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Titcomb's Bookshop
January 2011 Newsletter
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Titcomb's Bookshop
(508) 888-2331
titcombsbookshop.com
HOURS:
Mon-Sat 9am-6pm
Sunday 11am-5pm
NOTE: closing at 3pm on Saturday Jan. 1st
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Sale!
Right now, all calendars are 30% off and Christmas and holiday books are 40% off.
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2010 Words of the Year
The internet surely brought about many changes in the world of a dictionary publisher, some good, some not so good. One of the coolest changes is that they can tell us what words people are looking up the most.
Merriam-Webster recently announced the 2010 words of the year (the top 10 words that were most frequently searched for a definition). A fascinating list! (Clearly impacted by the economy all over the world.)
1. austerity
2. pragmatic
3. moratorium
4. socialism
5. bigot
6. doppelganger
7. shellacking
8. ebullient
9. dissident
10.furtive
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Getting To Know Us
You must have noticed a new face at Titcomb's....meet Shuchi Saraswat!
Favorite Book: Often changes! Of the classics: Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. Of more contemporary books: Midnight's Children, God of Small Things, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and The History of Love are current favorites.Interesting Tidbit: Shuchi is getting married in June! She and her fiance will have both an Indian/Hindu ceremony and a more traditional western wedding, on Martha's Vineyard
Dream Trip: There are so many places she wants to visit! Prague has always sounded wonderful, for the architecture and the cobblestone streets, and the food. And Nepal, to see the Himalayas.
When she isn't here she is...Writing. She received her MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) last December and moved to the Cape so that she could write and work part-time, at, hopefully a bookstore! Do we sound like a match, or what?
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In Store Pick-Up!
Don't forget! If you want to be extra sure that a copy of a book mentioned in the newsletter is available when you come to the store, please call us or simply click on the book photo. Use that link to order a copy of the book for "In Store Pick Up". No credit card needed! We will then hold a copy of the book for you. If it's not in the store we can usually have it here in 2-4 days.
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Swedish Nut Balls
Did you sample any of our tasty treats on our Best of the Best New Cookbooks weekend?
We had so much fun making things, we wanted to share a recipe with you. These delicious cookies are from The New York Times Cookbook. Only 5 ingredients makes something this yummy! How great is that?
Click Here
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 What happened to your statue? Where is "Ben"? Is that wooden little guy outside here for good? Not a day goes by that we don't hear at least five questions about the status of our statue. (Maybe we ought to start a weekly newspaper column called "Statue Status"!). We understand though. We miss him too. So...we thought we would give you a quick update on what's happening with him. He has been sandblasted and is awaiting his next step. Read our blog update for more, click here.In other news.....wedding bells are ringing at the Bookshop this weekend! Our own Vicky will be getting married on Saturday. Why do you need to know this, you ask? Because in order for all of us to enjoy the festivities, we are going to close the Bookshop early on Saturday. So...mark your calendar, on Saturday January 1st, the Bookshop will be open from 9am to 3pm. After 3pm, we are getting gussied up and going to the party!
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Knitting Club
Monday Jan. 3rd, 2:00-3:00pm
Knitters of all skill levels are welcome to come spend an hour working on a knitting or crocheting project. No registration, just come!
 Men's Book Club
Thursday Jan. 13th, 9:30am
The Big Short by Michael Lewis
The Men's Book Club will meet to discuss The Big Short by Michael Lewis. The book (by the author of Liar's Poker and Moneyball) details the underpinnings of the recent decline in the US economy. No registration required, all are welcome. Join us for an active discussion.
 Titcomb's Bookshop Book Club
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
Tuesday January 18th, 7:00pm
For January, our book club will read The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom ($16.00, our price $12.80). When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland in the 1790s, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she lives and works with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin. Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.
Make a New Year's Resolution to read a variety of books and meet new people....come to the book club! No registration needed and no commitment expected....just come when you can! (All book club selections are 20% off during the month they are read.)
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STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS
 From Karen: The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards ($26.95, our price $21.56) When Lucy Jarrett returns to her rural childhood home in upstate New York to visit her mother, she is forced to confront the ghosts of her past. She discovers long lost family artifacts is This ancestor, a suffragette, is involved with a well-known stained glass artist. In the meantime, Lucy reconnects with a former boyfriend who is coincidentally a local glass artist. In researching the past Lucy must come to terms with her present, including confronting her withheld grief of her father death under dubious circumstances many years ago. A captivating novel from the best-selling author of "Memory Keeper's Daughter".
 From Elizabeth: The Wake of Forgiveness by Bruce Machart ($26.00, our price $20.80) The eloquent prose of this first novel will keep you turning pages well into the night. It is a story of horses, fathers and sons set at the turn of the century in Texas. After the death of his wife when the youngest son was born,Vaclav Skala raises his four boys with an iron hand. He accepts the challenge of a horse race from a Mexican farmer who has three daughters. A dramatic turn of events leads to years of misunderstanding before forgiveness brings the families together again.
 My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman by Lisa Scottoline ($22.99) It was so bustle-y and fun in December and now in January we are left feeling weighed down by all of those cookies, all of that spending and a house full of wrapping paper scraps. I have just the cure! My Nest Isn't Empty is a book of essays by mystery writer Lisa Scottoline. These are not mystery stories but relatable and enjoyable (and at times laugh-out-loudable) anecdotes of her life with her 5 (yes 5) dogs and her 86 year old mother (Mother Mary) who likes to wear a white lab coat for no reason. Really great read. I have been literally holding my eyelids open at night because I want to keep reading these stories!
