My LINKcat AccountSpring has arrived. The drought has been broken. The migrating birds are arriving in bunches every day and filling the day with song. The grass is greening and any day now will need mowing. The trees are looking all lacy in silhouette. The winds are bringing warmer air from the south and the heat isn’t kicking on at night. The tulips, crocuses, and daffodils are emerging and flowering. The shrubs are starting to bud out too. And the days are lengthening nicely so that evenings are extended and early mornings aren’t dark so long. Ah, springtime in Wisconsin. Perhaps the major reasons many of us live here and put up with the snow, the cold, and the dark. It is so hard to stay indoors and read when the weather is holding the door open and nudging you out the door. But those longer evenings and early mornings are still the perfect time to settle down with a good book. Spring titles are appearing at the library nearly as frequently as the house sparrows are making visits to their nest in the tree outside my window. An assortment of new book titles is below. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
A fine romance / by Candice Bergen. A follow-up to “Knock Wood” by the Emmy Award-winning actress traces the milestone events of her life, including her first marriage, the birth of her daughter, her work on “Murphy Brown” and her struggles with widowhood.
Michelle Obama : a life / by Peter Slevin. A comprehensive portrait of the First Lady describes her working-class upbringing on Chicago's South Side, her education at Princeton and Harvard during the racially charged 1970s and her marriage to the future 44th President.
Out came the sun : overcoming the legacy of mental illness, addiction, and suicide in my family / by Mariel Hemingway. The movie and television actress whose life story was the subject of Oprah's Emmy-nominated documentary “Running from Crazy” describes the impact of alcoholism, suicide and schizophrenia on her family life.
Picnic in Provence : a memoir with recipes / by Elizabeth Bard. In a recipe-accented account, the author of the best-selling “Lunch in Paris” chronicles her and her husband's move from Cosmopolitan Paris to rural Provence.
The HEAD game : high efficiency analytic decision-making and the art of solving complex problems quickly / by Philip Mudd. A forefront government analyst and secret intelligence commentator draws on his personal expertise in the area of high-stakes decision-making to outline a groundbreaking approach to effective problem solving.
Between you & me : confessions of a Comma Queen / by Mary Norris. A “New Yorker” copy veteran presents laugh-out-loud descriptions of some of the most common and vexing errors in language and usage, drawing on examples from classic literature and pop culture while sharing anecdotes from her work with celebrated writers.
New Fiction
The Book of Fires / by Paul Doherty. In the year 1381, sleuthing monk Brother Athelstan has been ordered to track down a ruthless killer known as the Fire Bringer.
The children's crusade : a novel / by Ann Packer. When their troubled youngest sibling returns, the three oldest Blair children, adults now and still living near the family home, finds their lives disrupted in ways they could have never imagined as they each tell their story that is interwoven with portraits of their family at crucial points in their history.
Emma : a modern retelling / by Alexander McCall Smith. The best-selling author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency presents a modern rendering of Jane Austen's classic that follows the experiences of a college graduate who returns to the side of her health-nut father and interferes in the personal lives of her friends.
I refuse / by Per Petterson. A U.S. release of a best-seller from Norway follows a chance encounter between two childhood friends, including one who escaped an abusive father, that reveals how their fortunes have reversed. By the award-winning author of “Out Stealing Horses”.
Miracle at Augusta / by James Patterson & Peter de Jonge. Years after his unexpected PGA win catapults him to fame, Travis struggles with feelings of inadequacy in the face of personal setbacks before mentoring a promising teen outcast. By the authors of “Miracle on the 17th Green”.
The alpine zen : an Emma Lord mystery / by Mary Daheim. A conclusion to the long-running mystery series finds Emma investigating the arrival and illness of a young woman who is searching for the mother who abandoned her, a case that is complicated by Vida's altered state, a stalker and a reclusive artist.
Poison ivy : a Martha's Vineyard mystery / by Cynthia Riggs. Discovering two bodies on campus on her first day as adjunct professor at Ivy Green College, Victoria Trumbull and her new colleagues struggle to save the school from being shut down by bad press and dwindling financial support.
Blood on snow : a novel / by Jo Nesbo. Gifted with an unexpected capacity for love, as well as a talent for murder, Olav, a "fixer" who works for Oslo's crime kingpin, discovers that his boss might want him "fixed" due to the fact that he knows too much about his business—and has fallen in love with his wife.