Book Lust With Nancy Pearl (seattle Channel)

Marie-Helene Bertino's "Beautyland" is based on the author's short story about "an unnamed alien faxing notes on human beings to who she believes are her superiors." Bertino based the story's structure on the lifespan of a star and lent much of her own story to her protagonist's "Earth life" and "magical vocation." She tells host Nancy Pearl she herself has a folder on her computer called "Notes on Human Beings," where she collects the baffling and charming idiosyncrasies of our kind which are not unlike the character's observations. In fact, that folder helped her write this novel, which, at its core, is an examination of "what it means to be a human on Earth."

The history books may lead us to believe it's the grand successes that shape our world, but what about the failures? The epic disasters, the inventions ahead of their time, and the plain bad ideas – surely they have a place in humanity's tale, too? If you've ever wondered about the wins that weren't, comic artist and editor Kel McDonald has the graphic novel for you. "Failure to Launch: A Tour of Ill-Fated Futures" compiles comic artists' favorite flops throughout history (illustrated in each of their unique styles) into one astonishing anthology.

Author Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket of "A Series of Unfortunate Events") discusses his new book, "And Then? And Then? What Else?" He tells host Nancy Pearl that it began as a book about the poems of Baudelaire but transformed into something more personal. It offers a peek behind the scenes of the industry and an explanation of how he went from being "tiresome in every undergraduate way" to the writer he is today. Essentially, he says, it's sort of "how I write."