 From Kathleen: The Friends We Keep: Unleashing Christianity's Compassion for Animals by Laura Hobgood-Oster ($19.95) This book was enlightening in so many ways and thoroughly readable. From statements within the old testament, the parables and the saints' lives, the case for compassion, hospitality and mutual relationship to all of God's creatures is made quite clear and complete. The facts of animal treatment within blood sports and food production are touched upon without overwhelming the reader with exhaustive detail. In addition, Hobgood-Oster's suggestion that the 40 days of Lent were quite possibly meant for Christians to abstain from all animal products is intriguing and a revelation. I loved this book. And I think my dog and cat who sat with me while I read must have liked it to. They never budged except when I got them their water.
 From Elizabeth: Indestructibles, ($4.95) a series for babies which includes Creep! Crawl, Wiggle! March, Plip-Plop Pond! These chew proof, rip proof books are 100% washable and are the perfect gift for wee ones. Bright, colorful art work provides an excellent opportunity to make up your own simple story or just enjoy the pictures with a baby on your lap. Now a quote from a happy reader Lila Merritt, 6 months old (as interpreted by her grandmother Elizabeth), "I love my Indestructible books! After we look at the pictures I can hold the book in my hand by myself and chew on it, too."
 From Elizabeth: Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland ($26.00, our price $20.80, to be released Jan. 11th) Once again this author has taken a story of the arts and spun a fascinating tale. Set at the turn of the century in New York City, we follow the fascinating life of Clara Driscoll. She designed many of the famous Tiffany lamps and was in charge of the women's studio in the Tiffany studio. Recently a treasure trove of Driscoll's correspondence came to light and the New-York Historical Society mounted an exhibition, "A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls". This provided the inspiration for Susan Vreeland to create a story of the woman who was the muse and the artist behind many of the Tiffany creations.
 From Vicky: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua ($25.95, to be released Jan. 11th) Amy Chua opens the door on what is usually a very closed topic - Chinese parenting with all its positive and negative aspects. I was both horrified and envious as I read this fascinating story of Amy, her husband Jed and their two incredibly talented daughters. The Chinese mother enforces a virtuous circle of confidence, hardwork and success, but it takes an incredible toll on parent, child and marriage. It takes enormous discipline to never, ever settle for second best (unimaginable!). Have a playdate? Too busy studying and practicing! Watch TV, be in the class play, choose your own extracurricular activities or complain about any of the above? Never!
What does it take to set standards which will only accept the best? What is the toll on parent, child and marriage? What happens when this type of parenting fails? I was both horrified and envious at the same time. This book should be read by moms' book clubs everywhere - and the conversations will be amazing!!! |
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NEW TO THE SHELVES
 Cape Cod and the Civil War: The Raised Right Arm by Stauffer Miller ($19.99) Far from the glistening waters and gray-shingled villages of Cape Cod were the bloody front lines of the American Civil War. During this era, Cape Cod recruiting officers often urged soldiers to "raise the right arm of the old Bay State." Learn about the Cape's first casualty of war, Philander Crowell Jr. of Yarmouth, who was a member of the First Massachusetts Regiment; discover how local fishermen made money both by catching fish and by enlisting in the army; and read about the four bloody battles that caused considerable loss for Cape Codders.
 As Always Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto: Food, Friendship, and the Making of a Masterpiece by Joan Reardon ($26.00) With her outsize personality, Julia Child is known around the world by her first name alone. But despite that familiarity, how much is really known of the inner Julia? Now more than 200 letters exchanged between Julia and Avis DeVoto, her friend and unofficial literary agent, open the window on Julia's deepest thoughts and feelings.
 Left Neglected by Lisa Genova ($25.00, our price $20.00, released Jan, 4th) Sarah is a career-driven supermom and she leads a hectic but charmed life. Between recruiting the brightest minds as the vice president of human resources at Berkley Consulting; shuttling the kids to soccer, day care, and piano lessons; convincing her son's teacher that he may not, in fact, have ADD; and making it home in time for dinner, it's a wonder this over-scheduled, over-achieving Harvard graduate has time to breathe. Until one day, while driving to work and trying to make a phone call, she looks away from the road for one second too long. In the blink of an eye, all the rapidly moving parts of her jam-packed life come to a screeching halt. A traumatic brain injury completely erases the left side of her world, and for once, Sarah relinquishes control to those around her, including her formerly absent mother. Without the ability to even floss her own teeth, she struggles to find answers about her past and her uncertain future.
"Remember how you couldn't put down "Still Alice"? Well, clear your schedule-because you're going to feel the same way." says Jodi Picoult. (Psst....wanna know a secret? Lisa will be joining us for a talk and book signing on Sunday Feb. 13th. Stay tuned for details.)
The  End of the World Club (Jaguar Stones Book #2) by Jon and Pamela Voelkel ($16.99) Did you love Middleworld? Great! Book 2 has just come out. With the end of the Mayan calendar fast approaching, 14-year-old Max Murphy and his new friend Lola, the modern Maya girl who saved his life, are racing against time to outwit the 12 Lords of Death. Following the trail of the conquistadors, their quest takes them back to the wild heart of Spain. This series is fantastic for ages 9 to 13 and is based on Mayan history.
 Fear Itself (Keepers of the School #2) by Andrew Clements ($14.99, released Jan 4th) In this second installment of the Keepers of the School series, Benjamin Pratt and his friend Jill make new contacts and uncover more clues in their effort to save their historic New England school from amusement-park developers. As the plot unrolls, the villain, a school janitor who actually works for the developers, is revealed to be even more unsavory than the kids initially suspected, and Benjamin becomes friends with another, retired janitor, who turns out to be a valuable source of information. Clements cleverly weaves his clues together, creating an intriguing, suspenseful multipart mystery.
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