Happy New Year!

A Happy New Year. Fine Art. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 30 Oct 2015.
http://quest.eb.com/search/107_3361674/1/107_3361674/cite

The clock is ticking down to 2016! What are you looking forward to next year? Here are a couple of fun facts about 2016 - click on the Lucky Dip to find item in our catalog about the topic.

Upcoming Events

Do you have any New Year's resolutions?
Lucky Dip

In the Chinese horoscope, it's the Year of the Monkey (beginning at Chinese New Year on February 8).
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It's a Leap Year.
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The 2016 European Football Championship (Euro 2016) will be hosted by France between June 10-July 10.
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The Summer Olympics will we held in Rio de Janeiro from August 5-21.  The Paralympics are September 7-18.
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The 58th U.S. presidential election will be held on Tuesday, November 8.
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Notable Historical Anniversaries

The Brontë siblings bicentenary events begin in April with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charlotte.
Lucky Dip

2016 also will also mark the birth anniversaries of: at 150 years, Beatrix Potter, Wassily Kandinsky, and Anne Sullivan; at 125 years, Zora Neale Hurston, Cole Porter, and Henry Miller; at 100 years, James Herriot, Roald Dahl, Beverly Cleary, and Shirley Jackson.

The 400th death anniversaries of Shakespeare and Cervantes are April 22 (Cervantes) and 23 (Shakespeare).
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In 1816, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, Shelley's lover Mary Godwin, and their friends gathered at Lake Geneva for a meeting of minds. Between June 15-8, they dared each other to write a ghost story. Mary Godwin (later Shelley's wife) drew from a nightmare to create Frankenstein.
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August 25 will mark the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.
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On November 26, 1966,Truman Capote, flush with the success of In Cold Blood, threw a party for 500 of his friends at the Plaza Hotel. It was called the social event of the year by many, and by some the social event of the century.
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December 7 will mark the 75th anniversary of the attacks on Pearl Harbor.
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25th Anniversary of the Collapse of the USSR: By mid-December 1991, the 15 states that had comprised the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had all declared independence, starting with Lithuania in 1990 and ending with Kazakhstan.
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December 26 is the first day of Kwanzaa. 2016 is the 50th anniversary of the founding of Kwanzaa.
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Happy New Year!

New & Novel: Holiday Romance

It's never too late to brighten up the festive season with a holiday romance! Happy Ever After, a section of USA Today Life, mentions that holiday season romances start turning up in bookstores by the end of October.

The bad news is, of all the holidays celebrated at the end of the year, it's hard to find romances set during any festivities besides Christmas. We did find a list of books to read for Diwali, the Indian festival of lights in November, but very little for Hanukkah or Kwanzaa (the best bet being a Young Adult book we blogged about last year, My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories), a trend noted by romance bloggers like The Violet Femmes.

Nevertheless, we've put together a list of primarily Christmas romantic fiction which we hope will entertain you whether you are looking to heat up the season with steamy scenes or honor the enduring spirit of the holiday. Do you have recommendations? Let us know in the comments!

A Bad Boy For Christmas by Jessica Lemmon 

A Texas Christmas Wish by Jolene Navarro

All Wrapped Up by Kimberly Kincaid

A Christmas Kiss by Celeste O. Norfleet, Regina Hart, Deborah Fletcher Mello

The Christmas Cradle by Charlotte Hubbard

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas

Holiday Sparks by Shannon Stacey [eBook]

Sleigh Bells in the Snow by Sarah Morgan

Starry Night: A Christmas Novel by Debbie Macomber   

A Christmas Prayer by Kimberla Lawson Roby 

Wish Upon a Snowflake by Christine Merrill, Linda Skye, Elizabeth Rolls 

What Happens Under the Mistletoe by Sabrina Jeffries et al.

The Mistletoe Inn by Richard Paul Evans

Sweet Silver Bells by Rochelle Alers

Baby, It's Cold Outside by Jennifer Probst et al. 

