Sooner or later each of us is tasked with escorting visitors around Los Angeles. No matter if these visitors are adventurous or timid or whether they are here on business, representing their government or simply families on vacation,  when I ask, “What would you like to see?” the unvarying response is “Hollywood.” I have, hopefully, learned to mask my lack of enthusiasm.

In reality, it is the area that surrounds the intersection of Highland Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard that I am most averse to.

In this abbreviated, holiday issue I offer some Internet sites unrelated to your daily work but sites that you and your family may find useful outside the office.

While almost all L.A. points of interest have their own website and often send regular newsletters, the sites I have listed offer a broader picture of where to go, what to do and the history of Los Angeles. The sites are not listed in order of preference.

What is the best way to introduce Los Angeles to a visitor?

Statistics don’t work. References to 10 million people; 200+ languages; 4,752 square miles; 300+ live theaters; 40+ universities, etc., etc., etc. result in blurred eyes and a listener who doesn’t hear – rather like a pubescent teenager presented with a list of household chores.

In place of statistics, I follow the old adage, “Use a picture. It’s worth a thousand words.”  Instead of drilling visitors with numbers I take them to the place Sir Richard Branson of Virgin fame identified as “an L.A. must-do.” We go for a walk in Runyon Canyon Park.

Los Angeles is the subject of countless books, nonfiction, and fiction. I have read a minuscule number of these books. From those few I am now selecting a small sample for your consideration. These are books I have found helpful in furthering my knowledge and appreciation of Los Angeles. Perhaps they will do the same for you. In the interest of brevity, many significant works have been omitted, including works by Mike Davis and Kevin Starr. Nonetheless, perhaps there is something in this compilation that will pique your interest.

What is the ONE thing you would recommend that a first time visitor to Los Angeles see/do? Last month I emailed this question to some friends who are familiar with Los Angeles. I also posted this question on my Facebook page and on Gogobot, a popular travel website.

The responses were many. So were the recommendations.  Of sixty-one different recommendations, the most popular, but with only nine votes, was the Getty Center. Seven people suggested Venice. In third place, with five recommendations, was the Huntington Library, Art Collection and Gardens. Four people favored the Getty Villa.