It seems like everyone I know is visiting Italy this year, and my envy has been spiking off the charts. There is nothing I enjoy more than a vacation filled with breathtaking scenery, fascinating art and architecture, exquisite dining, and--most importantly--strong, smooth coffee. But until I pull a trip together myself, there's plenty of Italian life to appreciate in books. Villa Coco, for instance, is an eclectic romp through the Tuscan landscape by no less than the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedic novelist Andrew Sean Greer. Or, for a bit of history, there's The Lost Voices of Pompeii, Jess Venner's investigation into Pompeiian culture leading up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Armchair travel will have to tide me over for the time being, but I can't think of better company while I wait.