My LINKcat AccountYou may or may not recall that this year we celebrated National Library Week for an extra week. We did the extended play version for a very good reason. A very good reason aside from the fact that, I mean, really, is it possible to celebrate public libraries too much? Public libraries are, after all, preservers of history and culture, bastions of life-long learning, foundational to the idea of democracy itself, and a very cool and hip place to hang out. But getting back on the train of thought I just derailed myself from, we extended our National Library Week celebration to allow those of you who were playing our Library Bingo game time enough to get a bingo, or for those of you with pluck and determination, a blackout card. Thanks to the Friends of the DeForest Area Public Library we were able to offer the fabulous prize of a fifty and a hundred dollar Amazon card for winners chosen randomly from the entries in the bingo or blackout categories. I am happy to say that 137 people finished a bingo or blacked out a card and made it to the drawings. The winner in the bingo category was Kaylee Rausch and in the blackout category, Cory Ann Butcher won. I have been told by participants and staff alike that the bingo game was a blast and they learned things about the library they hadn’t known. (And yes. It’s true. Blow me down, but you can learn Pirate (and dozens of other more traditional languages) on Mango, an online resource we subscribe to.).
Below you will find some of the new books that arrived during the past week at your library. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
The gift of anger : and other lessons from my grandfather Mahatma Gandhi / by Arun Gandhi. The grandson of Mahatma Gandhi shares 10 vital and extraordinary life lessons imparted by the iconic philosopher and peace advocate, sharing Gandhi's particular insights into how emotions like anger can be guiltless motivational tools if properly used for good purposes.
Lessons from the prairie : the surprising secrets to happiness, success, and (sometimes just) survival I learned on America's favorite show / by Melissa Francis. A self-help primer for fans of the beloved show Little House on the Prairie , written by the former child star best known as Cassandra, shares behind-the-scenes stories from the set and the lessons the author learned from her work with Michael Landon. By the best-selling author of “Diary of a Stage Mother's Daughter”.
Option B : facing adversity, building resilience, and finding joy / by Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant. From the Facebook COO and #1 New York Times best-selling author of “Lean In”, and the #1 New York Times best-selling author of “Originals” comes a book about finding resilience and moving forward after life’s inevitable setbacks.
The secrets of my life / by Caitlyn Jenner. The author chronicles the first part of her life as Bruce Jenner and rise to fame as a gold-medal-winning Olympic decathlete; her marriages and her relationships with her children; her transition; and her experience as the world's most famous transgender woman.
An American sickness : how healthcare became big business and how you can take it back / by Elisabeth Rosenthal. An award-winning New York Times reporter reveals expensive dysfunctions in America's healthcare system, outlining practical guidelines for recognizing misleading information and obtaining the care and pharmaceuticals needed to safeguard family health interests.
A fine mess : a global quest for a simpler, fairer, and more efficient tax system / by T.R. Reid. The Washington Post correspondent and best-selling author of The Healing of America presents an international investigation into America's failing tax code to share plainspoken assessments of current problems and what the author believes can be learned from other democratic nations.
New Fiction
Cold welcome / by Elizabeth Moon. Decorated military hero Kylara Vatta survives a disastrous shuttle crash in a distant future, spacefaring culture where she finds herself stranded on an arctic land mass that proves more mysterious than she ever suspected.
Anything is possible / by Elizabeth Strout. Two sisters, one who trades self-respect for a wealthy husband and one who discovers a kindred spirit in the pages of a book, struggle with intimate human dramas at the sides of their community members and a returned Lucy Barton. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Olive Kitteridge”.
The delight of being ordinary : a road trip with the Pope and the Dalai Lama / by Roland Merullo. Meeting during a highly publicized official visit at the Vatican, the Pope and the Dalai Lama embark on an unsanctioned, undercover vacation through the Italian countryside to rediscover the everyday joys of life. By the award-winning author of “Breakfast with Buddha”.
My cat Yugoslavia : a novel / by Pajtim Statovci. A love story set in two countries in two radically different times follows the experiences of a Yugoslavian bride and her gay outcast son in present-day Finland, where a pet boa constrictor and a loquacious cat compel a journey of healing and cultural understanding.
No one is coming to save us : a novel / by Stephanie Watts. A tale inspired by The Great Gatsby is set in the contemporary South and follows the difficulties endured by an extended black family with colliding visions of the American dream. A first novel.
Fallout / by Sara Paretsky. Savvy investigator Vic leaves her comfort zone in Chicago to investigate the disappearances of a young film student and a faded Hollywood star in Kansas, where a university town, the remnants of the Cold War and long-simmering racial tensions are stirred into violence by mysteries and murders.