Just a heads up that while our usual slot for discussing books on The Point with Mindy Todd is the last Wednesday of every month at 9:00 AM (repeated at 7:00 PM) on WCAI, 90.1 FM, next week we will be broadcast on THURSDAY, December 26th at 9:00 AM. We actually recorded the show this morning, so there will be no phone calls next week, but feel free to let us know in the comments what your favorite book of 2013 was, or send an e-mail to info@falmouthpubliclibrary.org, and we’ll share all the titles we receive.

Next weeks show will be about the books Mndy, Melanie, and I most enjoyed reading in 2013, fiction, non-fiction, and even a couple of reference books!

Mindy, Melanie, and I discussed Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas books this morning on The Point. If you missed it, you can listen at 7:00 PM tonight (WCAI, 90.1 FM) or online anytime! If you want to see what my sixth grade mouse looks like, which is now a Christmas ornament, WCAI has posted a photo on their Facebook page!  A Katharine Lee Bates Christmas poems update … her book Fairy Gold includes five Christmas poems. We have a copy of the book in our Katharine Lee Bates collection, or you can read it online here.

Melanie’s Picks

The Dogs of Christmas: A Novel by W. Bruce Cameron

A Nantucket Christmas by Nancy Thayer

A Yuletide Treasury of Poems, Carols and Songs edited by Sarah Anne Stuart

The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas by Ann Voskamp

The Eighth Menorah by Lauren L. Wohl

Santa is Coming to Cape Cod by Steve Smallman

Christmas from Heaven: The True Story of the Berlin Candy Bomber by Tom Brokaw

Scandinavian Christmas Stockings by Mette Handberg

The Night Before Christmas in Crochet by Mitsuki Hoshi

The Good Housekeeping Christmas Cookbook

The Great American Chocolate Chip Cookie Book by Carolyn Wyman

Jill’s Picks

More Home Cooking: a writer returns to the kitchen by Laurie Colwin. Particularly chapters: “Turkey Angst” and “All the Trimmings.”

Thanksgiving: how to cook it well by Sam Sifton

The New Jewish Table by Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray

Heart-Felt Holidays: 40 festive felt projects to celebrate the seasons by Kathy Sheldon & Amanda Carestio

Cake Pops: Holidays by Bakerella

100 Best Decorated Cookies by Julie Anne Hession

75 Seashells, Fish, Coral & Colorful Marine Life to Knit & Crochet by Jessica Polka

If It’s Snowy and You Know It, Clap Your Paws! By Kim Norman, Illustrated by Liza Woodruff

Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman

Christmas with the First Ladies: the White House decorating tradition from Jacqueline Kennedy to Michelle Obama by Coleen Christian Burke

Country Living Deck the Halls: Christmas note-cards, labels, ornaments, and other festive & fun projects edited by Katy McColl

The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler

This morning on The Point with Mindy Todd we were discussing books on war. Thanks to so many of you who called or e-mailed us with your listener suggestions!

Mindy’s Picks

Bunker Hill: a city a siege, a revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick

Mayflower: a story of courage, community, and war by Nathaniel Philbrick

The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of Little Bighorn by Nathaniel Philbrick

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

War by Sebastian Junger

Listener Picks

Six Frigates: the epic history of the founding of the U. S. Navy by Ian W. Toll

The Last of the Doughboys: the forgotten generation and their forgotten World War by Richard Rubin

The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Back to the Front: an accidental historian walks the trenches of World War I by Stephen O’Shea

Laurie Lee Triology:

Cider With Rosie

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning

A Moment of War: a memoir of the Spanish Civil War

Jill’s Picks

The Invasion From Mars: a study in the psychology of panic by Hadley Cantril

Moment of Battle: the twenty clashes that changed the world by James Lacey and Williamson Murray

Agent Garbo: the brilliant, eccentric secret agent who tricked Hitler and saved D-Day by Stephan Talty

Nostalgia by Dennis McFarland

Johnny Tremain: a novel for old & young by Esther Forbes

Cry Out: poets protest the war

Three Guineas by Virginia Woolf

Children’s Books

Aliens Are Coming!: the true account of the 1938 war of the worlds radio broadcast By Meghan Mccarthy

