Suggested Listening & Viewing: August 7, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here is the first of our newly streamlined weekly Suggested Listening and Viewing post; featuring one suggested album or musical collection for your listening pleasure; one movie or TV show/season for your viewing pleasure and one recommendation for background viewing – perfect for having on while having dinner, reading etc. Enjoy! 

First off the music, this week and album:

King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band: The Complete Set (1923) by King Oliver & his Jazz Band featuring Louis Armstrong (Genre: Jazz/Ragtime) 

 

About King Oliver: Cornetist and bandleader King Oliver was born Joseph Nathan Oliver on December 19, 1881, in Aben, Louisiana. As a young man, he moved to New Orleans, where he performed with dance bands in the city’s famous Storyville district. During the 1910s, he co-founded and led a band with trombonist Edward “Kid” Ory, establishing himself as one of the leading figures in early jazz.

In the 1920s, Oliver relocated to Chicago and formed King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band. With this ensemble, he made his landmark 1923 recordings—the recommended listening for this week—a collection which contains some of the most influential recordings in jazz history.

The Great Depression, combined with declining health, left Oliver living in poverty during his later years. He died in 1938, but his remarkable recordings and lasting influence on jazz continue to be celebrated today.

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Moving on to our suggested viewing title of the week; this week our recommendation is the classic mystery:

The Thin Man (1934) starring William Powell & Myrna Loy

The Thin Man Trailer

About The Movie: The Thin Man (1934) is based upon the Dashiell Hammett book of the same name. The film protagonists are a married couple, Nick & Nora Charles. Nick is a retired detective who married Nora, the scion of a wealthy family; and they enjoy a rich social life with frequent cocktails and dinner parties and a terrific dog named Asta. And when they have time, they solve mysteries. In this first film in the five-film series, the couple is vacationing in New York City during the holiday season and Nick runs into young Dorothy Wynant, the daughter of inventor Clyde Wynant; Clyde being an acquaintance of Nick. Dorothy is concerned because her father left on a business trip three months ago and has not returned nor been heard from since; and the plot unfolds, culminating with a classic unveiling of the murderer at a dinner party. If you’ve never seen it – this is a light, fun film! This film can be streamed from the usual streaming services and is also available to be checked out through the library on regular & Blu-ray DVDs.

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Background Viewing

(Perfect to have on while having dinner, reading etc.)

Reading by the Fire in Summer

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Have a great weekend!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Information on the four library catalogs (content available 24/7!)

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/ 

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go! 

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog. 

And The Digital Catalog/Libby features titles that may be checked out via the one-copy-one-user lending model, just like print books.  

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Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/ 

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron checkout limit is 10 items per month. 

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders. 

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players. 

Titles in the Hoopla Catalog are available to be checked out on-demand by all library card holders, with the caveat of being able to check out a maximum of ten titles per month, per card.  

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Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en 

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.  

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders! 

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV). 

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StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org 

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System. 

Have questions about any of the catalogs?

Give us a call!

You can reach us at 607-936-3713 or visit our website at https://ssclibrary.org/

Suggested Reading Five: August 5, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five suggested reads of the week!

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Carry Me To My Grave by Christopher Golden

It’s 1956, and Malcolm, a Korean War veteran, youngest child of narcissistic Maggie, is in a race against time to get the body of his recently deceased mother from Elkhart, IN, to an island in Maine and buried safely in the ground before the sun rises in two days. It seems that the local lore about Maggie being a witch was not too far off base, as there are very real monsters who have been awakened by her death and will do whatever it takes to stop Malcolm and his family. Moving from trains to fire trucks to a VW Bus, readers are on this terrifying, desperate ride, following the point of view as it alternates between characters, good and evil, supernatural and human, allowing them to develop fully. The motivations of the ancient evil are intriguing; when balanced with the family members and their own complicated histories, the story blossoms from an average chase novel into a moving portrait of undying love.

VERDICT Intense, violent, nuanced, heartbreaking, and fun to read, Golden’s (The Night Birds) latest gives readers everything they could want in a thrilling horror story; for fans of Tananarive Due’s The Good House and Nat Cassidy’s When the Wolf Comes Home. — Library Journal

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Extracurricular by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Professor Nick Navarro is less than enthused when he discovers that the recently retired mega pop-star Ramona Wilder (the idol of his young niece) will be a student in one of his psychology classes at UCLA. Handling a celebrity’s ego while managing his own turmoil about his recent divorce is not how Nick wanted to start the new school year. Nick vows to treat Ramona like any other student but soon discovers that he can’t. He learns that there’s far more to Ramona than the persona she shared on stage and in the media, and he is absolutely flustered and enchanted by her wit and flirting. Ramona lived under a microscope as a child actor and star and has only recently been able to cut her overbearing stage mother and toxic ex-partners out of her life. She enjoys her interactions with Nick, but how can she trust that the feelings are real? Having both been hurt in the past, Ramona and Nick must navigate their histories before they can find a path forward together.

