"I have found the most valuable thing in my wallet is my library card."
~Laura BushDid you know September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month? If you don't have a card, be sure to visit us. If you do, put it to good use this month! Fall promises to have some excellent new releases from big name authors and celebrities.
FEATURED NEW RELEASE
SWAN THIEVES tells of a famous and very talented painter, Robert Oliver, who is put under psychiatric evaluation after he tries to mutilate a painting at the National Gallery. His psychiatrist, Andrew Marlow, becomes absorbed with figuring out the motives for his patient’s actions, even going to visit Oliver’s ex-wife and ex-lover to gather more clues. He starts to uncover the painter’s obsession with a woman who shows up in a series of his paintings. The woman turns out to have been a moderately successful painter during the 19th century. The reader learns more about her and her life through a series of letters she and her mentor wrote to each other that came into Oliver’s possession. Marlow soon discovers why this woman has continued to captivate Oliver for so many years and inspired a love that has consumed all other love in his life. It is a tale of devotion, obsession, and second chances. Just like in “The Historian,” one becomes absorbed in the world Kostova creates, and one is sad to see it end. By Elizabeth Kostova, Call #: F KOS
FICTION HARDCOVER
FREEDOM, by Jonathan Franzen. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $28.) A family of Midwestern liberals during the Bush years; by the author of “The Corrections.”
Call #: F FRA
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $27.95.) The third volume of a trilogy about a Swedish hacker and a journalist.
Call #: F LAR
NO MERCY, by Sherrilyn Kenyon. (St. Martin’s, $24.99.) Book 19 of the Dark-Hunter paranormal series.
Call #: F KEN
GETTING TO HAPPY, by Terry McMillan. (Viking, $27.95.) Revisiting the four women from “Waiting to Exhale,” 15 years later.
Call #: F MCM
THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s Mississippi.
Call #: F STO
THE POSTCARD KILLERS, by James Patterson and Liza Marklund. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) An N.Y.P.D. detective joins a Swedish reporter in a search for the killer of young couples in Europe, including his daughter and her boyfriend. Call #: F PAT
LOST EMPIRE, by Clive Cussler with Grant Blackwood. (Putnam, $27.95.) Sam and Remi Fargo, a husband-and-wife treasure-hunting team, pursue an important relic.
Call #: F CUS
APE HOUSE, by Sara Gruen. (Spiegel & Grau, $26.) Bonobos disappear from a research laboratory and turn up on reality TV, to the consternation of a scientist who studies them; from the author of “Water for Elephants.”
Call #: F GRU
DARK PERIL, by Christine Feehan. (Berkley, $25.95.) A Dragonseeker on a deadly mission; a Carpathian novel.
Call #: F FEE
THE WAY OF KINGS, by Brandon Sanderson. (Tor/Tom Doherty, $27.99.) In the first book of a new series, the Stormlight Archive, war ravages the world of Roshar.
Call #: F SAN
SPIDER BONES, by Kathy Reichs. (Scribner, $26.99.) Temperance Brennan investigates the case of a man who seems to have died twice. Call #: F REI
STAR ISLAND, by Carl Hiaasen. (Knopf, $26.95.) A paparazzo attempting to kidnap a drug-addled pop star grabs her stunt double by mistake.
Call #: F HIA
THE COBRA, by Frederick Forsyth. (Putnam, $26.95.) A former C.I.A. operative is unleashed on the cocaine industry. Call #: F FOR
NONFICTION HARDCOVER
THE GRAND DESIGN, by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow. (Bantam, $28.) Central questions of philosophy and science, from the author of “A Brief History of Time.”
Call#: 523.1 HAW
A JOURNEY: MY POLITICAL LIFE, by Tony Blair. (Knopf, $35.) A memoir by the former British prime minister. Call#: BIO BLAIR
SH*T MY DAD SAYS, by Justin Halpern. (It Books/HarperCollins, $15.99.) A coming-of-age memoir organized around the musings, purveyed on Twitter, of the author’s father.
Call#: 818.602 HAL
OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Why some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent.
Call#: 302 GLA
THE BIG SHORT, by Michael Lewis. (Norton, $27.95.) The people who saw the real estate crash coming and made billions from their foresight.
Call#: 330.973 LEW
EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON, by S. C. Gwynne. (Scribner, $27.50.) The story of Quanah Parker, the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.
