UP IN THE AIR Walter Kirn Ryan Bingham, corporate henchman (he fires people), has one simple goal: to rack up 1 million frequent-flier miles. This stinging novel tells how he does it. (Doubleday, $23.95)

THE CENTER OF THINGS Jenny McPhee In a sharply comic first novel, a plain-Jane tabloid writer gets obsessed with a B-movie diva while writing the ailing star's obituary. (Doubleday, $23.95)

SPUTNIK SWEETHEART Haruki Murakami When a Japanese woman vanishes in Greece, the only clue she leaves behind is a computer file that hints at a bizarre explanation in this surreal tale of unrequited love. (Knopf, $23)