“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”

<i>— Richard Steele (1672-1729)

Dublin-born British essayist, The Tatler, 147 </i>

As I begin my third Annual Holiday Gift Giving recommendations, I hold fast to my belief you can select all of your gifts in a personal, caring, and enjoyable manner in one place — the bookstore! You will find something for everyone; you don’t need to know their size and they will never outgrow it! And when they are finished with it, if indeed they ever are, they can pass it down, pass it around or put it away to save for another day.

I hope you will find the following suggestions helpful in making your selections. There are wonderful books available this year. I have gone through hundreds to find a variety of books in various categories and interests. And don’t forget, some of these are on audiodiscs. I dare say, you might hang on to these lists well beyond the holidays. There are interesting and well-written books for you, yourself, to read or share anytime during the year.

Hopefully I will have the lists for the categories of all of my December columns complete by the beginning of next week, at which point I will put them online at www.northtahoeliving.com. I will also send a copy of my complete recommendations to the independent booksellers around the lake (Neighbor’s Bookstore at Raley’s Village Center at Stateline, The Bookshelf at the Boatworks Mall in Tahoe City, The Bookshelf at Hooligan Rocks at Gateway Shopping Center in Truckee and The Village Square Family at Raley’s Shopping Center in Incline Village), as well as to the libraries. Please remember, it would be great for all of us to shop locally. As I stressed last week, the booksellers will gladly order any book that is not is stock (unless it is out of print) and generally have it for you within a week! Happy Hunting!

Adult Fiction

“The Almost Moon” by Alice Sebold ($24.95)

“The Pale Surface of Things” by Janey Bennett ($22.00)

“Redemption Falls” by Joseph O’Connor ($25.00)

“Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox” by Maggie O’Farrell ($23.00)

“A Free Life” by Ha Jin (26.00)

“Midori By Moonlight” by Wendy Tokunaga ($13.95)

“Peony in Love” by Lisa See

“Gentlemen of the Road” by Michael Chabon ($21.95)

“Tipperary: A Novel” by Frank Delaney ($26.95)

“Bridge of Sighs” by Richard Russo ($26.95)

“Shining at the Bottom of the Sea” by Stephen Marche ($24.95)

“The Uncommon Reader” by Alan Bennett ($15.00)

Young Adult (ages 13-17)

“Do the Math: Secrets, Lies and Algebra” by Wendy Lichtman ($16.99)

“The Heart of Horses” by Molly Gloss ($24.00)

“Slam” by Nick Hornby ($19.99)

“The New Policeman” by Kate Thompson ($16.99)

“The Arrivaal” by Shaun Tan ($19.99)

“Evil Genius” by Catherine Jinks ($17.00)

“Absolutely True Diary of a Pert-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie ($16.99)

“Deadline” by Chris Crutcher ($16.99)

“Book of a Thousand Days” by Shannon Hale ($17.95)

“Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope” by Jenna Bush ($18.99)

“Cathy’s Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233” by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman ($17.95)

“Lily Dale: Awakening” by Wendy Corsi Staub ($15.95)

“The Luxe” by Anna Godbersen ($17.99)

“Past Crimes” by Carol Matas ($7.95)

“Poseur” by Rachel Maude ($9.95)

“The Seems: The Glitch in Sleep” by John Hulme and Michael Wexler ($16.95)

Juvenile (Fourth-Sixth grade)

“Starcatchers” and its’ new sequel “Peter and the Secret of Rundoon” ($18.95) by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

“Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara’ by James Gurney ($29.95)

“Keep Your Ear on the Ball” by Lea Lyon ($16.95)

“Three-Cave Mountain, or: Grandfather and the Wolves” by Per Olav Enquist ($16.95)

“What-the-Dickens” by Gregory Maguire ($15.99)

“Elija of Buxton” by Christopher Paul Curtis ($16.99)

“Dragon Slippers” by Jessica Day George ($16.95)

“The Curious Boy’s Book of Adventure” by Sam Martin ($15)

“Dinosaurium” by DK Publishers ($24.99)

“Do Not Open” by John Farndon ($24.99)

“Fred and Anthony Escape from the Netherworld” by Eslie Arevamirp ($14.99)

“Fred and Anthony Meet the Demented Super-Degerm-O Zombie” by Eslie Arevamirp ($4.99)

“The Haunted House (Choose Your Own Adventure- Dragonlarks Series)” by R. A. Montgomery ($5.95)

“House of Danger (Choose Your Own Adventure Series #6)” by R. A. Montgomery ($5.95)

“Molly Moon, Micky Minus, & the Mind Machine” by Georgia Byng ($16.95)

“Nightmare Academy” by Dean Lorey ($16.95)

“The Sensational Jarome Iginla” by Peter Bailey ($9.95)

“Warrior Box Set: Volumes 1-6” by Erin Hunter

Children (Second-Third grade)

