My LINKcat AccountAll good things must come to an end, and, indeed, the Summer Reading Program is finally and truly over. The good news is that there is still some celebrating to do! The celebration for all the participants of the Summer Reading Program who read an incredible number of books, listened to a huge number of audio books, and attended programs and events in droves, is yet to come. On August 28th, at 5 p.m. the party will begin. There will be sweet treats, awards for top readers will be handed out, and the schools that won reading challenges will have the opportunity of slime-ing librarians or themselves.
Yes. The summer season is rapidly departing. Back-to-school sales are in full swing (well, really they have been since the beginning of July), teachers and students are counting down the days to the start of school (as are parents). Birds have started to flock up and fly in formations in anticipation of migrating in the not-too-distant future. In fact, some birds have already left the area. Hummingbirds are moving south. If you’re interested in tracking bird movements ( I mean, come on. Face it. Who isn’t?), then check out this cool website I stumbled upon recently: https://dashboard.birdcast.info/region/US-WI This dashboard tells you how many birds it estimates have crossed Wisconsin overnight and what birds are likely to be migrating. Apparently birds tend to migrate at night. The numbers are in the millions and peaks in the beginning of September. Check it out! and check out some of these new books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
“The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us” by Rachelle Bergstein. Offers an intimate and expansive look at Judy Blume’s life, work and cultural impact, focusing on her most iconic—and controversial—young adult novels, from “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” to “Blubber”.
“A Passionate Mind in Relentless Pursuit: The Vision of Mary Mcleod Bethune” by Henry Louis Gates. This biography of the passionate educator and presidential advisor examines her career of public service and role as one of the earliest black female activists that helped lay the foundation of the modern civil rights movement.
“Tiger, Tiger: The Untold Story of the G.O.A.T.” by James Patterson and Peter De Jonge. A #1 best-selling author looks at the life of Tiger Woods—how he rose to success, what drove him to fall so spectacularly, and how has he made his way back to the pinnacle of golf.
“Traveling: On the Path With Joni Mitchell” by Ann Powers. Kaleidoscopic in scope, and intimate in its detail, a celebrated music critic, through extensive interviews with Joni Mitchell’s peers and deep archival research, charts the course of her musical evolution, ranging from early folk to jazz fusion to experimentation with pop synthetics.
New Fiction
“The Days I Loved You Most” by Amy Neff. More than 60 years after they fell in love, with a lifetime between them, Joseph and Evelyn gather their three grown children to share the stunning news: She has received a tragic diagnosis, and he cannot live without her; so, in one year’s time, they will end their lives on their own terms.
“The Faculty Lounge” by Jennifer Mathieu. When an elderly substitute teacher at Baldwin High School is found dead in the faculty lounge, the teachers spontaneously scatter his ashes on the school grounds, setting in motion a year that can only be described as wild, bizarre, tragic, mundane, beautiful and humorous all at once.
“Long Island Compromise” by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. In denial that they’re all still affected by their wealthy businessman father’s kidnapping back in 1980, the Fletcher siblings, as they hover at the delicate precipice of another kind of survival, must face desperate questions about how much their family’s wealth has played a part in both their successes and failures.
“The Heart in Winter” by Kevin Barry. In 1891 Montana, Tom Rourke, a young poet and ballad-maker, and Polly Gillespie, the new bride of an extremely devout mine captain, falling madly in love, strike out west on a stolen horse, but with a posse of deranged gunmen in hot pursuit, the choices they make will haunt them forever.
“The Burning, No. 16 (Kate Burkholder)” by Linda Castillo. Discovering the charred body of an Amish man, chained to a stake and burned alive, in the woods, newlywed Chief of Police Kate Burkholder, at odds with everyone around her, uncovers a secret legacy that shatters everything she thought she knew about the Amish themselves—and her own roots. While tapping into her stores of coolness and reserve to help navigate a decidedly delicate dispute, moral philosopher Isabel Dalhousie and her husband Jamie will together be dealing with tricky personal issues of their own.
“The Conditions of Unconditional Love, No.15 (Isabel Dalhousei)” by Alexander McCall Smith. While tapping into her stores of coolness and reserve to help navigate a decidedly delicate dispute, moral philosopher Isabel Dalhousie and her husband Jamie will together be dealing with tricky personal issues of their own.
“Death on the Tiber” by Lindsay Davix. Flavia Albia investigates a vicious underworld gang after a British tourist is found strangled and dumped in the Tiber in first century Rome in the twelfth novel of the series following “Fatal Legacy”.
“Dog Day Afternoon, No.29 (Andy Carpenter)” by David Rosenfelt. A retired lawyer and dog rescue operator investigates after one of his recent adopters is implicated in a mass shooting at his workplace in the latest addition to the series following “Twas the Bite Before Christmas”.
“A Refiner’s Fire, No. 33 (The Commissario Guide Brunetti Mysteries)” by Donna Leon. Commissario Guideo Brunetti investigates after one of his colleagues is attacked by a possible gang member while walking through Venice in the latest addition to the long-running Italian sleuthing series following “So Shall You Reap”.