Happy Friday, Beloved Patrons, and welcome to another Five Book Friday.  Our favorite postman and several UPS drivers have been bringing boxes of books to our doors every day, and our shelves are looking much more robust as the days pass, so be sure to come in and whet your literary appetite before another sunny and adventuresome weekend.

The Sage of Waterloo: The narrator of Leona Francombe’s book is a rabbit.  A rabbit who loves history.  I fail to see what more incentive anyone could need to run out and read this book.  However, if you would like some more details, William, a white rabbit, lives at the site of the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium, where his mysterious grandmother, Old Lavender, teaches him to hear the ghosts whose voices still reverberate around the battlefield.  Library Journal called Francombe’s narrative “gentle and poetic”,  and the story itself “an eloquent reflection on the nature and cost of war…Everything in this little book is perfect.”

Trailer Park Fae: Lilith Saintcrow is a born storyteller, and this debut in her Ragged and Bone series is sure to be a hit with her many fans and new readers alike.  Half-mortal Jeremy Gallow walked away from his fairy legacy years ago, and now lives the boring life of a construction worker–until the day he is dragged back into the fairy realm by a woman who looks uncannily like his dead wife, urging him to hunt down an other-wordly serial killer.  RT Book Reviews raves that Saintcrow “blends the realistic and fantastic with gusto to create a world that is beautifully detailed and wonderfully off-kilter, and a cast that is magnetic and empathetic, yet beguiling and mysterious”

The Lost Concerto: Helaine Mario’s blend of thriller, romance, personal journey, and historic quest has been garnering rave reviews from critics and book bloggers alike, with Publisher’s Weekly calling it a “suspenseful, heartrending novel…which builds to a highly satisfying resolution.”  Like any good symphony, this story starts off quietly, but builds in tension and suspense as a young woman, who had fled the world years ago, is forced back when her godson disappears, and a mysterious photograph sends her on a quest that lead her to uncover a plot surrounding a famous manuscript thought lost to the ages.

The Blooding: This is the fifth book in James McGee’s super-terrific historic thriller series featuring Matthew Hawkwood, a soldier-turned-spy whose adventures unfold across the landscape of the early American frontier.  In this installment, Matthew finds himself stranded behind enemies lines during the War of 1812, with no one to trust but a former comrade, Major Denis Lawrence.  As the two men make their secret way to Canada, they uncover a plot that could lose the war for Britain–but will they survive long enough to alert the British authorities?

Franklin Barbecue: The Meat-Smoking Manifesto:  After the sensational Saturdays at the South post on grilling, we’ve seen an uptick in grilling books and other summertime-eats books, so this particular tome couldn’t have come at a better time.  From Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas, the winner of Texas Monthly’s Best Barbecue Joint in Texas award, comes the self-proclaimed complete guide to meat and brisket cooking that goes beyond how to make a hamburger, and explores how to make a smoker, select your wood and meats, and creating the perfect fires for cooking them.  I don’t eat meat, but even I have to admit, the pictures in this particular book look down-right delicious.

So there you have it, beloved patrons!  Have a happy weekend, full of fun adventures, good food, and plenty of good books!

For those of you who thrive on quirky library-related details, July at the library means the start of a new fiscal year, and, thus, the arrival of lots and lots of new books arriving at our doors.  They will be making their debut on our shelves soon (and a few lucky tomes will be featured here, as well!).  So, without further ado, here is our first Five Book Friday of July….

Invasion of Privacy: Christopher Reich’s new big-brother thriller begins with the death of federal agent Joe Grant in a shoot-out near Austin, Texas.  But when his wife, Mary, hears the details about the event, she begins to realize that things just don’t add up.  Joining forces with a recently-fired investigative reporter, Mary soon uncovers a conspiracy that deals with the richest and most powerful Americans, and the most advanced surveillance system known to mankind.  This is a stand-alone thriller from an author whose work has received glowing attributes from fans and reviewers alike.

