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Titcomb's Bookshop Newsletter
June 2011
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Titcomb's Bookshop
(508) 888-2331
Email Us!
HOURS:
Mon-Sat 9am-6pm
Sunday 11am-5pm
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Staff Happenings
Over at the blog, book buyer Elizabeth talks about all the great authors she met at BookExpo America and manager Vicky raves over Kevin Henkes' new children's book Junonia and her own search for a junonia shell during a beach cleanup.
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Calling all lovers of jumping and stomping and twirling and lassoing!!!!
Come see our collection of jump ropes, ankle spinners and steppers. This year, we've added several new products, Chinese jump ropes and lassos - yes, LASSOS!
Great colors and quality. Priced from
$4.50 -$12.99. Perfect for gifts, the beach, and all kinds of summer fun.
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James and the Giant Peach turns 50!
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of James and the Giant Peach, the publisher has reissued a number of Roald Dahl's books with wonderful new covers and Quentin Blake's original illustrations. You can also enter a contest for a trip for 2 to London, including a visit to the Roald Dahl Museum. Just write down in 100 words or less which of the bugs in James and the Giant Peach you would like to be friends with and why. Send your answer along with your entry form found in the display.
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 We're having a celebration and we hope you will join us! Our statue is coming back and we're throwing a party. There will be cake and ice cream, dulcimer music by Henry Young, and balloon hats by Titcomb grandson David Ockers. We'll have a few games and set out the jigsaw puzzle. At 2:00 p.m., we'll have a grand unveiling and take a photo of everyone there.
Sometimes, it's only when something is gone that we realize how important it is! Our statue has stood in front of our bookshop for over 37 years and he's very much part of our shop and family. He was created by my brother, Ted, who was in high school at the time and not exactly excited when my Dad asked him to make something so mundane. Would you like to know something very few people know? Take a look sometime at his fingers. Ted had to do something creative, so he put witch-like fingers on the hand holding the book! Over the years, we've heard from families that it's their tradition to honk the car horn at the statue as they arrive on Cape Cod - each year wondering if he'll ever cross the road. Visitors from around the world have taken their pictures with him, and we've asked some wonderful authors to pose with him as a momento of their visit. He's been featured in the newspaper, especially when surrounded by spring flowers or when winter's ice drips down his hat or nose.  During this past year, we have been so grateful for your concern about the statue. He's received cards and pictures, phone calls and news articles. Many of you who visit often told us you actually drove past our shop  without him there. We tried several substitutes. Our 4th of July parade statue made of papier mache stood guard for a few weeks, but he didn't do well in the rain and his fragile construction wasn't made for the long haul. Our skinny plywood substitute has served well, but lacks a certain depth!
 Fixing the statue has been a big job and we are so grateful to everyone who helped. Sign maker Paul White of East Sandwich was on the spot within hours of the accident to begin  replacing the wooden sign with a beautiful new version. He also made the plywood copy of the statue. Ted Titcomb did the welding repairs with his son, Tim. Nancy Titcomb and granddaughter Helen did the painting. Victor Bettencort of Titcomb Bros. Manufacturing did the sandblasting. Heartfelt thanks to the skillful workers at V&S Galvanizing in  Taunton, who volunteered to do the very delicate and difficult job of galvanizing the statue as a community service project.
So, please join us at the party as we welcome back the statue - and the start of another beautiful Cape Cod summer - but if you can't come, please wave or honk your horn next time you drive by! -Vicky
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Upcoming Events  Statue Welcome!
Sunday, June 5th, 1pm-4pm This past year we've been overwhelmed with all of your generous concern for the wrought iron statue, which the Cape Cod Times and our customers have dubbed "Ben". We will officially welcome the old man back on Sunday, June 5 from 1-4 p.m. Please stop by as we celebrate the grand unveiling at 2:00 p.m. We'll take a picture of everyone with the statue and we'd love to have to bring out the wide angle lens! We'll have cake and other refreshments as well.  Knitting Club
Monday, June 6th, 2:00pm-3:00pm
Bring a project you're working on and join a group of like-minded people. Share knitting tips and get great advice, too! All skill levels welcome. No registration needed.
 Men's Book Club - The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
Thursday, June 9th, 9:30am A grand mystery reaching back centuries. A sensational disappearance that made headlines around the world. A quest for truth that leads to death, madness or disappearance for those who seek to solve it. The Lost City of Z is a blockbuster adventure narrative about what lies beneath the impenetrable jungle canopy of the Amazon. Join us for a lively discussion about this fascinating book.  Book Talk and Signing with Mary Pat Kelly, author of Galway Bay
Friday, June 10th, 4:00pm-5:00pm
Mary Pat Kelly will sign copies of her novel Galway Bay, now out in paperback, at Titcomb's Bookshop.
