Month: August 2020

Hi everyone, welcome to our Suggested Listening posting for this week!

Our Suggested Listening postings focus on the music of the past, with a few new songs mixed in for good measure.

–

Suggested Listening postings come out weekly, on Fridays, and next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, September 4, 2020.

–

Classical Gas by Mason Williams (Genre: Guitar, Folk, Pop)

A great, sweeping guitar instrumental and William’s biggest hit from his 1968 album, Mason William’s Phonograph Album (1968). And in this clip Mason is accompanied by the great harpist Deborah Henson-Conant – and boy can she play that harp!

–

Don’t Give Up On Us Baby by David Soul (Genre: Pop, Folk)

The biggest hit by the actor and singer best known for his role as Hutch in the original Starsky and Hutch TV series; from his 1976 debut LP – David Soul.

–

I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor (Genre: R&B, Pop, Seventies Pop)

An ode to the seventies disco scene and Gaynor’s biggest hit; from her album Love Tracks (1979). Gloria survived her break-up and we will survive the current pandemic!

–

Love Gets Me Every Time by Shania Twain (Genre: Country)

A energetic blast from the 90’s, from Shania’s third album, Come On Over (1997).

–

Memphis Blues by W. C. Handy (Genre: Jazz, Classic Jazz, Pre-World War II Jazz)

A classic horn-centric early jazz recording by the early Twentieth century jazz cornetist.

–

Needles and Pins by Jackie DeShannon (Genre: Folk, Pop-Rock)

From DeShannon’s classic album Breaking It Up On The Beatles Tour (1964). The album, despite the title, contains tracks recorded in the studio and released as singles. DeShannon did open for the Beatles during their 1964 tour though – thus the title of the album.

–

Summer Rain by Johnny Rivers (Genre: Pop/Rock)

Johnny River’s lovely ode to summer and all the possibilities it brings; from his album Realization (1968).

 

–
Waiting for Tain by Branford Marsalis (Genre: Jazz)

A great song from Branford’s debut album Scenes For The City (1984).

–

We’re Gonna Have A Good Time by Rick Springfield (Genre: Pop/Rock)

From Rick’s cheerful and upbeat classic seventies album Mission Magic (1974).

–

Winter by Tori Amos (Genre: Pop/Rock, Vocal)

From Amos’s debut LP Little Earthquakes (1992).

–

REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Online References

AllMusic: https://www.allmusic.com/

–

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.

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS: Libby & RBDigital:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the Libby and/or the RBDigital app, to check out eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and on-demand magazines, from your app store to get started. 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 our recommended titles for the week, consisting entirely of eBooks & downloadable audiobooks available through the Digital Catalog.

–

Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Tuesdays.

–

And They Called It Camelot: A Novel of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis by Stephanie Marie Thornton (eBook)

An intimate portrait of the life of Jackie O…

Few of us can claim to be the authors of our fate. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy knows no other choice. With the eyes of the world watching, Jackie uses her effortless charm and keen intelligence to carve a place for herself among the men of history and weave a fairy tale for the American people, embodying a senator’s wife, a devoted mother, a First Lady—a queen in her own right.

But all reigns must come to an end. Once JFK travels to Dallas and the clock ticks down those thousand days of magic in Camelot, Jackie is forced to pick up the ruined fragments of her life and forge herself into a new identity that is all her own, that of an American legend.

–

Cold Welcome, Vatta’s Peace Series, Book 1 by Elizabeth Moon (eBook)

Nebula Award–winning author Elizabeth Moon makes a triumphant return to science fiction with a thrilling series featuring Kylara Vatta, the daring hero of her acclaimed Vatta’s War sequence.

After nearly a decade away, Nebula Award–winning author Elizabeth Moon makes a triumphant return to science fiction with this installment in a thrilling new series featuring the daring hero of her acclaimed Vatta’s War sequence.

Summoned to the home planet of her family’s business empire, space-fleet commander Kylara Vatta is told to expect a hero’s welcome. But instead she is thrown into danger unlike any other she has faced and finds herself isolated, unable to communicate with the outside world, commanding a motley group of unfamiliar troops, and struggling day by day to survive in a deadly environment with sabotaged gear. Only her undeniable talent for command can give her ragtag band a fighting chance.

Yet even as Ky leads her team from one crisis to another, her family and friends refuse to give up hope, endeavoring to mount a rescue from halfway around the planet—a task that is complicated as Ky and her supporters find secrets others will kill to protect: a conspiracy infecting both government and military that threatens not only her own group’s survival but her entire home planet.

–

Deeper Than the Dead, Oak Knoll Series, Book 1 by Tami Hoag (Downloadable Audiobook)

When three children stumble on a shallow grave in 1984, an idyllic California community is rocked to its core. The victim is a young woman, her eyes and lips sealed closed, a blind and silent witness to an unspeakable crime. The third victim in two years’ time, it’s clear that a serial killer has come calling.

As a member of the FBI’s fledgling criminal profiling unit, Special Agent Tony Mendez knows serial killers. It quickly becomes apparent that the See-No-Evil killer is no ordinary psychopath. The profile paints a portrait of a man easily trusted, well respected, and intelligent—a man no one would suspect.

Dr. Peter Crane fits the bill. A pillar of the community, he volunteers at a center for disadvantaged women—a center the victims had all attended. Crane is also a beloved husband and father to a ten-year-old son, Tommy, who was one of the three children to discover the grave. Needing insight into Peter Crane’s world, Mendez asks Anne Navarre, Tommy’s fifth-grade teacher, to find out what she can. It’s a request Anne finds both intriguing and unethical—much like Mendez himself.

Then a new victim leads to a different suspect—a man whose son was another of the three children to find the grave but a man whose position in the community is also above reproach, a sheriff’s deputy. As the connections between the two families become increasingly tangled, it seems clear that one of these children holds the key to a serial killer’s double life . . . and a revelation of evil so dark, so deep, no one may survive.

–

East Coast Girls by Kerry Kletter (eBook)

“Gorgeous writing and page-turning suspense.”—Nancy Thayer, New York Times bestselling author of Surfside Sisters

“A brilliant firecracker of a book…beautiful, heartfelt, and life-affirming.”——Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read
They share countless perfect memories—and one they wish they could forget.

Childhood friends Hannah, Maya, Blue and Renee share a bond that feels more like family. Growing up, they had difficult home lives, and the summers they spent together in Montauk were the happiest memories they ever made. Then, the summer after graduation, one terrible night changed everything.

Twelve years have passed since that fateful incident, and their sisterhood has drifted apart, each woman haunted by her own lost innocence. But just as they reunite in Montauk for one last summer escape, hoping to find happiness once more, tragedy strikes again. This time it’ll test them like never before, forcing them to confront decisions they’ve each had to live with and old secrets that refuse to stay buried.

“Readers of Elin Hilderbrand and J. Courtney Sullivan will devour this book.”—Brenda Novak, New York Times bestselling author of One Perfect Summer

–

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai (eBook)

SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

“A page turner…An absorbing and emotionally riveting story about what it’s like to live during times of crisis. “—The New York Times Book Review

A dazzling new novel of friendship and redemption in the face of tragedy and loss set in 1980s Chicago and contemporary Paris, by the acclaimed author Rebecca Makkai

In 1985, Yale Tishman, the development director for an art gallery in Chicago, is about to pull off an amazing coup, bringing in an extraordinary collection of 1920s paintings as a gift to the gallery. Yet as his career begins to flourish, the carnage of the AIDS epidemic grows around him. One by one, his friends are dying and after his friend Nico’s funeral, the virus circles closer and closer to Yale himself.

