Month: February 2021

Hi everyone, here is the weekly list of New York Times Bestsellers.

Each title is followed by a listing of which formats it is available in for check out within the three catalogs: StarCat (Print, Large Print & CD Audiobooks), The Digital Catalog (eBook & Downloadable Audiobook) and the Hoopla Catalog (Hoopla eBook & Hoopla Audiobook).

For more information on the three catalogs skip to the section below the bestselling titles*

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The next New York Times Bestselling blog posting will be published on Sunday, February 14, 2021.

 

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FICTION:

AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins

(Available Formats: Book Print, Large Print, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook)

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

 

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AN OFFER FROM A GENTLEMAN by Julia Quinn

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, Hoopla eBook & Hoopla Audiobook)

The third book in the Bridgerton series. Sophie Beckett spends time in the arms of Benedict Bridgerton during a masquerade ball.

 

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ANXIOUS PEOPLE by Fredrik Backman

(Available Formats: Regular Print & Large Print Book, Audiobook on CD, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

A failed bank robber holds a group of strangers hostage at an apartment open house.

 

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BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED by Lisa Gardner

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook & eBook)

A recovering alcoholic puts herself in danger when she searches for a Haitian teenager in a Boston neighborhood.

 

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THE DUKE AND I by Julia Quinn

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The first book in the Bridgerton series. Daphne Bridgerton’s reputation soars when she colludes with the Duke of Hastings. The basis of the Netflix series “Bridgerton.”

 

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FIREFLY LANE by Kristin Hannah

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print & CD Audiobook, eBook coming shortly)

A friendship between two women in the Pacific Northwest endures for more than three decades.

The basis for the new Netflix series.

 

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THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

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

 

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HIGHLAND TREASURE by Lynsay Sands

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The ninth book in the Highland Brides series. After escaping an English dungeon, Lady Elysande de Valance is escorted to the Highlands by the rugged Rory Buchanan.

 

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THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE by V.E. Schwab

(Available Formats: Print Books, Large Print, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

A Faustian bargain comes with a curse that affects the adventure Addie LaRue has across centuries.

 

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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobooks)

Nora Seed finds a library beyond the edge of the universe that contains books with multiple possibilities of the lives one could have lived.

 

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NEIGHBORS by Danielle Steel

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, eBook coming soon)

A Hollywood recluse’s perspective changes when she invites her neighbors into her mansion after an earthquake.

 

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PRODIGAL SON by Gregg Hurwitz

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, Hoopla Audiobook)

The sixth book in the Orphan X series. Evan Smoak gets a call for help from a woman who claims to have given him up for adoption.

 

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THE PUSH by Ashley Audrain

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A devastating event forces a mother who questions her child’s behavior and her own sanity to confront the truth.

 

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READY PLAYER TWO by Ernest Cline

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print & eBook)

In a sequel to “Ready Player One,” Wade Watts discovers a technological advancement and goes on a new quest.

 

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THE RETURN by Nicholas Sparks

(Available Formats: Print & Large Print Book, Audiobook on CD & eBook)

A doctor serving in the Navy in Afghanistan goes back to North Carolina where two women change his life.

 

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ROMANCING MISTER BRIDGERTON by Julia Quinn

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook & instant check out Hoopla eBook & Hoopla Audiobook)

The fourth book in the Bridgerton series. Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton discover each other’s secrets.

 

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THE RUSSIAN by James Patterson and James O. Born

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print & Downloadable Audiobook)

The 13th book in the Michael Bennett series. An assassin killing a number of women might disrupt the detective’s wedding plans.

 

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STAR WARS: LIGHT OF THE JEDI by Charles Soule

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook both coming shortly)

In this installment of the High Republic series, a disaster in hyperspace may cause far greater damage.

 

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A TIME FOR MERCY by John Grisham

(Available Formats: Print & Large Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The third book in the Jake Brigance series. A 16-year-old is accused of killing a deputy in Clanton, Miss., in 1990.

