It's only one more day until Christmas, so many people are panicking about what to buy. It's no question what book critic David Kipen might suggest for a present.

Books! We'll talk to him and get his recommendations:

• "The (Library of America) Anthology of 1950's Science Fiction"
• "Dodgers from Coast to Coast"  
• "Magic Hours" by Tom Bissell   
• "Far From the Tree" by Andrew Solomon 
• "The One, a biography of James Brown" by RJ Smith
• "Hollywood Cinema and the Real Los Angeles" by Mark Shiel  
• "Piecing Together Los Angeles: An Esther McCoy Reader"
• "Masha'allah and Other Stories"
• "The Thief and the Dogs" by Naguib Mahfouz's