FICTION

DIRK GENTLY’S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY by Douglas Adams. (Pocket Books: $4.50.) An unorthodox detective and his equally unorthodox colleagues search the universe for a cat and hope to save the human race from extinction.

FIRST LADIES by Catherine Breslin. (McGraw-Hill: $5.95.) The “acting” First Lady and First Lady “in-waiting” are in the front lines of a classic Washington political battle as the result of a presidential election that must be decided by the House of Representatives.

SKINNY ISLAND by Louis Auchincloss. (St. Martin’s: $3.95.) Twelve stories of Manhattan’s privileged class from the late 1800s to the 1980s.

WINTER HAWK by Craig Thomas. (Avon Books: $4.50.) Returning hero Mitchell Gant has 48 hours to rescue an indispensable agent, thwart the Russians, take back space and avert global disaster.

OF LOVE AND SHADOWS by Isabel Allende. Translated from the Spanish by Margaret Sayers Peden. (Bantam Books: $4.50.) In a Third World country that is struggling for freedom, two people, a journalist and a photographer, attempt to uncover a ruthless crime.

NONFICTION

THE CLOSING OF THE AMERICAN MIND by Allan Bloom. (Touchstone: $7.95.) Bloom targets American universities as breeding grounds for major crises in liberal education and in society.

ONE L by Scott Turow. (Warner Books: $4.50.) “Presumed Innocent” author records his first year at Harvard Law School. BEVERLY: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY by Beverly Sills and Lawrence Linderman. (Bantam Books: $4.95.) Sills shares her successes and heartbreaks in her roles as opera superstar, wife, mother and most recently as director of the New York City Opera.

KENT STATE/MAY 4, edited by Scott L. Bills. (Kent State University Press: $12.) A reminder of that infamous day on this college’s campus in 1970. Reprint includes a new preface, an addendum to the annotated bibliography and the controversy over a memorial to the shootings.

ARI: THE LIFE & TIMES OF ARISTOTLE SOCRATES ONASSIS by Peter Evans. (Charter Books: $4.50.) Onassis’ wealth, extravagant spending habits, mega-business deals, affairs and problems with heirs would rival a top-rated soap opera. (Released in March, but tied in to the two-part ABC movie beginning tonight.)

SELF HELP

ADOPTION: Parenthood Without Pregnancy by Charlene Canape. (Avon Books: $4.50.) Adoption in all its facets is explored as an alternative to childlessness. Complete with names, addresses and telephone numbers of resources.

THE SINGLE WOMAN’S VACATION GUIDE by Linda E. Ledray. Can’t find anywhere to be alone? Ledray knows of at least 22 places all over the world. She tells you where to go, what to take, and what to do when you get there.