue of the pop culture journal While You Were Sleeping, and ponders its unique “adultlescent” appeal.

The legacy and history of the legendary Chess Records is examined in Nadine Cohodas’ new book, Spinning Blues Into Gold. Bob Pomeroy takes the book for a spin.

Sure, we all know you should always “pass the dutchie pon the left hand side,” but what are the other vital rules of pot etiquette? Simon Worman details them all in Original Official Joint Smoking Rules. Anton Wagner tokes and passes.

The true life story of America’s favorite powdered animal cartilage is told in Carolyn Wyman’s Jell-O: A Biography. Ian Koss lets you know whether the book gels.

Intensely personal and disturbingly familiar, Sparrow L. Patterson’s debut novel, Synthetic Bi Products follows a tough teen bisexual girl from the suburbs of Chicago through an early ’90s downward spiral of sex, drugs, and shoplifting. Julio Diaz can relate.

From Weiners in Cherry Jell-O to Tongue Rolls Florentine, James Lileks’ The Gallery of Regrettable Food gathers some of the worst culinary creations of all time. Carl F. Gauze brings the Alka-Seltzer.

A side of jazz ignored by Ken Burns’ documentary is explored in Philip Freeman’s new book, New York is Now!: The New Wave of Free Jazz. But is the book any more valid a document of jazz than Burns’ film was? Bob Pomeroy has the answers.

The ups, downs, ins, and outs of the music biz are only barely fictionalized in David Menconi’s new book, Off The Record. Ian Koss gives the book a spin.

Everybody plays the “what if” game, but Larry Eyre’s Catharsis examines what happens when the game becomes destructive. Bob Pomeroy explores the fascinating debut novel.

What makes the WWII generation “The Greatest Generation”? Is that even a valid description? Terry Eagan explores these questions in the context of the new anthology, The Collected Stories of Richard Yates.

Ian Koss takes a look at Lucius Shepard’s new short story collection, The Jaguar Hunter, chock full of stories that combine exotic locations with elements of the supernatural and near-Lovecraftian horror.

What happens when the Americanization of world culture is played out on an intergalactic scale? That’s the question answered by Jim Munroe’s new novel, Angry Young Spaceman. Ian Koss tells you all about it – in English, the intergalactic language of business.

Phil Bailey takes a look at the first issue of Blush, a new magazine chronicling the Japanese glam/metal/punk/goth music trend known as “Visual Kei.”

Exploring “the outer limits of human belief” makes for perfect bathroom reading in the form of Donna Kossy’s Kooks. Ian Koss is your restroom attendant.

Terry Eagan examines Louise Erdrich’s new novel, The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, a profound meditation on identity and faith.

Fulfilling a teenage dream, Phil Bailey picked up the new issue of Playboy, featuring Go-Go’s singer Belinda Carlisle in her birthday suit. No, we won’t scan the photos for you.

For Matthew Moyer, it’s the expressive faces that Graham Annable draws in his new graphic novel, Grickle, that make the book so appealing and real.

Why is Terry Eagan reviewing the new edition of Torquato Tasso’s sixteenth century epic poem? Read the review and find out why he compares Tasso to Chaucer and Shakespeare.

Manil Suri’s debut novel, The Death of Vishnu explores the facts and foibles of class struggles and the quest for spiritual enlightenment through the eyes of a dying apartment building handyman. Terry Eagan explores the rich and unusual novel.