May 19, 2023 - Launch the Summer Reading Program

If you are reading this on Friday, the publication date of the DeForest Times Tribune, then you are reading this on the eve of the Summer Reading Program kick-off. Even though the beginning of this week had overnight lows hovering near 40 degrees, warmer weather is on the way and will (eventually) arrive. On Saturday, there are three programs throughout the day to launch the Summer Reading Program. There is the Wild Rumpus Party (think Maurice Sendak and “Where the Wild Things Are” and prepare to roll your terrible eyes and gnash your terrible teeth) for youngsters. From 12 to 3 p.m. there is mini painting for all ages, 12 and younger may attend with a parent or guardian. And then, at 6 p.m. we have a campfire (think fire pits) singalong on the library patio.  Ken Lonquist will be providing the music and leading those assembled in song you might just know, or in some new songs he might just teach us. There will be marshmallows to roast and graham crackers and chocolate. Hmmmm. Sounds like we all might want S’more.  Make sure you sign up for the Summer Reading Program. You’re reading the books anyway so why not log them, add numbers to the community challenge totals, and earn Dragon Dollars which you can use (only) in the library’s store or which you can donate to the Dane County Humane Society, the DeForest Area Needs Network, or to the library to help fund the Story Hour room renovation. Below you will find some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. Put them on hold. Read them. Record them in your Summer Reading account. Enjoy!

New Non-Fiction

“Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy” by Carl Anthony. An illuminating new biography of the young Jackie Bouvier Kennedy that covers her formative adventures abroad in Paris; her life as a writer and photographer at a Washington, DC, newspaper; and her romance with a dashing, charismatic Massachusetts congressman who shared her intellectual passion.

“The Power of Trees: How Ancient Forests can Save Us if We Let Them” by Peter Wohlleben and Jane Billinghurst. Sharing emerging scientific research about how forests shape climates both locally and across continents, the international bestselling author of “The Hidden Life of Trees” shows how ancient forests pass their wisdom through generations and why our future lies in protecting them.

 “Quantum Supremacy: How the Quantum Computer Revolution Will Change Everything” by Michio Kaku. This book gives a  tour of humanity's next great technological achievement—quantum computing—which may eventually illuminate the deepest mysteries of science and solve some of humanity's biggest problems, like global warming, world hunger, and incurable disease, by the bestselling author of “The God Equation”.


“The Well-lived Life: A 102-Year Old Doctor’s Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age” by Gladys McGarey. The author, a centenarian still-practicing doctor and the mother of holistic medicine, reveals her powerful and life-changing secrets for how to live with joy, vitality, and purpose at any age.

New Fiction

“The Ferryman: A Novel” by Justin Cronin. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Passage comes a riveting standalone novel about a group of survivors on a hidden island utopia—where the truth isn't what it seems.

“The Libyan Diversion” by Joel Rosenberg.  From New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author Joel C. Rosenberg comes the fifth military and international political thriller in the Marcus Ryker series. The world’s most wanted terrorist is dead. Ryker recommended the drone strike himself. The intelligence was rock-solid. But he might have been wrong.

“Hula: A Novel” by Jasmin Hakes. Set in Hilo, Hawai’i, a sweeping saga of tradition, culture, family, history, and connection that unfolds through the lives of three generations of women—a tale of mothers and daughters, dance and destiny.

“Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?” by Crystal Smith Paul. When Kitty Karr Tate, a White icon of the silver screen, dies and bequeaths her multimillion-dollar estate to the St. John sisters, three young, wealthy Black women, it prompts questions. Lots of questions. This multigenerational saga traverses the glamour of old Hollywood and the seductive draw of modern-day showbiz. It is the Reese’s Book Club May selection

“Swamp Story: A Novel” by Dave Barry. Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times bestselling author and actual Florida Man Dave Barry returns with a Florida caper full of oddballs and more twists and turns than a snake slithering away from a gator.

“The Wedding Planner” by Danielle Steel. In this captivating novel from the “New York Times” bestselling author, a wildly successful, unmarried wedding planner leads her clients to happily ever after and travels a winding road to love and joy while staying true to herself.

“All the Days of Summer: A Novel” by Nancy Thayer. When her marriage fizzles out, Heather decides what sort of life to live next. Ready to seek out her own happiness and discover herself again, leaves her husband and rents a cottage on Nantucket. Her plan is going perfectly—until her son, Ross, announces he’s moving there.

“Fourth Wing (The Empyrean Book 1)” by Rebecca Yarros. Twenty-year-old Violet was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general has ordered her to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders. This book describes the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders.

“The 23rd Midnight: If You Haven’t Read the Women’s Murder Club, Start Here( A Women’s Murder Club Thriller, No 3)” by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. An attention-seeking copycat is recreating murders by a famous killer from the Women’s Murder Club’s past—with devastating new twists.