In a rousing tale that echoes the myths and legends of Ireland, young Honora Keeley and Michael Kelly wed and start a family. So begins one Irish family's epic journey in this novel that captures the tragedy and triumph of the Irish-American experience. Though fiction, Galway Bay was inspired by author Mary Pat Kelly's own great-great-grandmother, Honora Kelly, who escaped with her family from the Great Starvation of 1840's Ireland.
 Storytime with Nikki McClure, author of To Market, To Market
at Sandwich Public Library
Wednesday, June 15th, 10:30am-11:30am
Nikki McClure, illustrator of the New York Times bestselling children's book All In a Day, will be at Sandwich Public Library to read from To Market, To Market, her new picture book about farmers' markets. McClure is an amazing paper cut artist, author, parent and supporter of the sustainable movement through her art and actions. Locally created snacks will follow story time.
 Signing with Carol McCleary, author of The Illusion of Murder and The Alchemy of Murder
Saturday, June 18th, 3:00pm-4:00pm
In McCleary's newest Nellie Bly mystery, The Illusion of Murder, we follow Bly as she takes up a challenge by Jules Verne to beat the eighty days it took his fictional hero Phileas Fogg to race around the world. Carol McCleary was born in Seoul, Korea and lived in Hong Kong, Japan, and the Philippines. She now lives on Cape Cod in an antique house that is haunted by ghosts. Learn more at her website, www.carolmccleary.com.  Book Club - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Tuesday, June 21st, 7:00pm Acclaimed author Rebecca Skloot brilliantly weaves together the story of Henrietta Lacks--a woman whose cells have been unwittingly used for scientific research since the 1950s--with the birth of bioethics, and the dark history of experimentation on African Americans.  Natural Dye Event with Corinne Lilie
Saturday, June 25th, 3:00pm
Corinne Lilie of Black Sheep Studio in Marstons Mills will be at the bookshop to talk about the basic techniques for mordanting and dyeing wool yarn or fabric with natural dyes. Many of the natural dyes Corinne uses are made from flowers, roots and berries grown in her own garden.
Corinne has been spinning cotton, silk, angora and wool into yarn and dyeing her yarns with natural dyes since 1980. She grew up in Falmouth, but while studying art at the University of Georgia, Corinne lived in the foothills of the beautiful Georgia mountains where she taught many of her neighbors to read and they taught her how to spin and dye with natural dyes. Samples of her pieces will be available for sale at the shop. |
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Father's Day
Father's Day is coming and there are so many great books to give to Dads of all ages!! We'd be happy to help you pick out the perfect book. Just add a cold glass of something good, a comfy chair and an offer to mow the lawn while he reads and you're all set for a great day!
We have some wonderful signed books that make excellent gifts, including Henry Winkler's wonderful book, I've Never Met an Idiot on the River: Reflections on Family, Fishing and Photography ($21.95). Not only is this an ode to fly fishing, it features Henry's thoughts on being a father and husband. We also have signed copies of Howie Carr's Hitman: The Untold Story of Johnny Martorano ($20.79) and Stauffer Miller's Cape Cod and the Civil War ($19.99).
Here are just a few suggestions that have arrived in the bookshop recently.
