Reading Matchmaker: If You Like . . .

. . . Peter Ackroyd's London: The Biography check out his latest, Thames: Sacred River. Anglophiles loved the hefty London for its exhaustive lists and anecdotal minutiae; the same attention to detail enlivens this tome about a river only 215 miles long but overflowing with history.

One Last Thing: Pilgrim's Guide to the Planet

I have long believed that every journey is a pilgrimage. It's not so much about where you're going but the reverence with which you go—the openheartedness, respect, and sense of the sacred in the everyday that you bring to the world. This same spirit is embodied in National Geographic's new coffee table book, Sacred Places of a Lifetime. The 500 entries in this 400-page tome range from sacred landscapes and megaliths to religious landmarks and shrines, to festivals, cemeteries, and retreats; each place has a description explaining the significance of the site and offering tips for travelers. This lavish and imaginative book opened my eyes to the vast span of sacred places on our planet—and inspired plans for pilgrimages to come.