It seems we are at the time of year when if we get warm(er) days we get clouds and if the skies are clear we have bitter north winds creating nasty wind chills for us. Even so, there is a lot to be grateful for. The days have most definitely gotten longer, in fact since the shortest days of the year when sunset was at 4:22 and sunrise at 7:29, we have gained nearly forty minutes of daylight in the morning (sunrise at 6:41) and an hour and twenty minutes at sunset at 5:41. The birds are singing, the hawks are pairing up and nesting, the squirrels are running around, the crows are mobbing the hawks, and all-in-all there is a lot more activity outside. This mild spell that has temperatures approaching 50 degrees and rain may indicate that the early spring Booky our Badger predicted is arriving on schedule. Or not. While you’re waiting to get outside and start doing yard work that doesn’t involve a snow shovel, there are plenty of new books for you to read. Below is a selection of some of the new titles that arrived during the past week. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
- Pretty happy : healthy ways to love your body / by Kate Hudson. The award-winning actress, fitness icon and founder of the Fabletics active-wear line presents a full-color lifestyle guide that shares inspirational advice on how women can achieve inner beauty and balance through healthful living and letting go of perfectionist standards.
- Dead presidents : an American adventure into the strange deaths and surprising afterlives of our nation's leaders / by Brady Carlson. An engaging exploration into the death stories of American presidents, and the wild ways that have been chosen to memorialize them, shares the surprising origins of landmark monuments and what they reveal about American history and culture.
- How to be a Tudor : a dawn-to-dusk guide to Tudor life / by Ruth Goodman. The historian advisor for the BBC's Wolf Hall presents an erudite romp through the intimate details of life in Tudor England, celebrating the everyday experiences of 16th-century people who engaged in period routines, chores and habits.
- The urban monk : Eastern wisdom and modern hacks to stop time and find success, happiness, and peace / by Pedram Shojai. The acclaimed Zen master and co-host of the podcast "The Health Bridge" counsels readers on how to simplify a busy life, explaining how to adjust focus away from material objects and draw on Zen practices to attain centeredness and calm in the face of high demands.
- Leonard : my fifty-year friendship with a remarkable man / by William Shatner. An anecdotal tribute to the Emmy Award-winning cultural icon's longtime friend and Star Trek co-star describes their initial collaborations and the emotionally rich highs and lows that marked their shared decades.
- A mother's reckoning : living in the aftermath of tragedy / by Sue Klebold. The mother of one of the two shooters at Columbine High School draws on personal recollections, journal entries and video recordings to piece together what led to her son's unpredicted breakdown and share insights into how other families might recognize warning signs.
New Fiction
- No shred of evidence : an inspector Ian Rutledge mystery / by Charles Todd. Investigating the suspicious arrest of four young women on the north coast of Cornwall, Ian Rutledge confronts personal elements in the case while trying to balance the outrage of the accused with the grief of the victim's family. By a New York Times best-selling author.
- Cometh the hour / by Jeffrey Archer. In the aftermath of a devastating suicide, Harry Clifton continues his efforts to rescue Anatoly Babakov from a Siberian gulag, while his wife Emma counsels Margaret Thatcher with unexpected consequences and their friends endure heartache and financial setbacks. By the best-selling author of “The Sins of the Father”.
- Find her / by Lisa Gardner. Requesting the assistance of a survivor of an extended abduction experience who has become obsessed with the cases of girls who never made it home, Boston detective D. D. Warren becomes suspicious of the woman's agenda upon discovering her relationships with other victims. By a #1 New York Times best-selling author.
- The silence of the sea : a thriller / by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. Thóra Gudmundsdóttir searches for a missing family when a luxury yacht arrives in Reykjavik harbor as a completely abandoned ghost ship. By the internationally best-selling author of “Someone to Watch Over Me”.
- Violent crimes / by Phillip Margolin. Hired to represent the eco-warrior son of an oil tycoon who has been found murdered, veteran lawyer Amanda Jaffe, discovering that the suspect has only confessed to promote a cause, endeavors to discover the identity of the true killer. By the New York Times best-selling author of “Woman with a Gun”.
- The opposite of everyone / by Joshilyn Jackson. Placed in foster care in the wake of criminal allegations, Paula Vauss grows up to become a tough divorce attorney only to have her life thrown into chaos by an astonishing revelation and a cryptic message from the Hindu storyteller mother she has not seen in 15 years.