Soon the only person he has left is Fiona, Nico’s little sister.

Thirty years later, Fiona is in Paris tracking down her estranged daughter who disappeared into a cult. While staying with an old friend, a famous photographer who documented the Chicago crisis, she finds herself finally grappling with the devastating ways AIDS affected her life and her relationship with her daughter. The two intertwining stories take us through the heartbreak of the eighties and the chaos of the modern world, as both Yale and Fiona struggle to find goodness in the midst of disaster.

–

Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein (eBook)

Named a best beach/summer read by O, The Oprah Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Parade, PopSugar, Marie Claire, Bustle, and more!

From the author of the Love at First Like and Playing with Matches, an electrifying rom-com set in the high stakes world of competitive gymnastics, full of Hannah Orenstein’s signature “charm, whimsy, and giddy romantic tension” (BuzzFeed).

The past seven years have been hard on Avery Abrams: After training her entire life to make the Olympic gymnastics team, a disastrous performance ended her athletic career for good. Her best friend and teammate, Jasmine, went on to become an Olympic champion, then committed the ultimate betrayal by marrying their emotionally abusive coach, Dimitri.

Now, reeling from a breakup with her football star boyfriend, Avery returns to her Massachusetts hometown, where new coach Ryan asks her to help him train a promising young gymnast with Olympic aspirations. Despite her misgivings and worries about the memories it will evoke, Avery agrees. Back in the gym, she’s surprised to find sparks flying with Ryan. But when a shocking scandal in the gymnastics world breaks, it has shattering effects not only for the sport but also for Avery and her old friend Jasmine.

Perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jasmine Guillory, Head Over Heels proves that no one “writes about modern relationships with more humor or insight than Hannah Orenstein” (Dana Schwartz, author of Choose Your Own Disaster).

–

Joyland by Emily Schultz (eBook)

Welcome to 1984 and the town of South Wakefield. Chris Lane is 14 and he’s sure that he can see the future, or at least guess what’s inside of Christie Brinkley’s mind. But he can’t foresee the closing of Joyland, the town’s only video arcade. With the arcade’s passing comes a summer of teenage lust, violence, and a search for new entertainment. Never far away is Chris’s younger sister, Tammy, who plays spy to the events that will change the lives of her family and town forever. Joyland is a novel about the impossibility of knowing the future. Schultz bring the Cold War home in a novel set to the digital pulse of video games and the echoes of hair metal. Joyland is illustrated throughout by graphic novelist Nate Powell, whose work has been praised by Sin City creator Frank Miller as “observant, intimate cartooning [that] surgically cuts to the bone.”

–

The Lehman Trilogy: A Novel by Stefano Massini and Richard Dixon (eBook)

Magnificent in scope, internationally lauded, and transcendent, the novel in verse that inspired the sensational West End and Off-Broadway play of the same name. The Lehman Trilogy follows the epic rise and fall of three generations of that infamous family and through them tells the story of American ambition and hubris.

After leaving his native Bavaria, Henry Lehman arrives in America determined to make a better life. Sensing opportunity in the Deep South, he opens a textile shop in Alabama, laying the foundation for a dynasty that will come to dominate and define modern capitalism. Emanuel and his brother Mayer begin investing in anything and everything that will turn a profit, from cotton to coal to railroads to oil to airplanes—even at the expense of the very nation that forged them.

Spanning three generations and 150 years, The Lehman Trilogy is a moving epic that dares to tell the story of modern capitalism through the saga of the Lehman brothers and their descendants. Surprising and exciting, brilliant and inventive, Stefano Massini’s masterpiece—like Hamilton—is a story of immigration, ambition, and success; it is the story of America itself from a daring and original perspective.

–

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones (eBook)

With the opening line of Silver Sparrow, “My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist,” author Tayari Jones unveils a breathtaking story about a man’s deception, a family’s complicity, and the two teenage girls caught in the middle.

Set in a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, the novel revolves around James Witherspoon’s two families—the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. It is a relationship destined to explode. This is the third stunning novel from an author deemed “one of the most important writers of her generation” (the Atlanta Journal Constitution).

–

Sister Mine by Tawni O’Dell (eBook)

Shae-Lynn Penrose drives a cab in a town where no one needs a cab—but plenty of people need rides. A former police officer with a closet full of miniskirts, a recklessly sharp tongue, and a tendency to deal with men by either beating them up or taking them to bed, she has spent years carving out a life for herself and her son in Jolly Mount, Pennsylvania, the tiny coal-mining town where she grew up.

Two years ago, five of Shae-Lynn’s miner friends were catapulted to media stardom when they were rescued after surviving four days trapped in a mine. As the men struggle to come to terms with the nightmarish memories of their ordeal, along with the fallout of their short- lived celebrity, Shae-Lynn finds herself facing harsh realities and reliving bad dreams of her own, including her relationship with her brutal father, her conflicted passion for one of the miners, and the hidden identity of the man who fathered her son.

When the younger sister she thought was dead arrives on her doorstep, followed closely by a gun-wielding Russian gangster, a shady New York lawyer, and a desperate Connecticut housewife, Shae-Lynn is forced to grapple with the horrible truth she discovers about the life her sister’s been living, and with one ominous question: Will her return result in a monstrous act of greed or one of sacrifice?

Tawni O’Dell’s trademark blend of black humor, tenderness, and a keen sense of place is evident once again as Shae-Lynn takes on past demons and all-too-present dangers.

–

Have a great week!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

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

–

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 is the weekly list of New York Times Bestsellers available in the Digital Catalog.

–

If you have questions about how to access digital content, you can write a comment and post it on the blog, or send me, SSCL Librarian Linda Reimer, questions via email: reimerl@stls.org

 

–

 

FICTION:

1ST CASE by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts (Downloadable Audiobook)

After getting kicked out of M.I.T., Angela Hoot interns with the F.B.I. and tracks the murderous siblings known as the Poet and the Engineer.

 

–

 

28 SUMMERS by Elin Hilderbrand (Downloadable Audiobooks)

A relationship that started in 1993 between Mallory Blessing and Jake McCloud comes to light while she is on her deathbed and his wife runs for president.

 

–

 

AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins (eBook)

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

 

–

 

CAMINO WINDS by John Grisham (eBook)

The line between fact and fiction becomes blurred when an author of thrillers is found dead after a hurricane hits Camino Island.

 

–

 

CHOPPY WATER by Stuart Woods (eBooks):

The 54th book in the Stone Barrington series. Things get rough for Stone as he goes after criminals in New York City and Key West.

 

–

 

THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley (Downloadable Audiobook)

A wedding between a TV star and a magazine publisher on an island off the coast of Ireland turns deadly.

 

–

 

IF IT BLEEDS by Stephen King (eBook):

Four novellas:  “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” “The Life of Chuck,” “Rat” and “If It Bleeds.”

