Complete book coverage for March 21, 2010

Have we suddenly become a nation of liars? Or have we just forgotten that there’s a limit to what we call nonfiction?

New books on a variety of subjects -- love and grief, tragedy, the big bang, eco-issues -- show us that no topic is too much for young minds, provided it’s given the right presentation.

Books discussed include ‘Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History’ by David Aaronovitch; ‘Strange Days Indeed: The 1970s: The Golden Age of Paranoia’ by Francis Wheen and more.

The second installment of the Leonid McGill series shows the author in full command, delivering an aphoristic, thrilling story of a hero weighed down by his past.

The author has crafted a ferocious black comedy about the horrors of the American healthcare system and what it can do to even the most compliant of men.

A Chinese intellectual examines how his country’s growth in the 21st century sometimes clashes with its politics.

On an otherwise ordinary day, a middle-aged editor experiences longing, grief and passion that are not so ordinary.

Brutal and disturbing, Blackwood’s stories are a rarity - and fascinating to read.

Plus: ‘The Girl Who Fell from the Sky,’ ‘Bone Fire’ and ‘The Boy Who Loved Tornadoes’

Fiction Weeks on list1.The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined as they change a Mississippi town.41 2.Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (Grand Central: $21.99) The ax-wielding president seeks vengeance against vampires for the death of his mother. 1 3.House Rules by Jodi Picoult (Atria: $28) A teenager with Asperger’s syndrome is accused of murder.1 4.The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (Knopf: $25.95) A hacker implicated in two murders must revisit her past to prove her innocence. 295.Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $12.95) The adventures of Greg Heffley, a wise-cracking kid trying to survive middle school. 46.The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine (Farrar, Straus and Giroux: $25) An elderly mother and her two grown daughters’Austen-esque lives play out in Westport and Manhattan.17.The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion: $17.99) Percy Jackson and his army of demigods battle to stop the Lord of Time. 178.The Postmistress by Sarah Blake (Putnam: $25.95) An American radio reporter links a small Cape Cod village with war-torn Europe. 29.The Man From Beijing by Henning Mankell (Knopf: $25.95) A transcontinental search is under way for the truth behind a massacre in a Swedish village. 3 10.Split Image by Robert B.

Fiction 1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson ($14.95) 2.