Elaine Kushmaul, retired librarian
The weather is cooler now so you may want to curl up with a good book. Wonderful new donations keep arriving at the Robson Ranch library. Donation reminder: materials should be no older than three years past publication. CD Audio books are especially needed.
This month we are sharing Large Print additions to our collection.
One Summer by Bill Bryson
Sometimes one magnificent season can define an era, and it’s not hard to argue that the apogee of the wild ride America took in the 1920s came in the summer of 1927. The author of more than a dozen previous books, Bryson writes in a style as effervescent as the time itself. It is a history capsule bringing together many divergent stories. Kevin Baker, NYT Book Review
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Publishing house HarperCollins announced that it sold more than 1.1 million copies of Go Set a Watchman in a week’s time, making it the “fastest-selling book in company history.” For a description of the controversy surrounding the book, check out the following web article: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/25/opinion/joe-nocera-the-watchman-fraud.html
Pirate Hunters by Robert Kurson
A thrilling new adventure of danger and deep-sea diving, historic mystery and suspense by the author of the New York Times bestseller Shadow Divers.
“The two contemporary pirate-ship seekers of [Robert] Kurson’s narrative are as daring, intrepid, tough and talented as Blood and Sparrow—and Bannister. As depicted by the author, they are real-life Hemingway heroes.” The Wall Street Journal.
Presumption of Innocence by Stephen Penner
Penner is at least on par with John Grisham regarding accuracy of the rules of evidence in a criminal trial and trial procedure. Amazon Reader Review
This novel has everything looked for in a legal thriller: a character to cheer, humor, suspense, court room surprises, legal strategies, cross examinations and an unexpected witness. The character of David Brunelle is very well written. Loved it! Amazon Reader Review
Dead Wake by Erik Larson
Erik Larson is one of the modern masters of popular narrative nonfiction. In book after book he’s proved adept at rescuing weird and wonderful gothic tales from the shadows of history. Few tales in history are more haunting, more tangled with investigatory mazes or more fraught with toxic secrets than that of the final voyage of the Lusitania, one of the colossal tragedies of maritime history. Dead Wake is an entertaining book about a great subject, and it will do much to make this seismic event resonate for new generations of readers. Excerpt of NYT Book Review by Hampton Sides.
The Bloody Gospel by James Rollins
New York Times bestselling authors James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell combine their talents in a gothic tale about ancient order and the hunt for a miraculous book known only as The Blood Gospel.
Rollins, noted for his fast-paced thriller-adventure novels, often decorated with religious iconography, and Cantrell, a writer of historical mysteries with Nazi Germany as the backdrop, combine their talents for this mash-up of thriller and paranormal. At first the introduction of ghouls seems gimmicky, but the authors suck you in and make it work. The Da Vinci Code meets vampires. Ilene Cooper, Booklist