 

–

 

LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng (eBook)

An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland.

 

–

 

LUSTER by Raven Leilani (eBook):

A young Brooklyn artist is invited to live with a New Jersey couple who have an open marriage and an adopted daughter.

 

–

 

MEXICAN GOTHIC by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Downloadable Audiobook)

1950s Mexico, a debutante travels to a distant mansion where family secrets of a faded mining empire have been kept hidden.

 

–

 

MIDWIFE MURDERS by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo (Downloadable Audiobook):

A single mom teams up with an N.Y.P.D. detective to solve a case involving misdeeds at a university hospital.

 

–

 

NEAR DARK by Brad Thor (eBook)

The 19th book in the Scot Harvath series. With a bounty on his head, Harvath makes an alliance with a Norwegian intelligence operative.

 

–

 

THE ORDER by Daniel Silva (eBook)

The 20th book in the Gabriel Allon series. The art restorer and spy cuts his family’s vacation short to investigate whether Pope Paul VII was murdered.

 

–

 

A PRIVATE CATHEDRAL by James Lee Burke (eBook):

The 23rd book in the Dave Robicheaux series. Rival Louisiana crime families and a time-traveling superhuman assassin bring up Robicheaux’s personal demons.

 

–

 

SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides (eBooks):

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

 

–

 

SILENT WIFE by Karin Slaughter (eBook):

The 10th book in the Will Trent series. Investigations of two crimes force Trent to call on his girlfriend’s expertise as a medical examiner

 

–

 

THEN SHE WAS GONE by Lisa Jewell (eBook):

Ten years after her daughter disappears, a woman tries to get her life in order but remains haunted by unanswered questions.

 

–

 

THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett (eBook)

The lives of twin sisters who run away from a Southern black community at age 16 diverge as one returns and the other takes on a different racial identity.

 

–

 

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens (eBook)

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:

ANSWER IS …  by Alex Trebek (Downloadable Audiobook) 

Who is the Canadian-American who got his break on American TV by hosting the game show “The Wizard of Odds” and whose pronunciation of the word “genre” has been shared widely on social media?

 

–

 

BECOMING by Michelle Obama (eBook)

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.

 

–

 

BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME by Ta-Nehisi Coates (eBook)

Winner of the 2015 National Book Award for nonfiction. A meditation on race in America as well as a personal story, framed as a letter to the author’s teenage son.

 

–

 

BORN A CRIME by Trevor Noah (eBook):

A memoir about growing up biracial in apartheid South Africa by the host of “The Daily Show.”

 

–

 

BREATH by James Nestor (Downloadable Audiobook):

A re-examination of a basic biological function and a look at the science behind ancient breathing practices.

 

–

 

CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson (Downloadable Audiobook):

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist examines aspects of caste systems across civilizations and reveals a rigid hierarchy in America today.

 

–

 

EDUCATED by Tara Westover (eBook)

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

 

–

 

FINDING FREEDOM by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand (eBooks):

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s journey from courtship to their decision to step away from their royal lives.

 

–

 

HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST by Ibram X. Kendi (eBook)

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

 

–

 

THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED by John Bolton (eBook)

The former national security advisor gives his account of the 17 months he spent working for President Trump.

 

–

 

SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE by Ijeoma Oluo (Downloadable Audiobook):

A look at the contemporary racial landscape of the United States.

 

–

 

SPLENDID AND THE VILE by Erik Larson (eBook):

An examination of the leadership of the prime minister Winston Churchill.

 

–

 

TOO MUCH AND NEVER ENOUGH by Mary L. Trump (eBook):

The clinical psychologist gives her assessment of events and patterns inside her family and how they shaped President Trump.

 

–

 

THE TRUTHS WE HOLD by Kamala Harris (eBook):

A memoir by the daughter of immigrants who is now a California senator and the 2020 Democratic candidate for vice president.

 

–

 

UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle (eBook):

The activist and public speaker describes her journey of listening to her inner voice.

 

–

 

WHITE FRAGILITY by Robin DiAngelo (eBook):

Historical and cultural analyses on what causes defensive moves by white people and how this inhibits cross-racial dialogue.

 

–

 

Be well and read on!

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, welcome to our Suggested Listening posting for this week!

Our Suggested Listening postings focus on the music of the past, with a few new songs mixed in for good measure.

–

Suggested Listening postings come out weekly, on Fridays, and next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, August 28, 2020.

–

Autumn Leaves by Cannonball Adderley (Genre: Jazz)

From the classic jazz album Something Else (1958).

–

Desperados Waiting For A Train by Guy Clark (Genre: Country, Folk)

From Guy’s 1975 debut LP, Old Number 1.

–

Minglewood Blues by the Cannon’s Jug Stompers featuring Gus Cannon (Genre: Blues)

Great acoustic blues music, recorded in the 1920s and 1930s, from the album The Best of Cannon’s Jug Stompers.

–

On And On by Gladys Knight & the Pips (Genre: R&B, Pop)

From the Claudine (1974) soundtrack, all songs composed by Curtis Mayfield and performed by Gladys Knight & The Pips.

–

I Think I Love You by The Partridge Family (Genre: Pop)

From the debut album, The Partridge Family (1970), of the made-for-television band, featuring David Cassidy and Shirley Jones – happy music for this strange year we’re living in!

–

I Want To Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart by Patsy Montana (Genre: Classic Country, Country)

Patsy’s biggest hit, from 1935, available on the album The Best of Patsy Montana (Collector’s Choice label).

–

Reaching Out To You by Snow Patrol (Genre: Pop, Rock)

Introspective pop from the band’s 2020 release Fireside Sessions.

–

Rondo alla Mambo by Sarah Willis (Classical)

From French horn player Sarah Willis’s new album Mozart Mambo (2020) – upbeat and dance-able!

–

Sealed With A Kiss by Bryan Hyland (Genre: Pop, Vocal)

A classic song of summer, originally released in 1962 and available on the album Bryan Hyland’s Greatest Hits.

–

Tecumseh Valley by Townes Van Zandt (Genre: Country, Folk)

From one of Van Zandt’s best albums, Live At the Old Town Quarter (1977).

–

REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Online References

AllMusic: https://www.allmusic.com/

–

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.

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS: Libby & RBDigital:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the Libby and/or the RBDigital app, to check out eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and on-demand magazines, from your app store to get started. 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 our recommended titles for the week, consisting entirely of eBooks & downloadable audiobooks available through the Digital Catalog.

–

Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Tuesdays.

–

The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season: A Novel by Molly Fader (eBook)

“A stunning story about family and hope that unfolds unexpectedly but beautifully, like a Michigan summer sunset over an orchard.” —Viola Shipman, bestselling author of The Heirloom Garden and The Summer Cottage

In cherry season, anything is possible…

Everything Hope knows about the Orchard House is from the stories of her late mother. So when she arrives at the northern Michigan family estate late one night with a terrible secret and her ten-year-old daughter in tow, she’s not sure if she’ll be welcomed or turned away with a shotgun by the aunt she has never met.

