Resolve to exercise your mind in 2009

So many people make New Year’s resolutions and most of those have to do with starting an exercise program. What about exercising your mind? Reading is great mind exercise and we have a number of new titles to start your year off right – from planning new projects around the house, jazzing up your cooking, or sharpening a talent you’ve always wanted to explore, to reading for fun.

The Hour I First Believed, by Wally Lamb ~ When 47-year-old high school teacher Caelum Quirk and his younger wife, Maureen, a school nurse, move to Littleton, Colo., they get jobs at Columbine High School. In April 1999, Caelum returns home to Three Rivers, Conn., to be with his aunt who has just had a stroke. But Maureen finds herself in the school library at Columbine, cowering in a cabinet and expecting to be killed, as two vengeful students go on a carefully premeditated, murderous rampage. Miraculously she survives, but at a cost: she is unable to recover from the trauma. Caelum and Maureen flee Colorado and return to an illusion of safety at the Quirk family farm in Three Rivers. But the effects of chaos are not so easily put right, and further tragedy ensues. There, Caelum discovers a cache of old diaries, letters, and newspaper clippings in an upstairs bedroom of his family’s house. The colorful and intriguing story they recount spans five generations of Quirk family ancestors, from the Civil War era to Caelum’s own troubled childhood.

How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman ~ Here are 2,000 simple recipes for really great food. This new revised edition of what has become the bible of home cooking provides a lifetime’s worth of quick, simple, and delicious options. Its 2,000 recipes and variations cover everything from Pad Thai and Carrot Salad with Cumin to Simplest Whole Roast Chicken, Six Ways and Traditional Apple Pie. All of the recipes are easy to prepare—more than half can be completed in 30 minutes (many in even less time)—and none requires special equipment or fancy techniques. Throughout, the emphasis is on fresh, widely available ingredients and healthy, uncomplicated preparations.

Stirring the Pot, by Tyler Florence ~ Florence brings a unique perspective to the table with his understanding of how Americans like to cook and eat today, having helped people across the country with their cooking challenges. Before becoming a celebrity chef on the Food Network, he was the executive chef at the award-winning restaurant Cafeteria in Manhattan. He trained at the College of Culinary Arts at Johnston & Wales University in South Carolina. He has been featured in “Food & Wine, GQ, The Wall Street Journal, USA Weekend”, and “People”, and created specially branded menu items for Applebee’s restaurant chain, appearing in their television commercials. This is a hands-on guide to help readers fall in love with their kitchen again.
Rachael Ray’s Big Orange Book, by Rachael Ray ~ In the 10 years since she served up her first 30-minute meal—and thousands of delectable dinners later—Rachael Ray has learned just about all there is to know about getting a great tasting meal on the table in a hurry, whether it is one of her patented 30-minute miracles or something just a tad more involved for a special gathering. Her new book is the ultimate resource for busy cooks. Need kitchen inspiration? It’s all here and it’s all new.  Just one for dinner? Forget the cold cereal. Rachael has a chapter of recipes that make dining on your own a thoroughly civilized occasion, with great meals that won’t leave you with a fridge full of leftovers. Vegetarians on the guest list? No problem! There’s even a mother lode of burger recipes for fans of the bun—so many options you could make a different burger every day for a full month!

Home Artist: Lean to Draw and Paint in 20 Easy Lessons, Reader’s Digest ~ Create your own works of art by mastering a few lessons in technique—from sketching to oil painting, pastels to collage—in just 20 straightforward, hands-on lessons. This illustrated course covers basic techniques in rendering still lifes, landscapes, and portraits.  Also: Creative Perspective for Artists and Illustrators, by Ernest W. Watson ~ This distinguished educator shows that violating the academic rules of perspective can be as important as adhering to them. The work covers the picture plane, foreshortening and convergence, three-point perspective, figures in perspective, more. Watson also analyzes the works of over 20 leading illustrators and artists, including Pieter de Hooch and Paul Cezanne, and 349 illustrations are included

The Landscape Design Answer Book, by Jane Bath ~ The cost of correcting a landscaping error may cost thousands of dollars before you reach a solution. Successful landscape design may not be rocket science, but it does require a good understanding of basic principles and time-tested techniques. The Landscape Design Answer Book reflects the accumulated wisdom of Jane Bath, one of America’s premier landscape designers. Even though Bath faces a wide range of landscape design situations in her work, the solutions to these important landscape problems remain constant. That’s why this book is unique. Bath reduces the subject of landscape design to about three hundred specific design problems (or goals) a homeowner may face—and provides solutions that can be universally applied.

The Specialty Shop: How to Create your own Unique and profitable Retail Business, by Dorothy Finell ~ For everyone who has dreamed of owning a unique shop, this lively and practical book reveals that our passion the fhe shops and the things we love has the potential to become a lucrative and lifelong business.  Through this inspiring book, you will learn how to turn your business into a success story with invaluable advice on selecting which products you want to carry, developing a business plan for your start-up, choosing the right location, hiring and training personnel who will provide superior customer service, creating an inviting ambiance and choosing the right props, display materials, and shelving, planning your own advertising and PR program, and navigating the work of trade shows and gift fairs.  As readable as it is practical, this is the one book that will enable you to create the kind of memorable shop your customers will return to again and again.