On the shelves - Dec. 9

The following are available for checkout at:

Clovis-Carver Public Library

“This is the Day” by Heisman award-winning football player Tim Tebow draws on the author's own experiences and interactions with the public, as he encounters people who feel “stuck,” unable to take action in daily life or pursue lifelong dreams. In response, Tim often identifies a crippling fear or lack of courage, to which he advises: “now is the time to take some risks, to quiet the voices of defeat, to step forward and make a mark, because this is the day.”

“The Man Who Walked Backward” by Ben Montgomery paints a rich and vibrant portrait of a jaw-dropping period of history through the true story of Plennie Wingo, a man hit hard by the effects of the Great Depression. Deciding it was time to do something extraordinary, something to resurrect the spirit of adventure and optimism he felt he’d lost, he decided to walk around the world — backwards. Montgomery charts Plennie’s trek across America, through Germany, Turkey and beyond, detailing the daring physical feats, grueling hardships, comical misadventures and hostile foreign police encountered along the way.

“Reinvent Your Personal Safety” by Matt Tamas takes women through a proactive approach to personal safety, one that isn’t about honing technical moves or perfecting technique, but more about showing them how to work with their own body and mind, considering realistic scenarios and training them to take appropriate action.

“The Quiet Side of Passion” by Alexander McCall Smith tangles philosopher Isabel with some harsh, real-life lessons as a result of her continuous penchant for interfering into the lives of others. As stress and work and the children and Lettuce and Cat (and not as much her husband, Jamie) surround Isabel with problems, she adds an au pair and an assistant to help her out, which only makes things worse. Then after mixing in her son’s new friend and his mother, Isabel finds working through all this is going take all her skill.

“Homeward Hound” by Rita Mae Brown crackles with the revelry of a Christmas hunt, however the fanfare is interrupted by the discovery of a body. “Sister” Jane Arnold, with her company of loyal hounds, must uncover who has killed a beloved club faithful, but it’s no help that the loathsome Victor Harris lurks in the shadows, weaseling his way back into the life of his disinherited daughter. As always, the gang must unravel the web of clues laid before them, and with Sister Jane at the helm, there is no rest until the truth is laid bare.

“In the Distance” by Hernan Diaz crafts historical fiction that’s both real and dystopian at the same time, painting an utterly humane and tragic portrait of a young Swedish immigrant, penniless and alone in California. Moving on foot against the great push to the west, Hakan travels in search of his brother, driven back again and again on his journey, meeting naturalists, criminals, religious fanatics, Indians and lawmen along the way.

Portales Public Library

“Fire & Blood” by George R. R. Martin

300 years before the events of “A Game of Thrones,” House Targaryen has taken Dragonstone as their home after becoming the only family of dragonlords to escape the Doom of Valyria and claim Westeros as their own. The story of “Fire & Blood” starts with the renowned Aegon the Conqueror, who leveled Westeros to the ground with his dragons and created the Iron Throne, and over the next several generations the Targaryen family is followed as they fight to maintain power up until the brutal civil war that ended their rule over the Seven Kingdoms. The first volume of Martin's planned two-part history of the Targaryens, readers will finally discover the answers to key questions about the backstory to Martin’s acclaimed “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, such as Maegor the Cruel’s most horrific crimes, why no one could visit Valyria following the Doom, what happened during the Dance of the Dragons and, most importantly, what it was like before dragons were all but extinct and ruled the skies of Westeros.

“Dear Evan Hansen” by Val Emmich with Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Based on the Tony award-winning Broadway musical, “Dear Evan Hansen” is the story of two isolated teenagers who become linked after a letter mistakenly winds up in the wrong hands. Evan Hansen starts his senior year with a broken arm after falling out of a tree over the summer and dreads having to endure one last school year struggling with his crippling social anxiety, unable to fully interact with the other students, including his crush, Zoe Murphy. Connor Murphy, Zoe’s brother, is a stoner, loner and misfit in his family who signs Evan’s cast on a whim and steals a journalist letter, written by Evan for therapy, out of spite, purely because Evan mentions Zoe in the letter. When Connor commits suicide the next day and his parents find the letter in Connor’s pocket, which begins “Dear Evan Hansen”, the Murphys believe that Evan and Connor must have been friends. Terrified to disappoint a grieving family, Evan goes along with the assumption, convincing his friend Jared to create fake emails between Evan and Connor, turning Evan into a heroic friend and Connor into a martyr for the rest of the student body, while also burying Evan deeper and deeper into a lie that could end up hurting everyone around him.

“Yule Log Murder” by Leslie Meier

In this anthology of murder mystery vignettes, authors Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross offer three different stories for the Christmas season. In “Yule Log Murder” by Leslie Meier, Lucy Stone can’t wait to be an extra on the set of a holiday period film, but her excitement disappears when people start dying on set in grisly ways. Setting aside her acting role to investigate the case, Lucy races to solve the murders and bring peace back to Tinker’s Cove. In Lee Hollis’s “Death by Yule Log,” Hayley Powell isn’t too thrilled when her daughter brings home her new boyfriend, Conner, who is so perfect it’s annoying. When a local troublemaker in town is killed and parts of Hayley’s yule log cake are found on the body, all clues point to Conner, and Hayley must ignore her personal dislike for him in order to find the true culprit. Finally in “Logged On” by Barbara Ross, Julia Snowden asks her neighbor, Mrs. St. Onge, for her help making a Bûche de Noël for Christmas, but when Julia discovers that most of Mrs. St. Onge’s friends are either missing or dead, she must stop the series of ill tidings before she becomes the next victim.

— Summaries by library staff