Titcomb's Bookshop
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Fall Hours
Mon-Sat. 10am-5pm
Sunday 12pm-5pm
432 Route 6A
East Sandwich, MA 02537
(508) 888-2331
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September
Best Sellers
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- Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama
- The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies
- Plato and a Platypus Went Into A Bar by Thomas Cathcart
- Flame Keepers by Ned Handy
- Disappearances by Howard Frank Mosher
- House Takes A Vacation by Jacqueline Davies
- Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama
- The Boy Who Drew Birds by Jacqueline Davies
- Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
- Thousand Splended Suns by Khaled Hosseini
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Did You Know?
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I have found the best book! (good comment coming from a bookstore, eh?) It is The Ultimate Book of Useless Information: A Few Thousand More Things You Might Need to Know (But Probably Don't) by Noel Botham ($12.95).
If you have enjoyed the past few years of trivia in this column, you would love this book! This month, all of our trivia comes to us courtesy of Mr. Botham
Did You Know That...
..in 1977, a 13 year old child found a tooth growing out of his left foot?
..the average human bladder can hold 13 ounces of liquid? (FYI, an iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts is 16 ounces)
...in the Carribbean there are oysters that can climb trees? (I am telling you, trivia is my calling....how can you not love this stuff??)
..Richard Gere's middle name is Tiffany?
...author Lewis Carroll combines the words chuckle and snort to come up with the word chortle in Through The Looking Glass?
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Community Events
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Family Jam Making Workshops at Green Briar Nature Center. 1 child and 1 adult can come and make Apple Pie Jam (10/06) or Cranberry Lemon Pear Jam (10/20). Great Christmas gifts! Call (508) 888-6870 for information.
Halloween Carnival at Heritage Museum and Gardens. Fri. Oct. 26th 5:30-8pm. Bring the family for a night of spooky fun, with take-home crafts, several carnival games & prizes, balloon sculpting, hands-on artifacts, tattoos, and a puppet show, "The Pirate's Missing Pumpkin." Activites start at 5:30pm, show starts at 7pm. Members: $6, Non-Members: $8. Registration Required. Call 508.888.3300, x-100 for more information.
Family Music Night Sponsored by Cape Cod Libraries. Sat. Nov 3rd 1:00pm at Cape Cod Community College. Come hear The Elbows, a local Cape Cod band and children's recording artists. They offer a special kind of interactive children's entertainment that grown-ups can actually enjoy! For more information, call the Sandwich Public Library (508) 888-0625
Strega Nona Pasta and Puppets Sat. Oct. 20th Shows at 11am and 12:30pm. Puppets and food, can you beat that? Registration is required, call the Sandwich Public Library (508) 888-0625
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Warning: Intense name-dropping ahead! :-)
Elizabeth and I just got back from the New England Independent Bookseller's Association meeting in Providence. The 3 day conference was filled with some fabulous authors and illustrators, as well as hundreds of dedicated and fun loving booksellers. On a very positive note, there are some really, really great books coming out this fall, which we will be talking about here and in coming newsletters. There is a vibrant group of bookstores here in New England, which we are happy to be a part of.
We started with the Children's Bookseller's dinner, which was so much fun! We were invited by Scholastic Publications to sit at one of their tables and meet keynote speaker Natalie Babbitt, author of Tuck Everlasting and her newest book, Jack Plank Tells Tales. She was utterly charming and it was a thrill to get to talk with her. Jerry Spinelli, author of some of my favorite chapter books, including Stargirl and Maniac Magee, shared a number of hilarious letters written to him by children. Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger, author and illustrator of numerous children's books, including Tacky the Penguin, spoke of their 25 year collaboration, which is one of the perfect joint efforts in children's picture book publishing.
Lunch the next day was with Richard Russo, author of Pulitzer prizewinning book, Empire Falls (one of my absolute favorite books) and the fabulous new book Bridge of Sighs. Other speakers included authors Roy Blount, Jr., Gregory Macguire and Julius Lester.
The conference ended with a real highlight - breakfast with another Pulitzer prize-winning author, Geraldine Brooks (author of Year of Wonders and March), Ha Jin (the author of Waiting and The Crazed) and author, columnist and noted economist Paul Krugman, whose new book, The Conscience of a Liberal, comes out tomorrow.
It sounds like we just ate our way through the conference - and we did a lot of that! - but there were a number of great discussions about bookselling and books and we came away with a great list of ideas we hope to implement in the coming months.
Vicky |
Fall Story Hour With Miss Edye
Wednesdays 10:30am
Oct. 3rd - Nov. 14th |
The big kids go back to school, the little ones come back to story time! Miss Edye is preparing to start her fall series of story times. Join her on Wednesdays at 10:30am for a few stories, a quick craft and a yummy snack.
Story times are always free and no registration is required.
There will be a new theme every week:
Oct. 3rd Waddle Like A Duck
Oct. 10th Color Me Eric Carle
Oct. 17th Bad Dog Marley
Oct. 24th Let's Go Shopping
Oct. 31st Boo!
