My LINKcat AccountToday has a number of rather arcane National celebrations associated with it. July 21st is not only “National Junk Food Day” it is also “National Creme Brulee Day”, which, in my humble opinion do not belong on the same date. In the Venn diagram where junk food intersects with the marvelously subtle and creamy texture of a good creme brulee topped with that crackling bit of caramelized sugar there is absolutely no overlap. It is also “National Get Out of the Dog House Day” so if perchance you were to suggest that there could be a point of intersection of creme brulee with junk food, this would be the day to do it -- so you could get out of the dog house you’d just walked yourself into. July 21st also occurs during Hemingway Look Alike Days at Sloppy Joe’s in Key West, Florida. I’m pretty sure when I was growing up in Oak Park, Il -- which is where Ernest Hemingway was born-- rumor had it that young Ernest was found of a nice creme brulee. Tomorrow is Pi Approximation Day, or Casual Pi Day. It is observed on July 22nd because the fraction 22/7 is the common approximation of Pi and using the day/month format that’s what the twenty-second day of July is. July 21st is only ten days away from our annual Harry Potter birthday bash. That’s July 31st at 1:30. Dust off your wizarding costumes and wands and come join the fun. There will be a costume contest, a slug eating contest, activities, and cake. While you’re counting the minutes to the Harry Potter birthday party, there are a number of new books listed below for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
The best "worst president" : what the right gets wrong about Barack Obama / by Mark Hannah. A political analyst and an illustrator from the New Yorker debunk, through words and pictures, the lies and disinformation that haunt and negate Barack Obama’s presidency and accomplishments.
Bobby Kennedy : the making of a liberal icon / by Larry Tye. An award-winning journalist and the New York Times best-selling author of Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend was given unprecedented access by the Kennedy family to write this in-depth biography of the political operative who masterminded his brother’s whatever-it-takes bids for senator and president.
Bush / by Jean Edward Smith. The Pulitzer Prize-finalist author of Grant examines the role of the 43rd President's deep religious faith in his controversial decisions, exploring his inclinations to ignore advisors and make fateful independent decisions, most significantly the invasion of Iraq, in ways that have had profound consequences.
Freedom : my book of firsts / by Jaycee Dugard. In the follow-up to her #1 best-selling memoir, A Stolen Life, the author tells the story of her first experiences after years in captivity: the joys that accompanied her newfound freedom and the challenges of adjusting to life on her own.
The inevitable : understanding the 12 technological forces that will shape our future / by Kevin Kelly. An expert tech writer discusses the forces and trends—including flowing, screening, accessing, sharing, filtering, remixing, tracking and questioning—that will revolutionize our daily lives through the upcoming technological advances of the next 30 years. By the author of “What Technology Wants”.
You'll grow out of it / by Jessi Klein. Uproarious and poignant stories from the Inside Amy Schumer head writer's awkward youth include entries on her tomboy pursuits of femininity, her emulation of Oprah and the dangers of wedding websites.
New Fiction
Liberty's last stand / by Stephen Coonts. In the wake of an assassination attempt by a decorated sniper on the eve of a presidential election, Jake Grafton and Tommy Carmellini risk everything to uncover a massive conspiracy while helping a new resistance movement rise up against a new enemy. By a 
The pursuit / by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. The #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Stephanie Plum series and an acclaimed writer for Monk team up again in a latest entry of the popular series starring master con artist Nicolas Fox and FBI agent Kate O'Hare.
Tom Clancy : duty and honor / by Grant Blackwood. When a wealthy political opponent alludes to a scandal in the Ryan presidential family, Jack Ryan Jr. unravels an insidious plot that tests the limits of his sanity. By the best-selling author of the Briggs Tanner series. Tour.
Widowmaker : a novel / by Paul Doiron. Approached by a distressed woman who claims her son is his half-brother, who has disappeared from a brutal work camp after a wrongful conviction, Mike Bowditch finds himself on the trail of a ruthless vigilante in the snow-covered mountains of Maine. By the Edgar Award-finalist author of “ The Poacher's Son”.
Absalom's daughters : a novel / by Suzanne Feldman. Two half-sisters—one self-educated and black, the other illiterate and white—learn of their wayward father's inheritance and embark on a risky road trip together through the 1950s Jim Crow South in the hopes of claiming what is rightfully theirs.
Cajun waltz / by Robert Patton. An ill-suited marriage between a shady musician and a lonely shopgirl in Depression-era southwestern Louisiana kicks off a multigenerational novel full of family drama, pursuit of passions, racial tensions and economic struggles culminating during Hurricane Audrey in 1957.
Magic : a novel / by Danielle Steel. A tale set against a backdrop of the glamorous annual White Dinners in Paris traces the experiences of longtime participant Jean-Philippe Dumas, who at the sides of three couples reflects on friendship, love and magical possibilities on a life-changing night.