From the copy desk to the layout desk to the features desk, one passion unites the denizens of the Star Tribune newsroom: reading. We decided to harness that passion into "The Browser," a monthly roundup of short reviews of all sorts of books -- from mass-market mysteries to histories, bodice-rippers, memoirs and beyond. Do you have a guilty pleasure? Tell us which authors you'd like us to take on at swilliams@startribune.com. Meanwhile, enjoy these pithy, pointed and personal observations from our staff.
The Choice

by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central, 272 pages, $24.99).

This latest from the author of "The Notebook" and "At First Sight" features hunky veterinarian Travis Parker and his new next-door neighbor, Gabby Holland, a physician's assistant. They are drawn to each other, yet kept apart by blunder and misunderstanding. You can just picture Sparks earnestly plotting this out: Motivation. Check. Surprise twist. Check. Heartwarming and vaguely religious ending. Check. In between plot points, he has tedious dialogue, augmented with pointless action that takes the story nowhere: "Gabby made her way to the produce section, where she collected some fresh green beans and the makings for a salad. Moving quickly, she located a box of pasta and some croutons, then headed toward the rear of the store." Sparks has a formula that has worked well for him. But, sadly, he doesn't know how to bring his characters to life or animate his story.

LAURIE HERTZEL, PROJECTS EDITOR


BORN STANDING UP

by Steve Martin (Scribner, 209 pages, $25).

With this memoir, Martin lets readers in on how to be a successful comedian: work like crazy. And at times it feels like work as we read Martin's accounts of "observing, analyzing, judging [and] worrying" about his performance techniques. Who knew so much thought went into putting on an arrow hat or screaming "Excuuuuse me!"? Quoted portions of his wild and crazy routines are still hilarious, but offset by odd asides, as when he considers and decides against stealing a valuable book from a library. There are too few tales about his contemporaries, and Martin is overly scrupulous in giving credit where it is no doubt due. But overall it is fascinating to read how a very intent little 10-year-old lucked into a job at Disneyland, grew up to enjoy years of white-hot success as a touring stand-up comic and then chucked it all to branch out into film, literature and art collecting. This year Martin was among the five performing artists to receive a Kennedy Center Honor.

KATHE CONNAIR, FEATURES COPY EDITOR

Star Tribune, Star Tribune


BIG BONED

by Meg Cabot (Avon, 280 pages, $13.95).

Series queen Cabot ("The Princess Diaries," "Queen of Babble") brings back assistant residence hall director and "former teen pop sensation" Heather Wells for her third and final "Death Dorm" murder mystery. Based on Cabot's experiences working at New York University, Heather's adventures feature a stridently wacky cast of characters: the vegan math professor boyfriend, the sexy detective brother of a teen idol ex, the irreverent gay friend, the ex-con father, the scruffy grad students seeking to unionize and the strict new boss who is shot to death in his office. While breezily entertaining, with some funny lines, the not-for-kids novel suffers from a snarky tone and a neurotic heroine who's too self-absorbed to be sympathetic, despite her love of any food "with chocolate sauce or ketchup on it."

MARCI SCHMITT, FEATURES LAYOUT EDITOR


Dark of the Moon

by John Sandford (Putnam, 373 pages, $26.95).

If you follow John Sandford's road map, I-90 heading west from Worthington will take you directly into "Stark County," edge-of-the-prairie, small-town Minnesota where everybody knows everybody else's business. Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Virgil Flowers takes that route, sent to investigate a double murder -- with roots decades in the past -- that quickly turns into a number of other murders. Sandford's tale has a nice sense of place, a fine shoot-'em-up sequence, a neat plot twist at the end and a little Lucas Davenport for fans of the author's "Prey" series. Virgil, however, could use a little more imagination in his descriptions of women and should knock off writing on his laptop about his investigation as if it were a novel. And what's with all those "musical T-shirts" (from Sheryl Crow to Franz Ferdinand) that Virgil wears? He must spend half his downtime shopping for them.

STEVE RIEL, WORLD AND NATION EDITOR


THE BOND

by Drs. Sampson David, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt (Riverhead, 272 pages, $24.95).

The bestselling authors ("The Pact," "We Beat the Street"), known as The Three Doctors, successfully go for the three-peat in their third book chronicling their attempts to reconnect with their absent fathers after supporting each other through their "haphazard journey" into manhood. It is a must-read for those who've experienced uninvolved fatherhood and believe it's not too late to reestablish a relationship. Like myself, the authors depended on their mothers, grandmothers and other father figures to instill positive values, stress education and not let the streets devour them. Also like me, they had to rely heavily on other male fatherless friends while growing up for everything from tying a double-knot tie to making critical decisions, such as what college to attend. David and Jenkins admitted they still didn't have a good relationship with their fathers, but David hopes this book will help build bridges and close gaps between estranged fathers and their children. This book slightly tempted me to yet again reach out to my father in south Minneapolis, but after a very public falling-out last year, I'm going to stick to "The Pact" I made with my friends: "Sometimes it's best to break the ties that bind."

TERRY COLLINS, STAFF WRITER


MISTER PIP

by Lloyd Jones (Dial Press, 256 pages, $20).

On a war-torn, unnamed South Pacific island in the 1990s -- where everyone with the means to do so has fled or joined the rebels -- everyday life has lost its cadence. Then, the only white man left on the island agrees to reopen the school. "I am no teacher, but I will do my best," Mr. Watts tells the eager kids. "I believe with your parents' help, we can make a difference to our lives." And so he begins reading aloud "Great Expectations." Told through the eyes of Matilda, a precocious 11-year-old, "Mister Pip" is a celebration of narrative's ability to transport the reader to other places and times. As the army and rebels alternately harass the village, Matilda finds solace in Pip's ability to survive. "Mister Pip" transports the reader to the isolated world of a tropical island, much as "Great Expectations" helps the island's residents find a place away from their fear and desperation. It's a lovely story about the victory of ideas over the ugliness of war.

SHARON S. KESSLER, COPY EDITOR