My LINKcat AccountI was going to say this will be my last sandhill crane report of this spring migration, but then I looked at the calendar and realized that the Annual Midwest Crane Count is this coming weekend – April 16th – (which I realize with chagrin is my niece’s birthday and I have yet to get a card, let alone mail it. Yikes!) from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. All of which points to the high probability that you may hear about cranes one more time this April. Where I was going with this before I so rudely interrupted myself, was to say that a colleague and I drove out to Denver for the biennial Public Library Association conference during the past week. The route to Denver from here goes through Kearney, Nebraska on I-80. So of course we were on the lookout for cranes. And we saw plenty of them. Here, there, and everywhere is much diminished numbers from the previous trip but they were easy to spot as they littered the cornfields. These cranes were tamer and stayed closer to the edges of the fields. They didn’t spook when cars crept by them slowly with cameras hanging out the windows like the earlier migrants are apt to do. There were 54,000 when we went through on Tuesday. On the way back, we only saw a handful of cranes. The remaining cranes had taken advantage of a strong wind from the south and headed north to their breeding grounds. There was a report of 11 whooping cranes on the Platte River on Thursday night, but they too had left the area by the time we headed back home. Thus ends by penultimate crane report. Below you will find a selection of the new books that are at the library. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
The naturalist : Theodore Roosevelt, a lifetime of exploration, and the triumph of American natural history / by Darrin Lunde. Demonstrates how a young Theodore Roosevelt actively modeled himself in the proud tradition of influential museum naturalists who had a significant influence on the 26th President's personality and politics, exploring how his passion for the natural world set the stage for America's wildlife conservation movement.
No dream is too high : life lessons from a man who walked on the Moon / by Buzz Aldrin. The beloved American astronaut shares the wisdom and guiding principles he has gleaned throughout his historical career, sharing accompanying anecdotes and memories on such topics as his initial rejection as an astronaut, the NASA protocol change that rendered him the second man on the moon and his 80th-birthday Galapagos dive.
The rainbow comes and goes : a mother and son on life, love, and loss / by Cooper Anderson and Gloria Vanderbilt. A poignant correspondence between the CNN journalist and his iconic designer mother, exchanged in the aftermath of the latter's brief illness, shares a rare window into their relationship and the life lessons imparted by an aging mother to her adult son
The third wave : an entrepreneur's vision of the future / by Steve Case. The entrepreneurial internet pioneer and co-founder of American Online shares a roadmap for how to succeed in a world of rapidly changing technology, drawing on the examples of futurist Alvin Toffler to share behind-the-scenes stories about some of the most consequential business decisions of the internet world.
Becoming wise : an inquiry into the mystery and art of living / by Krista Tippett. From the best-selling author and host of NPR’s On Being comes a master class in living drawn from the inspiring stories of extraordinary individuals who possess what she calls “spiritual genius.”
Dream home : the Property Brothers' ultimate guide to finding & fixing your perfect house / by Jonathan and Drew Scott. The celebrity designers from Property Brothers and other hit HGTV series share comprehensive guidelines to buying, selling and renovating a house in a reference that includes strategic tips on hidden costs and finding good deals on home products.
New Fiction
Silence / by Mercedes Lackey. Ousted from her father's home by a new stepmother, teen Staci endures a life of virtually nonexistent technology in her alcoholic mother's home, where she befriends a diner waitress and a menagerie of controversy-embroiled gamers at the local bookstore.
The story of Kullervo / by J.R.R. Tolkien. A first official publication of a previously unknown work by the author of The Lord of the Rings follows the story of a hapless orphan who swears revenge on the dark magician responsible for the death of his father, in a volume complemented by author drafts, notes and lecture essays.
Alice & Oliver : a novel / by Charles Bock. An intelligent and dynamic woman who attracts attention wherever she goes and enjoys life with her husband and newborn daughter is astounded by her cancer diagnosis, which pits her family against a difficult healthcare system, well-meant intentions and other stressors that threaten her health and marriage.
The decent proposal : a novel / by Kemper Donovan. The lives of two very different strangers become intertwined when they receive an unusual proposition from an anonymous benefactor to spend two hours together every week for a year, talking, in exchange for a million dollars.
Miller's Valley / by Anne Quindlen. Coming of age in a dwindling 1960s farming community in eastern Pennsylvania, Mimi struggles with profound family secrets and the pain of falling in love with the wrong person against a backdrop of dynamic historical periods. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Object Lessons”.
Most wanted / by Lisa Scottoline. Using a sperm donor to conceive when she learns that her husband is infertile, a happily pregnant woman is shattered to learn that a man arrested for a series of brutal murders is the biological father of her baby. By the Edgar Award-winning author of” Betrayed”.
The murder of Mary Russell : a novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes / by Laurie King. Sherlock Holmes is on the case when Mary Russell goes missing and the shabby carpet of 221B Baker Street is found drenched in blood. By the best-selling author of the “Kate Martinelli” series.