Seal Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy Sea Sniper by Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin $26.99
Geek Dad's Guide to Weekend Fun: Cool Hacks, Cutting-Edge Games, and More Awesome Project for the Whole Family by Ken Denmead. Lots of really fun projects for cutting edge dads and their kids to do together. $18.00
Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric by Ward Farnsworth. For the Dad who loves great writing or has to give talks, this is a brilliant book on the art of speaking. Each of the 18 chapters discusses an ancient rhetorical technique, explaining how to use it and showing many examples from great speakers and writers. $27.95
The Big Book of Adventure Stories: The Most Daring, Dangerous, and Death-Defying Collection of Adventure Tales Ever Captured in One Mammoth Volume edited by Otto Penzler $25.00
Remembering Fenway Park: An Oral and Narrative History of the Home of the Boston Red Sox by Harvey Frommer (with a foreword by Johnny Pesky) Fabulous photos in the coffee table book! $45.00
Sports from Hell: My Search for the World's Most Outrageous Competition by ESPN star Rick Reilly. This book has it all, from chess boxing to ferret legging. Laugh out loud fun! $14.95
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Staff Picks
Adult Fiction
 From Edye: Best Staged Plans by Claire Cook ($23.99; our price: $19.19) Claire Cook has perfected the art of favorite summer reads, and her latest novel, Best Staged Plans, does not disappoint. Protagonist Sandra, a professional home stager, leaves her very-much unstaged home for sale in Boston while she travels to Atlanta to work on the interior of a boutique hotel. Her experiences there run her headlong into questions about family, identity, and just how "planned" a life can be. Cook handles the topic with her typical humor, wit, and tongue-in-cheek wisdom. (Available June 7)
 From Elizabeth: Dreams of Joy by Lisa See ($26.00; our price: $20.80) Last week in New York City, I had the pleasure of hearing Lisa See talk about continuing the story of sisters Pearl and May which began in Shanghai Girls. The author insists she thought the story was complete but her readers kept writing and asking to know more! Dreams of Joy begins with the fateful night when Joy learns that the woman she thought was her mother is really her aunt and that her "Aunt May" is actually her biological mother. Having recently completed her first year of college, Joy has become a follower of Mao's "New China" and is eager to go to China to search for her real father and to help the Communist cause. Without regard for her own safety, Pearl follows Joy to Shanghai determined to bring her daughter back to her family in the US. The story is told in alternating first-person accounts by Joy and Pearl and is full of family drama and fascinating information about Mao's "Great Leap Forward." Fans of Lisa See are in for a great summer--another page turner of a book and in July the movie of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.
 From Rita: Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr ($15.95) Michelle is a child of a white American father and Japanese mother. They have abandoned her at age nine to her grandparents who live in the countryside of Wisconsin. She is the first person of color to move into this small town around the early 1970s. Michelle is harassed and bullied and spends most her time reading and avoiding fights. The attention is taken away from her when a young black couple from Chicago moves into town. The presence of this young couple, the Garretts, upsets most of the residents including Michelle's grandfather. Mr. Garrett, a teacher, makes a controversial statement about one of the town leaders which sets the town reeling. This is a heartbreaking story dealing with issues of race, relationship and family. Wingshooters is a book that you will find hard to put down.
 From Shuchi: The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai ($25.95; our price: $20.76) A 26-year-old children's librarian, Lucy Hull, allows herself to be kidnapped by one of her precocious ten-year-old patrons, Ian Drake, a boy intent on running away from home. The pair end up on a hilarious road trip that ping pongs them across the Midwest and out to the East Coast. Makkai, known for her short stories, makes the transition to writing a novel look easy. Her writing is sharp, funny. Book lovers will enjoy the references to well known adult and children's books - from echoes of the road trip in Lolita, to a chapter that is structured like a Choose Your Own Adventure story. What a wonderful, assured, and original debut.
(Available June 7th)
Adult Nonfiction  From Karen: The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris by John Baxter ($14.99) This little gem is on my list of favorite books this year. Author John Baxter is an Australian author who has lived and walked in Paris for many years. In these short chapters Mr. Baxter both enlightens and enormously entertains us with personal experiences living as an expat with his French wife and daughter in Paris. This is a treasure trove of literary history and quirky knowledge about the City of Light for lovers of Paris and of humorously good writing. Illustrated with fascinating photos and vintage images of Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Beach, as well as the infamous catacombs and opium dens!
Children's & Young Adult  From Vicky: Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Rinker, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld ($16.99) When it's time to put a truck-obsessed 2-6 year old to bed, here's a book for you! The crane, the cement mixer, dump truck, bulldozer and more have all been working hard all day and now it's time to rest. Told in rhyme, this is a clever and informative picture book that is sure to become a favorite. The illustrations are wonderful, too!
 From Vicky: Lemonade Crime by Jacqueline Davies ($15.99) Lemonade Crime by Jacqueline Davies is a sequel to her very popular Lemonade Wars. (Some of you may remember when Jackie came to our shop with her lemonade stand and talked about her book.) In Lemonade Crime, the lemonade money is stolen from Evan, so his precocious sister Jessie organizes a court of law with the entire 4th grade to try the suspected classmate. Every chapter begins with an interesting legal definition and children will be drawn into the drama of setting up the court procedures as they read the story. What makes this book so good is that the author really knows children. Her characters are very real and believable as they try to step into the very adult setting of a court. Great story for a budding lawyer or any child ages 8-12 who enjoys a good book.
