What's on my bedside table: Bernard Clark

Anne Tyler: A Patchwork Planet
Barnaby Gaitlin is a loser - just short of thirty, he's the black sheep of a philanthropic Baltimore family. Once upon a time, he had a home, a loving wife, a little family of his own; now he has an ex-wife, a 9-year old daughter with attitude, a Corvette Sting Ray that's a collector's item but unreliable, and he works as hired muscle for Rent-a-Back, doing heavy chores for old folks. He has an almost pathological curiosity about other people's lives, which has got him into serious trouble in the past, and a hopeless charm which attracts the kind of angelic woman who wants to save him from himself. Tyler's observation is more acute, more delicious than ever; her humour slyer and more irresistible; her characters so vividly realised that you feel you've known this quirky collection for ever. With perfect pitch and poise, humour and humanity, Anne Tyler chronicles, better than any writer today, the sublime and the ridiculous of everyday living, the foibles and frailties of the ordinary human heart.

Joseph Kanon: The Good German
Jake Geismar cut his teeth as a foreign correspondent in pre-war Berlin. When he returns in 1945 to cover the Potsdam conference he finds the city unrecognisable - streets have vanished beneath the rubble, familiar landmarks truncated by high explosive. But amongst the ruins Berliners survive, including some he knew and, miraculously, his lost love, Lena. But in the way she would not leave with him before the war, Lena won't join him now without finding her husband and Emil has disappeared from the safe care of the Americans who, turning a blind eye to his links with Hitler, want his expertise as a rocket designer for themselves. Trawling through the shambles of the city, through the illegal night clubs and the thriving black market, Jake discovers that the twilight war of intrigue between west and east has already begun and that he could quite easily be one of its first casualties. This is a novel of war, an action thriller, a tale of raw emotion and survival. Above all it is a tour de force of the triumph of humanity over man's depravity.

Carol Ann Rinzler, Martin W. Graf: Controlling Cholesterol for Dummies
Need to get your cholesterol in check? You'll find the latest information about cholesterol, including treatments, drug information, and dietary advice, in "Controlling Cholesterol For Dummies", an easy-to-understand guide to cholesterol control. You'll learn how to lower your numbers and maintain healthy cholesterol levels. You'll also find out how to eat and exercise properly, use vitamins and supplements, and quit unhealthy habits. You'll find out cholesterol's positive functions and why too much can be a bad thing. You can also assess your cholesterol risk by taking your age, sex, ethnicity, and family history into consideration.You can find out what you need to ask your doctor about stress tests, ECBT, and angiograms to check for plaque buildup. You can design a cholesterol-crushing diet and understand which foods can help you lower your numbers. You can find out how smoking, alcohol, exercise, excess weight, supplements, and prescription medications affect your cholesterol levels. You can find out how to: assess your cholesterol risk; understand the benefits and risks associated with cholesterol; design and adhere to a cholesterol-lowering diet; avoid dangerous drugs; reduce your risk of heart attack; choose fats and fibers correctly; and check for plaque buildup. Complete with lists of ten important cholesterol websites, ten nutrition websites, ten cholesterol myths, ten landmarks in cholesterol history, ten foods that raise your cholesterol, and ten foods that lower your cholesterol, "Controlling Cholesterol For Dummies, 2nd Edition" will help keep your cholesterol levels under control for good!