My LINKcat AccountWe are almost out of the month of June and we all know what that means. It means we are creeping up very quickly on the 4th of July. Not only are we creeping up, we are within pouncing distance. In fact, this is, for all extents and purposes, the 4th of July column because the next one will be after the fact. So, a couple of things you should remember about the 4th of July. The library will be closed that day even though you may see library staff scurrying around outside the library whilst preparing the library’s entry in the parade. We called it a float for a number of years, but that involved more magical thinking than any of can muster nowadays. Our entry will include library staff members and friends and family members walking along distributing candy. One of the other things you should remember is that the library people will be in the parade and this is a chance for us to get a sense of how many youngsters who may be entering our pre-school story hours and lap sit program in the fall. It is also a chance for you to see us. We appreciate your enthusiastic appreciation of us as our part of the parade passes by. Read harder and yell louder! Also remember that July 4th celebrates the birth of this nation and that independence was the first step towards a Constitution and Bill of Rights which, to some extent, lead to the notion that an informed population was necessary for this grand adventure in government to succeed. Public libraries evolved out of some of some of those ideas and are as American as apple pie. Have a great 4th of July and check out some of the books listed below: They would make perfect reading while you are waiting for the fireworks to start. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
I'm just a person / by Tig Notaro. The popular comedian and cast member on Transparent traces a wrenching year in her life marked by a debilitating rare illness, her mother's sudden death, a romantic breakup and her diagnosis with breast cancer.
Ordinarily well : the case for antidepressants / by Peter Kramer. The best-selling author of Listening to Prozac examines the effectiveness of antidepressants to address a growing mistrust of their use by the medical establishment and the public, charting their development, research and statistics to discuss their
The invention of Russia : from Gorbachev's freedom to Putin's war / by Arkady Ostrovsky. An original narrative history by the Moscow Bureau Chief for The Economist traces Russia's evolution from the Cold War through its breakup and recent rise as a fiercely nationalistic, anti-American police state, introducing readers to the propagandists, oligarchs and fixers behind the nation's current status.
New Fiction
The sword of Midras : a shroud of the Avatar novel / by Tracey Hickman & Richard Garriott. A captain in the Obsidian Army discovers a magical sword that only he can use, and is purported to have been once used by the legendary Avatars, in a prequel to Shroud of the Avatar.
The girls : a novel / by Emma Cline. Mesmerized by a band of girls in the park she perceives as enjoying a life of free and careless abandon, 1960s teen Evie Boyd becomes obsessed with gaining acceptance into their circle, only to find herself drawn into a cult and seduced by its charismatic leader.
I'm thinking of ending things / by Iain Reid. A man and his girlfriend, on their way to a secluded farm, take an unexpected detour that leaves the woman stranded in a deserted high school, wondering if there is any escape from the twisted manifestations that are haunting her.
The Mandibles : a family, 2029 - 2047 / by Lionel Shriver. A near-future family saga spanning 18 tumultuous years that redefine the nature of the United States explores the aftershocks of an economically devastating sovereign debt and their impact on a once-prosperous American family.
Vinegar girl : The taming of the shrew retold / by Anne Tyler. A modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew follows the experiences of a preschool teacher who alienates others by speaking her mind and who manages her family's home before she is expected by her eccentric father to marry his assistant to prevent the young man's deportation. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ‘Breathing Lessons”.
Barkskins : a novel / by Ann Proulx. Working as woodcutters under a feudal lord in 17th-century New France, two impoverished young Frenchmen follow separate journeys, one of extraordinary hardship, the other of wealth and craftiness, that shape their families throughout three centuries. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Shipping News” and “Brokeback Mountain”.
The Cavendon luck / by Barbara Taylor Bradford. Picks up nine years after the events of Cavendon Women, in an epic tale that finds Cecily and Miles drawing on the collective strength of the whole family to protect Cavendon Hall and its clan from the challenges of World War II. Discussion guide available online. By a #1 New York Times best-selling author.
Love & friendship : in which Jane Austen's Lady Susan Vernon is entirely vindicated : concerning the beautiful Lady Susan Vernon, her cunning daughter & the strange antagonism of the DeCourcy family / by Whit Stillman. A cult film-maker re-imagines Jane Austen's unfinished early novella Lady Susan.
Charcoal Joe : an Easy Rawlins mystery / by Walter Mosley. Easy Rawlins' plans to marry his girlfriend and start a new detective agency interrupted by the case of a promising Stanford student who in the face of daunting evidence has been charged with the race-related murder of a white man. By the 2016 Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award-winner.
Knit to be tied / by Maggie Sefton. Welcoming an expectant mom into the fold, the House of Lambspun knitting-shop friends discover that the baby's father is a less-than-ideal partner before his dramatic hit-and-run death reveals the work of a killer in their midst. Includes recipes and a knitting pattern.
Tea with jam and dread / by Tamar Myers. While trying to welcome British royalty to her PennDutch inn and acquaint them with traditional American culture, Magdalena Yoder embarrassingly discovers a mummified corpse in the elevator shaft. By the author of “The Death of Pie”.