My LINKcat AccountIt’s hard to believe that here it is Thursday, May 28th and we are already 3 days past Memorial Day. Back in the day, Memorial Day used to be observed on May 30th and used to be called, Decoration Day. It was a day to decorate the graves of those who had died in service to their country and began at the end of the Civil War. Quoting Wikipedia, “Copying an earlier holiday that had been established in the Southern states, on May 5, 1868, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, the veterans' organization for Union Civil War veterans, General John A. Logan issued a proclamation calling for "Decoration Day" to be observed annually and nationwide.[3] It was observed for the first time that year on Saturday May 30; the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of any particular battle. According to the White House, the May 30 date was chosen as the optimal date for flowers to be in bloom.” Decoration Day slowly turned into Memorial Day and then turned into one of the holidays covered by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 which moved four holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. Now that you know more than you wanted about the holiday we just celebrated, let me note in passing that this year’s observation of the date on May 25th was the earliest the last Monday of May can occur. So we are having an early start to summer which is good because a whole lot of books, perfect for summer reading, have started to arrive and are listed below. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
The theft of memory : losing my father one day at a time / by Jonathan Kozol. A deeply personal account of the life of the author's father, a nationally renowned neurologist who, after a life of helping to establish emerging fields in mental health, succumbed to Alzheimer's disease. By the National Book Award-winning author of “Fire in the Ashes”.
Rise of the robots : technology and the threat of a jobless future / by Martin Ford. A artificial-intelligence entrepreneur offers a stark warning about what we must do to keep an automated economy from being a massively unjust one.
Misbehaving : the making of behavioral economics by Richard Thaler. Argues that economical trends cannot be predicted as much as thought, mainly because humans are so unpredictable, and reveals how behavioral economic analysis opens up new ways to look at everything from household finance to assigning faculty offices in a new building.
New Fiction
The scarlet gospels / by Clive Barker. An epic good-versus-evil thriller from the early days of two iconic characters pits long-beleaguered supernatural detective Harry D'Amour against priest of hell Pinhead. By the best-selling author of the Books of Blood series.
Seveneves / by Neal Stephenson. When a catastrophic event dooms the planet, nations around the world band together to devise an ambitious survival plan in outer space 5,000 years before their progeny organize an audacious return. By the best-selling author of “Cryptonomicon”.
Beach town / by Mary Kay Andrews. Given a last chance to salvage her career after being wrongly blamed for property damage, movie location scout Greer confronts an environmentally minded mayor in a sleepy Florida Gulf Coast community. By the best-selling author of “Save the Date”.
The Jesus cow : a novel / by Michael Perry. When word gets out that he has a baby calf on his family farm that bears the image of Jesus Christ, low-key Harley Jackson, whose bachelor's heart has been stolen by a woman in a big red pickup, finds himself with more money than he knows what to do with--and in more trouble than he ever dreamed.
The summer's end / by Mary Alice Monroe. A conclusion to the trilogy that includes The Summer Wind finds Mamaw and the three sisters confronting loss and transition after realizing that they will have to sell their beloved Sullivan's Island estate.
War of the encyclopaedists : a novel / by Christopher Robinson & Gavin Kovite. Best friends separated by global events after college, Mickey Montauk, deployed to Baghdad with his National Guard unit, and Halifax Corderoy, struggling with disappointment and his new roommate, keep in touch with one another by editing a Wikipedia article about themselves.
300 sandwiches : a multilayered love story... with recipes by Stephanie Smith. The New York Post Page Six reporter chronicles her culinary quest for an engagement ring during which she had to make her boyfriend 300 sandwiches in order to receive the most delicious wedding proposal ever, in a hilarious love story and memoir with recipes.
The long high noon / by Loren Estleman. A decades-long feud begins between Old West cowboys Randy Locke and Frank Farmer when each is separately approached by a man with the popular Buffalo Bill show who proposes they publicize a winner-take-all duel. By the Shamus Award-winning author of “The Book of Murdock”.
Born of defiance / by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Fighting the stigma of being an Andarion without a father, outcast Talyn Batur is drawn into a plot against the crown and is forced to make a choice between his government and his beliefs. By the best-selling author of the Dark-Hunters series.
Don't go home / by Carolyn Hart. A celebration for former Broward's Rock resident Alex Griffith and the release of his latest novel is overshadowed by a newspaper story about the writer's plan to expose the real-life people behind his characters. By the author of the Bailey Ruth Ghost mysteries.
Dry bones / by Craig Johnson. Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire recruits a team of helpers to investigate the murder of a rancher whose body has been found near a T. rex fossil that is claimed by multiple parties. By the best-selling author of “Any Other Name”.