 

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THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett

(Available Formats: Print & Large Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

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.

 

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens:

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

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

 

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NON-FICTION:

BECOMING by Michelle Obama

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The former first lady describes how she balanced work, family and her husband’s political ascent.

 

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BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook & Hoopla Audiobook)

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

 

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BRAIDING SWEETGRASS by Robin Wall Kimmerer

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook & Hoopla Downloadable Audiobook)

A botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation espouses having an understanding and appreciation of plants and animals.

 

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BREATH by James Nestor

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

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

 

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CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson

(Available Formats: Print Book, Audiobook on CD, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

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

 

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THE DEVIL YOU KNOW by Charles M. Blow

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The New York Times Op-Ed columnist gives a call to action for Black people to achieve equality on their own terms.

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GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey

(Available Formats: Print Book, Audiobook on CD & Downloadable Audiobook)

The Academy Award-winning actor shares snippets from the diaries he kept over the last 35 years.

 

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HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST by Ibram X. Kendi

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

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

 

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JUST AS I AM by Cicely Tyson with Michelle Burford

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The late iconic actress describes how she worked to change perceptions of Black women through her career choices.

 

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LET ME TELL YOU WHAT I MEAN by Joan Didion

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A collection of 12 pieces written between 1968 and 2000 that includes observations on the underground press and the act of writing.

 

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A PROMISED LAND by Barack Obama

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

In the first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama offers personal reflections on his formative years and pivotal moments through his first term.

 

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A SWIM IN A POND IN THE RAIN by George Saunder

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A collection of essays examining the functions and importance of works of fiction.

 

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UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONS WITH A BLACK MAN by Emmanuel Acho

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

A look at some questions and concepts needed to address systemic racism.

 

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UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle

(Available Formats: Print Book, Audiobook on CD, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

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

 

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WINTERING by Katherine May

(Available Formats: Print Book, Downloadable Audiobook)

Personal reflections on the potential benefits of embracing and living through painful times of isolation.

 

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Be well and read on!

Linda Reimer, SSL

 

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*Information on the Three Catalogs*

Digital Catalog: https://stls.overdrive.com/

The Digital Catalog has two companion apps, Libby & OverDrive. Libby is the app for newer devices and the OverDrive app should be used for older devices and Amazon tablets.

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

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

The Hoopla Catalog features instant check outs of eBooks, downloadable audiobook, comic books, albums and streaming videos. Patron check out limit is 4 items per month.

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

The Hoopla App is available for Android or Apple devices and most smart TVs & media streaming players.

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

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

The StarCat app is called Bookmyne and is available for Apple and Android devices.

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Southeast Steuben County Library Tel: 607-936-3713

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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.

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Suggested Listening postings come out weekly, on Fridays, and the next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, February 12, 2021.

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Bittersweet by Lianne La Havas (Genre: Vocal, Singer-Songwriter, Pop-Rock, Folk, Soul)

Bittersweet is a light, sultry song sung by the marvelous Lianne La Havas; the song is from her third album Lianne La Havas (2020), which is available for instant check out in the Hoopla catalog and is our Hoopla recommended album of the week!

The Hoopla Recommended section is at the end of each weekly posting.

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Black Coffee by Peggy Lee (Genre: Vocal)

The great Peggy Lee with a lovely, sultry version of Black Coffee from her album of the same name – Black Coffee (1956). Gotta have coffee!

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Deeper Than Dreams by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Septet (Genre: Jazz)

“Jazz music is the perfect metaphor for democracy,” says famed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. At a time when America—and indeed, the whole world—finds itself at a crossroads, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer has been inspired to write a poignant and buoyant work, The Democracy! Suite, which proves that the joy and beauty of jazz can bring us all closer together.” – Wynton Marsalis

Deeper Than Dreams is from the new album The Democracy! Suite (2021).

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East Bay by Boney James (Genre: Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Easy Listening)

Mellow and upbeat jazz from saxophonist Boney James and his band; from the album Sweet Thing (1997).

