My LINKcat AccountDid I predict this? Didn’t I mention this a couple of weeks ago? I’m pretty sure I did make note of the weather lore that says as the days lengthen – which they certainly have – sunset is not at 5 p.m. (instead of at 4:22 which it was at during the darkest days of December) and sunrise is not at 7:20 a.m. (instead of at 7:29 which is was for the twelve days at the end of December and into January) that the cold strengthens. We have gained a whole lot of daylight and, possibly, because of that, the bottom fell out of the thermometer over that past weekend and the beginning of this week. However, daytime highs that hover right around 1 degree (above or below zero – it doesn’t make much difference once it’s that cold) is the perfect time to get a hot beverage, a blanket, and a snuggle buddy (cat, dog, significant other) and curl up with a good book. Below you will find some of the books which recently arrived at the library. I guarantee at least some of them are worthy of being snuggled up with. Stay warm! Enjoy!
Jan's Column 2025
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New Non-Fiction:
“Three Wild Dogs and the Truth” by Markus Zusak. Documents the adoption of three unruly rescue dogs that transform the Zusak family's life, revealing the chaos, love, and unexpected lessons while exploring the deeper connections between humans and animals.
“Reset: How to Change What’s Not Working” by Dan Heath. The #1 “New York Times” bestselling coauthor of “Made to Stick”, “Switch” and “The Power of Moments” presents a revolutionary guide to fixing what’s not working—in systems and processes, organizations and companies, and even in our daily lives—by identifying leverage points and concentrating resources to achieve our goals.
“The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better” by Jenny Anderson & Rebecca Winthrop. Explores the disengagement of adolescents from school, identifying four learning modes—Resister, Passenger, Achiever, and Explorer—that shape teens' relationships with learning, while offering evidence-backed strategies for parents to foster curiosity and self-awareness to help their children thrive academically and emotionally.
“The Forgotten Sense: The New Science of Smell – and the Extraordinary Power of the Nose” by Jonas Olofsson. Explores the human sense of smell through the lens of neuroscience and psychology, revealing its extraordinary sensitivity and how it engages the brain, affects our perceptions, and shapes our experiences, while examining historical perspectives, the role of smell in evolution, and the potential for smell rehabilitation after illness.
“Save Our Souls: The True Story of a Castaway Family, Treachery, and Murder” by Matthew Pearl. In this true story, on December 10, 1887, the Walker family’s shark fishing boat was split in two by a storm, and they awoke in the morning on an island inhabited by a ragged man named Hans who seemed helpful but had a dark secret.
New Fiction:
“Boudicca” by P.C. Cast. Guided by the goddess Andraste, Queen Boudicca of the Iceni leads a rebellion against opposing forces in Roman-occupied Britain, gathering 250,000 warriors to reclaim her land, even as dark prophecies threaten to doom her fight for freedom.
“Witchcraft for Wayward Girls” by Grady Hendrix. Four teenage girls trapped in a secretive maternity home for unwed mothers in 1960 St. Augustine, Florida, find an unexpected source of power through witchcraft.
“The Big Empty, No.20 (Elvis Cole & Joe Pike)” by Robert Crais. When Elvis Cole finds himself shadowed by a gang of vicious criminals, a missing-persons cold case becomes far more sinister, and soon he must call his ex-Marine friend Joe Pike for help.
“Blob: A Love Story” by Maggie Su. After getting dumped, lonely college dropout Vi Liu discovers a strange blob in an ally outside a bar and takes it home where she works with the increasingly sentient creature and molds it into her ideal partner.
“Confessions” by Catherine Airey. Three generations of women are bound by family secrets, lost memories and an enigmatic boarding school game as they unravel mysteries spanning from 1970s Ireland to post-9/11 New York, which threaten to tear them apart forever.
“Going Home: A Novel of Boys, Mistakes, and Second Chances” by Tom Lamont. Thirtysomething Téo Erskine has his life is upended when a tragedy makes him the unexpected guardian of a toddler, forcing him to navigate friendship, responsibility and long-buried feelings while confronting what kind of man he wants to be.
“Grave Danger, No.19 (Jack Swyteck Novel)” by James Grippando. Jack Swyteck must defend a woman accused of kidnapping her niece while uncovering deadly secrets about the parents as political forces and international law complicate the case in the latest addition to the series following “Goodbye Girl”.
“More of Less Maddy” by Lisa Genova. Maddy Banks, an NYU student recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder after experiencing a wild and terrifying mania, rejects the stability of a “normal” life for a career in stand-up comedy, in a novel from a Harvard-trained neuroscientist and “New York Times” bestselling author.
“Shattering Dawn” by Jayne Ann Krentz. When PI Gideon Sweetwater disrupts the kidnapping of Amelia Rivers, they escape and return to the ruins of the hotel where Amelia lost a night to amnesia before gaining powers, desperate to stop a killer and the people who are conducting illegal experiments with a dangerous drug designed to enhance psychic abilities.
