Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week, five digital titles available through OverDrive and five print titles available through StarCat.
DIGITAL SUGGESTIONS OF THE WEEK:
The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel by Deborah Hopkinson (eBook):
“A delightful combination of race-against-the-clock medical mystery and outwit-the-bad-guys adventure.” –Publishers Weekly, Starred
Eel has troubles of his own: As an orphan and a “mudlark,” he spends his days in the filthy River Thames, searching for bits of things to sell. He’s being hunted by Fisheye Bill Tyler, and a nastier man never walked the streets of London. And he’s got a secret that costs him four precious shillings a week to keep safe. But even for Eel, things aren’t so bad until that fateful August day in 1854–the day the deadly cholera (“blue death”) comes to Broad Street.
Everyone believes that cholera is spread through poisonous air. But one man, Dr. John Snow, has a different theory. As the epidemic surges, it’s up to Eel and his best friend, Florrie, to gather evidence to prove Dr. Snow’s theory–before the entire neighborhood is wiped out.
Home Front by Kristin Hannah (Format: eBook):
In her bestselling novels Kristin Hannah has plumbed the depths of friendship, the loyalty of sisters, and the secrets mothers keep. Now, in her most emotionally powerful story yet, she explores the intimate landscape of a troubled marriage with this provocative and timely portrait of a husband and wife, in love and at war.
All marriages have a breaking point. All families have wounds. All wars have a cost. . . .
Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life—-children, careers, bills, chores—-even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm’s way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own—-for everything that matters to his family.
At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family, Home Front is a story of love, loss, heroism, honor, and ultimately, hope.
Love And Ruin by Paula McLain (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):
In 1937, twenty-eight-year-old Martha Gellhorn travels alone to Madrid to report on the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War and becomes drawn to the stories of ordinary people caught in the devastating conflict. It’s her chance to prove herself a worthy journalist in a field dominated by men. There she also finds herself unexpectedly—and unwillingly—falling in love with Ernest Hemingway, a man on his way to becoming a legend.
On the eve of World War II, and set against the turbulent backdrops of Madrid and Cuba, Martha and Ernest’s relationship and careers ignite. But when Ernest publishes the biggest literary success of his career, For Whom the Bell Tolls, they are no longer equals, and Martha must forge a path as her own woman and writer.
Heralded by Ann Patchett as “the new star of historical fiction,” Paula McLain brings Gellhorn’s story richly to life and captures her as a heroine for the ages: a woman who will risk absolutely everything to find her own voice.
Manhattan Noir edited by Lawrence Block (Format: eBook):
Brand-new stories by: Jeffery Deaver, Lawrence Block, Charles Ardai, Carol Lea Benjamin, Thomas H. Cook, Jim Fusilli, Robert Knightly, John Lutz, Liz Martínez, Maan Meyers, Martin Meyers, S.J. Rozan, Justin Scott, C.J. Sullivan, and Xu Xi.
Lawrence Block has won most of the major mystery awards, and has been called the quintessential New York writer, although he insists the city’s far too big to have a quintessential writer. His series characters—Matthew Scudder, Bernie Rhodenbarr, Evan Tanner, Chip Harrison, and Keller—all live in Manhattan; like their creator, they wouldn’t really be happy anywhere else.
Rod Serling’s Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves by Rod Serling (Format:eBook):
Twelve horrifying tales for the demon in you collected by the man who wrote Stories from the Twilight Zone
ROD SERLING’S FAVORITE STORIES—
THE WITCH—there was the little girl who always wanted to be a witch. She tried everything she could think of but she never made it until she learned to hate everybody—including herself…
AND THE WARLOCK WHO WAITED AND WAITED
“It was a wonderful attack, Captain. Nothing human could have lived through it—nothing human did. We were deep underground where they buried us long ago—the stakes through our hearts. Your fire burned the stakes away—” The warlock waved a scaly hand at the waiting shadows. They came down relentlessly.