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Girl From The North Country by Bob Dylan (Genre: Folk)

Pre-electric Bob Dylan with a terrific, introspective song from his second album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963).

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Hickory Wind by The Byrds (Genre: Country, Country-Rock)

The late-sixties Byrds, featuring Graham Parsons, Roger McGuinn & Chris Hillman, went country with a terrific crossover album, Sweethearts of the Rodeo (1968). The LP, which sounds as fresh today as it did then, was released at a time when country music was looked down upon by many rock fans.

This is a very upbeat album; if you haven’t heard it – check it out!

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I’m Talking About You by Chuck Berry (Genre: Rock & Roll)

Arguably the greatest innovator of Rock n’ Roll with a terrific song from his album New Juke Box Hits (1961).

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Nobody To Blame by Chris Stapleton (Genre: Country, Country-Rock)

Chris Stapleton was a successful songwriter in Nashville for ten years before recording his debut album Traveller (2015); Nobody To Blame is one of the top-notch tunes on the LP!

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Oh Lady, Be Good by Ella Fitzgerald (Genre: Jazz, Vocal)

The classic Gershwin song; from the album Lullabies To Birdland (1955).

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The Times They Are A-Changin’ by Bob Dylan (Genre: Folk)

I don’t usually include two songs by the same artist in my weekly music posting; however, for Bob Dylan, whose sixties work is, if I can borrow a vintage phrase “out of sight”, I’m going to make an exception this week!

I’ve been listening to a lot of Dylan’s music recently; and the expression “what goes around, comes around” seems right to me, as regards to listening to music that reflects the transitional era we are living in. Dylan recorded most of his best albums in the sixties, which was another transitional era, and many of those songs aptly reflect those turbulent times and, by extension ours, including this song which is from Dylan’s third album of the same name – The Times They Are A-Changin’ (1964).

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 Hoopla Recommended Album of the Week:

Lianne La Havas (2020) by Lianne La Havas

Songs
1 Bittersweet – Full Length 4:52
2 Read My Mind 4:48
3 Green Papaya 4:05
4 Can’t Fight 3:10
5 Paper Thin 4:58
6 Out Of Your Mind (interlude) 1:04
7 Weird Fishes 5:54
8 Please Don’t Make Me Cry 5:14
9 Seven Times 3:30
10 Courage 3:38
11 Sour Flower 6:47
12 Bittersweet 3:56

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Have a peaceful weekend,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Online References

AllMusic. 2021. AllMusic | Record Reviews, Streaming Songs, Genres & Bands. [online] Available at: <https://www.allmusic.com/&gt; [Accessed 29 January 2021].

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Discography: The Democracy Suite. (2021, January 15). Wynton Marsalis.
https://wyntonmarsalis.org/discography/title/the-democracy-suite

Lingan, J., 2021. Yasmin Williams puts a fresh spin on finger-style guitar. [online] https://www.washingtonpost.com. Available at: <https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/music/yasmin-williams-fingerstyle-guitar/2021/01/21/be624808-5b64-11eb-a976-bad6431e03e2_story.html&gt; [Accessed 29 January 2021].

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Thompson, S., Detrow, S. and Touros, C., 2021. 20 Years Later, ‘Almost Famous’ Is Still A Golden God. [online] Npr.org. Available at: <https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/959705791/20-years-later-almost-famous-is-still-a-golden-god&gt; [Accessed 29 January 2021].

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Yasmin Williams. 2021. Bio — Yasmin Williams. [online] Available at: <http://www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com/bio&gt; [Accessed 29 January 2021].

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Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

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

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The Digital Catalog (OverDrive & Libby Apps)

The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.

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Hoopla

A catalog of instant check out items, including eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, TV shows and movies for for patrons of the Southeast Steuben County Library.

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our recommended reads for the week.

Format Note: Under each book title you’ll find a list of all the different formats that specific title is available in; including: Print Books, Large Print Books, CD Audiobooks, eBooks & Downloadable Audiobooks from the Digital Catalog (OverDrive & Libby apps) and Hoopla eBooks & Hoopla Downloadable Audiobooks (Hoopla App).

*More information on the three catalogs is found at the end of the list of recommended reads*

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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Tuesdays.  The next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Tuesday, February 9, 2021.

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An African-American Cookbook by Phoebe Bailey

(Available Formats: Hoopla eBook)

Remembering the Underground Railroad through Recipes That Are Rich with History

400 Soul Food Recipes for Appetizers, Main Meals, Breads, Pies, Cakes, Salads, and More!

An African American Cookbook: Traditional and Other Favorite Recipes is a bountiful collection of favorite foods and the memories that go with them. The traditional foods reflect the ingenious, resourceful, and imaginative Africans who made them. Woven among the four hundred recipes are rich historic anecdotes and sayings. They were discovered or lived by the cookbook’s contributors, many of whose ancestors participated in the Underground Railroad or lived near where it was active. This is a cookbook rich in history and rich in easy-to-prepare, wonderfully tasty food!

Recipes include:
• Collard greens with ham hocks,
• Cornbread sausage stuffing,
• Smoked turkey and black-eyed peas,
• Pan-fried okra,
• Fried green tomatoes,
• 14-day sweet pickles,
• Yogurt and chives biscuits,
• Sweet potato pie,
• And more!

Author Phoebe Bailey’s congregation in historic Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has a long history with Underground Railroad activity. Today they offer Underground Railroad reenactments and a buffet of traditional African American food to their many visitors. This cookbook celebrates those historic events when this church fed and then helped to spirit enslaved Africans to safety.

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The Broken Spine by St James, Dorothy

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The first in an exciting new series featuring Trudell Becket, a spunky librarian who will stop at nothing to save her beloved books and catch a killer!

Trudell Becket, book-loving librarian, finds herself in a bind when the library where she works is turned into a state-of-the-art bookless library. In a rare move of rebellion, Trudell rescues hundreds of her library’s beloved books slated for the recycle center. She sets up a secret book room in the library’s basement and opens it to anyone who shares her love of the printed book.

When the town councilman, who was the vocal proponent of the library’s transformation into a “futuristic technological center,” is crushed under an overturned shelf of DVDs, Trudell becomes the police’s prime suspect for his murder. She was the only person in the library at the time of his death, or so the police believe. But that’s not true. For the past month, Trudell had been letting a few dozen residents into the building through the basement entrance so they could read and check out the printed books.

But if she tells the police about the backdoor patrons who were in the library at the time of the murder, she’d have to explain about the secret book room and risk losing the books. In order to protect herself from being arrested for a murder she didn’t commit, Trudell–with the help of a group of dedicated readers–decides to investigate. She quickly discovers you can’t always judge a book by its cover.

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Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 by Ibram X. Kendi & Keisha N. Blain

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A chorus of extraordinary voices comes together to tell one of history’s great epics: the four-hundred-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present—edited by Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, and Keisha N. Blain, author of Set the World on Fire.

The story begins in 1619—a year before the Mayflower—when the White Lion disgorges “some 20-and-odd Negroes” onto the shores of Virginia, inaugurating the African presence in what would become the United States. It takes us to the present, when African Americans, descendants of those on the White Lion and a thousand other routes to this country, continue a journey defined by inhuman oppression, visionary struggles, stunning achievements, and millions of ordinary lives passing through extraordinary history.

Four Hundred Souls is a unique one-volume “community” history of African Americans. The editors, Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, have assembled ninety brilliant writers, each of whom takes on a five-year period of that four-hundred-year span. The writers explore their periods through a variety of techniques: historical essays, short stories, personal vignettes, and fiery polemics. They approach history from various perspectives: through the eyes of towering historical icons or the untold stories of ordinary people; through places, laws, and objects. While themes of resistance and struggle, of hope and reinvention, course through the book, this collection of diverse pieces from ninety different minds, reflecting ninety different perspectives, fundamentally deconstructs the idea that Africans in America are a monolith—instead it unlocks the startling range of experiences and ideas that have always existed within the community of Blackness.

