My LINKcat AccountYou all know what day it is today. Just look at the date. That’s a clue. It’s Le quatorze juillet – the 14th of July. It is La fête nationale in France. It is, in fact, Bastille Day. This French National Day commemorates the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 which was an important, iconic, event in the revolution that had begun two days earlier. The following year, the Fête de la Fédération was held which celebrated the unity of the French people. It commemorated the peace and unity that occurred in 1790 for the French people. If you have red, white, and blue decorations left from the 4th, you could use them along with a nice baguette or croissant and a bottle of French wine or French press coffee to celebrate while chanting “Liberté, égalité, fraternité”. By the way, tomorrow is St. Swithin’s Day. St. Swithin was possibly, the Saxon bishop of Winchester and died in 862. He is best known for the weather lore that accompanies his feast day, which is July 15. English lore uses this rhyme for predicting the weather: “St. Swithin’s Day if thou dost rain / For forty days it will remain/ St. Swithin’s day if thou be fair/ For forty days ‘twill rain nae mair.” So keep your eyes peeled tomorrow for the long-range weather forecast. Forty days will get us to the end of August. While you’re waiting for the weather forecast, check out some of the new books that have been arriving lately. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
Rise of the machines : a cybernetic history by Thomas Rid. A sweeping history of cybernetics explores the discipline's early myths and wide-ranging influence after World War II, illuminating specific examples of cybernetics applications as utopian technologies, political tools and military weapons. By the author of Cyber War Will Not Take Place.
White Trash : the 400-year untold history of class in America / by Nancy Isenberg. A history of the class system in America from Colonial times to the present illuminates the crucial legacy of the underprivileged white demographic, challenging popular notions about equality while citing the pivotal contributions of lower-class white workers in wartime, social policy and the rise of the Republican Party. By the author of “Fallen Founder”.
The world according to Star Wars / by Cass Sunstein. A celebration of George Lucas' iconic series as it relates to history, politics, law, economics, parenthood and culture, written by a Harvard legal scholar and former White House advisor, explores the films' wildly unanticipated success and the universal lessons they impart about freedom of choice.
New Fiction
A certain age / by Beatriz Williams. Falling in love with her paramour, a married Jazz Age socialite, unable to divorce because of conventions, tries to make the best of the situation and reconsiders her values when her lover falls for her soon-to-be sister-in-law. By the best-selling author of “A Hundred Summers “and “The Secret Life of Violet Grant”.
Defender / by Diana Palmer. Investigating a stalking case involving a Texas millionaire's daughter-turned-assistant district attorney whose heart he broke three years earlier, FBI agent Paul Fiore struggles to regain her trust after discovering the truth about her nightmarish youth and the damage he caused by leaving her.
All the missing girls : a novel / by Megan Miranda. A story in reverse traces the disappearances of two young women, a decade apart, from the perspective of a former best friend who returns to her rural hometown, where she is plunged into a shocking maelstrom that reawakens her friend's missing-persons case, implicating a group of friends and exes.
The charmers / by Elizabeth Adler. Inheriting a family villa in the South of France after her aunt's sudden and mysterious death, Mirabella has a close call with a motorcycle on her way to her new home and realizes that she is being targeted by dangerous people from her aunt's past. By the New York Times best-selling author of “One Way or Another”.
The crow girl / by Erik Axl Sund. Confronting bureaucracy and apathy while investigating the brutal murder of a young immigrant boy, Detective Superintendent Jeanette Kihlberg uncovers the work of a twisted serial killer and enlists the help of psychologist Sofia Zetterlund in unraveling an evil dynamic worn deep into Swedish society.
The damned of Petersburg / by Ralph Peters. A latest entry in the Boyd Award-winning Civil War series reimagines the stories of heroes Little Billy Mahone, Wade Hampton, Francis Channing Barlow and Nelson Miles against a backdrop of the Crater tragedies and the 1864 election. By the New York Times best-selling author of Valley of the Shadow.
Dishonorable intentions / by Stuart Woods. A latest adventure by the Edgar Award-winning author of Chiefs finds New York City cop-turned-rainmaker for a top Manhattan law firm Stone Barrington and his associates confronting a new threat that tests the limits of their collective skills.
End of watch : a novel / by Stephen King. A conclusion to the best-selling trilogy that also includes the Edgar Award-winning Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers finds mental patient Brady Hartsfield manifesting powers to commit deadly acts without leaving his hospital room, while retired detective Bill Hodges and his partner investigate a suicide with ties to the Mercedes Massacre.
The house of secrets / by Brad Meltzer & Tod Goldberg. The #1 best-selling author of "The Inner Circle" and "The Boot of Fate", along with his award-winning co-author, presents a debut entry in a new thriller series.
Ink and bone / by Lisa Unger. Possessing a psychic ability to dream about events before they occur and then make supernatural things happen, Finley Montgomery requests help from her seer grandmother to control her gift when she lands in the middle of an investigation involving a little girl's disappearance. By the best-selling, Silver-Falchion-Award-winning author of “In the Blood”.