My LINKcat AccountAs I write this, it is a rather dark, rainy fall day in Wisconsin. The end of October is rapidly approaching with Halloween only a week away. Trees are still holding on to most of their leaves and many don’t seem to be trying at all for the bright, vibrant reds, oranges, and burgundies that can fall days with blue skies simply glorious. It is hard for me to believe that the high temperature today will be a paltry 60 degrees. This past Saturday, I was in Valencia, Spain and the temperature was a balmy 80 degrees. It was 55 degrees in Barcelona on Sunday when I started my journey home at the airport at 3: 15 in the morning. What a difference a few degrees of latitude can make! While on vacation, I did manage to keep reading with the help of books I’d put on hold using Overdrive. It’s amazing how much you can read on an airplane trip that lasts for (seemingly) days and days. Before you ask, and in case you’re interested about what books a librarian might read on vacation, I’ll tell you. I read “Blackout” by Connie Willis in the “Oxford Time Travel” series and a Louise Penny mystery, “The Brutal Telling”. I would have to say my consumption of books was negatively impacted by all the sightseeing. Now that there is no more sightseeing in my immediate future, I can get back on track with reading. The good news is a lot more books I’ve been waiting to read arrived while I was away. Below are a few of the recent titles that arrived at the library. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
“Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead” by Jim Mattis & Bing West. A former Secretary of Defense and a former assistant secretary of defense and combat Marine join forces to offer an account of how they learned to lead in a chaotic world.
“Gluten-Free Baking at Home: 102 Foolproof Recipes for Delicious Breads, Cakes, Cookies, and More” by Jeffrey Larsen. The recipes are designed to be free of gluten, dairy, soy, nuts, and eggs--with numerous substitutions for each that still achieve wonderful results. Lavishly photographed with step-by-step instructions, this is an indispensable guide to gluten-free baking for everyone.
“The Importance of Being Ernie – and Bert: A Best Friends Guide to Life” by Bert & Ernie. There are no better experts on living together and learning together. This is their guide to friendship
“Our Dogs, Ourselves: The Story of a Singular Bond” by Alexandra Horowitz. In thirteen thoughtful and charming chapters, Our Dogs, Ourselves affirms our profound affection for this most charismatic of animals—and opens our eyes to the companions at our sides as never before.
New Fiction
“Out of Darkness, Shining Light” by Petina Gappah. A sharp-tongued cook and a rigidly pious freed slave confront complicated race dynamics to join the followers of the late Dr. Livingstone on a 19th -century voyage from Africa to the doctor's home in England.
“This Tender Land” by William Kent. Fleeing the Depression-era school for Native American children who have been taken from their parents, four orphans share a summer marked by struggling farmers, faith healers and lost souls. By the Edgar Award-winning author of “Ordinary Grace”.
“The Water Dancer” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. “Coates brings his considerable talent for racial and social analysis to his debut novel, which captures the brutality of slavery and explores the underlying truth that slaveholders could not dehumanize the enslaved without also dehumanizing themselves.
“Killer Instinct” by James Patterson with Howard Roughan. Dr. Dylan Reinhart and Detective Elizabeth Needham reunite to stop the most sinister plot against New York City since 9/11.
“Land of Wolves, No. 15 (Walt Longmire)” by Craig Johnson. Investigating the suspicious suicide of a Wyoming shepherd, Sheriff Walt Longmire uncovers disturbing connections to a violent family before the case is further complicated by the appearance of a giant wolf. By the award-winning author of “Depth of Winter”.
“Mrs. Jeffries and the Alms of the Angel, No. 38 (Victorian Mysteries)” by Emily Brightwell. When a wealthy widow is murdered, Mrs. Jeffries investigates what happens when money can't buy your life in this all-new installment in the beloved Victorian Mystery series.
“Robert B. Parker’s The Bitterest Pill, No. 18 (Jesse Stone)” by Reed Coleman. When a popular cheerleader succumbs to a suspected opioid overdose, Police Chief Jesse Stone finds himself fighting battling self-interested administrators, reluctant teachers, distrustful students and overprotective parents to undermine violent drug pushers
“Word to the Wise, No. 10 (Library Lover’s Mysteries)” by Jenn McKinlay. When gardening enthusiast, town newcomer and Lindsey Norris' unwelcome suitor Aaron Grady winds up dead outside Lindsey's library, Lindsey must work to prove her fiancé Sully's innocence. By the New York Times best-selling author of Hitting the Books.
“Cold Storage” by David Koepp. A debut novel by the screenwriter of Jurassic Park follows the desperate mission of a Pentagon bioterror operative and two unwitting security guards to contain a highly contagious, deadly organism.
“Lethal Agent, No. 18 (Mitch Rapp) by Vince Flynn & Kyle Mills. A divisive presidential election is complicated by terrorist videos of a kidnapped scientist who is being forced to produce anthrax, catapulting Mitch Rapp into an undercover mission to prevent the weapon from being smuggled into America