1. Freakonomics

By Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Harper.

2. My Life in France

By Julia Child and Alex Prud’Homme. Anchor.

3. The Blind Side

By Michael Lewis. W.W. Norton.

4. Three Cups of Tea

By Greg Mortenson and David Relin. Penguin.

5. The Tipping Point

By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

6. Skinny Bitch

By Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. Running Press.

7. Our Choice

By Al Gore. Rodale.

8. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome

By Alberto Angela. Europa.

9. Alex and Me

By Irene Pepperberg. Harper.

10. Zagat 09/10 Boston Restaurants

By Zagat Survey. Zagat Survey.

Source: Boston Area Bookstores

1. My Life in France

By Julia Child and Alex Prud’Homme. Anchor.

2. Blink

By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

3. Three Cups of Tea

By Greg Mortenson and David Relin. Penguin.

4. The Alchemist

By Paulo Coelho. HarperCollins.

5. Alex and Me

By Irene Pepperberg. Harper.

6. Freakonomics

By Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Harper.

7. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell

By Tucker Max. Citadel.

8. The Glass Castle

By Jeannette Walls. Scribner.

9. The Blind Side

By Michael Lewis. W.W. Norton.

10. The Old Farmer’s Almanac 2010

By Old Farmer’s Almanac. OFA.

Source: Boston Area Bookstores

1. Freakonomics

By Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Harper.

2. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome

By Alberto Angela. Europa.

3. Three Cups of Tea

By Greg Mortenson and David Relin. Penguin.

4. Boston Noir

By Dennis Lehane. Akashic.

5. My Life in France

By Julia Child and Alex Prud’Homme. Anchor.

6. Blink

By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

7. Zagat 09/10 Boston Restaurants

By Zagat Survey. Zagat Survey.

8. My Horizontal Life

By Chelsea Handler. Bloomsbury.

9. The Ascent of Money

By Niall Ferguson. Penguin.

10. Colored People

By Henry Louis Gates. Vintage.

Source: Boston Area Bookstores

1. My Life in France

By Julia Child and Alex Prud’Homme. Anchor.

2. Blink

By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

3. Freakonomics

By Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Harper.

4. I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell

By Tucker Max. Citadel.

5. The Shack

By William Young. Windblown.

6. Zagat 09/10 Boston Restaurants

By Zagat Survey. Zagat Survey.

7. Alex and Me

By Irene Pepperberg. Harper.

8. The Power of Now

By Eckhart Tolle. New World.

9. The Omnivore’s Dilemma

By Michael Pollan. Penguin.

10. Colored People

By Henry Louis Gates. Vintage.

Source: Boston Area Bookstores

1. My Life in France

By Julia Child and Alex Prud’Homme. Anchor.

2. Blink

By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

3. The Alchemist

By Paulo Coelho. HarperCollins.

4. Zagat 09/10 Boston Restaurants

By Zagat Survey. Zagat Survey.

5. Freakonomics

By Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Harper.

6. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome

By Alberto Angela. Europa.

7. The Best American Essays 2009

By Mary Oliver. Mariner Books.

8. The Glass Castle

By Jeannette Walls. Scribner.

9. Julie and Julia

By Julie Powell. Little, Brown.

10. Make the Impossible Possible

By Bill Strickland. Broadway Business.

Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Rhodes reviewed Neil Sheehan's latest book "A Fiery Peace in a Cold War'' in the Oct. 4 Books section of the Globe. The book, by the author of the award-winning "A Bright Shining Lie,'' focuses on the efforts of Bernard Schriever, a US Air Force officer, who pressed to build nuclear missiles to ensure Cold War peace via a standoff with the Soviet Union.
Rhodes found the book to be "a mixed bag,'' concluding:

"Sheehan’s failure to master the elementary science behind his narrative or the larger paradoxes of the nuclear arms and missile race leaves me with mixed feelings about his book. Schriever’s part in the development of the ICBM is a story that needed to be told, however, and Sheehan tells it with enthusiasm.''

1. The Wordy Shipmates
By Sarah Vowell, Riverhead.

2. My Life in France
By Julia Child and Alex Prud’Homme, Anchor.

3. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome
By Alberto Angela, Europa.

4. I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell
By Tucker Max, Citadel.

5. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell, Back Bay.

6. Julie and Julia
By Julie Powell, Little, Brown.

7. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell, Back Bay.

8. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Relin, Penguin.

9. The Shack
By William P. Young, Windblown.

10. Freakonomics
By Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, Harper.

Source: Boston area bookstores

1. My Life in France.
By Julia Child and Alex Prud’Homme. Anchor.

2. I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell.
By Tucker Max. Citadel.

3. Blink.
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

4. Zagat 09-10 Boston Restaurants.
By Zagat Survey. Zagat Survey.

5. In Defense of Food.
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.

6. The Shack.
By William P. Young. Windblown.

7. Three Cups of Tea.
By Greg Mortenson and David Relin. Penguin.

8. The Tipping Point.
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

9. Julie and Julia.
By Julie Powell. Little, Brown.

10. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome.
By Alberto Angela. Europa.

Source: Boston area bookstores

By Judith Maas

TODAY: Emily Arsenault reads from “The Broken Teaglass,” at 3 p.m., at Concord Bookshop, 65 Main St., Concord.

MONDAY: Poets Fred Marchant and Teresa Cader read at 8 p.m., at the Blacksmith House, 56 Brattle St., Cambridge; tickets ($3) … Nicholas Christakis discusses “Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives,” at 7 p.m., at First Parish Church, 3 Church St., Harvard Square, Cambridge; tickets ($5) available at harvard.com; Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass. Ave.; or by calling 617-661-1515.

TUESDAY: John Freeman discusses “The Tyranny of E-mail,” at 7 p.m., at Harvard Book Store … Gwen Romagnoli reads from “The Bicycle Runner,” at 7 p.m., at Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Cambridge … Tom Perrotta leads a discussion of Richard Price’s “Lush Life,” at 7 p.m., at Newtonville Books, 296 Walnut St., Newtonville … Alton Brown discusses “Good Eats: The Early Years,” at 6 p.m., at Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline ($5) … Jeff Bell discusses “When in Doubt, Make Belief,” at 7 p.m., at Wellesley Booksmith, 82 Central St., Wellesley … Erik Qualman discusses “Socialnomics,” at 7 p.m., at the Harvard Square Coop, Cambridge.

WEDNESDAY: Patrick J. Carr discusses “Hollowing Out the Middle,” at 6:30 p.m., at First Parish Church … Lucy Honig reads from “Waiting for Rescue,” at 7 p.m., at Porter Square Books … Daniel Jonah Goldhagen discusses “Worse Than War,” at 7 p.m., at Harvard Book Store … Anthony Rao discusses “The Way of Boys,” at 7 p.m., at Brookline Booksmith, Coolidge Corner, Brookline … Michael Stanley reads from “The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu,” at 5:30 p.m., at Stellina Restaurant, 47 Main St., Watertown … Poet Mary Oliver reads at 7 p.m., at Cape Cod Community College, 2240 Iyannough Road, West Barnstable.

