My LINKcat AccountOkay. I’m going to start out by owing this right up front. If the weather takes a turn back towards winter -- which would be hard to believe after the eight-degree temperatures on Sunday—it might be because I took the winter gear out of my car. The snow shovel, the broom, the ice scrapers (many), my winter coat, ski mask, mittens, snowmobile boots, and winter coat went back into the house. Those items no longer occupy the back seat of my car. I know. This could be seen as thumbing one’s nose at winter. It could be interpreted as taunting. And, I must confess, I moved all the pots for my porch / patio garden outside including a rather large infestation of volunteer impatiens and Four O’clock plants. But with the kick-off of the Summer Reading Program on Saturday, May 20th only a week and a day away, I felt that I needed to get in the summer mood by getting the winter paraphernalia out of my car and acknowledging the ever-nearing start of the growing season by getting those pots ready to plant. The extended forecast does not appear to hold anything to indicate that winter is coming (back).
The summer/ spring books continue to arrive in goodly numbers, Below you will find the titles of a few of the new books which recently arrived at the library. BTW, I did find that I had left the coffee can with candle in my car, so maybe that is still keeping the winter weather at bay.
New Non-Fiction
“Eat Your Flowers: A Cookbook” by Loria Stern. The author shows the reader ways to bring nature into the kitchen, to play with colors and flavors, and to make every dish beautiful. She incorporates natural plant dusts, pressed and fresh blooms, and vibrant herbs and veggies into her cooking for whimsical, gorgeous, and nourishing meals.
“Great Kingdoms of Africa” by John Parker. This book offers an innovative and thought-provoking overview that takes us from ancient Egypt and Nubia to the Zulu Kingdom almost two thousand years later. It explores the kingdoms, dynasties, and city-states that have shaped cultures across the African continent.
“The Cat’s Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savannah to Your Sofa” by Jonathan Losos. Writing as both a scientist and a cat lover, the author explores how researchers today are unraveling the secrets of the cat, past and present, using all the tools of modern technology, from GPS tracking (you’d be amazed where those backyard cats roam) and genomics (what is your so-called Siamese cat . . . really?) to forensic archaeology.
New Fiction
“The Rescue” by T. Jefferson Parker. Rescuing Felix, a Mexican street dog, from a Tijuana animal shelter, journalist Bettina Blazak discovers Felix is a former DEA drug-sniffing dog, who has led a very colorful, dangerous and profitable life, which draws her into a deadly criminal underworld from which she and Felix may not return.
“Murder on Bedford Street, No.26 (Gaslight Mysteries)” by Victoria Thompson. Agreeing to help Hugh Breedlove’s niece Julia, who has been wrongfully committed to an insane asylum by her cruel and unfaithful husband, PI Frank Malloy and his wife Sarah find their case turning into a murder investigation and must respond to expose a killer hiding in plain sight.
“Mastering the Art of French Murder, No.1 (An American in Paris Mysteries)” by Colleen Cambridge. A novel set in the City of Lights and starring Julia Child’s (fictional) best friend combines a fresh perspective on the iconic chef’s years in post-World War II Paris with a delicious mystery and a unique culinary twist.
“Murder of the Bride Murder, No. 29 (Lucy Stone Mysteries” by Leslie Meier. When her daughter Elizabeth’s impending fairytale wedding in France to Jean-Luc Schoen-Rene is marred by murder, reporter and jet-lagged mother-of-the bride Lucy Stone, to protect her family, vows to expose a killer among a list of worldly jilted lovers and potential criminal masterminds.
“Seven Girls Gone, No.4 (Quinn & Costa Thrillers)” by Allison Brennan. Arriving in St. Augustine, Louisiana, to quietly assist police detective Beau Hebert, who is investigating the disappearance and deaths of 7 women, LAPD detective Kara Quinn and team leader Matt Costa must not only solve multiple murders but expose deep-seated corruption that extends far beyond this small bayou town’s borders.
“A History of Burning” by Janika Oza. This epic, sweeping historical novel spans continents and a century. 1898, Pirbhai, a teenage boy looking for work, is taken from his village in India to labor for the British on the East African Railway. Far from home, Pirbhai commits a brutal act in the name of survival that will haunt him and his family for years to come.
“Summer in Sag Harbor (Summer Beach No.2)” by Sunny Hostin Following the New York Times bestseller “Summer on the Bluffs”, The View cohost and three-time Emmy Award winner Sunny Hostin spirits readers away to the warm beaches of Sag Harbor for the compelling second novel in her acclaimed “Summer” series that takes place in an elite Black enclave in the Hamptons which welcomes its newest resident, hoping she’ll help preserve the integrity of the community.
“Covenant of Water” by Abraham Verghese. Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, and set in
Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, this breathtaking epic of love, faith and medicine follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning.
“Bad, Bad, Seymour Brown” by Susan Isaacs. Corie Geller and her retired NYPD detective father investigate after the only surviving victim of a cold-case arson experiences another attempt on her life in the new novel by the author of “Takes One to Know One”.
“Meet Me at the Lake” by Carley Fortune. A random connection sends two strangers on a daylong adventure where they make a promise one keeps and the other breaks, with life-changing effects, in this breathtaking new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of “Every Summer After”.