COMPILED BY DANA BLACK | PLUS: LOCAL CDs | BOOK REVIEWS

Good Cushion
Go West with accents from Double D Ranch. The leather cowboy pillow, complete with fringe ($358), coordinates nicely with the crushed-velvet pillow accented with silver studs and crosses inlaid with turquoise ($142). Hot Haute Hot, 2124 Penn Ave. at 22nd Street, Strip District, 412/338-2323, www.hothautehot.com

Good Game
Forest Hills artist Burton Morris has teamed with the Carrom company to create a "Pop Art Series" of game tables, which include "Glory," air-powered hockey; "Striker," foosball table; and "Power Forward" stick hockey ($995-$1,295), all featuring Morris' art on the play surfaces. The limited-edition series comprises only 2,500 tables, with 250 of each type signed by Morris. West Penn Billiards: 3221 Babcock Blvd., Ross, 412/366-1699; 4950 William Penn Highway, Murrysville, 724/325-7555; 2520 Washington Road, North Strabane, 724/743-3720; www.westpennbilliards.com or www.carrom.com

Good Bag
It may look like a cigar box, but it's actually a purse ($95-$145) by Fox Chapel artist Pat Miller, outfitted with a cord strap and accented with a subtly sparkly beaded tassel. Patricia Boutique, 115 Center Ave., Aspinwall, 412/799-0819.

Rye Wit
Best-known for his work with the unconventional Bluegrass on Rye, Paul Hannan shows a different side with his first solo CD, "Pedal Hard" (Orange Cat Records). Hannan moves from manic mandolinist to sensitive singer-songwriter with ease on Pedal Hard -- 12 tracks, he wryly notes, about "every girl I've ever known." Produced by Dave Brown, the CD opens with three mega-produced tracks but really settles in with track 4, "Lay Down Your Heart," and catches fire with track 5, "Pedal Hard." This is Hannan's first foray into songwriting and is a natural with witty lyrics and catchy hooks. He makes it look easy. [Philip Harris]

Testifying
Recorded live at the Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis over an April weekend earlier this year, Sworn Testimony: The Billy Price Band (Green Dolphin) is a two disc, 2 1/2-hour tour de force by R & B vocalist-extraordinaire Price and his band. You might think that an ensemble featuring H.B. Bennett (drums), Lenny Smith (guitar), Willy Franklin (bass) and John "the Junk Man" Burgh on keys would be enough, but add an unbelievably tight horn section featuring Eric DeFade (tenor sax), Matt Ferraro (tenor and baritone sax) and Joe Herndon on trumpet, and you have enough firepower not only to take you to the river but to part the water as well. This collection of classics is for fans and newbies alike. You can also catch Billy Price on WQED's Live From Studio A on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 10 p.m. (also Oct. 20, 5 p.m.; Oct. 25, 1 a.m.; Oct. 27, 5 p.m.) [Philip Harris]

Two for One
Louis Fineberg's 3 Rivers on 2 Wheels ($13, Mon Quixote Press, spiralbound) provides an intimate guide to Pittsburgh neighborhoods as well as invaluable advice for cyclists. For the urban explorer, there are asides on public
staircases, a restaurant in a building that has been standing since 1752, and the site at which two of the first planets outside the solar system were found. Cyclists will appreciate the 10 tour routes for a range of rider abilities, construction advisories, information on trail access points, and a heads-up on expansion joint and pavement conditions on local bridges. Extras include local history in brief, safety tips, listings for local cycling advocates and events, and a Top 10 list, with percentages, of the steepest grades in town. [Tom Clinton]

Good Gordie
Gordie Barr is back double-time to talk about those Big Things that happen in third grade -- you know, Halloween parades, talent shows, new kids in school. Colleen O'Shaughnessy McKenna, the prolific O'Hara children's-book author, brings us more tidbits in Third Grade Ghouls and Doggone Third Grade ($15.95 each, Holiday House, hardback). In Ghouls, Gordie struggles to come up with a costume that will scare, or at least get respect from, Lumpy Labriola. Still, he doesn't want to scare little Timmy, who threw up on his teacher last year when he got spooked. Life also gets tricky to navigate in Doggone, with Gordie's trying to train his dog, Scratch, to do something for the
talent show. Meanwhile, Gordie's best friend, Lamont, isn't acting like a best friend now that he's hit it off with the new kid in school. McKenna, as always, has captured the little ups and downs of childhood. [Roberta Mintz Levine]

Murder With Style
My definition of escapism is "well-dressed, well-spoken people misbehaving." Throw in a fast-paced whodunnit, and you have a perfect page-turner, How to Murder a Millionaire ($6.50, Signet Mystery, paper) by Nancy Martin. The Highland Park romance writer has turned her talents to creating a Philadelphia former debutante who dresses in Grandmama's couture classics to cover Society events and uncover a Society murder while dealing with her parents' delinquent tax bill, her eccentric sisters, and an Italian stallion who is as gallant as he is studly. Grab your cozy slippers and another hot chocolate. [Michelle Pilecki]