What some of the new arrivals are about.

Aboutness is a term used in Library and Information science (LIS), Linguistics, philosophy of language and philosophy of mind. In LIS it is often considered synonymous with subject. It is what is said in a document, what it is about, its content, subject or topic. It is a term that is extremely important in information science.

Aboutness grasps more of what the book is about compared to the blurb which is commonly used to give an idea of what the book deals with. Because this is novels we are discussing, it is still okay to try and find out what the books are about through the blurb. The first book we will look at is John Grisham's  Sycamore Row,

1)In Sycamore Row, Seth Hubbard is a wealthy man dying of lung cancer. He trusts no one, Before he hangs himself from a sycamore tree, Hubbard leaves a new, handwritten will. It is an act that drags his adult children, his black maid, and Jake into a conflict as riveting and dramatic as the murder trial that made Brigance one of Ford County's most notorious citizens, just three years earlier. The second will raises many more questions than it answers. Why would Hubbart leave nearly all of his fortune to his maid?Had chemotherapy and painkillers affected his ability to think clearly? And what does it all have to do with a piece of land once known as Sycamore Row.

 2) John Grisham's 'The Partner'

 Once he was a well liked, well paid young partner in a thriving Mississippi law firm. Then Patrick Lanigan stole ninety million dollars from his won law firm- and ran for his life. For four years, he evaded men who were rich, powerful, and would stop at nothing to find him, Then inevitably, on the edge of the Brazilian jungle, they finally tracked him down.

Now Patrick is coming home. And in Mississippi city where it all begun, an extraordinary trial is about to begin. As prosecutors circle like sharks, as Patrick's lawyer prepares his defense, as Patrick's lover prays for his deliverance and his former partners wait for their revenge, another story is about to emerge. Because Patrick  Lanigan, the most reviled white collar criminal of his time, knows something that no one else in the world knows.

He knows the truth........

3) Robert Ludlum's 'Bourne Legacy'

Jason Bourne returns from the shadows as the world's number one assassin... 

Once, Jason Bourne was notorious in the clandestine world of covert-ops as one of the CIA's most expert international killers for hire. Out of the ashes of his violent past he's emerged today as a Georgetown professor, living a quiet life, retired from danger-until he narrowly escapes the bullet of a faceless assassin. And when two of Bourne's closest associates are murdered, Bourne knows that his legacy has followed him- and set him up as the prime suspect for the brutal crimes.

And the world's number one target,  The quicksand of lies and betrayals is deeper than Bourne ever imagined. Hunted by the CIA as a dangerous rogue agent, he has only one option to stay alive- and one last chance to stay one step ahead of an unseen assailant whose vengeance is personal. Pursued across the globe, Bourne's on the run, and on the edge of discovering the truth-that he's become the expendable pawn in an international terrorist plot. One that's taking every living witness with it and plunging Bourne one step closer to the world shattering consequences of........The Bourne Legacy,

4) Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of a committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering 'the cause of generation and life' and 'bestowing animation upon lifeless matter,' Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but, upon bringing it to life, recoils in horror at the creature's hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.

Frankenstein not only tells a horrifying story, but also raises profound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of human kind within cosmos; what does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go with tampering with nature? In our age, filled with news of organ donation, genetic engineering, and bio-terrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever.

5)Ranger's Apprentice. Book One; The ruins of Gorlan

They have always scared him in the past - the Rangers with their dark  cloaks and mysterious ways. Folks in the village claim that Rangers have the power to become invisible at will. A skill Will would now dearly love to have.

Will's heart had been set on Battle-school, on becoming a hero to the kingdom. But Will is small for his fifteen years, too small to be a warrior, He possesses other skills, though- a Ranger's skills. He can move silent as a shadow. He can climb. And he is brave.

He will need all these skills and more, For Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces. A battle for the kingdom is destined to begin. A battle the likes of which Will cannot even imagine.

6) Ranger's Apprentice. Book two; The Burning Bridge

For years, the Kingdom of Araluen has prospered. with the evil Lord Morgarath safely behind the impassable mountains. For years,its people have felt secure, But the scheming hand of the dark lord has not been idle....On a special mission for the Rangers, Will and his friend Horace, an apprentice knight, travel to a neighboring village and discover the unsettling truth; All the villagers have been either slayed or captured. But why? Could it be that Margarath has finally devised  plan to bring his legions over the supposedly insurmountable pass?If so, the King's army is in imminent danger of being crushed in a fierce ambush. And Will and Horace are the only ones who can save them.

The Ranger's Apprentice, book three and book four will follow soon.