Second Life: S.J. Watson’s first book, Before I Go To Sleep had readers riveted, anxious, and guessing to the very last scene.  Now he has turned his talents to another psychological thriller that Library Journal calls “an exciting mix of sex, murder, and mystery to please adrenaline junkies”.  Julia’s quiet, idealistic world is shattered by the brutal murder of her sister, and when she learns that Kate had been using a website to indulge in various fantasies with strangers, Julia begins searching there for clues.  But as she slips deeper into the virtual world she has discovered, and the intense relationships she forms there, Julia finds herself in very real danger of losing herself, and everyone she thought she loved.

Sidekicked: John David Anderson’s new release puts the spotlight on the superhero’s most invaluable companions in this wonderfully fast-paced, action-packed, and clever adventure.  Just because thirteen-year-old Andrew Bean is a member of H.E.R.O., a secret organization that trains superhero sidekicks, doesn’t mean life is easy.  His super-senses make him the most sensitive kid in school, and he is having a terrible time trying to keep his secret identity a secret.  But when a fearsome and powerful supervillain begins wreaking havoc, Andrew’s world collide as he resolves to restore order and justice all by himself.

The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey: Perhaps you have to be of a certain age to think this is the greatest book ever, but for those of us who grew up playing the Oregon Trail, wiping the western plains of all animal life, breaking axles, and dying of cholera, Rinker Buck’s new non-fiction release might be the highlight of our summer.  Buck traveled the route of the Oregon Trail in an honest-to-goodness covered wagon, and his book is part history, part memoir, and part utterly-unique travel memoir detailing the hardships, joys, revelations, and tribulations of this epic journey that hasn’t been attempted in over a century.

The Border: Robert McCammon’s books are some of the most unconventional, appealing, and well-told around, and this new book, though somewhat bewildering in its premise, sounds like just the kind of wildly imaginative, epic adventure at which he excels.  On a planet Earth that has been ravaged by warring alien civilizations, the hideout on Panther Ridge is the last bastion of humanity.  But the humans who hide there are threatened day and night by shock-troops, mutants, and pollution.  Out of this futuristic hell, one boy, an amnesiac who has named himself Ethan, determines to learn the powers that will save humanity–if he can survive long enough to try.

We hope you find something here to tickle your fancy, and wish you a bright and adventurous weekend!

Happy Friday, Beloved Patrons!  As most of you are planning long weekends or holidays by the seashore, or, like me, are contemplating what to read on an upcoming plane ride, this week’s Five Book Friday features some fiction to keep you entertained as you soak up the sun…or keep you from fidgeting until you get there, wherever ‘there’ might be!

Royal Wedding: A Princess Diaries Novel: Princess Mia is all grown up in this first ‘adult’ installment of Meg Cabot’s best-selling Princess Diaries series.  Set five years after Mia’s college graduation, this book not only deals with the plans of Mia’s wedding with Michael, but the royal scandals that threaten far more than their big day.  Reviewers and fans alike seem genuinely pleased with this addition to the series, and the way that Mia not only fulfills her royal obligations, but also finds a way to fulfill her own dreams, as well. Kirkus gave this book a starred review, saying “Fans who grew up with Mia will relish this opportunity to spend more time in her world. This funny, heartwarming story is royally perfect from start to finish.”

The Long Utopia: Following the heartbreaking death of master storyteller Terry Pratchett, it is probably safe to speculate that this Long Earth book, as ever co-written with the great Stephen Baxter,  may very well be the last.  Set in the 2040-2050’s, this fourth  sci-fi series installment sees characters attempting to adapt to life on Datum Earth grapple with the changes fate has thrown in their path, until an alien population emerges, determined to conquer the Long Earth.  A review from the Guardian say “if the pace of plotting is gentle, the restless inventiveness more than compensates”, which sounds like the perfect book for those looking to do a little escaping this weekend.

Death and Mr. Pickwick: The premise of this novel is a bit difficult to grasp, but the result, according to sundry reviewers and readers, is stellar.  Essentially, author Stephen Jarvis not only re-creates the origins of Dickens’ classic Pickwick Papers, looking not only at Dickens himself, but his characters and publishers, as well, but he also looks at the world that Pickwick created.  Told in a series of vignettes, scenes, and stories, this hefty book is packed with historic research, fantastic details, and is rich with imagination and dedication.  For fans of Dickens and Anglophiles of all stripes, this certainly seems like a book not to be missed.

