My LINKcat AccountA week from today is the Fourth of July. While this holiday does not fall precisely at the midpoint between the other two major summer holidays – Memorial Day and Labor Day – it is a good reminder that we are rapidly approaching the actual midpoint, which, if the math I am doing in my head even as I type is correct, would be on July 14th (also known in some quarters, and some countries, as Bastille Day). There are 98 days between Memorial Day this year (May 26th) and Labor Day (September 1st). There are 39 days between Memorial Day and the 4th of July. There are 59 days between the 4th of July and Labor Day. My math thinks that adding 10 days to July 4th will get us 49 days further from Memorial Day and adding those 10 days will get us 10 days closer to Labor Day. And violà, that brings us to the midpoint between those two bracketing holidays of summer which is Bastille Day. All of which is a long way of saying, with the 4th of July coming up next week, those of you who are participating in the Summer Reading Program should keep in mind how quickly the lazy days of summer are flitting away. And do remember that the end of Summer Reading is August 16th – not Labor Day. This means the halfway point between Memorial Day and the end of Summer Reading is 41 days, which, I believe would be July 6th (which has nothing much associated with it other than John Lennon and Paul McCartney purportedly met for the first time at a church event and it’s National Fried Chicken Day). Read. Record what you’ve read. Help meet the community challenges. Be part of the Summer Reading Program. Try some of the more recent books added to our collection listed below.
Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
“John Hancock: First to Sign, First to Invest in America’s Independence” by Willard Sterne Randall. A revealing portrait of the Revolutionary leader, exploring his rise from modest beginnings to wealthy merchant, his pivotal yet overlooked role in the American Revolution, his political rivalries and his influence on key events that shaped the United States.
“Zbig: The Life and Times of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America’s Great Power Prophet” by Edward Luce. Chronicles an iconic statesman's life, from his childhood in war-torn Poland to his role as an architect of the Soviet Union's collapse, highlighting his longstanding influence on US foreign policy, his complex relationship with Henry Kissinger, and his unique perspectives on global power struggles.
“The Brain at Rest: How the Art and Science of Doing Nothing Can Improve Your Life” by Joseph Jebelli. Challenges conventional wisdom about productivity, arguing that allowing the brain to rest and activate its "default network" through activities like walking and relaxation can lead to greater creativity, happiness, and productivity while reducing stress and burnout.
New Fiction
“A Magic Deep and Drowning” by Hester Fox. A gender-flipped historical fantasy retelling of The Little Mermaid is set in the Dutch Golden Age.
“Days of Light” by Megan Hunter. On Easter Sunday in 1938, 19-year-old Ivy stands at the threshold of adulthood, unaware that a single enchanted evening and an unforeseen tragedy will reshape her life, setting her on a decades-long journey through love, war, and the search for meaning.
“The Girls Who Grew Big” by Leila Mottley. Banished to her grandmother’s small Florida town after becoming pregnant at sixteen, Adela finds an unlikely sisterhood among a group of young mothers who, despite societal judgment, support each other through friendship, love, and the complexities of motherhood and adolescence.
“Girls With Long Shadows” by Tennessee Hill. A Southern Gothic novel follows identical triplets whose lives are devastated when their burgeoning desires turn deadly.
“I’ll Be Right Here” by Amy Bloom. After immigrating to New York alone after World War II, Gazala builds an unbreakable bond with her brother and two spirited sisters, forming a fiercely loyal found family whose love, desires and unorthodox connections shape generations to come.
“The Lost Book of First Loves” by RaeAnne Thayne. From a New York Times best-selling author comes a brand-new story about two women, a family secret and a lost manuscript that changes everything.
“The Love Fix (Sunrise Cove)” by Jill Shalvis. In a heartwarming enemies-to-lovers tale, found family, forgiveness and love may just be the key to finding oneself.
“A Mother’s Love” by Danielle Steel. Empty-nester and bestselling author Halley Holbrook befriends charming Bart Warner on a flight to Paris, but when a cunning thief steals her handbag and starts harassing her, reawakening ghosts from her traumatic childhood, she fights back with Bart’s help.
“The Phoenix Pencil Company” by Allison King. A hidden and nearly forgotten magic—of Reforging pencils, bringing the memories they contain back to life—holds the power to transform a young woman’s relationship with her grandmother, and to mend long-lost connections across time and space.
“So Far Gone” by Jess Walter. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s Space Shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.
“The Summer That Changed Everything” by Brenda Novak. A disgraced prodigal daughter returns to a seemingly charming beach town to delve into its deadly past.