My LINKcat AccountToday is the eve day of June 19th. June 19th is the official, State of Wisconsin, observation day of Juneteenth. On that day in 1865, General Granger rode into Galveston,Texas to enforce General Orders, No 3 which stated that "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free..." Texas was the most remote of the slave states and it took two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation for that official news to be made known. This day was recognized as a holiday of significance in the 1980s in Texas. Other states followed suit in making it a holiday. This year's celebration in the Madison area is online this entire week. It is a time to celebrate the legacy of Juneteenth and the rich heritage of African Americans. One way of celebrating and observing this holiday (aside from attending some of the virtual sessions being offered) might be to read some of the many books that treat on the topic of slavery, Reconstruciton, and racism -- some of which this library owns, some of which this library would be happy to get for you from another library. Happy Juneteenth!
If you read the last part of the above carefully, you may have noticed that I implied that books are moving between libraries again. That is true. But please realize that while books are moving again they are not moving as fast as was their wont. There is 3-day a week delivery now -- a really great improvement from zero-days a week delivery-- but nothing like the 6-day a week delivery you were used to. While you're waiting for your holds to arrive, below are some new books that recently arrived at the library.
Enjoy
New Non-Fiction
In the Waves: My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine by Rachel Lance. An inventive woman scientist recounts the 1864 sinking of the Confederate submarine, H.L. Hunley, recounting her efforts to uncover what actually happened when the sub was discovered 131 years later with its hull and victims still intact.
This Is What America Looks Like: My Journey From Refugee to Congresswoman by Ilhan Omar. The first African refugee, the first Somali-American and one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress offers an intimate and rousing memoir of how she went from refugee to progressive trailblazer.
Why We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road by Matthew Crawford. A celebration of open-road driving by the philosopher-mechanic author of Shop Class as Soulcraft explores the road trip as a technology-threatened but enduring path to human reliance, exploration and freedom.
The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World’s Favorite Insects by Wendy Williams. The New York Times best-selling author of The Horse explores the lives of one of the world’s most resilient creatures—the butterfly—shedding light on the role that they play in our ecosystem and in our human lives.
New Fiction
The Sun Sister, No.6 (The Seven Sisters) by Lucinda Riley. Still reeling from her father's death a famous model grieves through drugs and alcohol until she receives a shocking letter from a stranger claiming to be her grandmother, in a follow up to The Moon Sister.
Bombshell, No. 4 (Teddy Day) by Stuart Woods & Parnell Hall. Former CIA operative-turned-movie producer Teddy Fay becomes embroiled in two sticky situations involving a vengeful criminal thug and malicious gossip that is overshadowing the career of a rising Centurion star. By the authors of Smooth Operator.
Broken People by Sam Lansky. Groundbreaking and beautifully written, this novel about coming to grips with the past and ourselves follows recovering alcoholic Sam as he, with his sponsor’s blessing, partakes in healing ceremony involving an ancient herbal medicine administered by a shaman over the course of three days.
Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars. By Joyce Carol Oates. An intimate exploration of race, class warfare and healing by the award-winning author of We Were the Mulvaneys follows the unexpected reactions of a wife and her adult children to a powerful patriarch's death.
The Stone Girl by Dirk Wittenborn. A tale of deception, vengeance and power set against the haunting beauty of the Adirondack wilderness.
The Taste of Sugar by Marisel Vera. Relocating to the sugar plantations of Hawaii when their Caribbean farm is decimated by the Spanish-American War and the San Ciriaco Hurricane, two Puerto Ricans join thousands of fellow refugees in confronting the realities of American prosperity.
The Art of Deception, No.4 (Daughter of Sherlock Holmes) by Leonard Goldberg. Assisting Scotland Yard to identify an elusive criminal who has been breaking into galleries and homes to destroy valuable paintings, Joanna and the Watsons uncover a pattern to the vandalism before two murders complicate their investigation.
The Grim Reader, No. 14 (Bibliophile Mysteries) by Kate Carlisle. When Dharma’s first annual Book Fair is marred by murder – one predicted by both of their moms, book-restoration expert Brooklyn and her new husband Derek must catch a spineless killer.
28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand. The best-selling author of Summer of '69 presents a tale inspired by the film, Same Time Next Year, that follows a man's discovery of his mother's long-term relationship with the husband of a Presidential front runner.