Hope’s aunt, Peg, has lived in the Orchard House all her life, though the property has seen better days. She agrees to take Hope in if, in exchange, Hope helps with the cherry harvest—not exactly Hope’s specialty, but she’s out of options. As Hope works the orchard alongside her aunt, daughter and a kind man she finds increasingly difficult to ignore, a new life begins to blossom. But the mistakes of the past are never far behind, and soon the women will find themselves fighting harder than ever for their family roots and for each other.

–

Buzzard’s Bluff by William W. Johnstone & J.A. Johnstone (eBook)

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WILDER THAN EVER.

Welcome to the Lost Coyote Saloon. Saddle up to the bar and order a whiskey. Play a few hands of poker. But don’t make any trouble. The new owner is savage. Ben Savage. Once a Texas Ranger, he’s always cocked and ready for some fool to come looking for payback . . .

EAT, DRINK, AND BE WARY

When Ben Savage receives a telegram informing him that an old friend died—and left him his saloon—he’s not sure what to think. Western saloons are as wild as it gets, full of rowdy ranchers and cocky cowboys, high-stakes gamblers and low-life drifters, hard liquor and easy women. Then there’s the occasional outlaw gang. But when Savage travels to Buzzard’s Bluff, Texas, to check out his inheritance, he meets the saloon’s lovely manager, Rachel Baskin, and has a change of heart. As an experienced lawman, he figures he can run a decent establishment. Keep things friendly, peaceful, and orderly. There’s just one problem: a rival saloon owner wants Savage out of the way so he can control all the vice in town. And some of his men are bound to turn up in his saloon—thirsty for whiskey . . . and killing . . .

Live Free. Read Hard.

–

Collected Memoirs: Ahead of Time, Haven, and Inside of Time by Ruth Gruber (eBook)

Three poignant and powerful memoirs from the award-winning journalist, human rights advocate, and “fearless chronicler of the Jewish struggle” (The New York Times).

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award for her biography of the pioneering Israeli nurse, Raquela Prywes, Ruth Gruber lived an extraordinary life as a foreign correspondent, photographer, humanitarian, and author. This collection is comprised of three of her most gripping memoirs, covering many of the most significant historical events in the first half of the twentieth century.

Ahead of Time: At the tender age of eighty, the trailblazing journalist looked back on her remarkable first twenty-five years: growing up in a Brooklyn shtetl; entering New York University at fifteen; becoming the world’s youngest person to earn a PhD at nineteen in Cologne, Germany; being exposed to Hitler’s rise to power; and becoming the first American to travel to Siberia at the age of twenty-four, reporting on Gulag conditions for the New York Herald Tribune, in this “beautifully crafted” memoir (Publishers Weekly).

“Ruth Gruber’s singular autobiography is both informative and poignant. Read it and your own memory will be enriched.” —Elie Wiesel

Haven: In 1943, nearly one thousand European Jewish refugees were chosen by President Roosevelt to receive asylum in the United States. Working for the secretary of the interior, Gruber volunteered to shepherd them on their secret route across the Atlantic from Italy. She recorded the refugees’ dangerous passage, along with the aftermath of their arrival, which involved a fight to stay in the US after the war ended. The “remarkable story” was made into a TV miniseries starring Natasha Richardson as Gruber (Booklist).

“[A] touching story . . . [Ruth Gruber] has put us into the full picture and humanized it.” —The New York Times

Inside of Time: Unstoppable at ninety-one, Gruber, “with clarity, insight and humor,” revisited the years 1941 to 1952, recounting her eighteen months spent surveying Alaska on behalf of the US government, her role assisting Holocaust refugees’ emigration from war-torn Europe to Israel, and her relationships with some of the most important figures of the era, including Eleanor Roosevelt and Golda Meir (Publishers Weekly).

“Gruber bore witness, spoke bluntly, galvanized public opinion, inspired people to action.” —Blanche Wiesen Cook, Los Angeles Times

–

Fast Girls: A Novel of the 1936 Women’s Olympic Team by Elise Hooper (eBook)

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE SUMMER BY POPSUGAR, FROLIC, PARADE, TRAVEL & LEISURE, SHE KNOWS, and SHE READS!

NAMED A REAL SIMPLE BEST BOOK OF 2020 (SO FAR).

“Fast Girls is a compelling, thrilling look at what it takes to be a female Olympian in pre-war America…Brava to Elise Hooper for bringing these inspiring heroines to the wide audience they so richly deserve.”—Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Romantics and The House Girl

Acclaimed author Elise Hooper explores the gripping, real life history of female athletes, members of the first integrated women’s Olympic team, and their journeys to the 1936 summer games in Berlin, Nazi Germany. Perfect for readers who love untold stories of amazing women, such as The Only Woman in the Room, Hidden Figures, and The Lost Girls of Paris.

In the 1928 Olympics, Chicago’s Betty Robinson competes as a member of the first-ever women’s delegation in track and field. Destined for further glory, she returns home feted as America’s Golden Girl until a nearly-fatal airplane crash threatens to end everything.

Outside of Boston, Louise Stokes, one of the few black girls in her town, sees competing as an opportunity to overcome the limitations placed on her. Eager to prove that she has what it takes to be a champion, she risks everything to join the Olympic team.

From Missouri, Helen Stephens, awkward, tomboyish, and poor, is considered an outcast by her schoolmates, but she dreams of escaping the hardships of her farm life through athletic success. Her aspirations appear impossible until a chance encounter changes her life.

These three athletes will join with others to defy society’s expectations of what women can achieve. As tensions bring the United States and Europe closer and closer to the brink of war, Betty, Louise, and Helen must fight for the chance to compete as the fastest women in the world amidst the pomp and pageantry of the Nazi-sponsored 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

–

The Killing Moon by N. K. Jemisin (eBook)

Assassin priests, mad kings, and the goddess of death collide in the first book of the Dreamblood Duology by NYT bestselling and three time Hugo-Award winning author N. K. Jemisin.

The city burned beneath the Dreaming Moon.

In the ancient city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Upon its rooftops and amongst the shadows of its cobbled streets wait the Gatherers – the keepers of this peace. Priests of the dream-goddess, their duty is to harvest the magic of the sleeping mind and use it to heal, soothe . . . and kill those judged corrupt.

But when a conspiracy blooms within Gujaareh’s great temple, Ehiru – the most famous of the city’s Gatherers – must question everything he knows. Someone, or something, is murdering dreamers in the goddess’ name, stalking its prey both in Gujaareh’s alleys and the realm of dreams. Ehiru must now protect the woman he was sent to kill – or watch the city be devoured by war and forbidden magic.

–

Little Wonder: The Fabulous Story of Lottie Dod, the World’s First Female Sports Superstar by Sasha Abramsky (eBook)

Lottie Dod was a truly extraordinary sports figure who blazed trails of glory in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Dod won Wimbledon five times, and did so for the first time in 1887, at the ludicrously young age of fifteen. After she grew bored with competitive tennis, she moved on to and excelled in myriad other sports: she became a leading ice skater and tobogganist, a mountaineer, an endurance bicyclist, a hockey player, a British ladies’ golf champion, and an Olympic silver medalist in archery.

In her time, Dod had a huge following, but her years of distinction occurred just before the rise of broadcast media. By the outset of World War I, she was largely a forgotten figure; she died alone and without fanfare in 1960.