While we have had a temporary reprieve from the weather lore of “As the days lengthen, the cold strengthens” the 10 day forecast at this writing has us heading right back into the freezer this weekend and into the start of next week. But let’s not dwell on that. Let’s think happier thoughts --which I know is hard, what with the Packers losing this Sunday past which eliminated them from continuing in the playoffs. However, the Winter Reading Program is well underway Our Winter Woodland Reading Adventure continues on apace from now until March 1st. As of this writing, 137 readers have read 3.466 books. They have completed 919 activities. They have written 28 reviews. Our youngest group of 47 (the Chipmunks) have read through 2,402 board books and picture books. The 27 youngsters who read chapter books (a.k.a. the raccoons) have made it through 396 books. The 12 teen participants have so far read 181 books. And the 36 adults have read 192 books. Now if you do the math on these numbers you will find that the littlest kiddos are getting through the largest number of books – slightly over 51 books per participant. The chapter book readers are at almost 15 books per person. The teens are also reading about 15 books each. And you adults (I am assuming if you are reading this you are probably an adult) are only reading 5.36 books per participant. I would hope all of us in the “adult” category would view these numbers as a challenge. There is still lots of time (43 days to be precise) until March 1st when the Winter Reading Program ends. So let’s get reading and upstart readers what mature readers are capable of. Below you will find some of the books which recently arrived at the library. Read! Read! Read! And enjoy!
New Non-Fiction:
“The Cure for Women: Dr. Mary Putman Jacobi and the Challenge to Victorian Medicine That Changed Women’s Lives Forever” by Lydia Reeder. Chronicles the struggles of Mary Putnam Jacobi and other pioneering women physicians who, facing exclusion from mainstream medical institutions, built their own schools and hospitals, conducted groundbreaking research on women's reproductive biology, and challenged the sexist, eugenics-influenced science of the late 19th century.
“Lincoln Vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents” by Nigel Hamilton. From a New York Times bestselling presidential biographer comes an untold story of the Civil War: how the American president and the leader of the Confederacy faced off as the fate of the United States hung in the balance—and how Abraham Lincoln came to embrace emancipation as the last, best chance to save the Union.
“How to Think Like Socrates: Ancient Philosophy As a Way of Life in the Modern World” by Donald Robertson. Explains how readers can apply the teachings of Socrates, one of the greatest ancient philosophers, to modern life.
“99% Perspiration: A New History of the American Way of Life” by Adam Chandler. An engaging exploration of the myth of American self-reliance, examining how the obsession with hard work and individual success distorts reality, deepens inequality and overlooks the importance of community, historical privilege and systemic factors in shaping achievement.
“It Begins With You: The 9 Hard Truths About Love That Will Change Your Life” by Jillian Turecki. A relationships coach and healer offers a holistic, no-nonsense guide to meaningful relationships, revealing nine core truths and practical tools that empower readers to take responsibility for their love lives and heal themselves.
New Fiction:
“Booked for Murder, No.1 (Old Juniper Bookstore Mysteries)” by P.J. Nelson. Returning to a small Georgia town to inherit her eccentric Aunt Rose's quirky bookstore, Madeline Brimley is threatened by arson and a murder in the store, forcing her to investigate before she becomes the next victim.
“The Resurrectionist” by A. Rae Dunlap. In 19th century Scotland, when real-life serial killers Burke and Hare terrorized the streets of Edinburgh, a young medical student is lured into the illicit underworld of body snatching.
“Stuart Woods’ Golden Hour, No.7(Teddy Fay)” by Brett Battle. Former CIA operative Teddy Fay embarks on a European press tour for a film while secretly investigating the mysterious deaths of former colleagues linked to a past mission, all while evading assassins determined to expose his identity.
“Tom Clancy Defense Protocol, No. 25 (Jack Ryan)” by Brian Andrews & Jeffrey Wilson. As Chinese President Li Jian Jun plans a secret military takeover of Taiwan, Defense Minister Qin Haiyu seeks asylum with the CIA, prompting a covert task force led by John Clark and Lt. Commander Katie Ryan's defense of Taiwan, while President Jack Ryan races to prevent a catastrophic war.
“Great When (Long London)” by Alan Moore. The author of “The League of Extraordinary Gentleman” presents the first book in a new fantasy series about murder, magic and madness in post-WWII London.
“The Wood at Midwinter” by Susanna Clarke. From an internationally bestselling and prize-winning author comes a short story set in the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
“Immortal: A Novel of the Celestial Kingdom” by Sue Lyon Tan. Queen Liyen vows to sever ties with immortals but knows she must for a risky alliance with a ruthless God of War in a standalone novel set in the same world as “Daughter of the Moon Goddess”.
“Mother of Rome” by J.A. Lauren Bear. In a reimagining of the earliest Roman legend, after her father loses his kingdom in a coup and she becomes pregnant and ostracized, Rhea Silvia forges a dangerous deal with the divine to save her sons, Romulus and Remus, and reclaim their birthright.