Nov. 7th Round As A Pumpkin
Nov. 14th We Give Thanks! |
Titcomb's Bookshop
October Book Club
Tuesday Oct. 16th, 7:00pm
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 For October, our Book Club will read Disappearances by Howard Frank Mosher , who was the winner of the New England Book Award for fiction. In
this coming-of-age story, Wild Bill Bonhomme, and his larger-than-life
father, Quebec Bill, encounter a cast of wild characters--and live out
magical escapades as they carve their way into legend with their
whiskey-smuggling exploits along the Vermont-Canada border in 1932.
We are pleased to offer you the opportunity to talk with the author. Howard Frank Mosher will call in to the book club meeting and answer any of your questions.
As always, the book club is open to all. No registration is necessary. |
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American Girl Event Sun Nov. 4th
Meet Julie Albright 2:00pm
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 Join us for events
and activities celebrating the newest American Girl, Julie Albright. (This event will be most appropriate for
children ages 8-12)
Julie is a girl growing up in the 1970's who
is dealing with her parents getting divorced and a move away from her
San Francisco neighborhood. (Just as a side note, yes a girl growing up in the 1970's is considered part of the American Girls Historical Dolls group. Can you believe it???)
Enter to
win a free Julie doll! . Even if you are not able to come to the event, stop by the Bookshop starting Nov. 1st to enter to win the Julie doll. The drawing will be 2 weeks prior to Christmas, so the timing could be great!
This event is free, but registration is required. Please call the Bookshop (508) 888-2331 or email us at titcombsbookshop@aol.com. Remember to let us know your name, phone number and how many adults and how many children will attend. |
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| Staff Recommendations |
 From Elizabeth: Roast Chicken and Other Stories by Simon Hopkinson ($24.95, Hyperion) This is my favorite food book for the season. Having won many
awards in England this gem of a book has come to the US at last. Chef
Simon Hopkinson presents forty ingredients in alphabetical order with
interesting stories and anecdotes followed by two to eight recipes. Each
recipe inspires you to cook and will appeal to the novice and the professional
chef. My personal favorite so far is poached cod with lentils and salsa
verde! Flo Bayley's illustrations add to the charm of this very
attractive book. You will want to share it with all your friends who love
to cook.
From Nancy: Lottery by Patricia Wood ($24.95, our price $19.96, Putnam) Perry Crandall is not retarded.  His IQ is 76, thank-you-very-much, and that is above the level deemed to be labelled retarded (75). His story is told in his own wonderfully clear and concise voice. He is 32 years old and has lived his life, after being abandoned by his parents, with his grandmother. Perry wins the lottery after his grandmother dies and his heretofore unhelpful and unkind family swoops in. You will want to jump right inside this debut novel and knock some heads together to clear away all of the vultures coming after Perry. Isn't it great when you really like an author's very first novel?
 From Vicky: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest To Follow The Bible As Literally As Possible by A.J. Jacobs ($25.00 our price $20.00) (Vicky read an advanced reading copy of this book about 6 weeks ago and has just been dying to tell you all about it! We've had to hold her back till this month's newsletter.) This book is a complete delight from start to finish! It is laugh out loud funny, thoughtful, honest and an all around great read. A. J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All, tries to live, as much as possible, by as many of the commandments of the Bible as he possibly can for an entire year. (Some, such as the commandment to kill all the magicians, he decided to forego.) Through it all, the author is respectful of the religions he studies and in the end finds that the year has made a difference in his life. I found the book impossible to read without sharing some of the stories with others. This will make a wonderful holiday gift for almost any adult on your holiday list.
 From Edye: Edward's Eyes by Patricia Maclachlan ($15.99, Atheneum). From the Newbery Medal winning author of Sarah, Plain and Tall comes a deeply moving portrait of a child, a son, a family and a brother. A boy's book and a girl's book...great! (ages 8-12)
 From Elizabeth: A Crooked Kind Of Perfect by Linda Urban ($16.00, Harcourt)
Ages 8-12 Zoe Elias dreams of playing the piano. All she needs is a
baby grand, some lessons and she will be on her way to Carnegie Hall. In
reality she ends up with a wheeze-bag organ, her lesson book is The Hits of the
Seventies, she has a mom who works all the time, her dad is afraid to leave the
house and an odd boy by the name of Wheeler Diggs follows her home from school
every day. She enters the annual Perform-O-Rama organ competition and
finds that dreams can be rearranged and take turns one does not
anticipate. Young readers will cheer for Zoe as she rises to the
occasion.
From Elizabeth: The View From Mary's Farm and Saturday Beans & Sunday Suppers by Edie Clark ($14.95 each, Powersbridge
Press) In The View From Mary's Farm readers have the opportunity to read essays
written by beloved Yankee Magazine writer, Edie Clark. In her new book,
Saturday Beans & Sunday Suppers, Edie invites us into her kitchen and shares
some wonderful stories and recipes that she has collected over the years.
