It's not too soon to start getting ready for Christmas, and books are the gift that keeps on giving. There's also nothing like a signed copy to make it really special. Here are some ideas for good presents—even if it's just a gift to yourself.

The big book this week is 'Brisinger,' the third installment of the 'Inheritance' cycle by Christopher Paolini. Eragon and Saphira must defeat King Galbatorix, rescue Katrina and put an end to the heartless tyranny that reigns.

The other big books are two nonfiction titles. 'Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America' by Thomas L. Friedman is his followup to the hugely successful 'The World Is Flat.' All the familiar warnings are here, but made all the more compelling by this author's powerful voice.

Bob Woodward's riveting series on the Bush Administration and the Gulf War has a fourth installment, 'The War Within.' This is a book of revelations, and it has already stirred up controversy. Read it and decide for yourself, but Woodward is nothing if not thorough.

Back on the fiction side, Philippa Gregory is at it again, too. With 'The Other Queen,' she tackles the story of Mary, Queen of Scots. If Mary has a modern equal, it may be Paris Hilton, although Paris is not likely to meet her fate at the hands of an executioner, as Mary did.

We also have a new book from one of our most beloved authors, Dick Francis, who with his son, Felix, gives us 'Silks,' in which a British defense lawyer and amateur jockey reluctantly represents another jockey who seems to be guilty of murder. Is it Laura or isn't it? That, for many readers, is the question.

Is 'American Wife,' by Curtis Sittenfeld a novel whose main character is based on Laura Bush? Whatever you may think, this is a strong novel about the intersection between public and private lives.

You might call 'Supreme Courtship' a political novel, but I'm not sure author Christopher Buckley would agree. He imagines what might happen if a TV judge (picture Judge Judy) is nominated to the Supreme Court by a desperate president who can't seem to find a nominee that can actually be confirmed. Cain and Abel, Superman, secret societies, hidden cryptographic clues and Fort Lauderdale are all part of Brad Meltzer 's latest, 'The Book of Lies.' What a ride!

In 'Scarpetta,' Patricia Cornwell takes her heroine (for the 16th time) on a perilous journey, this time to New York City. Now married, forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta takes on a bizarre case in the Big Apple, along with her psychologist husband and her forensic computer whiz niece.

'Rough Justice' is another series book with a great new installment. Jack Higgins' hero, Sean Dillon, takes us on an action-packed chase from Kosovo to Moscow to Beirut and London, as he tries to stop Islamic fundamentalists from bringing the Western world to its knees.

'The Shack,' by William P. Young, doesn't have a promising title, but the premise is compelling, with a father being summoned by what may be a letter from God back to the possible scene of his daughter's murder.

We love history and there are some good new books out. In 'The Irregulars,' by Jennet Conant, we learn that writer Roald Dahl was a spy in World War II—right here in Washington, D.C. He was good at it, too.

In 'The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army,' by Paul Douglas Lockhart, we learn how a ragged, scared and demoralized army becomes a crackerjack fighting force under the tutelage of the Prussian baron.