November 25, 2022 - Black Friday

This year, Thanksgiving was neither as early as it can be – November 22nd--, nor as late as it can be – November 28th. There are 30 days between Thanksgiving and the final, pre-Christmas, shopping day. In any given year you could have as many as 32 days or as few as 26 to take advantage of all those sales and of course the big, two sale days – Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Except. It seems to me that now major retailers are declaring that every Friday is “black” Friday as are those using cyber sales. I am not alone in being able to report that prior to Halloween sales and stock being removed from stores, Christmas stock was flooding the shelves. Speaking of floods (note the very smooth segue there!) The Julabokaflod (the Christmas Book Flood), an Icelandic tradition that is gaining traction among book lovers, is underway. Publishers in Iceland released a “flood” of books leading up to Christmas to provide options for Yuletide book gifting. Having wander through Barnes & Noble over the weekend, I would say that U.S. publishers are also flooding the market from best sellers to birding books (with sound included). There are so many great books out there and it seems like every bestselling author has a new book, just in time for gift giving. But, you don’t have to buy books! You can borrow them from your public library and you can come and browse our stock on “Black Friday” because we will be open! We like to think of “Black Friday” as “Read (pronounced like the past-tense of that verb) Friday. You don’t have to go into the “red” to read your fill. Below you will find some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving!

New Non-Fiction

“Entertainment Nation” by John Troutman &Kenneth Cohen US history gets the star treatment with this essential guide to the Smithsonian's first permanent exhibition on pop culture, featuring objects like Muhammad Ali’s training robe, and Leonard Nimoy’s Spock ears, and Dorothy’s ruby slippers.

“Faith Still Moves Mountains: Miraculous Stories of the Healing Power of Prayer” by Harris Faulkner. The FOX News anchor and author Harris Faulkner comes a collection of powerful, true-life stories of resilience, healing, rescue, and protection.

“The Lego Story: How a Little Toy Sparked the World’s Imagination” by Jens Andersen. This is the definitive history of LEGO, based on unprecedented access to the company’s archives and rare interviews with the founding family that still owns the company.

“Stan Lee: A Life” by Bob Batchelor. This definitive biography of Marvel legend Stan Lee, celebrates the 100th anniversary of his birth and chronicles the extraordinary life of the co-creator of so many Marvel superheroes.

“Space Craze” by Margaret Weitekamp. A space historian's tour through astounding spaceflight history and the Smithsonian's collection of space and science fiction memorabilia. The book spans the time from the 1929 debut of the futuristic Buck Rogers to present-day privatization of spaceflight and celebrates America's endless enthusiasm for space exploration.

New Fiction

“The Couple at the Table” by Sophie Hannah. Honeymooners at a posh resort receive an ominous warning with deadly consequences in the latest gripping, twisty psychological thriller from New York Times bestselling author

“Dawnlands: A Novel (The Fairmile Series, No.3)” by Philippa Gregory. From the last battle in the desolate Somerset Levels to the hidden caves on the slave island of Barbados, this third volume of an epic story follows a family from one end of the empire to another, to find a new dawn in a world which is opening up before them with greater rewards and dangers than ever before.

“Defending Alice: A Novel of Love and Race in the Roaring Twenties” by Richard Stratton. Set in 1920s New York, this historical novel involves scandals and secrets, race and redemption, and power and privilege. Based on a sensational real-life case that made international headline in which the marriage between a working-class black woman and the scion of one of America’s most powerful white families ends in a scandalous annulment lawsuit.

“Small Game: A Novel” by Blair Braverman. This gripping debut novel about a survival reality show gone wrong that leaves a group of strangers stranded in the northern wilds

“Desert Star (A Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch Novel)” by Michael Connelly. LAPD detective Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch team up to hunt the brutal killer who is Bosch’s “white whale”—a man responsible for the murder of an entire family.

“1637 The Transylvanian Decision (Ring of Fire Book 35)” by Eric Flint & Robert E. Waters. This new novel in Eric Flint’s landmark “Ring of Fire Series” continues the Easter Europe storyline explored in his book “1637: The Polish Maelstrom”

“A Christmas Memory” by Richard Paul Evans. Reeling from the loss of his brother in Vietnam, Richard moves with his family from California to his grandmother's abandoned house in Utah where he finds the holiday spirit with the help of an elderly neighbor and his dog.

“Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man, No. 1 (Girl Friday Mysteries)” by Emily Edwards. Life as a secretary in New York just got tougher when Viviana Valentine’s boss goes M.I.A in this debut historical mystery.