'Infinite City,' by Rebecca Solnit
John McMurtrie, Chronicle Book Editor
Infinite City A San Francisco Atlas By Rebecca Solnit (University of California Press; 167 pages; $49.95; $24.95 paperback) We know the map like the back of our hand. There's the thumb-like peninsula of San Francisco,...

'Ann Beattie: The New Yorker Stories'
Joan Frank, Special to The Chronicle
Ann Beattie The New Yorker Stories (Scribner; 514 pages; $30) One school of thought toward the (17-book) oeuvre of Ann Beattie declares her work masterful - that it delivers scathing, poignantly accurate depictions of...

David Thomson's 'Biographical Dictionary of Film'
Saul Austerlitz, Special to The Chronicle
The New Biographical Dictionary of Film Fifth Edition By David Thomson (Alfred A. Knopf; 1,076 pages; $40) Recently, I had the pleasure of introducing a newfound-cinephile friend to the essential works that should be on...

'Peace Meals,' by Anna Badkhen
Peter Lewis, Special to The Chronicle
Peace Meals Candy-Wrapped Kalashnikovs and Other War Stories By Anna Badkhen (Free Press; 272 pages; $25) When the world around you is going to hell in a handbasket, eat. Unless you are one of the truly unfortunate,...

Recommended books, Nov. 21
We recommend these recently reviewed titles: The Instructions By Adam Levin (McSweeney's; 1,030 pages; $29) Levin's riotous, gigantic and disturbing debut novel is an argument with time, an analysis of when, and how,...

'My Prizes: An Accounting,' by Thomas Bernhard
Phillip Lopate, Special to The Chronicle
My Prizes An Accounting By Thomas Bernhard; translated from the German by Carol Brown Janeway (Alfred A. Knopf; 130 pages; $22) Every year when the literary prizes are announced, if you're a writer who didn't get one,...

First sentences from new books, Nov. 21
It's early, not yet seven A.M., and once again I'm waking up beside my adoptive sister. "Heliopolis," a novel by James Scudamore "Hello?" the very, very old black man said into the receiver. "The Last Days of Ptolemy...

'What Technology Wants,' by Kevin Kelly
G. Pascal Zachary, Special to The Chronicle
What Technology Wants By Kevin Kelly (Viking; 406 pages; $27.95) If you think that technological change is basically always good, and impossible to stop anyway, then "What Technology Wants," by Kevin Kelly, is for you....

Book recommendations from Diesel, Oakland
Recommendations of recent books from the staffs of a rotating list of Bay Area independent bookstores. This week's list is from Diesel, A Bookstore, 5433 College Ave., Oakland. (510) 653-9965. www.dieselbookstore.com ....

LITERARY GUIDE
Today Peter Balakian "Ziggurat." 4 p.m. Mrs. Dalloway's, 2904 College Ave., Berkeley. (510) 704-8222. Leonard Pitt "Paris: A Journey Through Time." 2 p.m. Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960....

'The Sixties,' by Christopher Isherwood
Benjamin Ivry, Special to The Chronicle
The Sixties Diaries 1960-1969 By Christopher Isherwood; edited and Introduced by Katharine Bucknell (Harper; 756 pages; $39.99) Anglo American author Christopher Isherwood died in Santa Monica in 1986 but has never been...

Book news and notes, Nov. 21
News and notes from the world of books Patti Smith has come full circle. Before becoming an acclaimed musician, Smith worked as a bookstore clerk in New York. Today the 63-year-old is a National Book Award winner. Smith...

San Francisco Chronicle Best-Sellers / Nov. 21
This week FICTION Bay Area Last week Weeks on list 1 SQUIRREL SEEKS CHIPMUNK, by David Sedaris (Little, Brown; 176 pages; $21.99) 1 7 2 FREEDOM, by Jonathan Franzen (FSG; 562 pages; $28) 2 11 3 THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE...