THE LEFT LANE
Small holiday reads

Advertiser Staff and News Services

• "Swell Holiday" by Cynthia Rowley and Ilene Rosenzweig (Atria, $16), style gurus who have written previous "Swell" books in the same retro-breezy vein. This one covers holiday ideas from tasteful regifting to cool homemade gift tags.
• "Holiday Cocktails" by Jessica Strand (Chronicle, $15.95), a Los Angeles Times columnist who offers updated ideas for drinks from the Santa Baby (Chambord, champagne, pomegranate seeds) to Hot Vanilla Cream (a warm vanilla malted).
• "Party Shots" by Mittie Hellmich (Chronicle, $10.95), an entire book on Jell-O shooters with caaa-raaa-zeee illustrations of cut-out kitty characters by Stella Lai. It's a course in — cue the giggles — "Gelanetics" including the arts of "tilt and slide" and "suspended gelmation."
  
  
  

Dog walker deluxe

Annie Lever walks a trail in the Hollywood Hills surrounded by three Labrador retrievers, a golden retriever, a Gordon setter, a pit-bull mix and a Maltese. "Are they all yours?" another hiker wondered. Yes and no.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Lever, 46, is a professional dog walker who earns $150,000 a year.

Granted, most dog walkers don't do as well as Lever, whose clients include show-biz moguls such as Steven Spielberg.

The job has been described as a combination kindergarten teacher, drill instructor and chauffeur.

One dog walker said "It's like being the mother of 10 two-year olds."