I don’t know about you, dear patrons, but it feels like it’s been a really long week.  I’ve been snowed on, rained on, discovered holes in the soles of my shoes that I never knew existed…and that’s only the beginning.

You know what this calls for?

A blanket fort.

Thankfully, the interwebs has provided yet another list of Do’s and Dont’s for Blanket Fort Construction–which specifically states that Blanket Forts go better with books.  And, if your feeling really ambitious, take a look a this...the world’s largest blanket fort, made by Challenge12, Big Box Education, North London Collegiate School, Benchmark Scaffolding and Mace Group in London last summer:

Can you imagine the sheer number of books you could fit in a 3,304 square foot fort?! 

Here are a few titles to get you started, selected from the new books that clambered up onto the library shelves this week.  Come in and find some to stock your blanket fort for a lovely restorative weekend!

Tuesday Nights in 1980: For all you who remember hammer pants and shoulder pads–get ready.   Molly Prentiss has crafted a tale of lost souls and fortuitous meetings, set in SoHo at the opening of the 1980s, bringing together a synesthetic art critic, and an exiled Argentinian painter and revolutionary.  Both men are wandering, somewhat aimlessly, through the New York art scene, until they are brought together by the arrival of a stunning woman and a lonely orphan, who help these two men rediscover themselves, and begin to change them irrevocably.  I am in loved with the brilliantly-colored cover of this book, and there are a number of critics and readers who are equally as enamored of the words between those covers; Booklist gave this one a starred review, saying: “An agile, imaginative, knowledgeable, and seductive writer, Prentiss combines exquisite sensitivity with unabashed melodrama to create an operatic tale of ambition and delusion, success and loss, mystery and crassness…she also tenderly illuminates universal sorrows, “beautiful horrors,” and lush moments of bliss. In all, a vital, sensuous, edgy, and suspenseful tale of longing, rage, fear, compulsion, and love.”

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos: The enduring hero of Dominic Smith’s latest novel is actually a painting that spans four centuries and brings together two remarkably talented and passionate women.  In Amsterdam in 1631, Sara de Vos becomes the first woman to be admitted as a master painter to the city’s Guild of St. Luke, and defies all convention and tradition by refusing to paint indoor subjects, and instead paints the portrait of a young girl standing by a window.  Nearly three hundred years later, in New York of 1957, young and hungry art student Ellie Shipley agrees to paint a forgery of Sara de Vos’ painting in order to help her wealthy patron dupe an art dealer…but it is a choice that will come back to haunt Ellie later in life, threatening to expose all the secrets she has so carefully hidden away.  I am fascinated by books that use words to describe the visual–like the painting at the center of this story, and it would seem that Smith has mastered that unique art in this book.  Kirkus gave this novel a starred review, hailing, “This is a beautiful, patient, and timeless book, one that builds upon centuries and shows how the smallest choices—like the chosen mix for yellow paint—can be the definitive markings of an entire life.”

Cold Barrel Zero: Former journalist Matthew Quirk’s debut novel was an international hit, and is currently being developed as a major motion picture–and, just in time for your weekend, his second thriller is being hailed as a sure-fire hit, feature two men who were once close as brothers–but now are caught in a desperate game of cat and mouse.   Special Operative John Hayes went rogue on a deep-cover mission and betrayed his own comrades, and is now trying to return to his wife and daughter before launching his final revenge.  The only man who can stop him is Thomas Byrne, a former combat medic who fought by Hayes’ side.  As their quests bring them treacherously closer, both men will be forced to consider–and re-consider–whom they can really trust, in a world where the rules are constantly changing.   Publisher’s Weekly loved this book, cheering, “Quirk goes flat-out explosive in this superior military adventure novel. . . . There’s plenty of cool cutting-edge technology, but in the end it comes down to action, and the riveting battle scenes are among the best in the business. Readers will look forward to seeing more of the skilled and deadly John Hayes.”

The Story of Kullervo: There’s always a risk in publishing a dead author’s unpublished works–the stuff that probably was never meant to see the light of day.  On the one hand, there is an uncomfortable invasion of privacy that need to be considered, but, for scholars and dedicated readers, these pieces can immeasurably add to an author’s legend and cannon.  The latter seems to be the case with this ‘previously unpublished’ story by the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Dedicated fans will see inklings of The Silmarillion here, as the ugly, sharp, and magical Kullervo, son of Kalervo launches on a plan of revenge against the magician who destroyed his family and his life.  This copy of the story includes a forward and introduction by Verlyn Flieger, who transcribed this work from Tolkien’s original manuscripts.  Booklist said of this work–considered the foundation of many of Tolkien’s fantasy novels–“The tale blends Tolkien’s trademark prose and epic poetry, and it is fascinating to catch this tantalizing glimpse into his brilliant mind . . .Will please readers who wish to unveil how Tolkien’s creative process evolved.”

The Rise of the Rocket Girls: Many of us grew up hearing about America’s Space Race, and the impressive brains that made it all possible…but no textbook ever told you about the women who worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  Amazon’s reviewer mentions that they invented the pant suit…le sigh.  These women were some of the brightest minds of their generation, consistently broke down barriers, not only in their workplace but in academia, and Nathalia Holt has at last put their story on the page in a tale that Library Journal says “seamlessly blends the technical aspects of rocket science and mathematics with an engaging narrative, making for an imminently readable and well-researched work.”.  Now…once and for all…who says women can’t do math?

Until next week, dear patrons–happy reading!

