In this case, it's a beautiful winter scarf my mother gave me toward the end of her life, probably the last gift I got from her. After she died in 2004, I became more attached to it. The intensity of my feelings about the scarf surprised me.

My grandfather's whimsical bravery, his way of endearing himself to everyone, his stubborn habit of making sure he could always offer a legitimate service, are now a part of me.

Plot? Before reading a biography, we often don't know all the specifics of how the subject's life proceeded (except, perhaps, that she or he eventually died). So a biography can be as revelatory as a plot-driven novel.

Seen the movies? Now read the books. Here's a guide, ordered by date-of-release, to the big new releases and lesser-known titles which should pique the interest of film buffs and book lovers alike.

It was with avid interest that I devoured Julia Child's life's story whole. Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child -- told with affection and reverence by author Bob Spitz -- lifts an American icon from the cauldron of celebrity into a dish of comfort food.

When my book was published, Burroughs was in Chicago. Asked by a Tribune reporter what he thought of it, he said, "it's awful." There's a huge difference between chatting with a friend in your home and seeing your life revealed on the page, hundreds of pages, for thousands to read.

When Walter Cronkite declared, "That's the way it is," almost every weeknight from 1962 to 1981 on the CBS Evening News, it was easy to believe him. After all, the man was from Missouri. And it was here that the man who had covered stories all over the world learned much of his journalistic trade.