My LINKcat AccountIt’s hard to believe that the publication date of this column is the eve of the three-day Memorial Day weekend. To me this seems like an early Memorial Day. Since its founding in 1868 as Decoration Day to honor and mourn those who died in the armed services until 1971, the day was always celebrated on May 30th. In 1971, the date was changed to the last Monday in May to create a three-day Federal holiday. The earliest a last Monday in May can be is the 25th and the latest would be May 31st. So the 27th, is neither early or late, no matter how it might feel to yours truly. (FYI, the last time Memorial Day fell on the 25th of May was in 2020 and it will do it again in 2026 -- in case you want to get that on your calendar now. “Since we are rolling past the Memorial Day weekend, can the start of the Summer Reading Program be far behind?” she asked rhetorically. And indeed it can’t be. The Summer Reading Program officially begins June 6th and will run through August 17th. Some time between now and the official start, you may be able to get into Beanstack and get yourself registered so you are all set to go and can start logging the numerous books you will be reading this summer. Information about the reading program with an FAQ and options if you prefer good old paper and pencil for recording the books you have read or listened to. Listed below are some of the new books which have recently arrived at the library. If you check out items now, by June 6th you should have had time to read them and can log them on June 6th. Enjoy!
BTW, since Monday, May 27th is a holiday, the library will be closed.
New Non-Fiction
“Coming Home” by Brittney Griner & Michelle Burford. From the nine-time women’s basketball icon and two-time Olympic gold medalist comes a raw, revelatory account of her unfathomable detainment in Russia and her journey home.
“I Will Show You How It Was: The Story of Wartime Kyiv” by Illia Ponomarenko. A raw, irreverent account of a young Ukrainian reporter on-the-ground as his country heroically defends itself against the Russian invasion.
“I Curse You With Joy” by Tiffany Haddish. The comedian, actress and best-selling author presents a collection of essays chronicling the lessons learned on her journey to superstardom, from the legacy of her childhood trauma to difficulties being a black woman in the entertainment industry.
“Puppy Brain: How Our Dogs Learn, Think, and Love” by Kerry Nichols & Randi Kramer. Explains how to raise a happy, healthy, and emotionally resilient dog and forge a fulfilling bond with them.
“The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth” by Sahaj Kaur Kohli. An award-winning environment and science reporter delivers a groundbreaking work of popular science that probes the hidden world of the plant kingdom and reveals the astonishing capabilities of the green life all around us.
New Fiction
“Red Side Story” by Jasper Fforde. In a society strictly regulated by one’s limited color perception, 20-year-old Eddie Russet, out on the fringes of Red Sector West, is framed for murder and, to save himself and Jane Grey, with whom he has an illegal relationship, must negotiate the narrow boundaries of the Rules to find a loophole.
“Black Shield Maiden” by Willow Smith & Jess Hendel. Yafeu, an African warrior stolen from her home in the Ghanaian Empire, ignites a revolution in the frozen north of the Vikings and forges an unlikely friendship with a timid princess as the pair fight to control their destinies.
“I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons” by Peter S. Beagle. Unhappily inheriting his late father's job as a dragon catcher/exterminator Robert dreams of quitting and becoming a princess valet because he just really likes the dragons in the new novel by the best-selling author of “The Last Unicorn”.
“Exhibit” by R.O. Kwon. Jin Han breaks a lifelong promise to keep the details of an old familial curse a complete secret when she meets and connects with a stranger at a party and must deal with the repercussions of their new relationship.
“We were the Universe” by Kimberly King Parsons. Still in denial after the death of her sister, Kit, a young mother, in the secret recesses of her mind, is keyed into everything that might distract from her surfacing pain, causing her to spiral as the thin line between reality and fantasy blurs, making her wonder is her sister is really gone.
“Lovers and Liars” by Amanda Eyre Ward. The Peacock sisters, with decades of secrets forcing them into separate lives and lies, reunite for their sister Sylvie’s destination wedding at an English castle where things come to a head when their toxic mother arrives, giving them an unexpected opportunity to find the courage to make new choices.
“Long Island” by Colm Toibin. In 1976 Lindenhurst, Long Island, Ellis Lacey, an Irishwoman in her 40s with no one to rely on in this still-new country, discovers her husband got a woman pregnant and refuses to raise it, forcing Ellis to decide what she will do and not do in this unexpected situation.
“Women and Children First” by Alina Grabowshi. When a young woman dies under suspicious circumstances at a house party, the private lives of ten women unravel as they confront this tragedy in their small Massachusetts town where blame is cast, secrets are buried deeper and a shocking truth about that dreadful night begins to emerge.
“Every Time I Go Vacation Someone Dies, No.1 (The Vacation Mysteries)" by Catherine Mack.
Best-selling author Eleanor Dash's Italian book tour turns into a real-life murder mystery as her life starts to imitate her fictional world.