Category: The Point
Top Ten Books, Part Two, on The Point
Today we did part two of our top ten favorite books. Bob Waxler, recently retired English professor from U. Mass, Dartmouth, joined Mindy and me for the monthly book show on WCAI’s The Point. Our topic was the second half of our top ten favorite books. As it happened, it was also pledge week at WCAI, which may account for our not having any callers today. However, if you missed the show, you can always listen to it online, in fact even if you DID listen to the show this morning, you will have missed the very end which we had to record after we were off the air. You can always listen online! To read about our first top five books head over to this blog entry.
Jill Erickson, Head of Reference & Adult Services
Bob’s Picks
Middlemarch by George Eliot
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Frankenstein, or, The modern prometheus by Mary Shelley
Night by Elie Wiesel
Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin
Jill’s Picks
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, pictures by Garth Williams
Martha Quest by Doris Lessing
A Writer’s Diary by Virginia Woolf (or read ALL of her diaries!)
Finding Time Again by Marcel Proust. Not currently available in CLAMS, but feel free to read any Proust. Or you could try reading about people reading Proust as seen in the New York Times.
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, drawings by Robert Lawson
And if you want to know other people’s top ten books, try My Ideal Bookshelf with art by Jane Mount and edited by Thessaly La Force. Fascinating lists in part because all sorts of people suggested titles, typeface designers, architects, musicians, filmmakers, athletes, chefs, as well as writers.
Listener Pick
We got an e-mail from a listener after we were off the air. He writes: “I respectfully wish to add a few plays to the must read books mentioned in today’s Point, perhaps Shakespeare’s Othello — and certainly one or two from George Bernard Shaw, perhaps drawn from Pygmalion, Major Barbara, and Mrs. Warren’s Profession. All remain extremely relevant with issues that still speak to us, and the Shaw plays are all exceptional and entertaining reads.
Top Ten Titles on The Point with Mindy Todd
Today we had the pleasure of having Bob Waxler, recently retired English professor from U. Mass, Dartmouth, join Mindy and me for the monthly book show on WCAI’s The Point. The topic was our top ten favorite books, which was indeed a challenge for both Bob and I. Our lists kept shifting until the last moment when we were finally forced into making choices knowing we were going to be live on the air the next morning. As Robert Pinsky says in The Top Ten: we were really talking about the “Ten works of fiction that have been great for me.” Below you will find the list of our top five books, because we ran out of time. However, Bob has agreed to return to Woods Hole for the March show, and do the second half of our lists! Of course, if you listened this morning, you know that our lists are very fluid, and it is possible they will have morphed by March 28th. I’ve also posted all of the listener picks, which will give you enough great reading to take you right through the spring. Miss the show? You can always listen online!
Jill Erickson, Head of Reference & Adult Services
Bob’s Picks
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
The Stranger by Albert Camus
Jill’s Picks
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Lolly Willowes; or the Loving Huntsman by Sylvia Townsend Warner
The Making of Americans: being a history of a family’s progress by Gertrude Stein (If you’re interested in reading about the link between Gertrude Stein and Goodnight Moon, head over to In the Great Green Room.)
Time Will Darken It by William Maxwell (Not only is this a great novel, it also has a great section on house guests, which everyone who lives on Cape Cod should read before the summer hits.)
High Rising by Angela Thirkell (You can read Verlyn Klinkenborg’s New York Times article about this series here.)
Books About Great Books
The Top Ten: writers pick their favorite books edited by J. Peder Zane
Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books edited by Leah Price
Listener Picks
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
Sula by Toni Morrison (and as Bob said, anything written by Toni Morrison)
A Man Called Ove by Frederick Backman
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Herzog by Saul Bellow
Books about Trees on The Point with Mindy Todd
This morning Mindy and Jill were joined by Dennis Minsky, naturalist and a big reader! It is always fun for us when Dennis is able to find time to drive from Provincetown to Woods Hole to join us. We have previously talked with Dennis about nature books, maritime books, whaling books, and bird books. When we are done with the show, our books to read list is always longer than it was before we began, and we hope yours are as well! Dennis and I had both brought so many titles that we didn’t have time for, that we are making an extra long list today of both books we mentioned and books that we did not have time to mention, but are terrific. Miss the show? You can listen online!
