Hey, Heartland America! Where’s the heart? In Go Ask Ogre, Jolene Siana welds a Skinny Puppy obsession into her painful Middle American adolescence. But Tom “Tearaway” Schulte assures us happy valleys await on the other side of the early ’90s, Midwest goth scene.

Can’t get away for that foreign vacation this summer? Pick up a book by an author from another land. Bob Pomeroy tours the Caribbean with the authors from Jamaica’s Calabash Writer’s Workshop.

The protagonist of Small Town Odds is stuck in rural West Virginia, his dreams of college faded, working two jobs, caring for his daughter, drinking too much, and of course, dealing with the prospects of romance. For readers like Joe Frietze who’ve paid their dues to Small Town America, Jason Headley’s debut novel will strike more than one familiar chord.

Carl F Gauze heartily recommends this specialized travel book about the Transcendentalist movement and the Boston area. He doesn’t mention, though, if they’ve set up a breakfast nook in Thoreau’s old jail cell from Civil Disobedience.

Champagne wishes and totalitarian dreams! Your host, James Mann , plays voyeur into the lifestyles of the rich and the insane via Dictator Style.

Metal up your… bookshelf? For Linda Tate , the memories come flooding back after immersing herself in the denim n’ leather goodness of this anthology of heavy metal album covers.

Isn’t everything we need to know about Proust in his cycle In Search of Lost Time? Not by a long shot. Eric J. Iannelli finds that the correspondence in the newly reissued Letters of Marcel Proust offers a great way to separate the man from his work.

Dream the possible dream! Go the extra millimeter! The stars? Reach for the popcorn bowl instead. If you’ve lowered your expectations and still have trouble meeting them, this how-not-to guide to achievement is a must-read. Better yet, ease back into that familiar-looking groove on the couch and let Carl F Gauze sum it up in three easy-to-swallow paragraphs.

Do you have sex? Do you have a job? Congratulations! You’re an expert in l’amour, at least according to a self-help (ahem) guide from the Nerve.com folks. But rest assured their sources carry more cred than whoever’s briefing Carl F Gauze on making the beast with two backs.

Okay, you armchair trekkers, the time has come to cut the tags from those hiking boots, swallow your malaria pills, and beat the bush. A new collection of traveler’s tales that illuminate our shared humanity invites its readers to experience the real thing. The only tough part is beating Bob Pomeroy to the mailbox.

Eric C. Novack’s earthy novel is grist for the mental mills of street intellectuals. His Killing Molly has Tom “Tearaway’ Schulte reminiscing over the lean comforts and late-night coffeehouse scenes of beatnik bachelorhood.

A classic of British parody gets a dazzling new facelift to match its yet thriving appeal, and Ian Koss happily discovers the old girl still delivers a sharp bite.

Still think the computer revolution is a bloodless one? Ha! to you, says a new survival guide for those who’ve suspected a more sinister design behind the everyday glitches of living with technology. But don’t worry. Just leave it to the well-read like Ian Koss to save your homo sapien hide when the washing machines attack.

Both rose-eyed fan and band insider, the Flaming Lips’ official biographer takes Matthew Moyer by the hand backstage into their fabulous rock n’ pop theater. Find out why Jim DeRogatis’s bio on an indie success story (that hasn’t made us cringe yet) makes this volume worthy of top spot on your reading pile.

You have much to learn in the ways of web design, impetuous one. Blind monk Ian Koss has only just now reached enlightenment and it’s all thanks to the CSS Zen Garden. Are you ready to embrace the true path?

They say love grows in the weirdest places, but Tornado Alley? Carl F Gauze finds an enigmatic, leisurely read in Tornado Siren, a love story that examines the heady buildup and tragic fallout of disasters, both natural and personal.

Attention fashionistas!! If you consider yourself a fashion guru, or just like learning what the latest trends are, then The Booster is the perfect book for you. If you’re like Tim Wardyn , then you’ll spend the better part of the book trying to figure out what DKNY stands for.

I know you don’t smoke weed; but it’s Friday and you’re going to read about getting high today. Mary Petralia passes us The Cannabis Companion, a glossy guide that elevates the illicit leaf to the status of wine and fancy chocolates. So clear off that green stuff, make room on the coffee table, and puff puff, give.

Tom Schulte opened up this book expecting a straightforward telling of American-turned-Soviet rockstar Dean Reed’s life. What he ended up with was a crazy musical kaleidoscope of red, white, and blue… and more red.

The only thing that can stop Carl F. Gauze from reading Wayne Koestenbaum’s enjoyable new volume of poetry is … Hold on a sec. Who’s there? Pizza? I didn’t order a pizza….