Love May Fail: Fans of Matthew Quick’s beloved Silver Linings Playbook are sure to find lots to love in this book–it seems to embody a similar spirt, with that same quirky, moving, plot line, told with a light and deft touch.  In this tale, Portia Kane’s existence is turned upside down when she leaves her cheating husband and ritzy Florida life and returns to her roots in South Jersey, and redeems herself by working to save her former English teacher.  This is a tale that might well be close to Quick’s heart–a former teacher himself, Booklist notes that he “…nails the symbiotic student-teacher relationship, with all of its attendant baggage, squarely on the head in this engaging slice-of-life dramedy with definite big-screen potential.”

Light in August: Corrected Text:  Though clearly not a new book, we have had to order a number of new copies of this book to fill the supply for our Discussion Series beginning on June 29 at 7:30pm!  Faulkner’s 1932 classic is certainly one of the most unique works of American fiction, and Professor Theoharis is one of the most insightful, engaging, and welcoming speakers you will ever hope to meet.  His discussion series is sure to change your perception of the text, not to mention life, the universe, and everything else in the process.  The result is a series not to be missed, so make sure to register for this event, and check out your copy of this text as soon as possible!

Safe and happy travels!  Seriously, remember the sunscreen!

Another Friday, and another round of five new books on our shelves for your weekend reading delight.  As the official First Day of Summer draws ever nearer, various publishing institutions, literary magazines, and news outlets are releasing their lists of “must-reads” and favorites for the summer, a number of which are currently gracing our shelves.  So come in soon, and see for yourself what all the fuss is about!

In The Country: Stories: Publisher’s Weekly listed this as one of their Best Summer Books for 2015, saying “Each story in Alvar’s debut collection feels as rich, as deep, and as crafted as a novel”.  Mia Alvar takes readers around the world in this volume, setting stories from Tokyo to Milan, and covers a range of decades, while focusing on the fate of her largely Filipino characters.  All reviews are marveling over the depth in these tales, and how much feeling that Alvar pours into her short stories, making each story into a fully-realized journey.

The Sunlit Night: A Novel: Rebecca Dinerstein’s novel is set in a very remote area of Norway, and while so many novels and films focus on the darkness of these areas, Dinerstein instead forms a tale around the summertime period, where the sun never sets.  Bustle.com was blown away by this story of a long-lost mother and daughter who meet in the remote Arctic village, saying “The sites are picturesque, the love is real, and anything can happen. You’ll just have to read about it to find out what actually does.”

Daughter of Deep Silence: The new adult genre continues to grow, develop, and challenge all our preconceptions, and Carrie Ryan’s new release is a striking example of this trend.  Only three people survived the destruction of the luxury yacht Persephone, but none of them will tell the same truth about what truly happened on board.  Frances Mace will do anything to avenge the death of her parents, but will revenge set her free from her past, or make her into the kind of monsters she is trying to fight?  RT Book Reviews rated this book one of their top picks for the month, saying it is “an intriguing blend of subterfuge and brutal possibilities” that will appeal to readers of any age.

The Truth According to Us: Annie Barrows is already beloved by fans for her co-authored book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,  and this independent work brings readers into the heart of a quirky, small town in 1938, when Layla Beck’s father, a wealthy senator, cuts off her allowance and demands that she seek an income from the newly-established Works Progress Administration.  Forced to live in a boarding house in Macedonia, West Virginia, Layla becomes enmeshed in the lives–and secrets–of those around her.  USA Today listed this book as one of the 25 Hot Books for Summer, and critics seem to be pretty universal in their praise for this little gem of a novel.

Being Nixon: A Man Divided: Having tried over the course of this past semester, I can say from experience that there is no easy way to teach people about Richard Nixon, or his complicated presidency.  But rather than try and simplify this man, Evan Thomas embraces Nixon’s many complexities and odd habits.  In an editorial in The Atlantic, Thomas said “His struggle is a compelling, dramatic story, and it made me want to learn more.”  It seems like that desire translates very well into this new biography, bringing new insight to one of the most perennially controversial figures in the history of the American presidency.