I want to particularly thank our caller who suggested I read Trees in a Winter Landscape by Alice Smith, and to let her know that I was able to request a copy of the book from off Cape, so I should be seeing a copy soon! (And thus she won’t have to drive to Falmouth to deliver me a copy, but thanks so much for the offer!)
After we went off the air, I got an e-mail from a listener who wrote:
“I kicked myself for not remembering my decades old theory that looking at the sunset through winter trees was the inspiration for church stained glass.” What a grand theory!
Dennis’s Picks
“Lost” a poem by David Wagoner
The Hidden Life of Trees: what they feel, how they communicate: discoveries from a secret world by Peter Wohlleben
Thoreau and the Language of Trees by Richard Higgins
Essays: a fully annotated edition by Henry David Thoreau, specifically the essays: “Wild Apples,” “Walking,” “Autumnal Tints” and “The Succession of Forest Trees”
At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Barkskins, a novel by Annie Proulx
American Canopy: trees, forests, and the making of a nation by Erick Rutkow
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
Cape Cod Shore Whaling: America’s first whalemen by John Braginton-Smith and Duncan Oliver
Not Enough Time For:
Remarkable Trees Of The World by Thomas Parkenham
Trees, Woodlands, and Western Civilization by Richard Hayman
A Natural History Of Trees by Donald Culross Peattie
Jill’s Picks
Winter Trees by William Carlos Williams (and you can find lots more W.C. Williams in his Collected Poems!)
The Long, Long Life of Trees by Fiona Stafford
From the Forest: a search for the hidden roots of our fairy tales by Sara Maitland
Nature Writings by John Muir (Particularly his essay The American Forests.)
Trees by W. S. Merwin (and lots more tree poems can be found in Collected Poems, 1952-1993.) You also need to watch Even Though the Whole World is Burning, a documentary on W. S. Merwin and the trees he is trying to save.
The Tree by John Fowles
Novels in which trees play a role:
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (and notice the tree on the book jacket!)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
East of Eden by John Steinbeck (as suggested by Brian Engles)
Wishtree by Katherine Applegate (as suggested by Brian Engles)
And, of course, Shakespeare!
Not enough time for:
The Book of Trees: visualizing branches of knowledge by Manuel Lima
Arboreal: a collection of new woodland writing edited by Adrian Cooper (Includes essays, photos, and stories by, among others Andy Goldworthy, Ali Smith, Philip Hoare, and Germaine Greer.)
Oak: the frame of civilization by William Bryant Logan
Be in a Treehouse by Pete Nelson (Includes the Hidden Hollow Treehouse at the Heritage Museum & Gardens in Sandwich)
The Songs of Trees: stories from nature’s great connectors by David George Haskell
Maple on Tap: making your own maple syrup by Rich Finzer
Picture Books
Sugaring Time by Kathryn Lasky with photographs by Christopher G. Knight
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Poetrees by Douglas Florian
The Tree Lady by H. Joseph Hopkins, illustrated by Jill McElmurry
Patron Suggestions
American Canopy: trees, forests and the making of a nation by Eric Rutlow
Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wolfe
The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wolfe
Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
Trees in a Winter Landscape by Alice Smith
Books to Make You Laugh on The Point
This morning on The Point with Mindy Todd we discussed books that make us laugh. Joining Mindy were Jill Erickson, Head of Reference and Adult Services at FPL and Vicky Titcomb of Titcomb’s Bookshop in East Sandwich. We hope you’ll now be able to start your new year with a chuckle! Below are our lists, as well as listener picks.
