My LINKcat AccountWell. I guess summer is semi-officially here. We have rolled past Memorial Day. The last day of school will soon be upon us. And the heat has also arrived – at least the forecast at this writing which had a high temperature struggling to hit 70 degrees – with daytime highs at or about 90 degrees. 90 degrees at the very beginning of June seems a little extreme to me. The Summer Reading Program has now been underway for the past week. All the signs point to the arrival of summer. And my porch plants have been in their pots since the middle of May. I feel compelled to comment that, back in the day, I would never put plants in the garden until Memorial Day weekend. I would never plant until then because you couldn’t trust the weather not to suddenly turn frosty until then. These past few years I have planted with increasing confidence earlier and earlier in May. I am happy to report that my tomatoes already have fruit set on them and have passed the cherry-tomato size and are speeding past the grape-tomato size and heading towards full-size tomatoes. I hope you had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend and are ready to start reading for the Summer Reading Program community challenge. Below you will find some of the books which recently arrived at the library. Check them out, and enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
“Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon” by Melissa Sevigny. The story of two pioneering female botanists and their historic 1938 boat trip down the Colorado River which led them to be the first to survey and catalog the plant life of the Grand Canyon.
“Power and Progress: Our Thousand-year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity” by Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson. Demonstrating that the path of technology was once—and may again be—brought under control, this bold interpretation of economics and history and manifesto for a better society provides the vision needed to reshape how we innovate and who really gains from technological advances.
“King: A Life” by Jonathan Eig. Mixes new research with accessible storytelling to offer a new biography of the legendary civil-rights leader.
“What It Takes to Save a Life: A Veterinarian’s Quest for Healing and Hope” by Dr. Kwane Stewart. This is the story of a now nine-year journey that has taken Dr. Kwane from Skid Row to San Francisco and beyond to care for pets and their humans who are living on the streets. Dr. Kwane shows how our four-legged, feathered, scaled, and swimming family members—these dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, and other animals that live side by side with us—provide more than companionship. They offer essential love, hope, and a sense of security.
New Fiction
”The Lie Maker” by Linwood Barclay. This twisty, fast-paced thriller from the “New York Times” bestselling author of “Find You First “and “Take Your Breath Away”, a man desperately tries to track down his father—who was taken into witness protection years ago—before his enemies can get to him.
“Only the Dead” by Jack Carr. On a mission generations in the making, former Navy SEAL James Reece, as a secret cabal of global elites prepare to assume control of the U.S., picks up his tomahawk and sniper rifle, showing his enemies that no one is out of range as he blows a global conspiracy wide open
“The True Love Experiment” by Christina Lauren. A best-selling romance novelist who doesn’t practice what she preaches, Felicity “Fizzy” Chen agrees to star in a reality TV show to find her perfect match if documentary filmmaker and single father Connor Prince meets her list of demands, and soon realizes her happily-ever-after may be behind the camera.
“Old Lion: A Novel of Theodore Roosevelt” by Jeff Shaara. The “New York Times” best-selling author traces the remarkable life of one of the most consequential figures in the U.S. and the world at large, from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, revealing a man who shaped the foundations of the modern country and world.
“Fractal Noise (Fractalverse)” by Chris Paolini. On the seemingly uninhabited planet Talos VII, there is a circular pit not of nature but design, and a small team must journey across the surface to learn who built it and why, followed by the ghosts of their past each step they take toward the mysterious abyss.
“The Three of Us” by Ore Agbaje-Williams. Long-standing tensions between a husband, his wife, and her best friend finally come to a breaking point in this sharp domestic comedy of manners, told brilliantly over the course of one day.
“The Guest” by Emma Cline. Summer is coming to a close on the East End of Long Island, and Alex is no longer welcome. .A misstep at a dinner party, and the older man she’s been staying with dismisses her with a ride to the train station and a ticket back to the city. With few resources and a waterlogged phone she spends the week leading up to Labor day drifting from one place to another leaving destruction in her wake.
“Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most” by Adam Alter. A groundbreaking guide explains how to break free from the thoughts, habits, jobs, relationships and even business models that prevent us from achieving our full potential.
“Rogue Justice: A Thriller (Avery Keene)” by Stacey Abrams The “New York Times” bestselling author of “While Justice Sleeps” returns with another riveting and intricately plotted thriller, in which a blackmailed federal judge, a secret court and a brazen murder may lead to an unprecedented national crisis.