My LINKcat AccountWe are now into the serious countdown for Turkey Day. Counting today, you have seven days (or 168 hours or 10,800 minutes) until Thanksgiving Day arrives and those pumpkin pies should have been baked, the spuds peeled, the cranberry/orange gelatin mold chilling, and the sweet potato casserole, the green bean/mushroom soup/french-fried onion ring casserole, the stuffing, dinner rolls, and the gigantic turkey all baking merrily away in the oven, scenting the house with mouth-watering smells. We are also counting down to the shortest day of the year. With all the dark, gloomy, days we've had recently (But very typical of November really. Aren't Novembers always referred to as gray in poems and literature?) it's hard to believe the days could be shorter. But they will be. Although, there is good news on the evening side of things. As of today, sunset will only get 7 minutes earlier. Right now the sun is setting at 4:29 p.m. The earliest sunset occurs on December 8th and 9th when it sets at 4:22. Where not going to talk about what happens on the sunrise end of things. I'm sure you can imagine what's going to be happening there. But while these countdowns are grinding away, there are plenty of new books to read. Right now a large number of books on the Kennedy assassination are being published. Everything from non-fiction re-examinations of the event to what-if-scenario fiction has been arriving for the past few weeks and continues to arrive. Christmas-tie-in mysteries and fiction titles have also been arriving and continue to arrive. If you cast your eyes down the page you will see some of these examples as well as a number of other exciting new books. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
Starting at zero / by Jimi Hendrix. A friend and advisor to the musician during his lifetime paints a fascinating portrait of one of the great gods of rock and roll that weaves together the writings of Hendrix to present a continuous narrative of the artist's life.
Dr. J : the autobiography / by Julius Erving and Karl Greenfeld. In this candid biography, one of the greatest basketball players of all time goes on the record about the personal problems he faced and sometimes created during his legendary career, speaking frankly about how he has come to terms with being a nearly perfect player and an imperfect man.
Five days in November / by Clint Hill & Lisa McCubbin. Marking the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination, the retired United States Secret Service agent who will forever be remembered for his courageous actions in the presidential motorcade after JFK was shot shares his memories of the five days leading up to, and after, that tragic day in November 1963.
Melissa explains it all : tales from my abnormally normal life / by Melissa Hart. Offering behind-the-scenes stories, a cultural icon for a generation and the star of "Clarissa Explains It All" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" shares the lessons she has learned throughout her career and reveals what has kept her normal and working when others have not been so fortunate.
Nicholson : a biography / by Marc Eliot. A definitive portrait of the iconic Hollywood star draws on new research and insider interviews to provide coverage of his New Jersey upbringing, his early years with Hanna-Barbera, his private life and his considerable film achievements.
This is the story of a happy marriage / by Ann Patchett. Inviting readers into her personal life, the 'New York Times best-selling author of "State of Wonder" and "Bel Canto" shares the stories of the people, places, ideals and art to which she has remained indelibly committed.
What if : a lifetime of questions, speculations, reasonable guesses, and a few things I know for sure / by Shirley MacLaine. The Oscar-winning actress and best-selling author of "I'm Over All That" presents an esoteric, laugh-out-loud collection of musings that range from what if a frog had wings to what if "Downton Abbey" had more American characters.
Behind the scenes at Downton Abbey / by Emma Rowley. Featuring a vast array of never-before-seen images, this official companion to Season 4 of the award-wining television series explores the inspiration behind every aspect of the show, providing devoted "Downton Abbey" fans with behind-the-scenes access.
New Fiction
The first phone call from heaven : a novel / by Mitch Albom. This extraordinary novel, taking readers on a journey both of individual healing and society's response to the question of life after life, follows a single father just released from prison as he sets out to prove that the mysterious calls from beyond to the residents of Coldwater, Michigan, are nothing but a hoax.
Sense & sensibility / by Joanna Trollope. A modern retelling of the Jane Austen classic follows the Dashwood sisters--Elinor, Marianne and Margaret--as they, after the death of their father, must come to terms with the cruelties of life without the status of their country house, the protection of the family name or the comfort of an inheritance.
Cape Light / by Katherine Spencer. A woman with a sick husband and a musician with higher aspirations than working at the Cape Light church learn valuable lessons about what the heart wants and accepting what you've been given during the holidays.
We are water : a novel / by Wally Lamb. Told in alternating voices, this brilliant novel, capturing the very essence of human experience, follows Anna Oh, a middle-age wife, mother and artist, as she, after 27 years of marriage, divorces her husband to marry Vivica, the Manhattan art dealer who orchestrated her professional success.
Top down : a novel / by Jim Lehrer. Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination, a tale of the experiences of a secret service agent who made the fateful decision to remove the security bubble from Kennedy's parade car follows his struggles with suicidal feelings of guilt until a young reporter endeavors to determine the day's outcome if the bubbletop had been in place.
The Valley of Amazement / by Amy Tan. Violet Minturn, a half-Chinese/half-American courtesan who deals in seduction and illusion in Shanghai, struggles to find her place in the world, while her mother, Lucia, tries to make sense of the choices she has made and the men who have shaped her.
A catered Christmas cookie exchange : a mystery with recipes / by Isis Crawford. When Bernie and Libby are tasked with judging a highly competitive Christmas-cookie-baking contest, things get too hot in the kitchen when one of the contestants ends up dead.