VERDICT Solomon’s (What Happens in Amsterdam) latest will suit readers looking for academia-set romances such as Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis. – Library Journal

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The Masala Chai Mystery Club by MJ Soni

A retired New England librarian takes on a case the local police have been too quick to close. Forced into early retirement by a board looking to replace her with someone younger and cheaper, Neeti Shah is bored. She misses both her late husband, Ravi, and the stimulating contact with the book-loving public she got from her job. She’s pleased to be able to provide a stable home for her niece, Myra, whose parents abandoned her when she made it clear she had no intention of marrying Shane, the shiftless father of her own son, Ved, now 5 years old. So the death of her neighbor, Rohit Solanki, in what the police insist was a slip-and-fall, provides her the perfect opportunity to put her research skills to work proving them wrong. Author Soni provides Neeti with a colorful, multinational cast of collaborators and coconspirators in her quest. This series kickoff has some problems with pacing: It takes a painfully long time to reveal the backstory of Neeti’s prior relationship with Rohit, as Soni drops the same hints over and over again. And the characters are often jarringly cartoonish, especially when they’re being mean or stupid. Sometimes there’s more than one way to handle a dilemma. A bit more nuance and a more careful approach to the solution would have made this debut a worthy addition to the cozyverse. – Kirkus Review

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Mr. and Mrs. Dixon Hide a Body: A Novel by Jennifer Holdich

Daisy is a complicated woman. She was bullied in school as an outcast who was raised by a poor single mother who dressed her in homemade clothes. For the past 20 years, however, Daisy has been married to James Dixon, a billionaire. She is now Lady Langley, overseeing a crumbling manor in the English countryside of Upper Iffley. Holdich’s (Julie Tudor Is Not a Psychopath) novel details James and Daisy’s plots to destroy each other as their relationship sours. After leaving a fundraiser, Daisy and James are involved in a pedestrian accident where Daisy injures a beloved TV personality whom James then strangles to death. James points to Daisy during the subsequent police investigation. Then Daisy uncovers James’s Ponzi investment schemes. The novel includes a humorous social media Greek chorus of neighbors who comment and speculate when two bodies are found in the river near Langley Hall after a torrential rainstorm. A key secondary character is Lady Langley’s housekeeper, Mrs. Billings, a kleptomaniac who pockets the tchotchkes left out for her to steal. VERDICT Holdich’s out-of-the-ordinary, cozy-adjacent novel is recommended for readers who enjoy marriage revenge stories with eccentric characters.–Library Journal Review

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The Oxford Detective Society by Faith Martin

Oxford biographer Lyssa Moore is delighted to be commissioned to write about Amelia ‘Monty’ Montrose, the 1960s music icon who died mysteriously at her birthday party in 1966. But as Lyssa delves into Monty’s past, she discovers the wild child portrayed by the press was hiding far more than anyone knew.

And someone is taking a very keen interest in Lyssa’s research. Her flat has been broken into, her phone is acting strangely, and she has a feeling she is being followed. Is Lyssa getting too close to a dangerous truth―was there more to Monty’s death than a tragic accident?

With the help of her cat Bibbie and her Oxford friends, who form the Oxford Detective Society, Lyssa must uncover what really happened sixty years ago. Because in Oxfordshire’s country houses and picture-perfect gardens, the past refuses to stay buried…

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.

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Information on the four library catalogs

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.

–

Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders.

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.

–

Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders!

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV).

–

StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

–

Have questions about how to access Internet based content (i.e. eBooks, eAudios)? Feel free to drop by the Reference Desk or call the library and we will assist you! The library’s telephone number is: 607-936-3713.

–

Tech & Book Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Suggested Listening & Viewing: July 31, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here is our weekly Suggested Listening and Viewing post; featuring ten songs and two streaming video recommendations, one from a mainstream service and the other from Kanopy, the library’s free to access streaming service (all you need is a library card!).

First off the music!

And this week we’re taking a list to some classic surf songs – surfs up!

Baja by The Astronauts 

 

Found on the Album: Surfin’ With The Astronauts (1963) 

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Bustin’ Surfboards by The Tornados 

 

Found on the Album: Bustin’ Surfboards (2017) 

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Let’s Go Trippin’ by Dick Dale 

 

Found on the Album: Surfer’s Choice (2006) 

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Mr. Moto by The Bel-Airs 

 

Found on the Album: Golden Echoes (1962) 

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Out of Limits by The Marketts 

 

Found on the Album: Out of Limits! (1963/2005) 

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Pipeline by The Chantays 

 

Found on the Album: Pipeline (1963/2001) 

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Soul Surfer by Johnny Fortune

Found on the Album: Soul Surfer (1963)

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Underwater by The Frogmen  

 

Found on the Album: Rock Instrumental Classics, Vol. 5: Surf (2006) (Rhino Records) 

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Walk, Don’t Run by The Ventures 

 

Found on the Album: Walk Don’t Run: The Best of the Ventures (1990) 

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Wipeout by The Surfaris 

 

Found on the Album: Wipe Out (1963) 

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Bonus Listen: Here is a song by a great guitarist & instrumentalist and granted he was not a surf music player but his music is definitely worth listening — Lonnie Mack. His first album is The Wham of that Memphis Man (1963). 

And from that album, here is the song: 

 Wham!  by Lonnie Mack

 

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And as a second bonus listen, another non-surfer & great guitar player whose music is also definitely worth checking out – although he was not just an instrumentalist – he also sang – is Freddie King and if you like guitar-centric instrumentals check out his instrumental album Let’s Hide Away and Dance Away (1961). 

And from that album, here is the original version of the song Hide Away, which Eric Clapton later recorded to great acclaim while playing with John Mayall’s Bluebreakers: 

Hide Away by Freddie King 

 

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Mainstream Stream  of the Week

Summer of ‘36 (2026) (Netflix) 

 

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Kanopy Stream of the Week

Reeling (2025) 

Reeling (2025) Trailer

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Have a great weekend!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Information on the four library catalogs 

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/ 

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go! 

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog. 

And The Digital Catalog/Libby features titles that may be checked out via the one-copy-one-user lending model, just like print books.  

– 

Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/ 

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron checkout limit is 10 items per month. 

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders. 

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players. 

Titles in the Hoopla Catalog are available to be checked out on-demand by all library card holders, with the caveat of being able to check out a maximum of ten titles per month, per card.  

– 

Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en 

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.  

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders! 

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV). 

– 

StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org 

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System. 

