Read and recommended by Lyn Ewing
Spurious Correlations by Tyler Vigen
Lyn Ewing gives a big thumbs up to this odd little book that correlates all sorts of coincidences. Lyn says “it’s fun to read what strange things statistics will tell you – all based on fact, of course.” For example, did you know that there’s a 99.6% correlation between undergrad enrollment at U.S. universities vs. injuries related to falling TVs? Or that Natalie Portman film appearances vs. real Christmas trees sold has an 86% correlation? Is there a connection between the age of American Idol winners and UFO sightings in New Hampshire? Or alcohol sold in grocery stores vs. total number of bridge in the US? In Spurious Correlations, Tyler Vigen illustrates the golden rule that “correlation does not equal causation” through hilarious graphs and insightful comments inspired by his popular website, www.tylervigen.com.
New fiction
My (not so) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
The Shadows We Mistake for Love, stories by Tom Wayman
The Wolves by Alex Berenson (John Wells #10)
After James by Michael Helm
Dangerous Games by Danielle Steel
New crime
Woman with a Gun by Phillip Margolin
Minnesota Trilogy by Vidar Sundstol:
The Land of Dreams
Only the Dead
The Ravens
New non-fiction
This is not My Life: A Memoir of Love, Prison, and Other Complications by Diane Schoemperlen
The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939-1945 by Max Hastings
Walking the Nile by Levison Wood
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly (the movie is now playing in local cinemas)