Leisure reading

'The Zurau Aphorisms of Franz Kafka'

Translated by Geoffrey Brock and Michael Hoffman

Schocken, $15.95 (softcover)

Franz Kafka is considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. He is known for "The Metamorphosis," "Amerika," "Castle" and other classics.

This little book, published for the first time, is a little jewel.

Kafka was in Zurau, a tiny village 60 miles from Prague, from September 1917 to April 1918. He said it may have been "the best period" of his life — interesting since he was suffering from tuberculosis at the time.

Many of Kafka's aphorisms are too long to remember, and they lack the rhyme scheme of most American aphorisms. But they are a serious study in his thought, i.e., "Like a path in autumn: no sooner is it cleared than it is once again littered with fallen leaves." — Dennis Lythgoe

'Oil on the Brain'

By Lisa Margonelli

Nan Talese, $26

Since our pocketbooks are involved, this is the book many people have been waiting for — explanations as to what happens to oil "from the pump to the pipeline."

Oil, according to the author, affects everything — transportation, global affairs, the economy, the job market and who knows what else?

Lisa Margonelli has an interesting take on this subject after conducting interviews all over the globe, then trying to explain what she has discovered to the reader. She traveled 100,000 miles and used about 3,000 gallons of gas and jet fuel to get her material.

Fortunately, this is not textbookish, but makes interesting reading because the author's style is engaging. — Dennis Lythgoe

'Dust'

By Martha Grimes

Viking, $25.95

Fans of Richard Jury may be glad his creator, Martha Grimes, has given him a passionate sex life. They may not be glad that he's also a two-timer.

And if fans want a neat ending, they won't get it from "Dust." And if they want to be terrified, they'll have to be content with being terrified about a child on the loose with a lollipop in Henry James' historic home.

Oh well, times change, even though some characters in Grimes' latest mystery still may be fighting World War II. — Susan Whitney