THURSDAY: Barbara Ehrenreich discusses “Bright-Sided,” at 6 p.m., at the Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge; tickets ($5) available at harvard.com; Harvard Book Store; or by calling 617-661-1515 … Mary E. Mitchell reads from “Americans in Space,” at 7 p.m., at Newtonville Books … Andrew Pessin discusses “The 60-Second Philosopher,” at 7 p.m., at Porter Square Books … Charles London discusses “Far from Zion,” at 7 p.m., at Brookline Booksmith … Poets David Ferry, Suji Kwock Kim, Jill McDonough, Gail Mazur, and Lloyd Schwartz read at 6:30 p.m., at the Boston Public Library, Copley Square; for additional Massachusetts Poetry Festival events, visit www.masspoetry.org … Frank Warren reads from “Postsecret,” at 7 p.m., at Boston University Law School Auditorium, 765 Comm. Ave.; for tickets ($5), visit Barnes & Noble, Boston University, Kenmore Square, or call 617-236-7405 … Dick Lehr discusses “The Fence,” at 7 p.m., at Andover Bookstore, 89R Main St., Andover … Chef Peter Davis discusses “Fresh and Honest,” at 7 p.m., at Wellesley Booksmith; RSVP 781-431-1160 or events@wellesleybooksmith.com … Joan Wickersham discusses “The Suicide Index,” at 7 p.m., at the Harvard Square Coop … Anita Diamant reads from “Day After Night,” at 7 p.m., at the Bookstore of Gloucester, 81 Main St., Gloucester ... Peter Nichols discusses "Final Voyage," at 7 p.m., at Jabberwocky Bookshop, 50 Water St., Newburyport.

FRIDAY: Novelist Andrea Barrett speaks at 7 p.m., in Rm. 6-120, 182 Memorial Dr., MIT, Cambridge … Nancy Rappaport reads from “In Her Wake,” at 7 p.m., at Harvard Book Store … Lauren Mackler discusses “Solemate,” at 7 p.m., at the Harvard Square Coop … Gary Vaynerchuk discusses “Crush It!,” at 1 p.m., at Barnes & Noble, Boston University.

SATURDAY: Tapestry of Voices poets read at noon at St. Anne’s Church, 8 Kirk St., Lowell … New England Poetry Club poets read at noon at Cobblestones of Lowell, 91 Dutton St., Lowell … Stuart Weisberg discusses “Barney Frank,” at 4 p.m., at Harvard Book Store … Children’s author David Biedrzycki reads at 10:30 a.m., at Newtonville Books … Elise Lemire (“Black Walden”) speaks at 5 p.m., at the Concord Free Library, 129 Main St., Concord … Mike Farrell discusses “Of Mule and Man,” at 7 p.m., at Brookline Booksmith … Ann Lister discusses “Sheet Music: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Love Story,” at 1 p.m., at Tatmuck Booksellers, 18 Lyman St., Westboro … Maureen Foley reads from “The Book of Illuminiation,” at 2 p.m., at Borders, CambridgeSide Galleria, Cambridge … Carol Newman Cronin reads from “Oliver’s Surprise,” at 1 p.m., at the Cape Cod Maritime Museum, 135 South St., Hyannis ... Local authors sign their books from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Books by the Sea, 846 Main St., Osterville ... Children's author Joan Hiatt Harlow reads from her books from 1 to 4 p.m., at the House of Distinction, 169 Grove St., Wellesly; for ticket information, visit rfkchildren.org or call 617-227-4183.

Stanford University is shuttering its Publishing Course for Professionals after more than 30 years, citing the recession along with changes in the advertising industry and in reading habits brought about by the Internet.

According to a Publishers Marketplace subscription-only report, the move comes in the wake of significant cost-cutting at the Palo Alto, Calif., university, which suffered a 27 percent drop in endowment capital over the past fiscal year. The piece also noted that paid attendance at the program, which has been training publishing and magazine professionals since 1978, reportedly tumbled last year.

Program director Holly Brady, who is leaving Stanford, told Publishers Marketplace that "the problem that got us here is, of course, the digital transformation of the business, which has caused so many layoffs in the publishing industry, coupled with the recession. When a company has laid off dozens of people and is struggling to survive itself, it's hard to
send staffers to Stanford."

Posted by Paul S. Makishima, Globe staff

1. My Life in France
By Julia Child and Alex Prud’Homme. Anchor.

2. I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.

3. Skinny B----
By Rory Freedman. Running.

4. Julie and Julia
By Julie Powell. Little, Brown.

5. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Relin. Penguin.

6. In Defense of Food
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.

7. My Stroke of Insight
By Jill Taylor. Plume.

8. Waiter Rant
By Steve Dublanica. Harper.

9. Zagat 09/10 Boston Restaurants
By Zagat Survey. Zagat Survey.

10. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

SOURCE: Boston area bookstores

1. My Life in France
By Julia Child and Alex Prud’Homme, Anchor

2. Julie and Julia
By Julie Powell Little, Brown

3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, Penguin

4. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome
By Alberto Angela, Europa

5. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

6. The Shack
By William P. Young. Windblown.

7. In Defense of Food
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.

8. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell, Back Bay

9. When You Are Engulfed in Flames
By David Sedaris. Back Bay.

10. Farewell, My Subaru
By Doug Fine. Villard.

Well, flex that quad and call me Ishmael.

Eva Talmadge and Justin Taylor, a contributor to literary e-zine HTML Giant, launched a call for submissions of high quality photos of literary body art for a book they hope to compile. “From Shakespeare to Bukowski to The Little Prince in a Baobab tree, if it’s a literary tattoo and its on your body, we want to see it.’’

But lest you think different, their interest isn’t simply prurient. “We’d also like to read a few words about the tattoo’s meaning to you — why you chose it, when you first read that poem or book, or how its meaning has evolved over time. How much (or how little).’’

Talmadge and Taylor appear to be tapping into a rising interest in body art with a literary bent.

Back in the day, tattoos carried simple unambiguous messages: Mom, Navy, Sharleen. That was then.

One site, Contrariwise: Literary Tatoos has dedicated itself to sharing of and about this genre of body art. Visitors to the site submit photos of their tats and then write a little note explaining what it's about. For instance, there is a black-and-white shot of a shoulder, adorned famous lines from Dylan Thomas: “Do not go gentle into that good night./Rage, rage against the dying of the light.’’ Numerous tributes to Harry Potter. And some more personal ones such as one of a burning candle in a stand on a young woman who says that it is an allusion to a poem by Shel Silverstein and a tribute to her grandparents who have died, particularly one grandmother who was a fan of the poet and children’s author: “If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar/A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…/If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire/ For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.’’

On another site, Yuppie Punk, there can be found an alleged short history of the trend (“Johannes Guttenberg invented the printing press in Germany in 1439. Samuel O’Reilly invented the modern tattoo machine in 1891 .... The lowbrow nature of the tattoo juxtaposes nicely against the highbrow art of the book.’’).