 From Vicky: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray ($18.99) I'm a huge new fan of Libba Bray! Her writing is smart and funny and poignant and amazingly insightful. I'd just read her book, Going Bovine, the incredible story of a boy who gets mad cow disease, when I saw a copy of her new book, Beauty Queens, I snatched it up. Premise of the book: a group of beauy queen contestants crashes onto an island where, it turns out, a rogue and super-secret arms deal is taking place. Think Lord of the Flies or the television show Lost - in sequins and high heels. It's a hugely funny and very touching satire with characters who go from stereotypes to very real people whose stories could break you heart as you get to see beyond the glamorous exteriors. For more about the book by Libba herself, please visit her website.
(Ages 14+) |
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New and Recommended
Adult Nonfiction  The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough ($37.50) McCullough tells the story of the American artists and scientists who studied in Paris, and changed America through what they learned there. Nearly all of these Americans, whatever their troubles learning French, their spells of homesickness, and their suffering in the raw cold winters by the Seine, spent many of the happiest days and nights of their lives in Paris. McCullough tells this sweeping, fascinating story with power and intimacy, bringing us into the lives of remarkable men and women who, in Saint-Gaudens's phrase, longed "to soar into the blue." The Greater Journey is itself a masterpiece.  Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base by Annie Jacobsen ($27.99) It is the most famous military installation in the world. And it doesn't exist. Located a mere seventy-five miles outside of Las Vegas in Nevada's desert, the base has never been acknowledged by the U.S. government-but Area 51 has captivated imaginations for decades. This is the first book based on interviews with eye witnesses to Area 51 history, which makes it the seminal work on the subject. Filled with formerly classified information that has never been accurately decoded for the public, Area 51 weaves the mysterious activities of the top-secret base into a gripping narrative, showing that facts are often more fantastic than fiction, especially when the distinction is almost impossible to make.
 Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball's Longest Game by Dan Barry ($26.99; our price $21.59) New York Times columnist Dan Barry pens this beautifully written story of the longest game in baseball history, between the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox, in 1981. The book includes such baseball greats as Cal Ripken and Wade Boggs, who played in the legendary game, but it is also an ode to the aspirations and frustrations of the men who make their careers in the minor leagues. (Need a really cool father's day idea? Give Dad a copy of this book and tickets for a PawSox game - only $7 for adults and $5 for children!)
 The Wave by Susan Casey (now in paperback - $15.95) Casey follows a unique tribe of extreme surfers as they seek to conquer the holy grail of their sport, a 100-foot wave. In this mesmerizing account, their exploits are juxtaposed against scientists' urgent efforts to understand the destructive powers of waves.
 The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean (now in paperback - $14.99) The periodic table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.
Adult Fiction  Tabloid City by Pete Hamill ($26.99; our price: $21.59) In a stately West Village townhouse, a wealthy socialite and her secretary are murdered. In the 24 hours that follow, a flurry of activity circles around their shocking deaths: The head of one of the city's last tabloids stops the presses. A cop investigates the killing. A reporter chases the story. A disgraced hedge fund manager flees the country. An Iraq War vet seeks revenge. And an angry young extremist plots a major catastrophe.
 The Language of the Sea by James MacManus ($24.99; our price: $19.99) A striking blend of realism and contemporary myth-making, this unforgettable novel tells the story of marine biologist Leo Kemp. Having lost his teaching position thanks to outspoken views, Leo decides to go on one last field trip with his students. The outing becomes disastrous when the weather turns and Leo is thrown overboard. The evocative description of Leo's journey explores what can happen beyond our perceived knowledge of science. James MacManus tests the bounds of reality with his cunning narrative set within the beautiful community of Cape Cod.
 The Passage by Justin Cronin (now in paperback - $16.00) FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he's done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. Brad is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey.
Children's and Young Adult  Wow! Ocean! by Robert Neubecker ($17.99) Explore the mysteries of the deep in a fun-filled day at the beach with Izzy and her family, who discover tide pools,shells, fish, sharks, whales and more. Few words, but each illustration is identified, making this a fun book to share with young children. Ages 3-7.
 Horton Halfpott: Or, the Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor; Or, the Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset by Tom Angleberger ($14.95) From the author of the enormously popular The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. When M'Lady Luggertuck loosens her corset (it's never been loosened before!), she sets off a chain of events in which all the strict rules of Smugwick Manor are abandoned. Very funny book for ages 8-12.
 What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen ($19.99) Since her parents' bitter divorce, McLean and her dad have been on the move--four towns in two years. Each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, McLean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Ages 14-17
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