August 13, 2021
Are you participating in Adult Summer Reading and stuck on this square? We’ve got some suggestions for you! Links go to the catalog so you can see if the books are available now and request them if they’re not.
Lake Monster Mysteries by Benjamin Radford & Joe Nickell
For centuries, eyewitnesses around the world—from America to Africa, Argentina to Scotland—have reported sightings of dark, mysterious creatures in area lakes that surface briefly, only to quickly disappear. While the most famous lake monsters of Loch Ness and Lake Champlain have gained international notoriety, hundreds of lakes around the world are said to shelter these shadowy creatures. Lake Monster Mysteries is the first book to examine these widespread mysteries from a scientific perspective. By using exhaustive research and results from firsthand investigations to help separate truth from myth, the authors foster our understanding of what really lurks in the cold, murky depths. Benjamin Radford and Joe Nickell are considered to be among the top lake monster authorities in the world. Here they share unique insights into many of the world’s best-known lake monsters. They interview witnesses and local experts and discuss the different types of lake monster sightings, delve into possible explanations for those sightings, and examine hoaxes, evidence claims, and legends surrounding the monsters. The authors have also conducted groundbreaking fieldwork and experiments at the lakes and have examined recent photographic and sonar evidence. Incorporating newly-revealed information and up-to-date developments in the cases they present, professional monster hunters Radford and Nickell plunge into both the cultural histories of these creatures and the scientific inquiries that may hold the key to these mysteries.
Dakwäkãda warriors by Cole Pauls
Artist Cole Pauls wanted to reclaim the Southern Tutchone language he had learned as a youth while performing in the traditional song and dance group the Dakwakada Dancers, based in Whitehorse (YT) [Yukon Territory, Canada]. So, he created a comic about two Earth Protectors saving the Earth from evil pioneers and cyborg sasquatches. But he also went to his elders and asked them to translate his comic into the two dialects of Southern Tutchone. The resulting work is an allegory of colonization done in an accessible format, a whimsical young adult graphic novel which helps to revitalize the language. Pauls includes a “making of” postscript to give context to the project, and invites guest Indigenous Canadian artists to provide “pin-ups” of his characters (Gord Hill, Whess Harman, Blake Lepine, Teresa Vander Meer-Chasse).– Provided by publisher
“[Alexander and Nadia] are destined to embark on a literally cliff-hanging quest, as they come face to face with the beasts (yes, plural), as well as their own innermost fears. Their journey also teaches them to appreciate the ways of the ‘People of the Mist’—a remote clan so finely attuned to nature that they can literally disappear into it. With flashes of humor and lush physical detail, Allende keeps her didactic agenda in check, though there are lessons aplenty to be gleaned here about respecting differences, honoring the balance of life and the need to draw on deep reserves to meet unforeseeable challenges. City of the Beasts is an exciting first entry in a new series from Allende. Watch out, J.K. Rowling!”—Sandy MacDonald, Children’s BookPage
Devolution: a firsthand account of the Rainer Sasquatch massacre by Max Brooks
As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier’s eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined, until now. But the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town’s bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing and too earth-shattering in its implications, to be forgotten. Because if what Kate Holland saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us, and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.
The Mothman Prophecies by John A. Keel
Translated into over thirteen languages, John Keel’s The Mothman Prophecy is an unsettling true story of the paranormal that has long been regarded as a classic in the literature of the unexplained.West Virginia, 1966. For thirteen months the town of Point Pleasant is gripped by a real-life nightmare culminating in a tragedy that makes headlines around the world. Strange occurrences and sightings, including a bizarre winged apparition that becomes known as the Mothman, trouble this ordinary American community. Mysterious lights are seen moving across the sky. Domestic animals are found slaughtered and mutilated. And journalist John Keel, arriving to investigate the freakish events, soon finds himself an integral part of an eerie and unfathomable mystery.
The Mothman Prophecy is the basis of the 2002 film starring Richard Gere.
Cryptozoology A to Z by Loren Coleman
The ultimate quest for the world’s most mysterious creatures.
The Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, the Abominable Snowman — these are the names of the elusive beasts that have caught the eye and captured the imaginations of people around the world for centuries. Recently, tales of these “monsters” have been corroborated by an increase in sightings, and out of these legends a new science has been born: cryptozoology — the study of hidden animals.Cryptozoology A to Z, the first encyclopedia of its kind, contains nearly two hundred entries, including cryptids (the name given to these unusual beasts), new animal finds, and the explorers and scientists who search for them. Loren Coleman, one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, teams up with Jerome Clark, editor and author of several encyclopedias, to provide these definitive descriptions and many never-before-published drawings and photographs from eyewitnesses’ detailed accounts. Full of insights into the methods of these scientists, exciting tales of discovery, and the history and evolution of this field, Cryptozoology A to Z is the most complete reference ever of the newest zoological science.
“A thrilling tale of high-altitude death and survival set on the snowy summits of Mount Everest, from the bestselling author of The Terror. It’s 1924 and the race to summit the world’s highest mountain has been brought to a terrified pause by the shocking disappearance of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine high on the shoulder of Mt. Everest. By the following year, three climbers — a British poet and veteran of the Great War, a young French Chamonix guide, and an idealistic young American — find a way to take their shot at the top. They arrange funding from the grieving Lady Bromley, whose son also disappeared on Mt. Everest in 1924. Young Bromley must be dead, but his mother refuses to believe it and pays the trio to bring him home. Deep in Tibet and high on Everest, the three climbers — joined by the missing boy’s female cousin — find themselves being pursued through the night by someone, or something. This nightmare becomes a matter of life and death at 28,000 feet– but what is pursuing them? And what is the truth behind the 1924 disappearances on Everest? As they fight their way to the top of the world, the friends uncover a secret far more abominable than any mythical creature could ever be. A pulse-pounding story of adventure and suspense, The Abominable is Dan Simmons at his spine-chilling best”– Provided by publisher.
The Jersey Devil by Hunter Shea
The Jersey Devil by Hunter Shea
Everyone knows the legend of the Jersey Devil. Some believe it is an abomination of nature, a hybrid winged beast from hell that stalks the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey searching for prey. Others believe it is a hoax, a campfire story designed to scare children. But one man knows the truth. Sixty years ago, Boompa Willet came face to face with the Devil—and lived to tell the tale. Now, the creature’s stomping grounds are alive once again with strange sightings, disappearances, and worse. After all these years, Boompa must return to the Barrens, not to prove the legend is real but to wipe it off the face of the earth. It’ll take more than just courage to defeat the Devil. It will take four generations of the Willet clan, a lifetime of survivalist training, and all the firepower they can carry. But timing is critical. A summer music festival has attracted crowds of teenagers. The woods are filled with tender young prey. But this time, the Devil is not alone. The evil has grown into an unholy horde of mutant monstrosities. And hell has come home to New Jersey …
This press release was produced by Robbins Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