Little Wonder brings this remarkable woman’s story to life, contextualizing it against a backdrop of rapid social change and tectonic shifts in the status of women in society. Dod was born into a world in which even upper-class women such as herself could not vote, were restricted in owning property, and were assumed to be fragile and delicate.

Women of Lottie Dod’s class were expected not to work and to definitely get married. Dod never married and never had children, instead putting heart and soul into training to be the best athlete she could possibly be. Paving the way for the likes of Billie Jean King, Serena Williams, and other top female athletes of today, Dod accepted no limits, no glass ceilings, and always refused to…

–

Memoirs and Misinformation: A Novel by Jim Carrey & Dana Vachon (eBook)

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“None of this is real and all of it is true.” —Jim Carrey

Meet Jim Carrey. Sure, he’s an insanely successful and beloved movie star drowning in wealth and privilege—but he’s also lonely. Maybe past his prime. Maybe even . . . getting fat? He’s tried diets, gurus, and cuddling with his military-grade Israeli guard dogs, but nothing seems to lift the cloud of emptiness and ennui. Even the sage advice of his best friend, actor and dinosaur skull collector Nicolas Cage, isn’t enough to pull Carrey out of his slump.

But then Jim meets Georgie: ruthless ingénue, love of his life. And with the help of auteur screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, he has a role to play in a boundary-pushing new picture that may help him uncover a whole new side to himself—finally, his Oscar vehicle! Things are looking up!

But the universe has other plans.

Memoirs and Misinformation is a fearless semi-autobiographical novel, a deconstruction of persona. In it, Jim Carrey and Dana Vachon have fashioned a story about acting, Hollywood, agents, celebrity, privilege, friendship, romance, addiction to relevance, fear of personal erasure, our “one big soul,” Canada, and a cataclysmic ending of the world—apocalypses within and without.

–

Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer (eBook)

Well-heeled travelers from around the world flock to the Mena House Hotel—an exotic gem in the heart of Cairo where cocktails flow, adventure dispels the aftershocks of World War I, and deadly dangers wait in the shadows…

Egypt, 1926. Fiercely independent American Jane Wunderly has made up her mind: she won’t be swept off her feet on a trip abroad. Despite her Aunt Millie’s best efforts at meddling with her love life, the young widow would rather gaze at the Great Pyramids of Giza than into the eyes of a dashing stranger. Yet Jane’s plans to remain cool and indifferent become ancient history in the company of Mr. Redvers, a roguish banker she can’t quite figure out . . .

While the Mena House has its share of charming guests, Anna Stainton isn’t one of them. The beautiful socialite makes it clear that she won’t share the spotlight with anyone—especially Jane. But Jane soon becomes the center of attention when she’s the one standing over her unintentional rival’s dead body.

Now, with her innocence at stake in a foreign country, Jane must determine who can be trusted, and who had motive to commit a brutal murder. Between Aunt Millie’s unusual new acquaintances, a smarmy playboy with an off-putting smile, and the enigmatic Mr. Redvers, someone has too many secrets. Can Jane excavate the horrible truth before her future falls to ruin in Cairo . . . and the body count rises like the desert heat?

–

Summer Darlings by Brooke Lea Foster (eBook)

Set during the splendid summer days of 1960s Martha’s Vineyard, this page-turning debut novel pulls back the curtain on one mysterious and wealthy family as seen through the eyes of their nanny—a college student who, while falling in love on the elegant island, is also forced to reckon with the dark underbelly of privilege.

In 1962, coed Heddy Winsome leaves her hardscrabble Irish Brooklyn neighborhood behind and ferries to glamorous Martha’s Vineyard to nanny for one of the wealthiest families on the island. But as she grows enamored with the alluring and seemingly perfect young couple and chases after their two mischievous children, Heddy discovers that her academic scholarship at Wellesley has been revoked, putting her entire future at risk.

Determined to find her place in the couple’s wealthy social circles, Heddy nurtures a romance with the hip surfer down the beach while wondering if the better man for her might be a quiet, studious college boy instead. But no one she meets on the summer island—socialite, starlet, or housekeeper—is as picture-perfect as they seem, and she quickly learns that the right last name and a house in a tony zip-code may guarantee privilege, but that rarely equals happiness.

Rich with the sights and sounds of midcentury Martha’s Vineyard, Brooke Lea Foster’s debut novel Summer Darlings promises entrance to a rarefied world, for readers who enjoyed Tigers in Red Weather or The Summer Wives.

–

Wicked As You Wish: A Hundred Names for Magic Series, Book 1 by Rin Chupeco (eBook)

Combining legends, myths, fairy tales, and classic children’s literature from Oz to Neverland, Chupeco (The Bone Witch) creates an enchanting story that is both a feast for the senses and a unique spin on the hero’s journey. Tala Warnock is a Makiling, a spellbreaker, living with her Scottish and Filipino family in the Royal States of America, where ICE hunts refugees from other magical lands. Tala’s best friend, Prince Alexei, is the hidden heir to Avalon, a world of advanced spelltech that is unbreachable after the Wonderland Wars against the Snow Queen. When Alex turns 18 and a firebird appears to guide him back to Avalon, Tala joins a gang of Banders sworn to protect him and fight the Snow Queen’s powers. As Tala learns more about her family and her own strengths, she discovers a fate in Avalon she never expected. Chupeco’s novel teems with exhilarating wizardry, from ice wolves to a marsh king in the form of a giant toad. Though the beginning is heavily weighted with background information, the pace quickens into a nail-biting quest that introduces a gripping new series. Starred Publishers Weekly Review

–

Have a great week!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

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

–

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 is the weekly list of New York Times Bestsellers available in the Digital Catalog.

–

If you have questions about how to access digital content, you can write a comment and post it on the blog, or send me, SSCL Librarian Linda Reimer, questions via email: reimerl@stls.org

 

–

 

FICTION:

1ST CASE by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts (Downloadable Audiobook)

After getting kicked out of M.I.T., Angela Hoot interns with the F.B.I. and tracks the murderous siblings known as the Poet and the Engineer.

 

–

 

28 SUMMERS by Elin Hilderbrand (Downloadable Audiobooks)

A relationship that started in 1993 between Mallory Blessing and Jake McCloud comes to light while she is on her deathbed and his wife runs for president.

 

–

 

AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins (eBook)

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

 

–

 

CAMINO WINDS by John Grisham (eBook)

The line between fact and fiction becomes blurred when an author of thrillers is found dead after a hurricane hits Camino Island

 

–

 

FRIENDSHIP LIST by Susan Mallery (eBook):

A single mom and a widow take on challenges to push themselves outside their comfort zones.

 

–

 

THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley (Downloadable Audiobook)

A wedding between a TV star and a magazine publisher on an island off the coast of Ireland turns deadly.

 

–

 

HARROW THE NINTH by Tamsyn Muir (eBook):

The second book of the Locked Tomb trilogy. Harrowhark Nonagesimus must overcome her failing health to become an angel of undeath.

 

–

 

LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng (eBook)

An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland.

 

–

 

LUSTER by Raven Leilani (eBook):

A young Brooklyn artist is invited to live with a New Jersey couple who have an open marriage and an adopted daughter.

 

–

 

MEXICAN GOTHIC by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Downloadable Audiobook)

1950s Mexico, a debutante travels to a distant mansion where family secrets of a faded mining empire have been kept hidden.

