November is such a great month for booklovers. We're in the middle of high publishing season with big authors and sure-fire bestsellers arriving at the store every day. The weather is chilly and dark enough to justify sitting by the fire with a new mystery or biography. Don't forget that the upcoming holidays are a great excuse to buy some of those wonderful new books you've been eyeing on the Front Table.  And, really, who's going to know if you sneak and read a few pages before wrapping it up?

I immediately pounced on William Least Heat-Moon's new book, Roads to Quoz. I finally got around to reading his classic Blue Highways this year (a sad admission) which I completely loved. He has written other successful books (PrairyErth and River Horse) but this is his first return to the road trip on small highways formula of Blue Highways. This time he had brought his wife-referred to as Q-along, which makes for interesting counterpoints. Heat-Moon has such a gift for finding interesting characters in small towns, he can make anyplace fascinating. His writing is poetic and erudite but it's his ability to see through to the underlying universal truth of a place that makes his books so compelling. ($27.99)

I always send a box of stuff to my niece in Italy this time of year so I was glad to find Robert Clark's new book, Dark Water. It will be a perfect gift for her tour guide husband. The author was living in Florence when he noticed a sign well above his head marking the high water mark of the terrible flood that inundated the city in November of 1966. He started tracking down details of the devastation, in particular the damage to the 13th century Cimabue Crucifix. In Dark Water he writes of the desperate efforts to save the vast stores of Renaissance art and literature in the city including work of the army of young foreigners, the mud angels, who came to volunteer their services. He even attends a fortieth reunion of the "angels" as he ponders the question of why beauty in general and art in particular are so important to us.  If you are interested in art or Italy you won't be able to put this one down. ($26.00)

Have you seen Sarah Vowell on The Daily Show and Jay Leno lately? Who else could manage to make a book about 17th century Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony talk show worthy? In The Wordy Shipmates, Vowell introduces us to John Winthrop, the man who first spoke of the American ideal of a "city on a hill," and his fellow colonists. She is particularly interested in how this group of "killjoy" fundamentalists treated religion in public life. They considered themselves God's chosen people but laid the basis for the First Amendment and founded Harvard. As she does in her NPR commentary and her New York Times columns, Vowell manages in this short but dense book to combine serious history, revealing insights and really, really funny writing. If you haven't read her yet, you should definitely check this one out. ($25.95)

I may have to buy a couple of copies of A Most Wanted Man. I have two or three brothers who have been huge John Le Carré fans for years so this is a "no brainer" gift. Le Carré's latest thriller is set in contemporary Germany where Malik Oktay and his mother, two of that country's many Turkish residents, have taken in a Chechen refugee. The refugee, of course, turns out to be a wanted terrorist trying to claim assets held in a British bank. The interplay of post 9/11 politics and the rule of expedience over ethics in the modern world provide the background to the story, but, as usual, it's Le Carré's mastery of tight, intricate plotting and compelling characters that makes this book a must read for spy novel fans. ($28.00)

Northwesterners--and the rest of the country, too--should be glad to see a new novel from Ivan Doig on the Table. In The Eleventh Man he once again tells the story of natives of one of the small Montana towns that often populate his works, this time during World War II. In the flurry of patriotism after Pearl Harbor the eleven members of the local high school football team have all enlisted. One of them, Ben, a journalism student and son of the town's newspaperman, gets assigned to follow the other ten and write about their war experiences. As the assignment continues and he is forced to watch his friends die in action, it becomes clear that his job is to only selectively tell their stories as propaganda for the war effort. Doig is an old fashioned story teller with a straightforward style and a sometimes sentimental point of view so this time period seems to particularly suit his writing. He loves his characters and the places they come from and he does a wonderful job of making us love them, too. ($26.00)

That comfy chair by the fire is looking particularly inviting since I realized that Amitav Ghosh has released a new book, Sea of Poppies, the first volume of his new Ibis trilogy. Set in the 19th century and centered around the voyage of a mixed bag of passengers being transported to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, this complicated, multilayered novel also draws us into the politics and violence of the opium trade between India and China. Ghosh is an anthropologist as well as a prolific writer--previous titles include travel essay and science fiction as well as award-winning novels--so he's interested in every aspect of the societies that have brought his characters to this point in their lives. Most entertaining for the reader though--at least this reader--is his fascination with the oddities of language and his playfulness in incorporating it in his narrative. Reading Ghosh is just flat-out fun.  ($26.00)

Enjoy your November bounty, booklovers.

"For me, good living is freedom. It's packing light with an open mind and an empty journal."
                                        -Rick Steves

One of, if not the most important thing to bring with you on any trip, is a journal. (editor's note: except a passport and money) Writing down your experiences not only enlightens the events as they happen, it allows you to relive your trip in the future. Rick Steves' new journals, pocket  and full size, not only have all the requisite empty pages to be filled with your adventures, they also have several handy extras; a map of Europe, a calendar all the way through 2012, the calling codes throughout Europe, a back cover slip pocket, all betwixt an attractive blue hardcover. $12.95 and $14.95

Sesame Street and Putumayo have teamed up to release a new children's album. Sesame Street Playground travels around the world collecting songs from the famous TV show. There's Rubber Duckie sung in Chinese, Ricas Frutas from "Plaza Sésamo" and One Small Voice sung in Brazilian Portugese. The CD also comes with a DVD feature of five music videos and we know that this new offering will delight young and old alike. $15.98


Food, photos and fun facts fill the Culinaria series of cookbooks. Taking us to Greece, France, Spain and Italy these regionally divided, generously illustrated books will delight both the cook and the traveler. Baklavas from Thessaly? In Greece it's a must serve to guests; the recipes with pictures is here. Interested in the fruits of the Rhône Valley? The book includes a two-page spread with photos and names in French and English. Do you want to learn about gofio in the Canary Islands? Culinaria Spain is the ticket. Crespelle Alla Fiorentian has spinach, ricota, parmesan and nutmeg among other ingredients and sounds delicious. It's from the Tuscany region of Italy and translates to Pancakes Florentine-style. These titles are a great way to plan, remember or dream about these delightful places. Bon a petit! $24.95

"It's so easy for a kid to join a gang, to do drugs... We should make it that easy to be involved in football and academics."
                                    -Snoop Dogg, from
                                     the 2009 NI planner

In my humble opinion anything that quotes Snoop is quality. But the clever and inspiring quotes from a diverse group of individuals are not the only things that make the 2009 New Internationalist Planner quality. It is the beautiful images that fill the pages as well as the resources; public transit maps for eight major world cities, international organizations information, plus room for personal contact details. This weekly planner is a great tool to help organize and enthuse your upcoming year.
 
If your life is too hectic to fit into a weekly planner, the New Internationalist also publishes a Daily Pocket Journal with stirring portraits of people from around the world. $17.95

And finally for a 'to-do' list person we have a plethora of small, less that 3" x 4", Pocket Note Pads. Available in a variety of designs from art-deco to the golden age of travel, these are a classy, handy way to jot down quick notes when on the go. $2.95-$3.95

Seattle architecture has everything from Art Deco to Renaissance Revival, plus however they classify the downtown library. The Seattle Architecture Foundation recently came out with a book devoted to our remarkable skyline. Seattle Architecture: A Walking Guide to Downtown is a splendid full-color paperback offering nine self-guided tours with explanations of building designs and history. It's great for the armchair architect and anyone in love with this beautiful city of ours. Check out the foundation's website at http://www.seattlearchitecture.org/index.cfm for youth programs, speakers, and exhibits.