Month: February 2020

Hi everyone, here are the top New York Times fiction and non-fiction bestsellers for the upcoming week.

(Click on the book covers to read a summary of each plot and to request the book(s) of your choice.

FICTION:

AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins:

A bookseller flees Mexico for the United States with her son while pursued by the head of a drug cartel

 

–

 

DEAR EDWARD by Ann Napolitano:

A 12-year-old boy tries to start over after becoming the sole survivor of a plane crash in which he lost his immediate family.

 

–

 

THE DUTCH HOUSE by Ann Patchett:

A sibling relationship is impacted when the family goes from poverty to wealth and back again over the course of many decades.

 

–

 

THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes:

In Depression-era America, five women refuse to be cowed by men or convention as they deliver books throughout the mountains of Kentucky.

 

–

 

THE GUARDIANS by John Grisham:

Cullen Post, a lawyer and Episcopal minister, antagonizes some ruthless killers when he takes on a wrongful conviction case.

 

–

 

HUNTING FOR A HIGHLANDER by Lynsay Sands:

The eighth book in the Highland Brides series. Geordie Buchanan and Lady Dwyn Innes have a chance encounter in an orchard.

 

–

 

THE INSTITUTE by Stephen King:

Children with special talents are abducted and sequestered in an institution where the sinister staff seeks to extract their gifts through harsh methods.

 

–

 

THE LAST WISH by Andrzej Sapkowski:

Linked stories follow the exploits of Geralt of Rivia, a monster-slaying mercenary.

 

–

 

LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng:

An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland.

 

–

 

LONG BRIGHT RIVER by Liz Moore:

Mickey risks her job with the Philadelphia police force by going after a murderer and searching for her missing sister.

 

 

–

 

A LONG PETAL OF THE SEA by Isabel Allende:

A young pregnant widow and an Army doctor take a ship to Chile to escape the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.

 

–

 

LOST by James Patterson and James O. Born:

The new head of an F.B.I. task force takes on a crime syndicate run by a pair of Russian nationals.

 

–

 

A MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT by David Baldacci:

When Atlee Pine returns to her hometown to investigate her sister’s kidnapping from 30 years ago, she winds up tracking a potential serial killer.

 

–

 

MORAL COMPASS by Danielle Steel:

Shortly after Saint Ambrose Prep goes co-ed, a student is attacked and the community falls apart.

 

–

 

THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides:

Theo Faber looks into the mystery of a famous painter who stops speaking after shooting her husband.

 

–

 

SUCH A FUN AGE by Kiley Reid:

Tumult ensues when Alix Chamberlain’s babysitter is mistakenly accused of kidnapping her charge

 

–

 

VENDETTA ROAD by Christine Feehan:

The third book in the Torpedo Ink series. After a breakup, Soleil meets a man in a Las Vegas biker bar.

 

–

 

WHEN YOU SEE ME by Lisa Gardner:

D.D. Warren and Flora Dane join the F.B.I. agent Kimberly Quincy’s taskforce.

 

–

 

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens:

In a quiet town on the North Carolina coast in 1969, a young woman who survived alone in the marsh becomes a murder suspect.

 

–

 

NON-FICTION:

ARGUING WITH ZOMBIES by Paul Krugman:

The Nobel-winning economist and New York Times columnist describes potential misunderstandings in discussing economics.

 

–

 

BAD BLOOD by John Carreyrou:

The rise and fall of Theranos, the biotech startup that failed to deliver on its promise to make blood testing more efficient.

 

–

 

BECOMING by Michelle Obama:

The former first lady describes her journey from the South Side of Chicago to the White House, and how she balanced work, family and her husband’s political ascent.

 

–

 

THE BODY by Bill Bryson:

An owner’s manual of the human body covering various parts, functions and what happens when things go wrong.

 

–

 

THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk:

How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.

