ARE YOU NORMAL?

ARE YOU NORMAL? Bernice Kanner (St. Martin's Paperbacks, $6.99) What the Heck's Wrong With Everybody Else!? might be a more apt title for this fascinating little conversation starter, full of offbeat statistics about Americans' intimate habits. Where else can you find out that 25 percent of us prefer the handicapped restroom stall because it's roomier, that 6.4 percent of men wear no underwear, or that 6 percent of straight, rural men paint their nails? (Kanner knows all this thanks to her own polling and information she got from advertising agencies and marketing-research firms.) In addition, 50 percent of us eat our Oreos whole, while 54.1 percent of men guzzle juice straight from the carton. In terms of of ethics, 7 percent of us would murder someone for $3 million. (On a brighter note, 20 percent of us save our magazines for ''years and years.'') The bottom line: Reading this book is far more satisfying than getting a high-powered telescope and pointing it at our neighbors' houses -- or, at least, cheaper. A

-- Erica K. Cardozo