Books: New Novels For May

Photo by Jason Schott.

As the calendar turns to May, it is a good time to keep reading as the quarantine continues. The month's arrival comes with the debut of three compelling new novels - Meadowlark, by Melanie Abrams, and The Girl Beneath The Sea, by Andrew Mayne.

Books: "The Gay Agenda"

The Gay Agenda: A Modern Queer History & Handbook
By Ashley Molesso & Chase Needham
Morrow Gift, an imprint of William Morrow; hardcover, $28.00; available Tuesday, April 28

Last year, there were numerous commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which marked the start of the gay rights movement in America.

Books: On The Genius Of “Weird Al” Yankovic

Weird Al: Seriously
By Lily E. Hirsch; foreword by Dr. Demento
Rowman & Littlefield; hardback, $28.00; eBook, $26.50

"Weird Al" Yankovic is one of the most recognizable recording artists, and possibly the most unique talent, as he has made a four-decade career out of creating classic hits out of major hits, such as "Eat It," based on Michael Jackson's "Beat It," and "Amish Paradise," a take-off on Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise."

Books: "From The Links" On Golf's Grand History

On The Links: 
By Joshua Shifrin
Lyons Press; paperback, 256 pages; $18.95

Billed as "a golf hall of fame, shame, and arcane, From the Links is the perfect book for people who miss playing and watching the pros battle on television on weekends.

Books: "Unrigged" By David Daley

Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back To Save Democracy
By David Daley
Liveright; hardcover, 320 pages; $26.95

David Daley is a senior fellow at FairVote and the author of Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count, which showed how a small cadre of Republican operatives rigged American elections. He is the former editor of Salon, and his work has appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, and the Washington Post. 

Books: "American Prophets" Looks At The Religious Left

American Prophets: The Religious Roots of Progressive Politics and the Ongoing Fight for the Soul of the Country
By Jack Jenkins
HarperOne; hardcover, $27.99; available today, Tuesday, April 21

Jack Jenkins a national reporter for Religion News Service and a former Senior Religion Reporter for ThinkProgress, is one of the most respected religion reporters in the country. In his new book, American Prophets, he shares a paradigm-shifting discussion of how the Religious Left is actually the moral compass that has long steered America's political debates, including in this era.

Books: "Kid Quixotes" On A Transformative School In Bushwick

Kid Quixotes: A Group of Students, Their Teacher, and the One-Room School Where Everything Is Possible
By Stephen Haff
HarperOne; hardcover; $27.99; available Tuesday, April 21

In this time of uncertainty, in which our world has been turned upside down, comes a book about a school in Bushwick, with a teacher on a mission to help kids facing adversity find their individual and collective voices.

Books: "Final Judgment" By Marcia Clark

Final Judgment: Samantha Brinkman - Book 4
By Marcia Clark
Thomas & Mercer; hardcover, $24.95; paperback, $15.95; ebook, $4.99; available Tuesday, April 21

Marcia Clark has been a practicing criminal lawyer since 1979 and joined the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office in 1981, where she served as prosecutor for the trials of O.J. Simpson - which people associate her most with - and Robert Bardo, who was convicted of killing actress Rebecca Schaeffer.

Yankees Co-Chairperson Hank Steinbrenner, Eldest Child Of The Boss, Passes Away

@Yankees.

The Yankees announced the untimely passing of General Partner and Co-Chairperson Henry G. "Hank" Steinbrenner at the age of 63 on Tuesday morning at his home in Clearwater, Florida, from a longstanding health issue.

Books: "Citizen Reporters" On One Of The Most Influential Magazines Ever

Citizen Reporters: S.S. McClure, Ida Tarbell, and the Magazine That Rewrote America
By Stephanie Gorton
Ecco; hardcover, 384 pages; $28.99

The United States of a century ago was not all that different now, as it was a time when we were divided politically, wealth inequality hasnever been higher, and the president of the United States publicly attacked the press, calling reporters who threatened his reputation "forces of evil.

Books: "The Committee" By Sterling Watson

The Committee
By Sterling Watson
Akashic Books; hardcover, $32.95; paperback, $16.95; E-book, $16.99

Sterling Watson is the author of eight novels, including Deadly Sweet, Sweet Dream Baby, Fighting in the Shade, and Suitcase City. He was director of the creative writing program at Eckerd College for twenty years and now teaches in the Solstice MFA Program at Pine Manor College in Boston.

Books: On Presidential History

As the nation experiences one of its worst crises in history, battling the coronavirus pandemic, it's a good time to look back at other rough moments in time, and how presidents have dealt with them. Four books that are great resources are: Shall We Wake The President? Two Centuries Of Disaster Management From The Oval Office, By Tevi Troy; Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America, by Jared Cohen; Presidents Of War, by Michael Beschloss; and Presidential Leadership: Politics and Policy Making, Eleventh Edition, by George C. Edwards III, Kenneth R. Mayer, and Stephen J. Wayne.

Books: GH Star Maurice Benard's "Nothing General About It"

Nothing General About It: How Love (And Lithium) Saved Me On And Off General Hospital
By Maurice Benard, with Susan Black
William Morrow; hardcover, $27.99; available today, Tuesday, April 7

Sonny Corinthos is one of the most recognizable characters on television, making his mark in the soap opera "General Hospital" since 1993.

Books: "Crave" By Tracy Wolff

Crave
By Tracy Wolff
Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing LLC; hardcover, $18.99; available Tuesday, April 7

Tracy Wolff is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 64 novels that vary from young adult action adventures to new adult romance, and from women's fiction to erotica. A long-time devotee of vampires, dragons and all things that go bump in the night, Tracy loves nothing more than combining her affection for paranormal creatures with her love of writing tortured heroes and kick-butt heroines.

Books: "The Astonishing Life Of August March" By Aaron Jackson

The Astonishing Life Of August March

By Aaron Jackson

Harper; hardcover, 275 pages; $27.99; available Tuesday, April 7

Aaron Jackson is a writer and comedian who was recently a cast member on Comedy Central's The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, and has also appeared on Broad City, The Detour, Crashing, the National Lampoon Radio Hour, and Funny or Die's Jared and Ivanka, a series he also co-wrote.

Books: "Gotham High," The Latest From Melissa de la Cruz

Gotham High
By Melissa de la Cruz
DC Entertainment; 208 pages; paperback, $16.99; available Tuesday, April 7

Melissa de la Cruz is the #1 New York Times, #1 Publishers Weekly, and #1 IndieBound bestselling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for readers of all ages, including Alex and Eliza, The Descendants, The Witches of East End, and Blue Bloods, and her more than 30 books have been published in over 20 countries.

Baseball Books: "When Big Data Was Small" & "Unwritten"

Photo by Jason Schott.

As the delay to the baseball season continues, it's a good time to take a look at two books on how the game is studied and played, When Big Data Was Small, by Richard D. Cramer; and Unwritten: Bat Flips, The Fun Police, and Baseball's New Future, by Danny Knobler.

Books: "Something She's Not Telling Us" By Darcey Bell

Something She's Not Telling Us
By Darcey Bell
Harper Paperback/HarperCollins Publishers; paperback, 320 pages, $16.99; available Tuesday, April 7

Darcey Bell is the author of the New York Times bestseller A Simple Favor, which was made into a movie starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick.

Music Books: On Lou Reed & Metal Legends

The Life of Lou Reed: Notes from the Velvet Underground
By Howard Sounes
Diversion Books; hardcover, 378 pages; $26.99

Howard Sounes, a veteran music biographer who has written about Bob Dylan (Down the Highway) and Paul McCartney (Fab), focuses on legendary musician Lou Reed's tortured and tumultuous life in the new book, The Life of Lou Reed: Notes from the Velvet Underground.

Books: The Science Behind "The Hot Hand"

The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks
By Ben Cohen
Custom House; hardcover; $28.99

One of the biggest things in sports is the notion of "the hot hand," such as when Indiana Pacer Reggie Miller lit up the Knicks in the 1994 playoffs, or when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady would keep throwing the ball to Rob Gronkowski, or when golfer Tiger Woods was having an amazing day on the greens.