Henry and the Cannons: and extraordinary true story of the American Revolution by Don Brown

Dogs on Duty: soldiers’ best friends on the battlefield and beyond by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

Why War is Never a Good Idea by Alice Walker, illustrated by Stefano Vitale

Melanie’s Picks

Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War by Max Hastings

What If? The World’s Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been edited by Robert Cowley

July 1914: Countdown to War by Sean McMeekin

Straight and True: A Select History of the Arrow by Hugh D.H. Soar

The Amazing Weapons That Never Were by Gregory Benford

The Civil War for Kids: A History with 21 Activities by Janis Herbert

Concrete Hell: Urban Warfare from Stalingrad to Iraq by Louis A. DiMarco

Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield by Jeremy Scahill

Masters of the Battlefield: Great Commanders from the Classical Age to the Napoleonic Era by Paul K. Davis

Profiles One Event, Six Bios: The Vietnam War (Scholastic)

Hanns and Rudolf: The True Story of the German Jew Who Tracked Down and Caught the Kommandant of Auschwitz by Thomas Harding

Today’s topic for The Point with Mindy Todd (only today we were delighted to have guest host Amy Vince) was books written by celebrities. Melanie and I dug into the big ocean of celebrity books, and tried to find a few that were actually readable! And I didn’t have time to mention this, but actor Viggo Mortenson is a published poet! I first heard about his poems thanks to a high school girl who was completely infatuated with Viggo in his role of warrior-king Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. There were no such books in the library, but I discovered he in fact opened up his own press called Perceval Press, and publishes not only his own books, but other poets and photographers as well. Downside of being an actor and a poet, your publishing house has to put a note on their website which says: “Please remember that we will not accept any letters, gifts, or scripts for Mr. Mortensen. All correspondence that pertains to Perceval Press business will be considered, all unrelated letters or packages will be either donated directly to charity or disposed of immediately.” You see there is a downside to being a celebrity author/publisher! Here’s today’s list of books mentioned.

Melanie’s Picks

Kentucky Traveler: My Life in Music by Ricky Skaggs

Carrie and Me: A Mother-Daughter Love Story by Carol Burnett

The Stench of Honolulu: A Tropical Adventure by Jack Handey

The Truth by Michael Palin

An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin

The Honest Life: Living Naturally and True to You by Jessica Alba

The Imperfect Environmentalist: A Practical Guide to Clearing Your Body, Detoxing Your Home, and Saving the Earth (Without Losing Your Mind) by Sara Gilbert

Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen by Trisha Yearwood

It’s All Good : delicious, easy recipes that will make you look good and feel great by Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Turshen

Not Enough Time For:

My Cross to Bear by Gregg Allman with Alan Light

Keep It Pithy: useful observations in a tough world by Bill O’Reilly

Jill’s Picks

“Something Urgent I Have to Say to You” the Life and Works of William Carlos Williams by Herbert Leiobowitz

The Longest Way Home: one man’s quest for the courage to settle down by Andrew McCarthy

Just Kids by Patti Smith

Drama an Actor’s Education by John Lithgow (no index, College Light Opera Company is mentioned on page 128.)

The Poets’ Corner: the one-an-only poetry book for the whole family compiled by John Lithgow

Lithgow Party Paloozas! by John Lithgow

Mahalia Mouse Goes to College by John Lithgow, illustrated by Igro Oleynikov

My Father’s Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow

Montaro Caine by Sidney Poitier

Oceana our endangered oceans and what we can do to save them by Ted Danson with Michael D’Orso

Listener Pick

Open: an autobiography by Andre Agassi

This morning on The Point with Mindy Todd, Mindy, Melanie, and I were joined by author Roland Merullo, as we talked about all things Buddhist. As always we had more books than we could mention, but we’ll add those to this list. We also had some great listener suggestions this morning! Thanks to all of you that called in. Roland Merullo will be at the library tonight at 7:00 PM talking about his newest book Lunch with Buddha, a sequel to his novel Breakfast with Buddha, and also the author of the soon to be published Supper with Buddha. We hope you can join us!

