Today is December 1st. Not only is it the first day that you can open one of the little doors on your count-down-to Christmas calendar, also known as an Advent Calendar, but has some national celebrations attached to it. It is National Pie Day (although some would argue that day actually falls on January 23rd.) So eat some pie and then eat some again on the 23rd of January. It is also National Eat a Red Apple Day. Another easy national special day to celebrate, merely and simply eat a red apple! Today is also “Bifocals at the Monitor Liberation Day” It is the day to “Free yourself from dealing with blurry screen images by getting your eyes examined to see if bifocals can help”. Finally, it is Rosa Parks Day. On this day in 1955, Rosa Parks was returning home after a day at work. She was seated in the “colored” section of the Montgomery, Alabama bus. The bus got crowded and she was asked to give up her seat to a white passenger. She refused and was arrested for this refusal, found guilty of violating the city ordinance, and fined $10 and a court fee. Civil Rights history was made with Martin Luther King, Jr. among others, organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott for the day of her trial. And that’s about all I have to tell you about the first day of December. Below you will find some of the new books that have recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
- To Pixar and beyond : my unlikely journey with Steve Jobs to make entertainment history / by Lawrence Levy. Describes how the author forged close professional ties with Steve Jobs and worked closely with him to rescue Pixar from the brink of failure and transform it into one of Hollywood's most influential and successful companies.
- The brain warrior's way : ignite your energy and focus, attack illness and aging, transform pain into purpose / by Daniel & Tana Amen. The best-selling author of “Healing ADD” and the best-selling author of “The Omni Diet” share strategies for optimizing the brain to safeguard against damaging media messages and disease while promoting overall wellness. Illustrations.
- Domino : your guide to a stylish home / by Editors of Domino. The editors of Domino magazine present a guide to discovering a personal style and creating loved personal spaces, building on the brand's best-selling first style guide, “Domino: The Book of Decorating”, to share friendly and authoritative tips on everything from textiles and art to lighting and accessories. Illustrations. Tour.
- The platinum age of television : from I love Lucy to The walking dead, how TV became terrific / by David Bianculli. An in-depth examination of the history of television traces the evolution of shows via classic TV genres, including the sitcom, the crime show, the miniseries, the soap opera, the western, the animated series and the late-night talk show. Illustrations.
- Iron dawn : the Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War sea battle that changed history / by Richard Snow. A popular historian describes the exciting naval battle that changed the course of the Civil War, when the North built a complicated, innovative warship out of iron, the Monitor, in record time, to combat the Merrimack.
- The Daily Show (the book) : an oral history as told by Jon Stewart, the correspondents, staff and guests / by Chris Smith. An uncensored history of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” as told by its correspondents, writers and host shares behind-the-scenes stories as well as observations about its blend of news reportage and comedy and its enduring cultural and professional influence.
New Fiction
- The award : a novel / by Danielle Steele. Nearing 100 when she learns she will receive the Legion of Honor Medal, Gaëlle de Barbet experiences painful memories and healing when she relives her past as a World War II activist who risked her life to bring Jewish children to safety and to salvage France's great works of art.
- The blind astronomer's daughter : a novel / by John Pipkin. Grief-stricken by her astronomer father's suicide, Caroline Ainsworth, a girl from late-18th-century Ireland, reluctantly takes up his search for a mythological planet near Mercury and reconnects with the man she loves before her home is plunged into a violent rebellion. By the author of “Woodsburner”.
- The Kid : a novel / by Ron Hansen. A western novel breathes life into the story of Billy the Kid, from his childhood working as a ranch hand who developed an amazing dexterity for firing six-shooters and was attractive, smart and well-spoken, but also had a penchant for money, horses and finding trouble.
- Sirius : a novel about the little dog who almost changed history / by Jonathan Crown. An extraordinary little fox terrier helps his Jewish family escape from Germany to California before becoming a Hollywood star and inadvertently contributing to the downfall of Hitler. A first novel.
- A Christmas message : a novel / by Anne Perry. A latest novel by the best-selling author of the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series follows the Jerusalem Christmas holiday of Victor Narraway and Lady Vespasia, who realize that they have landed in grave danger when an elderly man leaves them a mysterious envelope before being murdered.
- Better late than never / by Jenn McKinley. When the Briar Creek Public Library holds its first overdue amnesty day to collect numerous unreturned books, director Lindsey Norris is shocked by the appearance of a long-missing book checked out 20 years earlier to a murdered teacher whose killer was never found.