Literary Lowdown

Spoken Here
By Mark Abley
Mariner, $14

Schlepping Through the Alps
By Sam Apple
Ballantine, $23.95

Wrong About Japan
By Peter Carey
Knopf, $17.95

The 8:55 to Baghdad
By Andrew Eames
Overlook, $24.95

You Can't Get There From Here
By Gayle Forman
Rodale, $23.95

A Continent for the Taking
By Howard W. French
Vintage, $15

At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig
By John Gimlette
Vintage Departure, $14.95

Cork Boat
By John Pollack
Anchor, $13.95

Japan Journals 1974-2004
By Donald Richie
Stone Bridge, $29.95