My LINKcat AccountI am writing this from an undisclosed place in Kearney, Nebraska on what shall be last weekend. As many of you know, I make an annual pilgrimage to see the Sandhill crane migration through the North American central flyway. Usually, I go in February. This year an ice storm canceled that trip and pushed the trip forward into March. This is a good thing since there are many, many more cranes in March than in February; and a not so good thing because there are many, many more people (with cameras, spotting scopes, and tripods parked along the sides of the roads and, oftentimes in them). The Crane Trust does an aerial flyover to estimate the crane population. The latest number was 406,000 on March 8th but large numbers fly in every day. To give you an idea of how many cranes we’re talking about, I spotted a large roost of cranes on cornfields along a gravel country road. I checked the odometer and the congregating crane roost was a mile long. Now if, on average, the roost is fifty cranes deep and you divide your count into ten foot wide bands that gives you 528 bands in a mile times 50 cranes each for a total of 26,400 cranes in that roost alone. The numbers and the noise are truly astonishing. There really are cranes to the left of you; cranes to the right of you; cranes in front of you and behind you; and then of course you have the cranes above you as well. Usually, there are cranes in Wisconsin when I return from this pilgrimage. This year there were cranes in our neck of the woods by the third week of February. They are already starting to settle on their nesting grounds. If you need an excuse to get out in nature and watch a sunrise and do some citizen science, the Midwest Crane Count is coming up the 8th of April. And speaking of getting out into nature, our first book title this week addresses the benefits that nature can provide. There is also a whole parcel of other books listed below for your reading pleasure as well. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
The nature fix : why nature makes us happier, healthier, and more creative / by Florence Williams. An investigation into the restorative benefits of nature draws on cutting-edge research and the author's explorations with international nature therapy programs to examine the relationship between nature and human cognition, mood and creativity.
Ageproof : living longer without running out of money or breaking a hip / by Jean Chatzky. Two leading world experts explain the vital link between health and wealth, outlining science-driven ways for maximizing life quality, longevity and retirement savings. 50,000 first printing.
New Fiction
The lost book of the Grail, or, A visitor's guide to Barchester Cathedral / by Charlie Lovett. An obsessive bibliophile and Holy Grail fanatic combs through centuries of history to uncover a long-lost secret about the medieval Barchester Cathedral library at the side of a young American charged with digitizing the library's manuscripts. By the New York Times best-selling author of The Bookman's Tale .
Heartbreak Hotel : an Alex Delaware novel / by Jonathan Kellerman. Surprised by a nearly 100-year-old new client who refuses to explain the reason she needs his services at their first session, Alex Delaware is shocked by the woman's subsequent murder and teams up with detective Milo Sturgis to investigate her mysterious life and death. By a #1 New York Times best-selling author.
I see you / by Clare Mackintosh. Spotting her own picture in a classified ad referencing a mysterious website, Zoe discovers that other women who have appeared in the ad have become the victims of increasingly violent crimes. Discussion guide available online. By the international best-selling author of I Let You Go . Tour.
Most dangerous place : a Jack Swyteck novel / by James Grippando. When an old school friend's wife is accused of murdering the man who had assaulted her, Jack Swyteck finds the case unexpectedly complicated, in a thriller based on true events. By the New York Times best-selling author of Gone Again . 40,000 first printing.
The possessions : a novel / by Sara Flannery Murphy. A young woman who channels the dead for a living crosses a dangerous line when she falls in love with one of her clients, whose wife died under mysterious circumstances. 50,000 first printing.
Shining city / by Tom Rosenstiel. The president of the United States hires fixer Peter Rena to vet his nominee for the Supreme Court.
The undesired : a thriller / by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. Decades after two boys go missing from a juvenile detention center in rural Iceland, a single father investigates alleged abuse at the center before discovering baffling links between the long-ago disappearance and the accident that killed his ex-wife. By an international best-selling author.
Murder at an Irish wedding / by Carlene O’Connor. The O’Sullivan clan of County Cork, Ireland, are thrilled to be catering the matrimonial affairs of a celebrity couple—until a cunning killer turns an Irish wedding into an Irish wake.