The range of the tattoos here is impressive. There are quotes from the the Bible and the likes of literary types like Shakespeare, Plath, Dickens, Frost, Kerouac, Vonnegut, along with the expected science fiction and fantasy crowd -- Frank Herbert, Ray Bradbury and George Orwell.

Unlike Contrariwise, whose collection appears to be heavily word oriented, here there are portraits of famous authors like Faulkner and Thoreau and equally famous characters like Alice in Wonderland, Curious George, and the Wild Thing.

These are but two sites. A quick Google check will reveal many others.

Got a literary tat? It’s your time. Step out of the closet, flex an appendage, shed shirt or trou, and stage a public reading.

Photos of tattoos of Kurt Vonnegut quotes and illustrations from Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are'' from YuppiePunk.com

Posted by Paul Makishima, Globe staff

As part of a larger push into the e-book world, Barnes & Noble says that it is offering complimentary WiFi at its nearly 780 stores across the nation.

Formerly, BN customers were charged $3.95 for two hours of access to AT&T's in-store wireless Internet service, which has been available in stores since 2005.

The book retailer said in a news release that customers in its stores now will be able to download and preview any of the more than 700,000 titles in its recently launched e-bookstore, along with the thousands of free, public-domain books available through Google.

Earlier this month, the company released its free eBook reader application called eReader for the BlackBerry, iPhone, and iPod touch.

Posted by Paul S. Makishima, Globe staff

1. Julie and Julia
By Julie Powell. Little, Brown.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. In Defense of Food
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
4. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
5. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
6. When You Are Engulfed in Flames
By David Sedaris. Back Bay.
7. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome
By Alberto Angela and Gregory Conti. Europa.
8. Boston Restaurants 2009/10
By Zagat Survey. Zagat.
9. The Alchemist
By Paulo Coelho. HarperCollins.
10. Boston (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
By DK Publishing. DK Travel.

1. In Defense of Food
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
2. Julie and Julia
By Julie Powell. Little, Brown.
3. Public Enemies
By Bryan Burrough. Penguin.
4. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
5. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
6. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
7. Dreams from My Father
By Barack Obama. Crown.
8. Boston Restaurants 2009/10
By Zagat Survey. Zagat.
9. When You Are Engulfed in Flames
By David Sedaris. Back Bay.
10. I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.

1. In Defense of Food
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
2. Cook Yourself Thin
By Lifetime Television. Voice.
3. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
4. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
5. Nudge
By Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. Penguin.
6. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. A Voyage Long and Strange
By Tony Horwitz. Picador.
8. Hungry Girl: 200 Under 200
By Lisa Lillien. St. Martin’s Griffin.
9. American Lion
By Jon Meacham. Random House.
10. Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.

Source: Boston area bookstores

1. The Middle Place
By Kelly Corrigan. Voice.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. My Horizontal Life
By Chelsea Handler. Bloomsbury.
4. Skinny B****
By Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. Running.
5. Zagat 2009/10 Boston Restaurants
By Zagat Survey. Zagat Survey.
6. Naturally Thin
By Bethenny Frankel. Fireside.
7. The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments
By George Johnson. Vintage.
8. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
9. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
10. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.

On Friday night, the winners of the Los Angeles Times 29th annual book prizes were announced. Recipients of the $1,000 awards include:
*Fiction: Marilynne Robinson for "Home'' (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
* Current interest: Barton Gellman for "Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency" (Penguin Press)
*Biography: Paula J. Giddings for "Ida: A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching'' (HarperCollins/Amistad)
*History: Mark Mazower for "Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe'' (Penguin Press)
*Mystery/Thriller: Michael Koryta for "Envy the Night'' (St. Martin's Minotaur/Thomas Dunne)
*Poetry: Frank Bidart for "Watching the Spring Festival: Poems'' (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
*Science & Technology: Leonard Susskind for The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics (Little, Brown)
*Young Adult Literature: Terry Pratchett for "Nation'' (HarperCollins)
*Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction: Zoe Ferraris for "Finding Nouf'' (Houghton Mifflin)
*Robert Kirsch Award (given annually to a living author "with a substantial connection to the American West”): Robert Alter.

Posted by Paul Makishima, Globe staff

The Russians are coming, again. At least that's how it has often seemed in the last several years, since more than a decade of lessened US-Russian tensions gave way to a partial return of the old East-West tug of war for international power and influence.
The collapse of Soviet communism after 70 years in the early 1990s led to a blossoming of democratic and capitalist values in Russia. But a flagging economy soon led to soaring prices and lost jobs, meaning that many people eventually wondered if they'd traded rigid controls for a kind of freedom that merely meant instability. That set the tone for the rise of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who in recent years has used the income from soaring gas and oil prices to fill his government's coffers, salve the public, isolate the opposition, and flex his nation's diplomatic muscles, particularly on issues involving Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Nicholas Daniloff knows about Russia's old ways, from the inside out, as in from a jail cell. Daniloff is a journalism professor at Northeastern University, but in 1986, as a Moscow correspondent for the Associated Press, he was arrested by the KGB and accused of spying. His arrest spurred international headlines and intense negotiations, which resulted in his release three weeks later in what amounted to a prisoner exchange.
Daniloff has remained a keen follower of events in the former Soviet Union. In his memoir last year, "Of Spies and Spokesmen," he wrote: "What I see happening in Russia today is the failure of strong, independent media to develop -- what Benjamin Franklin called 'the bulwark against tyranny.' The Kremlin has caged national TV broadcasting that reaches the masses, while allowing a small amount of critical reporting by newspapers that reach a comparatively small number of people." In other words, some of the old tight controls are back.
As part of the Ford Hall Forum lecture series, Daniloff will further discuss Russia today from 6:30-8 p.m. on Thursday , April 30, at the Rabb Auditorium, Boston Public Library, Copley Square.

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. The Middle Place
By Kelly Corrigan. Voice.
3. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. Zagat 2009/10 Boston Restaurants
By Zagat Survey. Zagat Survey.
5. Skinny B****
By Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. Running.
6. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
7. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
8. The Devil in the White City
By Erik Larson. Vintage.
9. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
10. Bad Money
By Kevin Phillips. Penguin.

Write webinfo

Northeastern University has decided to suspend its Samuel French Morse Poetry Prize because of financial difficulties.
"The competition is not going forward for now, but might possibly return at some unspecified point in the future,'' said Guy Rotella, a Northeastern English professor and series editor in an e-mail.

