Curling up by the hearth with a good read is a holiday tradition worth carrying on and passing along. It helps if there are inviting, brightly wrapped books beneath the Christmas tree or by the Hanukkah menorah that the receivers (and maybe the giver, too) are eager to get lost in.

This season offers a strong selection of book gifts for aficionados of movies, dance, theater, music and all things showbiz. Whether you load them onto a Nook, iPad or Kindle, or extend the pleasures of real ink on crisp paper, there's something new here for the culture-vultures on your list. Our top picks:

For near and dear who can't quite grasp that the Harry Potter movie series has come to an end, the definitive "Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey" (Harper Design, $75) can help ease the pain.

This lavishly illustrated, 500-page coffee-table tome, written by Bob McCabe, recounts in detail the making of each of the eight movies based on J.K. Rowling's best-selling novels about the young wizard, with character-by-character and sequel-by-sequel analysis.

Moreover, the book explores the splendid work of the brilliant artists and designers who conjured Harry's saga for the big screen.

There are scores of eye-popping costume and set drawings and paintings to peruse here, and attention is paid to every beautifully crafted prop, creature and special effect — from the moving staircases of Hogwarts castle and fire-belching dragons, to the stock of plain and fancy wands for spell-casting.

A tall stack of new memoirs and biographies offers more earthbound gift ideas, including books chronicling several remarkable women in cinema.

Diane Keaton's "Then Again" (Random House, $26) is, as you might expect from this cherished Hollywood misfit, an unconventional self-portrait.

Actually, it is a dual portrait: of Keaton the Oscar-winning actress (for "Annie Hall"), whose intelligence, authenticity and kooky candor shine through on every page, and of her beloved late mother, Dorothy Hall, whose poignant personal journal entries crisscross Keaton's reminiscences.

There's enough dish here on Keaton's romances with fellow stars (Woody Allen, Warren Beattie, Al Pacino) to satisfy gossipy curiosity. But Keaton also digs deep to ponder and contrast two distinct generations of American women — their differing options, choices, temperaments and the family ties that bound them.

Jane Fonda came out with her autobiography in 2006. Whether you've read that revealing best-seller or not, Patricia Bosworth's first-rate "Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $30) offers a more detailed, objective account of Fonda's vividly eventful life thus far.

Bosworth spoke with dozens of Fonda's colleagues and intimates, and scrupulously researched the actress's dramatic public/private transformations from troubled daughter of a mentally ill mother and a movie-megastar dad (Henry Fonda) into a glamorous starlet, an acclaimed actress, a dedicated (and reviled) anti-Vietnam War activist, an exercise guru, the restless wife of three difficult men (including media mogul Ted Turner) and, lately, a vibrant woman in her 70s returning to acting and the public eye. (Her recent TV interview with Piers Morgan was characteristically quote-worthy and outspoken).

In Bosworth's riveting account, Fonda emerges as a contradictory wonder who both exemplifies and transcends her time, a gutsy "movie star activist who has played every archetypal female onstage and off — and continues to do so."

Übercritic of film Pauline Kael often sang the praises of Fonda as an actress. And as the new biography "Pauline Kael: A Life in the Dark" (Viking Adult, $27.95) by Brian Kellow attests, these two powerhouse women had some key things in common.

Kael also defied convention, marched to her own beat and by dint of talent and audacity, seared herself into the zeitgeist.

Kael's razor-sharp intellect, passion for movies and lack of sentimentality were apparent from her early youth. The daughter of a Jewish chicken farmer, the brainy native Californian was ambitious in a tough, male-dominated field — while also being a single mother.

It was her passion for films, expressed so vibrantly and insightfully it made most other cinema criticism seem anemic, that eventually won her a vaunted perch at The New Yorker.

She was, from the late '60s through the '80s, the movie critic to read, to quote, to argue with. She encouraged the early genius of such young directors as Coppola and Scorsese, gushed over some forgettable movies and trashed some others worthy of praise. She could be a ferocious opponent as well as a convivial friend. (I once interviewed her, and she was charming company.)

Kellow's book thoroughly tracks Kael's career and influence on a subsequent wave of reviewers (dubbed the "Paulettes"). He enlivens his account with comments from many fans and foes, and wisely, frequently quotes his subject's invigorating prose — still well worth a read, and an argument.

Animal lovers and pop-culture addicts alike may tuck into Susan Orlean's new book "Rin Tin Tin: The Life and Legend" (Simon & Schuster, $26.99) with delight.

Spurred by her fond childhood memories of the German shepherd celebrity, Orlean delves into the legend and lore of one of the first superstar canines.

In essence, it's a double romance she charts — between a dedicated fellow named Lee Duncan and the dog dynasty he cultivated in Hollywood, and between America and its abiding love for a furry hero.

The first Rin Tin Tin was a puppy rescued by Lee, then a soldier, from a bombed-out building in World War I France. Lee brought him home to California and encouraged the attractive dog's athletic talents (the ability to jump 12 feet) to get him gigs in silent films.

Due to Lee's obsessive devotion, Rinty and his offspring would go on to star in many silent and talkie films, as well as his own radio show (arf!) and the hit 1950s TV series, "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin."

With her usual flair, personal investment and attention to detail, Orlean turns what could have been a niche book into a marvelous page-turner about a creature who "was one dog and many dogs, a real animal and an invented character, a pet as well as an international celebrity. He was born in 1918 and never died."

Others worth considering

"Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: My Life in Music" (Crown Archetype, $26), Judy Collins' graceful, frank account of her musical and romantic life, and her major travails with alcoholism. The title refers to "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," the Crosby, Stills and Nash hit penned in her honor by former lover Stephen Stills.

"Apollo's Angels" (Random House, $20), the new paperback edition of an astute, thorough and revelatory history of ballet dancing, by Jennifer Homans.

"Tallulah's Tutus" (Clarion Books, $16.99), Marilyn Singer's thoughtful storybook about an aspiring but impatient little ballerina; for ages 4 and up.

"Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" (Crown Archetype, $25), an amusingly bright, slight stocking-stuffer for your favorite bachelorette by Mindy Kaling, a comic writer-actress on TV's "The Office," with sardonic/neurotic ruminations on being a deeply self-deprecating, constantly dieting and very amusing singleton.

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com