Cookbooks that Caught My Eye, But I Know I Will Never Try

October 13, 2016September 6, 2016 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Sometimes when we catalog or check in or out library materials a book catches our eye and requires some serious perusal. More often than not this means setting it aside to check out and bring home.

Cookbooks with insanely creative or intricate recipes and decorating ideas regularly catch me. I love to bake and cook but do not have the time or energy to necessarily get fancy. I tend to worry first about taste and if I can get my family to eat it.

However, looking at the wonderful ideas and execution in these books sometimes inspires me to get more creative, and sometimes just makes me wonder how anyone can eat something that obviously took some serious time and effort to make look so good. Here are some of the more recent cookbooks that have made me stop and look at their deliciously beautiful covers.

Cake My Day by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson

The New England Soup Factory Cookbook by Marjorie Druker and Clara Silverstein

What’s New, Cupcake?: Ingeniously Simple Designs for Every Occasion by Karen Tack

The Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook: Artisanal Baking from Around the World by Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez and the Bakers of Hot Bread Kitchen with Julia Turshen

Cupcakes, Cookies, and Pie, Oh, My! by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson

Seriously Delish: 150 Recipes for People Who Totally Love Food by Jessica Merchant

Great Balls of Cheese by Michelle Buffardi

The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City’s Famed Bakery by Elisa Strauss with Christie Matheson

For some of us more realistic, or pessimistic, chefs I offer:
The Can’t Cook Book : 100+ Recipes for the Absolutely Terrified! by Jessica Seinfeld

Learning to Face Your Fears

October 11, 2016October 5, 2016 / Mary / Leave a comment

worried October 11, 2016 is National Face Your Fears Day, a day for confronting, if not overcoming, things that scare you.

The Cheshire Library is here to help. Try some of these online classes from lynda.com. FREE for Cheshire Library card holders. Login in via cheshirelibrary.com/elearning.

Overcoming Your Fear of Public Speaking. Although it may seem to come naturally to some people, public speaking is actually a skill that can be learned. Learn techniques to prepare yourself mentally and physically so that you can feel comfortable—or even enjoy—delivering your message to an audience. 26 minutes.

Learning To Say No. Learning to say no is about making choices about what is important to you. Learn how to classify your work into categories of importance and decide how it matches your own goals and values. Using these guidelines, you can choose what to say “yes” to and what to say “no” to more effectively and in a way that is brief, honest, positive, and respectful. 22 minutes.

Learning to Be Assertive. We all get frustrated when we feel taken advantage of, or alternatively, respond too aggressively when we feel provoked or trapped. Overcome these knee-jerk responses by learning how to be assertive. This course reveals what assertiveness really means, and how it is different from aggression, and outlines specific techniques you can use to respond to challenging situations and difficult people. 55 minutes.

Building Self-Confidence. Confidence can help you accomplish your goals and build strong relationships. But the reverse is also true; a lack of confidence can hurt you personally and professionally. Luckily, there are steps you can take to build lasting self-confidence. In this 20 minute course, you will learn 10 techniques for building confidence you can apply at work and in your personal life.

Embracing Change. In this short course (12 minutes!), author and business coach Todd Dewett explains how you can harness the power of change and benefit those around you by avoiding quick reactions, adopting a positive attitude, and developing a 30-day plan to integrate change.

Or try some downloadable audiobooks books:

Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm / Thich Nhat Hanh

Fear of Success and Fear of the Dentist / Sanjay Burman

Speed : Facing Our Addiction to Fast and Faster– and Overcoming our Fear of Slowing Down / Stephanie Brown, PhD

And downloadable ebooks:

100 Ways to Overcome Shyness: Go From Self-Conscious to Self-Confident

Goldsmith, Barton.

The Fear Cure : Cultivating Courage as Medicine for the Body, Mind, and Soul / Lissa Rankin

A Joosr Guide to Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers and How to Turn Your Fear and Indecision into Confidence and Action / Various Authors

Or some books off the shelf:

Rewire Your Anxious Brain : How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, & Worry / Catherine M. Pittman, PhD, Elizabeth M. Karle, MLIS

The Science of Fear : Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn’t– and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger / Daniel Gardner

Growing up Brave : Expert Strategies for Helping Your Child Overcome Fear, Stress, and Anxiety / Donna B. Pincus

October is National Seafood Month

October 6, 2016August 16, 2016 / Linda / Leave a comment

sea

October is National Seafood Month. Integrating seafood into your regular diet is something you can start in October and continue all year. By adding fish and other types of seafood to your palate, you can enjoy health benefits that are hard to find on land. Here are some great seafood cookbooks for you to explore.

Seafood: how to buy, prepare, and cook the best sustainable fish and seafood from around the world – Featuring more than 300 recipes inspired by world cooking traditions, this fully illustrated cookbook provides information on seafood, shellfish and freshwater fish, and explains how to prepare them and the best way to cook them to bring out their flavor.

Mystic seafood: great recipes, history, and seafaring lore from Mystic Seaport – A delectable seafood cookbook from the eighteenth-century New England coastal village of Mystic brings together more than one hundred great seafood recipes, along with archival photographs and informational sidebars on such topics as the role of fishing in colonial America, how to prepare a classic clambake, and the culinary history of the lobster.

