Sarah Vowell’s Favorite Five

She’s an on-air chronicler of American lives, a former Incredible (the voice behind Violet’s bangs) and the author of The Wordy Shipmates, out this month, which finds the quirk in America’s Puritan heritage. Here’s what’s on Vowell’s short list this fall.

C-SPAN On the first morning of the Democratic National Convention, all the cable-news outfits were yakking about what Hillary Clinton might say–except one. On C-SPAN? Empty chairs on a silent stage. It was waiting for someone to show up and actually say something. This was the only channel on which a citizen could watch all the convention speeches. Plus, it airs Prime Minister’s Questions, my all-time-favorite sitcom. (No offense, Larry David.)

The Exiles Kent Mackenzie’s recently unearthed film from 1961, which follows former reservation Indians around Los Angeles for a night, is unforgettable. The characters are lost and lonesome but photographed with all the nocturnal allure of a Chet Baker song.

The Gamble House Pasadena, Calif., architects Charles and Henry Greene’s hymn to woodwork celebrates its centennial this year. The warmth of the place is comforting, but the craftsmanship of the carpentry makes me want to be a better person.

Religulous Bill Maher’s whirlwind of a documentary is deeply felt, rigorous, outraged and the good kind of smart-alecky.

Canada I went to a talk that writer Ian Frazier gave about Siberia, and he said every American has another country, and for him it’s Russia. I just remember thinking, Crap–mine’s Canada.