My LINKcat AccountLast week I thought I would have my final sandhill crane column for the spring part of the year today. However, due to an unforeseen deadline, at this writing that annual Midwest Crane Count is yet to occur. So let me tell you instead – now that it’s spring and the Winter Reading Program is but a distant memory—about the how many “Dragon Dollars” were given to charities during the course of the program. Remember, participants in the program receive those special dragon dollars for reading books. Those dollars can be used to purchase something in our store, or may be donated to The Dane County Humane Society or the DeForest Area Needs Network. It took a while to tally up the dollars and then I was gone at a library conference, and we tried to arrange photo opportunities and failed, and suddenly we are, oh, about a month and a half down the road from the Winter Reading Program and you still are not aware of the good you have done with your reading. The DeForest Area Needs Network shall receive $136 dragon dollars and the Dane County Humane Society shall receive $277.60 (where did that 60 cents come from anyway?). Checks by Yours Truly shall be handed over to these charities in the near future – hopefully in the presence of a camera—and you shall have visual proof of the good your eleemosynary impulses have done. In the meantime, there are a number of new books which may pique your interest and they are listed below. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
Becoming grandma : the joys and science of the new grandparenting / by Lesly Stahl. An award-winning journalist describes how becoming a grandparent has been one of the most transformative experiences of her life, sharing personal anecdotes while drawing on interviews with scientists, doctors and celebrity friends to explore the evolutionary and anthropological influences of grandparenting.
Capture : unraveling the mystery of mental suffering / by David Kessler. The former FDA commissioner and best-selling author of The End of Overeating explores the history, biology, treatment and shared experiences of psychological pain to illuminate how people become agents of their own suffering and what can be done to change it.
The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America / by Andres Resendez. Draws on new evidence to reveal the massive enslavement of tens of thousands of Native Americans from the 16th through the 19th centuries, describing how kidnapping and forced labor played a key role in the decimations of Indian populations across North America.
The path : what Chinese philosophers can teach us about the good life / by Michael Puett. An award-winning Harvard professor shares his wildly popular course on classical Chinese philosophy to demonstrate how ancient, counterintuitive wisdom can offer guidance to a good life in the modern world.
Peak : secrets from the new science of expertise / by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool. Draws on the examples of chess champions, violin virtuosos, star athletes and memory mavens to outline a powerful approach to learning that enables readers to develop proficiency through strategic goal setting, self-motivation and feedback exercises.
The sleep revolution : transforming your life, one night at a time / by Arianna Huffington. The editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post and best-selling author of “Thrive”evaluates the role of sleep as a cultural and historical unifier, the impact of sleep deprivation on health and the science community's recommendations for how to achieve more restorative sleep.
New Fiction
Maestro / by R.A. Salvatore. Journeying home to Menzoberranzan accompanied by Bruenor and an army of dwarves to stop a growing threat in the form of the destructive primordial demons of Gauntlgrym, Drizzt wonders at the possible defeat of the City of Spiders.
Bucky F*cking Dent : a novel / by David Duchovny. Returning to his childhood home when his father is diagnosed with cancer, an aspiring writer who pays the rent by slinging peanuts at baseball games discovers that his father's health fails whenever the Red Sox lose, a finding that leads a group of supporters to orchestrate the illusion of a Sox winning streak.
Close your eyes / by Michael Robotham. When a former student bungles the investigation of a mother-daughter double murder, clinical psychologist Joseph O'Loughlin discovers a link between the case and a series of escalating attacks. By the award-winning author of “Life or Death”.
Now and again : a novel / by Charlotte Rogan. While a munitions plant secretary risks the ire of her community by gathering evidence of a high-level cover-up, an Iraq veteran collaborates with three fellow survivors to reveal harsh truths about the war, with scandalous results. By the award-nominated author of “The Lifeboat”.
Tuesday nights in 1980 : a novel / by Molly Prentiss. An evocative, synesthetic art critic and an exiled Argentine painter on the run from his country's violence are brought together by respective tragedies, a small-town beauty and a mysterious orphan boy who helps them rediscover what they have lost.
Design for murder / by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain. When two models die under suspicious circumstances during New York Fashion Week, debut exhibitor Xandr Ebon is wrongly implicated, prompting Jessica Fletcher to navigate the industry's sinister egos, conflicts of interest, competition and secrets to uncover the truth.
The obsession / by Nora Roberts. Years after discovering her father's predatory double life, successful photographer Naomi Bowes struggles to hide her painful past from her fellow residents in a community thousands of miles away, a situation that introduces her to a new relationship and forces her to confront her demons. By the best-selling author of the “In Death” series.