In this issue: The Private Patient by Baroness P.D. James holds our interest by the discovery of not just the who-dun-it, but the complex motives behind the actions. Anyone who loves dogs and brilliant descriptive writing will find Sawtelle rewarding. Wa…

Jill Norgren reviews the Met Opera's Live in HD, providing a front row seat to live opera through H-D simulcast. Camera work is intelligent and artful, with stunning close-ups and sensible renderings of choral and dancing ensembles.

Joan L. Cannon writes, "If only we had Mark Twain or Voltaire to make the campaign speeches, Aristotle or Kant to force us to entertain enough thought to allow some expansion of minds. Farewell Harold Ross. You're missed."

Recently, a conference was held in San Francisco on the subject of happiness: Happiness and Its Causes.

Sharon Kapnick reviews wine books for gifting, among them books that advise what to sip for each season; How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink; 1,001 Wines You Must Taste Before You Die and To Cork or Not To Cork.

Margaret Cullison writes, "I suffered from cake envy after attending a friend's birthday party. Her cake that year looked like a lamb with white frosting and coconut curled fur. The cake completely enchanted me."

Julia Sneden writes, "Oh dear. I have once again blown last year's resolve to approach the holidays in a calm, well-organized fashion. At my age, it should be getting easier to figure out how to navigate the season with equanimity, but somehow things always spiral out of control."

Jo Freeman reviews Red, Blue, and Purple America: The Future of Election Demographics — The authors offer numerous insights into voting trends, a few surprises, and much food for thought. If you want to know why the 2008 election was not an aberration, read this book.

Joan L. Cannon writes, "There seems to be no excuse for the callousness of [Namibia] for the exploitation of conspicuous consumption. I thought of Swift's ability to flay human folly and wished I could convey in the way he would have the combination of fury and incredulity that assailed me."

100 Essential Modern Poems by Women reveals that a number of the poets suffered from bitter conflicts with their parents or from their physical or emotional absence. Chinese Lessons is written in an artful and entertaining style; China's Government policies are not soft-pedaled. Heartbeat for Horses will speak to anybody who has ever loved horses, either in reality or in literature.

Surely, there is a real danger to what we like to call civilization when so many people appear to have lost the ability to imagine ... if only to learn how to fear something that may not yet be evident, if we are to prevent it.