AND THE WEREWOLF
Early morning at the zoo, and the naked man behind the bars was sound asleep. Suddenly, his eyes flickered and his right hand smashed down at the flies that buzzed on the bone he’d been gnawing last night. The flies left, but the naked man stayed immobile, his eyes on his hand. Outside the cage a sign read,
LOBO,
TIMBER WOLF,
Canis occidentalis.
AND NINE MORE STORIES ABOUT WITCHES, WARLOCKS AND WEREWOLVES ALL HERE IN ROD SERLING’S TRIPLE W
PRINT BOOK SUGGESTIONS OF THE WEEK:
A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change And The Rest Can Follow by Joshua Goldstein:
A proven, fast, inexpensive, practical way to cut greenhouse gas emissions and prevent catastrophic climate change. As climate change nears potentially disastrous tipping points, a solution is hiding in plain sight. Several countries have successfully replaced fossil fuels with low-carbon energy sources by combining renewable energy with a quick buildout of nuclear power. By following their example, the world could dramatically cut fossil fuel use by midcentury, even as energy consumption continues to rise. Joshua Goldstein and Staffan Qvist explain how clean energy rapidly replaced fossil fuels in such places as Sweden, France, and Ontario, while enhancing both prosperity and the natural environment. Engagingly written, yet backed by deep research, this book will encourage a fresh look at the assumptions that have long shaped the climate change debate. The stakes are extraordinarily high and the deadline for action is near. This clear and compelling book could spark the transformation in energy policy that the world needs.
The Chef by James Patterson:
Accused of committing murder in the line of duty, detective Caleb Rooney of the New Orleans Police Department uses the contacts from his moonlighting job as a celebrity food-truck chef to counter a terrorist plot.
The Dreamers: A Novel by Karen Thompson Walker:
One night in an isolated college town in the hills of Southern California, a first-year student stumbles into her dorm room, falls asleep, and doesn’t wake up. She sleeps through the morning, into the evening. Her roommate, Mei, cannot rouse her. Neither can the paramedics, nor the perplexed doctors at the hospital. When a second girl falls asleep, and then a third, Mei finds herself thrust together with an eccentric classmate as panic takes hold of the college and spreads to the town. A young couple tries to protect their newborn baby as the once-quiet streets descend into chaos. Two sisters turn to each other for comfort as their survivalist father prepares for disaster. Those affected by the illness, doctors discover, are displaying unusual levels of brain activity, higher than has ever been recorded before. They are dreaming heightened dreams, but of what? Written in luminous prose, The Dreamers is a breathtaking and beautiful novel, startling and provocative, about the possibilities contained within a human life, if only we are awakened to them.
Never Tell by Lisa Gardner:
A man is dead, shot three times in his home office. But his computer has been shot twelve times, and when the cops arrive, his pregnant wife is holding the gun. D. D. Warren arrives on the scene and recognizes the woman–Evie Carter–from a case many years back. Evie’s father was killed in a shooting that was ruled an accident. But for D.D., two coincidental murders is too many. Flora Dane sees the murder of Conrad Carter on the TV news and immediately knows his face. She remembers a night when she was still a victim–a hostage–and her captor knew this man. Overcome with guilt that she never tracked him down, Flora is now determined to learn the truth of Conrad’s murder. But D.D. and Flora are about to discover that in this case the truth is a devilishly elusive thing. As layer by layer they peel away the half-truths and outright lies, they wonder: How many secrets can one family have?
The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother’s Life in the Detroit Numbers by Bridgett M. Davis:
An homage to the author’s mother relates how she cleverly played Detroit’s illegal lottery in the 1970s to support the family while creating a loving, joyful home and mothering her children to the highest standards.
Have a great week!
Linda, SSCL
Online Catalog Links:
StarCat
The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc.
The Digital Catalog (OverDrive)
The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.
Freegal Music Service
This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day:
RBDigital
*Magazines are available for free and on demand! You can check out magazines and read them on your computer or download the RBDigital app from your app store and read them on your mobile devices.
About Library Apps:
You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or Zinio app from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at: 607-936-3713 and one of our Digital Literacy Specialists will be happy to assist you.
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