Is it my imagination, or are there more books about careers being pumped out these days? If my mailbox is any indicator, new ones are being printed by the hour.

I usually hold books I receive for review until I can find a theme that links four or five. Sometimes I'll purchase or request one that my readers have recommended, to round out the group.

Today, however, I just want to share some titles with you that have almost nothing in common, except that they're all sitting on my desk and they all have something to offer.

By the way, here's a "value" disclaimer: If a book is not good, I usually pass it along without writing a review. If it lands in this column, that means I've found something to make me recommend it. There are just too many good titles out there to spend time on the bad ones.

"Job Interviews for Dummies" by Joyce Lain Kennedy (Wiley Publishing, 2008, $16.99). Like most of the job-search books in the unfortunately named "Dummies" series, "Job Interviews" goes in-depth into its title subject.

Kennedy, a syndicated careers columnist from way back (I was reading her when I was in college), adds value with sections on beating stage fright, working with recruiters and getting past corporate personality tests.

"Job Interviews" also contains the standard advice on answering questions and dressing for success; if you don't already have those tips in your library, this volume will do nicely.

But the book's real value may lie in the updates that incorporate today's realities of job searches, such as tips for global interviewing and advice for Millennial-generation workers (and those who work with them).

There are several interviewing guides that are worth buying, and this is one of them. You'll get your $17 worth with this book.

AMY LINDGREN

WORKING STRATEGIES

"Office Mate: The Employee Handbook for Finding — and Managing — Romance on the Job" by Stephanie Losee and Helaine Olen (Adams Media, 2007, $14.95). OK, this is sort of a dumb topic to cover in a careers column. In a way, that makes this book an even better pick; if I'm not going to advise on this, it's probably a service to lead you to someone who will.

According to the statistics dug up by the book's publicist, about half of today's workers have dated someone on the job. That's a lot of potential for disaster or happiness at work.

Losee and Olen have taken a decidedly female point of view, with anecdotes from their own romances sprinkled throughout the book. Even so, readers of either gender will find useful tips on topics such as managing the rumor mill, conducting office romances with good etiquette and handling daily encounters if you've broken up.

It's hard for me to judge whether the authors offer good advice or not, as I haven't been anywhere near this situation in my career. But if you're prone to dating your co-workers or, heaven forbid, your bosses, this might be a good book to check out of the library.

"Green Jobs: A Guide to Eco-friendly Employment" by A. Bronwyn Llewellyn, et al. (Adams Media, 2008, $12.95). This book belongs to a category of career guides that has been . . . blossoming. It's one of the better ones I've seen, however, in that the authors provide a generous bibliography and an even more enormous listing of Web sites. For the job-seeker who is serious about working in green jobs, these resources alone are worth the purchase price.

The book is divided into two parts. The first section explains the phenomenon of green jobs and the history of environmentalism. Business aspects of going green also are discussed, as well as federal and state legislation and global concerns. This section also contains a helpful survey of questions that job-seekers should answer to help them choose the right green jobs.

In the second half of the book, the authors look at career paths by analyzing four categories of our economy: energy, transportation, construction, and the production and delivery of goods and services. Chapters on natural-resources management and green nonprofits round out the selection of places where you can consider building a green career.

With luck, maybe all our jobs will be green in the near future. In the meantime, this category of work is one in which we need more of our best and brightest people. As far as I'm concerned, that means anyone reading this column.

Happy summer reading!

- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecaree rservice.com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.