My LINKcat AccountFebruary ends today, which means our Winter Reading Program - DeForest Gets Its Ducks in a Row and Reads-will be ending. And we all know what the end of the Winter Reading Program means, don't we? It is nearly as good a predictor of the end of winter as any of those prognosticating rodents that get all the news coverage at the beginning of the month. The end of the month of February also means that bird activity has started to pick up considerably. The cardinals have started singing and the chickadees have shifted to their "phoebe" song. The geese that have wintered over have starting taking to the skies again, some even taking practice runs at heading north. For me, if it's the end of February you will find me on the road heading out to Nebraska to see the beginning of the sandhill crane migration. With the days getting longer, the sun getting warmer, and the birds twittering in the trees, can the Spring List of books from the publishers be far away? Absolutely not! Below you will find some early arrivals. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
The art of freedom : teaching the humanities to the poor / by Earl Shorris. Documents the author's observations of circumstances reflected in a maximum-security prison and subsequent launch of a humanities college course for dropouts, immigrants and former inmates who eventually became high-achieving contributors to society, tracing how his course expanded throughout the world to help combat poverty-related imprisonment rates.
Sticks and stones : defeating the culture of bullying and rediscovering the power of character and empathy by Emily Bazelon. The "Slate" senior editor whose reportage covered the 2010 suicide case of Phoebe Prince offers insights into teen bullying in the Internet era, counseling parents, educators, advocates and kids on how to understand its dynamics and consequences and take appropriate protective measures.
Blackett's war / by Stephen Budiansky. Documents the lesser-known story of a small group of British and American scientists who applied intellectual strategies to battle techniques and revolutionized the process of how wars are waged and won, citing the particular contributions of operational research founder and future Nobel winner Patrick Blackett.
New Fiction
Forbidden sister / by V.C. Andrews. When she discovers that her sister Roxy, who was kicked out the house by their father eight years earlier, has become a high-priced New York call girl, Emmie sets out to spy on her sister and learn more about her life, setting in motion a chain of events that could destroy her family for good.
The storyteller : a novel / by Jodi Picoult. Becoming friends with Josef Weber, an old man who's particularly loved in her community, Sage Singer is shocked when one day he asks her to kill him and reveals why he deserves to die, causing her question her beliefs--and to wonder if his request would be murder or justice.
Bad blood. by Dana Stabenow. When a suspect in the murder of a young Kushtaka ne'er-do-well disappears and a second murder occurs, causing tensions between the Kushtaka and Kuskulana to escalate, Sergeant Jim Chopins calls in Kate Shugak for help, but even her Park relationships may not be enough to find the truth.
Calculated in death / by J.D. Robb. When Marta Dickenson, a well-off accountant and a beloved wife and mother, is murdered, Lieutenant Eve Dallas, using herself as bait, immerses herself in her billionaire husband Roarke's world of big business to figure who hired a hit on an innocent woman.
Alex Cross, run / by James Patterson. In the aftermath of a disgraced plastic surgeon's release from prison, Detective Alex Cross investigates the murder of a young mother whose newborn has disappeared, a case that is further complicated by two additional killings. By the Edgar Award-winning author of the Women's Murder Club series.
The day is dark / by Ysra Sigurdardottir. When contact is lost with two Icelanders working in a harsh and sparsely population region on the coast of Greenland, Thora Gudmundsdottir's investigations reveal another recent disappearance before she encounters unexpected local resistance and rumors about a curse.
Deadly stakes : a novel / by J.A. Jance. Contacted to investigate the gruesome murder of a gold-digging divorcee on behalf of the woman accused of the crime, police academy-trained former reporter Ali Reynolds is simultaneously drawn into another case that could be related to hers and must stop a dangerous killer from striking again.
Touch & go / by Lisa Gardner. When Justin and Libby Denbe, along with their beautiful 15-year-old daughter, disappear, investigator Tessa Leone must race against time to expose the Denbes' darkest secrets to discover who would want to kidnap such a perfect little family and just how far they are willing to go.
Guilt / by Jonathan Kellerman. When he is consulted on a cold case involving the discovery of infant remains in a neglected fixer-upper Tudor mansion, psychologist-investigator Alex Delaware, tracing the long history of past residents, is led down a bloody path littered with unprecedented narcissism and unspeakable cruelty.