Call #: BIO PAR
IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS, by Rebecca Skloot. (Crown, $26.) Race, poverty and science intertwine in the story of the woman whose cancer cells were cultured without her permission in 1951 and have supported a mountain of research undertaken since then.
Call#: BIO LAC
CHILDRENS PICTURE BOOKS
BATS AT THE BALLGAME, written and illustrated by Brian Lies. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99.) Bats, the mammals, swing bats, as in baseball. (Ages 3 to 6)
Call #: E LIE
CHILDRENS CHAPTER BOOKS
THE RED PYRAMID, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99.) Ancient gods (this time from Egypt) and a mortal family meet. (Ages 10 and up)
Call #: J F RIO
TALES FROM A NOT-SO-POPULAR PARTY GIRL, by Rachel Renée Russell. (Aladdin, $12.99.) The further reflections of Nikki Maxwell on the agonies of middle school; a "Dork Diaries" book. (Ages 9 to 13)
Call #: J F RUS
LINGER, by Maggie Stiefvater. (Scholastic Press/Scholastic, $17.99.) The teenage werewolves of "Shiver" face a new test of love and loyalty. (Ages 12 and up)
Call #: YA F STI
DORK DIARIES, written and illustrated by Rachel Renée Russell. (Aladdin, $12.99.) Reflections of a junior Samuel Pepys of the female variety. (Ages 9 to 13)
Call #: J F RUS
THEODORE BOONE: KID LAWYER, by John Grisham. (Dutton, $16.99.) He may be 13, but he knows what to do when he encounters a murder case. (Ages 8 to 12)
Call #: J F GRI
"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile."
~William Cullen BryantCool fall weather is a great time to cozy up with a good read. Visit your library to check out one of our many new bestsellers.
FEATURED NEW RELEASE
THE SCENT OF RAIN AND LIGHTNING is an intriguing title, and the book manages to live up to that potential. The story centers around a wealthy family whose prosperous ranch makes them the unofficial leaders of their small Kansas town. Tragedy strikes when the oldest brother, Hugh-Jay Linder, is gunned down at home and his wife goes missing. The entire family steps in to take care of the orphaned daughter, Jody, who then must face her father’s killer 20 years later when Billy Crosby returns to the community. His son, Colin, now a lawyer, is largely responsible for his father’s return, and he must deal with the town’s mounting rage and fear and his own complicated feelings for Jody. Pickard does a wonderful job recounting the days before Hugh-Jay’s death, maintaining suspense, and investing the reader emotionally in the characters. The portrayal of a small, conservative Midwestern town dealing with issues like judgment and forgiveness is surprisingly believable. The reader is unsure whether or not the events of that night will ever be entirely resolved, and the story has a shocking twist for an ending. By Nancy Pickard
Call #: F PIC
FICTION HARDCOVER
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $27.95.) The third volume of a trilogy about a Swedish hacker and a journalist.
Call #: F LAR
THE POSTCARD KILLERS, by James Patterson and Liza Marklund. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) An N.Y.P.D. detective joins a Swedish reporter in a search for the killer of young couples in Europe, including his daughter and her boyfriend. Call #: F PAT
SPIDER BONES, by Kathy Reichs. (Scribner, $26.99.) Temperance Brennan investigates the case of a man who seems to have died twice. Call #: F REI
THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s Mississippi.
Call #: F STO
BEARERS OF THE BLACK STAFF (LEGENDS OF SHANNARA), by Terry Brooks. (Del Rey/Ballantine, $27.) The denizens of a valley are left vulnerable when their protective layer of magic disappears. Call #: F BRO
STAR ISLAND, by Carl Hiaasen. (Knopf, $26.95.) A paparazzo attempting to kidnap a drug-addled pop star grabs her stunt double by mistake.
Call #: F HIA
TOUGH CUSTOMER, by Sandra Brown. (Simon & Schuster, $26.99.) A private investigator pursues a deranged killer who is stalking the daughter he never knew.
Call #: F BRO
THE RED QUEEN, by Philippa Gregory. (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, $25.99.) More intrigue during the War of the Roses, centered on Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII; by the author of “The Other Boleyn Girl.”
Call #: F GRE
THREE STATIONS, by Martin Cruz Smith. (Simon & Schuster, $25.99.) Inspector Arkady Renko faces corrupt Russian capitalists and bureaucrats.
