The Books Inc. Marina bestseller list

1. The Big Short by Michael Lewis (nonfiction, hardcover)
2. City Of Thieves by David Benioff (fiction, paperback)
3. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (fiction, paperback)
4. Little Bee by Chris Cleave (fiction, paperback)
5. The Male Brain by Louann Brizendine (nonfiction, hardcover)
6. Daring Pairings by Evan Goldstein (cooking, hardcover)
7. The TableHopper’s Guide To San Francisco by Marcia Gagliardi (nonfiction, paperback)
8. Women Food & God by Geneen Roth (nonfiction, hardcover)
9. Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler (nonfiction, hardcover)
10. Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese (fiction, paperback)

Books Inc. staff picks

Cooking: Williams-Sonoma Comfort Food: Warm and Homey, Rich and Hearty by Rick Rodgers
I’d be very surprised if you can’t get 5, 10, even 15 recipes from this terrific collection of comfort foods. Tasty, easy and highly recommended.
– Bill Dito

Cooking: Perfect Pairings by Evan Goldstein
This makes it easy, even if you don’t really know much about pairing wine and food. Organized by wine type (or grape varietal), Evan gives the history of each grape and suggests a food pairing for each (including recipes by his mother, Joyce Goldstein of former Square One Restaurant in S.F.) Evan just released a second book called Daring Pairings, which covers lesser-known wines and is also on this month’s bestseller list.
– Rich Ciccotelli

Cooking: Encyclopedia Of Pasta by Oretta Zanini De Vita
From the U.C. Press, an amazing and exhaustive reference describing more than 300 different types of Italian pasta. Clearly a labor of love, it’s great fun to dip into over and over. As a bonus, the author herself sounds like she should be a pasta.
– Bob Deloria

Nonfiction: Been Doon So Long by Randall Grahm and Hugh Johnson
The visionary Bonny Doon winemaker is often credited (and blamed) for some of the most irreverent wine marketing seen by man. This collection gives you full access to the man and his philosophy, including a twisted, wine-filled version of Dante’s Divine Comedy. A “top book for winos” pick on WinoTripping.com.
– Rich Ciccotelli

Nonfiction: The Cafes of San Francisco: A Guide to the Sights, Sounds, and Tastes of America’s Original Cafe Society, by A.K. Crump
With over 300 photographs and more than 50 in-depth cafe profiles, this third edition features stories, thoughts, and recipes from cafe lovers including Mayor Willie Brown, Francis Ford Coppola, and more …
– Rich Ciccotelli

For Kids

Young adult crossovers: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
The Young Adult (YA) category has been producing some great books for kids, and they’re great for adults, too. Leviathan is one of these crossover books. Beasties, clankers, and cross-dressers, oh my! An incredibly exciting and imaginative retelling of World War I (highly fictionalized for maximum entertainment!). Read it. – Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Rich Ciccotelli is the manager of Books Inc. in the Marina.