Here’s a great book for those who like to travel, whether for real, or in an armchair: Booked: a Traveler’s Guide to Literary Locations Around the World, by Richard Kreitner. There’s a wonderful description, often with a photo, of each destination as well as a bit about the author and his or her books.

Did you know there is a town where you are not allowed to die? Or how people are chosen for a police line up in NY? Or (my favorite) that artichokes once had ties to the Mafia? Find out all this and more in Now I Know: the Revealing Stories Behind the World’s Most Interesting Facts, by Dan Lewis. Taken from the author’s email newsletter this is an intriguing collection of trivia. Quite enjoyed it, but do wish there had been a bibliography.

If you watched Disney movies growing up, and are (ahem) of a certain age, then you saw the work of Ward Kimball, one of the animators for the Disney studios for decades. I picked up this biography partially because of that, and because I remember my dad telling me he and Mr. Kimball were friends. As near as I can tell, the connection is that they both played trombone! Anyway, The Life and Times of Ward Kimball: Maverick of Disney Animation, by Todd James Pierce, is a rich and detailed biography of an extremely talented man. It’s a good thing, too, because he had some …. quirks … that often annoyed both his fellow animators and Walt Disney as well! (He was described as both a genius and an outcast). Pictures would have been nice, but there is a great bibliography and index.

Reading Hermit With Dog