101 TWO-LETTER WORDS
Stephin Merritt, illustrated by Roz Chast
W.W.Norton & Co, 2014, $19.95
When not at home in Hudson, rock star Stephin Merritt, leader of The Magnetic Fields, spends a lot of time waiting, during which he plays Scrabble. This hilarious one-of-a-kind volume contains the rhymes Merritt uses as mnemonic devices for remembering the two-letter words admissible in the game. With wildly entertaining illustrations from New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast, Merritt's Edward Gorey-inspired four line poems will make you laugh while increasing your word power. —RBW
THE ART OF JOHN ALVIN
Andrea Alvin, foreword by Jeffrey Katzenberg
Titan Books, 2014, $34.95
"Mention a movie, such as Blazing Saddles, that opened with a John Alvin poster and people can vividly describe the image in detail," writes Andrea Alvin of her late husband, a Rhinebeck resident whose credits included paintings for (among others) E.T., Blade Runner, Jurassic Park, Batman, Godfather III, The Lion King, and many Star Wars graphics. This large-format book accompanies each iconic poster with backstory anecdotes, sketches, outtakes, and more. Fanboy heaven. —NS
DEAR WALLY: A COLLECTION OF SNARKY ADVICE COLUMNS & OPINIONATED ESSAYS
Wally Nichols
BookBaby, 2014, $15
Part Jackass-style brazenness, part Ann Landers, all fun. Wally Nichols, advice columnist / farmer / radio deejay / musician, dispenses salty guidance for the lifelorn and lovelorn in the Blue Stone Press. A heap of his advice—hilarious, sarcastic, irreverent, even sweet—is gathered here. To a midlifer considering skydiving, Nichols recounts his own airborne misadventures. He also trolls a Nigerian scammer, salutes Neil Armstrong, rants on mayonnaise, and makes everyone laugh, which is the best advice anyway. —JM
DELICIOUS DECEMBER: HOW THE DUTCH BROUGHT US SANTA, PRESENTS, AND TREATS
Peter G. Rose
Excelsior Editions, 2014, $24.95
Get your Sinterklaas on with this beguiling book, which traces the migration of Dutch holiday traditions from Old to New World. "More of a secular personality than most other saints," Nicholas rescued fourth-century sailors and left anonymous gifts for the indigent (Christmas presents, anyone?). Celebrations of Saint Nicholas Day moved from church to home, with wonderfully named sweets (Pepernoten, Speculaas, Kweepeer koekjes); Rose includes more than 100 delectable recipes. —NS
GRAND OPERA: THE STORY OF THE MET
Charles Affron, Mirella Jona Affron
University of California Press, 2014, $45
Husband-wife academics, part-time locals, and passionate opera fans Charles and Mirella Affron have created a comprehensive, decade-by-decade history of the Metropolitan Opera House and its changing repertoire, from the inaugural 1883 Faust to Marian Anderson's Civil Rights era debut to the age of "Live in HD" simulcast. If the Phoenicia Festival of the Voice whetted your operatic appetite, here is a splendid multicourse meal. —NS
HANSEL & GRETEL
Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Lorenzo Mattotti
Toon Graphics, 2014, $16.95
International avatar of literary cool Gaiman unveiled the opening pages of this dark masterpiece at his Bard "Conversations With" program last year with Maus scribe Art Spiegelman. Lorenzo Mattotti's line is looser, but no less emotional. His tempestuous black-on-white paintings illuminate Gaiman's wrenching tale of wartime starvation, parental abandonment, and hard-won redemption. For a gift that will thrill any Gaiman fan, The Golden Notebook has signed first editions. —NS
HONEYKY HANUKAH
Woody Guthrie, pictures by Dave Horowitz, CD by The Klezmatics
Doubleday Books for Young Readers, $17.99
Renowned children's author-illustrator and local drummer Dave Horowitz brings to life the sweet, celebratory folk song Woody Guthrie penned for his Jewish wife, Marjorie. Horowitz employs lively cutout art featuring a barefoot, curly-headed boy playing guitar and singing as Grandma bakes honeycake, Dad plays accordion, and hugs abound. A bonus CD of the Klezmatics' version of the song makes this the best Hanukkah gift ever. —RBW
HUDSON VALLEY FOOD & FARMING: WHY DIDN'T ANYONE EVER TELL ME THAT?
