Adult

Best Cookbooks of 2013

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cookbooks

This was the year of the cookbooks!  There were so many great cookbooks, it was hard to pick just a few.  Below are just some of the best of the year.

International:

Pok Pok by Andy Ricker and JJ Goode – Thai

The Tuscan Sun Cookbook by Frances Mayes and Edward Mayes

Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America by Maricel E. Presilla

Pati’s Mexican Table by Pati Jinich

Banh Mi: Authentic Vietnamese Sandwiches by Jacqueline Pham

The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo

American:

100 Grilling Recipes You Can’t Live Withoutby Cheryl and Bill Jamison

Treme: Stories and Recipes from the Heart of New Orleans by Lolis Eric Elie

Gramercy Tavern by Michael Anthony and Dorothy Kalins

Gluten-Free Girl Every Day by Shaunan James Ahern

The Baby & Toddler Cookbook by Karen Ansel

Stealth Health Lunches Kids Love by Tracy Griffith

Sweets:

Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book by Emily & Melissa Elsen

The Sweet Book of Candy Making by Elizabeth LaBau

Bake It Like You Mean It by Gesine Bullock-Prado

Pierre Herme’s Pastries by Pierre Herme

Cupcakes & Parties by Jennifer Shea

Paleo Desserts by Jane Barthelemy

The Unusual:

The Craft Beer Cookbookby Jacquelyn Dodd

Meals In A Jar by Julie Canquille

Beyond Bacon by Stacy Toth & Matthew McCarry

Smoke:  New Firewood Cookingby Tim Byres

Hooch: Simplified Brewing, Winemaking & Infusion At Home by Scott Meyer

Sauces & Shapes by Oretta Zanini De Vita and Maureen B. Fant

Author Janet Dailey Passes Away

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janet

Janet Dailey

Best-selling author Janet Dailey passed away “peacefully” on Saturday December 14, 2013 in her hometown of Branson, MO.  She was 69 years old.   No cause of death was released.

She was born in Iowa, but moved to Branson in 1978 with her husband Bill Dailey, who was instrumental in building Branson into an entertainment mecca.

Dailey’s novels have sold 325 million copies worldwide and include the popular “Calder” series and her “Americana” series – a book for each of the fifty states.  She is credited with writing over 155 titles.  Her first book was published in 1976.  She liked to get up at 4 AM to write, setting a goal of 15 pages per day.  This could take anywhere from 8 hours to 14 hours.

Her career hit a rough patch in 1997 when she was sued for copyright infringement by author Nora Roberts.  Dailey admitted that she took passages from Roberts’ works to write AspenGold in 1991 and Notoriousin 1996.  She apologized in 1997, saying the plagiarism occurred when her husband was undergoing cancer surgery and she was under immense stress. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 1998 for an undisclosed sum.

Her latest books, Merry Christmas, Cowboy and Bannon Brothers:  Triumphare available at the Cheshire Library.

 

2013 Goodread’s Choice Award Winners

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Every year Goodreads lets its users nominate and vote on their favorite books of the year. This is the only major book award that I know of which is decided by the public rather than publishing and the media. I will admit to being a member of Goodreads, and having voted for my favorites in a number of categories. I am happy to say that I voted for a few of the winners. Here is a list of the best books of 2013 according to Goodreads and its membership.

Fiction: And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Mystery & Thriller: Inferno (Robert Langdon #4) by Dan Brown

Historical Fiction: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Fantasy: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Niel Gaiman

Paranormal Fantasy: Cold Days (The Dresden Files #14) by Jim Butcher

Science Fiction: MaddAddam (MaddAddam Trilogy #3) by Margaret Atwood

Romance: Lover At Last (Black Dagger Brotherhood #11) by J.R. Ward

Horror: Doctor Sleep (The Shining #2) by Stephen King

Memoir & Autobiography: I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb

History & Biography: Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones
Nonfiction: The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum by Temple Grandin and Richard Panek

Food & Cookbooks: Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist by Tim Federle ; illustrated by Lauren Mortimer

Humor: Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh

Graphic Novels & Comics: Beautiful Creatures: The Manga by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl; adaptation and illustration by Cassandra Jean and lettering by Abigail Blackman

Poetry: The Fall of Arthur by J.R.R. Tolkien; edited by Christopher Tolkien

Debut Goodreads Author: Tangled (Tangled, #1) by Emma Chase

Young Adult Fiction: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Young Adult Fantasy: Allegiant (Divergent, #3) by Veronica Roth

Middle Grade & Children’s: The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus, #4) by Rick Riordan

Picture Books: The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, with pictures by Oliver Jeffers

Quilting: A Selection of Books and Magazines

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quiltQuilting is a very popular past-time and it’s evident in the number of books and magazines on the subject.  Cheshire Library has a wonderful selection of titles to choose from.  Here’s just a few:

FICTION

Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas

When The Heart Cries by Cindy Woodsmall

The Runaway Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick

The Cat, The Mill and The Murder by Leann Sweeney

The Good-bye Quilt by Susan Wiggs

Touching Stars by Emilie Richards

NON-FICTION

First Steps to Free-motion Quilting by Christina Cameli

Quilting Happiness by Christina Lane

Tula Pink’s City Sampler by Tula Pink

Kaffe Fassett Quilts: Shots and Stripes by Kaffe Fassett

The Quilting Bible– Creative Publishing

MAGAZINES

American Patchwork & Quilting

Quilter’s Newsletter

 

For a look at our entire collection, click here.

And take a look at the beautiful Cheshire Bicentennial Quilt hanging up at the Library on the main level.  It was made by 25 local artists beginning on July 4, 1975 and presented to the Town Council on February 9, 1976.

quilt

New Book Announced for Oprah’s Book Club 2.0

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oprahOn December 10th, Oprah announced her latest selection for her Book Club 2.0.  It is Sue Monk Kidd’s The Invention of Wings.  This novel is a 19th century narrative featuring real and fictional characters, weaving together stories of a slave girl and a slave owner’s daughter. In a statement released December 10th, Oprah said, “These strong female characters represent the women that have shaped our history and, through Sue’s imaginative storytelling, give us a new perspective on slavery, injustice and the search for freedom.”