A home filled with books — especially when you look at the titles — makes a statement about the readers who live there. But the things holding those books up make another statement - about your home decor taste.  JustBookends is an intriguing site which carries more than 250 types of bookends, far more than you’d find at your local bookshop. One of their best-sellers are the triangle black marble bookends, two thick triangles of dark swirled marble, perfect for holding up large or heavy books (a set is $50, and the shipping, which is on special now, is $7). Another popular choice at Just Bookends is the splashing dolphin set, bronze sculptures of dolphins leaping joyfully out of the water ($84). Another nautically themed choice is the brass ocean wave lighthouse pair of bookends; each one depicts a lighthouse with water lapping at its base. If you’re looking for a gift for a music teacher, consider a set of piano bookends($38, pictured). Made from cast resin, they’ll look nice on a shelf near the real piano. For little girls, radiantly colored butterfly bookends are a standout choice ($35); little boys might prefer the wooden train set , with the engine on one side and the train cars on the other ($35). Barnes & Noble has a classy selection of bookends, including these gleaming red heart-shaped bookends from Alabastri Duchessi Italy ($63), which could be given along with a book of love poems for a romantic gift. Alabastri Duchessi also makes fantastic green malachite alabaster eggs ($63 for the set), which would look perfect in a contemporary design setting. An amusing choice for children or adults are these playful brass polar bear bookends ($45). If you have two photos you’d like to display on your bookcase, order a set of these Pottery Barn photo bookends ($34), which come in black, espresso (brown) or white; each one holds a 3- by 4-inch photo.

Step aside, ladies of the sizzling summer hit Sex and the City. Another long-awaited summer chick flick opens nationwide this week, and this one’s for the tweens — girls 7 to 12 years old. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, is the first theatrical release connected to the American Girl phenomenon. American Girl is a hugely popular line of products that center around fairly pricey dolls of various ethnicities who come of age at turning points in U.S. history. Each doll comes with period-specific clothes and some accessories, and there is a book about her life that involves triumph over adversity with humor, grace and loyal friendships. Though the tone is gentle, American Girl tales touch on child abuse, child labor, slavery, war, and much more. Beyond the dolls and the books, the wildly successful line comes with more clothing, accessories and furniture for additional dollars. The movie, produced by Julia Roberts, revolves around the American Girl character Kit, who lives in Cincinnati at the dawn of the Great Depression, and wants to be a “girl reporter.” Get Kit and her best friend Ruthie (on sale for $205) and the tree house ($250) where they spend much of their time. Kit pounds furiously on a typewriter ($22), that “dings” like the real thing when she gets to the end of a line. Her roll top desk ($70) has a pullout writing board. The top rolls down to hide clutter, and the set includes a swivel chair so she can take a little spin to get her ideas moving. Like all the other American Girl dolls, Kit has her own online games and downloadable computer wallpaper. American Girl also has its own magazine, line of custom Just Like You dolls, Bitty Baby for ages 3 and older, and Doll Hospital. The dolls have become such popular collectibles on eBay.com that the site offers a buyer’s guide. American Girl does have its naysayers, but most film critics, such as Roger Ebert, give Kit and her cohorts a big thumbs up. This much I know: American Girl – I was a Julie — is an improvement over the Barbie of my youth.

Funnyman George Carlin loved to talk about “stuff:” “That’s all you need in life, a little place for your stuff. That’s all your house is, a place to keep your stuff.” In memory of Carlin, who died June 22 of heart disease at age 71, here’s some “stuff” by which to remember him.  Do-it-yourself site CafePress.com features a wide selection of Carlin goods.  (Keep the kids away from this Web page, though, because Carlin’s famous “7 dirty words” make an appearance on some T-shirts). Among the standout items:  A “Will I ever stop asking rhetorical questions?” bumper sticker ($5) and a “George: You made us laugh. You made us think. We’ll miss you” fitted T-shirt ($25).  Some say Carlin, unlike many stand-up comics, transitioned easily from stage to written word. His book Brain Droppings spent 40 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List and includes such funny bits as “People Who Should be Phased Out,” and “Seven Things I’m Tired Of” ($7). Also available from the Carlin library:  Napalm and Silly Putty , which features bits like “The Ten Most Embarrassing Songs of All Time,” and “The 20th Century Hostility Scorecard” ($11).  In When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? Carlin waxes poetic  (or vulgar, depending on how you look at it) about topics like the battle of the sexes, war and politics ($19). There’s no question that Carlin was most famous for his stand-up comedy.  In fact, Carlin hosted the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live on Oct. 11, 1975. Pick up the first season of the hit show here and  see him perform an opening monologue comparing football and baseball. The ultimate purchase for a diehard Carlin fan?  The George Carlin: All My Stuff DVD set, which features a 14-disc career retrospective, including all 12 of Carlin’s HBO specials ($180).