 

–

 

CATCH AND KILL by Ronan Farrow:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter details some surveillance and intimidation tactics used to pressure journalists and elude consequences by certain wealthy and connected men.

 

–

 

EDUCATED by Tara Westover:

The daughter of survivalists, who is kept out of school, educates herself enough to leave home for university.

 

–

 

HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST by Ibram X. Kendi:

A primer for creating a more just and equitable society through identifying and opposing racism.

 

–

 

JUST MERCY by Bryan Stevenson:

A law professor and MacArthur grant recipient’s memoir of his decades of work to free innocent people condemned to death.

 

–

 

THE MAMBA MENTALITY by Kobe Bryant:

Various skills and techniques used on the court by the Los Angeles Lakers player.

 

–

 

MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE by Lori Gottlieb:

A psychotherapist gains unexpected insights when she becomes another therapist’s patient.

 

–

 

ME AND WHITE SUPREMACY by Layla F. Saad:

Ways to understand and possibly counteract white privilege.

 

–

 

SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari:

How Homo sapiens became Earth’s dominant species.

 

–

 

SAY NOTHING by Patrick Radden Keefe:

A look at the conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles.

 

–

 

TALKING TO STRANGERS by Malcolm Gladwell:

Famous examples of miscommunication serve as the backdrop to explain potential conflicts and misunderstandings.

 

–

 

TIGHTROPE by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning authors examine issues affecting working-class Americans.

 

–

 

VERY STABLE GENIUS by Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists use firsthand accounts to chart patterns of behavior within the Trump administration.

 

–

 

WHY WE’RE POLARIZED by Ezra Klein:

The editor at large and co-founder of Vox offers his take on what causes divisions in America.

–

 

Have a great weekend!

Linda Reimer, SSL

–

Note: this list contains all the New York Times fiction and non-fiction bestsellers for the week that are owned by libraries within the Southern Tier Library System.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week, five digital titles, eBooks & downloadable audiobooks, available through OverDrive and five print titles available through StarCat.

DIGITAL CATALOG RECOMMENDATIONS:

Alice by Howard Fast:

A freak subway accident traps a New York architect in a deadly conspiracy that will threaten what he loves most John T. Camber is waiting on an uptown subway platform the moment his life changes forever. It happens quickly, when a haggard elderly man utters a sudden plea for help before falling on the tracks in front of an oncoming train. Reeling from the accident, Camber flees the station, only to be accosted by a brass-knuckled thug who believes Camber knows more than he’s letting on. And just like that, the suburban commuter finds himself inextricably trapped in a deadly conspiracy beyond his understanding. Dangerous people are after Camber, and if they can’t get to him, they’ll target his daughter instead. . . . Tense and action-packed, Alice is a stunning thriller about a man caught in events beyond his control, who will stop at nothing to protect his family.

–

 

Followers: A Novel by Megan Angelo (Format: eBook):

An electrifying story of two ambitious friends, the dark choices they make and the stunning moment that changes the world as we know it forever

Orla Cadden is a budding novelist stuck in a dead-end job, writing clickbait about movie-star hookups and influencer yoga moves. Then Orla meets Floss—a striving, wannabe A-lister—who comes up with a plan for launching them both into the high-profile lives they dream about. So what if Orla and Floss’s methods are a little shady—and sometimes people get hurt? Their legions of followers can’t be wrong.

Thirty-five years later, in a closed California village where government-appointed celebrities live every moment of the day on camera, a woman named Marlow discovers a shattering secret about her past. Despite her massive popularity—twelve million loyal followers—Marlow dreams of fleeing the corporate sponsors who would do anything to keep her on-screen. When she learns that her whole family history is based on a lie, Marlow finally summons the courage to run in search of the truth, no matter the risks.

Followers traces the paths of Orla, Floss and Marlow as they wind through time toward each other, and toward a cataclysmic event that sends America into lasting upheaval. At turns wry and tender, bleak and hopeful, this darkly funny story reminds us that even if we obsess over famous people we’ll never meet, what we really crave is genuine human connection.

