My LINKcat AccountEver since our prognosticating badger said winter would hang around for six more weeks, winter certainly has been strutting its stuff. Those high winds couple with single digit temperatures have certainly cooled down the library building (at least near the exterior walls which is where my computer is located). The sunshine certainly helps and the longer days too. They help lift the spirits if you’re sitting somewhere warm inside looking out. If you’re out in the cold, that’s a whole different story. There is good news though. As cold as it is there are still some birds – raptors—that are starting to pair up, build nests, and start the cycle of life. I’m pretty sure I saw a loose flock of Lapland longspurs fluttering around a field where earth was showing through the snow cover. These birds head north to nest in the tundra (not much different than the current conditions we are experiencing) and start moving around in flocks prior to pushing further north. And, some sandhill cranes have already returned to Nebraska. So spring is getting here, just a little more slowly than some of us would wish. In the meantime, there are plenty of great books to read while you’re keeping warm indoors. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
Mind change : how digital technologies are leaving their mark on our brains / by Susan Greenfield. Combining scientific studies, news events and cultural criticism, a thought-provoking foray into the Digital Age reveals how it has altered the cultural landscape, fueled an epidemic of oversharing and transformed how people learn, retain and disseminate information.
The food babe way : break free from the hidden toxins in your food and lose weight, look years younger, and get healthy in just 21 days! / by Vani Hari. The food activist and creator of foodbabe.com reveals hidden dangers in everyday foods while outlining a three-week plan for eliminating toxins from the body, losing weight and transitioning to an organic, healthy lifestyle.
Madison's gift : five partnerships that built America by David Stewart. An award-winning historian highlights the life and contributions of the occasionally overlooked Founding Father, describing Madison’s push for the Constitutional Convention and his co-authoring of the Federalist Papers, as well as his founding of the nation’s first political party. By the author of “The Summer of 1787”.
The powerhouse : inside the invention of a battery to save the world by Steve LeVine. Granted unprecedented access to a secure federal laboratory, a Washington correspondent presents a riveting real-time, two-year account of big invention, big commercialization and big deception as the world races to perfect the next engine of economic growth--the advanced lithium-ion battery.
American reckoning : the Vietnam War and our national identity / by Christian Appy. The critically acclaimed author of "Patriots" draws on sources ranging from movies and songs to official documents and news stories to analyze the role of the Vietnam War in shaping America's national identity, popular culture and post-war foreign policy.
New Fiction
Cardinal rules / by Barbara Delinsky. Corinne finds herself breaking her own rules when she begins to fall for maverick businessman Corey Haraden.
Murder in the queen's wardrobe / by Kathy Lynn Emerson. In 1582 London, Mistress Rosamond Jaffrey finds her life in peril when Queen Elizabeth I's spymaster tasks her with gathering intelligence on Lady Mary, a cousin of the queen who is being courted by Russia's Ivan the Terrible.
The price of blood / by Patricia Bracewell. A follow-up to “Shadow on the Crown” finds reluctant queen Emma of Normandy forging dubious alliances to protect her children and her crown in the early 11th century while her beleaguered husband governs through brutal policies.
The secrets of midwives / by Sally Hepworth. Determined to hide the identity of her baby's father from others, a third-generation midwife is separated from and bound to her mother and grandmother by a similar secret from the past.
A spool of blue thread : a novel / by Anne Tyler. The changing needs of aging parents impact a family gathering during which Abby Whitshank relates how her husband and she fell in love during the summer of 1959 and shared decades of marriage impacted by children and long-held secrets.. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Breathing Lessons”.
The marriage game : a novel of Queen Elizabeth I / by Alison Weir. A sequel to “The Lady Elizabeth”recounts the dramatic story of the Virgin Queen and her scandalous relationship with Lord Robert Dudley, a reign marked by rumors about their illegitimate child and the suspicious death of his wife.
Obsession in death / by J.D. Robb. Targeted by an obsessed, violent stalker who believes they have a special relationship, Eve Dallas struggles to keep her law-enforcement activities from being misinterpreted as invitations to kill people on her behalf. By a #1 “New York Times” best-selling author.
Whatever happened to Molly Bloom? by Jessica Stirling. Detective Inspector Jim Kinsella of the Dublin police force is called to the scene when the body of Molly Bloom has been found in her own kitchen where she has been beaten to death with a teapot.