Out of the Blue and Into the Green

The Bottom Line: 25,000 in hardcover; 700,000 paperback
Beach Readability Quotient: 2 out of 5

The Book: Snow Falling on Cedars, David Guterson
What it's About: A lyrical novel about a Japanese-American accused of killing a fellow fisherman off an island near Puget Sound
Author's Pre-Fame Status: He wrote Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense and a book of short stories.
Turning Point: First Guterson won the PEN/Faulkner Award, then he went on tour. ''It helped that he was good-looking,'' says a Vintage spokesperson.
The Bottom Line: 75,000 hardcover; 1.3 million paperback
Beach Readability Quotient: 5 out of 5