This is a history that illuminates our past and gives us new ways of thinking about our future, written by the most vital and essential voices of our present.

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The Four Winds: A Novel by Kristin Hannah

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them.

“My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.”

Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.

By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.

In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa―like so many of her neighbors―must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.

The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it―the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

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Just as I Am: A Memoir by Cicely Tyson

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

“In her long and extraordinary career, Cicely Tyson has not only succeeded as an actor, she has shaped the course of history.” –President Barack Obama, 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony

“Just As I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside. In these pages, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been blessed to grace the stage and screen for six decades. Yet I am also the church girl who once rarely spoke a word. I am the teenager who sought solace in the verses of the old hymn for which this book is named. I am a daughter and mother, a sister, and a friend. I am an observer of human nature and the dreamer of audacious dreams. I am a woman who has hurt as immeasurably as I have loved, a child of God divinely guided by His hand. And here in my ninth decade, I am a woman who, at long last, has something meaningful to say.” –Cicely Tyson

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Librarian Tales: Funny, Strange, and Inspiring Dispatches from the Stacks by William Ottens

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla eBook)

Published in cooperation with the American Library Association, an insider’s look at one of the most prevalent, yet commonly misunderstood institutions!

Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly of librarian William Ottens’s experience working behind service desks and in the stacks of public libraries, most recently at the Lawrence Public Library in Kansas. In Librarian Tales, published in cooperation with the American Library Association, readers will learn about strange things librarians have found in book drops, weird and obscure reference questions, the stress of tax season, phrases your local librarians never want to hear, stories unique to children’s librarians, and more.

Ottens uncovers common pet peeves among his colleagues, addresses misguided assumptions and stereotypes, and shares several hilarious stories along the way. This book is must reading for any librarian, or anyone who loves books and libraries, though non-library folks will also laugh and cry (from laughing) while reading this lighthearted analysis of your local community pillar, the library.

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My Year Abroad: A Novel by Chang-Rae Lee

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

“An extraordinary book, acrobatic on the level of the sentence, symphonic across its many movements—and this is a book that moves…My Year Abroad is a wild ride—a caper, a romance, a bildungsroman, and something of a satire of how to get filthy rich in rising Asia.” – Vogue

From the award-winning author of Native Speaker and On Such a Full Sea, an exuberant, provocative story about a young American life transformed by an unusual Asian adventure – and about the human capacities for pleasure, pain, and connection.

Tiller is an average American college student with a good heart but minimal aspirations. Pong Lou is a larger-than-life, wildly creative Chinese American entrepreneur who sees something intriguing in Tiller beyond his bored exterior and takes him under his wing. When Pong brings him along on a boisterous trip across Asia, Tiller is catapulted from ordinary young man to talented protégé, and pulled into a series of ever more extreme and eye-opening experiences that transform his view of the world, of Pong, and of himself.

In the breathtaking, “precise, elliptical prose” that Chang-rae Lee is known for (The New York Times), the narrative alternates between Tiller’s outlandish, mind-boggling year with Pong and the strange, riveting, emotionally complex domestic life that follows it, as Tiller processes what happened to him abroad and what it means for his future. Rich with commentary on Western attitudes, Eastern stereotypes, capitalism, global trade, mental health, parenthood, mentorship, and more, My Year Abroad is also an exploration of the surprising effects of cultural immersion—on a young American in Asia, on a Chinese man in America, and on an unlikely couple hiding out in the suburbs. Tinged at once with humor and darkness, electric with its accumulating surprises and suspense, My Year Abroad is a novel that only Chang-rae Lee could have written, and one that will be read and discussed for years to come.

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The Stone of Destiny by Paul Doherty

(Available Formats: Hoopla eBook)

A series of grisly deaths are linked to the sacred Stone of Scone in this compelling medieval mystery featuring friar-sleuth Brother Athelstan.

