Here is a list of select Digital Catalog e-books, audios and videos s you might enjoy reading, viewing or listening to over the weekend!
E-Books:
Popular Fiction:
The Snapper, Barrytown Trilogy, Book 2 by Roddy Doyle: Dublin playwright Doyle’s first novel, The Commitments (Vintage, 1989), told the story of Jimmy Rabbitte Jr.’s formation of Ireland’s first soul band and went on to become a popular film. These two volumes continue the saga of the Rabbitte family in the mythic working-class Dublin neighborhood of Barrytown. The Snapper concerns the unplanned pregnancy of the eldest daughter, delineating nine months of sparring between Sharon, who refuses to reveal the baby’s father, and Jimmy Sr., the clan’s vulgar, witty patriarch. Among its many other virtues, it offers a sensitive fictional narrative of pregnancy. The Van picks up a year or so later. Jimmy Sr. is now unemployed, his family is growing up, and gloom has set in. Consolation comes when his best friend Bimbo also becomes “redundant” and the two go in together on a filthy, used fish-and-chips van. Their riotous adventures give a new spin to the notion of male bonding. Brilliantly constructed from the details of everyday life, both novels are made up almost entirely of dialog: sharp, crackling, relentless vernacular speech that never patronizes the characters. This is great comic writing that makes you laugh for pages yet keeps you aware that you could, instead, be crying.
– Brian Kenney, Pace Univ. Lib., Manhattan Campus, New York. Review from Library Journal
Taipei by Tao Lin: From one of this generation’s most talked about and enigmatic writers comes a deeply personal, powerful, and moving novel about family, relationships, accelerating drug use, and the lingering possibility of death.
Taipei by Tao Lin is an ode–or lament–to the way we live now. Following Paul from New York, where he comically navigates Manhattan’s art and literary scenes, to Taipei, Taiwan, where he confronts his family’s roots, we see one relationship fail, while another is born on the internet and blooms into an unexpected wedding in Las Vegas. Along the way—whether on all night drives up the East Coast, shoplifting excursions in the South, book readings on the West Coast, or ill advised grocery runs in Ohio—movies are made with laptop cameras, massive amounts of drugs are ingested, and two young lovers come to learn what it means to share themselves completely. The result is a suspenseful meditation on memory, love, and what it means to be alive, young, and on the fringe in America, or anywhere else for that matter.
The Things We Do for Love: A Novel by Kristin Hannah: In this tear-jerking novel by Hannah (Between Sisters), 38-year-old Angela Malone abandons a successful advertising career in Seattle to find comfort in West End, the small Pacific Northwest coastal town where she grew up. Pregnancy woes (chronic miscarriages, a baby who lived only for five days and a botched adoption) have caused her marriage to journalist Conlan to end in divorce. Her big, warmhearted Italian family welcomes her with open arms, and she throws herself into revamping the family restaurant, DeSaria’s. Then she befriends hard-working teenager Lauren Ribido, who’s in need of a new coat, some mothering and, later on, a place to live. Lauren’s life is far worse than self-pitying Angie’s—she’s pregnant, her alcoholic mother has given up on her, and her rich boyfriend, David, is off to his first-choice college. Lauren can’t go through with the abortion David encourages her to have, and the next step seems obvious: she should give the baby up to Angie, who’s on the way to reconciling with Conlan. Hannah stacks the odds against Lauren almost absurdly, and makes her life with Angie a rose-tinted dream come true, but she paints a wrenching, convincing picture of the dilemma teenage mothers face. Familiar but warmly rendered characters, a few surprising twists and a bittersweet ending make this satisfying summer reading. Review from Publishers Weekly
Critically Acclaimed Fiction:
The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates: A major historical novel from “one of the great artistic forces of our time” (The Nation)—an eerie, unforgettable story of possession, power, and loss in early-twentieth-century Princeton, a cultural crossroads of the powerful and the damned
Princeton, New Jersey, at the turn of the twentieth century: a tranquil place to raise a family, a genteel town for genteel souls. But something dark and dangerous lurks at the edges of the town, corrupting and infecting its residents. Vampires and ghosts haunt the dreams of the innocent. A powerful curse besets the elite families of Princeton; their daughters begin disappearing. A young bride on the verge of the altar is seduced and abducted by a dangerously compelling man–a shape-shifting, vaguely European prince who might just be the devil, and who spreads his curse upon a richly deserving community of white Anglo-Saxon privilege. And in the Pine Barrens that border the town, a lush and terrifying underworld opens up.
