By BOB HOOVER, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"FLANNERY: A LIFE OF FLANNERY O'CONNOR." By Brad Gooch. (Little, Brown; $30)

In his book, "God and the American Writer," Alfred Kazin chooses Nathaniel Hawthorne as his starting point to examine the struggles with the angel that occupied so many American writers.

"A. LINCOLN: A BIOGRAPHY." By Ronald C. White Jr. (Random House; $35)

The contrast between the two inaugurals of Abraham Lincoln illustrates the story of the four terrible years that separated them.

"He said he felt like a little boy who had stubbed his toe in the dark. He said that he was too old to cry, but it hurt too much to laugh." -- Adlai Stevenson, quoting Abraham Lincoln, after losing the presidential election to Dwight Eisenhower in 1952.

'INDIGNATION." BY PHILIP ROTH (HOUGHTON MIFFLIN, $26.)In Philip Roth's America, the Jew continues the Diaspora, never secure, never completely at home. The closest Roth's characters come to a brief haven is his native Newark -- "hard-working, coarse-grained, bribe-ridden, semi-xenophobic Irish-Italian-German-Slavic-Jewish-Negro Newark."

"WHEN WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS?" By Kate Atkinson (Little, Brown; $24.99)"EXIT MUSIC." By Ian Rankin (Little, Brown; $24.99)The history of Scotland is rife with bloodshed, poverty, betrayal and mystery, as Shakespeare reminded us, and things haven't changed much for the 21st-century Scots if these authors are accurate judges.

Although studies show us abandoning print in droves, the number of new books published every year increases, hitting more than 200,000 separate titles last year.

Fall is shaping up as the busiest season for new releases ever.The list of upcoming fiction is both broad and deep, particularly in new titles by old names. Here's the list, starting with a very familiar name:"The Widows of Eastwick" by John Updike (Knopf, $24.95). Oct. 31.

"AMERICA, AMERICA." BY ETHAN CANIN. RANDOM HOUSE. $27."THE GARDEN OF LAST DAYS." BY ANDRE DUBUS III. NORTON. $24.95.We seldom know why books are published when they are. A new novel by Andre Dubus III, anointed by Oprah Winfrey and Hollywood for his 1999 "House of Sand and Fog," would seem to be a "big" fall release.

Summer has barely started and it's now time to think about the fall and beyond. Despite a flat economy and a spate of studies claiming reading is in trouble, the autumn-winter releases this year appear to be both substantial and plentiful.A few to look for:Debut novelists