Between the Pages in Book World

Arana is always looking for "that magical discovery" -- the untouted book that will become a huge success, such as "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" by John Berendt or "The Known World" by Edward P. Jones. How does she find them? Sometimes, she said, it's by "a sense of the publisher's excitement, though that's not entirely reliable." Book World's latest discovery, which Yardley found, is "The Dream Life of Sukhanov" by Olga Grushin. "No one was waiting for this book, but it's splendid," Arana said.

Arana and her staff also oversee the reviews of self-help books for the Sunday Source, political and policy books for The Federal Page, and the daily Style reviews, which tend to be "more popular and light."

What happens to books by Post authors? That's where it's not pretty. Not all books by Post authors get reviewed. And Post authors are treated no differently than other writers when it comes to reviews. If you're looking for some grumbling about Book World, you can find Post staffers who believe their books were reviewed badly or that reviewers with some conflict were chosen.

Book World is the only news section of The Post whose stories can't be read in the computer system by others as a precaution against tampering. Outside Book World, only Executive Editor Len Downie and Managing Editor Phil Bennett have access to the reviews.

To sit in a meeting with Book World editors is to be surrounded by people who obviously love to read and to write about it, so it's not surprising they also write books. Book World staffers' books are never reviewed on Sunday; they are reviewed only in the Style section.

Arana said she picked up Style on June 28 and read a review of her just-published book, "Cellophane." The review had been assigned by her deputy without her knowledge. Arana's book got a laudatory review. But one previous Book World editor opened the paper to see his book ripped to shreds.

Deborah Howell can be reached at 202-334-7582 or atombudsman@washpost.com.