Safe travels, and happy reading, beloved patrons!

And at last, beloved patrons, we come to our Five Book Friday post, which offers you a brief sampling of our new book buffet, just in time for the weekend.  There is every chance that this weekend might actually permit some outside activities, so before you go out to enjoy the sunshine, be sure to stop by and check out a tale to bring along on your adventures!

Servants of the Storm: Delilah S. Dawson made her name with the Blud novels, a sort of carnie-punk/steam-punk/vampire-ish romance novels that are simply phenomenal.  Her boundless imagination and fearless characterizations are out in full force in this new-to-us young adult novel.  She balances the weird and the numdane beautifully, creating a coming of age story with some shiver-inducing twists and turns.  When Hurricane Josephine ravages Savannah, Georgia, and kill’s Dovey’s best friend, Carly, it doesn’t appear that things can get much worse.  But suddenly, Dovey sees Carly sitting at their favorite cafe…which simply can’t be…unless the storm brought some other things to Savannah.  Things too dreadful to name….And as Dovey puts aside the pills and the advice of those around her, and embraces all the strange sights around her, she realizes that the hurricane was only the beginning.

The Fellowship : the literary lives of the Inklings: J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams: For three decades, Tolkien and Lewis held weekly meetings, either in Lewis’ rooms at Oxford, or in a nearby pub, known as the Inklings.  In these meetings, two of the most lauded British authors of the century, along with their closest friends–Owen Barfield (and linguist and noted philosopher) and Charles Williams (a poet of self-described “supernatural shockers”) discussed literature, poetry, philosophy, and life in general, as friends tend to do.  In their new book, Philip and Carol Zaleski bring readers inside these meetings, charting the odd, enlightening, inspiring, and outrageous ideas discussed among the Inklings, highlighting their genius, but also their humanity.  Fans of Tolkien and Lewis will delight in this all-access pass to their inner thoughts, fear, doubts, and beliefs, but this is also a book about Britain in the twentieth century, and the fundamental changes that it wrought on the people living through it.

The Convictions of John Delahunt: In the course of researching a social history of Merrion Square in Dublin, Andrew Hughes came across the story of John Delahunt, a man who was hanged in 1842 for the murder of a young boy.  The case consumed the Dublin media, not only because of the disturbing nature of the crime, but because it turned out that Delahunt was a paid informant for the British authorities ensconced in Dublin Castle, making the threat he posed to the nationalist-minded public that must more intense.  But rather than write a history of Delahunt, Hughes decided to write a novel, told from Delahunt’s point of view.  In giving a voice to this bogey-man of history, Hughes is able to discuss some fascinating history, and the moral implications of Delahunt’s decisions.  With its defiant characters and heady atmospheric details, this is definitely a book that history buffs and fiction fans alike will savor.

The Storm Murders: I know, I know, the last thing we need is to be reminded of winter at this point, but John Farrow’s formidable detective (hailed as “the Poirot of Quebec), Emil Cinq-Mars always deals in extreme weather conditions, and this case looks like quite a memorable one.  According to the catalog description, this is a locked-room mystery that adds a startling twist….there are no footprints in the snow leading to the murder scene, and no footprints leading away.  Is this merely a case of murder/suicide?  Or could it be that there is something much more sinister afoot?

The Water Knife: Paolo Bacigalupi was a National Book Award finalist for his stunning novel The Windup Girl, which provided readers with a fully-detailed, and somehow beautiful post-apocalyptic world.  This book looks to continue this tradition, telling the story of a future American southwest that has been ravaged by drought, that has several tongue-in-cheek references to contemporary political culture–and some dire observations about our current commercial practices.  When a new source of water reportedly appears in Phoenix, Angel Valsquez, a spy, assassin, and enforcer for a ruthless water-controlling conglomerate, is sent to investigate.  But what starts as rumors soon becomes a violent hunt for the truth behind an overwhelming conspiracy.  NPR’s All Things Considered described this book as “A noir-ish, cinematic thriller set in the midst of a water war between Las Vegas and Phoenix. . . . Think Chinatown meets Mad Max.”  Which seems like as good a reason to give this book a try as I’ve heard in a while!

