My LINKcat AccountThe warm weather continues on apace. This past weekend I attended a traditional family gathering -- pumpkin carving and / or decorating -- near La Crosse, WI, which meant I spent a whole lot of time on the Interstate between here and Minnesota. I can report from personal experience that the Wisconsin season of "Road Construction" is still flourishing. I was in stop-and-go traffic from slightly west of Sparta for half an hour. One hardly expects traffic delays on Saturday in October in rural Wisconsin; however, since we are still in Road Constructions season I guess I should have been prepared for the unexpected. There were many, many motorcycles and convertible cars with their tops down enjoying the sun and warm weather. The birds were also taking advantage of the weather and were, seemingly, practicing flying in migratory flocks. Or, perhaps these were actual migratory flocks that have started to stage south from the colder northern climes. Many corn fields were totally fired but not picked because of the rain. It feels as if nature is poised to take the big step into more autumnal weather. Indeed, it seems as if Autumn has one foot in the air waiting to put it down and start the heating season for us all. While we wait for the big step to occur, the days continue to shorten. Those longer evenings give more time for reading as far as I'm concerned. Below are a number of new books for your longer-evening's repast. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography by Laurie Woolever. An unprecedented behind-the-scenes view into the life of Anthony Bourdain from the people who knew him best.
Feeding the Soul Because It’s My Business: Messages of Joy, Love, and Freedom by Tabitha Brown. The popular actress and vegan food star shares inspirational life lessons based on her own struggles, with advice on how to choose joy, learn to walk in kindness and find hope and clarity in our lives.
The Cause: The American Revolution and It’s Discontents, 1772-1783 by Joseph Ellis. A culminating work on the American Founding by one of its leading historians rethinks the American Revolution as we have known it.
Countdown Bin Laden: The Untold Story of the 247-day Hunt to Bring the Mastermind of 9/11 to Justice (Chris Wallace’s Countdown) by Chris Wallace with Mitch Weiss. A deeply reported, revelatory, and thrillingly told account of the final months of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. By the author of the #1 national best-seller “Countdown 1945”.
New Fiction
Summer Light and Then Comes the Night by Jon Stefansson. In a village of 400 souls, which becomes a microcosm of the age-old conflict between human desire and destiny, between the limits of reality and imagination, the light of the Icelandic summer makes its inhabitants want to explore the mystery of life.
The War for Gloria by Atticus Lish. From the author of the PEN/Faulkner winning debut novel Preparation for the Next Life comes a tender, haunting story about fathers and sons, sons and mothers, and a young boy’s struggle to become a man.
The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All by Josh Ritter, Filled with heart, humor and magic, this lyrical, sweeping novel about the last days of the lumberjacks is told by of one of the greatest lumberjacks of all who recounts tales rife with murder, mayhem, avalanches and bootlegging in the tiny timber town of Cordelia, Idaho.
A Darker Reality, No. 3 (Elena Standish) by Anne Perry. Elena Standish investigates the mysterious death of Lila Worth, who she discovers is a British spy, at an anniversary party for her parents in Washington, D.C., in the third novel of the series following A Question of Betrayal.
Daughter of the Morning Star, No. 17 (A Longmire Mystery) by Craig Johnson. After a Native high school basketball star whose sister disappeared begins receiving death threats, Tribal Police Chief Long, Absaroka County Sheriff Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear investigate in the latest novel of the series following Next to Last Stand.
The Heron’s Cry (The Two River Series) by Ann Cleeves. While looking into the murder of Dr. Nigel Yeo, who was investigating the suicide of a young man who was a member of chilling online group, Detective Matthew Venn, as the body count rises, must wade through the lies at the heart of his community.
High Stakes by Iris Johansen. An investigator enters the world of high stakes gambling to uncover a murderer in the new novel by the best-selling author of more than 30 consecutive best-sellers, including the Eve Duncan, forensic sculptor series.
Miss Kopp Investigates (Kopp Sisters) by Amy Stewart. Life after the war takes an unexpected turn for the Kopp sisters, but soon enough, they are putting their unique detective skills to use in new and daring ways.
The Man Who Died Twice, No. 2 (A Thursday Murder Club Mystery) by Richard Osman. When an old friend, who has been accused of stealing millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds, desperately needs her help leaving a dead body in his wake, Elizabeth and her friends go up against a ruthless murderer who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians.
An Impossible Promise, No. 2 (Providence Falls) by Jude Deveraux. Although they were lovers in the past, Liam O'Conner and Cora McLeod are just roommates in the present as they try to follow the angels' commands in the second novel of the series.