“The Three Lives of Cate Kay” by Kate Fagan. Cate Kay, a reclusive bestselling author, has concealed her identity for years, but when a devastating tragedy from her past resurfaces, she’s forced to confront the secrets that derailed her dreams and return to the place she’s been running from.
The 10th day of January. The second Friday of the month. And, as I foretold sometime back in the dark days of December, we have started to gain minutes of daylight back at the end of the day. Since that earliest sunset of 4:22 p.m. during the 7-10th of December, we have gained a whopping 21 minutes of light as evening falls. And, sunrise has also started to get earlier and earlier. We have been stuck at the latest sunrise of 7:29 a.m. from around the 27th of December until just this week when on January 8th, sunrise was a minute earlier. This is all great news for those of us who look forward to longer hours of sunlight. These longer days, however, come with a caveat. Weatherlore in this neck of the woods states that “as the days lengthen, the cold strengthens”. The weather between January 6th and the 23rd are typically the coldest stretch of days we get around Madison. This year’s weather seems to be bearing that out. This is perfect weather to stay indoors and read. Remember the Winter Reading Program is underway and books that you read can be logged and earn you dragon dollars to either spend in our store, gift to a friend or relative to spend in our store, or donate to one of the designated charities. There are lots of new books arriving at the library. Below you will find a sampling of some of the titles. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction:
“Four Points of the Compass: The Unexpected History of Direction” by Jerry Brotton. The history and significance of the four cardinal directions are explored and shows how societies have defined and used them for navigation and travel while examining the evolving impact of technology on our orientation and connection to the world.
“Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History” by Olivia Campbell. Explores the lives of physicists Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer, and Hildegard Stücklen, who made groundbreaking discoveries during the golden age of physics before fleeing Nazi Germany due to their Jewish ancestry or anti-Nazi sentiments, continuing their revolutionary work abroad and inspiring future generations.
“The White Ladder: Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of Mountaineering” by Daniel Light. A sweeping history of mountaineering before Everest looks at the epic human quest to reach the highest places on Earth.
“The Miraculous From the Material: Understanding the Wonders of Nature” by Alan Lightman. Combines full-color photographs with accessible essays to explore the science behind some of nature’s awe-inspiring phenomena, from rainbows and snowflakes to galaxies, while reflecting on how these wonders connect with both spiritual and scientific perspectives.
“Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures” by Katherine Rundell. Highlights the beauty and fragility of the natural world through detailed explorations of extraordinary animals facing extinction, showcasing their unique behaviors and adaptations while making an urgent call to appreciate and protect these remarkable species.
New Fiction:
“The Shutouts” by Gabrielle Korn. In a dystopian 2041, Kelly embarks on a perilous journey across a storm-ravaged United States to reunite with her estranged daughter, while another mother-daughter duo flees a sinister climate change project, uncovering deep connections and human resilience amidst environmental and societal collapse.
“A Sky of Emerald Stars (Golden Court)” by A.K. Mulford. As war looms, royal guard Sadie embarks on a mission to uncover a rival king's secrets, while Queen Calla navigates a treacherous alliance in the second novel of the series following “A River of Golden Bones”.
“The Rest is Memory” by Lily Tuck. In a fictionalized retelling of a real-life tragedy, fourteen-year-old Czeslawa’s brief life, from her upbringing in a Polish village to her death at Auschwitz, is explored alongside the broader suffering of millions during the German occupation, bringing her forgotten story to light.
“Irish Soda Bread Murder” by Carlene O’Connor, Peggy Ehrhart, & Liz Ireland. A collection of cozy mystery novellas feature the popular St. Paddy’s Day treat Irish soda bread.
“Knife Skills for Beginners” by Orlando Murrin. A MasterChef semi-finalist and cookbook writer presents a locked-room culinary mystery set in a London cooking school.
“Pretty Dead Things” by Lilian West. A small-town bride-to-be’s discovery of long-lost wedding rings at an estate sale reveals the key to a decades-old cold case.
“Eddie Winston Is Looking for Love” by Marianne Cronin. Ninety-year-old Eddie Winston, a lifelong romantic who has never been kissed, embarks on an unexpected adventure with grieving young woman, Bella, to finally find love and discover the enduring power of friendship and second chances.
“Lawbreaker” by Diana Palmer. Aspiring Met singer Odalie Everett and New York art gallery owner and former crime boss Tony Garza meet and give in to passion, but when they escape danger by fleeing to her family’s Texas ranch, she must decide between true love or a shot at her dream.
“The Close-up” by Pip Drysdale. A struggling author’s life takes a terrifying turn when a stalker starts reenacting violent scenes from her failed thriller, just as she begins to rekindle a romance with her former flame, now a famous actor, and her career experiences an unexpected revival.
“Locked in” by Jussi Alder-Olssen. Detective Carl Mørck, head of Department Q, is framed for a violent case from his past, so his colleagues Rose, Assad, and Gordon ignore direct orders to find answers and free Carl from Copenhagen’s Vestre prison, where there’s a million-dollar bounty on his head to ensure he doesn’t talk.