Holiday Books 2009

Can your guests recommend a book that best describes Afghanistan history and what is leading us into the troop surge in 2010? Thank you.

Hello! We'll be posting the titles of books suggested by today's callers here in the comments. You're invited to share your own recommendations here too.

Read Dan and Michael's recommendations here.

Michael mentioned Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper as the best pet book of the year, this year’s Marley and Me. Dan added a book from his summer list, Little Bee by Chris Cleave.

Jean from Sandwich asked for books like Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which she bought for her daughter last year. Michael noted there's a sequel called Catching Fire. Dan added The Maze Runner by James Dashner.

Wally from Enfield recommended Favor Johnson by Willem Lange as a great Christmas read for kids. Michael and Dan both recommend it as well.

Ray in Lowell, Mass. says The Case for God by Karen Armstrong is a "must" for those who like history and philosophy. Dan agreed, saying Armstrong was a beloved scholar and an accessible writer.

Amy from Sugar Hill recommends They Call Me Mayer July: Painted Memories of a Jewish Childhood in Poland Before the Holocaust by Mayer Kirshenblatt and Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett.

Mary from Lee suggested Cross-Grained and Wily Waters: A Guide to the Piscataqua Maritime Region as a nice coffee table book, edited by W. Jeffrey Bolster at UNH. Dan says it's a perennial favorite at his store.

Julia from Durham called looking for recommendations for "savvy teenage boys." Dan said his 14 year old son just finished Dan Brown's new novel, which he said was "packed with ideas."

Susan from Concord suggests In The Country of Last Things by Paul Auster, who she said was one of her favorite authors - "intellectual but accessible." Michael said he was a combination of Raymond Chandler and Franz Kafka. Dan also liked Auster's City of Glass.

Dan noted Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater as the top book in the emerging "Teen Paranormal Romance" genre.

Dana in Greenland suggests When the Game Was Ours by Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Jackie MacMullan which “touches on a lot of subjects outside sports. Dan noted that MacMullan is a UNH alum and longtime Boston Globe writer; he highly recommended this book. Michael said he loved it too, and also recommended Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons - he says readers should make a point of checking out the footnotes, as "that's where all the jokes are."

An e-mailer recommended Quarry, a new anthology of crime fiction from a local group.

Katie in Berlin says she's reading (and giving) Twitterville by Shel Israel for those who want to understand social media.

Adam called to suggest Ayn Rand's best-seller The Fountainhead. Michael said Penguin has just put out a new series of classic books. Dan added that Dickens' Christmas books are big sellers this season.

Maggie from Durham asked for ideas on children's poetry books. Dan recommends Cars on Mars by J.D. Landis as "ridiculously fun" for 4-8 year olds.

For political books, Michael said Going Rogue by Sarah Palin is selling well, as is Going Rouge, a book from the editors of The Nation as a sort of counterpoint or rebutall to Palin's memoir. Dan said most other political books aren't selling much this year, but recommends The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War by James Bradley as a solid historical read.

Thanks for listening, and please share more of your own holiday book recommendations here!

I would love to hear from one of NH's amazing librarians as well as booksellers. Wouldn't they provide a good alternative perspective?

Thanks!

This is an amazing book for parents, teachers, caregivers or anyone who cares about kids. It takes a look at assumptions we make about how best to raise smart, responsible, happy kids... and shows that science does not support most of our-meaning ideas. The authors have partnered with Newsweek and through Facebook I get a new article almost every day that reacts to events in the world. I am DEVASTATED that my library has a copy sitting on the shelf not being read.... There are no magic solutions but there are certainly plenty of "ah ha's" in this book!

Donald Hall's 'Unpacking the Boxes..'
Nick Hornby's 'Juliet, Naked'
Guillermo Del Toro's 'The Strain'
David Halberstam's 'The Next Century'
Diane Ackerman's 'The Zookeeper's Wife'

Don't forget the new Audrey Niffenegger novel- "Her Fearful Symmetry". It's on my Christmas list! Steve in Bedford

I would like to recommend It's Not All Flowers and Sausages, My Adventures inn Second Grade" by Mrs. Mimi. It is a journal written by a second grade teacher in New York City about the daily adventures that teachers have. It is the funniest book I ever read. Every teacher should read this

Wanted to get a book about a cat that I heard mentioned on the show, but there doesn't seem to be any real list that I can find. Just a print out of the show, and in that I don't see the book I wanted to get. Is there a "list" of the books mentioned?