The Book Booth is a weekly feature at The Political Carnival, relating news, notes, and reflections from the world of books and publishing. SeattleDan, along with his wife, SeattleTammy, are operators of both an on-line bookstore, as well a brick and mortar in small town Washington State. Both have been in the book business since shortly after the Creation, or close to 6000 years now.

Fall must be here. The tell-tale signs are there. There is that nip in the air. And the baseball playoffs have begun. GO (Insert favorite baseball team here)!

This week is banned books week and our small town community is reading Fahrenheit 451. From CalPoly comes this colorful display on the significance of the week. Via the folks at City Lights Bookstore.

As we await the announcement of the Literature Nobelist for this year (I’m hoping for Murakami, but look out that poet from San Marino that not even most Europeans have heard of) we will go heavy on the lists this week. But, I promise you, they are great lists! From Publishers Weekly we have the top ten fictional narrators. I particularly liked choosing Nabokov’s Kinbote instead of Humbert Humbert.

Also from PW, we have the ten most frequently used songs in fiction. All these songs are post-1950, but I have to say, I love how Nathaniel West wove If You’re a Viper into Day of the Locust.

ABE Books had their top literary magazines and periodicals with some nice cover art. I used to read these magazines often, but the one thing our little town doesn’t have, is a source for much in the way of small magazines.

Not mentioned here, but one of my favorites is Triquarterly, which you can find here.

The Huffington Post has the list of books you should have read in High School. I may have many talents, but seeing the future is not one of them. All these books were published long after I graduated. But a good list of books, lead off by the aforementioned Haruki Murakami.

For those of you who love book jacket art, Design Observer has the top fifty books for this year.

The good folks at Flavorwire have photographs of literary characters in real life. Well, maybe not the characters themselves, but the models upon which they were based.

Finally, Anthony Horowitz of The Guardian lists his top ten Apocalyptic novels. I can recommend these titles too,, for those who are awaiting the end of the world, and was happy to see John Wyndham’s Day of the Triffids on the list. Not on the list, but fine novels are Pat Frank’s Alas, Babylon (which scared the bejesus out of me when I saw it dramatized years ago on TV), and Walter Miller’s Canticle for Leibowitz, a very, very good book.

Well, thanks to all who have consoled me on losing out, once again, on getting a MacArthur Genius award. And like my Seattle Mariners, I can say, Wait til next year! So what’s on your nightstand this weekend?