Cover: Pulp Fiction
From Pearl Buck to J. D. Salinger, local illustrator James Avati's vision has enlivened the written word.

News: Chainsaw Chancellor
The real résumé of Gray Davis appointee Barry Munitz.

House of Cards: Credit card pushers plunder for profit.

The Scoop: Risky sex, Dr. Laura, abstinence, TV habits and other thoughts.

Up to the Task?: See how your kids' school did in the state Standardized Testing and Reporting program.

Climbing Up on Capitol Hill: Check up on the your Congressional Representatives and U.S. Senators--where they stand, how they voted.

Presents of Mind: Our annual guide to clutterless gifts.

All That Jazz: Plenty to cheer about in 1998 jazz CDs.

Industrial Revolution: German rockers Einstürzende Neubauten rev up their postmodern sound.

Parker Rising: Nicky Baxter reviews Awakening, the new album by percussionist Leon Parker.

Talking Pictures: David Templeton attends the animated The Rugrats Movie, along with a pair of highly experienced Rugrats "experts"--his two daughters, Amber and Jenna.

Twisted Sister: Vince Vaughn ill-stars in Gus Van Sant's Psycho remake.

Grape Gifts: Holiday items for that wine enthusiast in your life.

Heard It Through the Grapevine: Get to the root of all things wine.

Love Story: Santa Rosa Players deliver a red-hot West Side Story.

Crimson Memories: Red Star Sister serves up honest view of the '60s.

They Got the Beat: Brenda Knight's book recalls bohemian days--women during the beat era.

The Duke and the Dandy: Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe helped create the New Journalism, but their new novels--The Rum Diary and A Man in Full--point in opposite directions.

Could Moore Be Merrier, Please?: Lorrie Moore's short fiction collection depresses and thrills millions.

A Price Worth Paying: Richard Powers charts the power of business in all corners of life and death.

Deep in Life's Well: In Haruki Murakami's world, people must touch bottom before they can find salvation.

Mighty Muse: In which David Eggers takes the pretensions of the little literary magazine are taken for a ride.