On the shelves — July 20

The following books are available at:

Clovis-Carver

Public Library

Mandela: In Celebration of a Great Life by Charlene Smith re-examines the life of Nelson Mandela, the South African statesman who was prepared to sacrifice comfort, status, and even life in spursut of a cause he believed in and whose sacrifices changed the lives of millions.

The Accident by Chris Pavone begins as New York literary agent Isabel Reed pages through a disturbing anonymous manuscript that she believes has world-changing potential, while Copenhagen veteran station chief Hayden Gray resolves to keep the book’s secrets from being exposed.

Portraits of the American Craftsman by Tadd Myers celebrates the creation of handmade objects through photographs of the people and products in small workshops all over the country who cherish the traditions embedded in their trade, including carousel horses, hats, brooms, guitars, boats, and pianos.

The Poacher’s Daughter by Michael Zimmer is set in 1885 Montana where young Rose Edwards is widowed by vigilantes who hang her husband for an alleged theft and burn her cabin as a warning, and who — now with nothing to lose — becomes a reluctant hero in a battle against invading land-grabbers.

Strokes of Genius 5: The Best of Drawing edited by Rachel Wolf covers a tantalizing range of styles that illustrate the ways in which today’s best artists choreograph shape, texture, and color into compositions that deliver fresh inspiration for artists of every skill level and medium.

In Paradise by Peter Matthissen centers on Clements Olin, an American professor of Holocaust Studies who, over the course of a week-long spiritual retreat at Auschwitz, is forced to grapple with his own past and a family secret: the Jewish mother who was abandoned to her doom by his Gentile father.

The 100 Most Influential People Who Never Lived by Kelly Knauer creates a list of 100 of history’s most memorable characters from literature, film, TV, and even advertising ranging from Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones to Rosie the Riveter and Atticus Finch, Santa Claus and Cinderella, Cliff Huxtable and King Lear, and 92 more.

Portales Public Library

Landline by Rainbow Rowell: Despite the fact that Georgie McCool loves her husband Neal, and Neal loves her, Georgie knows that their 15-year-old marriage is in trouble.

While she works long hours for a Los Angeles sitcom, Neal takes on the bulk of the parenting of their two daughters, Alice and Noomi. When Georgie backs out of a family vacation to Omaha, Nebraska, for Christmas, and Neal goes on without her with the girls, she realizes that she and Neal are more estranged than she thought and she fears that she may have finally ruined her marriage for good.

But then she discovers an old yellow rotary phone, which, when dialed, gives Georgie a way to talk to Neal in the past — a younger Neal, the one she first fell in love with.

Georgie wonders how this magic phone can possibly work, but she knows that she has a chance to fix her marriage before it even begins, but she must first decide if that is what she truly wants.

Neil Armstrong: A Life of Flight by Jay Barbree: In this biography on one of history’s most famous heroes, journalist Jay Barbree discusses the inspiring life of his lifelong friend, Neil Armstrong, gathering information from over 50 years of conversations, notes, interviews, and transcripts from NASA flights.

Barbree writes about Armstrong’s life from before his time at NASA, from his love of flying to his time in the Navy during the Korean War, during which he flew many combat missions, to his renowned career as one of America’s most beloved astronauts.

Barbree explores Armstrong’s professional life, most notably his Apollo 11 landing and his first step onto the Moon, which Barbree himself commentated during the historic broadcast on July 20, 1969, as well as his personal life, his relationships with his fellow astronauts, and his feelings concerning space exploration throughout his career and in the future.

The Heist by Daniel Silva: While art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon is in Venice fixing an altarpiece by Veronese, he is summoned by the Italian police to investigate a murder scene in Lake Como.

The scene was discovered by Gabriel’s friend London art dealer Julian Isherwood, and Isherwood is now suspect to the crime. The victim is discovered to be a British spy who had been selling stolen artwork to a mysterious collector, including Caravaggio’s famous Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence.

Gabriel searches to find the missing painting and learn who the collector is, as well as find the real killer in order to clear Isherwood’s name, traveling across the world, from city to city, country to country.

He finally ends up in Austria, where he meets Jihan Nawaz, a woman who survived a massacre in the Syrian town of Hama and now enlists Gabriel’s help with her own problems while Gabriel himself hunts to find answers of his own.