Short List

Panther Soup—part European travelogue, part personalized WWII military history, by John Gimlette.

Bicycling Beyond the Divide—Daryl Farmer's droll re-creation of the same Western-states bike trip he took 20 years before.

Around the World in 80 Dinners—James Beard award-winning authors Cheryl and Bill Jamison's anecdotal and practical account of a ten-country, three-month gastronomic tour, complete with recipes and restaurant addresses.

Where Light Takes Its Color from the Sea—evocative essays and fiction from "a California notebook," by Santa Cruz-based James D. Houston.

Motionless Journey—exquisite photo book from photographer and Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, who spent a year shooting his surroundings in a mountain hermitage near Kathmandu.