My LINKcat AccountI will end this year of 2022 -- since I am writing in that year and I assume you might be reading in that year as well -- by wishing you and yours a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. In order to insure a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year, you may wish to engage in some activities generally believed to propitiate Dame Fortuna, Fate, what-you-will. Those activities usually involve eating certain foods which represent richness ( i.e. good fortune) – such as fatback, green and black eyed peas, rice ( which is what Southerners combine in various regional ways to make Hoppin’ John) or herring (for Scandinavians), and other things for other ethnic groups. There is also the belief that as the year starts, so it will continue. So one has to hope that the weather will be great (It’s supposed to be very mild! Think very early spring.) although pleasant weather or even moderate would be a fine way for the year to start and thus, to also continue throughout the year. One also needs to be careful of one’s interactions with others on that first day of the year. Remember, what happens at the beginning of the year continues throughout the year. So no verbal sparring with your friends and family. You could easily be setting yourself up for a difficult year. So pay close attention to all that happens on January 1st and be careful. And what, you ask, will I be doing on New Year’s Day? I shall be spending it eating Hoppin’ John, having my symbolic piece of herring on the front stoop (Do you think you actually have to swallow it, to ensure good fortune?) and avoiding “discussions” with friends and family members. Below are some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. Check them out and enjoy the books and the New Year.
New Non-Fiction
“Weightless: Making Space for My Resilient Body and Soul” by Evette Dionne. Sharing her journey toward understanding our society and herself by tracking her relationships with friendship, sex, motherhood, agoraphobia, health, pop culture and self-image, a National Book Award nominee, in this insightful, funny and whip-smart book, explores the minefields fat Black women are forced to navigate in the course of everyday life.
“Breathe In, Breathe Out: Restore Your Health, Reset Your Mind and Find Happiness Through Breathwork” by Stuart Sandeman. A breathwork expert combines modern science and ancient wisdom to reveal the hidden power of breathing and demonstrates how changing the way you breathe can transform your mood and thoughts and overcome a negative mindset
“The Light We Carry” by Michelle Obama. In an inspiring follow-up to her bestselling memoir “Becoming”, former First Lady Michelle Obama shares practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful and balanced in today’s highly uncertain world.
“Living in the Light” by Deepak Chopra. The bestselling author Deepak and his coauthor Sarah Platt-Finger, yoga director at Chopra Global and co-founder of ISHTA Yoga, offer an illuminating program for self-realization, bliss, and wholeness.
“The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly: Life Wisdom From Someone Who Will (Probably) Die Before You” by Margareta Magnusson. The author of “the Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning “ having should how to declutter one’s life of things, now shows readers how to prepare for and understand the process of growing older and the joys and sorrows it can bring.
New Fiction
“Into the West, No. 2 (The Founding of Valdemar)” by Mercedes Lackey. The long-awaited founding of Valdemar comes to life in this second book in the new series from a New York Times best-selling author and beloved fantasist.
“The Book of Everlasting Things” by Aanchal Malhotra. From an oral historian comes a sweeping debut novel about a Hindu perfumer and a Muslim calligrapher, who fall in love against the backdrop of the Partition. 6
“Sam” by Allegra Goodman. Grappling with self-doubt and insecurity as she grows into her teens, Sam, yearning for her climbing coach’s attention, dealing with her father’s absence and raging against her mother’s constant pressure, must decide who she wants to be in the face of what she’s expected to do.
“Blue Moon Haven, No. 7 (New Americana)” by Janet Dailey. A woman who puts down new roots in a small Alabama town finds love unexpectedly blooming
“Age of Vice” by Deepti Kapoor.Deftly Shifting through time and perspective in contemporary India, Age of Vice is an epic, action-packed story propelled by the seductive wealth, startling corruption, and bloodthirsty violence of the Wadia family -- loved by some, loathed by others, feared by all.
“Sleep No More” by Judith Krentz. The “New York Times” bestselling author returns with the first novel of the “Lost Night Files”, an exciting new romantic suspense trilogy about a night that changed three women forever—but that none of them can remember.
“Without a Trace” by Danielle Steel. The protagonist of this book isgiven a chance to walk away from everything in his life and start over with a blank slate. The author tells an irresistible story of the risks two people are willing to take in exchange for a chance at the life they’ve always wanted.