Universal acclaim is greeting WALL-E, the daring new film from the Pixar animators who brought us Finding Nemo. And as with previous computer-hatched adventures The Incredibles and Cars (see the full collection here), programmers find this fable particularly well suited to video games. In the WALL-E game, which is available on all platforms, kids can go scavenger hunting for health-restoring sunbeams and forgotten cultural artifacts or just fly through space zapping debris. Games are just the tip of the product tie-in iceberg, of course, despite the fact that the movie’s theme is human overconsumption and the ecological damage done by limitless consumer goods: Kids seduced by the E.T.-like robot can buy either elaborate remote-controlled robo-toys or low-tech ones like this robotic arm; they can get themed bedspreads or read bedtime tales from a Little Golden Book. While this glut of goods may serve to cancel out the story’s eco-friendly message, marketers are expert at making adults feel joyless when the kids complain: After all, who could refuse a roomful of tykes wearing these (pictured) low-tech but heartstring-tugging WALL-E masks?

Each summer for six years and counting, carelessly groomed, long-haired overweight men in frumpy bathrobes and well-coiffed women dressed as spear-carrying She-Visigoths gather in Louisville, Ky. to bowl and sip White Russians – and what-have-you – in celebration of the prolifically inventive Coen brothers’ (Fargo, Raising Arizona) movie The The Big Lebowski. The film, which came out in 1998, was the first cult film of the internet age, according to the author of I’m a Lebowski, You’re a Lebowski: Life, The Big Lebowski and What-Have-You ($13.72) and this article which will fill you in on all-things-Dude and why repeating the repetitive phrases in the film is part of the fun. If you haven’t met him already: The Dude. If you can’t make it to any of the Big Lebowski festivals this summer – voted one of the Best Summer Road Trips for 2008 by FHM and Maxim – get in the spirit by creating your own celebration. First, get the movie ($20), a recipe for White Russians and a rug that really ties the room together – I like the prices of these in the Andy Warhol series. You must have a Dude Abides T-shirt ($15) and take a look at these posters. Meet other Dudists at dudeism.com, which promotes self-help materials: All I Really Need to Know I Learned Watching The Big Lebowski and The Five People You Bowl With in Heaven. To find the best bowling ball for you, read over these reviews. Grab a ball Walter would love, the Purple Pearl, which one reviewer described as “not over aggressive,” or the Ultimate Inferno ($105) , described as the “most forgiving ball I ever owned.” When you are ready to roll, grab this Smiley Faces bowling bag (on sale $17) and be sure to have snake oil ($5 for 4 oz.) on hand. Of course, if you are a true Dude, you will do none of this – am I wrong?

Many people visit Indian restaurants, discover they love food from India, but then have no way to re-create this experience at home. It’s always nice to enjoy a good restaurant meal, but it’s much better to enjoy these complex dishes in your own dining room. Thankfully, there are a host of online resources to help the aspiring cook learn the intricacies of Indian cuisine. The first thing on your shopping list should be some good cookbooks. Pushpa Bhargava’s From Mom With Love – A Complete Guide to Indian Cooking and Entertaining (Amazon, $25) contains recipes and tips for both novices and more experienced chefs. A good companion volume is 5 Spices, 50 Dishes: Simple Indian Recipes Using Five Common Spices, by Ruta Kahate (Amazon, $13.57.) Once you’ve spent some time reading through the cookbooks, you’ll need to order the right spices and sauces, as well as cooking tools specific to Indian cuisine. IshopIndian carries many different groceries, utensils and cookbooks, as well as Indian music, movies, incense and health and beauty items. The IshopIndian’s spices selection is impressive, covering 13 different online pages with selections such as cumin seeds, crystallized ginger, mustard seeds, paprika, sesame seeds, star anise and lemon powder. Beginning cooks should consider buying a chrome roti/chapati press. This six-inch cooking utensil ($22) flattens dough into thin, circular pieces, which are then fried or toasted. IshopIndian sells a gorgeous copper kadai, ($50), a shiny and large curved metal bowl used to cook and serve food. It’s similar to a wok, with a hand-hammered copper interior, and can be set on a dining table to great effect. Kamdar Plaza is another good online store for Indian food products. They have 13 different kinds of chutneys and sauces, for example, as well as a selection of Indian packaged sweets. When you are ready to serve this special meal to your family and friends, you’ll want to decorate the table with some beautiful candles from India. These floating lotus candles ($12) from Ten Thousand Villages can be lit and set in a large crystal bowl full of water for a relaxing centerpiece.