Suggested Reading Five: July 29, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five suggested reads of the week!

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Blood River Witch by T. J. Martinson

On Kentucky’s Blood River, a Sheriff’s Deputy investigates the death of her ex-fiance, whose brutal occultist murder strongly resembles a similar murder decades ago, for readers of Tana French, Gillian Flynn, Megan Abbott, and fans of True Detective
Deputy Sheriff Alicia Moore is thrust into the center of a chilling murder investigation when she discovers a victim identifiable only by his hauntingly familiar tattoo—her name inked onto the knuckles of her ex-fiancé, Jake.

Years earlier, Alicia’s father, the then-Sheriff, had arrested a teenage occultist for a nearly identical murder, believed to be driven by the suspect’s worship of demonic entities. Now, with Jake’s murder mirroring that past crime, doubts arise about whether the true culprit was ever caught. The mystery deepens with the arrival of Lucas Masterson, a Criminology PhD student studying the confluence between religious trauma and occult crime, who is eager to lend his expertise to the investigation. As Lucas delves into the case, his profound knowledge of the town’s grim history and his outsider perspective strain the local social fabric, while Alicia grapples with her suspicion towards his unsettling familiarity with the crimes. Caught between her strained relationship with her father, the community’s watchful eyes on a female deputy, and her own harrowing ties to the case, Alicia must navigate a maze of potential occultists, convicts, corrupt officials, and clergy to prevent a gruesome history from repeating itself once again.
For what lies at the heart of Blood River—is it an ancient malicious force seeking to harm the townfolk, or is there a deeper prejudice in a town that continues to punish women in a way that it does not punish the men?

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If Books Could Kill by Kate Eberle 

DEBUT Roxie loves romance novels, but when her wish to live out a storyline from her favorite romance author is magically granted, it’s not quite what she’d hoped for. Turns out, the new book is a crime thriller, and Roxie is stuck as the protagonist in a dangerous genre she doesn’t know much about. In an effort to escape a serial killer, she accidentally kidnaps a nerdy but hot professor, Grant, in the strangest meet-cute ever. With his knowledge of the thriller genre and her expertise in self-defense, they team up to solve an international murder plot that takes them from Boston to London. In order to end the spell and get back to her real life, she must figure out the mystery. As Roxie and Grant live through several literary devices, they find true love together, but Roxie is reluctant to give her heart to Grant since he’s a character in the novel and will disappear once the story is over. VERDICT Full of adventure, a touch of the supernatural, plenty of kooky, adorable characters, and hilarious hijinks, Eberle’s highly original and fun debut is for fans of heartfelt, original rom-coms with strong bookish themes. — Library Journal Review 

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Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution by Denise Kiernan 

In honor of the 2026 United States Semiquincentennial, aka the 250th birthday of the Declaration of Independence, deep-dive American history chronicler Kiernan (We Gather Together, 2020) considers an array of contributions made by various Revolutionary War-era women. Kiernan’s approach is impressively inclusive. She tends toward less celebrated individuals whose accomplishments often occurred behind the scenes (Sarah Bradlee Fulton’s cosmetics helped disguise Boston Tea Party participants) or were left out of male-centric standard narratives (Chief Nanye’hi helped broker Cherokee peace treaties). Subjects represent diverse segments of society (patriots and loyalists, New Englanders and Southerners, enslaved individuals, aristocrats, housewives, poets, spies). Chapters alternate between detailed historic accounts, effortlessly incorporating primary source material, and accounts of the author’s recent research-inspired visits to three landmarks: Mount Vernon, a former South Carolina plantation, and a casino on Indigenous lands. A few luminaries make cameo appearances (Abigail Adams, Marie Antoinette) but the emphasis is on everyday women who are resurrected through diaries and letters, shipping lists, headstones, and bills of sale. This is an engaging, enlightening, and quite satisfying read. – Booklist Review 

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Sisters of the Midnight Sun by Rebecca Wright Stevens 

On August 3, 1993, the bodies of two sisters, Wanda and Bernice Ipalook, were discovered in Utqiagvik, an oil-rich area on Alaska’s North Slope. Both women had been strangled, and one had been raped. Amos Lane, a drifter with a prior record, was charged with the crimes, and Stevens was the public defender assigned to defend him. She secured immunity for him if he testified for the prosecution against the person ultimately charged with the crime, Bernice’s fiance , John Adams. Ultimately, Adams was found not guilty of the murders, and Lane was found guilty of perjury. To this day, the crime remains unsolved. Stevens’s novelistic writing style focuses less on the trial itself than on her experiences as an outsider in the community and on the lives of the Iupiat people in Arctic Alaska. Stevens spent 36 years working as a defense lawyer, and readers will appreciate everything she did to protect her client, though they may wish for more insight into the Ipalook murders. VERDICT Although this true crime book boasts an expansive view of the surrounding I upiat community, readers may leave this book with further questions about the grisly, complex case at its center. – Library Journal Review 

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The Talking Bone by Renee Denfeld  

Ruby Spencer, known as “the Exonerator,” has devoted her life to finding missing women and freeing the people wrongly convicted for their disappearances. Her work leads her to Georgia, where Mitchell Brown, a 32-year-old man on death row, has just two weeks left before his execution. A decade earlier, Mitchell celebrated landing a new job, drank too much, and wandered into a gas station. He later awoke in his truck to find the attendant missing and the station splashed with blood. The evidence was lost, the body was never found, and Mitchell’s memory of that night never returned. As Ruby investigates, she travels to Mitchell’s Oregon hometown. There she uncovers a chilling parallel: Mitchell’s mother vanished when he was a child, just as Ruby’s mother disappeared years before. Chapters weave between past and present, revealing the story of Ruby’s mother as the clock ticks toward Mitchell’s execution. Forced to confront her own trauma and unresolved grief, Ruby pushes deeper into a case where justice feels out of reach.  