Her loyal fans will be delighted to have this addition to their library and it
will attract many more readers to her fan club.
 From Maddie: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks ($7.50) The Notebook narrates the intertwining journeys of two young adults as they search for happiness and love in their lives. Readers will be drawn instantly into the plot and will feel uplifted while watching such a tender, heartwarming story unfold.  From Vicky: Last Secret of the Temple by Paul Sussman ($24.00 our price $19.20) This is a gripping historical thriller set in the Middle East and Nazi Germany. I'm not a big mystery fan, but I really loved this book! The three major characters are an Egyptian policeman, an Israeli policeman and a Palestinian journalist who are forced by circumstances to collaborate to solve a murder and an ancient mystery. The writing is super and the research rings true. There is so much of the Arab-Israeli conflict that is made human through the lives and beliefs of the characters in the book.  From Vicky: Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo ($26.95, our price $21.56) I am only half way through this book, but I can't wait for next month's newsletter to let you know how absolutely wonderful it is!! Just as he did in Pulitzer prize-winning Empire Falls, Richard Russo illuminates the lives of everyday people in small towns with brilliance and insight and affection. Set in a small upstate New York town, the book follows three generations of a family, their friends and neighbors. Elizabeth and I read this book (often reading passages out loud) every extra minute we had at the book conference.  From Vicky: The Sheep in Wolf's Clothing by Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger. ($16.00) They've done it again! The dynamic author-illustrator team who brought us Tacky the Penguin (and much more!) have created a gem of a book about a sheep who dresses as a wolf for the Woolyones' Costume Ball. The story is really clever, the writing superb and the illustrations brilliantly capture the humor. Ewe'll be glad you read this one! |
| New Book Releases in October |
Some months I wonder what we will put in this column. It just seems that some months there just isn't so much to get excited about. This month?? Some big names are writing again! Yeah! I am going to have a hard time cutting this column off!
 Return To Holly Springs by Jan Karon (Oct. 30th, $26.95, our price $21.56, Viking) In the first of the Father Tim novels,
Karon enchants with a story of the newly retired priests
spur-of-the-moment adventure. For the first time in decades, Father Tim
returns to his birthplace, Holly Springs, Mississippi, in response to a
mysterious, unsigned note saying simply: "Come home."
 World Without End by Ken Follett (Oct. 9th, $35.00, our price $28.00, Dutton). If you loved PIllars of the Earth you will be so pleased to hear that the sequel is here! In 1989, Follett astonished the literary
world with "The Pillars of the Earth," a sweeping epic novel set in
12th-century England that centered on the building of a cathedral and
the hundreds of lives it affected. This sequel takes place in the same
town of Kingsbridge, two centuries later.
 The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold (Oct. 16th, $24.99 our price $19.99, Little Brown). When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily. A woman steps
over the line into the unthinkable in this powerful new novel by the author of "The Lovely Bones" and "Lucky."
 The Daring Book For Girls by Andrea Buchanon (Oct. 30th, $24.95). Were you feeling left out by The Dangerous Book For Boys? Now the girls get their chance. For every girl with an independent spirit and nose for trouble, here is
the no-boys-allowed guide to everything from camping out and school
yard games to great women in history and the rules of Truth or Dare.
 Harry Potter Boxed Set (Oct. 16th, $195.00, our price $136.50 ---30% off!). Now that they are all here, a boxed set of the hardcovers can be produced. From his first appearance as a young orphan entering Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry to his final showdown with Voldemort, Harry
Potter has become one of the most cherished characters in history. Now,
collectible hardcover editions of all seven books in J.K. Rowlings
phenomenal bestselling saga are snugly packed in a decorative,
trunk-like box with sturdy handles and a privacy lock, accompanied by
decorative stickers. If you are thinking of this for a Christmas present for someone special....you should probably order this early, this is the type of difficult to produce thing that can be scarce closer to the holidays.
 Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig (Nov.6th, $27.95, our price $22.36) All right, I am a month early here (the book is released in November). But it's the biography of Rhett Butler!!!! Yipee! Little baby Rhett right on up to the strong manly Rhett we all know and love. Fully authorized by the Margaret Mitchell estate, this is the
astonishing and long-awaited novel that parallels "Gone with the Wind."
Through McCaigs storytelling mastery, the life and times of the dashing
Rhett Butler unfold.
 Olivia Helps With Christmas by Ian Falconer (Oct. 2nd, $18.99). Olivia is back! As Kris Kringles #1 enthusiast, she busies herself by preparing for Christmas. |
| Old Book News |
I think that we told you in the August letter that we had a nice collection of Samuel Chamberlain books come in. His books have wonderfully clear black & white photographs of houses and landmarks of different places. Would you believe that we had 2 more collections come in? I think that we can honestly say that we now have more Samuel Chamberlain books than anytime in our 40 year history! We have his books on Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Salem, Portsmouth, Boston and more! All reasonably priced....$7-$20.
More maritime books this month too. Maybe people think to part with their books as they put their boats away for the winter? Doesn't matter, it is a subject matter we love!
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