On the shelves - Aug. 2

The following books are available for checkout at the Clovis-Carver Public Library:

“Hard Ride” by Elmer Kelton offers a superb collection of stories of the West that showcase the strength and power of the western spirit. Stories that are filled with marvelous characters — from a rodeo clown who seeks redemption via romance, to an outlaw who comes to the aid of ranchers with no other recourse to justice. Powerful Western women feature as importantly as the menfolk here, including a cattle buyer's daughter who can hold her own with any man on the trail, a renowned lady outlaw who rules her gang with her gun, and a judge's daughter who is determined to end local mob rule.

“The Daughters of Erietown” by Connie Schultz brings to light hidden desires, long-held secrets, and the sacrifices people make for family. It's 1957, Clayton Valley, Ohio, and Ellie dreams to go to nursing school and marry Brick McGinty. Brick has the chance to escape his abusive father and become the first person in his blue-collar family to attend college. But when Ellie learns that she is pregnant, everything changes. Just as Brick and Ellie revise their plans and build a family, a knock on the front door threatens to destroy their lives.

“Close Up” by Amanda Quick. Vivian Brazier never thought life as an art photographer would include nightly wake-up calls to snap photos of grisly crime scenes or headshots for aspiring male actors. After shooting crime scene photos of a famous actress, the latest victim of the murderer the press has dubbed the “Dagger Killer,” Vivian notices eerie similarities to the crime scenes of previous victims-details that only another photographer would have noticed-details that put Vivian at the top of the killer's target list.

“The Hot Sauce Cookbook” by Heather Thomas. Addicted, obsessed, devoted. No meal is safe from a hot sauce addict. They've got it everywhere-in their fridge, in their pantry, even in their bag, swag! These 60 recipes are sure to satiate cravings at every mealtime and expand the recipe repertoire of every spicy food lover.

“How to Build Your Baby's Brain” by Dr. Gail Gross. The truth is, nature and nurture are in a delicate dance — if one goes too fast, the other one falls. Science tells us that early childhood experiences have the capacity to structure and alter the brain. Contrary to what modern parenting trends have told us, parenting is much simpler than we dared to imagine. Great parenting comes down to one mission: to be prepped and present for the windows of your child's development so that you can take full advantage of them and help your child become a smart, successful, self-sufficient adult.

“Not the Life It Seems: The True Lives of My Chemical Romance” by Tom Bryant delivers a blow-by-blow account of one of the most significant alternative rock bands in the last decade. Instead of the usual rock and roll story you would expect, Bryant portrays the extraordinary connection a bunch of guys who just like music shares with their fans, insight into the lyrics of many of their songs, along with the joys and frustrations of the creative process.

— Summaries provided by library staff