 

–

 

Piper In the Woods, Early Stories of Philip K. Dick written by Philip K. Dick and read by Chris Lutkin (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)

In Piper in the Woods, an army doctor is asked to treat a soldier from Asteroid Y-3 who claims he is a plant. This wouldn’t be a problem, but the soldier is incapable of any physical activity, preferring to stand still and point himself towards the sun. When more soldiers return from Asteroid Y-3 also claiming to be plants, Dr. Harris travels there to investigate. While there, he learns about a mysterious indigenous people living in the woods called “Pipers”, who might be able to shed some light on the subject.

 

–

 

Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski (Format: eBook)

Before he was the guardian of Ciri, the child of destiny, Geralt of Rivia was a legendary swordsman. Join the Witcher as he undertakes a deadly mission in this stand-alone adventure set in the world that inspired the blockbuster video games.

Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher, one of the few capable of hunting the monsters that prey on humanity. A mutant who is tasked with killing unnatural beings. He uses magical signs, potions, and the pride of every Witcher – two swords, steel and silver.

But a contract has gone wrong, and Geralt finds himself without his signature weapons. Now he needs them back, because sorcerers are scheming, and across the world clouds are gathering.

The season of storms is coming…

 

–

 

Terminal World written by Alastair Reynolds and read by John Lee (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

Spearpoint, the last human city, is an atmosphere-piercing spire of vast size. Clinging to its skin are the zones, a series of semi-autonomous city-states, each of which enjoys a different-and rigidly enforced-level of technology. Following an infiltration mission that went tragically wrong, Quillon has been living incognito, working as a pathologist in the district morgue. But when a near-dead angel drops onto his dissecting table, Quillon’s world is wrenched apart one more time. If Quillon is to save his life, he must leave his home and journey into the cold and hostile lands beyond Spearpoint’s base, starting an exile that will take him further than he could ever imagine. But there is far more at stake than just Quillon’s own survival, for the limiting technologies of the zones are determined not by governments or police but by the very nature of reality-and reality itself is showing worrying signs of instability.

 

–

PRINT RECOMMENDATIONS:

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu:

A deeply personal novel about race, pop culture, and escaping the roles we are forced to play–by the author of the infinitely inventive How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe.

Willis Wu doesn’t perceive himself as a protagonist even in his own life: He’s merely Generic Asian man. Sometimes he gets to be Background Oriental Making a Weird Face or even Disgraced Son, but he is always relegated to a prop. Yet every day he leaves his tiny room in a Chinatown SRO and enters the Golden Palace restaurant, where Black and White, a procedural cop show, is in perpetual production. He’s a bit player here, too, but he dreams of being Kung Fu Guy–the most respected role that anyone who looks like him can attain. At least that’s what he has been told, time and time again. Except by one person, his mother. Who says to him: Be more.

Playful but heartfelt, a send-up of Hollywood tropes and Asian stereotypes, Interior Chinatown is Charles Yu’s most moving, daring, and masterly novel yet.

 

–

 

The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman:

Psychologist Alex Delaware and detective Milo Sturgis struggle to make sense of a seemingly inexplicable massacre in this electrifying psychological thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense.

LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis has solved a lot of murder cases. On many of them–the ones he calls “different”–he taps the brain of brilliant psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware. But neither Alex nor Milo are prepared for what they find on an early morning call to a deserted mansion in Bel Air. This one’s beyond different. This is predation, premeditation, and cruelty on a whole new level.

Four people have been slaughtered and left displayed bizarrely and horrifically in a stretch limousine. Confounding the investigation, none of the victims seems to have any connection to any other, and a variety of methods have been used to dispatch them. As Alex and Milo make their way through blind alleys and mazes baited with misdirection, they encounter a crime so vicious that it stretches the definitions of evil.