VERDICT Drawing on her experience as a licensed death-row investigator, Denfeld (Sleeping Giants) crafts a taut, emotional thriller. Readers of her earlier novels will appreciate this intricately layered tale of suspense. –Library Journal Review  

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.

–

Information on the four library catalogs

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.

–

Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders.

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.

–

Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders!

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV).

–

StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

–

Have questions about how to access Internet based content (i.e. eBooks, eAudios)? Feel free to drop by the Reference Desk or call the library and we will assist you! The library’s telephone number is: 607-936-3713.

–

Tech & Book Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Suggested Listening & Viewing: July 24, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here is our weekly Suggested Listening and Viewing post; featuring ten songs and two streaming video recommendations, one from a mainstream service and the other from Kanopy, the library’s free to access streaming service (all you need is a library card!).

First off the music! And this week we’re turning our listening spotlight on classic country and folk songs – enjoy!

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The Eighth of January by Sid Hemphill 

 

Found on the Album: The Devil’s Dream: Alan Lomax’s 1942 Library of Congress Recordings (2013) 

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I Love You A Lot A Whole Bunch by Bess Lomax Hawes 

 

Found on the Album: N/A – Recorded live in Ash Grove, Los Angles in 1963 

For more on Bessie Jones check out the following PBS article:

https://www.wkyufm.org/2022-02-18/the-african-american-folklorist-bessie-jones

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I Would If I Could by Frazier & Patterson 

 

Found on the Album: My Journey Home (2015) 

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Milwaukee Blues by The New Lost City Ramblers 

 

Found on the Album: The New Lost City Ramblers (1958) 

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Pan American Blues by DeFord Bailey  

 

Found on the Album: Matchbox Bluesmaster Series, Set 3 (2021) by Various Artists 

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Sitting On Top of the World by Mississippi Sheiks 

 

Found on the Album: Mississippi Sheiks – Complete Recorded Works 1930 – 1936 Vol 3 (1931-1934) (2000)

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Sometimes by Bessie Jones 

 

Found on the Album: Sounds of the South (2011) by Various Artists  

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Tishamingo Blues by Peg Leg Howell 

 

Found on the Album: Matchbox Bluesmaster Set 4 (2021) by Various Artists 

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Trouble In Mind by Big Bill Broonzy 

 

Found on the Album: Trouble In Mind (2000) 

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Walk Right In by Cannon’s Jug Stompers 

 

Found on the Album: Cannon’s Jug Stompers: The Complete Works 1927 – 1930 (1989) 

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Mainstream Stream of the Week 

Human Vapor (2026) (Netflix) 

 

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Kanopy Stream of the Week 

I Am Big Bird (2015) 

) 

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Have a great weekend!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

Information on the four library catalogs 

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/ 

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go! 

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog. 

And The Digital Catalog/Libby features titles that may be checked out via the one-copy-one-user lending model, just like print books.  

– 

Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/ 

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron checkout limit is 10 items per month. 

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders. 

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players. 

Titles in the Hoopla Catalog are available to be checked out on-demand by all library card holders, with the caveat of being able to check out a maximum of ten titles per month, per card.  

– 

Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en 

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.  

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders! 

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV). 

– 

StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org 

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System. 

Suggested Reading Five: July 22, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five suggested reads of the week!

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Data Empire The Power of Information to Organize, Control, and Dominate by Roopika Risam 

During 11,000 years of global history, recordkeeping has taken countless forms–tally sticks, clay tablets, knotted cords, scrolls, codices, ledgers, formularies, databases, and digital content–but people have always collected and classified information in pursuit of power. According to Risam (digital humanities, Dartmouth Coll.; New Digital Worlds), collecting and making sense of data drives commerce, conquest, and social control. Powerful elites decide how to interpret data and create narratives. Empires gather intelligence, draw maps, deed land, tax trade, and conduct censuses. Traditions and customs may endure, but information is authoritative only when recognized by authorities. Over the past century, data has become an empire in its own right, shaping institutions and worldviews, powering surveillance capitalism and the rise of artificial intelligence, and reducing all ideas and actions to raw data and predictive modeling. The author’s arguments will resonate with readers of Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff, and The Power of Knowledge by Jeremy Black. Readers are left with the impression that information and its uses produce exploitation, failing to enrich or empower lives. It is high time to reclaim data for good.  

VERDICT A sweeping and convincing argument that information undergirds power. –Library Journal Review 

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Dooneen by Keith Ridgway  

A surreal, magical realist joy of a novel, highly acclaimed Ridgway’s (A Shock, 2021) latest is a remarkable work sure to feature on best-of-the-year lists. The opening sees Bartholomew Port–Mew–mysteriously transport from a London park to a near-future Dublin with no cars, shifting roads, and a still-worsening housing crisis. As Mew drifts around a recognizable but off-kilter Dublin seeing acquaintances and family, he describes all to his lover Mootie, whom he longs to rejoin in London. Mew stumbles into being part of a reckoning of sorts, led by those seeking a collective solution to the housing crisis, and here the novel truly takes off with a staccato, breathless pace that sweeps the reader up and refuses to let go. Like the intoxicating, dreamlike prose of Evan Dara and Kazuo Ishiguro, this suspenseful tale explores community, identity, housing, and the remorseless power of the state. The vividly described backdrop of monuments of Irish revolutionary history contrasts with the contemporary feeling of powerlessness many people feel. A love letter, a puzzle, a haunting–Doneen unsettles and entrances like Susanna Clarke’s dreamlike Piranesi (2020) but also packs a political punch. A stunning achievement, Ridgway’s novel is urgent, profound, and shimmeringly beautiful. — Starred Booklist Review 

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The Forty-Year Grudge by Liza Tully 

The guests at an exclusive sorority reunion include murder. Aubrey Merritt, “the nationally renowned private investigator,” never intended to leave Gramercy Park for the wilds of New Mexico even though she was an invited member of Sarah Lawrence College’s Sigma Delta Tau chapter. She changes her mind when her old friend John Fitzroy tells her of a note announcing that “she who lives by the sword shall die” that his wife, retired Brigadier General Joan Battersea, received shortly before her guests were scheduled to arrive at the Muddy River Ranch. Merritt decides to make the trip in the company of her assistant and amanuensis, Olivia Blunt. Sure enough, someone’s shot to death during the festivities, but it’s not the general. Instead, the victim is MIT biochemist Eve Exeter, who together with her husband, entrepreneur Conrad Zander, had been about to launch Lifespan, Inc., as a public corporation dedicated to using Eve’s research to extend the lives of its clients. As the newly married Blunt mingles with the guests, all of them old enough to be her mother, she learns one of them has held a grudge against Eve since they were in school together. In case you’ve forgotten that original threat against the general, someone hides no fewer than five scorpions in her bed. Of all the possible antagonists, the one Blunt takes most seriously is Merritt, who challenges her to solve the mystery herself if she wants to keep her job. Considering Merritt’s national reputation, which actually ends up being an important plot point, the mystery is, as she acknowledges, not very challenging at all. Looking for a reason to avoid your college reunion? Tully is happy to oblige. –Kirkus Review  

– 

It Will Come Back to You: Collected Stories by Sigrid Nunez 

The dazzling first collection by novelist Nunez (The Friend, 2018) includes 13 stories published over the past few decades. They range from the nightmarishly surreal “Airport Story,” in which an unnamed woman spirals downward after being diverted to an airport she doesn’t know, to the noir-tinged “The Plan,” in which an increasingly unstable narrator contemplates murder, to the wild, coming-of-age tale “Imagination,” in which a high-strung 14-year-old sees one guest at a party at her parents’ country home “turn into a small dog, no, a large dog” as he enters the bathroom, and the deceptively casual title story, which asks, “Aren’t we all unreliable narrators of our own lives?” Nunez has a gift for surprise, whether it’s in the turn a sentence or a story takes, the little revelations that detonate as a seemingly matter-of-fact story unwinds or the variety of protagonists and settings in her stories. She also knows how to calibrate despair and surprising joy, leaving the reader giddily off-balance. Each of these stories, even the most ostensibly wispy, reverberates long after it ends. – Starred Booklist Review  

– 

Shadow Step: A Detective Miller Novel by Mark Billingham 

The Cookie Monster with a badge personified, or as the Brits might say, a biscuit fiend with a warrant card: Billingham’s peripatetic DS Declan Miller takes his third turn, following The Wrong Hands (2024), tearing around Blackpool on his trusty blue moped. His dead wife, Alex, continues to manifest herself as needed. This is one rambling and wildly funny tale that is set in motion by Ruby, a wobbling, incontinent sausage of a dog who is the companion of the unfortunate Barry Cheshire. The pair are involved in a contretemps with a mean dog owner in the park, and when that man is found dead, Cheshire is the likely suspect. It turns out the victim was involved in a major drug network with ties to Alex’s death. The story branches out from there, with intermittent fox-trotting for Miller, who proudly displays his tango trophy on his mantelpiece. Not spiraling out of control, by any means, this is as carefully plotted as expected from Billingham. There is the promise of redemption for some, although for “Google” McDougall, maybe not so much. – Booklist Review 

Reader’s Note: If you’d like to start reading the Detective Miller Mystery Series from the beginning, check out book one: The Last Dance.  

–

Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.

–

Information on the four library catalogs

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.

–

Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders.

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.

–

Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders!

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV).

–

StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

–

Have questions about how to access Internet based content (i.e. eBooks, eAudios)? Feel free to drop by the Reference Desk or call the library and we will assist you! The library’s telephone number is: 607-936-3713.

–

Tech & Book Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

New York Times Bestsellers: July 26, 2026

Linda Reimer

All titles can be requested/checked out through the library.

If you’d like to go the traditional route to request a title on this list and drop by the library, or give us a call – please do!

Our telephone number is: 607-936-3713

You can also request titles through StarCat found at https://starcat.stls.org

Note: This will be the last FYI New York Times bestseller post.

The list of New York Times Bestsellers is available for free to everyone – check out the following link:

https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/

And keep on eye on this blog for news of new books other other library related items.

Hope you’re having a great summer!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

THE BESTSELLERS

FICTION

1. THEO OF GOLDEN by Allen Levi: A man travels to a small Southern town, where he purchases pencil drawings of local residents and exchanges them for stories.

2. YESTERYEAR by Caro Claire Burke: Natalie Heller Mills, a privileged tradwife social media influencer, wakes up to find she is living in the comparatively difficult reality of 1855.

3. THE CALAMITY CLUB by Kathryn Stockett: As things get tougher during the Depression, several women look for ways to improve their circumstances.

4. PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir: Ryland Grace awakes from a long sleep alone and far from home, and the fate of humanity rests on his shoulders; the basis of the movie.

5. WHISTLER by Ann Patchett: Decades after their time together, a woman reconnects with her stepfather and they look back at the directions their lives have taken.

6. DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL by Matt Dinniman: A Coast Guard vet named Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, are trapped in a fantasy dungeon.

7. LOVE YOU MORE by Emily Giffin: Shortly after becoming engaged, Billie receives a call from her first love that compels her to return to Wisconsin.

8. THE EXQUISITE TORMENT OF LOVING YOUR ENEMY by Brigitte Knightley: The second book in the Dearly Beloathed series. Boundaries weaken between an assassin and a healer.

9. THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans: Letters from someone she used to know push Sybil Van Antwerp toward revisiting her past and finding a way to forgive.

10. THE DEAL by Elle Kennedy: Hannah Wells makes a deal with the captain of the college hockey team in exchange for tutoring him that may complicate their relationship.

11. THE DIVORCE by Freida McFadden: After her husband ends their marriage and she turns her attention to his new girlfriend, Naomi suspects she might be in danger.

12. THE SHAMPOO EFFECT by Jenny Jackson: When Caroline Lash is pushed out of a social circle in a small seaside town, she exposes secrets that rile up the residents.

13. TWISTED ROAD by Christine Feehan: The 10th book in the Torpedo Ink series.

14. THE MISTAKE by Elle Kennedy: The second book in the Off-Campus series. A college hockey player attempts to redeem himself to a rising sophomore.

 15. THE SCORE by Elle Kennedy: The third book in the Off-Campus series. A brokenhearted senior resists the charms of a hockey star.

–

NON-FICTION

1. REGIME CHANGE by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan: Two White House correspondents for The New York Times delve into the first year of President Trump’s second term.

2. REVOLUTION by Eric Metaxas: The author of “Martin Luther” and “Bonhoeffer” gives an account of the foundation of the United States of America.

3. STRANGERS by Belle Burden: Burden retraces her marriage of 20 years in search of clues to help shape her understanding about its demise and to find a way forward.

4. CANCEL ME IF YOU CAN by Dave Portnoy: The founder of Barstool Sports describes how he grew his business from a four-page newspaper into the digital media company it is today.

5. COMMUNION by JD Vance: The vice president and author of “Hillbilly Elegy” describes how he perceives his faith played a part in his work in public life.

6. THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE by David Sedaris: Essays on the passage of time, complicated relationships and some unexpected delights life has to offer.

7. A MARRIAGE AT SEA by Sophie Elmhirst: In 1972, an incident with a breaching whale turns a couple’s dream of sailing on a boat into a monthslong struggle for survival on a raft.

8. THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk: How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.

9. LONDON FALLING by Patrick Radden Keefe: The author of “Say Nothing” details the efforts by the parents of a 19-year-old Londoner to uncover the truth about his mysterious death and secret life.

10. FAMESICK by Lena Dunham: The author of “Not That Kind of Girl” evaluates the effects that pursuing her creative endeavors had on her.

11. THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS by Isabel Wilkerson: An account of the Great Migration of 1915-70, in which nearly six million African-Americans abandoned the South.

12. THE ANXIOUS GENERATION by Jonathan Haidt: A co-author of “The Coddling of the American Mind” looks at the mental health impacts that a phone-based life has on children.

13. EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS by John Green: The author of “The Anthropocene Reviewed” chronicles the fight against the deadly infectious disease tuberculosis.

14. THE GREATEST SENTENCE EVER WRITTEN by Walter Isaacson: The historian and biographer examines the concepts of a statement found in the Declaration of Independence.

15. ON TYRANNY by Timothy Snyder: Twenty lessons from the 20th century about the course of tyranny.

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New York Times Bestseller lists are shared via blog post on Sundays.

–

LIBRARY CATALOGS:

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.

–

Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders.

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.

–

Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders!

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV).

–

StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

–

For more information on library materials and services, including how to get a library card call the library at 607-936-3713.

–

*The Southern Tier Library System includes the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler & Allegheny counties.

Suggested Listening & Viewing: July 17, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here is our weekly Suggested Listening and Viewing post; featuring ten songs and two streaming video recommendations, one from a mainstream service and the other from Kanopy, the library’s free to access streaming service (all you need is a library card!).

First off the music and this week we’re taking a listen to songs that have appeared on soundtracks over the years. Enjoy!

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Beat Girl by the John Barry Seven 

 

From The Soundtrack: Beat Girl (1960) 

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Body & Soul by Dexter Gordon 

 

From The Soundtrack: ‘Round Midnight (1986) 

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California Sun by The Rivieras 

From The Soundtrack: Good Morning, Vietnam 

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Every Day by Buddy Holly  

 

From The Soundtrack: Stand By Me (1986) 

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Honky Tonk, Part II by Bill Doggett 

 

From The Soundtrack: American Hot Wax (1978) 

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Lonely Way by Leith Stevens 

 

Heard in the Movie: Wild One (1953) 

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Molten Swing by the Kansas City Band 

 

From The Soundtrack: Kansas City (1996) 

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Rock Around The Clock by Bill Haley & The Comets 

 

Heard in the Movie; Blackboard Jungle (1955) 

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Scalding Hot Coffee Rag by Craig Ventresco 

 

Found on the Soundtrack: Ghost World (2005) 

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See You In September by The Tempos 

 

From the Soundtrack: American Graffiti 

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Stormy Weather by Lena Horne 

 

From the Soundtrack: Stormy Weather (1943) 

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Tuxedo Junction by The Glenn Miller Orchestra  

  

From the Soundtrack: The Glenn Miller Story (1954) 

– 

And onto the Streaming Videos

Mainstream Stream of the Week  

Lucky, Season 1 (2026) (Apple TV+) 

 

– 

Kanopy Stream of the Week  

The Wonder And The Worry (2024) 

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Trailer  

 

– 

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Have a great weekend!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

Information on the four library catalogs 

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/ 

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go! 

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog. 

And The Digital Catalog/Libby features titles that may be checked out via the one-copy-one-user lending model, just like print books.  

– 

Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/ 

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron checkout limit is 10 items per month. 

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders. 

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players. 

Titles in the Hoopla Catalog are available to be checked out on-demand by all library card holders, with the caveat of being able to check out a maximum of ten titles per month, per card.  

– 

Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en 

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.  

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders! 

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV). 

– 

StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org 

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System. 

Suggested Reading Five: July 15, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five suggested reads of the week!

–

Death of a Wild Swimmer by Peter Boland 

Still waters run deep in this baffling new case for the Charity Shop Detective Agency! 

Wild swimming in February? No, thank you. It sounds like torture to Fiona, Daisy and Partial Sue, the retired ladies behind the counter at Dogs Need Nice Homes charity shop. 

Still, no one ever died of plunging into the icy waters around the sleepy little English town of Southbourne.  

Until now. 

The body of Colin Barclay, retired PE master and wild-swimming fanatic, washes up in a secluded cove. 

Days later, a shifty new customer comes calling at Dogs Need Nice Homes. Is this where you solve murders? She asks, her eyes darting wildly round the shelves of bric-a-brac. I think I have one . . . 

This woman belongs to Colin’s swimming club — and she’s convinced his death was no accident. It was murder. 

She just needs the ladies to dive in and help her prove it . . . 

Fans of Richard Osman, Robert Thorogood, Janice Hallett, Simon Brett, Ian Moore and Sarah Yarwood-Lovett will adore this exciting new talent in cozy crime. 

– 

Fullness of Time: Marking the Day by Birdsong, Blooms, Shadows, and Stars by Cathy Haynes 

A celebration of circadian rhythms. British curator, artist, and educator Haynes, who has served as timekeeper in residence at University College London’s Petrie Museum, makes an engaging book debut with a naturalist’s view of marking time. Ranging widely around England, Scotland, and Iceland, Haynes becomes newly attentive to the ways plants and animals respond to changes in light and seasons. She listens to layers of song that build as birds join the dawn chorus, and to the sounds of owls and bats at night. She notices the regular unfolding of flowers–the primrose in the evening, and many flowers, including the daisy, at predictable times during the day. Linnaeus and other scientists tried to create floral clocks based on the movement of petals, most recently at the Botanical Garden in Bern, Switzerland. The Cambridge University Botanic Garden Circadian Beds are planted with flowers that give off scents, half in the morning, half in the evening, possibly an adaptation for attracting pollinators. Sundials have served as rudimentary clocks since ancient times: a stick in the turf or a spike stuck into a wall with lines scratched beneath could suffice to mark time by the movement of shadows. Humans contrived ways both to ascertain time and keep time: In northern Scotland, Haynes hears songs and chants sung by weavers, millers, and knitters to accompany their work. Assuming that sunlight was of primary importance in telling time, Haynes is surprised to discover the colors and qualities of twilight, which have given rise to three gradations: civil twilight, when it is too dim to read and the brightest stars emerge; nautical twilight, when the atmosphere is too dark to see the horizon; and astronomical twilight, when the faintest stars appear. Curiosity and enthusiasm impel a foray into the natural world. – Kirkus Review 

– 

In Stormy Weather: A Novel by Chelsea Curto 

Quincy Monroe has a PhD in atmospheric sciences, a successful weather show online, and millions of followers on social media–and she still gets grief from men questioning her credentials. When her dream job opens up at the National Weather Service, she quashes her doubts and submits an application. Nothing can stop her now, except maybe Sebastian Dunn. Sebastian is a New York City TV weatherman with his own set of fans–and Quincy’s best friend’s brother, who’s been Quincy’s academic and professional rival since high school. Back in their hometown to film a documentary on the hurricane season, he shows up everywhere Quincy does, chasing the same storms as well as the same NWS job. As they endure record-breaking storms together, Quincy begins to question everything she thought she knew about Seb. Is it possible he’s not the self-absorbed clout chaser she thought he was? Does it even matter, if they’re both trying for the same prestigious job?  

VERDICT Curto’s (“D.C. Stars” series) first traditionally published book is a page-turner, sure to appeal to fans of Ali Hazelwood’s women-in-STEM books, as well as those who enjoy antagonists-to-lovers romances.–Starred Library Journal Review  

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Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson 

Jackson (Pineapple Street) offers sharp social commentary on millennials navigating middle age, set in a close-knit Massachusetts beach town. Caroline, an outsider, narrates much of the story, with other voices offering their perspectives. The daughter of a bestselling author, Caroline is determined to forge her own literary identity. After publishing a story in the New Yorker, she quits her publishing job and wins a prestigious writing fellowship that comes with a stay in a seaside cottage once owned by a legendary local writer. There she meets Van, a passionate environmentalist, and is drawn into his circle of longtime friends. As she immerses herself in their world–and falls in love with Van–initially guarded relationships soften. Everything shifts when one of Van’s friends reveals she is pregnant with his child. Though Caroline and Van navigate the pregnancy, things change after the baby’s birth, and Caroline lashes out the only way she knows how: through her writing. Her thinly veiled short story, based on Van’s friends, detonates the small town. Hidden truths surface, relationships fracture, and everyone is forced to reckon with what they’ve been avoiding.  

