The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian, by Lawrence Block, is the second book I've read about Bernie Rhodenbarr, an antiquarian bookseller by day, extremely competent burglar by night. Bernie is a dilettante, extremely likable and surrounded by well-drawn characters like Carolyn, his burglary partner and lesbian dog groomer, and Ray, the good-guy, NYC cop who isn't above taking a bribe or looking the other way to solve a crime.

Sonata for Miriam, by Linda Olsson. Her first book, Astrid & Veronika, was haunting and beautifully written in a clear, simple, almost Ernest Hemingway-way. Her writing style is the same but this story is more complex and broad-ranging.

Garden Bouquets and Beyond, by Suzy Bales. I am conflicted about Bales' latest book. The photographs are absolutely beautiful but sometimes her prose is trite: "Daffodils signal that spring has burst out of winter's corset." She often refers to daffodils as "daffs."

Also, some of Bales' ideas are too contrived for my tastes (an iron bunny wearing a floral wreath; rubber boots as a vase for flowering branches) but she also loves common flowers in simple bouquets. She mentions tulips, frittilarias, lily-of-the-valley, bleeding heart, shrubs like forsythia and dogwood and of course, lilacs. "I came to the conclusion years ago that I could never have enough lilacs, so I planted an assortment in different colors, from pink and white to blue and purple. To make a sensational bouquet, all you need to do is cut a few stems from each color and group them together."

But I whole-heartedly endorse this notion: "Bringing bouquets from my garden into my home breaks the barrier between inside and out." She also advocates cutting plant parts other than flowers: "I cut indiscriminately from any part, anywhere: container gardens, flower borders, foundation plantings, vegetable gardens, and the roadside when no one is looking."

Ad Hoc at Home, by Thomas Keller, remains on the bedside table from my last report but, geez, it's a very big book! Plus, the 360 pages are filled with outstanding recipes, photos, tips, ideas and menu suggestions.