You can find out how and where...

You can find out how and where to get a taste of tree- or vine-ripened produce and nuts in “Farm Tours of Northern California.� It’s a fun guide with good pickings from more than 500 farms, ranches and orchards. The guide also lists places where you can buy the stuff freshly picked, and where to cut your own Christmas tree. Be forewarned: Many places tempt you with homemade pies, jellies and candies (Indian Chief: $5.50).

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A super guide for skiers is “The Greatest Ski Resorts in America� by Robert E. Weber. It’s among the best available on how to get there, accommodations and day care, medical facilities and places to eat. Four-color maps detail runs for the hot dogs or the pole draggers. Information and observations were compiled from firsthand experiences (Guidebook Publishing: $14.95).

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“Born to Shop--The Caribbean,� by Suzy Gershman and Judith Thomas, details where and how to get name brands, designer fashions, crystal and China, watches and many other bargains. Besides shipboard romances, pina coladas and getting drenched with sun, you can save as much as 25% to 50% off U.S. prices. It’s a comprehensive reference to getting the most for your money (Bantam: $7.95).

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If you have ever driven past an unusual earth formation and wondered about the worm trails, fossils, sediments, et al., that they may contain, “Pages of Stone� by Halka Chronic will answer most of your questions. Presented in an easy-to-understand series for “The Rocky Mountains and Western Great Plains,� “The Sierra Nevada, Cascades and Pacific Coast� and “The Grand Canyon and the Plateau County.� Photos and diagrams illustrate the text (Mountaineers: $14.95 each).

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Don Phillpot details more than 3,500 vineyards in 14 wine-producing areas open to the public in “Vineyards of France.� Many of the more than 700 places to dine will let you in on the preparation of the local cuisine. Places to stay and points of historic note are adequately covered. Description of wine, people and climate exceptional (Globe Pequot: $14.95).

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The “Permanent New Yorkers--A Biographical Guide to Cemeteries of New York� does more than just direct you through sepulchral surroundings. Instead, Judi Culbertson and Tom Randall describe many monuments sculptured by masters in beautiful settings. They have selected more than 350 who were famous, noteworthy or newsworthy, and offer revealing details of their lives. Has 112 photos, and 12 maps will put you on track (Chelsea Green: $16.95).

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“Backroads, USA� is a personal observation of T. J. Glennon’s bed and breakfast experiences. His descriptions are written in a charming fashion. For example, you can almost smell the hot apple pie as he presents a selection of offerings in the Middle Atlantic states. If you’re into creative clutter, handmade quilts and four-poster beds, pull up a chair on the front porch of the happy house where you choose to stay. (MacMillan/Collier: $10.95).

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Many of the B&B; guides on the market are bland, computer-style readouts. The following guides however, are not in that class. They offer a good compilation of in-depth information: “Bed & Breakfast in California� by Kathy Strong (Globe Pequot: $9.95); “Bed & Breakfast California--A Selective Guide� by Linda Kay Bristow (Chronicle: $9.95); “Best Places to stay in New England� by Christina Tree and Bruce Shaw (Harvard Common Press: $14.95); “Country Hotels and Inns of France--1988� (American International Distribution Corp.: $10.95); “Pacific Northwest--Best Places to Stay� by Marilyn MacFarlane (Harvard Common Press: $14.95), and “Country Inns and Back Roads� by Norman T. Simpson (Berkshire: $10.95).