The New York Times Seafood Cookbook: 250 recipes for more than 70 kinds of fish and shellfish – A foremost food reviewer collects recipes for more than 100 kinds of fish and shellfish, in a volume that has options for every course and contributions by veteran food writers and top chefs including Mario Batali, Dave Pasternack, and Nobuyuki Matsuhisa.

The New England Seafood Markets Cookbook: recipes from the best lobster pounds, clam shacks, and fish mongers – Accompanied by profiles of more than 30 of the top seafood markets–their histories, owners and specialties–and profiles of some of the more colorful fishing operations along the New England seaboard, this cookbook offers recipes from the best seafood markets in the six-state New England region.

Seafood Lover’s New England: restaurants, markets, recipes & traditions – Perfect for the local enthusiast and the traveling visitor alike, this book includes: restaurants and shacks, local fishmongers and markets, regional recipes from New England chefs and restaurants, a New England seafood primer, seafood-related festivals and culinary events and regional maps.

Williams-Sonoma Seafood – A collection of oven and outdoor-grill Williams-Sonoma seafood recipes provides for dinners, parties, and casual entertaining, sharing the preparation instructions for dozens of options from Grilled Salmon and Garlic Shrimp to Lobster Risotto and Clams Oreganata.

Fresh Fish: a fearless guide to grilling, shucking, searing, poaching and roasting seafood – Collects recipes that showcase the versatility of seafood, including such options as curried lobster roll and New-Haven style white clam pizza, and offers tips on everything from shucking oysters and roasting whole fish to organizing a clambake.

Two If By Sea: delicious sustainable seafood – Boiling over with more than 150 new recipes for entrees, salads, soups, appetizers, pastas, stews, sides and sauces, a cookbook by the author of For Cod and Country features seafood that hasn’t been overfished or caught in an environmentally destructive way and provides advice on buying, choosing and making the most of your ingredients.

Top 10 Best Selling Non-Fiction Books Of All Time

September 8, 2016August 15, 2016 / Linda / Leave a comment

Since books are so expensive these days, do you wonder what titles people are willing to spend their money on? Amazon has compiled a list of their all time top selling non-fiction books. Luckily for those who don’t want to shell out the money, our library owns most of them.

Strengths Finder 2.0 – Tom Rath (ebook). To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced the first version of its online assessment, StrengthsFinder, in 2001 which ignited a global conversation and helped millions to discover their top five talents.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption – Laura Hildebrand. Tells the gripping true story of a U.S. airman who was the soul survivor when his bomber crashed into the sea during World War II and had to face thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater.

Who Moved My Cheese – Spencer Johnson. Relates a highly meaningful parable intended to help one deal with change quickly and prevail, offering readers a simple way to progress in their work and lives.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t – Jim Collins. The author uses his research on the Fortune 500 to create a blueprint for turning good companies into spectacular ones.

Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson. Draws on more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs, as well as interviews with family members, friends, competitors, and colleagues to offer a look at the co-founder and leading creative force behind the Apple computer company.

The Boys in the Boat – Daniel James Brown. Traces the story of an American rowing team from the University of Washington that defeated elite rivals at Hitler’s 1936 Berlin Olympics, sharing the experiences of such contributors as their enigmatic coach, a visionary boat builder and a homeless teen rower.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo. Presents a guide to cleaning and organizing a living space, discussing best methods for decluttering and the impact that an organized home can have on mood and physical and mental health.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey. A leading management consultant outlines seven organizational rules for improving effectiveness and increasing productivity at work and at home.

American Sniper – Chris Kyle. A member of Navy SEAL Team 3 describes his life as a father and husband, and as the serviceman with the most confirmed sniper kills in the history of the United States military while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell. An introduction to the Tipping Point theory explains how minor changes in ideas and products can increase their popularity and how small adjustments in an individual’s immediate environment can alter group behavior.

The next 10 top selling titles are: Lone Survivor – Marcus Lutrell; Killing Lincoln – Bill O’Reilly; How to Win Friends & Influence People – Dale Carnegie; Proof of Heaven – Eben Alexander; The Glass Castle – Jeannette Walls; Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking – Susan Cain; Bossypants – Tina Fey; Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell; Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead – Sheryl Sandberg

September 7th is National Beer Lovers Day!

September 6, 2016August 4, 2016 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Many of us are in denial about the fact that Summer is coming to a close. Soon barbecues and outdoor parties will be a little cooler, and likely a little less frequent. This makes it a perfect time to celebrate a staple to many picnics (for the adults anyway) beer and other adult beverages. September 7th is National Beer Lovers Day, and a great day to explore all things beer related.

How about some history of beer, and Connecticut beer specifically:
Connecticut Beer: a History of Nutmeg State Brewing by Will Siss
The Craft Beer Revolution: How a Band of Microbrewers is Transforming the World’s Favorite Drink by Steve Hindy
A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage
Microbrewed Adventures: a Lupulin-filled Journey to the Heart and Flavor of the World’s Great Craft Beers by Charlie Papazian
The War on Alcohol: Prohibition and the Rise of the American State by Lisa McGirr