Mindy’s Picks

Buddha or Bust: In Search of Truth, Meaning, Happiness, and the Man Who Found Them All by Perry Garfinkel

The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama but Thomas Laird

Melanie’s Picks

A Profound Mind: Cultivating Wisdom in Everyday Life by The Dalai Lama

How to be Compassionate: A Handbook for Creating Inner Peace and a Happier World by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Buddhist Boot Camp by Timber Hawkeye

Tell Me Something About Buddhism: Questions and Answers for the Curious Beginner by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

Buddhism for Beginners by Thubten Chodron

Buddha & Love: Timeless Wisdom for Modern Relationships by Lama Ole Nydahl

Buddha by Karen Armstrong

Worthwhile, but didn’t fit into show:

Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change by Pema Chodron

True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart by Tara Brach, Ph.D.

Jill’s Picks

Journeys on the Silk Road: a desert explorer, Buddha’s secret library, and the unearthing of the world’s oldest printed book by Joyce Morgan & Conrad Walters

Saltwater Buddha: a surfer’s quest to find zen on the sea by Jaimal Yogis

How to Be Sick: a Buddhist-inspired guide for the chronically ill and their caregivers by Toni Bernhard

Arriving at Your Own Door: 108 Lessons in Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn (which is excerpts from his book Coming to Our Senses: healing ourselves and the world through mindfulness.)

How to Train a Wild Elephant & Other Adventures in Mindfulness by Jan Chozen Bays

No Time For:

Making Space: creating a home meditation practice by Thich Nhat Hanh

The Buddha Walks Into a Bar: a guide to life for a new generation by Lodro Rinzler

Running with the Mind of Meditation: lessons for training body and mind by Sakyong Mipham

Everyday Blessings: the inner work of mindful parenting by Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn

Listener Picks

Without Buddha I Could Not Be Christian by Paul F. Knitter

After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: how the heart grows wise on the spiritual path by Jack Kornfield (or any book by Jack Kornfield)

Bring Me the Rhinocerous: and other zen koans that will save your life by John Tarrant

The Chicken Chronicles : Sitting with the Angels Who Have Returned with My Memories – Glorious, Rufus, Gertrude Stein, Splendor, Hortensia, Agnes of God, the Gladyses, and Babe – A Memoir by Alice Walker

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

Today on The Point with Mindy Todd we discussed good books for Summer Reading. This is always one of my favorite shows, just because I love the idea of Summer Reading so much, although working on Cape Cod in a public library, our busiest season is the summer, so I don’t actually get that much summer reading accomplished. What do you hope to read this summer? Let us know! And if you want to take a look at our Summer Reading List called The Bulger Backstory you can do so here. (By next summer it will probably be twice as long!)

Jill’s Picks

My Ideal Bookshelf. Art by Jane Mount and edited by Thessaly La Force

Children’s Book-A –Day Almanac by Anita Silvey

The Caretaker by A. X. Ahmad

The Typewriter Girl by Alison Atlee

Killer Librarian by Mary Lou Kirwin

The Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published by Library of America. And if you’d like to read Katherine A. Powers article about the LOA books it’s called ”Darkness on the Prairie.”

New England Notebook: one reporter, six states, uncommon stories by Ted Reinstein (who will be talking about his new book at Falmouth Public Library on Tuesday, July 16th at 7:00 PM.)

The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart

The Survival of the Bark Canoe by John McPhee

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein

Bats at the Beach written and illustrated by Brian Lies

One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey

Melanie’s Picks

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls

Little Green by Walter Mosley

The Engagements: A Novel by J. Courtney Sullivan

The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything … Fast by Josh Kaufman

The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel

William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher

Tape It & Make It: 101 Duct Tape Activities by Richela Fabian Morgan

The Flower Recipe Book by Alethea Harampolis and Jill Rizzo

No time for:

Green Smoothie Joy: Recipes for Living, Loving, and Juicing Green by Cressida Elias

The Tinkerers: The Amateurs, DIYers, and Inventors Who Make America Great by Alec Foege

Listener Pick

The Emerald Scepter by Paul Kemprecos

Mindy’s show began an hour long format as of yesterday, so we got twice as much time to talk about books! Here is the list from today’s show:

Jill’s Picks

The Decoration of Houses by Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman Jr.

