January 28, 2016 - Ground Hog's Day is Approaching

By the time you read this, Ground Hog’s Day will be just around the corner. Last year, as I’m sure you recall, Booky our badger, made the first prediction in what we assume will be a long and lustrous career. Last year the prediction was for an early spring – and we got an early spring. This year, we are considering seeing if Sun Prairie would care to borrow Booky for their ceremony. True, badgers don’t like to get up at the crack of dawn to make a prediction, but perhaps if the recompense was enticing enough…. At least Booky has never bitten anyone! The approach of Ground Hog’s Day signals that there is only about a month left in the Winter Reading Program. Still plenty of time to earn dragon dollars – converting a pleasurable activity into earning potential. You can buy really cool items in the Treasure Trove, or donate those dragon dollars to our charity jars (Yours Truly will convert those dollars into a donation to either the DeForest Area Needs Network (DANN) or the Dane County Humane Society). If you don’t want to read and earn prizes for yourself or your kin, you can read and do something for charity. And there are plenty of books to be read. Below is a sampling of some of the new books that have arrived at the library recently. Enjoy!

New Non-Fiction

  • cover art The right kind of crazy : a true story of teamwork, leadership, and high-stakes innovation / by Adam Stelzner. In a book perfect for any organization striving for excellence, the author takes readers into NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory where the he spearheaded the entry, descent and landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars, revealing the teamwork, drama and extraordinary feats of innovation that made the mission a success.
  • cover art How to make your money last : the indispensable retirement guide / by Jane Bryant Quinn. A strategic guide to turning retirement savings into a steady and lasting source of income shares strategic information for investing for growth and maximizing Social Security, pension, home equity and savings assets.
  • cover art In a different key : the story of autism / by Jon Donvan and Caren Zucker. The story of the discovery of autism and the first child diagnosed with the disorder draws on extensive research to trace how understandings about the condition have evolved through eight decades and how it has affected families in different historical periods.
  • cover art Timeless beadwork designs by Cynthia Rutledge. An award-winning beadwork artist presents 15 new projects while sharing insights into her creative process, counseling intermediate- to advanced-level beaders on how to use color, three-dimensional form and mixed media to achieve classic results.
  • cover art Always hungry? : conquer cravings, retrain your fat cells, and lose weight permanently / by David Ludwig. A leading obesity researcher and top endocrinologist at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School presents a groundbreaking diet program that debunks the myth that calorie balance is the key to weight loss and teaches readers how to reprogram their fat cells to lose weight without counting calories or feeling hungry.
  • cover art The geography of genius : a search for the world's most creative places from ancient Athens to Silicon Valley / by Eric Weiner. An acclaimed travel writer examines the connection between surroundings and innovative ideas, profiling examples in such regions as early-20th-century Vienna, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens and Silicon Valley. By the best-selling author of “The Geography of Bliss”.

New Fiction

  • cover art Presumed puzzled : a Puzzle Lady mystery / by Parnell Hall. Hired to track down a straying husband, the Puzzle Lady is challenged to defend her client when the husband is found brutally murdered, a situation that is further complicated when she is selected to be a witness for the prosecution. By the author of “Puzzled Indemnity”.
  • cover art Blackout / by David Rosenfelt. When his suspended partner, Doug, loses his memory after a gunshot wound sustained during an obsessive off-the-books search for infamous criminal Nicholas Bennett, Nate is drawn deeply into the investigation and makes a traumatizing discovery. By the award-winning author of the Andy Carpenter series.
  • cover art Forty thieves / by Thomas Perry. Two retirees from the LAPD and a pair of assassins are hired to offer professional expertise for the same murder case, which is hampered by a mysterious contractor's deadly efforts to keep the facts hidden. By the Edgar Award-winning author of the Jane Whitefield series.
  • cover art The guest room : a novel / by Christopher Bonjalian. When the bachelor party her husband is hosting goes murderously wrong, Kristin finds her life spiraling into a nightmare of accusations, shame and betrayal while a girl hired to provide entertainment at the party flees for her life from murderous gangsters.
  • cover art Scandalous behavior : a Stone Barrington novel / by Stuart Woods. New York City cop-turned-Manhattan law firm rainmaker Stone Barrington confronts a particularly challenging adversary whose nefarious schemes test the limits of Barrington's skills. By the Edgar Award-winning author of “Carnal Curiosity”.
  • cover art A song for the brokenhearted / by William Shaw. The earthshaking year of 1968 comes to sweeping and dangerous close, as Detectives Breen and Tozer battle the most powerful members of London society. By the author of “Kings of London”.