The Irish Timesreviews a selection of paperbacks
Almodóvar on Almodóvar edited by Frederic Strauss Faber, £14.99
"There's a dark rumour that I'm a sort of vampire. Actors say so much about me, they've ended up creating a kind of myth." It's all about Almodóvar in this updated (from 1994) edition of Strauss's interviews with the one-time maverick, now awards-laden film- maker. Almodóvar, who was born in the poor La Mancha region, was 19 when he arrived in Madrid in 1968. With no money for film school, he saved enough to buy a Super 8 camera and began making short films. He graduated to features in 1980 and his international breakthrough came with Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown in 1987. The book is essential for both Almodóvar fans and students: he is engagingly frank about his professional and personal life, from his Catholic influences to his homosexuality to his relationships with actors Carmen Maura, Victoria Abril and Antonio Banderas. Kevin Sweeney
Melville: His World & Work by Andrew Delbanco Picador, £9.99
The life story of Herman Melville, affectionately pieced together by Andrew Delbanco, is a saga of high adventure and crushing failure, literary brilliance and deep personal heartbreak. Best known as the author of Moby Dick, Melville's early years on board sea-faring vessels sowed the imaginative seeds of Captain Ahab and his self-destructive quest for personal revenge against the white whale that cost him his leg. Though Moby Dick proved a creative high point for Melville, much of his later life was spoiled by disappointment, with long years of mediocre output and financial difficulties. Of all the misfortunes that befell the writer, Delbanco captures his suffering most poignantly with the early deaths of Melville's two sons. This sympathetic portrayal serves as a memorial to one whose greatness went unappreciated in his lifetime. Kevin Cronin
1491: The Americas Before Columbus by Charles C Mann Granta, £10.99
The natives living in the Americas before Columbus arrived were far more numerous than previously thought and their impact on the environment far greater. This book goes some way towards exploring the "staggering diversity" of pre-Columbian societies, acknowledging that to do so comprehensively was far beyond the scope of one book. It takes a tripartite approach, looking at Indian demography, Indian origins and Indian ecology. We get a vibrant overview of centuries of Indian culture. Much of the story is based on work-in-progress by anthropologists, archaeologists, ecologists, geographers and historians and is told in a lively, lucid manner. Mann jumps back and forth between such diverse cultures as the Triple Alliance (Aztecs) in Central America and the Haudenosaunee Confederation (Iroquois) of Canada. Brian Maye
Mother Missing by Joyce Carol Oates Harper Perennial, £7.99
The author of more than a dozen works, including novels, a play and a biography of George Bellows, Joyce Carol Oates is one of the more prolific writers of her generation. Themes of women and violence predominate in her writing, and her latest book is no different. It opens on Mother's Day in the midst of a family drama where unmarried daughters remain petulant teenagers and sibling rivalries stand the test of time. A brutal murder soon shakes the small town, and the mother so half-heartedly celebrated is snatched from her bewildered daughters. The narrator, one of the daughters, is a self-indulgent, childish woman, but her murdered mother is rendered brave, kind and intriguing even before her death 50 pages in. The mother character has a lasting impact, though the story as a whole is confused, much like the living characters she left behind. Nora Mahony
Agincourt by Juliet Barker Abacus, £8.99
Ever since Shakespeare's fictionalised Henry V called on his "band of brothers" - on the eve of St Crispin's Day 1415 - to face the army of Charles IV of France at Agincourt, history and literature have been in conflict about the subject. Many legends and myths were created, including the size of the armies and Henry's belief that his subsequent victory was due to divine intervention. That his army was hungry, suffering from acute dysentery and outnumbered, there is no doubt. However, it was superior tactics and the longbow that won the day for Henry. In this study of his motivations, the campaign and the battle and its aftermath Juliet Barker - author of the 1994 bestseller The Brontës- has written a lively, history. Accessible and scholarly, it is full of entertaining anecdotes and is a barometer for good history writing. Martin Noonan
Thirty and Fabulous Poolbeg Press, €14.99
Short stories are not everyone's cup of tea, but Thirty and Fabulousis a collection with a mission. Compiled by the good people of Poolbeg Press, it celebrates 30 years of publishing women's fiction, with the help of, you guessed it, 30 short stories written by some of Poolbeg's most successful women writers. The common theme of the stories is the place women occupy in public and private life and how they live with their burdens and blessings. From Maeve Binchy to Cathy Kelly and Marian Keyes, the stories reflect how women's friendships can see them through the harshest of times, while the "romantic leads" often shatter their dreams of love. Sadly, men fare badly in general in these stories, but there are plenty of uplifting and outright hilarious pieces too. And it's all in a very good cause as the royalties go to Women's Aid. So the sisters are still doing it for themselves. Claire Looby