My LINKcat AccountToday is the first day of school, so I guess we can say summer is officially over. It’s time to put away all your white and pastel clothes and white shoes and start rearranging your closet. It’s time to move those sweaters closer to the front of the closet and replace that windbreaker with something a little heavier. Sure well have some hot days for the next month or so; in fact it’s almost guaranteed that the first full week of school (post Labor Day) will be a scorcher or if not that week, the next. My crop plants, and now I come to think about it all I have are crop plants, are finishing up at a gallop. I have had no green beans all summer and suddenly I’m eating them every other day. The tomatoes are jumping of the plants, walking in the house, jumping onto the counter, and waiting to be dealt with. The green peppers are dropping off the plants demanding that I pay attention to them too. Of course this is all part of the seasonal change – which, I remind myself when the humidity is 100% and the temperatures in the inching up towards 90, is why I live in Wisconsin. If you’ve been out in the surrounding rural areas lately you will have noted birds flocking up which they do in preparation for migrating a couple of months from now (but they need practice getting along with each other – as do we all). You will have seen the soybeans turning yellow, the hay being cropped off, and some corn being chopped for silage. All are indicators that the growing season is end and that fall will soon be upon us. In the meantime the shorter days give us longer evenings in which to do some serious reading. Below are some new books that recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
We're still right, and they're still wrong : the Democrats' case for 2016 / by James Carville. The prominent liberal pundit, campaign strategist and former co-host of CNN's Crossfire argues that Democratic policies enacted by the Clinton administration and continued by President Obama have effectively sustained and salvaged America's economic well-being.
The dream of enlightenment : the rise of modern philosophy / by Anthony Gottlieb. The author of The Dream of Reason presents a vivid chronicle of modern thought from Descartes to Rousseau, detailing the role of then-amateur philosophers in shaping Western intellectual pursuits against a backdrop of religious upheaval and the rise of Galilean science.
The perfect horse : the daring U.S. mission to rescue the priceless stallions kidnapped by the Nazis / by Elizabeth Letts. Traces the lesser-known efforts of Hitler to build a master race of the finest purebred horses and the heroic achievements of American soldiers to rescue imperiled stolen equines from a hidden Czechoslovakian farm during a 1945 battle between Third Reich and Allied forces. By the New York Times best-selling author of “The Eighty-Dollar Champion”.
Pets on the couch : neurotic dogs, compulsive cats, anxious birds, and the new science of animal psychiatry / by Nicholas Dodman. A celebrated veterinary behaviorist describes the practice of One Medicine, which hinges on the belief that humans and other animals have minds that work the same way, experience similar emotions and share the same neurochemistry.
The book : a cover-to-cover exploration of the most powerful object of our time / by Keith Houston. The author of Shady Characters reveals how books and the materials that make them reflect the rich history and culture of human civilization, tracing the development of writing, printing, illustrating and binding to demonstrate the transition from cuneiform tablets and papyrus scrolls to the mass-distributed books of today.
New Fiction
Crash and burn / by Fern Michaels. The women of the Sisterhood are united by their mission to help those unable to help themselves, but now they’ve encountered opponents who share a unique bond of their own--the ruthless law firm of Queen, King, Bishop & Rook, better known as the Chessmen.
The jealous kind : a novel / by James Lee Burke. Intervening when he sees a beautiful, gifted girl fighting with her boyfriend, a young man inadvertently challenges the power of the Mob in his Korean War-era Texas community and must summon the courage of his soldier father in order to stand up for his beliefs.
A catered tea party : a mystery with recipes / by Isis Crawford. Reluctantly catering a Mad-Hatter-themed tea party to support an eccentric billionaire's launch of an art complex that promises to bring culture and sophistication to a sleepy New York community, the Simmons sisters find themselves steeped in trouble when the host drops dead under mysterious circumstances.
A great reckoning / by Louise Penny. Receiving a mysterious old map that has been found stuffed in the walls of a bistro, former Quebec homicide investigator Armand Gamache follows clues to the site of a dead Sûreté academy professor and an unlikely cadet with whom he is implicated in a murder case. By the award-winning author of “The Nature of the Beast”.
First star I see tonight / by Susan Phillips. Discovered by the former Chicago quarterback she was hired to tail, ambitious detective Piper Dove pretends to be the athlete's stalker and is subsequently hired as his bodyguard, an arrangement that is threatened by their growing chemistry and a portfolio of eccentric clients. By a New York Times best-selling author.
Frost line / by Linda Howard & Linda Jones. Caine, a hunter of magical beings, must track down the powerful and alluring Lenna, the manifestation of the Tarot card known as Strength, whom has been tasked with protecting a young boy.
Rushing waters : a novel / by Danielle Steele. An interior designer, her independent architect mother, a British investment banker, an ER doctor who survived Hurricane Sandy and two NYU students are thrust together when a major hurricane descends upon New York City and wreaks unimaginable devastation. By the best-selling author of “Prodigal Son” .