Reasons to smile today:

1) In one week, we get some daylight savings time, and in a little more than two weeks, it’s spring!  (She says, looking at the snow incongruously falling outside…)

2) Sunday is National Oreo Cookie Day.  Celebrate accordingly.

3) FORT FURNITURE.  Apparently, we have single-handedly launched the Blanket Fort Revolution, my friends, as Flavorwire is now highlight all these cool pieces of furniture that double as forts.  Seriously.

4) This Beluga Whale, who is part of a species that seems always happy to make new friends:

5) New books!  Always new books!  Here are five of those new books that leapt onto our shelves this week.

The Opposite of Everyone:  Brilliant and outspoken Paula Vauss spent her childhood with her free-spirited mother, an itinerant storyteller who re-interpreted and re-invented history with every tale she told.  But Paula’s own attempts to tell stories ended with her losing everything, even her birth name, Kali Jai, as she ended up in foster care.  But when she receives a note from her mother hinting at a final trip, and suddenly finds herself the caretaker of her heretofore unknown sister, Paula realizes that, having spent her career separating families, she is now going to have to begin putting her own back together.  Aided by her ex-boyfriend, a romantic PI named Birdwine, Paula sets off on a journey of discovery and self-redemption that is causing a number of critics to sit up and take notice.  RT Bookreviews made this book a Top Pick for the month, cheering, “Beautifully written, fascinating and deep, The Opposite of Everyone is another must-read novel… Jackson has done a phenomenal job of weaving the past with the present and unfolding the story layer after layer. This is a masterfully written tale that readers cannot put down.”

A Gathering of Shadows:  Did you ever have one of those days when you see a new book on the shelf and scare people because you start jumping up and down and singing a happy song to see the sequel to a phenomenal book has arrived?  I did when I saw V.E. Schwab’s newest book on our shelves.  Fans of her A Darker Shade of Magic will be thrilled with the return of the Kell, his multi-dimensional coat (I want that coat.  So badly.), and the multiple Londons through which he travels.  This book picks up four months after the close of the first, with Kell dodging lingering feelings of guilt and suffering from dreams of magical foreboding–dreams that becoming terrifyingly true when a new London begins emerging.  A London that everyone believed dead.  And in order to keep the balance, Kell realizes that another London must invariably fall.  Schwab has already earned herself quite a reputation as a YA author, but her foray into adult novels has made her the talk of the proverbial town, and this series is an absolute joy, not in the least because of Schwab’s courage in showing a caring, conflicted hero, and a heroine who is willing to take on the world without reservations.  Publisher’s Weekly gave this book a starred review, saying “Tensions rise steadily, culminating with the exciting Element Games, and the finale will leave readers breathless. This is how fantasy should be done.”

Imbeciles : the Supreme Court, American eugenics, and the sterilization of Carrie Buck: In 1927, during the height of the eugenics craze (a movement which championed the creation of a “perfect race” through sterilization and over racism), the Supreme Court permitted the state of Virginia to sterilize a young woman named Carrie Buck, on the pretense that she was an “imbecile”.  There was nothing wrong with Carrie Buck, but, as Adam Cohen reveals in this conscientious and timely work of history, she, and some 70,000 other Americans, were victims of a world that eagerly downgraded the humanity of many in the pursuit of creating a utopian society.  In the process, Cohen reveals that even those men whom history upholds as legal heroes, from William Taft to Oliver Wendall Holmes, were willing to give credit to eugenicist before their victims.  This is not an easy read, but it is a vital one; and Booklist say of it, “Cohen not only illuminates a shameful moment in American history when the nation’s most respected professions—medicine, academia, law, and the judiciary—failed to protect one of the most vulnerable members of society, he also tracks the landmark case’s repercussions up to the present.”

Ways to Disappear: When celebrated Brazilian writer Beatriz Yagoda disappears, her American translator, Emma, takes it upon herself to discover Yagoda’s whereabouts.  But upon her arrival in Brazil, she finds a far more complicated mystery than she ever imagined.  Yagoda left behind an enormous gambling debt, and a wealth of quirky, fascinating people, each eager for her return (for various, and not always benevolent reasons).  Idra Novey is herself a translator, and her insight in the workings of words makes this fiction debut one that is delighting many a reader.  NPR lauded this book, saying, “Novey’s novel delivers on its promises in so many ways. Yes, there’s carnage, but there’s also exuberant love, revelations of long-buried, unhappy secrets, ruminations about what makes a satisfying life, a publisher’s regrets about moral compromises in both his work and his use of his family wealth and connections, and an alternately heartfelt and wry portrait of the satisfactions and anxieties of the generally underappreciated art of translation.”

A Murder Over a Girl: Justice, Gender, Junior High:  When psychologist Ken Corbett first hear of the murder of high school student Larry King,  who was shot on Feb. 12, 2008, at E. O. Green Junior High in Oxnard, California by his 14-year-old classmate, reportedly as a result of Larry’s decision to use the name “Leticia” and wear makeup and jewelry to school, he was, understandably, devastated.  However, the subsequent media reports of the case staunchly refused to discuss the gender and identity aspects of the case, giving Corbett the impetus to travel to LA, and observe the trial for himself.  This book is more than just his observations, however; it is the work of a scholar who has spent his career studying gender, sexuality, and the human mind, and the way that a single act of violence can damage an entire community.  He details this case with the precision of a scientist, but the heart of a human being, making this an accessible, moving, and very necessary work.  Library Journal writes, “Corbett powerfully documents the life-threatening consequences of America’s persistent fear of gender difference. This will be read by those with academic, political, and personal interest in making the world safer for LGBT youth.”

Until next week, beloved patrons–Happy Reading!