The annual competition, run since 1983, awarded $1,000 and publication by Northeastern University for a first or second book of poems.
Rotella explained that the economics of the prize no longer made sense. "Put simply,'' he said, "the costs of publication outstrip the combination of subvention and sales available to offset those costs.''
This year's winner was Lisa Gluskin, whose "Tulips, Water, Ash'' was picked by judge Jean Valentine and will be published in September.
Previous winners include Carl Phillips (In the Blood, 1992), Allison Funk (Living at the Epicenter, 1995), Jennifer Atkinson (The Drowned City, 2000), Ted Genoways (Bullroarer, 2001), and Roy Jacobstein (A Form of Optimism, 2006), according to Poets and Writers, which first reported the news.
Over the years, the contest, established to honor late Northeastern University professor Samuel French Morse, has featured a number of celebrated poets as judges, such as Anthony Hecht, Maxine Kumin, X.J. Kennedy, Donald Hall, Mary Oliver, Peter Davison, Charles Simic, Rachel Hadas, Philip Booth, A.R. Ammons, David Ferry, Sonia Sanchez, Molly Peacock, Edward Hirsch, Carolyn Kizer, Alfred Corn, Carl Phillips, Marilyn Hacker, Rosanna Warren, Robert Cording, and Ellen Bryant Voigt.

Posted by Paul Makishima, Globe staff

Today marks the 50th anniversary of "The Elements of Style,'' perhaps the best-known guide to clear and concise writing in the English language.
E.B. White, the author of "Charlotte's Web'' and "Stuart Little,'' rediscovered a brief guide to style by William Strunk, his professor at Cornell, wrote an essay about it for The New Yorker in 1957, and later revised it, publishing it as "The Elements of Style'' in 1959.
NPR has an interesting little story on the history of the enterprise.

Posted by Paul Makishima, Globe staff

1. The Middle Place
By Kelly Corrigan. Voice.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
4. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
5. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
6. I Was Told There Would Be Cake
By Sloane Crosley. Riverhead.
7. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and RoryFreedman. Running Press.
8. My Lobotomy
By Howard Dully and Charles Fleming. Three Rivers.
9. Animal Vegetable Miracle
By Barbara Kingsolver. Harper Perennial.
10. Bitter is the New Black
By Jen Lancaster. NAL Trade.

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
4. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
5. The Middle Place
By Kelly Corrigan. Voice.
6. My Horizontal Life
By Chelsea Handler. Bloomsbury.
7. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
8. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
9. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
10. Eat This, Not That!
By David Zinczenko. Rodale.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
4. He’s Just Not That Into You
By Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. Simon Spotlight.
5. Eat This, Not That!
By David Zinczenko. Rodale.
6. My Horizontal Life
By Chelsea Handler. Bloomsbury.
7. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
8. I Was Told There’d Be Cake
By Sloane Crosley. Riverhead.
9. This Republic of Suffering
By Drew Gilpin Faust. Vintage.
10. The Two Trillion Dollar Meltdown
By Charles R. Morris. PublicAffiars.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
3. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
5. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
6. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. This Republic of Suffering
By Drew Gilpin Faust. Vintage.
8. Gang Leader for a Day
By Sudhir Venkatesh. Penguin.
9. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Plume.
10. Musicophilia
By Oliver Sacks. Vintage.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
3. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
4. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
5. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
6. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
8. Musicophilia
By Oliver Sacks. Vintage.
9. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
10. Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar ...
By Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. Penguin.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
4. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
5. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
6. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
7. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
8. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
9. Musicophilia
By Oliver Sacks. Vintage.
10. Lincoln’s Greatest Speech
By Ronald C. White Jr. Simon & Schuster.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
4. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
5. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
6. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
7. A Little History of the World
By E.H. Gombrich. Yale University.
8. The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2009
Edited by C. Alan Joyce. World Almanac.
9. The Nine
By Jeffrey Toobin. Anchor.
10. Brag!
By Peggy Klaus. Grand Central.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
3. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
4. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
5. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory, Freedman. Running Press.
6. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
8. 90 Minutes in Heaven
By Don Piper. Revell.
9. A Little History of the World
By E.H. Gombrich. Yale University.
10. The Nine
By Jeffrey Toobin. Anchor.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
4. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
5. The Nine
By Jeffrey Toobin. Anchor.
6. Musicophilia
By Oliver Sacks. Vintage.
7. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
8. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
9. The Zookeeper’s Wife
By Diane Ackerman. Norton.
10. A Little History of the World
By E.H. Gombrich. Yale University.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
3. The Nine
By Jeffrey Toobin. Anchor.
4. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
5. The Zookeeper’s Wife
By Diane Ackerman. Norton.
6. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
7. Zagat Boston Restaurants 2008/09
Edited by Naomi Kooker and Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
8. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
9. A Little History of the World
By E.H. Gombrich. Yale University.
10. I Was Told There’d Be Cake
By Sloane Crosley. Riverhead.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
4. The Nine
By Jeffrey Toobin. Anchor.
5. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
6. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
7. A Little History of the World
By E.H. Gombrich. Yale University.
8. The Year of Living Biblically
By A.J. Jacobs. Simon & Schuster.
9. The Zookeeper’s Wife
By Diane Ackerman. Norton.
10. Musicophilia
By Oliver Sacks. Vintage.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
3. The Nine
By Jeffrey Toobin. Anchor.
4. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
5. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
6. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
7. A Little History of the World
By E.H. Gombrich. Yale University.
8. Zagat Boston Restaurants 2008/09
Edited by Naomi Kooker and Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
9. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
10. Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar...
By Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. Penguin.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. The Nine
By Jeffrey Toobin. Anchor.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. A Long Way Gone
By Ishmael Beah. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
4. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
5. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
6. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
7. The Rest Is Noise
By Alex Ross. Picador.
8. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
9. Me Talk Pretty One Day
By David Sedaris. Back Bay.
10. The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman. Picador.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. The Nine
By Jeffrey Toobin. Anchor.
3. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. A Little History of the World
By E.H. Gombrich. Yale University.
5. Musicophilia
By Oliver Sacks. Vintage.
6. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
7. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
8. Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar ...
By Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. Penguin.
9. The Boston Dictionary
By John Powers. On Cape.
10. Zagat Boston Restaurants 2008/09
Edited by Naomi Kooker and Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin
2. Musicophilia
By Oliver Sacks. Vintage.
3. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
4. The Nine
By Jeffrey Toobin. Anchor.
5. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
6. A Long Way Gone
By Ishmael Beah. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
7. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
8. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
9. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
By Barbara Kingsolver. Harper.
10. Marley and Me
By John Grogan. Harper.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. The Nine
By Jeffrey Toobin. Anchor.
4. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
5. Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar ...
By Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. Penguin.
6. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
7. Look Me in the Eye
By John Elder Robison. Three Rivers.
8. A Long Way Gone
By Ishmael Beah. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
9. The Zookeeper’s Wife
By Diane Ackerman. Norton.
10. A Little History of the World
By E.H. Gombrich. Yale University.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
4. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
5. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
6. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
7. Promises to Keep
By Joseph Biden. Random House.
8. A Long Way Gone
By Ishmael Beah. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
9. My Horizontal Life
By Chelsea Handler. Bloomsbury.
10. Zagat Boston Restaurants 2008/09
Edited by Naomi Kooker and Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. A Long Way Gone
By Ishmael Beah. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
5. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
6. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
7. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
8. My Horizontal Life
By Chelsea Handler. Bloomsbury.
9. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
10. Zagat Boston Restaurants 2008/09
Edited by Naomi Kooker and Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
4. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
5. A Long Way Gone
By Ishmael Beah. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
6. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
7. My Horizontal Life
By Chelsea Handler. Bloomsbury.
8. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown.
9. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
10. Stuff White People Like
By Christian Lander. Random House.

