Complete Book Coverage for Nov. 1, 2009

Douglas Adams’ ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ continues with another author -- and can’t quite measure up to the original.

The mysteries of the ancient world are evoked in Alan Jacobs’ ‘When Jesus Lived in India’ and Janet Soskice’s ‘The Sisters of Sinai.’

An author gets a dose of small-town ‘show biz’ while on book tour.

This time, that mix of empathy and distance, that need to look at everything with an outsider’s eye, is trained on Imperial County.

An unsettling look at key figures relegated to working in the labor icon’s shadow, and how that situation came about.

An aging actor finds temporary relief from thoughts of his mediocrity in a wild affair that proves to be more risky than he expected.

A portrait of the photographer, whose work has indelibly shaped our image of the Great Depression.

After his father’s death, a son seeks to understand his father’s interest in a war veterans’ march on Washington decades before. But this memoir reveals little about the dad.

Unpublished stories and fragments from the late author show false starts and digressions as he developed his signature style.

‘The Chain Letter of the Soul’ by Bill Holm, ‘Singing for Mrs. Pettigrew’ by Michael Morpurgo

Fiction Weeks on list1.Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown : $27.99) An LAPD detective travels to Hong Kong to solve the murder of a Chinese immigrant.2 2.The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $25.99) Harvard professor Robert Langdon uses his symbology skills to find a missing Freemason in Washington, D.C.6 3.The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined while changing a Mississippi town. 21 4.Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn (Atria: $27.99) Two counterterrorism operatives deal with the fallout from a deadly terrorist attack. 25.Blood’s a Rover by James Ellroy (Knopf : $28.95) A bank heist sets off an escapade through ‘60s L.A. with run-ins with the mob, the FBI and Howard Hughes. 46.Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $13.95) Greg desires to spend summer vacation indoors despite his mother’s wishes for outdoor family fun. 27.Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (Riverhead: $25.95) A woman acquaints herself with the songwriter whose album caused the breakup of her recent relationship.38.The Wild Things by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: $19.95) An interpretation and elaboration of Maurice Sendak’s “ Where the Wild Things Are.”19.Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (Scribner: $26) The story of a hard-knock gal who raised horses and survived floods and the Depression.2 10.Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $12.95) Greg’s dad enlists him in sports to toughen him up.2911.The Humbling by Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: $22) A washed-up stage actor is rejuvenated when he begins an erotic affair with a younger woman.112.Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem (Doubleday: $27.95) New Yorkers try to find meaning in their superficial lives.113.The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: $27.95) Kay Scarpetta’s fame grows as do the bizarre events surrounding several unsolved cases.114.The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (Knopf: $25.95) A hacker implicated in two murders must revisit her past to prove her innocence. 1315.A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris (Ace: $23.95) A complete collection of Sookie Stackhouse short stories.2Nonfiction 1.Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon (Harper: $26.99) A collection of autobiographical essays reflecting on what it means to be a man and father.2 2.Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high achievers.47 3.Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom (Hyperion: $23.99) Albom’s observations of a rabbi and a pastor on an eight-year journey of faith.4 4.True Compass by Edward Kennedy (Twelve: $35) The memoirs of the late U.S. senator from Massachusetts.55.The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins (Free Press: $30) A pro-evolution argument filled with scientific evidence. 36.Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer (Doubleday: $27.95) A chronicle of Pat Tillman, the NFL star turned Army Ranger whose death in Afghanistan stunned the power structure. 67.Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: $24) The disappearance of a Syrian American father and good Samaritan in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. 78.Arguing With Idiots by Glenn Beck (Threshold Editions: $29.99) Secrets for winning arguments with small-minded people.49.Republican Gomorrah by Max Blumenthal (Nation Books: $25) A liberal look at how fringe elements are defining a new Republican Party.1 10.Jim Cramer’s Getting Back to Even by James J.

Fiction 1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson ($14.95) 2.