A Husband for Christmas by Gail Gaymer Martin

Texas Christmas: Six Romances From the Historic Lone Star State Herald the Season of Love by Ramona Cecil et al.

Do You Believe in Santa? by Sierra Donovan

The 12 Brides of Christmas Collection: 12 Heartwarming Historical Romances for the Season of Love by Amanda Cabot et al. 

A Grand Teton Sleigh Ride: Four Generations of Wyoming Ranchers Celebrate Love at Christmas by Elizabeth Goddard & Lynette Sowell 

Hot Christmas Nights by Farrah Rochon, Terra Little, Velvet Carter

Christmas at Tiffany's by Karen Swan 

Naughty or Nice by Eric Jerome Dickey [Kwanzaa] 

For more holiday romance, try a search of "Christmas stories" and "Love stories".
 

    

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a safe and happy holiday!  And now, relax with some festive, rights-cleared images for educational and noncommercial use from our Brittanica ImageQuest eResource.

Thanksgiving Parade. Photographer. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 8 Oct 2015.
http://quest.eb.com/search/115_2843537/1/115_2843537/cite

Autumn leaves may indicate the year is dying but they make sure it goes out in a blaze of glory. Next weekend, Thanksgiving, should find the forests of the Muskoka area at their best but it will be another week after that before the trees of Southern Ontario his their peak. So let's go for a drive then.. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 8 Oct 2015.
http://quest.eb.com/search/182_728715/1/182_728715/cite

American Football. Photographer. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 8 Oct 2015.
http://quest.eb.com/search/115_2660208/1/115_2660208/cite

Lemurs Enjoy Thanksgiving Feast At San Francisco Zoo. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 8 Oct 2015.
http://quest.eb.com/search/115_3903032/1/115_3903032/cite

Thanksgiving Greetings. Fine Art. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 8 Oct 2015.
http://quest.eb.com/search/107_3353564/1/107_3353564/cite

All branch libraries are closed today and tomorrow but our website offers resources like downloads & databases 24/7! Regular hours resume Saturday, November 28th.

Literary Links: July is...

Each month of the year is dedicated to a variety of monthly observances, local, national, or international, to make you aware of specific causes, health concerns, forms of expression, and the like.  Here are some of July's notable observances and events. Click on the linked word to find items about these topics in the library catalog via a subject search, or click on "lucky dip" below the observance for a random recommendation.

National Blueberry Month
blueberry

    lucky dip

National Picnic Month
picnic

    lucky dip

Parks and Recreation Month
parks

    lucky dip

Tour de France Month
cycling

    lucky dip

National Grilling Month
grilling

    lucky dip

July 2 - Amelia Earhart disappeared
aviation

    lucky dip

July 11 - World Population Day
population

    lucky dip

July 19 - Seneca Falls Convention
women's suffrage

    lucky dip
 

July 20 - First man on the moon
Neil Armstrong

    lucky dip

July 24 - Macchu Picchu discovered
Inca

    lucky dip


Interested in finding out about holidays and observances in other countries?  Try Timeanddate.com's Holidays worldwide!

Holiday Romances

Ah, winter holidays. Hanukkah! Winter Solstice! Christmas! Kwanzaa!  New Year's Eve! 'Tis the season for shopping,and gathering together for extravagant meals, and going to parties, and participating in winter sports.  A great time for...romance? Whether you want a little light reading by the fireside or something a little steamy to keep you as warm as a Snuggie despite winter's chill, we've got some reading suggestions for you!

What a Lady Needs for Christmas by Grace Burrowes

A Gift to Remember by Melissa Hill

Cowboy Boots for Christmas (Cowboy Not Included) by Carolyn Brown

Huckleberry Christmas by Jennifer Beckstrand

All He Wants for Christmas by Lisa Plumley

Christmas Brides by Suzanne Enoch... [et al.]