Source: Boston area bookstores

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
4. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
5. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
6. Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar...
By Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. Penguin.
7. Zagat Boston Restaurants 2008/09
Edited by Naomi Kooker and Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
8. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
9. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
By Barbara Kingsolver. Harper.
10. Better
By Atul Gawande. Picador.

Source: Boston area bookstores

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
5. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
By Barbara Kingsolver. Harper.
6. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
7. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
8. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
9. Zagat Boston Restaurants 2008/09
Edited by Naomi Kooker and Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
10. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

Source: Boston area bookstores

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
4. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
By Barbara Kingsolver. Harper.
5. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
6. Big Russ and Me
By Tim Russert. Miramax.
7. Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar ...
By Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. Penguin.
8. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
9. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Plume.
10. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.

Source: Boston area bookstores

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. Big Russ and Me
By Tim Russert. Miramax.
5. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
By Barbara Kingsolver. Harper.
6. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
7. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
8. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Plume.
9. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and RoryFreedman. Running Press.
10. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.

Source: Boston area bookstores

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. Big Russ and Me
By Tim Russert. Miramax.
5. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
By Barbara Kingsolver. Harper.
6. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
7. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
8. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Plume.
9. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
10. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.

SOURCE: Boston area bookstores

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
5. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
6. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
By Barbara Kingsolver. Harper.
7. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Plume.
8. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
9. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
10. Zagat Boston Restaurants 2008/09
Edited by Naomi Kooker and Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.

SOURCE: Boston area bookstores

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Vintage.
4. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
5. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
6. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
By Barbara Kingsolver. Harper.
7. The Power of Now
By Eckhart Tolle. New World Library.
8. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
9. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
10. I Was Told There’d Be Cake
By Sloane Crosley. Riverhead.

SOURCE: Boston area bookstores

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Plume.
4. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
By Barbara Kingsolver. Harper.
5. The Power of Now
By Eckhart Tolle. New World Library.
6. I Was Told There’d Be Cake
By Sloane Crosley. Riverhead.
7. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
8. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
9. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
10. Zagat Boston Restaurants 2008/09
Edited by Naomi Kooker and Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.

SOURCE: Boston area bookstores

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Plume.
4. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
By Barbara Kingsolver. Harper.
5. I Feel Bad About My Neck
By Nora Ephron. Vintage.
6. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
7. The Power of Now
By Eckhart Tolle. New World Library.
8. Zagat Boston Restaurants 2008/09
Edited by Naomi Kooker and Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
9. Hungry Girl
By Lisa Lillien. St. Martin’s.
10. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.

SOURCE: Boston area bookstores

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Plume.
4. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
By Barbara Kingsolver. Harper.
5. I Feel Bad About My Neck
By Nora Ephron. Vintage.
6. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
7. The Power of Now
By Eckhart Tolle. New World Library.
8. Zagat Boston Restaurants 2008/09
Edited by Naomi Kooker and Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
9. Hungry Girl
By Lisa Lillien. St. Martin’s.
10. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.

SOURCE: Boston area bookstores

1. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Plume.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
4. Bringing Down the House
By Ben Mezrich. Free Press. (Portions of this book are composites of people and events, practices generally not accepted in nonfiction.)
5. I Feel Bad About My Neck
By Nora Ephron. Vintage.
6. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
7. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
8. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.
9. Get In the Game
By Cal Ripken Jr. Gotham.
10. John Adams
By David McCullough. Simon & Schuster.

SOURCE: Boston area bookstores

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Plume.
4. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
5. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
6. Grace Eventually
By Anne Lamott. Riverhead.
7. * Bringing Down the House
By Ben Mezrich. Free Press.
(* Portions of this book are composites of people and events, practices generally not accepted in nonfiction.)
8. The Power of Now
By Eckhart Tolle. New World Library
9. Zagat Boston Restaurants 2008-2009
Edited by Naomi Kooker and Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
10. Skinny B----
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.

SOURCE: Boston area bookstores

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Plume.
3. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
4. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
5. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
6. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
7. John Adams
By David McCullough. Simon & Schuster.
8. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
9. Better
By Atul Gawande. Picador.
10. Eat This, Not That
By David Zinczenko. Rodale.

SOURCE: Boston area bookstores

1. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Penguin.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
4. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
5. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
6. The Complete Persepolis
By Marjane Satrapi. Pantheon.
7. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
8. Ninety Minutes in Heaven
By Don Piper. Revell.
9. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
10. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
By Jean-Dominique Bauby. Vintage.

SOURCE: Boston area bookstores

1. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Penguin.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
5. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
6. Better
By Atul Gawande. Picador.
7. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.
8. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
9. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
10. Baseball Prospectus 2008
Edited by Steven Goldman and Christina Kahrl. Plume.

SOURCE: Boston area bookstores

1. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Penguin.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
5. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
6. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
7. Better
By Atul Gawande. Picador.
8. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.
9. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
By Jean-Dominique Bauby. Vintage.
10. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.

Source: Boston area bookstores

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
4. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
5. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
By Jean-Dominique Bauby. Vintage.
6. Better
By Atul Gawande . Picador.
7. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
8. A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle. Penguin.
9. Grayson
By Lynne Cox. Harvest.
10. Waiting ’Til the Midnight Hour
By Peniel E. Joseph. Holt.

Source: Boston area bookstores

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. Charlie Wilson’s War
By George Crile. Grove.
5. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
6. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
7. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
8. The God Delusion
By Richard Dawkins. Mariner.
9. American Bloomsbury
By Susan Cheever. Simon & Schuster.
10. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.

SOURCE: Area bookstores

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
5. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
6. This Is Your Brain on Music
By Daniel J. Levitin. Plume.
7. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
8. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.
9. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
By Jean-Dominique Bauby. Vintage.
10. The Majesty of Your Loving
By Olivia Ames Hoblitzelle. Green Mountain.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.

2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.

3. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.

4. This Is Your Brain on Music
By Daniel J. Levitin. Plume.

5. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.

6. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
By Jean-Dominique Bauby. Vintage.

