My LINKcat AccountAs I predicted a few weeks ago, the end of the year is rushing towards us with accelerating speed. Tomorrow, Friday, December 21, 2018 at 4:22 p.m. the Winter Solstice occurs.While tomorrow has the fewest number of daylight hours, sunset (at 4:26 p.m.) has already gained four minutes from the earliest sunset that occurs at 4:22 at the beginning of the month. By the time next week’s column rolls around, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day shall have passed and we will be looking towards the new year and those celebrations. This Saturday, December 22nd, there is an Escape Room challenge. There are five sessions occurring from 9:30 on. Some of the sessions are full. Check online to register. Christmas Eve Day there is a family movie in the morning. The library will close at 3 p.m and be closed all day on Christmas Day. There are more opportunities to try your reasoning skills against the Escape Rooms from Wednesday the 26th through Saturday, the 29th. If you have time, during the flurry of activity that seems a hallmark of this holiday season, check out some of the new books that recently arrived at the library. Enjoy! Happy Holidays!
New Non-Fiction
“Just Kids: Illustrated Edition” by Patti Smith. A richly illustrated edition of Patti Smith's classic memoir incorporates new material and previously unpublished photographs into the story of her artistic collaboration with Robert Mapplethorpe in the heyday of early 1970s New York City. 100,000 first printing.
“Keeping at It: The Quest for Sound Money and Good Government” by Paul Volcker & Christine Harper. The former chairman of the Federal Reserve, who has worked in the U.S. Federal Government for almost 30 years, using wit, humor and down-to-earth erudition, discusses the changes that have taken place in American life, government and the economy since World War II.
“Let Her Fly” by Ziauddin Yousafzal. Ziauddin Yousafzai, the father of Malala, traces his journey from an unconfident stammering little boy living in a mud hut in Pakistan to a man who has broken with tradition and proven there are many faces of feminism.
“The World According to Tom Hanks: The Life, the Obessions, the Good Deeds of America’s Most Decent Guy” by Gavin Edwards. Through extensive research and interviews, the best-selling author of The Tao of Bill Murray provides insight into the optimism and integrity in both the personal life and career of actor Tom Hanks.
“Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave” by Joanna Gaunes, The co-host of HGTV's Fixer Upper demonstrates how to create a home the reflects the individuals who live there, sharing in-depth, comprehensive guidelines for developing an authentic personal design style.
“Living With the Gods: 40,000 Years of Peoples, Origins, and Beliefs” by Neil MacGregor. An acclaimed art historian explores the connection between faith and society by tracing the paths that different communities took to understand and describe their place in the cosmic order and how these narratives eventually shaped societies.
“Wit’s End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It” by James Geary. The New York Times bestselling author of The World in a Phrase explores every facet of wittiness, from its role in innovation to why puns are the highest form of wit, which he reasons is both visual and verbal, physical and intellectual.
New Fiction
“The Adults” \by Caroline Hulse. After splitting up, a couple each bring their new significant other to Happy Forest Holiday Park in an attempt to give their daughter a "normal" family Christmas which turns into a powder keg fueled by drinking too much and oversharing.
“Come With Me” by Helen Schulman. A part-time employee of a tech company owned by her friend's 19-year-old son acts as his guinea pig to test an algorithm that allows people to access their "multiverses" and see their alternative life choices and paths.
“Heads You Win” by Jeffrey Archer. A stand-alone epic by the best-selling author of Kane and Abel follows a 1968 Russian teen who escapes an oppressive life in Leningrad and is forced to choose between parallel lives in London and New York.
“Master of His Fate, No. 1 (House of Falconer)” by Barbara Taylor Bradford. A charismatic and ambitious businessman in Victorian England faces the tragic ruin of everything he has worked to achieve before a royal summons gives him a chance to prove his talents. By the award-winning author of “Secrets of Cavendon”.
“Tony’s Wife” by Adrian Trigiani. Falling in love during a mid-20th-century Jersey Shore summer, two aspiring singers find their marriage tested when they must decide which of them will pursue career opportunities while the other stays at home to raise a family.
“The Colors of All the Cattle, No. 19 (No1. Ladies’ Detective Agency)” by Alexander McCall Smith. Reluctantly running for City Council when a flashy developer announces plans to build a hotel beside a graveyard, Mma Ramotswe, aided by the loyal Mma Potokwane, taps her humor and generosity of spirit to outmaneuver a corrupt rival.
“The Feral Detective” by Jonathan Lethem. Convincing an enigmatic loner to help her search for a friend's missing daughter, Phoebe traverses the outskirts of California's stunning Inland Empire, where she discovers her companion's complicated relationship with warring tribes of outcasts
“Kingdom of the Blind, No. 14 (Chief Inspector Gamache)” by Louise Penny. The six-time Agatha Award-winning author of such best-sellers as Still Life and The Cruelest Month presents a latest entry in the popular Chief Inspector Gamache series.