VERDICT Fueled by humor, sex, and drugs, this pointed, character-driven novel will appeal to fans of Emma Straub or Taffy Brodesser-Akner.–Starred Library Journal Review  

– 

Yellow Pine by Claire Vaye Watkins 

The Mojave Desert is Watkins’ muse and the setting for her spiky novels. In her third, following I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness (2021), Rose has returned to the pitiless Nevada desert after the demise of her marriage and the painful decision to have her daughter live on the East Coast with her father during the school year. Rose has been working for the Sierra Club but feels like “a flunky for the nonprofit-corporate-industrial complex.”” She prefers the scrappy eco-activists occupying Yellow Pine, an enormous commercial solar installation on public land that is causing the deaths of desert tortoises, among other abominations. After her first love reappears, Rose wants a second child, but he balks. Both are deep thinkers tormented by crimes against the planet and humanity. How to keep from plunging into despair? How to cultivate hope and love? Churning with Rose’s ethical, profane, furious, funny, and cosmic reflections and forays into desert geology, ancient goddess cultures, and numerous books, Watkins’ keen and righteous novel wrestles with myriad paradoxes, spirituality, and how ecocide does “deep, grievous injury to the collective soul.” — Booklist Review  

–

Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.

–

Information on the four library catalogs

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.

–

Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders.

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.

–

Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders!

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV).

–

StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

–

Have questions about how to access Internet based content (i.e. eBooks, eAudios)? Feel free to drop by the Reference Desk or call the library and we will assist you! The library’s telephone number is: 607-936-3713.

–

Tech & Book Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

New York Times Bestsellers: July 19, 2026

Linda Reimer

All titles can be requested/checked out through the library.

If you’d like to go the traditional route to request a title on this list and drop by the library, or give us a call – please do!

Our telephone number is: 607-936-3713

You can also request titles through StarCat found at https://starcat.stls.org

–

THE BESTSELLERS

FICTION

1. THEO OF GOLDEN by Allen Levi: A man travels to a small Southern town, where he purchases pencil drawings of local residents and exchanges them for stories.

2. YESTERYEAR by Caro Claire Burke: Natalie Heller Mills, a privileged tradwife social media influencer, wakes up to find she is living in the comparatively difficult reality of 1855.

3. THE CALAMITY CLUB by Kathryn Stockett: As things get tougher during the Depression, several women look for ways to improve their circumstances.

4. WHISTLER by Ann Patchett: Decades after their time together, a woman reconnects with her stepfather and they look back at the directions their lives have taken.

5. DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL by Matt Dinniman: A Coast Guard vet named Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, are trapped in a fantasy dungeon.

6. PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir: Ryland Grace awakes from a long sleep alone and far from home, and the fate of humanity rests on his shoulders; the basis of the movie.

7. THE DEAL by Elle Kennedy: Hannah Wells makes a deal with the captain of the college hockey team in exchange for tutoring him that may complicate their relationship.

8. TEMPTING VENOM by Rina Kent: The third book in the Vipers series. The relationship between hockey rivals may change.

9. THE SHAMPOO EFFECT by Jenny Jackson: When Caroline Lash is pushed out of a social circle in a small seaside town, she exposes secrets that rile up the residents.

10. THE DIVORCE by Freida McFadden: After her husband ends their marriage and she turns her attention to his new girlfriend, Naomi suspects she might be in danger.

11. THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans: Letters from someone she used to know push Sybil Van Antwerp toward revisiting her past and finding a way to forgive.

12. THE MISTAKE by Elle Kennedy: The second book in the Off-Campus series. A college hockey player attempts to redeem himself to a rising sophomore.

13. THE SCORE by Elle Kennedy: The third book in the Off-Campus series. A brokenhearted senior resists the charms of a hockey star.

14. ENTER THE NIGHTMARE by Jayne Castle: The 19th book in the Harmony series.

15. REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt: A widow working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium is aided in solving a mystery by a giant Pacific octopus living there; the basis of the movie.

NON-FICTION

1. REGIME CHANGE by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan: Two White House correspondents for The New York Times delve into the first year of President Trump’s second term.

2. CANCEL ME IF YOU CAN by Dave Portnoy: The founder of Barstool Sports describes how he grew his business from a four-page newspaper into the digital media company it is today.

3. STRANGERS by Belle Burden: Burden retraces her marriage of 20 years in search of clues to help shape her understanding about its demise and to find a way forward.

4. COMMUNION by JD Vance: The vice president and author of “Hillbilly Elegy” describes how he perceives his faith played a part in his work in public life.

5. THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE by David Sedaris: Essays on the passage of time, complicated relationships and some unexpected delights life has to offer.

6. REVOLUTION by Eric Metaxas: The author of “Martin Luther” and “Bonhoeffer” gives an account of the foundation of the United States of America.

7. AMERICAN STRUGGLE by Jon Meacham: The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer examines national divisions and debates over the last four centuries.

8. LONDON FALLING by Patrick Radden Keefe: The author of “Say Nothing” details the efforts by the parents of a 19-year-old Londoner to uncover the truth about his mysterious death and secret life.

9. THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk: How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.

10. A MARRIAGE AT SEA by Sophie Elmhirst: In 1972, an incident with a breaching whale turns a couple’s dream of sailing on a boat into a monthslong struggle for survival on a raft.

11. CARELESS PEOPLE by Sarah Wynn-Williams: A former Facebook executive gives an account of policies and leadership at the social media platform.

12. CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson: The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist examines aspects of caste systems across civilizations and reveals a rigid hierarchy in America today.

13. KNICKER BONKERS by The New York Post: An overview of the New York Knicks’ 2026 championship season.

14. THE GREATEST SENTENCE EVER WRITTEN by Walter Isaacson: The historian and biographer examines the concepts of a statement found in the Declaration of Independence.

15. WE THE WOMEN by Norah O’Donnell with Kate Andersen Brower: A collection of portraits of women whose lives and work helped shape American history.

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Have a great Sunday!

Linda

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New York Times Bestseller lists are shared via blog post on Sundays.

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LIBRARY CATALOGS:

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.

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Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders.

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.

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Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders!

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV).

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StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

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For more information on library materials and services, including how to get a library card call the library at 607-936-3713.

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*The Southern Tier Library System includes the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler & Allegheny counties.