This Year I Will … Resolutions for the New Year

On The Point with Mindy Todd this morning we discussed books that might inspire you to set a few resolutions for the New Year, or make you decide that there was no need to make a resolution. As Virginia Woolf wrote in her diary on Friday, January 2nd, 1931: “Then — well the chief resolution is the most important — not to make resolutions. Sometimes to read, sometimes not to read. To go out yes — but stay at home instead of being asked. As for clothes, I think to buy good ones.” Vicky Titcomb, of Titcomb’s Bookshop joined us for this show. The show was pre-recorded, so if you would like to share any of your favorite books on New Year’s Resolutions, please leave a comment and we will add it to the list!

Vicky’s Picks

The Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Make Your Bed: little things that can change your life … and maybe the world by Admiral William H. McRaven

George Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior

Forks Over Knives — the cookbook: over 300 recipes for plant-based eating all through the year by Del Sroufe

Gmorning, gnight!: little pep talks for you and me by Lin-Manuel Miranda; illustrations by Johnny Sun

Wherever You Go, There You Are: mindfulness meditation in everyday life by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Little Book of Mindfulness: 10 minutes a day to less stress, more peace by Dr. Patrizia Collard

TBC30: 6 steps to a stronger, healthier you by Michael Wood

The Yoga Deck by Olivia H. Miller

1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: a life-changing list by James Mustich

What Good Should I Do This Day?: a journal inspired by Benjamin Franklin

Jill’s Picks

The Diary of Virginia Woolf, Volume Four, 1931 – 1935. Letter from Friday, January 2nd, 1931.

How to Be a Better Person by Kate Hanley

Almost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne Lamont, particularly chapter eleven, “Food.”

Food & Life by Joël Robuchon and Dr. Nadia Volf

Letters of Wallace Stevens selected and edited by Holly Stevens. See journal entry for December 31, 1900.

The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker

The Year of Reading Dangerously: how fifty great books (and two not-so-great ones) saved my life by Andy Miller

A Calendar of Wisdom: daily thoughts to nourish the soul Written and selected from the world’s sacred texts by Leo Tolstoy

This Year I Will: how to finally change a habit, keep a resolution, or make a dream come true by M. J. Ryan

Selected Letters of Dylan Thomas, edited and with commentary by Constantine Fitzgibbon.  See the letter of 25 December 1933.

Listener Picks (We weren’t live, but we still have some listener suggestions!)

You Are a Bad Ass: how to stop doubting your greatness and start living an awesome life by Jen Sincero

BONUS!

Self-Help Dewey Numbers  To Use When In Your Public Library …

Aging and Longevity 155.6719
Anger 152.47
Anxiety 152.46
Assertiveness 158
Codependency 155.9
Empathy 152.41
Emotions 152.4
Fear 152.46
Forgiveness 155.92; 179.9
Grief 155.937
Habit Breaking 158.1
Left and Right Handedness 152.335
Meditation 158.12
Memory 153.12
Perfectionism 158.1
Rejection 158.2
Relationships 158.24
Relaxation Exercises 155.9042, 158.12
Self-Acceptance 158
Self-Esteem 158.1
Self-Help Techniques 155.264
Self-Hypnosis 154.7
Stress Management 155.9042
Time Management 158.1
Worry 158.1

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

Count the Rings: Inside Boston’s Wicked Awesome Reign as the City of Champions from 2001 to 2017, Ten Titles, Four Teams: Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins and Celtics by Bob Halloran

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 Seta 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

A Very Merry Paper Christmas

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 Girls Friendly Cook Book

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