Mindy’s Picks
Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: understanding philosophy through jokes by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein
Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington: understanding political doublespeak through philosophy and jokes by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein
Craig Kingsbury Talkin’ by Kristen Kingsbury Henshaw
Vicky’s Picks
Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
One Man’s Meat by E. B. White
Theft by Finding Diaries 1977-2002 by David Sedaris
The Inevitable Guest by Marcia Monbleau
Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance by Bill McKibben
Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches by John Hodgman
Empire Falls, Nobody’s Fool, Everybody’s Fool and The Straight Man by Richard Russo
Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
The Tao of Martha: my year of living; or, why I’m never getting all that glitter off of the dog by Jen Lancaster
Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding
Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Jill’s Picks
The Complete Peanuts 1950 – 1952 by Charles M. Schulz
The Complete Peanuts 1963 – 1964 by Charles M. Schulz
The Awdrey-Gore Legacy by Edward Gorey (Also available in the Gorey collection Amphigorey Also.)
Home Cooking: a writer in the kitchen by Laurie Colwin
Lunatics by Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel
The Annotated Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer
Joy in the Morning by P. G. Wodehouse
Vacationland: true stories from painful beaches by John Hodgman
The 50 Funniest American Writers edited by Andy Borowitz
Listener Picks
How Not to Do Things by Susan Blood
Himself by Jess Kidd
I’m a Stranger Here Myself and A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Holiday Books on the Point
Today’s show was pre-recorded, due to the WCAI pledge drive, which means that the morning show was abbreviated, but the 7:00 PM show will be the complete show. So if you see books on this list that you didn’t actually hear about when you were listening, that would be the reason! You can also listen online at WCAI. Vicky Titcomb of Titcomb’s Bookshop joined Mindy Todd and Jill Erickson to talk about books to give and books that inspire you to make, bake, and decorate for the holidays.
Here is the Harry Potter quotation, read on the show, from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling:
“Sir — Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?”
“Obviously, you’ve just done so,” Dumbledore smiled. “You may ask me one more thing, however,”
“What do you see when you look in the mirror?”
I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks.”
Harry stared.
“One can never have enough socks,” said Dumbledore. “Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.”
And here is a link to the poem Ode to My Socks by Pablo Neruda.
And here is the recipe for snow filling for cake, as written in the Girls Friendly Cook Book:
“Scrape 1 apple in a large bowl, add 1 cup sugar; pour over the unbeaten whites of 2 eggs; then beat about twenty minutes. At first it looks brown, but when done it will be like snow. This may be used for cake or for coffee jelly.”
Vicky’s Picks
Beautiful Gift Books
Annie Leibovitz: Portraits 2005-2016
Obama: An Intimate Portrait by Pete Souza
The Message of the Birds by Kate Westerlund (picture book with the true Christmas story)
Gratitude: A Book of Inspirational Thoughts & Quotes by Susan Branch
For the History Buff
The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism by John U. Bacon. Boston Red Cross and the Massachusetts Public Safety Committee provided immediately after the Halifax Explosion of 1917
The Mayflower: The Families, The Voyage, and the Founding of America by Rebecca Fraser. Winslow family
Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
For the Nature Lover
The Outer Beach: A Thousand Mile Walk on Cape Cod’s Atlantic Shore by Robert Finch.
365 Cape Cod Ponds Day by Day by Susan Anarino
Where the Animals Go: Tracking Wildlife with Technology in 50 Maps and Graphics by James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti
For the Adventurous
Ruthless River: Love & Survival by Raft on the Amazon’s Relentless Madre de Dios by Holly Fitzgerald
For the Cook
The Lost Kitchen: Recipes and a Good Life Found in Freedom, Maine by Erin French
America the Cookbook: A Culinary Road Trip Through the 50 States by Gabrielle Langholtz
For the Music Lover
The Greatest Album Covers of All Time by Barry Miles, Grant Scott and Johnny Morgan
For the Sports Lover
For the Boater
Unsinkable: The History of Boston Whaler by Matthew Plunkett
Books to Inspire
Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver
God: 48 Famous and Fascinating Minds Talk about God compiled by Jennifer Berne
The Little Book of Mindfulness: 10 Minutes a Day to Less Stress, More Peace by Patrizia Collard
Just for Fun
Shakespeare Box Set (Running Press Miniature Books)
Novels
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward. National Book Award for Fiction 2017
For Children
Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk (Ages 10+)
Max and Charlie Help a Hero: Never Too Young to Give Back by Kim Rodriques and K. M. Ginter (ages 6 and up)
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser (Ages 9-12) – A Christmas story
Harry Potter Pensieve Memory Set – a journal for any Harry Potter fan!
