My LINKcat AccountHappy April Fools' Day! Not only are we at the beginning of a new month and can finally say goodbye to a fickle and windy March, but we are only a few days away from the beginning of National Library Week. National Library Week seems to be a moveable feast. In 2018, it started on April 7th; in 2019 on April 8th; in 2020 on April 19th. This year it starts on April 4th which just happens to be Easter, another moveable feast. There are a number of celebratory events planned for the week. Please check our website and social media for details.
But lets, get back to April Fool's Day. Where did this custom of frivolity and pranking arise?
According to some historians it may date back to 1582 when France switched from the Julian calendar (the new years starts with the spring equinox around April 1st) to the Gregorian (the new years starts January 1st). Those who were slow to adopt the January 1st date became the butt of jokes and were called April fools and had pranks played upon them. According to other historians April Fools Day can be linked to the Roman festival of Hilaria which was celebrated at the end of March. Followers of the cult of Cybele dressed up in disguises and mocked their fellow citizens and magistrates. This was said to be inspired by the Egyptian legend of Isis, Osiris and Seth. These pranking practices spread through Britain in the 1700s and in Scotland a two day event which started off with the hunting of the "gowk" -- the word for a cuckoo (bird) or fool-- which sent folks off on fake errands. Day two -- Tailie Day== involved pinning fake tails on people (i.e. "kick me" signs). Harmless pranking is the name of the game with harmless being the most important word. And now that you know all about today, below you will find some of the new titles which recently arrived at the library. No fooling! Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
Elizabeth and Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor Sisters by Andrew Morton. This biography of Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Margaret examines their early idyllic youth as the closest of sisters as well as their often fraught relationship after their father’s death and Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne.
The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women’s Rights by Dorothy Wickenden. The best-selling author of Nothing Daunted chronicles the revolutionary activities of Harriet Tubman, Frances Seward and Martha Wright, discussing their vital role in the Underground Railroad, abolition and the early women's rights movement.
Everything Will Be Okay: Life Lessons for Young Women (from a Former Young Woman) by Dana Perino. The Fox News co-host and best-selling author of And the Good News Is… draws on her personal boundary-breaking experiences to counsel readers on how to find inspiration and motivation in today's world.
Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind by Judson Brewer. A step-by-step plan is clinically proven to break the cycle of worry and fear that drives anxiety and addictive habits.
New Fiction
Raft of Stars by Andrew Graff. Fleeing into the woods believing that they have accidentally murdered an abusive parent, two young boys, unaware that they have become the focus of a desperate search, navigate dangerous natural threats in their effort to survive.
The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray. A multi-generational saga based on true events is set in an extraordinary castle in the heart of France, where a schoolteacher, a socialite and a noblewoman question their roles and identities in the face of three major wars.
The Bounty, No. 7 (Fox and O’Hare) by Janet Evanovich. Straitlaced FBI agent Kate O'Hare and international con man Nick Fox reluctantly team up with the fathers who taught them everything they know to prevent a shadowy international organization from claiming a fortune in Nazi gold.
Not Dark Yet, No. 27 (Inspector Banks) by Peter Robinson. Investigating the murder of a property developer in Yorkshire, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks and his team begin scanning the victim's security tapes only to discover that a brutal second crime was also captured.
A Question Mark is Half a Heart by Sofia Lundberg. A successful Manhattan photographer is drawn back to her past as a poverty-stricken child in Paris whose daily realities were shaped by an abusive parent and a friend who still remembers her deepest secrets. A first novel
Gathering Dark by Candice Fox. Risking her freedom and custody of her son to help a former cellmate find her missing daughter, a once-respected surgeon requests the assistance of the detective who arrested her for murder a decade earlier.
The Girls Are All So Nice Here by Laurie Flynn. Receiving ominous threats during a 10-year college reunion, Ambrosia and her best friend discover that they are being targeted by an unknown adversary who would exact revenge for a dangerous secret from their past.
The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex. A debut non-pseudonymous novel of psychological suspense, based on true events, follows the experiences of three wives on a remote Cornish Coast tower when their lighthouse-keeper husbands go mysteriously missing
The Other Emily by Dean Koontz. Haunted by the unsolved disappearance of the love of this life a decade earlier, writer David Thorne visits her suspected killer in prison before meeting a woman who uncannily resembles the person he lost.