The House in Good Taste by Elsie de Wolfe (not available in CLAMS, but it IS available off-Cape in the Virtual Catalog … don’t know what the virt cat is? Ask your local librarian!

Outlaw Marriages: the hidden histories of fifteen extraordinary same-sex couples by Rodger Streitmatter (includes Elsie de Wolfe and her partner Bessie Marbury)

Buddenbrooks: the decline of a family by Thomas Mann

Rooms to Inspire by the Sea by Annie Kelly (includes John Derian’s house in Provincetown)

The Wallpaper Book by Geneviève Brunet

The Outdoor Shower by Ethan Fierro

Coastal Living Outdoor Spaces

Designers At Home: personal reflections on stylish living by Ronda Rice Carman

Melanie’s Picks

Living in a Nutshell: Posh and Portable Decorating Ideas for Small Spaces by Janet Lee

Good Bones, Great Pieces: The Seven Essential Pieces That Will Carry You Through a Lifetime by Suzanne & Lauren McGrath

Country Living – Decorating with White edited by Gina Lyams

A Home of Your Own: Creating Interiors with Character by Sally Coulthard

100 Ways to Happy Chic Your Life by Jonathan Adler

Living Simple, Free & Happy: How to Simplify, Declutter Your Home, and Reduce Stress, Debt and Waste by Christin Frank

Playful Home: Creative Style Ideas for Living with Kids by Andrew Weaving

Listener Pick

The Apartment Therapy Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces (http://www.apartmenttherapy.com)

This morning on The Point with Mindy Todd, Melanie Lauwers, Jill Erickson, and Mindy Todd talked about new non-fiction books, and what the difference is between fiction and non-fiction. If you missed the live show, you can listen at 7:30 PM on WCAI or listen to the podcast anytime. As always, we had more books than we had time for, but we’ve listed all titles both discussed and not discussed below.

Jill’s Picks

Good Prose: the art of nonfiction by Tracy Kidder & Richard Todd

African Lives: an anthology of memoirs and autobiographies edited by Geoff Wisner

Superman: the unauthorized biography by Glen Weldon And here is a link to an episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour … http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129472378

The Cassoulet Saved Our Marriage: true tales of food, family & how we learn to eat edited by Caroline M. Grant & Lisa Catherine Harper

“With éclat”: the Boston Athenaeum and the Origin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston by Hina Hirayama. Exhibit is called: “Brilliant Beginnings: the Athenæum and the Museum in Boston” which will be up until August 3, 2013.

Not Enough Time For:

APE: author, publisher, entrepreneur by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch

Lost Cat: a true story of love, desperation, and GPS technology by Caroline Paul with drawings by Wendy MacNaughton

The Pinecone: the story of Sarah Losh, forgotten romantic heroine – antiquarian, architect, and visionary by Jenny Uglow

Her: a memoir by Christa Parravani

Melanie’s Picks

Let Them Be Eaten by Bears: A Fearless Guide to Taking Our Kids into the Great Outdoors by Peter Brown Hoffmeister

Snob Zones: Fear, Prejudice and Real Estate by Lisa Prevost

Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods byChristine Byl

Through the Perilous Fight: Six Weeks That Saved the Nation by Steve Vogel

For Adam’s Sake: A Family Saga in Colonial New England by Allegra Di Bonaventura

Parenting Without Borders: Surprising Lessons Parents Around the World Can Teach Us by Christine Gross-Loh

Not mentioned but new and worthy:

Child Identity Theft: What Every Parent Needs to Know by Robert P. Chappell, Jr.

Concussions and Our Kids by Robert Cantu, M.D.

Dinner with the Smiley’s: One Military Family, One Year of Heroes, and Lessons for a Lifetime by Sarah Smiley

This morning (a week behind schedule, our last Wednesday of the month show had to be rescheduled due to Melanie’s cold) we talked about Self-Help books. If there is a book topic that YOU would like to suggest to us, e-mail us at thepoint@wgbh.org with the subject heading POINT TOPIC. We’re always interested in knowing what kind of book you might want us to discuss. Some of the topics we are considering for the coming year include religious/spiritual books, mysteries, travel, and books that are good for book groups. We’ll be back on air on the last Wednesday of this month, February 27th.