Picture Books for Children
The Mermaid by Jan Brett
Jill’s Picks
Bookshops: a reader’s history by Jorge Carrión
Unpacking My Library: artists and their books edited by Jo Steffens and Matthias Neumann
The New Christmas Tree by Carrie Brown
Before Morning by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes (The image on this page is from this book.)
Christmas for Greta and Gracie by Yasmeen Ismail
Novel Destinations: a travel guide to literary landmarks from Jane Austen’s Bath to Ernest Hemingway’s Key West by Shannon McKenna Schmidt & Joni Rendon
The Usual Santas: a collection of Soho Crime Christmas capers
The Cape Cod Cook Book by Suzanne Cary Gruver
A Family Christmas selected and introduced by Caroline Kennedy
Patron Suggestion:
The Work of Christmas: the twelve days of Christmas with Howard Thurman by Bruce Epperly
Lost in Translation
Today’s book radio show on The Point with Mindy Todd was all about books that have been translated, primarily translated into English, as well as the challenges for translators of translating one language into another language. Joining Jill Erickson and Mindy was author Peter Abrahams. Below you will find a list of books mentioned, and if you missed the show you can listen online anytime!
Peter’s Picks
The Trial by Franz Kafka, translated from the German by Willa and Edwin Muir
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated from the Russian by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, translated the French by Jacques Le Clercq
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, translated from the Russian by H. T. Willetts
The Original Folk & Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: the complete first edition, translated from the German by Jack Zipes
Holy Bible, the King James Version
Jill’s Picks
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, translated from the French originally by Katherine Woods and in 2000 translated by Richard Howard
Is That a Fish in Your Ear: translation and the meaning of everything by David Bellos
Collected Poems by C. P. Cavafy, translated by Daniel Mendelsohn in 2009 and by Edmund Kellery & Philip Sherrard in 1975.
December Heat By Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza, translated from the Portuguese by Benjamin Moser. Part of the Inspector Espinosa series.
In Translation: translators on their work and what it means, edited by Esther Allen and Susan Bernofsky
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust, translated from the French by Lydia Davis
Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector, translated from Portuguese by Alison Entrekin. Also try The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector, translated by Katrina Dodson and Why This World: a biography of Clarice Lispector by Benjamin Moser. That’s the cover from Lispector’s complete stories that illustrates this blog.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, translated from the Russian by Constance Garnett or Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky or Rosamund Bartlett or Marian Schwartz. Article about the Anna Karenina translations can be found in The New York Times, written by Masha Gessen.
Bonus book, for which there was no time, but is well worth reading if you are interested in a short book on translation. Why Translation Matters by Edith Grossman. (Includes a list of the author’s picks of important translations.)
Young Adult & Children’s Books on The Point
Joining Mindy today on The Point’s monthly show on books were Sara Hines of Eight Cousins Books and Mary E. Cronin. The topic was books for children and young adults, and below you will find a list of books that were mentioned, as well as listener picks. We know we discovered lots of new titles we want to read! Miss the show? You’ll be able to listen online!
Jill Erickson, Head of Reference and Adult Services at FPL, took this month off from the book show, but will return next month with Peter Abrahams who will be joining Mindy and Jill to discuss books in translation.
