FICTIONTHE PILLARS OF THE EARTH by Ken...

FICTION

THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH by Ken Follett (Signet: $5.95). An array of characters helps and hinders the building of a Gothic cathedral in 12th-Century England.

UTRILLO’S MOTHER by Sarah Baylis (Fawcett Columbine: $8.95). Story based on the life of French painter Suzanne Valadon, whose talent is overshadowed by her gender and her son’s work.

HEARTLAND by Rebecca Brandewyne (Warner: $5.95). A gunslinger steps in to care for his sister’s orphaned children, much to the chagrin and suspicion of his willful, attractive neighbor.

THE HOUSE OF STAIRS by Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine (Onyx: $4.95). Fourteen years after Christabel Sanger was released from prison for murder, uncertainty still surrounds her supposed victim.

PAYBACK by J.C. Pollock (Dell: $4.95). Jack Gannon uses his full arsenal of Delta Force training to avenge his wife’s murder by a Russian diplomat who has been granted diplomatic immunity.

NONFICTION

THE BOSS: J. Edgar Hoover and the Great American Inquisition by Athan G. Theoharis and John Stuart Cox (Bantam: $5.95). Hoover’s 50-year reign over the FBI was expansive, efficient--and dire.

SOUL CRISIS: One Woman’s Journey Through Abortion To Renewal by Sue Nathanson, Ph.D. (Signet: $4.95). Nathanson’s journal records ambiguous emotions.

THE BRIDESMAIDS by Judith Balaban Quine (Pocket: $5.95). A member of the wedding relives the transformation of Grace Kelly into a princess, beginning with her transatlantic voyage to Monaco, .

INFORMATION ANXIETY by Richard Saul Wurman (Bantam: $12.95). Noting that “a weekday edition of the New York Times contains more information than the average person was likely to encounter in a lifetime . . . “ in the 17th Century, Wurman explains how to discard the chaff.

WHAT AM I DOING HERE by Bruce Chatwin (Penguin: $10.95). The last book by the author of “UTZ,” “In Patagonia” and “The Songlines” is a personal collection of writings reflecting on his world travels.

SELF-HELP / REFERENCE

THE TRAVELER’S GUIDE TO AMERICAN CRAFTS: East of the Mississippi and THE TRAVELER’S GUIDE TO AMERICAN CRAFTS: West of the Mississippi by Suzanne Carmichael (Dutton: $14.95 each). A travelogue listing addresses, dates and times describes traditional and regional crafts found in (or mail-ordered from) museums, galleries, studios, festivals.