Barnes & Noble Booksellers Recommend Winter's Must-read Page-turners.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 12, 2000

The Barnes & Noble Booksellers Guide to New Fiction Offers Reviews

of the Latest Winter Titles

Barnes & Noble's Readers' Advantage Program Makes Book Buying More

Affordable

On cold, blustery winter days and nights, there's nothing better than staying at home, warming up to the latest page-turner. But what book to choose out of the more than 150 important new fiction titles that will be published this winter? Who better to turn to than the booksellers at Barnes & Noble who read, sell and answer questions about exciting titles every single day? The opinions of hundreds of booksellers across the country are now available in the recently published The Barnes & Noble Booksellers Guide to New Fiction: Winter 2001, sold at Barnes & Noble stores nationwide and on Barnes & Noble.com (http://www.bn.com).

The Booksellers Guide to New Fiction contains unbiased, one-paragraph reviews of the new winter titles, listed alphabetically by author. Using a scale of one to five (five being the best), each review has an overall rating averaged from the individual ratings for writing, plot development, characterization and readability. Some reviews contain icons -- an eye (a book that kept our reviewers up all night), an airplane (a good plane read), "Zs" (a real snore), or a small backpack (suitable for young adult readers). In essence, the Guide does for new fiction what Zagat's has done for restaurants.

Here are ten must-read titles from the Guide, each of which received the book's top rating, with the comments of individual Barnes & Noble booksellers:

-- The Third Option by Vince Flynn. Another political thriller from the New
York Times best-selling author of Term Limits and Transfer of Power. Mitch
Rapp, the CIA's top counter-terrorism operative, is sent on his final mission.
His target is a German industrialist who has been selling highly sensitive
equipment to one of the world's most notorious terrorists. But Rapp finds
himself victimized by forces within his own government, and he doesn't just get
mad - he gets even. One bookseller said, "For those who believe that covert
operations are a fact, there is a good reason to wonder if Flynn's writing is a
lot closer to the facts than the fiction label allows."

-- Shopgirl by Steve Martin. Martin's novella is a "quick, quirky and comic
read," and "a peek into the psyche" of the famed playwright/actor/comedian. His
"contemporary tale about the tragedy and comedy of life and love," seen through
the eyes of the beautiful title character Mirabelle, captured the hearts of the
Guide's reviewers.

-- Rope Burns by F.X. Toole. "Gripping stories about boxers, trainers and
corner men" in East Los Angeles, Toole's "good writing makes for enjoyable
reading." It's "nice to see a 69-year old man add writing to his career
achievements."

-- The Means of Escape by Penelope Fitzgerald. The book, published
posthumously, is the "fascinating and exciting" first short-story collection
(and final work of fiction) by the best-selling author of The Blue Flower and
The Bookshop. One bookseller said, "Fitzgerald finds the humor and absurdity in
human behavior - much to my delight!"

-- 24 Hours by Greg Iles. Iles' latest "page-turner" about a man who finds the
perfect family and has crafted the perfect crime. Our booksellers found the
work "excellent"and a "fast-paced thriller from the beginning to end." "The
terror felt by the characters jumps off the page and into your thumping heart."


-- The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood. The "very sweet," "funny and
touching" story of J.J. Smith, the Keeper of the Records for The Guinness Book
of Records, who discovers a world record attempt like no other. Piece by piece,
a farmer is eating a Boeing 747 to prove his love for a woman. Surprisingly,
Smith finds himself falling for the same woman. The "light-hearted and
enjoyable" novel, according to one reviewer, was "a fun book to read, with a
happy ending, too!"

-- The Will by Reed Arvin. Our booksellers "loved" this new entry in the field
of legal thrillers, in which a young associate at a Chicago law firm finds his
"high-minded" morality questioned when he enters the ruthless world of
litigation. The book contains "excellent intrigue, and an interesting play of
characters."

-- Dust to Dust by Tami Hoag. "Sorry." The single word was written on the
mirror. In front of it hung the body of Andy Fallon, a Minneapolis
International Affairs cop. Was it suicide? Or a kinky act turned tragic
accident? Find out in this "very enjoyable read, with a lot less gore than her
last book."

-- Even Steven by John Gilstrap. In this "emotional roller coaster" of a novel,
a childless couple crosses paths with a lost boy and find themselves on the run
from his deadly kidnappers. One bookseller commented, "I cried, my heart was
pounding, I held my breath - a thrill ride not to be missed."

-- The Incumbent by Brian McGrory. By a veteran Washington press insider, this
"impressive," "instantly transporting" debut delivers thrills as an
assassination attempt is made on the president's life - twelve days prior to
Election Day. The novel is "a first rate detective story without a real
detective."

Readers' Advantage Program

To make the above titles and all of our other books more affordable, readers are encouraged to join Barnes & Noble's Readers' Advantage program. Program members receive 10% discounts on all books in Barnes & Noble stores and 5% discounts at Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com). Readers' Advantage also includes special member events and offers throughout the year. An annual membership costs $25. Customers who join now will receive a one-year subscription to BOOK magazine and a free canvas book bag.

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