Season for Desire by Theresa Romain

A Highland Wolf Christmas by Terry Spear

Clara's Wish: An Amish Christmas Romance by Beth Shriver

A Very Merry Temptation by Kimberly Kaye Terry, Pamela Yaye & Farrah Rochon

Hot Christmas Nights by Farrah Rochon, Terra Little, Velvet Carter

Where Treetops Glisten: Three Stories of Heartwarming Courage and Christmas Romance During World War II by Tricia Goyer, Cara Putman, Sarah Sundin 

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Holly Black ...[et al], edited by Stephanie Perkins [Young Adult]

Mothers in Literature

Photo Credit

With Mother's Day this past Sunday, we've been looking at examples of Mothers in Literature.  From cozy, sweet mothers like Kanga in Winnie The Pooh to some of less savory fare.

Starting with the above illustration and going left to right, there is Mrs. Bennet from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  She is an indomitable force in the battle for eligible husbands.

Next comes the Evil Queen from Snow White.  From the eponymous Evil Step Mother murderous plots emerge in a doomed battle of beauty.

Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina is third, with her heart wrenching decision between her son and her lover.  Fourth is Olive Kitteridge and  her self-induced sabotage in regards to the relationship with her son.  Lastly, Lily Benewski in Geek Love and her enthusiasm in intentionally producing elite carnival freaks.

Not pictured, but included in our pantheon of Literary Mothers are:

Ma in Emma Donoghue's Room.
Emma Bovary in Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary.
Queen Gertrude in William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Mother/ Stepmother in The Brothers Grimm's Hansel and Gretel.
Corinne Dollanganger from V.C. Andrews' Flowers in the Attic.
Petal from Annie Proulx' The Shipping News.
Mother in Sapphire's Push.
The Other Mother in Neil Gaiman's Coraline.
Grendel's Mother in Beowulf.
Mrs. Wormwood in Roald Dahl's Matilda.
Caroline Ingalls from Laura Ingalls' Little House on the Prairie.
Molly Weasley from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter.

Good, bad, evil, indifferent, doting, smothering, neglectful, we remember and imagine all mothers today and their depictions in literature.

Fulfilling the Dream

  








Monday, January 20, all ABC Libraries will be closed in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  The federal holiday honoring him started in 1983, signed in by President Reagan.  Information on the history of the day can be found at the King Center.  Instead of just having a day off of work, the King foundation views the day as a day "on", a day of service.  Locally, the parade honoring his work starts at 2 p.m. at the intersection of University and Marin Luther King NE, heading to Civic Plaza.  Further information can be found here.

The library has a lot of information on him and they come in all formats.  Only a small number are included here, but search the catalog for more.  All biographies about him will be under the call number: Bio King.

DVDs
Children
Martin's Big Words 
March On!

Adults
King: A Filmed Record... From Montgomery To Memphis
Martin Luther King "I Have a Dream" .  It includes the speech as well as other documentary footage.
Black History: a retrospective
Roads to Memphis
A documentary on the 1963 March on Washington is PBS' The March.
Focusing on his assassination and the times following is A Ripple of Hope.
For a cinematic look at Mrs. King, there is Betty & Coretta

Books
Children
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
I Am Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. and the 1963 March on Washington
I Have a Dream
MLK: Journey of A King

Adults
 The Speech: The Story Behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream
Gospel Of Freedom
Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.
The King Years
Quotable King
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

A Cozy Holiday

 

When the holiday season rolls around, everyone's stress level rises.  With holiday parties, shopping, cooking, visiting, and family gatherings there is often little time to concentrate on a long, heavy novel.  This is the perfect time of year to catch up on the latest books in the cozy mystery series.  Most of these series feature holiday books with recipes and crafts.  You might be inspired to start whole new traditions with some of these cozy mysteries.


