FICTION
Harbor Lights by James Lee Burke
A boy and his father watch a German submarine sink an oil tanker as evil forces in the disguise of federal agents try to ruin their family. A girl is beaten outside a bar as her university-professor father navigates new love and threats from a group of neo-Nazis. A pair of undercover union organizers are hired to break colts for a Hollywood actor, whose “Western hero” façade hides darkness. An oil rig worker witnesses a horrific attack on a local village while on a job in South America and seeks justice through one final act of bravery. With his nuanced characters, lyrical prose, and ability to write shocking violence in the most evocative settings, James Lee Burke’s singular skills are on display in this superb anthology. Harbor Lights unfolds in stories that crackle and reverberate as unexpected heroes emerge.
The Mysteries by Bill Watterson
In a fable for grown-ups by cartoonist Bill Watterson, a long-ago kingdom is afflicted with unexplainable calamities. Hoping to end the torment, the king dispatches his knights to discover the source of the mysterious events. Years later, a single battered knight returns. For the book’s illustrations, Watterson and caricaturist John Kascht worked together for several years in unusually close collaboration. Both artists abandoned their past ways of working, inventing images together that neither could anticipate — a mysterious process in its own right.
Murder in the Mist by Cora Harrison
Wilkie Collins is looking forward to spending Christmas at Gads Hill, Charles Dickens’ Kentish country home, but the festivities are cut short when a body is found on the snowy marshland. Timmy O’Connor was invited to the gathering with his four nephews after a chance encounter with Dickens, but is now dead. Dickens is convinced the murderer is one of the convicts from a nearby prison ship, but Collins is not so sure. With the convicts, guests and even Timmy’s nephews under suspicion, there is no shortage of suspects for such a violent act, but which one of them is a cold-blooded killer?
The Split by Kit Frick
Jane Connor is resigned to being the “plain Jane” of her family so unlike her beautiful and impetuous younger sister Esme. When Esme calls Jane during a flash summer storm, announcing she’s left her high society husband, Jane is shocked to learn that her sister wishes to stay with her. Could this be an opportunity for them to become close again? The only catch: Esme needs a ride from the city to their small Connecticut hometown, and Jane is terrified of getting on the highway… because of what she did when they were teens. With a rollicking pace and shocking twists and turns, The Split captivatingly explores how little we know the ones we love — and how one small choice can change everything.
NONFICTION
From Burnout to Purpose: Simple Strategies for a Soul-Fulfilling Approach to Work by Gina S Calvano
Burnout, just like a connection with purpose, is never a coincidence. It is a consequence. If you want to have a job you love instead of one that diminishes you on a soul level, practice awareness about what you are thinking, your urges for action, and feelings that surface within you. That way you won’t keep creating what’s keeping you exactly where you don’t want to be. Author and Certified Career Coach Gina Calvano offers a new perspective on why you feel disconnected from your work and burned out by your job. She delivers fresh insights on how to replenish your energy and power, along with accessible ideas for healing from job burnout and getting onto a path to purpose.
Beyond Mars and Venus: Relationship Skills for Today’s Complex World by John Gray
Today, men and women are no longer trapped by rigid societal roles. Men and women still need the right tools and skills to help build stronger relationships. While previous generations sought “role mate” relationships, based on the more rigid gender roles of the time, today’s couples need a new kind of relationship: a “soul mate” relationship. These more emotionally satisfying relationships require a deeper understanding of our partners’ individual needs. In Beyond Mars and Venus, Gray teaches you how to strengthen your bond and grow in love together, so you and your loved one can meet each other.
The Arto of the Stonemason by Ian Cramb
Author Ian Cramb was a fifth-generation stonemason who relied on traditional methods to create and restore beautiful stone structures. In this do-it-yourself manual for homeowners, masonry contractors, and restoration specialists, Cramb drew on his 50 years of life experience in the craft to cover restoration techniques for historic structures in the U.S. and Britain. The book covers various types of stone, stone-cutting, and traditional mortar mixes for walls, foundations, and buildings.
Differences by Perri Klass and Ellen Costello
This classic has been fully revised and updated to reflect the recent significant changes in the recognition and care of children whose development doesn’t go as expected. It includes new information about therapeutic interventions, managing co-morbidities, and getting support for children with developmental differences at school. Additional information covers community resources, initiatives at hospitals, clinics, and even theme parks, that make life easier for children with developmental differences and their families. The authors also offer a stronger focus on self-care for parents in this new edition, with the pediatrician’s perspective of supporting families as they go through the diagnostic process over time.
Our Ancient Faith: Lincoln, Democracy, and the American Experiment by Allen C. Guelzo
Allen C. Guelzo, one of America’s foremost experts on Lincoln, captures the president’s firmly held belief that democracy was the greatest political achievement in human history. In bringing his subject to life as a rigorous and visionary thinker, Guelzo assesses Lincoln’s actions on civil liberties and his views on race and explains why his vision for the role of government would have made him a pivotal president even if there had been no Civil War. Our Ancient Faith gives us a deeper understanding of this endlessly fascinating man and shows how his ideas are still sharp and relevant more than 150 years later.
CHILDREN’S
Big Words for Little Paleontologists (National Geographic Kids) by Lisa Gerry
This eye-catching resource for young dinosaur fans is a great age-appropriate introduction to some of the concepts of paleontology that will enthrall aspiring dino diggers. Are you ready for a fossil hunt? Grab your tools: chisel, awl, brush and trowel. Let’s see what the fossil record might tell us about dinosaurs large and small. Everyone knows T. Rex and Meglodon, but we bet you haven’t heard of Giraffatitan or Psittacosaurus. How about Micropachycephalosaurus? With this book as your guide, these chewy words don’t have to be scary, and you will be the best-informed dino expert you know!
Ages: 5-10
LIBRARY OPEN
Lima Public Library is open to the public six days a week. Hours for the Main Library in Lima are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Our Cairo, Elida and Spencerville branch libraries are open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Our Lafayette branch is open from 12 noon to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday.