 

–

 

NEAR DARK by Brad Thor (eBook)

The 19th book in the Scot Harvath series. With a bounty on his head, Harvath makes an alliance with a Norwegian intelligence operative.

 

–

 

THE ORDER by Daniel Silva (eBook)

The 20th book in the Gabriel Allon series. The art restorer and spy cuts his family’s vacation short to investigate whether Pope Paul VII was murdered.

 

–

 

SILENT WIFE by Karin Slaughter (eBook):

The 10th book in the Will Trent series. Investigations of two crimes force Trent to call on his girlfriend’s expertise as a medical examiner

 

–

 

SUCKER PUNCH by Laurell K. Hamilton (eBook):

The 27th book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. The evidence that a wereleopard killed his uncle doesn’t add up.

 

–

 

THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett (eBook)

The lives of twin sisters who run away from a Southern black community at age 16 diverge as one returns and the other takes on a different racial identity.

 

–

 

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens (eBook)

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:

ANSWER IS …  by Alex Trebek (Downloadable Audiobook) 

Who is the Canadian-American who got his break on American TV by hosting the game show “The Wizard of Odds” and whose pronunciation of the word “genre” has been shared widely on social media?

 

–

 

BECOMING by Michelle Obama (eBook)

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.

 

–

 

BEGIN AGAIN by Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (Downloadable Audiobook):

An appraisal of the life and work of James Baldwin and their meaning in relation to the Black Lives Matter movement and the Trump presidency.

 

–

 

BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME by Ta-Nehisi Coates (eBook)

Winner of the 2015 National Book Award for nonfiction. A meditation on race in America as well as a personal story, framed as a letter to the author’s teenage son.

 

–

 

CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson (Downloadable Audiobook):

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist examines aspects of caste systems across civilizations and reveals a rigid hierarchy in America today.

 

–

 

EDUCATED by Tara Westover (eBook)

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 (eBook)

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

 

–

 

MAKE CHANGE by Shaun King (eBook):

A look at how social movements evolve and ways in which activists can sustain their efforts.

 

–

 

NEW JIM CROW by Michelle Alexander (eBook):

A law professor takes aim at the “war on drugs,” mass incarceration and their impact on Black men.

 

–

 

THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED by John Bolton (eBook)

The former national security advisor gives his account of the 17 months he spent working for President Trump.

 

–

 

SPLENDID AND THE VILE by Erik Larson (eBook):

An examination of the leadership of the prime minister Winston Churchill.

 

–

 

TOO MUCH AND NEVER ENOUGH by Mary L. Trump (eBook):

The clinical psychologist gives her assessment of events and patterns inside her family and how they shaped President Trump.

 

–

 

UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle (eBook):

The activist and public speaker describes her journey of listening to her inner voice.

 

–

 

WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS by Isabel Wilkerson (eBooks):

An account of the Great Migration of 1915-70, in which nearly six million African-Americans abandoned the South.

 

–

 

WHITE FRAGILITY by Robin DiAngelo (eBook):

Historical and cultural analyses on what causes defensive moves by white people and how this inhibits cross-racial dialogue.

 

–

 

Be well and read on!

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, welcome to our Suggested Listening posting for this week!

Our Suggested Listening postings focus on the music of the past, with a few new songs mixed in for good measure.

–

Suggested Listening postings come out weekly, on Fridays, and next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, August 21, 2020.

–

1,000 Years Before I Met You by Sylvie Simmons (Genre: Rock, Singer-Songwriter)

From her new album Blue On Blue (2020).

–

 

Do-Re-Mi by Tom Rush (Genre: Folk, Blues, Pop-Rock)

A sixties update on the great Woody Guthrie tune!

From Tom Rush’s fourth album simply titled Tom Rush (1965).

 

–

 

Full Fathom Five (2020) by Will Todd with the Bach Choir, David Hill conducting (Genre: Classical, Easy Listening):

Lovely, ethereal music; perfect for weekend relaxation!

From the new album Lights, Stories, Noise, Dreams, Love, Noodles.

 

–

 

The Jumpin’ Jive (1981) by Joe Jackson (Piano, Pop-Rock, Jazz etc.)

From Jackson’s swinging album Jumpin’ Jive; on which he pays and plays tribute to the great jazz artists Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway.

Bonus – the great Cab Calloway playing the same song, one he co-wrote!

The Jumpin’ Jive by Cab Calloway

 

–

 

Deep Summer In The Deep South (2020) by Rumor (Genre: Americana, Country)

From her new album Nashville Tears; and I have to say, it has been pretty hot in the Southern Tier this summer too!

 

–

 

Moonlight Serenade by The Glenn Miller Orchestra

A mellow big band classic!

 

–

 

Roots Theme by Quincy Jones (Genre: Soundtrack, Americana, jazz etc.)

From the soundtrack to the original 1970s Roots mini-series.

 

–

 

Suite Judy Blue Eyes by Crosby, Stills & Nash (genre: Singer-Songwriter, Vocal, Folk-Rock)

Recorded live at the original Woodstock.

 

–

 

Too Many People (1971) by Paul McCartney & Wings (Genre: Rock, Classic Rock):

From Paul’s second solo album Ram (1971)

 

–

 

Who Rescued Who (2020) by Kathleen Edwards (Genre: Rock, Folk/Country):

A love song to dogs!

From her new album Total Freedom (2020).

–

REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Online References

AllMusic: https://www.allmusic.com/

–

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.

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS: Libby & RBDigital:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the Libby and/or the RBDigital app, to check out eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and on-demand magazines, from your app store to get started. 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 our recommended titles for the week, consisting entirely of eBooks & downloadable audiobooks available through the Digital Catalog.

–

Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Tuesdays.

–

This week our recommended reads are all the first books in a series – just in case anyone is thinking it would be delightful to binge read in front of the a.c.!

–

Along Came A Spider (Alex Cross Series, Book 1) by James Patterson (Format: eBook)

Discover the classic thriller that launched the #1 detective series of the past twenty-five years, now one of PBS’s “100 Great American Reads”

Alex Cross is a homicide detective with a Ph.D. in psychology. He works and lives in the ghettos of D. C. and looks like Muhammad Ali in his prime. He’s a tough guy from a tough part of town who wears Harris Tweed jackets and likes to relax by banging out Gershwin tunes on his baby grand piano. But he also has two adorable kids of his own, and they are his own special vulnerabilities.

Jezzie Flanagan is the first woman ever to hold the highly sensitive job as supervisor of the Secret Service in Washington. Blond, mysterious, seductive, she’s got an outer shell that’s as tough as it is beautiful. She rides her black BMW motorcycle at speeds of no less than 100 mph. What is she running from? What is her secret?

Alex Cross and Jezzie Flanagan are about to have a forbidden love affair-at the worst possible time for both of them. Because Gary Soneji, who wants to commit the “crime of the century,” is playing at the top of his game. Soneji has outsmarted the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police. Who will be his next victim?

Gary Soneji is every parent’s worst nightmare. He has become Alex Cross’s nightmare. And now, reader, he’s about to become yours.

–

The City of Bones (Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments Series, Book 1) by Cassandra Clare (Format: eBook)

Discover this first installment of the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked” (Entertainment Weekly).

