My LINKcat AccountYou may have noticed that the days are getting shorter; that the cicadas are whirring away; that crickets have started singing again (These are field crickets which are hitting the peak of their breeding season, hence all the singing trying to attract a mate.); that the back to school sales have reached a frenzied-pitch; and that after my pitch today for the Summer Reading Program, you will hear no more from me on that topic. “Why?” I hear you asking. Well, because the 2025 Summer Reading Program ends tomorrow, Saturday, August 16th. I will remind you, just this one more time, that you have until some time on August 16th (I would say closing time at the library which would be 5 p.m.) but if you are entering books via the online app, that might (I say, might) gain you a little more time. Log into your account, log the number of titles you’ve read ( you don’t have to enter the titles and can just put in the number) earn a few more dragon dollars, and get us over the community challenge number of books read (which will result in a sweet treat at the Summer Reading Celebration & Award party on August 27th). You can redeem those dragon dollars in our store or donate them to one of our charities until August 27th at 7 p.m. Record those books and once you’ve done that, check out some of these new titles. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
“The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy” by James Patterson & Vicky Ward. Chronicles the murders of four innocent college students attending the University of Idaho in 1922 and looks at the investigation into the crime.
“The Jailhouse Lawyer: The Education of a Jailhouse Lawyer” by Calvin Duncan & Sophie Cull. An account of Charles Duncan, who became a self-taught jailhouse lawyer after a wrongful conviction at 19, spending decades navigating a broken legal system, advocating for fellow prisoners, fighting for his own freedom, and ultimately exposing systemic failures.
“Radical Tenderness: The Value of Vulnerability in an Often Unkind World” by Gisele Barreto Fetterman. The author shares her story of power through vulnerability—from childhood survival years as a Brazilian-American undocumented immigrant, to prejudice experienced in corporate and political settings, to hardships and resilience stepping into her husband’s role when he suffered a stroke.
“Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource” by Sam Bloch. Studies the overlooked importance of shade in urban environments, tracing its historical role in city design, examining how its absence contributes to health and social disparities, and highlighting efforts by planners and innovators to reintroduce shade as a vital tool for climate resilience.
New Fiction
“The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy, No. 1 (Dearly Loathed Duology)” by Brigitte Knightley. When a deadly assassin seeks the help of a healer from a rival order, their uneasy alliance to cure his illness and combat a resurging plague forces them into dangerous territory—where unraveling a medical mystery tests their loyalties and fuels a forbidden attraction.
“Bring the House Down” by Charlotte Runcie. A theater critic at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe writes a vicious one-star review of a struggling actress he has a one-night stand with in this sharply funny, feminist tinderbox.
“Our Last Resort” by Clemence Michallon. Having grown apart after an unspeakable tragedy, Frida and Gabriel try to start fresh at the Ara Hotel in Escalante, Utah, and it feels like paradise—until the dead body of the young wife of a powerful, much older husband is discovered and suspicion falls on Gabriel.
“You Belong Here” by Megan Miranda. When her daughter enrolls at the college Beckett Bowery fled after a deadly scandal two decades earlier, Beckett is forced to return to Wyatt Valley, where buried truths and old suspicions threaten to resurface against the backdrop of the picturesque Virginia town.
“Dogged Pursuit, No. 31 (Andy Carpenter)” by David Rosenfelt. Newly minted defense attorney Andy Carpenter goes to an animal shelter to adopt two dogs and stumbles into his first case defending a dog-loving murder suspect in this prequel to the long-running series.
“She Didn’t See It Coming” by Shari Lapena. When young mother Bryden vanishes from her upscale condo without a trace, her husband Sam and the investigators must unravel the mystery behind her disappearance, exposing hidden tensions, unreliable neighbors, and cracks in the seemingly perfect life they built together.
“The Winds from Further West” by Alexander McCall Smith. After professional and personal setbacks in Edinburgh, university lecturer Neil Anderson retreats to the remote Isle of Mull, where a pair of mysterious wolf cubs and a connection with local vet Katie lead him toward unexpected renewal.
“Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Escape (Jason Bourne)” by Brian Freeman. A boat in the Mediterranean carries Jason Bourne and his lover, Johanna, but in an instant, he’s floating on wreckage and Johanna is gone; Bourne teams up with spy chief Shadow, who reveals that Bourne’s surrogate father David Abbott, is alive, and they must find him before his enemies do.
“Wayward Girls” by Susan Wigss. In 1968 Buffalo, six teenage girls are sent to the Good Shepherd Refuge, an institution controlled by the Sisters of Charity, for reasons ranging from being gay to rebellious, where they face forced labor, exploitation, and personal struggles while finding strength and solidarity.
“Crossfire, No. 24 (Courtney)” by Wilbur Smith. In 1943, British spy Saffron Courtney sails to New York on a mission to rally support for the war effort while secretly hunting a Nazi spy ring within the British Embassy in the latest addition to the series following Cloudburst.