NEW YEAR IN BOOKS COMING SOON TO BOOKSTORES LOOKING BACK ISN'T THE ONLY WAY TO GREET THE NEW LITERARY YEAR. CONNIE OGLE OF THE MIAMI HERALD OFFERS THIS LIST OF SOME OF THE MORE INTRIGUING TITLES DUE

"THE ACCIDENTAL" BY ALI SMITH (PANTHEON)
THE AUTHOR OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST "HOTEL WORLD," RETURNS WITH A NOVEL ABOUT A DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY.
"THE BOMB IN THE BASEMENT: HOW ISRAEL WENT NUCLEAR AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD" BY MICHAEL KARPIN (SIMON & amp; SCHUSTER)
KARPIN DESCRIBES HOW ISRAEL BECAME THE MIDDLE EAST'S ONLY NUCLEAR POWER -- AND HOW OFFICIALS KEPT THE COUNTRY'S ATOMIC PROGRAM SECRET.
"CELL" BY STEPHEN KING (SCRIBNER)
KING PROVES WHAT WE ALWAYS KNEW DEEP WITHIN OUR HEARTS: CELL PHONES ARE EVIL.
"COVERING: THE HIDDEN ASSAULT ON OUR CIVIL RIGHTS" BY KENJI YOSHINO (RANDOM)
AN ASIAN-AMERICAN YALE LAW PROFESSOR EXPLORES CIVIL-RIGHTS LAWS, EQUALITY AND IDENTITY.
"DAVE BARRY'S MONEY SECRETS" BY DAVE BARRY (CROWN)
AND YOU THOUGHT "FREAKANOMICS" WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK ON FINANCES YOU'D READ THIS DECADE.
"ES CUBA: LIFE AND LOVE ON AN ILLEGAL ISLAND" BY LEA ASCHKENAS (SEAL)
A JOURNALIST CHRONICLES 10 MONTHS IN CUBA.
"QUEEN OF THE UNDERWORLD" BY GAIL GODWIN (RANDOM)
A FORMER MIAMI HERALD REPORTER TAKES ON THE STORY OF MIAMI IN 1959. ALSO FROM GODWIN THIS MONTH: "THE MAKING OF A WRITER: JOURNALS, 1961-1963," A MEMOIR.
"UTTERLY MONKEY" BY NICK LAIRD (HARPER PERENNIAL)
THE POET AND HUSBAND OF NOVELIST ZADIE SMITH TRIES HIS HAND AT LAD LIT.
FEBRUARY
"AMERICAN VERTIGO: TRAVELING AMERICA IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF TOCQUEVILLE" BY BERNARD-HENRI LEVI (RANDOM)
A SERIES OF VIGNETTES FROM THE FAMOUS FRENCH INTELLECTUAL HIGHLIGHTS THE POVERTY AND WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES.
"MANHUNT: THE TWELVE DAY CHASE FOR LINCOLN'S KILLER" BY JAMES SWANSON (MORROW)
PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY RAVES ABOUT THIS HISTORICAL, TRUE-CRIME THRILLER.
"AT CANAAN'S EDGE: AMERICA IN THE KING YEARS, 1965-68" BY TAYLOR BRANCH (SIMON & amp; SCHUSTER)
THE AUTHOR OF "PARTING THE WATERS" CONTINUES HIS EXPLORATION OF THE CIVIL-RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
"THE GOOD LIFE" BY JAY MCINERNEY (KNOPF)
"THE BRIGHT LIGHTS," "BIG CITY" NOVELIST KEEPS HIS ATTENTION ON NEW YORK -- POST 9/11.
"MARCH
"APEX HIDES THE HURT" BY COLSON WHITEHEAD (DOUBLEDAY)
THIS SATIRE BY THE AUTHOR OF JOHN HENRY DAYS AND THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK POKES FUN AT POP CULTURE AND THE CULT OF MARKETING.
"THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION: THE BEGINNING OF OUR RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS" BY KAREN ARMSTRONG (KNOPF)
ONE OF OUR MOST DISTINGUISHED WRITERS ON RELIGION EXPLORES THE NINTH CENTURY B.C.
"MOTOR MOUTH" BY JANET EVANOVICH (HARPERCOLLINS)
ALEXANDRA "BARNEY" BARNABY AND HER PASSION FOR NASCAR RETURN. CRIME AND INVESTIGATION ENSUE.
"THE NIGHT WATCH" BY SARAH WATERS(RIVERHEAD)
WORLD WAR II LONDON IS THE SETTING FOR THIS THRILLER.
APRIL
"THE BIG BAMBOO" BY TIM DORSEY (MORROW)
PSYCHO KILLER SERGE STORMS TAKES ON HOLLYWOOD, AND, BOY, IS HE MAD ABOUT HOW FLORIDA IS DEPICTED ON SCREEN. THIS WACKY BLACK COMEDY WILL BE PUBLISHED APRIL FOOL'S DAY.
"SAVING THE WORLD" BY JULIA ALVAREZ ( ALGONQUIN)
IN THE FIFTH NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF "HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS AND IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES," TWO WOMEN COPE WITH HUSBANDS EMBROILED IN HUMANITARIAN ENDEAVORS.
"THIS BOOK WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE" BY A.M. HOMES (VIKING)
A LOS ANGELES MAN RECONNECTS TO LIFE AFTER A TRIP TO THE HOSPITAL AND A DEVELOPING SINKHOLE OUTSIDE HIS HOUSE SHAKE HIS WORLD. IN A RECENT ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY COLUMN, STEPHEN KING PROCLAIMED THIS THE YEAR'S BEST BOOK.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS