Joplin Loves 2 Read

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, 430 pages

Doomed to a life of unending toil, Heather Simmons fears for her innocence — until a shocking, desperate act forces her to flee... and to seek refuge in the arms of a virile and dangerous stranger.

A lusty adventurer married to the sea, Captain Brandon Birmingham courts scorn and peril when he abducts the beautiful fugitive from the tumultuous London dockside. But no power on Earth can compel him to relinquish his exquisite prize. For he is determined to make the sapphire-eyed lovely his woman... and to carry her off to far, uncharted realms of sensuous, passionate love.

Archie Comics Annual #278, 225 pages

This month, digests go global! In the NEW LEAD STORY "From India, with Love," Archie's friend Raj needs help with a movie he's making, so Archie travels with him to India!

Sunday, February 1, 2026

Dead in the Water by Dana Stabenow, 217 pages

Once, Kate Shugak was the star investigator of the Anchorage D.A.'s office. Now she's gone back to her Aleut roots in the far Alaska north- where her talent for detection makes her the toughest crime-tracker in that stark and mysterious land.

Two crewmen of the crab vessel Avilda are missing—presumed dead—under very suspicious circumstances. The Bering Sea offers ample means and opportunity, but without bodies, a motive, or evidence of foul play, the DA doesn’t have a case. And so, freelancing again for her former employer, Kate Shugak finds herself working undercover in one of Alaska’s most dangerous professions: crab fisherman. It’s an assignment that will take her from the debauchery of Dutch Harbor to the most isolated of the Aleutians, and if the job itself doesn’t kill her, her unsavory crewmates just might.

The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog and Other Serious Discoveries of Silly Science by Carly Anne York, 274 pages

Why would anyone research how elephants pee? Or study worms who tie themselves into a communal knot? Or quantify the squishability of a cockroach? It all sounds pointless, silly, or even disgusting.

Maybe it is. But in The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog, Carly Anne York shows how unappreciated, overlooked, and simply curiosity-driven science has led to breakthroughs big and small. Got wind power? You might have humpback whales to thank. Know anything about particle physics? Turns out there is a ferret close to the heart of it all. And if you want to keep salmon around, be thankful for that cannon! The research itself can seem bizarre. But it drives our economy. And what's more, this stuff is simply cool.

York invites readers to appreciate the often unpredictable journey of scientific exploration, highlighting that the heart of science lies in the relentless pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. Emphasizing the hard work of the people behind the discoveries, this is an accessible, story-driven book that shows how important and exciting it is to simply let curiosity run wild.