AT THE LIBRARY
New items are available at the Hancock County Public Library.
The following items are available at the Hancock County Public Library, 900 W. McKenzie Road. For more information on the library’s collection or to reserve a title, visit hcplibrary.org.
Adult Fiction
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
“36 Righteous Men,” by Steven Pressfield
When James Manning and Covina “Dewey” Duwai are called in to investigate a string of murders, their investigations take them from the Russian mafia in Brighton Beach to a maze of shops in Little Hong Kong, with scant leads on the killer. But when Manning and Dewey apprehend a woman fleeing one of the crime scenes, they’re brought face-to-face with the truth: the Jewish legend of the hidden 36 Righteous Men who protect the world from destruction is no legend at all. They are real, and they are being murdered. As the bodies pile up and the world tilts further into chaos, Manning and Dewey must protect the last of the Righteous Men from a killer able to beguile his victims and command them against their will. Plunged into a game of cat and mouse, the detectives find their arsenal of bullets and blades of little use against a foe who knows their every move.
“Quichotte,” by Salman Rushdie
Inspired by the Cervantes classic “Don Quixote,” Sam DuChamp, mediocre writer of spy thrillers, creates Quichotte, a courtly, addled salesman obsessed with television who falls in impossible love with a TV star. Together with his (imaginary) son Sancho, Quichotte sets off on a picaresque quest across America to prove worthy of her hand, gallantly braving the tragicomic perils of an age where “Anything-Can-Happen.” Meanwhile, DuChamp, his creator, is in a midlife crisis and has equally urgent challenges of his own. Just as Cervantes satirized the culture of his time, Rushdie takes the reader on a wild ride through a country on the verge of moral and spiritual collapse. And with the kind of storytelling magic that is the hallmark of Rushdie’s work, the fully realized lives of DuChamp and Quichotte intertwine in a human quest for love in a portrait of an age so often indiscernible from fiction. “Quichotte” was named one of the best books of the year by Time magazine and National Public Radio.
Adult Nonfiction
Victorians Undone: Tales of the Flesh in the Age of Decorum,” by Kathryn Hughes
“Victorians Undone” is an account of what it was like to live in a Victorian body. Why did the philosophical novelist George Eliot feel so self-conscious that her right hand was larger than her left? Exactly what made Darwin grow that iconic beard in 1862, a good five years after his contemporaries had all retired their razors? Who knew Queen Victoria had a personal hygiene problem as a young woman, and the crisis that followed led to a hurried commitment to marry Albert? What did John Sell Cotman, a handsome drawing room operator and watercolorist feel about marrying a woman whose big nose made smart people snigger? How did a working-class child called Fanny Adams disintegrate into pieces in 1867 before being reassembled into a popular joke, one we still reference today, but would stop, appalled, if we knew its origins? Kathryn Hughes follows a thickened index finger or deep baritone voice into the realms of social history, medical discourse, aesthetic practice and religious observance. The result is an eye-opening account that brings the Victorians back to life and helps us understand how they lived their lives.
“Debunk It! Fake News Edition: How to Stay Sane in a World of Misinformation,’ by John Grant
We live in an era of misinformation, much of it spread by authority figures, including politicians, religious leaders, broadcasters, and, of course, apps and websites. In this second edition, author John Grant uses ripped-from-the-headlines examples to clearly explain how to identify bad evidence and poor arguments. He also points out the rhetorical tricks people use when attempting to pull the wool over our eyes and offers advice about how to take these unscrupulous pundits down. Updated to include a chapter on fake news, “Debunk It” serves as a guide to critical thinking for young readers looking to find some clarity in a confusing world.