MINDY’S PICKS
Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Dusky Rinker and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
I am Gandhi (Ordinary People Change the World) by Brad Meltzer
Martin Sandler books
Journey by Aaron Becker
The Little Sock Pirate by John Whelan; illustrations by Clara Urbahn
SARA’s PICKS
Brick by Brick by Giuliano Ferri
A Hat for Mrs. Goldman: a story about knitting and love by Michelle Edwards; illustrated by G. Brian Karas
The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade by Justin Robert; illustrated by Christian Robinson
The Pants Project by Cat Clarke
Cilla Lee-Jenkins: future author extraordinaire by Susan Tan; illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte
My Beautiful Birds by Suzanne Del Rizzo
The Journey by Francesca Sanna
Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson
Diversity in Children’s Books 2015 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Saints and Misfits by S. K. Ali
Patina Jason Reynolds
Long Way Down (book in verse) due out in October
MARY’S PICKS
Parrots over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore
River Friendly, River Wild by Jane Kurtz and Neil Brennan
Flood by Alvaro F. Villa
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
Posted by John David Anderson
This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman
Sparkle Boy by Leslea Newman
Doing Her Bit: a story about the Woman’s Land Army of America by Erin Hagar; illustrated by Jen Hill
American Street by Ibi Zoboi
Fred Korematsu Speaks Up by Laura Atkins and Stann Yogi; illustrations by Yutaka Houlette
The Reading Without Walls Challenge
The Nantucket Sea Monster: a fake news story by Darcy Pattison
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown
A Psalm for Lost Girls by Katie Bayerl
LISTENER PICKS
The Cookie Loved ‘Round the World: the story of the chocolate chip cookie by Kathleen Teahan
One by Kathryn Otoshi
Big Hair Don’t Care by Crystal Swain-Bates and Megan Bair
Hippos Go Berserk by Sandra Boynton
Mad Scientists Club by Bertrand R. Brinley
Shadow Man by Melissa Scott
Windows and Mirrors
Stephanie Seales, a library staff member who works both in the Children’s Room at the Main Library and at the North Branch, (and in her spare time is a book critic in the Young Readers division for Kirkus!) was recently on the radio:
“I was recently privileged to be featured on NPR station WCAI’s The Point for a short segment on children’s books (you’ll find me around the 25:00 minute mark). I shared a few new, quality titles that feature racially and ethnically diverse protagonists. When children and teens read books that serve as both windows & mirrors, they increase their capacity for empathy and expand their worldview. The following titles are the ones I highlighted on The Point and have appeal to a broad audience:
PICTURE BOOKS (roughly ages 3-8)
One Word from Sophia illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail and written by Jim Averbeck
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music, illustrated by Rafael López and written by Margarita Engle (sadly, didn’t make it onto the show)
MIDDLE GRADE (roughly ages 8-12)
Ghost by Jason Reynolds
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
GRAPHIC NOVELS (all ages)
Princeless, written by Jeremy Whitley and illustrated by M. Goodwin & Jules Rivera
Moon Girl and the Devil Dinosaur, Volume I: BFF by Amy Reeder, Brandon Montclare, and Natacha Bustos
Young Adult (roughly ages 14 & up)
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson (sadly, also didn’t make it onto the show)”
Books About Ephemera on The Point
Mindy and Jill were delighted to be joined today by Ken Gloss of the Brattle Book Shop located in Boston. Ken arrived with piles of ephemera, and below you will find the books that Jill mentioned, with a few bonus titles. If you are interested in local postcards, check out our digital Robert C. Hunt Postcard Collection, and for menus drop by the New York Public Library Lab’s historical menu collection! Miss the show? You can listen online!
Encyclopedia of Ephemera: a guide to the fragmentary documents of everyday life for teh collector, curator, and historian by Maurice Rickards
Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewlery by Leanne Shapton
Swimming Studies by Leanne Shapton
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: a novel in pictures by Caroline Preston
S. by J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst
Richard Nickel: Dangerous Years: What He Saw and What He Wrote by Richard Cahan & Michael Williams
Scrapbooks: an American history by Jessica Helfand
No Time For ..
The Postcard Age: selections from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection by Lynda Klich and Benjamin Weiss
Urgent 2nd Class: creating curious collage, dubious documents, and other art from ephemera by Nick Bantock
Vintage Ephemera from the collection of Cavallini & Co. by Brian D. Coleman