"My favorite spot in Boston is the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Part of my new novel, Run, takes places in the ichthyology lab, but even if dead fish aren't your thing, you'll be dazzled by the handblown glass-flower collection. Starting in 1886, father-and-son team Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka spent their lives making 4,200 perfect glass replicas of more than 800 plant species for the university, from single blooms to intricate bouquets." —Ann Patchett

Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass., 617/495-3045, hmnh.harvard.edu, $9.

Ann Patchett (Melissa Ann Pinney/courtesy HarperCollins) [enlarge photo]

You can purchase Run, the latest novel by Ann Patchett (who wrote the best-seller Bel Canto) through amazon.com or at your local bookstore.