My LINKcat AccountThere are only four days left in September. Where does the time go? (Which, I believe, besides being an age-old question is also a song by A Great Big World). While it is still probably way too early to begin the countdown to Christmas (In case you were wondering, it is 88 days from today’s publication date to Christmas Eve), I believe it is not too early to start the countdown to the Haunted Library on October 26th which is (Yikes!) 29 days away. The day when all those costumed little ones will be standing on your stoop demanding candy is 35 days away. There is still plenty of time before you even need to start thinking about these events. However, there are some upcoming national celebration days you might want to consider before the month of September runs out. On the 27th (this very day) the National Day of Forgiveness is celebrated to encourage us to incorporate forgiveness in our lives. It is also National Scarf Day, National Corned Beef Hash Day, National Crush a Can Day, and National Chocolate Milk Day. I suppose you can wear a scarf while eating a plate of hash, crush the can it can in, and wash it down with chocolate milk. September 28th is National Ghost Hunting Day, National Drink Beer Day (which may or may not help with the ghost hunting), National Strawberry Cream Pie Day, and National Good Neighbor Day. The 29th is National VFW Day and National Coffee Day. The 30th is Orange Shirt Day which promotes awareness about the Indian residential school system still impacting Native American communities in the United States and Canada. It’s also National Hot Mulled Cider Day, and National Chewing Gum Day. As a chewing gum aficionado, I do not recommend chewing gum while sipping mulled cider. I do, however, recommend sipping mulled cider while reading a good book. Below you will find some pretty good books. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
“Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication” by Arik Kershenbaum. A leading zoologist explores animal communication and its true meaning.
“The Movement: How Women’s Liberation Transformed America 1963-1973” by Clara Bingham. This first oral history of the decade (1963-1973) that built the modern feminist movement through the individual voices of the people who lived it captures emotions of this personal, cultural and political revolution where women insisted on being treated as first-class citizens, forever changing the fabric of American life.
“Obitchuary: The Big Hot Book of Death” by Spencer Henry & Madison Reyes. Based on the popular podcast, this book is a both humorous and serious look at the way that Americans handle death, mourning and the commemoration of people they love.
New Fiction
“Joy” by Danielle Steel. Abandoned by her free-spirited mother and raised by an emotionally distant father, Allegra finds solace in books and love, only to face the harsh realities of war and its impact on her husband, who returns from Afghanistan nearly unrecognizable.
“Backwater Justice, No.26 (Sisterhood)” by Fern Michaels. The Sisterhood investigates when two young women go missing in Mountain Valley, Oregon.
“Arkangel, No. 18(Sigma Force)” by James Rollins. Sigma Force is summoned to help search for a missing trove of ancient books after a Vatican archivist is murdered near the Kremlin, in the latest addition to the long-running series following “Tides of Fire”.
“Burn” by Peter Heller. Longtime hunting buddies Jess and Storey stumble out of the woods and into a post-apocalyptic Maine after their two-week, off-the-grid moose hunt, forcing them to fight their way home amidst bewildering secessionist violence and a shocking discovery.
“Fire and Bones, No. 23 (Temperance Brennan)” by Kathy Reichs. Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan investigates a deadly fire in a Washington, DC neighborhood called Foggy Bottom with a colorful past and ties to gangs in the present, in the latest addition to the long-running series following “The Bone Hacker”.
“I Need You to Read This” by Jess Maxwell. An advice columnist searches for answers about her predecessor’s murder.
“The Lost Coast, No. 5 (Clay Edison)” by Jonathan & Jesse Kellerman. PI Clay Edison, when a case of simple fraud explodes into an elaborate con game stretching back decades and involving countless victims, follows the evidence to a tiny town on California’s remote Lost Coast where he discovers the price of truth is higher—and deadlier—than he ever could’ve imagined.
“Talking to Strangers” by Fiona Barton. While investigating the Valentine’s Day murder of Karen Simmons, Detective Elise King is derailed by aggressive reporter Kiki Nunn, who sees this case as her opportunity to boost her career—and is willing not only to go up against Elise, but the killer himself to do it.
“This is Why We Lied (Will Trent Thrillers)” by Karin Slaughter. While on their honeymoon at McAlpine Lodge, GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton must solve a murder when the Lodge’s manager is found dead, and investigating the McAlpine family and other guests, they realize everyone here is lying—lying about their past, lying to their family, lying to themselves.
“Tom Clancy Shadow State, No.12 (Jack Ryan J.)” by M.P. Woodward. Cut off from his comrades at The Campus just when he needs them most, Jack Ryan, Jr. finds himself in the middle of an international conspiracy that may be too much for even him to handle.