Originally published on January 1, 2024

Happy New Year!

There’s something about clearing out the holiday decorations and putting up a new calendar that makes anything and everything seem possible. Start exercising? You got this. Eat healthier? You can do it. Learn a new language? Research your roots? Read more? Turns out there’s probably a book for that, and we’ve got you covered at the library.

Alongside those New Year resolutions, we challenge you to join our 2024 Reading Challenge. January’s prompt is to read a book that has the word “New” or “Year” (or both!) in the title. There are quite a few books that qualify in our library catalog (surprise, surprise), but here are a couple of wide-ranging suggestions:

NEW

• New Native Kitchen: Celebrating Modern Recipes of the American Indian
  Freddie Bitsoie
  Bitsoe, a Navajo and the former Executive Chef at the Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe at the National Museum of the American Indian, explores modern takes on Indigenous foods from across the United States in this 2021 cookbook.
  
• Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride
  Lucy Knisley
  This charming graphic memoir details Knisley’s DIY wedding preparations.
• Moonrise Over New Jessup
  Jamila Minnicks
  This debut novel shines a light on the behind-the-scenes force of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama.
• The New Retirement Savings Time Bomb: How to Take Financial Control, Avoid Unnecessary Taxes, and Combat the Latest Threats to Your Retirement Savings
  Ed Slott
  Acclaimed tax advisor Ed Slot explains how to manage your retirements savings in easy-to-understand terms.
• Prophets for a New Day
  Margaret Walker
  This 1970 poetry collection, which follows her phenomenal For My People, links prominent civil rights activists with Biblical prophets.

YEAR

• The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook: 2,000 Recipes from 20 Years of America’s Most Trusted Food Magazine
  America’s Test Kitchen editors
  This cookbook hits all the high spots and shares recipes for nearly everything you could ever want to cook.
• Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years
  Joy Harjo
  Harjo, a  member of the Mvskoke Nation and three-term US Poet Laureate, celebrates fifty years of being a poet with this 2023 collection of poetry.
• A Year in Mississippi
  Charline R. McCord and Judy H. Tucker, editors
  This collection of essays has a uniquely Mississippi take on the four seasons and focuses on special celebrations and traditions in the state.
• Coronation Year
  Jennifer Robson
  The lives of three very different people come together at London’s historic Blue Lion hotel at the time of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in this historical novel
• Year of the Rabbit
  Tian Veasna
  Veasna tells the story of his family’s experiences during and after the Khmer Rouge’s takeover of Cambodia and their ultimate decision to flee their country in this graphic biography.

Don’t see anything here that tickles your fancy? Be sure to check out your local Mississippi public library’s catalog, too. You can find the link at this directory of Mississippi libraries. Hoopla and Libby, both offered by Mississippi public libraries, are also a good place to hunt for your New Year read. If all else fails, ask your friendly local librarian for a suggestion. Be sure to share what you’re planning to read in the comments. We would love to share in your reading journey!

Questions or Concerns?

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