My LINKcat AccountFor those of you who don’t follow the library on FaceBook (And if you don’t, why don’t you?) you missed Booky the library badger’s Ground Hog Day prediction. Booky to all the weather-lore available to badgers and whispered a prediction in Brian’s ear. It went something like this: “There is no shadow to be cast, an early spring is my forecast.” Of course the accuracy of prediction is only as good as the accuracy of the translation. We will have to wait and see if this was a good translation. The birds are starting to behave as if spring is just around the corner. Cardinals have started singing in the dawns early light. The chickadees are singing their “phoebe” song which is a change from their usual, “chick a dee, dee, dee”. Blue jays and crows are chasing each other as the time to start reconnecting with one’s mate and finding a nesting site draws nearer. There is a pair of great horned owls (I am identifying the birds based solely their calls) in my neighborhood who are talking a lot to each other during the early evening and early morning hours. This hardy couple should be sitting on eggs any day now. Great horned owls begin breeding from January on. By the time the rest of the birds in the neighborhood return, owlets will be ready to test their wings. All of which is a reminder that even in the darkest, coldest days of winter, life is going on. Another reminder is the narcissus plants – hidden away in a paper bag in my basement—was putting out sprouts when I checked them on Groundhog Day. They’ve grown about 3 inches since I planted them that day. And if you need one more sign that spring is on its way, books from the publisher’s Spring Lists have started to arrive. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
Arthur and Sherlock : Conan Doyle and the creation of Holmes / by Michael Sims. The author of “The Story of Charlotte's Web” explores the rich events behind the creation of young Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective, revealing the impact of his early poverty and medical experience on the development of his characters and stories. Illustrations.
My life, my love, my legacy / by Coretta Scott King. The wife of Martin Luther King Jr., founder of the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change and singular 20th-century American civil rights activist presents her full life story, as told before her death to one of her closest confidants..
Six encounters with Lincoln : a president confronts democracy and its demons / by Elizabeth Pryor. A Lincoln Prize-winning historian and author of ”Reading the Man” explores the psychology, characters and leadership of the 16th President as evidenced by six lesser-known encounters with his constituents, from an awkward meeting with Army officers on the eve of the Civil War to a White House conversation with a fierce abolitionist.
New Fiction
4 3 2 1 : a novel / by Paul Auster. A single child born in 1947 experiences four parallel lifetimes poignantly marked by shifting family fortunes, athletic pursuits, friendships, sex, intellectual passions and the same intriguing woman. By the best-selling author of “Winter Journal”.
The animators : a novel / by Kayla Whitaker. Two women, who met in an art class in college and instantly became best friends, try to salvage their relationship after their successful animated filmmaking partnership nearly destroys their personal lives nearly a decade later.
The girl in the garden / by Melanie Wallace. Abandoned in a seaside motel and offered shelter in the home of the manager's friend, a young woman with an infant son is integrated into the lives of long-time locals and starts over amid revelations of loves and crimes from the past. By the author of “The Housekeeper”.
The runaway midwife / by Patricia Harman. Fleeing a personal setback in West Virginia to start over on a tiny, remote Canadian island, midwife Clara Perry assumes a new identity as a solitude-seeking writer and is drawn into the lives of her new neighbors before she is forced to reveal the truth about who she really is.
Fever in the dark / by Ellen Hart. When a video of their engagement goes viral on the heels of the Supreme Court's decision to legalize gay marriage, Fiona and Annie turn for help to private investigator Jane Lawless to safeguard a secret from Annie's past. By the award-winning author of “The Grave Soul”.
Rather be the devil : a novel / by Ian Rankin. Maverick investigator John Rebus gains dangerous enemies upon reopening a cold case from the 1970s involving the murder of a wealthy socialite. By the Edgar Award-winning author of “Even Dogs in the Wild”.
Snowblind : a thriller / by Ragnar Jonasson. A U.S. debut from a best-selling European author follows the first posting of a rookie policeman in a peaceful Northern Iceland fishing village, where a suspicious injury and a murder reveal explosive local secrets.
Drowning tides : a South Shores novel by Karen Harper. After forensic psychologist Claire Britten starts working with lawyer Nick Markwood on his South Shores project, the billionaire criminal who staged Nick's father's "suicide" kidnaps Claire's daughter, and Claire and Nick must band together to stop this dangerous man. By a “New York Times” best-selling author.
On second thought / by Kristan Higgins. Two sisters must learn to put their differences aside and open their hearts to the inevitable imperfection of family—and the possibility of one day finding love again. By a “New York Times” best-selling author.
Behind her eyes / by Sarah Pinborough. The secretary of a successful psychiatrist is drawn into the seemingly picture-perfect life of her boss and his wife before discovering a complex web of controlling behaviors and secrets that gradually reveal profound and dangerous flaws in the couple's relationship.
My husband's wife / by Jane Corry. Resolving to leave her secrets behind when she gets married, a young lawyer is strangely drawn to a convicted killer during her first murder case in ways that shape her psychologically charged relationship with a young neighbor years later.