7. The Audacity of Hope
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.

8. The Innocent Man
By John Grisham. Dell.

9. So Good!
By The Boston Globe. Triumph.

10. 2007/08 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
4. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
5. This Is Your Brain on Music
By Daniel J. Levitin. Plume.
6. The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman. Picador.
7. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.
8. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
By Bill Bryson. Broadway.
9. The Innocent Man
By John Grisham. Dell.
10. Built to Last
By Jim Collins and Jerry Porras. Collins.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
4. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
5. This Is Your Brain on Music
By Daniel J. Levitin. Plume.
6. 2007/08 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
7. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.
8. The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman. Picador.
9. Farewell, Babylon
By Naim Kattan. Godine.
10. Thunderstruck
By Erik Larson. Three Rivers.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
4. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.
5. Skinny B****
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
6. A City’s Life and Times
By Daphne Abeel. Cambridge Historical Society.
7. The Blind Side
By Michael Lewis. Norton.
8. This Is Your Brain on Music
By Daniel J. Levitin. Plume.
9. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
10. 2007/08 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
4. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.
5. This Is Your Brain on Music
By Daniel J. Levitin. Plume.
6. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
By Bill Bryson. Broadway.
7. So Good!
By the Boston Globe. Triumph.
8. The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman. Picador.
9. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
10. Naked
By David Sedaris. Back Bay.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

GREAT WRITERS PODCAST

Don't look now, but your dogma just got run over by Shalom Auslander's karma.

It's amazing that a book so full of painful soul-baring can be so funny, but it is. Just listen to the laughs in the background from the crowd at Brookline Booksmith during Auslander's recent reading of excerpts from his new book "Foreskin's Lament."

But be forewarned: A howling [double meaning alert] rant on his orthodox Jewish upbringing and against those who teach children that God is a vengeful deity to be feared and obeyed at all times, the book is probably not for the faint of faith.

The New York Times said this:

Now Shalom Auslander has entered the ring, flying off the ropes, pro-wrestling style, with his memoir, “Foreskin’s Lament,” a no-holds-barred affront to the G-d whose name is never uttered by the faithful under Jewish law.

Also in the current episode of Great Writers, we serve up or "Top of the Stack" book recommendations from today's hottest writers, including Brock Clarke, the author of "An Arsonist's Guide to New England Writers' Homes;" Jon Clinch, the author of "Finn;" and Jennifer Belle, the author of "Little Stalker."

The recommendations are worth a listen to hear why the authors are recommending their favorites, but for your convenience, here are some links to their recommended books:

Brock Clarke:
"US!" by Chris Bachelder
"The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" by Muriel Spark
"The Good People of New York" by Thisbe Nissen

Jon Clinch:
"I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down" by William Gay
"Absolom, Absolom" by William Faulkner
"Memoir from Antproof Case" by Mark Helprin

Jennifer Belle
"Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov
"Lovely Me: The Life of Jacqueline Susann" by Barbara Seaman
"Good Morning, Midnight" by Jean Rhys

Enjoy.

-- Ralph Ranalli

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
4. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.
5. 2007/08 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
6. Thunderstruck
By Erik Larson. !hree Rivers.
7. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
By Bill Bryson. Broadway.
8. This Is Your Brain on Music
By Daniel J. Levitin. Plume.
9. Phantom Gourmet Guide to Boston’s Best Restaurants
By the Phantom Gourmet. St. Martin’s.
10. Top 10: Boston
DK Travel.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
4. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.
5. Skinny B----
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
6. 2007/08 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
7. The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman. Picador.
8. This Is Your Brain on Music
By Daniel J. Levitin. Plume.
9. Phantom Gourmet Guide to Boston’s Best Restaurants
By the Phantom Gourmet. St. Martin’s.
10. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

Claire Messud is featured in the current episode of Great Writers.
(Globe staff photo by Dina Rudick)

GREAT WRITERS

The Great Writers podcast is back from summer hiatus, with a new format, more events, and bigger names than before.

Launched last year in conjuction with independent literary powerhouse Newtonville Books, Great Writers has now added two more of the region's best independent bookstores as partners: Brookline Booksmith and Wellesley Booksmith. Another big change: new episodes this season will debut on Tuesdays instead of Sundays.

The first episode of the 2007-2008 season is now online. It features a special double appearance from Brookline Booksmith by bestselling authors Claire Messud, reading and discussing "The Emperor's Children," (recently released in paperback) and Valerie Martin, talking about and reading from her latest work, "Tresspass."

"The Emperor's Children" is Messud's fourth book and was named one of the ten best books of 2006 by the New York Times, which called her "a novelist of unnerving talent." Her 1996 debut novel, "When the World Was Steady," earned her a nomination for the PEN/Faulkner Award. Martin's 2003 novel "Property" won the prestigious Orange Prize.

Next week's episode will feature our first recommendations from the Books section staff of the Globe and a reading by Brock Clarke, the author of the remarkable new novel "An Arsonist's Guide to New England Writers' Homes."

Listen, enjoy, and tell a friend. Or what the heck, tell your whole book club.

Click here to listen to this week's episode.

Click here to visit Boston.com's Podcast page.

Click here to subscribe to the series via RSS. Great Writers is also available through iTunes.

-- Ralph Ranalli

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
3. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
4. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.
5. This Is Your Brain on Music
By Daniel J. Levitin. Dutton.
6. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. Skinny B----
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
8. Phantom Gourmet Guide to Boston’s Best Restaurants
By the Phantom Gourmet. St. Martin’s.
9. The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman. Picador.
10. Thunderstruck
By Erik Larson. Three Rivers.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
4. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.
5. Phantom Gourmet Guide to Boston’s Best Restaurants
By the Phantom Gourmet. St. Martin’s.
6. The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman. Picador.
7. This Is Your Brain on Music
By Daniel J. Levitin. Dutton.
8. Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert. Vintage.
9. Skinny B----
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
10. 2007/08 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
4. The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman.Picador.
5. This Is Your Brain on Music
By Daniel J. Levitin. Dutton.
6. Boston’s Freedom Trail
By Robert Booth. Globe Pequot.
7. Skinny B----
By Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Running Press.
8. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
9. The Blind Side
By Michael Lewis. Norton.
10. The Complete Guide to Boston’s Freedom Trail
By Charles Bahne. Newtowne.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
4. This Is Your Brain on Music
By Daniel J. Levitin. Dutton.
5. The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman. Picador.
6. The Blind Side
By Michael Lewis. Norton.
7. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
8. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
9. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
10. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. The Omnivore's Dilemma
By Michael Pollan. Penguin.
3. The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman. Picador.
4. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
5. Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert. Vintage.
6. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
8. Skinny B----
By Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. Running Press.
9. Into the Wild
By Jon Krakauer. Anchor.
10. This Is Your Brain on Music
By Daniel J. Levitin. Dutton.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman. Picador.
3. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
4. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
5. Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert. Vintage.
6. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
8. The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls. Scribner.
9. Skinny Bitch
By Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. Running Press.
10. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman. Picador.
3. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
4. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
5. Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert. Vintage.
6. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
8. Top 10: Boston
DK Travel.
9. Fiasco
By Thomas E. Ricks. Penguin.
10. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
4. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
5. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
6. Fiasco
By Thomas E. Ricks. Penguin.
7. Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert. Vintage.
8. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
9. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
10. The World Is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman. Picador.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
4. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
5. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
6. Heat
By Bill Buford. Vintage.
7. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
8. Oracle Bones
By Peter Hessler. Harper.
9. Zlata’s Diary
By Zlata Filipovic. Penguin.
10. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
4. Heat
By Bill Buford. Vintage.
5. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
6. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
7. Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert. Vintage.
8. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
9. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
10. The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls. Scribner.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
4. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
5. Heat
By Bill Buford. Vintage.
6. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert. Vintage.
8. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
9. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
10. Top 10: Boston
DK Travel.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
4. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
5. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
6. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
7. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die
By Patricia Schultz. Workman.
8. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
9. Top 10: Boston
DK Travel.
10. Monique and the Mango Rains
By Kris Holloway. Waveland.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
4. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
5. Feeding the Monster
By Seth Mnookin. Simon & Schuster.
6. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
7. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
8. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
9. Not for Tourists Guide to Boston 2007
By Andrea Calabratta and Knox Gardner. Not for Tourists.
10. The Undercover Economist
By Tim Harford. Oxford University.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
3. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
4. Wisdom of Our Fathers
By Tim Russert. Random House.
5. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
6. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
7. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
8. Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert. Vintage.
9. Not on Our Watch
By Don Cheadle and John Prendergast. Hyperion.
10. The Year of Magical Thinking
By Joan Didion. Vintage.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
4. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
5. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
6. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
8. The Book of Useless Information
By Noel Botham. Perigee.
9. True Love
By Thich Nhat Hanh. Shambhala.
10. Baseball Field Guide
By Dan Formosa and Paul Hamburger. Thunder’s Mouth.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
4. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
5. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
6. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
8. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David !,Oliver Relin. Penguin.
9. Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert. Vintage.
10. The Book of Useless Information
By Noel Botham. Perigee.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
4. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
5. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
6. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
7. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
8. The Book of Useless Information
By Noel Botham. Perigee.
9. Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert. Vintage.
10. The Year of Magical Thinking
By Joan Didion. Vintage.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
4. Brutal
By Kevin Weeks and Phyllis Karas. HarperCollins.
5. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
6. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
7. The Book of Useless Information
By Noel Botham. Perigee.
8. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
9. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
10. The Year of Magical Thinking
By Joan Didion. Vintage.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
4. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
5. The Year of Magical Thinking
By Joan Didion. Vintage.
6. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
7. The Big Bam
By Leigh Montville. Broadway.
8. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
9. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
10. Is It Hot in Here? Or Is It Me?
By Pat Kelly and Barbara Kantrowitz. Workman.

Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
2. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
3. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
4. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
5. CrazyBusy
By Edward M. Hallowell. Ballantine.
6. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. A People’s History of the United States
By Howard Zinn. Harper.
8. The Measure of a Man
By Sidney Poitier. HarperSanFrancisco.
9. The Year of Magical Thinking
By Joan Didion. Vintage.
10. Under the Banner of Heaven
By Jon Krakauer. Pan.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
4. The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls. Scribner.
5. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
6. Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert. Vintage.
7. The Year of Magical Thinking
By Joan Didion. Vintage.
8. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die
By Patricia Schultz. Workman.
9. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick.Penguin.
10. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
4. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
5. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
6. Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert. Vintage.
7. The Year of Magical Thinking
By Joan Didion. Vintage.
8. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
9. The Universe in a Single Atom
By the Dalai Lama. Morgan Road.
10. Porn for Women
By Cambridge Women’s Pornography Cooperative.!,Chronicle.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

Michael Thomas shares his favorite books in a new Great Writers podcast feature
(Globe staff photo by Suzanne Kreiter)

Whenever an aspiring author asks a successful one for advice, the answer is invariably: "Read."

But read what?

To help answer that question, the Globe's Great Writers podcast has been asking our participating authors to recommend the great books they've been reading lately. We're calling the new feature "Top of the Stack" - as in the books that have earned exulted status amid that pile next to their favorite reading chair.

The first installment of the new feature is already live online. We're also offering a recap and links here for those seeking more information.

Lionel Shriver, the author of the best selling book "We Need to Talk About Kevin," read last month from her new novel "The Post-Birthday World." She recommended:

"Intiution", by Allegra Goodman"
"Revolutionary Road" by Richard Yates, and
"Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Michael Thomas, the Newton native who recently published the acclaimed novel "Man Gone Down," included a collection by poet Yusef Komunyakaa among his recommendations. They were:

"Just Above My Head" by James Baldwin
"Four Quartets" by T.S. Eliot, and
"Taboo" by Yosef Komunyakaa.

Finally, Pagan Kennedy, the author of the fascinating transsexual surgical history "The First Man-Made Man," recommended:

"The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion,
"The Midnight Disease" by Alice Flaherty, and
"His Brother's Keeper" by Jonathan Weiner.

