Bookshelf

(Melton Mowbray, United Kingdom: Monsoon Books, 2022).

According to the publisher: “When a dikir barat singer is invited to perform at a circumcision ceremony in a remote coastal village in Kelantan, Malaysia, things take an unexpected turn in the normally quiet fish market. Mak Cik Maryam is called to investigate a baffling double murder, and the motives must be untangled and the guilty identified. Maryam’s own life is in grave danger when she and Mak Cik Rubiah delve deeper into this world of secrets.” Join Maryam in her sixth adventure in the latest in the Kain Songket Mysteries series.

(Colfax, Wis.: Hayriver Press, 2022).
This beautiful volume appeals not only lovers of nature and ethnic photography, but also to those fascinated by the North America’s ancient origins and living legacies, as embodied in its sacred sites and native peoples who revere and preserve them. According to the publisher, “The book — a collection of Butler’s photographs — uniquely draws together the apparent disparate qualities of our modern age with North America’s prehistoric roots. It achieves this unusual synthesis with magically evocative photography of sacred sites. Far more than any documentary style, Lynn Butler’s photographs capture the elusive spirit of traditionally holy locales. These include Wisconsin’s Black River Fall, with its secret rock art, disclosed to the outside world for the first time since the last Ice Age, some ten thousand years ago.”

(self-published, 2022).
This book is a how-to guide for supporting a loved one with anorexia, complete with personal notes from both the author (who holds a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling) and his daughter. As one reviewer noted: “Loved the personal notes from father/daughter describing their journey as a family, including strategies and details of what did and didn’t work from both perspectives.”

(Little Cottage Press, 2022).
Written in rhyme and beautifully illustrated by Nur Efsan Topcu, this picture book, following Once in a Full Moon, is the second in a series about nature. “Its lively stanzas encourage young children to use their imaginations when looking up at the sky. From rainbows to constellations to pictures in the clouds, Kaufman believes there is much to see if only they lift their eyes,” the author says.

(New York: Rizzoli Electa, 2022).
Published to accompany a retrospective at the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., this book features more than 150 works by photographer and conceptual artist Rosamond Purcell. In addition to lavish images of her “strangely beautiful, often unsettling photographs of objects from the natural and man-made world,” the book contains “thoughtful and insightful texts from an eclectic list of critical voices — including the acclaimed documentary filmmaker Errol Morris and the writer Christoph Irmscher — and features an interview between Purcell and fellow contemporary artist Mark Dion.” Wilkins is gallery’s Robert M. Walker Curator of American Art.

(Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2022).
This book tells the untold stories of ordinary people who did extraordinary things in defense of liberty and freedom. “On D-Day, when transport planes dropped paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions hopelessly off-target into marshy waters in northwestern France, the 900 villagers of Graignes welcomed them with open arms,” notes the publisher. “These villagers — predominantly women — provided food, gathered intelligence, and navigated the floods to retrieve the paratroopers' equipment at great risk to themselves. When the attack by German forces on 11 June forced the overwhelmed paratroopers to withdraw, many made it to safety thanks to the help and resistance of the villagers.” This book is the author/historian’s 13th and is especially close to his heart. His father was one of the D-Day paratroopers.

(Lake Mary, Fla.: Impact Publishing, 2022).
In this powerful memoir, Bressler reveals the devastating secrets of his childhood that range from surviving sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, to escaping the addiction to which he succumbed at a young age. “Through a transformational story that emphasizes the importance of dismantling the victim mentality, Bressler challenges his readers to venture through the pain of their past so that they might take radical responsibility for their future,” notes the publisher.

(New York: SelectBooks, 2022).
Global warming, gun violence, political animosity, economic insecurity, COVID-19. Given these uncertain and troubling times, it’s no surprise that anxiety levels are high. In his latest book, Meade offers a solution — the Transcendental Meditation program as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. “This may at first seem like a novel approach to the issue, but studies on the effects of Transcendental Meditation on the mental states of its practitioners have been ongoing for over 50 years, and the findings are conclusive: Transcendental Meditation can have a real and powerful positive impact on our mental health, especially in terms of mitigating anxiety, stress, and depression,” notes the author, who has taught the practice to thousands in places ranging from his Los Angeles home to Tanzania, South Korea, and Nepal.

(Albuquerque, N.M.: High Road Books/University of New Mexico Press, 2022).
From the publisher: “I Got Mine: Confessions of a Midlist Writer is the memoir of Nichols’ extraordinary life, as seen through the lens of his writing. Everything that went into making him a writer and eventually found an outlet in his work — his education, family, wives, children, friends, enemies, politics, and place — is told from the point of view of his daily practice of writing. Beginning with his first novel, The Sterile Cuckoo, published in 1965 when he was just 24, Nichols shares his highs and lows: his ambivalent relationship with money; his growing disenchantment with the hypocrisy of capitalism; and his love-hate relationship with Hollywood — including the years-long struggle of working with director Robert Redford on the film version of The Milagro Beanfield War, which was filmed around Truchas and featured many of Nichols’ northern New Mexico neighbors. Throughout I Got Mine Nichols spins a shining thread connecting his lifelong engagement with progressive political causes, his passionate interest in and identification with ordinary people, and his deep connection to the land.”

(Chicago: Why Not Books, 2022).
After his daughter’s accused murderer is found not guilty, Bart Steele decides to seek justice his own way … but at what cost? “In this tale of revenge, justice, denial, and redemption, Bart moves into his new life as an avenger,” the publisher notes. “An ever-faithful follower of local crime news, he dedicates himself to righting other wrongs, giving other families the closure he so craved.” In this fast-paced thriller with a surprise ending, Bart faces pressure from the police and criminals alike as he navigates his vigilante lifestyle.