My LINKcat AccountWe will be celebrating our 20th year in this building on Saturday, April 9th. I thought I would give you some comparisons that I, at least, find interesting. In 2002, the library had 53,194 books in its collection. In 2021, the last year we have data for, we owned 61,784 books. The library had 2,798 audio items – including books-on-cassette, books-on-cd, and music cds. In 2022, the library owns 7,146 audio items—including digital audio books, books-on-cd, and music cds. In 2002, the library owned 6,381 video items – including VHS and DVD formats. In 2022, we own 12,591 video items made up of DVDs and BluRay formats, but no VHS. No kits or equipment were reported in 2002. In 2022, the library has 4,932 items in this category. During these past 20 years library collections weren’t the only things increasing. For example in 2002, a gallon of gas was (on average) $1.65 this past month in Wisconsin the average was $3.78. A gallon of milk went from $2.76 to $4.02 (on average nationwide). Eggs went from $1.03 a dozen to $2.25. But you know what hasn’t gone up in the past twenty years? How much the library charges for fines and copies. In 2001, fines were raised from 5 cents a day to 10 cents a day for most items and the cost for copies went from 10 cents apiece to 15 cents. That price has remained the same to this very day. Your public library is still quite the bargain. While you’re thinking about the past twenty years and how much (or how little) you have changed, you will find a list of the books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy! And stop by on the 9th from 10a.m. to 1p.m. to help us celebrate our 20 years in this remarkable building. (BTW, there shall be cake!).
New Non-Fiction
“The Invisible Siege: The Rise of Coronaviruses and the Search for a Cure” by Daniel Werb. Drawing on decades of scientific investigation, an epidemiologist, tracing the rise of the coronavirus family and society’s desperate attempt to counter its threat, tells the story of a group of scientists who foresaw the danger and spent decades working to stop a looming pandemic.
“Shadowman: An Elusive Psycho Killer and the Birth of FBI Profiling” by Ron Franscell. This edge-of-your-seat, real-life thriller tells the true story of the first time in history the FBI created a psychological profile to catch a serial killer – a profile that fit the killer to a T when he was finally caught.
“Easy Beauty” by Chloe Cooper Jones. A philosophy professor and freelance journalist born with a rare congenital which affects both her stature and gait discusses how she has navigated a world that both judges and pities her for her appearance.
“Mothers and Daughters of the Bible” by Shannon Bream. This book highlights the lessons we can draw from women of the Bible, who were human beings who faltered and struggled to do their best, showing us that God speaks to us not only through our virtues, but through our mistakes as well.
“Time is a Mother” by Ocean Vuong. The highly anticipated collection of poems from an award-winning writer.
New Fiction
“The Shop on Royal Street” by Karen White. Plagued by ghosts while fixing up her new house in New Orleans, Nola Trenholm turns to an old friend who can communicate with ghosts and soon discovers he is connected to an unsolved murder of a woman who once lived in the old Creole Cottage she is determined to make her own.
“The Cartographers” by Peng Shepherd. When her estranged father is found dead with a seemingly worthless map hidden in his desk, cartographer Nell Young soon discovers the map is extremely valuable – and that a mysterious collector will stop at nothing to destroy it and anyone who gets in the way.
“Nine Lives” by Peter Swanson. When nine people, including FBI agent Jessica Winslow, receive a cryptic list with their names on it, they dismiss it as a joke, until bad things start happening, prompting Jessica to find the link that binds them all together to expose a murderous madman.
“Sister Stardust” by Jane Green. Inspired by a true story, the “New York Time”s best-selling author reimagines the glamorous and tragic life of fashion icon and socialite Talitha Getty through the eyes of Claire, a young woman in search of adventure who is drawn into Talitha’s orbit, forever changing her life.
“A Family Affair” by Robyn Carr. Seeing a young, pregnant woman at her husband's funeral a mourning wife realizes her husband's mid-life crisis went a bit farther than she realized in the new novel from the “New York Times “best-selling author of the Virgin River series.
“Crimson Summer” by Heather Graham. Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent Amy Larson and FBI agent Hunter Forrest investigate a bloody massacre in Seminole territory that appears to be tied to South American drug cartels and a Doomsday cult.
“The Shadow House” by Anna Downes. Seeking refuge in the rural community of Pine Ridge, single mother Alex uncovers hidden secrets in her new home that sets off a chain of events that places her family in danger as she confronts the mysteries held in Pine Ridge.
“Once a Thief” by Christopher Reich. While seeking to prove his Ferrari’s authenticity and expose the real identity of the buyer, freelance private spy Simon Riske crosses paths with Anna Bildt, who, looking into her father’s murder, and discovers they have a common enemy as they are forced to play a deadly game.
“The Younger Wife” by Sally Hepworth. When their father decides to divorce their mother, who, in a care facility for dementia, cannot speak for herself, so he can marry his young girlfriend Heather, sisters Tully and Rachel must find the truth about their family’s secrets, Heather and who their father really is.