My LINKcat AccountToday is the eve of the summer solstice. Tomorrow at approximately 10:54 a.m. the solstice will occur and summer will, at least astronomically arrive. This is the day when the sun in the Northern Hemispheres travels the longest path across the sky so we have the most hours of daylight. In this geographic area that means 15 hours, 22 minutes, and 14 seconds. From June 19th through the 23rd we have 15 hours and 22 minutes of daylight as additional seconds first go up as we approach the solstice and then start their slow, downward, march to the shortest day of the year. Even though summer has officially arrived astronomically, it often takes a few weeks for meteorological summer to arrive when the average high temperatures in July hit 83 degrees. Although, given the rather wet, cloudy, and cold June we’ve been having so far, it’s hard to believe summer of any sort -- astronomical or meteorological-- will be arriving soon. But summer has arrived at your local public library. The summer reading program is well underway with a plethora of programs to choose from for all age levels from toddlers to adults. The summer Concert at the Rocks series will continue with a performance by David Landau on Tuesday, June 25th at 1 p.m. and with Stuart Stotts on Tuesday, July 2nd at 1p.m. Our Concert in the Park series will kick off Bucky Badger and members of the UW Band on Tuesday, July 9th, at 6:30 p.m. in Firemen’s Park. Be sure to mark your calendars for these great performances. All those extra minutes and seconds of daylight around the summer solstice give you that much more time to read in natural light. Below you will find some titles which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
“Aloha Rodeo: Three Hawaiian Cowboys, the World’s Greatest Rodeo, and a Hidden History of the American West” by David Wolman & Julian Smith. Traces the lesser-known role of three Hawaiian cowboys who indelibly shaped the early-20th century West, detailing how their careers influenced post-annexation Hawaiian identity, island ranching and the rodeo culture of Cheyenne.
“Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race to Save America From the Bubonic Plague” by David Randall. The best-selling author of Dreamland traces the massive effort to contain an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1900 San Francisco, detailing how the process was complicated by virulent racism, pseudoscience and political cover-ups.
“The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777, No.1 (The Revolution Trilogy)” by Rick Atkinson. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the Liberation Trilogy presents the first volume in a new series on the American Revolution that draws on perspectives from both sides to chronicle the first 21 months of America's violent war for independence.
“Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11” by Mitchell Zuckoff. The New York Times best-selling author of 13 Hours and Lost in Shangri-La weaves together a variety of accounts to create a complete portrait of 9/11.
“The First Wave: The D-Day Warriors Who Led the Way to Victory in World War II” by Alex Kershaw. The New York Times best-selling author of The Liberator and Avenue of Spies returns with an action-heavy account of D-Day combat.
“A Good American Family: The Red Scare and My Father” by David Maraniss. A timely account of the mid-20th-century Red Scare and its impact on everyday families describes how the author's World War II veteran father was spied on by the FBI, accused of communist sympathies, fired from his job and blacklisted.
New Fiction
“Anna of Kleve, No. 4 (Six Tudor Queens)” by Alison Weir. Arranged in a doomed marriage to England's infamous Henry VIII, a princess from a small German duchy hides a desperate secret in a hostile foreign court. By the best-selling author of Jane Seymour, “The Haunted Queen”.
“Dawson’s Fall” by Roxana Robinson. Draws on the true Reconstruction experiences of the author's grandparents as recorded in family journals and letters, in a historical tale that finds a man in 1889 Charleston struggling to navigate his war-scarred country's evolving political, social and moral landscapes.
“The Flight Portfolio” by Julie Orringer. The award-winning author of The Invisible Bridge presents a long-anticipated novel based on the story of Varian Fry's extraordinary effort to save the lives and work of Jewish artists fleeing the Holocaust.
“The Guest Book” by Sarah Blake. The bereaved matriarch of a powerful early-20th-century American family makes a fateful decision that reverberates throughout two subsequent generations further impacted by racism, reversed circumstances and disturbing revelations. By the best-selling author of “The Postmistress”.
“Mistress of the Ritz” by Melanie Benjamin. The director of the luxurious Hotel Ritz in occupied Paris and his courageous American wife, Blanche Auzello, risk their marriage and lives to support the French Resistance during World War II. By the best-selling author of “The Aviator's Wife”.
“Blessing in Disguise” by Danielle Steel. Loving three very different men throughout her lifetime, a single mother and art consultant examines the unique bonds she shares with her three daughters, before an unexpected twist of fate brings a past secret to light.
“The Kremlin Strike” by Dale Brown. When a new administration initiates countermeasures to Russian aggression, Brad McLanahan and the Iron Wolf Squadron find themselves confronting dangerous adversaries on the untested battlefield of space. By the best-selling author of “The Moscow Offensive”.
“The Night Window, No. 5 (Jane Hawk)” by Dean Koontz. When people under Arcadian control begin showing signs of violent instability, Jane Hawk and her growing band of supporters prepare for an ultimate battle to determine America's future. By the best-selling author of “The Forbidden Door”.