We'll bring you more recommendations as the series moves along. The next episode of Great Writers will feature Erica Wagner, literary editor for The Times of London, reading and discussing her new novel "Seizure" at Newtonville Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. The Year of Magical Thinking
By Joan Didion. Vintage.
3. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. The Worst Hard Time
By Timothy Egan. Mariner.
5. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
6. Great Food Fast
By the editors of Martha Stewart Living. Clarkson Potter.
7. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
8. The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls. Scribner.
9. The Measure of a Man
By Sidney Poitier. HarperSanFrancisco.
10. The Places in Between
By Rory Stewart. Harvest.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
3. The Year of Magical Thinking
By Joan Didion. Vintage.
4. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
5. Top 10: Boston
DK Travel.
6. Poets Thinking
By Helen Vendler. Harvard University.
7. Black Mass
By Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill. PublicAffairs.
8. The Measure of a Man
By Sidney Poitier. HarperSanFrancisco.
9. The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls. Scribner.
10. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
3. The Year of Magical Thinking
By Joan Didion. Vintage.
4. Istanbul
By Orhan Pamuk. Vintage.
5. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
6. The Places in Between
By Rory Stewart. Harvest.
7. The Universe in a Single Atom
By the Dalai Lama. Morgan Road.
8. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
9. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
10. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. The Measure of a Man
By Sidney Poitier. HarperSanFrancisco.
3. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. The Places in Between
By Rory Stewart. Harvest.
5. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
6. The Year of Magical Thinking
By Joan Didion. Vintage.
7. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
8. Rat Bastards
By John ‘‘Red’’ Shea. HarperCollins.
9. The Power of Now
By Eckhart Tolle. New World Library.
10. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
3. The Measure of a Man
By Sidney Poitier. HarperSanFrancisco.
4. The Year of Magical Thinking
By Joan Didion. Vintage.
5. The Places in Between
By Rory Stewart. Harvest.
6. Rat Bastards
By John ‘‘Red’’ Shea. HarperCollins.
7. The Worst Hard Time
By Timothy Egan. Mariner.
8. Mountains Beyond Mountains
By Tracy Kidder. Random House.
9. A Man Without a Country
By Kurt Vonnegut. Random House.
10. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. The Measure of a Man
By Sidney Poitier. HarperSanFrancisco.
3. The End of Faith
By Sam Harris. Norton.
4. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
5. The Devil in the White City
By Erik Larson. Vintage.
6. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
7. Reading Lolita in Tehran
By Azar Nafisi. Random House.
8. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
9. Why Do Men Have Nipples?
By Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg. Three Rivers.
10. The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Boston
By Kris Frieswick. Globe Pequot.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. The Measure of a Man
By Sidney Poitier. HarperSanFrancisco.
3. The Places in Between
By Rory Stewart. Harvest.
4. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
5. The Brothers Bulger
By Howie Carr. Warner.
6. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. The Worst Hard Time
By Timothy Egan. Mariner.
8. The End of Faith
By Sam Harris. Norton.
9. The Undercover Economist
By Tim Harford. Random House.
10. The Phantom Gourmet’s Guide to Boston’s Best Restaurants
By the Phantom Gourmet. St. Martin’s.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. The Places in Between
By Rory Stewart. Harvest.
2. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
3. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. The City of Falling Angels
By John Berendt. Penguin.
5. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
6. 1491
By Charles C. Mann. Vintage.
7. The Brothers Bulger
By Howie Carr. Warner.
8. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
9. Istanbul
By Orhan Pamuk. Vintage.
10. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. The Places in Between
By Rory Stewart. Harvest.
3. The Worst Hard Time
By Timothy Egan. Mariner.
4. The Big Oyster
By Mark Kurlansky. Random House.
5. Istanbul
By Orhan Pamuk. Vintage.
6. Reading Lolita in Tehran
By Azar Nafisi. Random House.
7. The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls. Scribner.
8. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
9. The Best Life Diet Daily Journal
By Bob Greene. Simon & Schuster.
10. Colored People
By Henry Louis Gates Jr. Vintage.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. The Places in Between
By Rory Stewart. Harvest.
2. The Worst Hard Time
By Timothy Egan. Mariner.
3. The Big Oyster
By Mark Kurlansky. Random House.
4. The Freedom Writers Diary
By the Freedom Writers. Broadway.
5. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
6. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die
By Patricia Schultz. Workman.
7. The Iraq Study Group Report
By James A. Baker III et al. Vintage.
8. The Devil in the White City
By Erik Larson. Vintage.
9. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
10. The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls. Scribner.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. The Places in Between
By Rory Stewart. Harvest.
3. The Iraq Study Group Report
By James A. Baker III et al. Vintage.
4. The Worst Hard Time
By Timothy Egan. Mariner.
5. 1776
By David McCullough. Simon & Schuster.
6. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
7. An Inconvenient Truth
By Al Gore. Rodale.
8. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
By Tucker Max. Citadel.
9. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
10. Reading Lolita in Tehran
By Azar Nafisi. Random House.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. The Iraq Study Group Report
By James A. Baker III et al. Vintage.
2. The Places in Between
By Rory Stewart. Harvest.
3. Homeland Insecurity
By the editors of the Onion. Three Rivers.
4. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
5. 1491
By Charles C. Mann. Vintage.
6. Holidays on Ice
By David Sedaris. Back Bay.
7. 1776
By David McCullough. Simon & Schuster.
8. The Best American Science Writing 2006
Edited by Atul Gawande. Harper.
9. How Soccer Explains the World
By Franklin Foer. Harper.
10. The Brothers Bulger
By Howie Carr. Warner.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. The Iraq Study Group Report
By James A. Baker III et al. Vintage.
2. The Places in Between
By Rory Stewart. Harvest.
3. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
5. 1491
By Charles C. Mann. Vintage.
6. 1776
By David McCullough. Simon & Schuster.
7. Clueless George Goes to War
By Pat Bagley. White Horse.
8. The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls. Scribner.
9. Holidays on Ice
By David Sedaris. Back Bay.
10. A Grateful Heart
Edited by M.J. Ryan. Conari.

1. 1491
By Charles C. Mann. Vintage.
2. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
3. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
4. The Places in Between
By Rory Stewart. Harvest.
5. Istanbul
By Orhan Pamuk. Vintage.
6. The City of Falling Angels
By John Berendt. Penguin.
7. Homeland Insecurity
By the editors of the Onion. Three Rivers.
8. 1776
By David McCullough. Simon & Schuster.
9. Holidays on Ice
By David Sedaris. Back Bay.
10. A Grateful Heart
Edited by M.J. Ryan. Conari.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
2. 1491
By Charles C. Mann. Vintage.
3. An Inconvenient Truth
By Al Gore. Rodale.
4. Istanbul
By Orhan Pamuk. Vintage.
5. The Places in Between
By Rory Stewart. Harvest.
6. Environmental Due Diligence
By Kenneth S. Tramm and Ernest C. Crosby. Infinity.
7. The Planets
By Dava Sobel. Penguin.
8. Clueless George Goes to War
By Pat Bagley. White Horse.
9. Cradle to Cradle
By William McDonough and Michael Braungart. North Point.
10. 1776
By David McCullough. Simon & Schuster.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. Mountains Beyond Mountains
By Tracy Kidder. Random House.
2. Istanbul
By Orhan Pamuk. Vintage.
3. 1491
By Charles C. Mann. Vintage.
4. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
5. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
6. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
7. The Devil in the White City
By Erik Larson. Vintage.
8. The City of Falling Angels
By John Berendt. Penguin.
9. Teacher Man
By Frank McCourt. Scribner.
10. The Chomsky-Foucault Debate
By Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault. New Press.

From Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.

1. 1491
By Charles C. Mann. Vintage.
2. Istanbul
By Orhan Pamuk. Vintage.
3. Mountains Beyond Mountains
By Tracy Kidder. Random House.
4. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
5. The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls. Scribner.
6. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
7. The City of Falling Angels
By John Berendt. Penguin.
8. Teacher Man
By Frank McCourt. Scribner.
9. Human Technology
By Ilchi Lee. Healing Society.
10. Clueless George Goes to War!
By Pat Bagley. White Horse.

1. Team of Rivals
By Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster.
2. Mountains Beyond Mountains
By Tracy Kidder. Random House.
3. Running With Scissors
By Augusten Burroughs. Picador.
4. America (the Book), Teacher’s Edition
By the writers of ‘‘The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.’’ Warner.
5. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
6. 100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
By the editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Houghton Mifflin.
7. Boston’s Freedom Trail
By Robert Booth and Erica Bollerud. Globe Pequot.
8. The City of Falling Angels
By John Berendt. Penguin.
9. Collapse
By Jared Diamond. Penguin.
10. Getting Even
By Evelyn Murphy. Touchstone.

1. The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls. Scribner.
2. Mountains Beyond Mountains
By Tracy Kidder. Random House.
3. The 9/11 Report
By Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón. Hill & Wang.
4. The Devil in the White City
By Erik Larson. Vintage.
5. Julie and Julia
By Julie Powell. Back Bay.
6. The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
7. Clueless George Goes to War
By Pat Bagley. White Horse.
8. The Tender Bar
By J..R. Moehringer. Hyperion.
9. Born to Kvetch
By Michael Wex. HarperPerennial.
10. The Chomsky-Foucault Debate: On Human Nature
By Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault. New Press.