Mistletoe Man and Holly Blues by Susan Witing Albert

Christmas Cookie Murder and Christmas Carol Murder Leslie Meier

The Christmas Cookie Killer and Gingerbread Bump-Off by Livia J. Washburn

Kissing Christmas Goodbye by M.C. Beaton

Holiday Grind and Holiday Buzz by Cleo Coyle

Sugar Cookie Murder and Plum Pudding Murder by Joanna Fluke

Fleece Navidad by Maggie Sefton

Murder With All the Trimmings  by Elaine Viets

Buried in Bargains by Josie Bell

Let it Sew by Elizabeth Lynn Casey

Read and Buried by Erika Chase

Ten Lords A-Leaping by C.C. Benison

There are plenty of other books in these series.  Come by Juan Tabo Library and check out the First in Series bookshelf to see find the first book in a mystery series, or take a look at our Mystery Booklists. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Madame Vigée-Le Brun et sa fille
(self portrait)

In Mexico City, there is a monument called Monumento a la Madre with an inscription that translates as "To her who loves us before she meets us."  After mom meets her kids, though, it's no holds barred - there are as many different mothering experiences as there are mothers!  Here's a dip into the offerings on motherhood from the library catalog.


Just for Fun

Baby Laughs: The Naked Truth about the First Year of Mommyhood by Jenny McCarthy

Confessions of a Slacker Mom by Muffy Mead-Ferro

It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita by Heather B. Armstrong

Lift by Kelly Corrigan

Four of a Kind: A Treasury of Favorite Works by America's Best-Loved Humorist by Erma Bombeck



Mothering Guides

No More Perfect Moms: Learn to Love Your Real Life by Jill Savage

Why Have Kids?: A New Mom Explores the Truth about Parenting and Happiness by Jessica Valenti

Good Enough is the New Perfect: Finding Happiness and Success in Modern Motherhood by Becky Beaupre Gillespie & Hollee Schwartz Temple [eBook]

Beyond the Baby Blues: The Complete Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Handbook by Catherine Knox [eBook]

How to Rock Your Baby: And Other Timeless Tips for Modern Moms by Erin Bried



Dealing with Loss

Comfort: A Journey Through Grief by Ann Hood

Blue Nights by Joan Didion

The Still Point of the Turning World by Emily Rapp

Paula by Isabel Allende


Grandmothering

Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son by Anne Lamott with Sam Lamott



Empty Nest

Fun Without Dick and Jane: Your Guide to a Delightfully Empty Nest by Christie Mellor [eBook]

Beyond the Mommy Years: How to Live Happily Ever After--After the Kids Leave Home by Carin Rubenstein


New Memoirs

Shocked: My Mother, Schiaparelli, and Me by Patricia Volk

Chanel Bonfire: A Memoir by Wendy Lawless

Lucky Me: My Life With--and Without--My Mom, Shirley MacLaine by Sachi Parker, Frederick Stroppel

The Heavy: A Mother, A Daughter, A Diet--A Memoir by Dara-Lynn Weiss [eBook]

Carrie and Me: A Mother-Daughter Love Story by Carol Burnett

The Sacred Thread: A True Story of Becoming a Mother and Finding a Family, Half a World Away by Adrienne Arieff

Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected--A Memoir by Kelle Hampton



Mothering Mother


Welcome to the Departure Lounge: Adventures in Mothering Mother by Meg Federico

Mothering Mother: A Daughter's Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir by Carol D. O'Dell

A Bittersweet Season: Caring for Our Aging Parents--And Ourselves by Jane Gross



For other recommendations, see our Mother's Day 2012 post.  Or try a subject search of  "Mothers".

Winter Solstice

Celebrate the shortest day and the longest night of winter by getting in touch with your inner pagan. Abandon secular, materialistic concerns, (especially the malls), to pay homage to nature and appreciate the authentic roots of this yuletide season.

Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and Rituals At the Origins of Yuletide by Christian Ratsch and Claudia Muller-Eberling: translated from the German by Katja Lueders and Rafael Lorenzo

Wiccan Celebration: Inspiration For Living By Nature's Cycle by Silver Elder

A Ceremony For Every Occasion: The Pagan Wheel of the Year and Rites of Passage by Siusaidh Ceanad

The Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions of Christmas by John Matthews with contributions from Caitlin Matthews

The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales From Around the World for the Winter Solstice by Carolyn McVickar Edwards; illustrations by Kathleen Edwards

Celebrate the Solstice: Honoring the Earth's Seasonal Rhythms Through Festival and Ceremony by Richard Heinberg

A Winter's Solstice VI (sound recording, music) a Windham Hill Sampler

Song Of Solstice (sound recording, music): Celtic Music for Midwinter by Jennifer Cutting's Ocean Orchestra

Come to the library for all of your winter festival needs! We can give you a variety of sources to make the most of every celebration from Advent to Boxing Day.

Family Survival Guide For the Holidays

 

 

Your library is here for you this holiday season, as you connect with your loved ones with empathy, loving detachment, and compassion. Whether your family is endearingly quirky and off beat, or dysfunctional to the extreme, these thoughtful resources can help to keep some perspective and inner peace, along with peace in general.

Coping In a Dysfunctional Family by Raymond M. Jamiolkowski

12,000 Miles In the Nick Of Time : A Semi-Dysfunctional Family Circumnavigates the Globe by Mark Jacobson ; with additional commentary by Rae Jacobson

Awkward Family Pet Photos by Mark Bender

Toxic In-Laws: Loving Strategies For Protecting Your Marriage by Susan Forward with Donna Frazier

What Do You Want From Me? Learning to Get Along With In-Laws by Terri Apter

Crossing the Tracks For Love: What to Do When You and Your Partner Grew Up in Different Worlds by Ruby K. Payne

Healing Your Holiday Grief: 100 Practical Ideas For Blending Mourning and Celebration During the Holiday Season by Alan D. Wolfelt

Simplify the Holidays by Allana Baroni with Vicki Webster; illustrations by John Holm

Facing Codependence: What It Is, Where It Comes From, How It Sabotages Our Lives by Pia Mellody with Andrea Wells Miller and J. Keith Miller

Codependency For Dummies by Darlene Lancer

Boundaries In Marriage by Henry Cloud and John Townsend

Boundaries With Kids: When To Say Yes, When To Say No, To Help Your Children Gain Control Of Their Lives by Henry Cloud and John Townsend

Emotional Sobriety: From Relationship Trauma To Resilience and Balance by Tian Dayton

Christmas, Hannukah, Winter Solstice, and Kwanza may come but once a year, but our families are gifts that keeps on giving.

Gifts on a Shoestring Budget

Oh, the holiday season with its myriad of gift-giving.  Often, shopping for the holidays requires sticking to a strict budget, which sometimes makes finding the right gift for someone even more of a challenge.  All the websites and magazines tell us to make our own gifts to cut down on costs, but there are plenty of us who don't have the skills to pull this off.  Sometimes going to a craft fair at your church or your school helps keep costs down while giving unique hand-crafted gifts. Ask around your circle of friends and family to find an event close to you. Also consider the Nob Hill Shop and Stroll on Saturday, December 8th and the Old Town Holiday Stroll on Friday, December 7th to support local merchants! You can also stop by the Friends for the Public Library Book Sale on Saturday, December 8th, the Main Library Bookstore and seek out inexpensive books for gift giving, or check out our Fiction-to-Go shelves at certain branch libraries.  If picking out a book for someone feels like a daunting task use our booklists to give you some ideas of what to get the bookworm in your life.