Happy reading, and happy Friday!  Don’t forget the sunscreen!

And so, beloved patrons, we come to another Friday…a mercifully sunny one after the frigid temperatures of earlier this week.  We hope this week’s selection of new books gives you some ideas for your weekend reading.  Make sure to let us know your newest literary loves in the comments!

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past: Though not, perhaps, the most artistic of titles (or perhaps an overly-provocative one), Jennifer Teege’s book is still a fascinating one.  At it’s heart is Teege’s discovery, as an adult, that her grandfather was Amon Goeth, the commander of the Plaszow concentration camp in Poland, portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in the film Schindler’s List.  Teege’s biological mother was Monika Hertwig, who gave birth to Teege after a brief relationship with an Nigerian man, and put her into a Catholic children’s home when she was a month old.  It wasn’t until Teege was in her thirties that she saw her biological mother’s picture on a cover of a book dealing with her relationship with Goeth that Teege began to realize her family’s complicated legacy.  This book is not only the result of her research, but a deeply important reminder about how close we all are to the events of the past, and how much power that past still holds over us all.

Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News: Most of us have heard at least some of the story that grounds this book: in 1938, the Mercury Theater Company produced a dramatized version of H.G. Wells’ War of the World that treated the events as if they were happened in real time, and in New Jersey.  The result was mass panic and one alleged death when a listener had a heart attack induced by fear of the imminent alien invasion.  But how much of that story is true?  A. Brad Schwartz looks at the letters that Orson Welles and his company received in the days and weeks following the broadcast and finds that what people feared wasn’t aliens, but the power of technology, specifically, the radio, to influence their lives.  The book itself is an incredibly engrossing, readable story, and, like Teege’s book, has a number of wider implications, especially in our world of breaking news and constant updates.

Dearest Rogue: This is cheating, just as little, as this book came in at the very end of last week, after our last Five Book Friday post, but any time Elizabeth Hoyt comes out with a new book, I throw a little party, so we are including it in this week’s round-up.  In this 8th installment in Hoyt’s Maiden Lane series, Captain James Trevillion is charged with protecting Lady Phoebe Batten, who is gradually going blind, and needs all the help she can get to allude the kidnappers who are pursuing her.  There simply aren’t enough characters in romance who face issues that cannot be healed by love alone, whether that is emotional scars or physical handicaps, but in this book, Hoyt gives us a heroine who is vivid, strong, and utterly sympathetic–and also losing her sight.  Her condition doesn’t matter a whit to James, and it won’t change the way that readers feel about her, either.

Finders Keepers: Stephen King’s newest.  I personally don’t think much more needs to be said on the matter, but then again, I grew up thinking he was a family friend because so many of his books were in our house.  In any event, this is another story in which King plays with the relationship between readers, writers, and the characters that bind them together, and feature the same three protagonists from Mr. Mercedes.  I really don’t want to spoil too much more of this twisted, suspenseful, and genuinely unsettling book so…just put it on reserve today!

Anna and the French Kiss:  This book is new to our shelves, but has been garnering praise from readers and romance writers alike (Maureen Johnson, author of the Star of London series, declared it “Very sly. Very funny. Very romantic. You should date this book”).  Not only will those readers will a perennial case of wanderlust delight in the adventures of Anna, who is sent to a French boarding school by her father for a year, the hardest of hearts will not help but be softened by the relationship that develops between her and Etienne, a sweet and savvy half-English, half-French student…even though he has a girlfriend already.  Does this mean he and Anna can only be friends?  And would that be a bad thing, necessarily?  This is a unique romance, that doesn’t rely on tragedy or special powers to keep its plot moving, but instead focuses on two people who genuinely enjoy and respect each other.  I admit, I was skeptical going in, since so much high praise always makes me a little wary, but I have to admit, Stephanie Perkins’ book lives up to all of it.