My LINKcat AccountFor the present, feeling somewhat snakebit by what I wrote at the top of last week's column and having no crystal ball to predict what public health agency or the Governor might do between the writing of this and it's publication, I am going to stick with a couple of safe topics. Safe topics such as local birds and books. Not to engage in disclosing too much information lets just say visited the suburb to our east on Sunday morning. There were few cars in parking lots anywhere. Diners that usually have a breakfast crowd were empty; the lots around grocery stores had cars but were not full; Churches had but a few cars in their lots. I read a fair amount of dystopian fiction:The deserted landscape seemed appropriate to that kind of book. And now, I shall make the bird connection. On the drive past cornfields and marshy areas the number of geese was what you'd expect to see this time of year. What I didn't expect to see was how the geese think the roads are safe now because of the low volume of traffic and saunter more boldly then ever into the road and along it. The do not want to yield to cars either; not even if you lay on the horn. Robins are abundant now as are the red-winged black birds. Grackles are showing up. Chickadees and cardinals are singing their lets-get-together-and-build-a-nest songs. The Sandhill cranes are back and noisily proclaiming their presence. Spring has arrived. So have the spring book titles.
The good news about all the library closings and shutdown of the interlibrary delivery systems is that our new books will now stay here. If you see a book in the list below, it won't go to another library to fill= other holds first. Only holds from DeForest patrons will use the book. You may still have to wait if your fellow citizens beat you to placing a hold, but the wait should be shorter. We do keep ordering books. The books are still arriving. The books are getting processed and into the catalog. We are still doing curbside and electronic pickup. But of course, that is as of this writing (Monday). Stay well and enjoy the books listed below.
New Non-Fiction
“Some Assembly Required: Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, From Ancient Fossils to DNA” by Neil Shubin. A National Academy of Sciences biologist and author of the best-selling Your Inner Fish presents a lively account of the planet's great evolutionary transformations that explores whether or not the presence of human life has been accidental or inevitable.
“Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler’s Best” by Neal Bascomb. Tells a historic tale of triumph by an improbable team of upstarts over Hitler’s fearsome Silver Arrows racing cars during the golden age of auto racing
New Fiction
“The City We Became, No. 1 (The City)” by N.K.Jemisin. This first book of an exciting new series by the Hugo award-winning author takes readers into the dark underbelly of New York City where a roiling, ancient evil stirs in the halls of power, threatening to destroy the city and her six newborn avatars.
“Enter the Aardvark” by Jessica Anthony. A Republican Congressman struggles to save his career after a mysterious stuffed aardvark appears on his doorstep, in a novel of politics, power and sexuality.
“Lavender Blue Murder, No. 21 (Tea Shop Mysteries)” by Laura Childs. Attending a traditional English bird hunt, tea-maven Theodosia Browning and her sommelier, Drayton Conneley, stumble on the wounded body of their host before suspicious accidents prompt the organization of a séance to expose the culprit.
“Murder in an Irish Cottage, No. 5 (Irish Village Mystery)” by Carlene O’Connor. In a remote—and superstitious—village in County Cork, Ireland, Garda Siobhán O’Sullivan must solve a murder where the prime suspects are fairies.
“The Numbers Game” by Danielle Steel. Setting aside her dreams to raise a family, Eileen reevaluates her sacrifices in the wake of her husband's affair with a famous actress's daughter, who discovers that she needs to find herself before committing to someone else.
“The Sea Glass Cottage” by RaeAnne Thayne. Returning to her northern California hometown to care for her estranged mother, an unfulfilled career woman reflects on the cycles of addiction and enabling that ended her sister's life and orphaned her niece.
“The Body Double” by Emily Beyda. Hired as the body double of a famous but troubled celebrity, a small-town girl diligently mimics her Hollywood doppelgänger in public appearances before encountering sinister questions about the star's mental collapse.
“The Woman in the Mirror” by Rebecca James. A chilling modern gothic novel looks at a family consumed by the shadows and secrets of its past.
“Hit List, No. 53 (Stone Barrington)” by Stuart Woods. Former New York City cop turned Manhattan law firm rainmaker finds himself in rather hot water in a high-suspense latest entry in the best-selling series. By the Edgar Award-winning author of “Chiefs”.
“Journey of the Pharaohs, No. 15 (NUMA Files)” by Clive Cussler & Graham Brown. Kurt Austin and the NUMA crew race to identify a link between an ancient Egyptian treasure, a 1927 daredevil aviator's disappearance and the sinking of a modern fishing trawler to prevent a scheme by a cutthroat arms dealer.
“The Red Lotus” by Christopher Bohjalian. Falling in love with a wounded former patient and accompanying him on a cycling trip to Vietnam, an emergency-room doctor uncovers a bizarre series of deceptions that culminate in her boyfriend's unexplained disappearance.