MADreads

It’s nearly (official) summer and with the warmer temps comes OverDrive’s Big Library Read. This year’s selection is L. P. Fergusson’s World War II-set drama A Dangerous Act of Kindness. When Widow Millie Sanger finds downed German pilot Lukas Schiller on her property, she tends to his injuries and shelters him to ensure he isn’t discovered by the authorities. It could be a disastrous decision: England is at war with Germany, and the discovery of an enemy combatant on her farm could mean death for both of them.

--It’s a very good month to be a Wisconsin author. This May sees the release of three titles with ties to the Badger State. Longtime local favorite Jennifer Chiaverini continues to explore the lives of real women through a historical fiction lens with Resistance Women. Her central character, Mildred Fish-Harnack, was raised in Milwaukee before moving to Germany where she worked as a spy against the Nazis. It’s on shelves mid-month. Madison-based author Kelly Harms scored recent hits with The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay and The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane.

Nonfiction readers will see much to like this April, as the publishing world swings into spring. After a 2018 mostly dominated by politics-related titles, April 2019 sees the return of some favorite authors to nonfiction shelves in general and the memoir genre in particular. On to the highlights:

Winter might be knocking on the door, but November is one of the hottest months for new releases. On to the highlights: 

--One of the most anticipated memoirs of recent times finally hits shelves November 13. Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming, part of a reported $65 million dollar deal that also includes a memoir by the former President (no word yet on a release date for his book).  Given the challenge of recouping such a huge advance, expect to see this hyped just about everywhere.