Holiday Books

Here's a book I've been recommending to family and friends this season: "rethinking Work" by Cliff Hakim of Arlington, MA. His website (www.rethinkingwork.com) outlines the book's three-step process to help people make the most of their careers: reflect; explore; and engage.

Happy Holidays,

Tracy Messer
Peterborough, NH

Hi. This is where you'll find the books recommended by our callers and e-mailers, as well as books Dan and Michael recommended outside of their 2007 booklists.

Sandra in Manchester called to recommend the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. Both Dan and Michael agreed; Michael described the first book, The Golden Compass, as one of his "favorite, favorite fantasy books"

Maggie in Dover recommended Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin. This is part of a series of farm books; the latest is called Dooby Dooby Moo.

Dan Chartrand also suggested the Skippyjon Jones series as a good choice for kids.

Photographer John Gilbert Fox called in to recommend his new book, New Hampshire Patterns, with essays by Ernie Hebert. This was on Michael's booklist as well.

Jim in Orange e-mailed to recommend two local authors: Thank You For Arguing by Jay Heinrichs and American Bands by Kristin Lane

Responding to Laura's question about cookbooks, Dan said the new Alice Waters book, The Art of Simple Food, was selling well at his store.

Tanya in Francestown suggested the Flatten Me books, including The Tuesday Mushroom King

Elaine from Strafford called in her recommendation, a memoir/biography called Three Cups of Tea and written by Greg Mortensen.

Sid from Holderness recommended Without Warning by his sister, Eugenia Lovett West, as a good, quick read for mystery lovers.

Ken from Sharon called to say Where The Mountain Stands Alone was the first book he'd bought in twenty years.

Wendy in Merrimack recommended The Princess Bride by William Goldman, which is now out in a 30th anniversary printing.

At the very end of the hour, Dan's recommended The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.

Thanks for all your suggestions! You can continue today's conversation by posting a book recommendation or two right here on NHPR.org.

A recommendation for music lovers....

The Song Train by Seacoast Musicians Harvey Reid and Joyce Andersen

The Song Train is a beautiful 4-CD "boxed set" recording with an 80 page color hardback illustrated book released in Dec 2007. It contains 56 songs: arranged, performed recorded, sung and played by Harvey Reid & Joyce Andersen.

For more information visit www.songtrain.net

Cheers,
Marisa

I'm partial to local interest books, especially those dealing with New Hampshire's mountain country. Therefore, I highly recommend the recently published book, Our Mountain Trips, Part 2, edited by Jane English (Calais, Vt.) and Ben English Jr. (Jackson). This book features the jounral entries and stunning photographs of three turn-of-the-century White Mountain "trampers" who frequently visited the paths and peaks of the region on multi-day visits and hikes. The more than 250 black and white images in the book harken back to the days when the forested lands of the North Country were still recovering from the ravages of the timber industry and the days of the low-tech mountain tramper. The book is a follow-up to the first volume of Our Mountain Trips, which covered the pre-autmomobile era years 1899-1908. This new volume covers the years 1909-1926. Both are must have books for any and all White Mountain lovers.

Dear NHPR,
Re "Best books of the season", I'd like to highly recommend a book by NH architect Don Metz, Confessions of a Country Architect. It's a delightful read and a must for anyone who's fond of the spirit and culture so unique to the Upper Valley. You can read reviews on Amazon, or see sample chapters on Don's website, donmetzarchitect.com
Thanks,
Melinda Ashley