My LINKcat AccountIt seems like only last week that we were sweltering (in fall you can swelter at temperatures about 20 degrees cooler than you can in the middle of summer) in muggy weather. Air conditioning was running, Crickets were chirping and frogs were singing. Wait! It didn’t just seem like this was happening a week ago. It actually was. Now, at this writing, there is snow in the forecast (a paltry 7/10ths of an inch, but still possibly measurable) for Halloween. Would that be a trick or a treat? Now that we have survived the two – count them, two—Halloween events last Sunday with hundreds of people attending, library staff is already looking ahead to our next big thing which is Dino Day. It is still on the horizon, but it is in November, and as well we know, we are already into that month. November is the month were the serious count-down to Christmas and New Year’s starts. I won’t mention that it’s only 53 days from the 1st of November to Christmas Eve because I don’t want to create any anxiety about all that needs to be done to get ready for those big end of the year holidays. But speaking of one of those holidays, I will mention that a few of this week’s title include that holiday in their titles. There are a number of non-Christmas titled fiction books and non-fiction books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
“How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Other Deeply and Being Deeply Seen” by David Brooks. Drawing from the fields of psychology and neuroscience and from the worlds of theater, philosophy, history and education, one of the nation’s leading writers and commentators helps us become more understanding considerate toward others, and to find the joy that comes from being seen
“Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine” by David Petraeus & Robin Andrew. Two leading authorities—an acclaimed historian and the outstanding battlefield commander and strategist of our time—collaborate on an examination of war since 1945.
“Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World” by Mary Beard. A sweeping account of the social and political world of the Roman emperors.
“Gray Ares: How the Way We Work Perpetuates Racism and What We Can Do to Fix It” by Adia Harvey Wingfield. A leading sociologist reveals why racial inequality persists in the workplace despite today’s multibillion-dollar diversity industry—and provides actional solutions for creating a truly equitable, multiracial future.
New Fiction
“Testament (The Egyptian Series)” by Wilbur A. Smith. Under the rule Pharaoh, now restored to his rightful throne, great mage Taita sends his protégé to discover the answer to a millennia-old riddle which has the power to unite the two divided kingdoms of Egypt and save their beloved land from falling into the clutches of evil.
“Touched” by Walter Mosely. When he wakes up with the knowledge that humanity is a virus destined to destroy all existence and he is the cure, Martin, uses his new physical strengths to violently defend his family—the only Black family in their neighborhood in Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles—against pure evil.
“The Christmas Appeal” by Janice Hallett. The Fairway Players theater group put on a Christmas play—and solve a murder that threatens their production.
“Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum)" by Janet Evanovich. Trenton, New Jersey’s most underappreciated bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, while taking care of her boyfriend’s giant orange dog, tracks the former security guard of a local jeweler who supposedly stole a fortune of diamonds, and must keep herself clean when everyone else is playing dirty.
“From a Far and Lovely Country, No.24 (Ladies’ Detective Agency” by Alexander McCall Smith. Busier than ever, the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, with no shortage of sensitive situations, are reminded by Mma Ramotswe that the best solutions to life’s problems can be found with a bit of good humor, generosity of spirit and a steaming cup of red bush tea.
“Twas the Bite Before Christmas, no. 28 (An Andy Carpenter Mystery” by David Rosenfeld. When one of the Tara Foundation’s best foster volunteers, Derek Moore, is arrested for murder during the annual Christmas party, lawyer Andy Carpenter, believing in Derek’s innocence, discovers he’s in the witness protection program and vows to clear his name and catch a killer before this case goes to the dogs.
“Christmas at the Shelter Inn” by RaeAnne Thayne. When the magic of the holidays comes around, tragedy turns to hope for a family in Shelter Springs, Idaho, and the two sisters who run the local Inn.
“A Winter in New York” by Josie Silver. Moving to New York, young chef Iris offers her services to save a struggling gelato shop in Little Italy where she finds herself falling for the owner’s nephew Gio and his family until all the secrets she’s been keeping threaten to ruin the new life—and new love—she’s been building.
“The Exchange: After the Firm (The Firm Series)” by John Grisham. In this explosive sequel to “The Firm”, Mitch, a partner at the largest law firm in the world, is asked for a favor by a mentor in Rome that plunges him into a sinister plot that has global implications and once against places everyone he holds dear in danger.