When the bride’s brother sets out against all odds to find her, his path will cross those of Princeton’s most formidable people, from Grover Cleveland, fresh out of his second term in the White House and retired to town for a quieter life, to soon-to-be commander in chief Woodrow Wilson, president of the university and a complex individual obsessed to the point of madness with his need to retain power; from the young Socialist idealist Upton Sinclair to his charismatic comrade Jack London, and the most famous writer of the era, Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain–all plagued by “accursed” visions.
An utterly fresh work from Oates, The Accursed marks new territory for the masterful writer. Narrated with her unmistakable psychological insight, it combines beautifully transporting historical detail with chilling supernatural elements to stunning effect.
Seize the Night by Dean Koontz: There are no rules in the dark, no place to feel safe, no escape from the shadows. But to save the day, you must…Seize the Night.
At no time does Moonlight Bay look more beautiful than at night. Yet it is precisely then that the secluded little town reveals its menace. Now children are disappearing. From their homes. From the streets. And there’s nothing their families can do about it. Because in Moonlight Bay, the police work their hardest to conceal crimes and silence victims. No matter what happens in the night, their job is to ensure that nothing disturbs the peace and quiet of Moonlight Bay….
Christopher Snow isn’t afraid of the dark. Forced to live in the shadows because of a rare genetic disorder, he knows the night world better than anyone. He believes the lost children are still alive and that their disappearance is connected to the town’s most carefully kept, most ominous secret—a secret only he can uncover, a secret that will force him to confront an adversary at one with the most dangerous darkness of all. The darkness inside the human heart.
Non-Fiction
25 Movies to Mend a Broken Heart by Roger Ebert: Ahh, love. It can be a many splendored thing, but it can also lead to the pain of a broken heart. For those experiencing such a sad eventuality, turn to this e-book only selection of Ebert’s Essentials, and consider these reviews of movies to help get you through the heartbreak. While not a cure for a broken heart (what could be?), watching these films can bring hope and appreciation for the possibility of love again or just help you laugh at the total absurdity of it all. Enjoy such classic romantic comedies as Moonstruck and Annie Hall to the decidedly offbeat Lars and the Real Girl that will help bring a smile back. Appreciate quiet looks into love with films like The Scent of Green Papaya and Once. As an added bonus to this special collection, clips of movie trailers are included with most reviews.
Impresario: The Life and Times of Ed Sullivan by James Maguire: For more than twenty years, from 1948 to 1971, fifty-five million viewers watched The Ed Sullivan Show religiously every Sunday night. Everyone who was anyone appeared—the Beatles and Elvis, of course, and Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, and Elizabeth Taylor, plus public figures such as Fidel Castro, David Ben-Gurion, and Martin Luther King, Jr. More than thirty years later, the program remains a pop-culture icon. But despite Ed Sullivan’s prominence, little was known about the private man…until now. Impresario reveals what the Sullivan viewers never saw: nasty, hot-tempered, craven, yet also capable of high ideals and, above all, hugely ambitious. At a time when Americans are looking back, The Ed Sullivan Show stands out as a shining example of television during the golden era. Impresario lets readers look behind the screen to see the man who made it happen.
The Real Life Downton Abbey: How Life Was Really Lived in Stately Homes a Century Ago by Jacky Hyams: Fans of Julian Fellowes’ hit show can step back 100 years to the world of the pampered, privileged upper classes and take a look at exactly what goes on behind the magisterial doors of their favorite stately home
Using the characters and setting of the popular television show as a point of reference for the reader, this is a closer look at the Edwardian period. They were the super rich of their times, pampered beyond belief—the early 20th century Edwardian gentry, who lived like superstars, their every desire or need catered to by an army of butlers, servants, footmen, housekeepers, and grooms. Class, money, inheritance, luxury, and snobbery dominated every aspect of the lives of the upper crust Edwardian family. While below stairs the staff inhabited a completely different world, their very lives dependent on servicing the rich, pandering to their masters’ every whim, and rubbing shoulders with wealth and privilege. While privy to the most intimate and darkest secrets of their masters, they faced ruin and shame if they ventured to make the smallest step outside the boundaries of their class-ridden world. From manners and morals to etiquette and style, this book opens the doors to the reality of the era behind TV’s favorite stately home.