“Cowboy and Octopus” by Jon Scieszka 9416.99)

“Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity” by Mo Willems ($15.99)

“The Incredible Book-Eating Boy” by Oliver Jeffers ($16.99)

“Little Red Riding Hood” by Jerry Pinkney ($16.99)

“Mind Your Manners, B.B.Wolf” by Judy Sierra

“Blue Moo: 17 Jukebox Hits from Way Back Never” by Sandra Boynton and Michael Ford ($16.95)

“Gallop; A Scanimation Picture Book” by Rufus Seder ($12.95)

“How I Became a Pirate” by Melissa Long, Illustrated by David Shannon ($16)

“Pirates Don’t Change Diapers” by Melissa Long, Illustrated by David Shannon ($16)

Creative Books for Children

“Howtoons: The Possibilities Are Endless!” by Saul Griffith and Nick Dragotta ($15.99)

“Where in the Wild? Camouflaged Creatures Concealed and Revealed” by David Schwartz and Yael Schy ($15.95)

Kindergarten-First grade/Toddlers/Babies – Picture Books

“Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z” by Steve Martin and Roz Chast (17.95)

“Elephant and Piggie series” by Mo Willems ($8.99 each)

“A Good Day” by Kevin Henkes ($16.99)

“I’d Really Like to Eat a Child” by Sylvia Donnio ($14.99)

“Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary” by Beverly Donofrio ($16.99)

“Orane Pear Apple Bear” by Emily Gravett ($12.99)

“D’Aulaire’s Book of Animals” by Ingri and Edgar D’ulaire ($16.99)

Travel

“Europe 101” seventh edition by Rick Steves

“Local Girl Makes History: Exploring Northern California’s Kitsch Mountains” by Dana Frank ($16.95)

“Walking the Gobi: 16,000 Mile-Trek Across a Desert of Hope and Despair” by Helen Thayer ($23.93)

“Venturing in Ireland: Quests for the Modern Celtic Soul” by Barbara Euser ($14.95)

“Enclosure” by Andy Goldsworthy ($60)

“William Matthews” Working the West” by William Matthews ($50)

“Wonders of the World” by Benoit Nacci and Patrice Milleron ($50)

“Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips” by National Geographic ($40)

“No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach” by Anthony Bourdain ($34.95)

Cooking/Food

“Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes From and Why We Need to Get it Back” by Ann Vileisis ($ 26.95)

“Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove” James Beard Award winner and “The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken” both by Laura Schenone

“A Vineyard in Tuscany: Shooting for the Moon” by Ferenc Mate ($24.95)

“86 Recipes: San Francisco Cards in a Box” by Grace Ann Walden ($29.95)

“Christmas with Paula Deen: Recipes and Stories from My Favorite Holiday” by Paula Deen ($23)

“A Great American Cook: Recipes from the Home Kitchen of One of Our Most Influential Chefs” by Johnathan Waxman ($35)

“My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals” by Melanie Dunea ($39.95)

“Cooking with Shelburne Farms: Food and Stories from Vermont” by Melissa Pasanen ($34.95)

“The Art of Simpe Food” by Alice Waters ($35)

“Elizabeth Falkner’s Demolition Desserts: Recipes from Citizen Cake” by Elizabeth Falkner ($35)

‘Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink” by David Remnick ($29.95)

Let’s Celebrate Literary Birthdays this Week!

Nov. 30 – Jonathon Swift (1667), Mark Twain (1833)

Dec. 2 – Elizabeth Berg (1948), T. C. Boyle (1948)

Dec. 3 – Joseph Conrad (1857)

Dec. 4 – Rainer Maria Rilke (1875)

Dec. 5 – Joan Didion (1934), Walt Disnet (1901)

Dec. 6 – Kahil Gibran (1883), Elizabeth Yates (1905)

Worth a trip to Tahoe City this Saturday!

Please join North Tahoe Arts for the second annual Arts, Letters and Wine on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007, 3 - 4:30 p.m. at North Tahoe Art Center

The fun event features three regional authors with books they published this year:

June Saraceno: “Altars of Ordinary Light”

(June's book of poetry explores the sacred moments in everyday life. June is chair of the English department at Sierra Nevada College.)

Laird Blackwell: “Tahoe Wildflowers: a Month-by-Month Guide”

(Laird's book describes 300 wildflowers in the region. Laird is a humanities professor at Sierra Nevada College.)

Tim Hauserman: “Cross Country Skiing in the Sierra Nevada”

(Tim's enthusiastic guide reviews 13 regional ski resorts. He is a freelance writer and skiing guide.)

North Tahoe Art Center is at 380 North Lake Blvd. next to the fire station in Tahoe City . For more information call 581-2787 or visit their website at www.northtahoearts.com <http://www.northtahoearts.com/>

<i>Barbara Perlman-Whyman's Good Reads column appears in the Sun on Fridays. E-mail her at bpwhyman@sbcglobal.net