“This abbey is a strange place, Brother Athelstan. A hall of ghosts, a place of flitting shadows. The dead throng here. I can hear them whispering as they ride the air.”

During the harsh winter of 1381, murder stalks the streets of London in all its grisly forms. The city’s prostitutes are falling prey to a silent, deadly assassin known as The Flayer who carefully peels his victims’ skins for his collection.

At the same time, Westminster Abbey, which houses the sacred Stone of Scone, is plagued by a series of hideous poisonings. Could there be a connection between these brutally violent deaths and the stone, which the English crown cherishes as a symbol of its rule over Scotland?

Then there are the two former Upright Men, leaders of the Great Revolt, who are found mysteriously hanged in the Piebald Tavern, close to Brother Athelstan’s parish church of St Erconwald and Athelstan is faced with his most baffling investigation to date. Can he navigate this deadly maze of murder and intrigue and pull the various threads together?

The 20 book in Brother Athelstan Mystery series

If you’d like to start with the first book in the series it is The Nightingale Gallery, published in 1991 by Doherty writing as by Paul Harding.

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Shiver by Allie Reynolds

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

In this propulsive locked-room thriller debut, a reunion weekend in the French Alps turns deadly when five friends discover that someone has deliberately stranded them at their remote mountaintop resort during a snowstorm.

When Milla accepts an off-season invitation to Le Rocher, a cozy ski resort in the French Alps, she’s expecting an intimate weekend of catching up with four old friends. It might have been a decade since she saw them last, but she’s never forgotten the bond they forged on this very mountain during a winter spent fiercely training for an elite snowboarding competition.

Yet no sooner do Milla and the others arrive for the reunion than they realize something is horribly wrong. The resort is deserted. The cable cars that delivered them to the mountaintop have stopped working. Their cell phones–missing. And inside the hotel, detailed instructions await them: an icebreaker game, designed to draw out their secrets. A game meant to remind them of Saskia, the enigmatic sixth member of their group, who vanished the morning of the competition years before and has long been presumed dead.

Stranded in the resort, Milla’s not sure what’s worse: the increasingly sinister things happening around her or the looming snowstorm that’s making escape even more impossible. All she knows is that there’s no one on the mountain she can trust. Because someone has gathered them there to find out the truth about Saskia…someone who will stop at nothing to get answers. And if Milla’s not careful, she could be the next to disappear..

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A Thousand Ships: A Novel by Natalie Haynes

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

“Gorgeous…. With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism, Natalie Haynes gives much-needed voice to the silenced women of the Trojan War.”—Madeline Miller, author of Circe

Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, a gorgeous retelling of the Trojan War from the perspectives of the many women involved in its causes and consequences—for fans of Madeline Miller.

This is the women’s war, just as much as it is the men’s. They have waited long enough for their turn . . .

This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of them all . . .

In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen.

From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war.

A woman’s epic, powerfully imbued with new life, A Thousand Ships puts the women, girls and goddesses at the center of the Western world’s great tale ever told.

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Have a great week!

Linda Reimer

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*Information on the Three Catalogs*

Digital Catalog: https://stls.overdrive.com/

The Digital Catalog has two companion apps, Libby & OverDrive. Libby is the app for newer devices and the OverDrive app should be used for older devices and Amazon tablets.

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

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

The Hoopla Catalog features instant check outs of eBooks, downloadable audiobook, comic books, albums and streaming videos. Patron check out limit is 6 items per month.

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

The Hoopla App is available for Android or Apple devices and most smart TVs & media streaming players.

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

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

The StarCat app is called Bookmyne and is available for Apple and Android devices.

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

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Have questions or want to request a book?

Feel free to call the library! Our telephone number is 607-936-3713.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, as you may already know the library was closed yesterday, and is closed today due to our duo winter storms.

So our regular suggested reading posting for this week will be delayed, and will be posted tomorrow instead of today.

And, in the meantime, here is the latest edition of Library Connections which is co-hosted by yours truly and my cat Winston.

Stay warm and be safe,

Linda