Children’s Books:
Beyond the Firefly Field by R.E. Munzing: Living in the country seemed to present only boredom for Clayton and his friends, until one night a faraway glowing field beckoned them. What they found had been safely hidden away for over a thousand years. The kids soon became obsessed with the wonders they had discovered, as their wishes for excitement and adventure were granted. But visiting the field was beginning to change them, and as school started, their secret became harder to keep. Clayton felt torn—like he was living in two worlds—and he feared he would soon have to do whatever it took to keep the secret…or never go back to the firefly field again.
Point of No Return by Paul McCusker: Fans of the long-running audio series Adventures in Odyssey can hardly remember a time when there wasn’t a Connie or a Eugene—or an Imagination Station. But there was. Now step back in time as these exciting novels whisk you away to the days before the popular radio show.
Standing up for what you believe isn’t easy, as the kids in Odyssey discover in these four engaging stories. In Point of No Return, Jimmy Barclay finds that doing the right thing can cost him everything he thinks is most precious. In Dark Passage, Jack Davis and Matt Booker ignore a keep-out sign on the Imagination Station. Suddenly, they’re in pre–Civil War America, where slave traders capture Matt. The story continues in Freedom Run as Matt escapes from the slave traders and is joined by Jack for a thrilling Underground Railroad adventure. In The Stranger’s Message, Mr. Whittaker and the kids at Whit’s End meet a stranger in need and ask themselves, “What would Jesus do?”
Author Paul McCusker has written over 200 episodes of Adventures in Odyssey and been involved from the early days of the show. Set in a time before the radio show, these stories often reference the beginnings of inventions like the Imagination Station, familiar characters like the Barclays coming to town, and other AIO references that fans will enjoy.
Album:
Phantasys by Danny Wright (If you like piano music – check this title out!):
Digital Audio Download Includes:
1. Phantasy (Danny Wright)
2. Madonna Lullaby (Danny Wright)
3. Spring (Danny Wright)
4. Love Gift (Danny Wright)
5. Pavane (Danny Wright)
6. Awakening (Danny Wright)
7. In Flight (Danny Wright)
8. October (Danny Wright)
9. Fourth Lake (Danny Wright)
10. Soaring (Danny Wright)
11. Phantasy Reprise (Danny Wright)
Audio Book:
The Hollow by Nora Roberts: For Fox, Caleb, Gage and the other residents of Hawkins Hollow, the number seven portends doom—ever since, as boys, they freed a demon trapped for centuries when their blood spilled upon The Pagan Stone…
Their innocent bonding ritual led to seven days of madness, every seven years. And now, as the dreaded seventh month looms before them, the men can feel the storm brewing. Already they are plagued by visions of death and destruction. But this year, they are better prepared, joined in their battle by three women who have come to The Hollow. Layla, Quinn, and Cybil are somehow connected to the demon, just as the men are connected to the force that trapped it.
Since that day at The Pagan Stone, town lawyer Fox has been able to see into others’ minds, a talent he shares with Layla. He must earn her trust, because their link will help fight the darkness that threatens to engulf the town. But Layla is having trouble coming to terms with her newfound ability—and this intimate connection to Fox. She knows that once she opens her mind, she’ll have no defenses against the desire that threatens to consume them both…
Video:
World Music from India with the Ancient Poets of Râjasthân: A documentary about the musical traditions of the Manganiar, who are among the most sophisticated musicians of Western Rajasthan. It includes a concert performance by these extraordinary musical poets.
The STLS Digital Catalog may be found on the library’s homepage of SSCLIBRARY.ORG
Or via the following link:
http://stls.lib.overdrive.com/FE5904CF-8A91-4688-A592-7A046C7988D3/10/536/en/Default.htm
And if you have an smartphone or tablet look for the OverDrive Media Console app in your app store – it is the app that will allow you to check out free library e-books and audio books and download them to your tablet or smartphone.
Digital Catalog music and video titles must currently be downloaded to a Windows computer to enjoy.
Have a great weekend!
Linda R.
Tech & Book Talk at SSCL 