Our Voices: Native Stories of Alaska and the Yukon Edited by James K. Ruppert and John W. Bernet 2001 University of Toronto Press This book is great. A collection of stories and legends that’ll captivate you. The way they are written is the way that they were told and that is part of the magic of this book. Legends and stories like them are usually told only during the winter and this seems to be the case out in Alaska and the Yukon as most stories end with a charming catchphrase design to let you know they are finished. They end with “I thought the winter had just begun and now I’ve chewed off part of it.” As with most legends you get some information. One of the stories explains why beaver fat doesn’t float to the top like bear fat. Another tells what happens to men who are cruel to women. It isn’t good, at least for the men… so beware.

Some of the stories are personal reflections on things they have done in everyday life.

All in all an enjoyable read for all ages. You could even take it and give the kids a traditional bedtime story using this book as an alternative to the Little Red Riding Hood genre.

Depression-Free for Life Gabriel Couens, M.D., with Mark Mayell 2000 Harper-Collins One nice thing about this book is the recognition that depressions in different people are different. It says that “every depressed person is depressed in his or her own way.” This means that any treatment has to take into account that a successful approach has to be customized for each individual.

In reading this book you’ll find that using just the conventional methods of dealing with depression (i.e., Prozac) isn’t the end-all. There are natural ways to help deal with depression. It looks at vitamins, mineral supplements, a healthy and varied diet, lifestyle and such to help deal with depression in a holistic way.

One of the findings of the author was that when a depressed person received a massage once a day the depression seemed to melt away. It was just a shoulder and neck massage. Something simple and non-professional. I haven’t had much luck convincing my co-workers that I am depressed and need the daily massage but my depression melted away just trying the idea out on them. A massage can be a way to reach out and touch someone. It shows you acknowledge them and value them. Be sure to get permission first! This book is good if you are depressed or know someone who is. It doesn’t replace the doctor but is a beneficial addition.

Top 15 Fiction Bestsellers 1. JOURNEY THROUGH HEARTSONGS, written and illustrated by Mattie J. T. Stepanek. (VSP Books, $14.95.) A collection of poems by an 11-year-old boy.

2. UNDER FIRE, by W. E. B. Griffin. (Putnam, $26.95.) United States marines encounter new battlefields when the Korean War begins; the ninth volume of the series “The Corps.” 3. THE MILLIONAIRES, by Brad Meltzer. (Warner, $25.95.) Things go awry when two brothers who work at an exclusive bank try to pull off a foolproof crime.

4. ONE DOOR AWAY FROM HEAVEN, by Dean Koontz. (Bantam, $26.95.) A woman tries to protect a nine-year-old girl from her stepfather, who is convinced that her destiny will involve U.F.O.’s and aliens.

5. BASKET CASE, by Carl Hiaasen. (Knopf, $25.95.) An obituary writer in South Florida examines the strange circumstances surrounding the death of a rock star.

6. THE CAT WHO WENT UP THE CREEK, by Lilian Jackson Braun. (Putnam, $23.95.) While on vacation, Jim Qwilleran and his two cats investigate a murder.

7. THE CORRECTIONS, by Jonathan Franzen. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $26.) A multigenerational saga in which a mother tries to bring her dysfunctional family together for a final Christmas at home.

8. SKIPPING CHRISTMAS, by John Grisham. (Doubleday, $19.95.) A husband and wife discover that their decision to forgo Christmas comes with consequences.

9. SMOKE IN MIRRORS, by Jayne Ann Krentz. (Putnam, $23.95.) After a con artist and a seductress dies, her last scam comes back to haunt a dear friend.

10. THE DIARY OF ELLEN RIMBAUER, edited by Joyce Reardon. (Hyperion, $22.95.) The fictional journal of the wife of a Seattle industrialist; a companion volume to the mini-series “Stephen King’s Rose Red.” 11. THE OATH, by John Lescroart.

(Dutton, $25.95.) When the head of San Francisco’s largest H.M.O. is killed in his own hospital, his physician becomes the chief suspect.

12. VIOLETS ARE BLUE, by James Patterson. (Little, Brown, $27.95.) Detective Alex Cross investigates a series of bizarre murders that appear to be the work of a vampire.

13. THURSDAY’S CHILD, by Sandra Brown. (Bantam, $19.95.) Pretending to be her bubbly identical-twin sister, a scientist goes on a date and winds up falling in love.

14. A BEND IN THE ROAD, by Nicholas Sparks. (Warner, $23.95.) A widower and his son’s second-grade teacher discover that they are linked by a shocking secret.

15. JACKDAWS, by Ken Follett. (Dutton, $26.95.) Shortly before D-Day, a British operative in France finds herself leadine an all-woman team of saboteurs.