Tessa Edick
The History Press, 2014, $19.99
FarmOn! Foundation founder and executive director Edick pens an eloquent love letter to Hudson Valley farmers, detailing 400 years of local farming traditions and the resurgence of family farms in today's locavore foodie culture. Meet the people who bring you a seasonal bounty of mesclun greens, farm stand tomatoes, sweet corn, heirloom apples, artisanal cheeses, and grass-fed meats. Book signing 12/18 from 4-6pm at Terrapin Restaurant, Rhinebeck. —NS
THE PASSION OF MARIE ROMANOV: A TALE OF ANASTASIA'S SISTER
Laura Rose
Memoir House, 2014, $9.99
In a stunning literary debut, Laura Rose mines letters, documents, and diaries to flesh out the tragic but enthralling story of Grand Duchess Marie Romanov, older sister of Anastasia, who, along with the entire Russian royal family, was imprisoned by the usurping Bolsheviks for 78 days, then executed. High Falls resident Rose creates a distinctive Marie, a beguiling, believable presence who rises from this page-turner with startling power and steals your heart. —RBW
PETER, PAUL AND MARY: 50 YEARS IN MUSIC & LIFE
Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey & Mary Travers, foreword by John F. Kerry
Imagine!, 2014, $29.95
Celebrate Peter, Paul and Mary's part in American history in gorgeous black-and-white. Packed with photographs and filled with memories, this lavish book is an inspiring chronicle of a great band and a changing nation. It reaches beyond the music scene to dramatic political events, often powerfully expressed in the trio's soothing three-part harmony. All the milestones and key figures are there, and Secretary of State John Kerry, a lifelong fan, puts it all into perspective. —JM
THE POCKET PERKINS: BRIEF WRITINGS
Michael Perkins
Bushwhack Books, 2014, $14.95
In this handy volume, beloved Woodstock poet-novelist-libertine-philosopher-hiker Perkins offers a potent distillation of 50 years of work, packed with pithy excerpts from his memoir, plus criticism, essays, and more, including an introduction by Chronogram's own Nina Shengold. Sprinkled liberally throughout are Perkins's exquisitely wrought aphorisms, shining with bracing clarity. The Pocket Perkins can serve as introduction to this true man of letters, a Greatest Hits, and/or a reminder that literary greatness walks among us still. —RBW
SAVING SIMON: HOW A RESCUE DONKEY TAUGHT ME THE MEANING OF COMPASSION
Jon Katz
Ballantine Books, 2014, $25
Hudson Valley bestseller Jon Katz has a knack for portraying the remarkable canines in his life. Now he's writ a moving tale about an old soul of a donkey named Simon, as patient and kind as his ears are long. In rescuing this wise creature, as Katzian logic goes, Katz also rescues part of himself. This story marks a change in life, too, as Katz and his wife, Maria Wulf, leave their beloved Bedlam Farm for another haven, where compassion has plenty of room to roam. —JM
SEPARATE CINEMA: THE FIRST 100 YEARS OF BLACK MOVIE POSTERS
John Duke Kirsch, foreword by Henry Louis Gates Jr., afterword by Spike Lee
Reel Art Press, 2014, $75
This opulent volume brings a hidden gem of a film archive to four-color glory. The Rhinebeck-based Separate Cinema Archive, the largest private collection of African-American film memorabilia in the world, includes over 35,000 movie posters and photographs. Here's the best of it, from Uncle Tom's Cabin to The Butler, Al Jolson to Blaxploitation, Dorothy Dandridge to Oprah, B movies to blockbusters. With a foreword by Henry Louis Gates and an afterword by Spike Lee, it's a hefty revelation. —JM
STRONG FEMALE PROTAGONIST
Brennan Lee Mulligan, drawn by Molly Ostertag
Top Shelf, 2014, $19.95
Ace writer Mulligan and deft artist Ostertag, veterans of the Kingston-based Wayfinder Experience, originally published an online version of their defiantly original, witty, gender-busting comic Strong Female Protagonist, the adventures of retired 19-year-old superhero Alison Green, aka Mega Girl. Alison's superstrength, while awesome, causes real-world problems, too, which offers a tantalizing believability rare in the genre. A stupendously successful Kickstarter campaign enabled the creators to graduate to the analog world. —RBW
WOODY AND THE CANDLE MOUNTAIN
Crystal Schachter, illustrated by Margarete de Soleil
Dog Ear Publications, 2014, $27.95 hardcover / $17.95 paperback
It doesn't get much more Woodstock than this big-hearted, finely drawn tale of an aimless girl with low self-esteem who wanders down Tinker Street, fending off well-meaning neighbors from hummus kitchen to bookstore to drum circle ("All the adults were being weirder than usual," she grumps) until she arrives at a candle shop with a magical mountain of rainbow-hued wax. But sometimes old hippies know best, and Woody awakens from a colorful was-it-a-dream with new resolve. Comes with free candle set. —NS
