My LINKcat AccountThis is the last library column before Christmas Eve, the start of Hanukkah, Christmas itself, and the start of Kwanzaa. The major end-of-December holidays shall have passed except New Year’s Eve. Today, December 22nd, is the eve of another end-of-December, which is dear to the hearts of “Seinfeld” fans. Festivus made its way into popular culture in 1997 when Frank Costanza explained how the holiday originated as a reaction to the crass commercialism of Christmas. As you may or may not recall, an aluminum pole is displayed in the house –without decorations. This is called the Festivus pole. There is a Festivus dinner in the evening at which the “Airing of the Grievances” occurs. The airing is a round robin affair when all those in attendance get to describe how the others have disappointed him or her during the past year. The “Feats of Strength” follows dinner in which contenders wrestle the head of the household. The wrestling (and Festivus) continue until the head of household is pinned. And finally, everyone should be on the lookout for a “Festivus Miracle”. These miracles occur frequently and are rather unimpressive as miracles go. It might be as simple as carrying four 12 packs of soda into the house in one trip without having the boxes rip apart. If you’re interested in adding Festivus to the holidays you celebrate at the end of December, there is a website which has an “Airing of Grievances Worksheet” you can print out so you’re ready when that part of evening rolls around. There is also a little business-size challenge card you can print. There is a Facebook page at Happy Festivus, and – I don’t know if I’m happy or sad to report—a Festivus song at here: http://www.festivus.biz/festivus.mp3. Happy Festivus Eve and remember “Festivus for the Rest of Us”. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
The social organism : a radical understanding of social media to transform your business and life / by Oliver Luckett & Michael Casey. A visionary tech entrepreneur and an MIT Media Lab expert present this must-read theory of social media, doubling as an indispensable guide for business leaders, marketing professionals and anyone serious about understanding our digital world, which reveals how it works, how it has changed human life and how we can master it for good and for profit.
Tools of titans : the tactics, routines, and habits of billionaires, icons, and world-class performers / by Tim Ferris. The #1 New York Times best-selling author of “The 4-Hour Workweek” collects the best tools and tactics that he's learned from the top celebrities and thinkers that he's had on his popular podcast.
An extraordinary time : the end of the postwar boom and the return of the ordinary economy / by Marc Levinson. The acclaimed economic historian and author of The Struggle for Small Business in America recounts the global collapse of the postwar economy of the 1970s, posing counterintuitive arguments that slow economic growth is the norm and that boom periods are anomalies.
The rise of Athens : the story of the world's greatest civilization / by Anthony Everitt. The best-selling author of “The Rise of Rome” presents a magisterial account of how Athens became the world's most influential civilization, charting the characteristics, flaws and unique intellectual accomplishments of the ambitious city-civilization and how it helped establish the foundations of today's world.
New Fiction
Willful child / by Steven Erikson. In the continuing adventures of the starship A.S.F. Willful Child, not-terribly-bright but exceedingly cock-sure Captain Hadrian Sawback and his motley crew embark on another rollicking ride through “the infinite vastness of interstellar space.” By a New York Times best-selling author.
Of all that ends / by Gunter Grass. A final major collection by the late Nobel Prize-winning author of “The Tin Drum” is comprised of lighthearted and elegiac meditations on writing, aging and the world.
Good time coming / by C.S. Harris. A coming-of-age tale set in Civil War-torn Louisiana follows an adolescent girl as the war forces her to grow up all-too-quickly.
Victoria : a novel / by Daisy Goodwin. From the New York Times best-selling author of “The American Heiress” and creator/writer of the new Masterpiece/PBS drama “Victoria” comes a glorious novel of the 18-year-old girl who became a great queen.
Beyond the truth / by Anne Holt. Investigating the Christmas-season murders of four people in the luxurious home of one of Oslo's wealthiest families, Norwegian Police Chief Inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen risks everything to identify a mysterious victim and his reason for being among the others. By the Edgar Award-nominated author of “1222”.
Brazen : a Valentino mystery / by Loren Estleman. When his former actress friend is murdered at a crime scene staged to look the way Marilyn Monroe was found, sometime film detective Valentino is targeted with suspicion by police detective Ray Padilla, who asks for Valentino's help when another former actress is killed. By the Shamus Award-winning author.
Egg drop dead / by Laura Childs. A latest entry in the recipe-complemented mystery series finds Suzanne stumbling on the murdered body of a local dairy farmer before Petra, Toni and she are targeted by a frenzied killer. By the best-selling author of the “Scrapbooking Mysteries”.