 

–

 

The Other People: A Novel by C. J. Tudor:

Driving home one night, Gabe is stuck behind a rusty old car. He sees a little girl’s face appear in its rear window. She mouths one word: Daddy. It’s his five-year-old daughter, Izzy. He never sees her again. Three years later, Gabe spends his days and nights traveling up and down the highway, searching for the car that took his daughter, refusing to give up hope, even though most people believe she’s dead. When the car that he saw escape with his little girl is found abandoned with a body inside, Gabe must confront not just the day Izzy disappeared but the painful events from his past now dredged to the surface

 

–

 

Thief River Falls by Brian Freeman:

Lisa Power is a tortured ghost of her former self. The author of a bestselling thriller called Thief River Falls, named after her rural Minnesota hometown, Lisa is secluded in her remote house as she struggles with the loss of her entire family: a series of tragedies she calls the “Dark Star.”

Then a nameless runaway boy shows up at her door with a terrifying story: he’s just escaped death after witnessing a brutal murder–a crime the police want to cover up. Obsessed with the boy’s safety, Lisa resolves to expose this crime, but powerful men in Thief River Falls are desperate to get the boy back, and now they want her too.

Lisa and her young visitor have nowhere to go as the trap closes around them. Still under the strange, unforgiving threat of the Dark Star, Lisa must find a way to save them both, or they’ll become the victims of another shocking tragedy she can’t foresee.

 

–

 

When We Were Vikings: A Novel by Andrew MacDonald:

For Zelda, a twenty-one-year-old Viking enthusiast who lives with her older brother, Gert, life is best lived with some basic rules: 1. A smile means “thank you for doing something small that I liked.” 2. Fist bumps and dabs = respect. 3. Strange people are not appreciated in her home. 4. Tomatoes must go in the middle of the sandwich and not get the bread wet. 5. Sometimes the most important things don’t fit on lists. But when Zelda finds out that Gert has resorted to some questionable–and dangerous–methods to make enough money to keep them afloat, Zelda decides to launch her own quest. Her mission: to be legendary. It isn’t long before Zelda finds herself in a battle that tests the reach of her heroism, her love for her brother, and the depth of her Viking strength.

–

Have a great week!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

StarCat

The catalog of physical library materials, i.e. print books, audiobooks on CD, DVDs etc.

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS:

You can access digital library content, i.e. eBooks & downloadable audiobooks, on PCs, Macs and mobile devices.

For mobile devices simply download the Libby (eBooks & downloadable audiobooks) or the RB Digital app (on-demand magazines), from your app store to get started. And if you’re using a PC or Mac simply click on the following link: https://stls.overdrive.com/

If you have questions call the library at 607-936-3713 and one of our tech coaches will be happy to assist you.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are the top New York Times fiction and non-fiction bestsellers for the upcoming week.

(Click on the book covers to read a summary of each plot and to request the book(s) of your choice.

FICTION:

AGENCY by William Gibson:

Ainsley Lowbeer can see alternate outcomes for Verity Jane and her digital assistant, who lived in the previous century.

 

–

 

AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins:

A bookseller flees Mexico for the United States with her son while pursued by the head of a drug cartel

 

–

 

DEAR EDWARD by Ann Napolitano:

A 12-year-old boy tries to start over after becoming the sole survivor of a plane crash in which he lost his immediate family.

 

–

 

THE DUTCH HOUSE by Ann Patchett:

A sibling relationship is impacted when the family goes from poverty to wealth and back again over the course of many decades.

 

–

 

THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes:

In Depression-era America, five women refuse to be cowed by men or convention as they deliver books throughout the mountains of Kentucky.

 

–

 

THE GUARDIANS by John Grisham:

Cullen Post, a lawyer and Episcopal minister, antagonizes some ruthless killers when he takes on a wrongful conviction case.

 

–

 

THE INSTITUTE by Stephen King:

Children with special talents are abducted and sequestered in an institution where the sinister staff seeks to extract their gifts through harsh methods.