Of course, if you are the crafty type, the library carries plenty of books to help you out with ideas or instructions.  Search the subject Gifts in our catalog, or take a look at the short list below to get you started:

Creative and Thoughtful Gift Giving: Easy Ideas for Making Gifts Special by Leah Ingram

Shabby Chic: The Gift of Giving by Rachel Ashwell

Jazzy Jars by Marie Browning

Making Glorious Gifts from Your Garden by Marie Browning

Perfumes, Scented Gifts, and Other Fragrances: Beautiful Gifts to Give (Or Keep) by Kelly Reno

The Gift Basket Design Book: Everything You Need to Know to Create Beautiful, Professional-Looking Gift Baskets for All Occasions by Shirley George Frazier

Gifts with Heart: Inspiring Stories, Handmade Crafts, and One-of-a-Kind Ideas by Mary Beth Simmons


Sometimes gift wrapping and making cards can be fun, sometimes it can be a chore.  Here are some books that will give you some creative gift wrapping and card making ideas.  They are full of beautiful photographs which are fun to look at, even if the gift wrapping is more effort than it's worth.

Presentations: A Passion for Gift Wrapping by Carolyne Roehm

Creative Giftwraps: Ideas and Inspirations, Tips and Techniques by Constance E. Richards

Handmade Giftwrap, Bows, Cards, and Tags by Jill Williams Grover

100 Fresh and Fun Handmade Cards: Step-by-Step Instructions for 50 New Designs and 50 Amazing Alternatives by Kimber McGray

Artful Cards: 60 Fresh and Fabulous Designs by Katherine Duncan Aimone

Greeting Cards Galore by Mickey Baskett and Marci Donley

ABC Libraries are closed for Thanksgiving!

All ABC Library locations will be closing at 6 pm on Wednesday, November 21 and will remain closed on Thursday, November 22nd and Friday, November 23rd in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday.  Normal hours will resume on Saturday, November 24th.  You can find a chart of library holiday hours and closures from the library's home page.

When the libraries are closed, you can still access the online catalog, My Account, and download eBooks and eAudiobooks.  If you need research assistance, make sure to check our online Reference Desk!

Hope you have a safe and happy holiday!


To learn about Thanksgiving, History.com has some interesting videos, or visit the library catalog.

November is National Bread Month!

The Grains Food Foundation is celebrating National Bread Month in November! November 17th is also celebrated as Homemade Bread Day. (However, National Cinnamon-Raisin Bread Day is in September and National Banana Bread Day is in February, in case you were keeping track of bread holidays.) We thought we would celebrate along with them with a list of books about bread and bread making from the library catalog. Maybe you'd like to spend some time in November enhancing your bread making skills?


White Bread: A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf  by Aaron Bobrow-Strain

52 Loaves: One Man's Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning, and a Perfect Crust by William Alexander

Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel

Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe's Best Artisan Bakers by Daniel Leader with Lauren Chattman

Savory Baking from the Mediterranean: Focaccia, Flatbreads, Rusks, Tarts, and Other Breads by Anissa Helou

Quick Breads by Beatrice Ojakangas [eBook only in our catalog]

The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book: A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking  by Laurel Robertson

Bread Machine Baking: Perfect Every Time - 75 Foolproof Bread and Dessert Recipes Custom-Created for the 12 Most Popular Bread Machines by Lora Brody and Millie Apter

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

The Wooden Spoon Bread Book: The Secrets of Successful Baking by Marilyn M. Moore

Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day: Fast and Easy Recipes for World-Class Breads by Peter Reinhart

Classic Sourdoughs: A Home Baker's Handbook by Ed Wood

Build Your Own Earth Oven: A Low-Cost, Wood-Fired Mud Oven, Simple Sourdough Bread, Perfect Loaves for Bakers & Beginners Both by Kiko Denzer

The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens by Daniel Wing and Alan Scott

World Sourdoughs from Antiquity by Ed Wood

Early Bird Baking: Breakfast Baking at Home by Stephen J. Ryan [DVD]

Panes & Pancitos: Dulces y Salados by Claudio Olijavetzky


Do you make your own bread?  What kind do you prefer?  What's your favorite receipe?

In related bread news, 2012 also marks the 250th anniversary of the invention of the sandwich.  And did you know the bread machine has been around since 1986? (It was first released in Japan.)