FICTION

THE SHELL SEEKERS by Rosamunde Pilcher (Dell: $4.95). Penelope Keeling’s father’s pre-Raphaelite-style painting is the focus of emotional interplay among three generations.

LOST LOVE FOUND by Bertrice Small (Ballantine: $7.95). Valentina’s comeliness and independence rivals that of her aunt, Skye O’Malley, in the continuation of that family’s saga.

SUITE FOR CALLIOPE by Ellen Hunnicutt (Laurel: $7.95). Ada Cunningham, a piano virtuoso, escapes from her physical handicap and soars at the circus.

THE ASCENSION FACTOR by Frank Herbert and Bill Ransom (Ace: $4.50). An underwater race of people is on the precipice of doom or survival; last in a sci-fi trilogy.

THAI HORSE by William Diehl (Ballantine: $4.95). Government-sanctioned killer Christian Hatcher, his body and mind ravaged by prison, follows a duplicitous drug trail to reunite a father and son.

NONFICTION

TRUST YOUR HEART: An Autobiography by Judy Collins (Fawcett Crest: $4.95). Collins’ ethereal voice makes her a ‘60s luminary; she recounts some missteps and her efforts to maintain the spirit of that generation.

UNCLE DAD by C. W. Smith (Berkley: $3.95). Novelist Smith conveys the feelings shared by fathers separated by divorce from their children.

THE WEALTH OF THE NATION: An Economic History of the United States by Stuart Bruchey (Perennial: $7.95). The budget and trade deficits are traced all the way back to Colonial America.

APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN HOMESPUN by Frances Louisa Goodrich (Applewood Books: $7.95). Goodrich’s 1920s travels in Appalachia resulted in this study of its crafts and people.

THE POEM ITSELF, edited by Stanley Burnshaw (Touchstone: $10.95). Renowned poets’ works (150) are preceded by brief biographical and interpretive data.

SELF-HELP / REFERENCE

THE WORKING ACTOR’S GUIDE, L.A. (1989 edition), edited by Karin Mani (Paul Flattery Productions: $29.95). Comprehensive resource tool covering all phases of an actor’s career, i.e., training, agents, photographers--even child care.

CHRONICLE OF THE YEAR 1988, edited by Clifton Daniel (Chronicle: $5.95). The most newsworthy events of the last year at-a-glance.