Jill’s Picks

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke (My edition was translated and with a foreword by Stephen Mitchell. Thanks to Patty for letting us know that the first letter was written in 1903, and originally published in 1929.)

Aging as a Spiritual Practice: a contemplative guide to growing older and wiser by Lewis Richmond

Throw Out Fifty Things : clear the clutter, find your life by Gail Blanke

The Unapologetic Fat Girl’s Guide to Exercise : and other incendiary acts by Hanne Blank

Changeology : 5 steps to realizing your goals and resolutions by John C. Norcross

50 Self-Help Classics : 50 inspirational books to transform your life, from timeless sages to contemporary gurus by Tom Butler-Bowdon

How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain de Botton

Melanie’s Picks

Your Food is Fooling You: How Your Brain is Hijacked by Sugar, Fat, and Salt by David A. Kessler, M.D.

Family Inc. by Caitlin and Andrew Friedman

Believable Hope: Five Essential Elements to Beat Any Addiction by Michael Cartwright

Master Class: Living Longer, Stronger, and Happier by Peter Spiers

Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin

Body by You: The You Are Your Own Gym Guide to Total Women’s Fitness by Mark Lauren

Listener Picks

The Power to Heal Myself by Betty Jean Wall (www.bettyjeanwall.com)

A Course in Miracles

Today Mindy, Melanie, and I talked about our favorite books of the year on The Point with Mindy Todd on WCAI (90.1). This is an eclectic list, and most of the books were not published this year, but we read them this year. This is always one of my favorite shows that we do, as we can share books that we really loved to read. So below the 2012 edition of our books of the year list (even if they were published originally in 1948!). Miss the show? You can listen at 7:30 PM tonight or you can always listen to the podcast on WCAI. By the way, as of this month we now have a regular monthly slot. You’ll be able to hear us talk about books on the last Wednesday of the month!

Mindy’s Picks

The Whip: a novel by Karen Kondazian

Fatal Decision: Edith Cavell, World War I Nurse by Terri Arthur

Riding on Duke’s Train by Mick Carlon

Travels With Louis by Mick Carlon

In the Words of E. B. White : Quotations from America’s Most Companionable of Writers, edited by Martha White

Branded on My Arm and in My Soul: a Holocaust memoir by Abraham W. Landau

Melanie’s Picks

Behind the Beautiful Forevers : Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo

The Long Walk: a story of war and the life that follows by Brian Castner

Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe by Charlotte Gill

The Twelve by Justin Cronin (second novel in the Passage Trilogy, first novel was called The Passage).

The Swerve: how the world became modern by Stephen Greenblatt

Other Favorites of 2012

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

The Unconquered: in search of the Amazon’s last uncontacted tribes by Scott Wallace

Surviving Survival: the art and science of resilience by Laurence Gonzales

Rain Falls Like Mercy by Jack Todd

Jill’s Picks

The Silent History by Matthew Derby and Kevin Moffett. Right now only available as an app for your iPhone, iPad, or iPodTouch. You can sample one volume for $1.99 or get the full version for $9.99. Want to know more? Check out their web site at www.thesilenthistory.com One of the things I really love about this, is that it gives me the feeling of reading a 19th century serial novel (like Dickens) that used to arrive in pieces, as it too arrives in little bits each day.

With My Body by Nikki Gemmell

Time Will Darken It by William Maxwell (many editions, I read the Library of America version, which has great footnotes as well)

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Other Favorites of 2012

My Ideal Bookshelf Art by Jane Mount, edited by Thessaly La Force. The book to read once you have run out of things to read.

Finding Time Again by Marcel Proust. As many of our regular listeners know, I’ve been reading Proust aloud with a friend for the past three years. This year we finished! The translation that we read of this volume was by Ian Patterson.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. A young adult novel that is both funny and heartbreaking.

The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sis. A Sufi poem with fabulous illustrations.

Today’s show was pre-recorded, but Joel from Brewster called in after the show to add three of his favorite books of the year:

The Island of Lost Maps : A True Story of Cartographic Crime by Miles Harvey

The Aran Islands by John M Synge

The Medusa and the Snail: More Notes of a Biology Watcher by Lewis Thomas