My LINKcat AccountHere we are with five-sevenths of the first week of April under our belts. We have made it past the madness of March and the possibilities of basketball playoff snow falls. We’ve made it past Easter and avoided a white Easter. We’ve made it past Election Day (and at this writing it looks like if there are flakes in the air that day, they won’t last very long, if indeed they accumulate in the first place. While it is still getting mighty cold overnight -- I made the mistake of leaving a diet Mt. Dew in the car on Easter Eve and had a frozen soda to contend with as I drove north and west to visit family for Easter. Driving north and west, out into the countryside, the signs of springs return are obvious even if the nights remain cold. There are fields that are truly greening up now and the birds are returning. There are more species and greater numbers all the time. The Turkey Vultures returned to Hinckley, Ohio around March 15th and I saw a few up flying as I traveled towards my family and on the return there were a couple of vultures walking along Morrisonville Road. Another harbinger of spring has arrived. The Mississippi River is filled with geese (Canada and a few Snowies, migrating ducks (Buffleheads, Mergansers, Lesser Scaups, Goldeneyes), coots (or mudhens depending on where you’re from), and gulls. Just as the birds return in increasing numbers as the year progress, so too, do the number of books from the publishers’ spring book lists. Below is a sampling of some of the new titles that arrived recently. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
“Food: What the Heck Should I Eat?” by Mark Hyman. The best-selling author of The Blood Sugar Solution demystifies conflicting dietary advice to explain the crucial role of food in health, examining each food group to reveal what popular opinions have gotten right and wrong so that dieters can make informed choices to lose weight and promote wellness..
“Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet” by Claire Evans. The YACHT lead singer and VICE reporter celebrates the lesser-known contributions of women to the history of technology, sharing brief profiles of such boundary-breaking innovators as Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper, Elizabeth "Jake" Feinler and Stacy Horn.
“I’ll Never Change My Name: An Immigrant’s American Dream from Ukraine to the USA to Dancing with the Stars” by Valentin Chmerkovskly. The world-championship-winning ballroom dancer famed for his appearances on Dancing with the Stars relates the failures and successes that have shaped his life, from his early childhood in Ukraine, to growing up as an immigrant in the U.S., to his rise to international fame.
“Just the Funny Parts: And a Few Hard Truths about Sneaking into the Hollywood Boy’s Club” by Nell Scovell. The veteran television writer and creator of Sabrina the Teenage Witch shares insights into Hollywood's sexual politics throughout the past 30 years through anecdotes involving some of the industry's biggest names, including Mark Harmon, Bette Midler, David Letterman, Candice Bergen and Conan O'Brien.
“Unmasked” by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Published to coincide with his 70th birthday, a memoir by the award-winning composer, producer and impresario of some of the most recognized musicals in theater history traces his half-century career, sharing insights into his eccentric, diverse family, his Oxford education, his creative process and the events that shaped his characters and productions.
New Fiction
“The Queens of Innis Lear” by Teess Gratton. An epic adult fantasy inspired by Shakespeare's King Lear depicts a once-bountiful isle decimated by a prophecy-obsessed king's erratic decisions, where three rival princesses use respective approaches to prepare for a war that will determine their realm's leadership and survival. By the author of the “Gods of New Asgard” series.
“The Last Jedi (Star Wars)” by Jason Fry. An official novelization of the highly anticipated Star Wars film, The Last Jedi , continues the epic adventures of Rey, Finn, Poe and Luke Skywalker. By the author of “The Secret Life of Droids”.
“The Feed” by Nick Windo. Living in a world where everyone is willingly addicted to The Feed, a technology that instantly connects everyone to news, information and the thoughts and feelings of others, Tom uses his skills of existing without being connected to help his family survive when The Feed collapses, decimating modern society.
“I’ll Be Your Blue Sky” by Marisa de los Santos. Three weeks after an elderly neighbor helps her find the courage to end an unhealthy relationship, Clare unexpectedly inherits a small house from the woman and with the help of loved ones pieces together the story of the house and her courageous benefactor. By the best-selling author of “Belong to Me”.
“Bachelor Girl” by Kim Van Alkemade. A tale inspired by the true story of Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert and his mysterious 1939 bequest traces how a Jazz Age millionaire takes his personal secretary and a young actress under his wing and oversees their growing love for each other before triggering dark rumors with his decision to leave the young woman the bulk of his fortune. By the best-selling author of “Orphan #8”.
“The Cloister” by James Carroll. A priest and a Holocaust survivor find their perspectives and senses of identity reshaped by their shared investigation into the classic romance between discredited religious scholar Peter Abelard and his intellectual paramour, Héloïse.
“As You Wish, No.3 (Summerhouse)” by Jude Deveraux. Gathering in a house in Summer Hill, Virginia to support one another through marital woes, three women from different generations reflect on their experiences with estrangement, expectation and infidelity while resolving to pursue life on their own terms. By the award-winning author of “For All Time”.