My LINKcat AccountWe are dead-bang, smack dab in the middle of the coldest week of the year—based on statistical averages—in the Madison, Wisconsin area. I believe this is true based on personal observation as well. I attend a conference in Milwaukee yearly during the third week of January and I remember many mornings looking at the big, digital display thermometer on one of the buildings in downtown Milwaukee and seeing temperatures below zero. Of course, the thing with averages is that they are just that. So for all the many years I recall below zero temperatures during this week, there are other years – such as this current one—when the temperatures are downright balmy and rain is being predicted, not snow. The old weather lore is that as the days lengthen, the cold strengthens. Since the beginning of the year we have gained 19 minutes of daylight in the afternoon and 5 minutes in the morning. So the days are definitely lengthening. It won’t be long until it’s time to start thinking about planting seeds and getting your hands in the dirt. To attend Garden Expo which I believe is coming up in February (10-12th) and get inspired for the planting season. In the meantime, there are plenty of new books – both fiction and non-fiction—to get you through these coldest days of winter. We also have many gardening books to help you count down to spring. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
Mastering civility : a manifesto for the workplace / by Christine Porath. A full-length guide based on the author's “New York Times” article, "No Time to Be Nice at Work," demonstrates how to enhance workplace effectiveness by mastering the skills of professional civility.
River of time : my descent into depression and how I emerged with hope / by Naomi Judd. The Grammy-winning superstar and best-selling author of All That Is Bitter and Sweet shares the story of her struggles with depression, PTSD and addiction, a journey that included extended hospital stays and moving lessons about how to find hope and help.
In the great green room : the brilliant and bold life of Margaret Wise Brown / by Amy Gary. Captures the exceptional life, imagination and passion of the author of “Goodnight Moon”, in a book that draws from unpublished manuscripts, songs, personal letters and diaries that the author discovered in the attic of Margaret Wise Brown's sister.
Invincible living : the power of yoga, the energy of breath, and other tools for a radiant life / by Guru Jaget. A senior Kundalini Yoga instructor outlines a radical understanding of yoga as a broader principle for living, demonstrating simple, breath-driven exercises and quick meditations designed to reset well-being regardless of age and background.
The lost city of the Monkey God : a true story / by Douglas Preston. The co-author of the FBI Agent Pendergast series presents a high-suspense account of the discovery of a lost civilization, contemporaries of the Mayans who lived deep in the Honduran jungle.
Storm in a teacup : the physics of everyday life / by Helen Czerski, Explanations of scientific principles as they can be observed in everyday examples, from the billowing cloud appearance of milk in hot drinks to how ducks keep their feet warm while walking on ice, reveal how they are linked to major challenges, including climate change and the energy crisis.
New Fiction
Babylon's ashes / by James Corey. Summoned by the remnants of old political powers for a desperate mission to reach Medina Station at the heart of the gate network, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are challenged by alliance vulnerabilities, an alien mystery and a band of desperate vigilantes.
The bear and the nightingale : a novel / by Katherine Arden. A debut novel inspired by Russian fairy tales follows the experiences of a wild young girl who taps the mysterious powers of a precious necklace given to her father years earlier to save her village from dark and dangerous forces.
Huck out West / by Robert Coover. In the author's interpretation of what happened after Mark Twain's “Huckleberry Finn”, Huck joins the Pony Express, scouts for both sides in the Civil War, joins a bandit gang, finds an ill-fated pal in a Lakota tribe and finds himself in the Black Hills just ahead of the 1876 Gold Rush, in a book that sees the return of Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher and Jim.
Dead cold brew / by Cleo Coyle. A happy engagement between Clare and her NYPD detective boyfriend is hampered by a mysterious inheritance, the poisoning of their ring designer and a cold case involving a sunken ship, an Italian curse, a charming jewel thief and a shocking family secret.
The dry : a novel / by Jane Harper. Receiving a sinister anonymous note after his best friend's suspicious death, federal agent Aaron Falk is forced to confront the fallout of a 20-year-old false alibi against a backdrop of the worst drought Melbourne has seen in a century. A first novel.
The girl in green / by Derek Miller. A tale set in the aftermath of Desert Storm finds a British journalist who avoids his family and a reckless American private seeking redemption after failing to save the life of a young girl. By the award-winning author of “Norwegian by Night”.
Her every fear / by Peter Swanson. A woman prone to panic attacks in the aftermath of a violent kidnapping relocates to a cousin's home in Boston, where a neighbor's murder embroils her in speculation about her cousin's nature and the intentions of an appealing stranger.