May 3, 2018 - Springtime

Warm days. Frosty nights. Sunshine greening the grass. Robins hopping around. The dawn chorus being joined by new singers almost daily. Birds who were hanging on the suet feeders like crazy a couple of weeks ago, turning up their beaks to the offer of suet now. The white-crowned sparrows stopping to sing “old Sam Peabody, Peabody” on their way a little further north. The ditches suddenly filled with spring peepers peeping away. Trees budding out seemingly overnight and starting to leaf. Crows carrying nesting materials into hidden bowers. Lawns suddenly filled with volunteer violets and dandelions. Daffodils and jonquils that pushed through snow only a couple of weeks ago are in bloom. The sound of motorcycles and lawnmowers. All. All point to springtime in Wisconsin and the beginning of that merriest of months, May. There are many new books still arriving daily. I realize you are suddenly busy now doing things outside and getting out and about. But, there is always time to read. You do have permission to read in short bursts instead of going for the long, sustained read. The books listed below lend themselves to either form of reading. Enjoy!

New Non-Fiction

“Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past” by David Reich. A Harvard Medical School geneticist and pioneer in the study of ancient DNA examines how technological advances in genomics are profoundly changing today's understandings of human prehistory while resolving many long-standing controversies about racial and sexual inequality.

 

“Lady in Red: an Intimate Portrait of Nancy Reagan” by Sheila Tate. A long-awaited collection of behind-the-scenes stories and iconic images of the influential First Lady, compiled by a close confidante and former press secretary, shares insights into her personal life, from her daily routines and diplomatic travels to her friendships and enduring influence in the Reagan White House.

 

“The Light Within Me” by Ainsley Earhardt. The Fox News star and #1 New York Times best-selling author offers a powerful, uplifting look at her life and her spiritual journey, reflecting on her family, her faith and her successful career.

 

“My Patients and Other Animals: A Veterinarian’s Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope” by Suzanne Fincham-Gray. A memoir of the author's life spent in the company of animals illuminates the universal experiences of loving, healing and losing beloved pets, describing some of the remarkable cases that shaped her career while sharing a veterinarian's perspectives into the many ways that animals change our lives.

New Fiction

“A Dangerous Game, No. 3 (New York Confidential)” by Heather Graham. When a desperate woman shoves an infant into her arms and flees only to be murdered minutes later, psychologist Kieran Finnegan teams up with FBI Special Agent Craig Frasier to expose and end a human-trafficking operation.

 

“High Voltage, No. 10 (Fever)” by Karen Moning. A first entry in a new story arc set in the world of the best-selling Fever series finds Christian MacKeltar, Ryodan, Dani, Mac, Barrons and other fan-favorite characters working to protect Dublin from deadly, power-hungry factions. By the author of the Highlander series.

 

“The River House, No. 8 (Swift River Valley)” by Carla Neggers. Hired to organize an entrepreneurial boot camp, a successful party planner reconnects with a childhood friend who has become a high-flying businessman and whose professional ambitions complicate their growing bond.

 

“Bring Out the Dogs: Stories” by Will Mackin. A short-story collection from a U.S. Navy veteran who completed five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan stands as a remarkable series of episodes reflecting the absurdity and poetry that define life in the most clandestine circles of modern warfare.

 

“The Disappeared, No. 18 (Joe Pickett)” by C.J. Box. Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett tackles two parallel cases involving the disappearance of a prominent British executive and a group of falconers who are being harassed by the feds, a double assignment that catches the attentions of a dangerous adversary. By the Edgar Award-winning author of “Vicious Circle”.

 

“Duel to the Death, No. 13(All Reynolds)” by Judith Jance. The best-selling author of the J. P. Beaumont and Joanna Brady thrillers presents a latest entry in the popular series starring Ali Reynolds, former Los Angeles news anchor-turned-amateur sleuth. Tour.

 

“The Flight Attendant” by Christopher Bohjalian. A binge-drinking flight attendant wakes up in an unfamiliar hotel room beside a dead body and sneaks back to her work, telling a series of lies that complicate her ability to figure out what really happened. By the best-selling author of “Midwives”.

 

“I’ll Keep You Safe” by Peter May. A novel that alternates between the glamorous fashion world of Paris and the rugged beauty of the Isle of Harris centers around the murder of a pair of fabric entrepreneurs, which leaves the Parisian police to wonder whether the motive was money or something far more personal.