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing — not even a smear of blood — to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know…

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

–

The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire Series, Book 1) by Craig Johnson (Format: eBook)

Introducing Wyoming’s Sheriff Walt Longmire in this riveting first Longmire novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Land of Wolves

Fans of Ace Atkins, Nevada Barr and Robert B. Parker will love this outstanding first novel, in which New York Times bestselling author Craig Johnson introduces Sheriff Walt Longmire of Wyoming’s Absaroka County. Johnson draws on his deep attachment to the American West to produce a literary mystery of stunning authenticity, and full of memorable characters. After twenty-five years as sheriff of Absaroka County, Walt Longmire’s hopes of finishing out his tenure in peace are dashed when Cody Pritchard is found dead near the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Two years earlier, Cody has been one of four high school boys given suspended sentences for raping a local Cheyenne girl. Somebody, it would seem, is seeking vengeance, and Longmire might be the only thing standing between the three remaining boys and a Sharps .45-70 rifle.

With lifelong friend Henry Standing Bear, Deputy Victoria Moretti, and a cast of characters both tragic and humorous enough to fill in the vast emptiness of the high plains, Walt Longmire attempts to see that revenge, a dish best served cold, is never served at all.

–

The Fiddler by Beverly Lewis (Format: eBook)

Amelia Devries finds herself living an artistic double life: she’s a talented concert violinist who’s also very good at fiddling. But fiddling doesn’t fit into the plans of her musician boyfriend, her violinist father, or her agent. When a severe thunderstorm strands her in the rural mountains of Pennsylvania, she takes refuge at a cabin inhabited by Michael Hostetler, a young fence-sitting Amish man who can’t decide whether to take the formal vows to join the Amish community. Her chance connection with Michael allows Amelia an opening into his community, while Michael finds himself increasingly attracted to the outsider. Lewis’s presentation of Amish life portrays the advantages and disadvantages of a community with definite rules and a solidarity that can be both enviable and constraining. The musical motifs offer welcome variation on very familiar Amish themes that Lewis renders in virtuoso style. This opens the Home to Hickory Hollow series, but stands alone nicely.

–

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman (Format: eBook)

Collecting books can be a dangerous prospect in this fun, time-traveling, fantasy adventure—the first in the Invisible Library series!

One thing any Librarian will tell you: the truth is much stranger than fiction…

Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, a shadowy organization that collects important works of fiction from all of the different realities. Most recently, she and her enigmatic assistant Kai have been sent to an alternative London. Their mission: Retrieve a particularly dangerous book. The problem: By the time they arrive, it’s already been stolen.

London’s underground factions are prepared to fight to the death to find the tome before Irene and Kai do, a problem compounded by the fact that this world is chaos-infested—the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic to run rampant. To make matters worse, Kai is hiding something—secrets that could be just as volatile as the chaos-filled world itself.

Now Irene is caught in a puzzling web of deadly danger, conflicting clues, and sinister secret societies. And failure is not an option—because it isn’t just Irene’s reputation at stake, it’s the nature of reality itself…

–

The Kremlin Conspiracy (Marcus Ryker Series, Book 1) by Joel C. Rosenberg (Format: eBook)

New York Times bestselling author Joel C. Rosenberg returns with a high-stakes political thriller set in Russia.

Everything he learned to protect our president, he must use to take out theirs.

With an American president distracted by growing tensions in North Korea and Iran, an ominous new threat is emerging in Moscow. A czar is rising in the Kremlin, a Russian president feverishly consolidating power, silencing his opposition, and plotting a brazen and lightning-fast military strike that could rupture the NATO alliance and bring Washington and Moscow to the brink of nuclear war. But in his blind spot is former U.S. Secret Service agent Marcus Ryker, trained to protect but ready to kill to save his country.

–

The Pillars of the Earth (Pillars of the Earth Series, Book 1) by Ken Follett (Format: eBook)

“Follett risks all and comes out a clear winner,” extolled Publishers Weekly on the release of The Pillars of the Earth. A departure for the bestselling thriller writer, the historical epic stunned readers and critics alike with its ambitious scope and gripping humanity. Today, it stands as a testament to Follett’s unassailable command of the written word and to his universal appeal.

The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known . . . of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect—a man divided in his soul . . . of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame . . . and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state and brother against brother.

A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of twelfth-century England, this is Ken Follett’s historical masterpiece.

–

The Quiet Game (Penn Cage Series, Book 1) by Greg Iles (Format: eBook)

INTRODUCING PENN CAGE…

From the author of Mississippi Blood comes the first intelligent, gripping thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling Series.

Natchez, Mississippi. Jewel of the South. City of old money and older sins. And childhood home of Houston prosecutor Penn Cage.

In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, this is where Penn has returned for solitude. This is where he hopes to find peace. What he discovers instead is his own family trapped in a mystery buried for thirty years but never forgotten—the town’s darkest secret, now set to trap and destroy Penn as well.

–

Ross Poldark (Poldark Series, Book 1) by Winston Graham (Format: eBook)

In the first novel in Winston Graham’s hit series, a weary Ross Poldark returns to England from war, looking forward to a joyful homecoming with his beloved Elizabeth. But instead he discovers his father has died, his home is overrun by livestock and drunken servants, and Elizabeth—believing Ross to be dead—is now engaged to his cousin. Ross has no choice but to start his life anew.

Thus begins the Poldark series, a heartwarming, gripping saga set in the windswept landscape of 18th Century Cornwall. With an unforgettable cast of characters that spans loves, lives, and generations, this extraordinary masterwork from Winston Graham is a story you will never forget.

–

Storm Front (Dresden Files Series, Book 1) written by Jim Butcher & read by James Marsters (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)

The offbeat Dresden Files is an expanding series of detective novels about Harry Dresden, a wizard with a consulting practice in modern-day Chicago. Harry’s profession offers him little money, lots of mockery, the suspicion of his magical colleagues, plenty of danger, and not much income. It offers readers some unconventional detective work, whimsy, humor, and suspense. Here Dresden discovers that mobsters have enlisted occult forces for nefarious purposes. The casting of James Marsters of TV’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” to narrate indicates who the intended audience is. Marsters does a nice, low-key job with the first-person narrative, flagging slightly at the home stretch (as does the text), but perking up for the finish. He handles the male and female, and the human and para-human, characters with equal aplomb, even managing some moving pathos out of unpromising moments. – AudioFile Review

–

Have a great week!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

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

–

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 is the weekly list of New York Times Bestsellers available in the Digital Catalog.

–

If you have questions about how to access digital content, you can write a comment and post it on the blog, or send me, SSCL Librarian Linda Reimer, questions via email: reimerl@stls.org

 

–

 

FICTION:

1ST CASE by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts (Downloadable Audiobook)

After getting kicked out of M.I.T., Angela Hoot interns with the F.B.I. and tracks the murderous siblings known as the Poet and the Engineer.

 

–

 

28 SUMMERS by Elin Hilderbrand (Downloadable Audiobooks)

A relationship that started in 1993 between Mallory Blessing and Jake McCloud comes to light while she is on her deathbed and his wife runs for president.

