My LINKcat AccountToday is the eve of that international celebratory day, “Talk Like a Pirate”. In honor of that day one of our self-check machines – if I can figure out how to switch the module – will be helping you checkout with a distinctly piratical accent. Library staff working on that day may also be looking a wee bit piratical as well. You might hear certain phrases issuing forth from the Circulation Desk like “Avast!”, or “Ahoy!”, “ Shiver me timbers!” or “Your holds are in the hold, matey!”. For this one day only we will be accepting gold doubloons and pieces of eight when paying for fines. If you care to learn more about this day, visit the website www.talklikeapirate.com . That site has a countdown to “Talk Like a Pirate Day” running and various quizzes and information about the day. There are links to a pirate name generator (my pirate name is The Dread Pirate Flint), a personality test (I’m a captain) and various translator that take Standard English and turn it into Pirate. For example the sentence “the library has lots of books” translates as “"T' library has lots o' books." You can always throw an “Arrrggghhh” at the end of any sentence to add a little more authenticity. Hope you have fun celebrating “Talk Like a Pirate Day”! And when you’re done, there are lots of new books for you to read. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
Angry optimist : the life and times of Jon Stewart / by Lisa Rogak. Drawing on interviews with current and former colleagues of Jon Stewart, the author of “The Rise (and Further Rise) of Stephen Colbert” chronicles the life of “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, from his early stand-up days to the acclaimed “The Jon Stewart Show” to his rise to become a comedic—and, surprisingly, a political—icon.
Forgetting to be afraid : a memoir by Wendy Davis. A deeply personal memoir by the 2014 Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate traces her upbringing by a single-mom high school dropout, her early divorce, her Harvard Law School education and the early political achievements that led to her successful 2008 election to the Texas Senate.
My life as a foreign country : a memoir / by Brian Turner. An Iraqi war veteran searches for meaning and parallels with family members who served in different wars, including his grandfather in World War I and his uncle in Vietnam, in a memoir from the poet who wrote “The Hurt Locker”.
Normally, this would be cause for concern : tales of calamity and unrelenting awkwardness by Danielle Fishel. The beloved star of the 90s sitcom “Boy Meets World” and the eagerly anticipated spin-off, “Girl Meets World”, takes readers on a humorous journey through her admittedly imperfect life—from dating disasters to nightmare auditions to awkward moments on the red carpet.
Smartcuts : how hackers, innovators, and icons accelerate success by Shane Snow.
Act like a success, think like a success : discovering your gift and the way to life's riches / by Steve Harvey. A hacker-journalist analyzes the lives of people and companies that do incredible things in a short period, revealing the ethical "smartcuts" that they use to eliminate unnecessary effort and yield sustainable momentum, and shows readers how they can work smarter to achieve the same success.
New Fiction
Station eleven : a novel / by Emily Mandel. The sudden death of a Hollywood actor during a production of “King Lear” marks the beginning of the world's dissolution in a story told at various past and future times from the perspectives of the actor and four of his associates.
The witch with no name / by Kim Harrison. To save Ivy's soul and the rest of the living vampires and to keep the demons of Hell from destroying humankind, bounty hunter Rachel Morgan will risk everything, in the conclusion to the “New York Times” best-selling series.
The children act : a novel / by Ian McEwan. A highly respected London judge hides behind her professional accomplishments her decision to separate from a husband who wants an open marriage, a loss that challenges her beliefs throughout a case involving parents whose faith forbids a life-saving transfusion for their son.
The dog / by Joseph O’Neill. Leaving New York in the wake of a breakup to take a job in a futuristic Dubai at the height of its metropolitan self-invention, a young man struggles with growing feelings of being trapped while navigating the eccentricities of his wealthy employers. By the award-winning author of “Netherland”.
Five days left / by Julie Timmer. A terminally ill career woman, wife and mother—and a middle-school foster parent whose 8-year-old boy is about to return to his former inmate mother—traverse the last five days they have to say goodbye to their loved ones. A first novel.
Virtue Falls / by Christina Dodd. Growing up believing that her father was responsible for murdering her mother 20 years earlier, Elizabeth returns to her hometown in search of answers and discovers evidence of her father's innocence and the ongoing agenda of the real killer.
The narrow road to the deep north : a novel / by Richard Flannagan. Haunted by the death of his wife while attending brutally sick and injured soldiers at a World War II Japanese POW camp, surgeon Dorrigo Evans receives a letter that irrevocably shapes the subsequent decades of his life in Australia.
We are not ourselves / by Matthew Thomas. Raised by her Irish immigrant parents in a 1940s Queens apartment where alcohol and company combine in mercurial ways, Eileen marries an unambitious scientist with whom she endures an increasingly psychologically dark family life. A first novel.