 

–

 

THE LAST WISH by Andrzej Sapkowski:

Linked stories follow the exploits of Geralt of Rivia, a monster-slaying mercenary.

 

–

 

LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng:

An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland.

 

–

 

LONG BRIGHT RIVER by Liz Moore:

Mickey risks her job with the Philadelphia police force by going after a murderer and searching for her missing sister.

 

 

–

 

A LONG PETAL OF THE SEA by Isabel Allende:

A young pregnant widow and an Army doctor take a ship to Chile to escape the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.

 

–

 

LOST by James Patterson and James O. Born:

The new head of an F.B.I. task force takes on a crime syndicate run by a pair of Russian nationals.

 

–

 

A MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT by David Baldacci:

When Atlee Pine returns to her hometown to investigate her sister’s kidnapping from 30 years ago, she winds up tracking a potential serial killer.

 

–

 

MORAL COMPASS by Danielle Steel:

Shortly after Saint Ambrose Prep goes co-ed, a student is attacked and the community falls apart.

 

–

 

THE OUTSIDER by Stephen King:

A detective investigates a seemingly wholesome member of the community when an 11-year-old boy’s body is found.

 

–

 

THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides:

Theo Faber looks into the mystery of a famous painter who stops speaking after shooting her husband.

 

–

 

SUCH A FUN AGE by Kiley Reid:

Tumult ensues when Alix Chamberlain’s babysitter is mistakenly accused of kidnapping her charge

 

–

 

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens:

In a quiet town on the North Carolina coast in 1969, a young woman who survived alone in the marsh becomes a murder suspect.

 

–

 

NON-FICTION:

BECOMING by Michelle Obama:

The former first lady describes her journey from the South Side of Chicago to the White House, and how she balanced work, family and her husband’s political ascent.

 

–

 

THE BODY by Bill Bryson:

An owner’s manual of the human body covering various parts, functions and what happens when things go wrong.

 

–

 

THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk:

How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.

 

–

 

CATCH AND KILL by Ronan Farrow:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter details some surveillance and intimidation tactics used to pressure journalists and elude consequences by certain wealthy and connected men.

 

–

 

EDUCATED by Tara Westover:

The daughter of survivalists, who is kept out of school, educates herself enough to leave home for university.

 

–

 

HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST by Ibram X. Kendi:

A primer for creating a more just and equitable society through identifying and opposing racism.

 

–

 

THE IMPOSSIBLE FIRST by Colin O’Brady:

A memoir by the first person to cross Antarctica alone and without assistance.

 

–

 

JUST MERCY by Bryan Stevenson:

A law professor and MacArthur grant recipient’s memoir of his decades of work to free innocent people condemned to death.

 

–

 

MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE by Lori Gottlieb:

A psychotherapist gains unexpected insights when she becomes another therapist’s patient.

 

–

 

ME by Elton John:

The multi-award-winning solo artist’s first autobiography chronicles his career, relationships and private struggles.

 

–

 

SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari:

How Homo sapiens became Earth’s dominant species.

 

–

 

TALKING TO STRANGERS by Malcolm Gladwell:

Famous examples of miscommunication serve as the backdrop to explain potential conflicts and misunderstandings.

 

–

 

TIGHTROPE by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning authors examine issues affecting working-class Americans.

 

–

 

VERY STABLE GENIUS by Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists use firsthand accounts to chart patterns of behavior within the Trump administration.

 

–

 

WHY WE CAN’T SLEEP by Ada Calhoun:

The cultural and political contexts of the crises that Generation X women face.

 

–

 

WHY WE SLEEP by Matthew Walker:

A neuroscientist uses recent scientific discoveries to explain the functions of sleep and dreams.

 

–

 

Have a great day!

Linda Reimer, SSL

–

Note: this list contains all the New York Times fiction and non-fiction bestsellers for the week that are owned by libraries within the Southern Tier Library System.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.