 

–

 

AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins (eBook)

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

 

–

 

CAMINO WINDS by John Grisham (eBook)

The line between fact and fiction becomes blurred when an author of thrillers is found dead after a hurricane hits Camino Island.

 

–

DEADLOCK by Catherine Coulter (eBook)

The 24th book in the F.B.I. Thriller series. A young wife, a psychopath and three red boxes puzzle agents Savich and Sherlock.

 

–

 

END OF HER by Shari Lapena (eBook)

The parents of colicky twin girls have other trouble delivered in the form of suspicions surrounding the husband’s first wife’s death.

 

–

 

GOLDEN IN DEATH by J.D. Robb (eBook)

The 50th book of the In Death series. Eve Dallas seeks the sender of packages that give off toxic airborne fumes.

 

–

 

THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley (Downloadable Audiobook)

A wedding between a TV star and a magazine publisher on an island off the coast of Ireland turns deadly.

 

–

 

IF IT BLEEDS by Stephen King (eBook)

Four novellas: “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” “The Life of Chuck,” “Rat” and “If It Bleeds.”

 

–

 

LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng (eBook)

An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland.

 

–

 

MEXICAN GOTHIC by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Downloadable Audiobook)

1950s Mexico, a debutante travels to a distant mansion where family secrets of a faded mining empire have been kept hidden.

 

–

 

NEAR DARK by Brad Thor (eBook)

The 19th book in the Scot Harvath series. With a bounty on his head, Harvath makes an alliance with a Norwegian intelligence operative.

 

–

 

THE ORDER by Daniel Silva (eBook)

The 20th book in the Gabriel Allon series. The art restorer and spy cuts his family’s vacation short to investigate whether Pope Paul VII was murdered.

 

–

 

SEX AND VANITY by Kevin Kwan (eBook)

A nod to “A Room With a View” in which Lucie Tang Churchill is torn between her WASPy billionaire fiancé and a privileged hunk born in Hong Kong.

 

–

 

SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides (eBook)

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

 

–

 

THEN SHE WAS GONE  by Lisa Jewell (Downloadable Audiobook)

Ten years after her daughter disappears, a woman tries to get her life in order but remains haunted by unanswered questions.

 

–

 

THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett (eBook)

The lives of twin sisters who run away from a Southern black community at age 16 diverge as one returns and the other takes on a different racial identity.

 

–

 

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens (eBook)

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:

ANSWER IS …  by Alex Trebek (Downloadable Audiobook) 

Who is the Canadian-American who got his break on American TV by hosting the game show “The Wizard of Odds” and whose pronunciation of the word “genre” has been shared widely on social media?

 

–

 

BECOMING by Michelle Obama (eBook)

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.

 

–

 

BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME by Ta-Nehisi Coates (eBook)

Winner of the 2015 National Book Award for nonfiction. A meditation on race in America as well as a personal story, framed as a letter to the author’s teenage son.

 

–

 

BREATH by James Nestor (eBook)

A re-examination of a basic biological function and a look at the science behind ancient breathing practices.

 

–

 

EDUCATED by Tara Westover (eBook)

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 (eBook)

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

 

–

 

I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK by Michelle McNamara (Downloadable Audiobook)

 

The late true-crime journalist’s search for the serial murderer and rapist known as “the Golden State Killer.”

 

–

 

INTIMATIONS by Zadie Smith (eBook)

Six essays exploring topics, such as isolation, compassion and the relationship between time and work, which were considered during an unprecedented situation.

 

–

 

ON TYRANNY by Timothy Snyder (Downloadable Audiobook)

Twenty lessons from the 20th century about the course of tyranny.

 

–

 

THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED by John Bolton (eBook)

The former national security advisor gives his account of the 17 months he spent working for President Trump.

 

–

 

SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE by Ijeoma Oluo (Downloadable Audiobook)

A look at the contemporary racial landscape of the United States.

 

–

 

SPLENDID AND THE VILE by Erik Larson (eBook):

An examination of the leadership of the prime minister Winston Churchill.

 

–

 

TOO MUCH AND NEVER ENOUGH by Mary L. Trump (eBook):

The clinical psychologist gives her assessment of events and patterns inside her family and how they shaped President Trump.

 

–

 

UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle (eBook):

The activist and public speaker describes her journey of listening to her inner voice.

 

–

 

WHITE FRAGILITY by Robin DiAngelo (eBook):

Historical and cultural analyses on what causes defensive moves by white people and how this inhibits cross-racial dialogue.

 

–

 

Be well and read on!

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, welcome to our Suggested Listening posting for this week!

Our Suggested Listening postings focus on the music of the past, with a few new songs mixed in for good measure.

–

Suggested Listening postings come out weekly, on Fridays, and next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, August 14, 2020.

–

Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now by McFadden and Whitehead (Genre: R&B, Soul, Vocal, Philly Soul)

A number one hit for the duo back in 1979, from their album McFadden and Whitehead (1979).

–

Father Along And Further In by Mary Chapin Carpenter (Genre: Folk, Americana, Country)

From her just released album The Dirt And The Stars (2020).

–

For Once In My Life by Stevie Wonder (Genre: R&B, Pop, just great music!)

Stevie Wonder with a super upbeat song he recorded in 1967.

Bonus – another Stevie Wonder song!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours by Stevie Wonder

–

Getting Out Of Hand by The Bangs (AKA The Bangles)

The A side to the first single by The Bangs released in 1981; before they changed their name to The Bangles.

What a great sixties sound!

–

How Long Has This Been Going On? (Instrumental) by John Coltrane (Genre: Jazz)

From his classic LP The Cats (1958).

–

No Reply by Genesis (Genre: Pop/Rock)

From the band’s classic album Abacab (1981). And I have to say, I’ve seen this video many times over the years, and have only just realized that the members of the band, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, actually appear as the horn players in the video – I’m not sure how I missed that!

–

Our Lips Are Sealed by The Go-Gos

From their classic album Beauty And The Beat (1981).

–

Play by The Bacon Brothers (Genre: Americana, Singer-Songwriter)

The Bacon Brothers with a fun, funky song from the brothers new album, The Way We Love (2020).

–

Smiling by Alanis Morissette (Genre: Pop/Rock)

From her new album Such Pretty Forks in the Road (2020).

–

When Love Speaks by The Epiphoni Consort (Classical, Vocal, Choral Music)

From their new album When Love Speaks: Choral Music by Owain Park (2020).

–

References

Carrigan, Henry. (2020, August 5). The Journal of Roots Music: No Depression., https://www.nodepression.com/album-reviews/mary-chapin-carpenter-gazes-inward-and-outward-on-the-dirt-and-the-stars/

Steffen, Chris. (2020, July 17). How the Bacon Brothers Hit Their Stride by Learning to Write for Themselves. AllMusic., https://www.allmusic.com/blog/post/michael-and-kevin-bacon-interview

–

REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Online References

AllMusic: https://www.allmusic.com/

–

Seelye, Katharine Q. (2020, July 29). Bent Fabric, Pianist and Composer Known for ‘Alley Cat,’ Dies at 95., The New York Times., https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/arts/music/bent-fabric-dead.html

–

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.

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS: Libby & RBDigital:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the Libby and/or the RBDigital app, to check out eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and on-demand magazines, from your app store to get started. 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.