Call #: F SMI
THE COBRA, by Frederick Forsyth. (Putnam, $26.95.) A former C.I.A. operative is unleashed on the cocaine industry. Call #: F FOR
I’D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE, by Laura Lippman. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $25.99.) A man who kidnapped a 15-year-old girl contacts her from death row years later.
Call #: F LIP
THE REMBRANDT AFFAIR, by Daniel Silva. (Putnam, $26.95.) The art restorer and assassin Gabriel Allon discovers that there are deadly secrets behind a stolen painting.
Call #: F SIL
LAST NIGHT AT CHATEAU MARMONT, by Lauren Weisberger. (Atria, $25.99.) A woman is challenged when her musician husband suddenly becomes a star. Call #: F WEI
THE VIGILANTES, by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV. (Putnam, $26.95.) Members of the Philadelphia Police Department are plagued by vigilante groups.
Call #: F GRI
NONFICTION HARDCOVER
SH*T MY DAD SAYS, by Justin Halpern. (It Books/HarperCollins, $15.99.) A coming-of-age memoir organized around the musings, purveyed on Twitter, of the author’s father.
Call#: 818.602 HAL
OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Why some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent.
Call#: 302 GLA
IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS, by Rebecca Skloot. (Crown, $26.) Race, poverty and science intertwine in the story of the woman whose cancer cells were cultured without her permission in 1951 and have supported a mountain of research undertaken since then.
Call#: BIO LAC
EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON, by S. C. Gwynne. (Scribner, $27.50.) The story of Quanah Parker, the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.
Call #: BIO PAR
THE BIG SHORT, by Michael Lewis. (Norton, $27.95.) The people who saw the real estate crash coming and made billions from their foresight.
Call#: 330.973 LEW
LET'S TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME, by Gail Caldwell. (Random House, $23.) A tribute to a deep friendship between two women.
Call #: 070.92 CAL
THE OBAMA DIARIES, by Laura Ingraham. (Threshold Editions, $25.) A satirical fictional journal with commentary, by the conservative political commentator.
Call #: MCN 973.932 ING
COMMITTED, by Elizabeth Gilbert. (Viking, $26.95.) The author of “Eat, Pray, Love” wrestles with, and overcomes, her ambivalence about marriage.
Call #: 306.81 GIL
CHELSEA CHELSEA BANG BANG, by Chelsea Handler. (Grand Central, $25.99.) More humorous personal essays from the comedian.
Call#: 814.6 HAN
CHILDRENS PICTURE BOOKS
BATS AT THE BALLGAME, written and illustrated by Brian Lies. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99.) Bats, the mammals, swing bats, as in baseball. (Ages 3 to 6)
Call #: E LIE
CITY DOG, COUNTRY FROG, by Mo Willems. Illustrated by Jon J Muth. (Hyperion/Disney, $17.99.) Friendships transcend seasons and city limits. (Ages 3 to 6) Call #: E WIL
LADYBUG GIRL AT THE BEACH, by David Soman and Jacky Davis. Illustrated by David Soman. (Dial, $16.99.) Lulu, a k a Ladybug Girl, is both enthralled and frightened by the sea. (Ages 3 to 5)
Call #: E SOM
CHILDRENS CHAPTER BOOKS
THE RED PYRAMID, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99.) Ancient gods (this time from Egypt) and a mortal family meet. (Ages 10 and up)
Call #: J F RIO
TALES FROM A NOT-SO-POPULAR PARTY GIRL, by Rachel Renée Russell. (Aladdin, $12.99.) The further reflections of Nikki Maxwell on the agonies of middle school; a "Dork Diaries" book. (Ages 9 to 13)
Call #: J F RUS
LINGER, by Maggie Stiefvater. (Scholastic Press/Scholastic, $17.99.) The teenage werewolves of "Shiver" face a new test of love and loyalty. (Ages 12 and up)
Call #: YA F STI
DORK DIARIES, written and illustrated by Rachel Renée Russell. (Aladdin, $12.99.) Reflections of a junior Samuel Pepys of the female variety. (Ages 9 to 13)
Call #: J F RUS
THEODORE BOONE: KID LAWYER, by John Grisham. (Dutton, $16.99.) He may be 13, but he knows what to do when he encounters a murder case. (Ages 8 to 12)
Call #: J F GRI
BIG NATE: IN A CLASS BY HIMSELF, written and illustrated by Lincoln Peirce. (Harper/HarperCollins, $12.99.) Wherever Nate goes, trouble is sure to follow. (Ages 8 to 12)
Call #: J F PEI
