This site offers news and discussion about technology, books, digital library content, media items, online library resources and free tech assistance patrons can acquire at the library!
The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.
–
The Libby App
Libby is the companion app to the Digital Catalog and may be found in the Apple & Google app.
–
Hoopla
A catalog of instant check out items, including eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, TV shows and movies for patrons of the Southeast Steuben County Library.
–
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 (Libby app) 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*
–
Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Tuesdays.
And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Tuesday, August 2, 2022.
–
An Appetite For Violets: A Novel by Martine Bailey
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Biddy Leigh, a poor fatherless cottager, has reached the pinnacle of happiness in life as undercook at Mawton Hall with marriage to the handsome Jem in her future, but her plans go awry with the unexpected arrival of Lady Carinna, the absent old master’s very young, very demanding new wife. Not only is Lady Carinna impetuous and imperious, she is also abruptly seized with a sudden desire to travel to her uncle’s estate in Italy and insists on Biddy’s accompanying her, plunging that unflappable young lady into mysteries and adventures that challenge her to the utmost of her considerably resourceful nature. As we follow Biddy and her companions on their continental travels, we are treated to her gastronomic journal filled with sensual and revealing details. VERDICT Debut novelist (and award-winning amateur cook) Bailey whips up a tasty confection of history, mystery, and intrigue. Fans of such 18th-century writers as James Boswell, Tobias Smollett, Henry Fielding, and Samuel Richardson will savor this delicious read. – Starred Library Journal
–
The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser
(Available Formats: Print Book & Large Print)
A woman desperate to turn a new page heads to the Scottish coast and finds herself locked in a battle of wills with an infuriatingly aloof bookseller in this utterly heartwarming debut, perfect for readers of Evvie Drake Starts Over.
“Humor and charm abound. . . . [This] love story hits the spot.”—Publishers Weekly
Thea Mottram is having a bad month. She’s been let go from her office job with no notice—and to make matters even worse, her husband of nearly twenty years has decided to leave her for one of her friends. Bewildered and completely lost, Thea doesn’t know what to do. But when she learns that a distant great uncle in Scotland has passed away, leaving her his home and a hefty antique book collection, she decides to leave Sussex for a few weeks. Escaping to a small coastal town where no one knows her seems to be exactly what she needs.
Almost instantly, Thea becomes enamored with the quaint cottage, comforted by its cozy rooms and lovely but neglected garden. The locals in nearby Baldochrie are just as warm, quirky, and inviting. The only person she can’t seem to win over is bookshop owner Edward Maltravers, to whom she hopes to sell her uncle’s book collection. His gruff attitude—fueled by an infamous, long-standing feud with his brother, a local lord—tests Thea’s patience. But bickering with Edward proves oddly refreshing and exciting, leading Thea to develop feelings she hasn’t experienced in a long time. As she follows a thrilling yet terrifying impulse to stay in Scotland indefinitely, Thea realizes that her new life may quickly become just as complicated as the one she was running from.
–
The Church of Baseball: The Making of Bull Durham: Home Runs, Bad Calls, Crazy Fights, Big Swings, and a Hit by Ron Shelton
(Available Formats: Print Book)
From the award-winning screenwriter and director of cult classic Bull Durham, the extremely entertaining behind-the-scenes story of the making of the film, and an insightful primer on the art and business of moviemaking.
“This book tells you how to make a movie—the whole nine innings of it—out of nothing but sheer will.” —Tony Gilroy, writer/director of Michael Clayton and The Bourne Legacy
“The only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the church of baseball.” —Annie in Bull Durham
Bull Durham, the breakthrough 1988 film about a minor league baseball team, is widely revered as the best sports movie of all time. But back in 1987, Ron Shelton was a first-time director and no one was willing to finance a movie about baseball—especially a story set in the minors. The jury was still out on Kevin Costner’s leading-man potential, while Susan Sarandon was already a has-been. There were doubts. But something miraculous happened, and The Church of Baseball attempts to capture why.
From organizing a baseball camp for the actors and rewriting key scenes while on set, to dealing with a short production schedule and overcoming the challenge of filming the sport, Shelton brings to life the making of this beloved American movie. Shelton explains the rarely revealed ins and outs of moviemaking, from a film’s inception and financing, screenwriting, casting, the nuts and bolts of directing, the postproduction process, and even through its release. But this is also a book about baseball and its singular romance in the world of sports. Shelton spent six years in the minor leagues before making this film, and his experiences resonate throughout this book.
Full of wry humor and insight, The Church of Baseball tells the remarkable story behind an iconic film.
–
Daughter of Redwinter by Ed McDonald
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Raine is a young woman with a forbidden gift: she can see and speak to the dead. If discovered, a public stoning is the best she could hope for. She’s survived for 17 years by keeping her mouth–and heart–closed. Caring about people isn’t practical in Raine’s knife-edged world, so naturally when she rescues a helpless woman pursued by men wielding powerful magic, it all goes to hell. The woman was carrying a page from a cursed book, and if not for these men–warrior magicians called Draoihn–she would have raised an ancient evil. Raine accompanies the Draoihn to Redwinter as a witness, hoping to learn magic, the kind that might help her survive rather than get her killed. McDonald’s thrilling coming-of-age fantasy, first in a series, also excels as a suspenseful mystery, as Raine is approached by different factions investigating the theft of the cursed page. McDonald’s medieval fantasy world feels lived-in, with a robust history, an intricate magic system, and a host of fascinating characters, but Raine herself–vulnerable but fierce, direct, and almost ruthlessly practical–is the heart of this memorable story. – Booklist Review
–
Hokuloa Road: A Novel by Elizabeth Hand
(Available Formats: Print Book)
After COVID grinds his carpentry work in Maine to a halt, Grady Kendall takes a long shot and applies for a job as caretaker in Hawaii at an isolated island estate on Hokuloa Road owned by eccentric millionaire Wesley Minton. Grady’s fantasies of a Hawaiian paradise take a dark turn, however, when he’s warned upon arrival that the island tends to punish its inhabitants, and a glaring memorial to dozens of recently vanished people lends foreboding weight to those words. Later, on his own after Minton decamps to an outpost on sacred Hokuloa Point, Grady is confronted by evidence of the island’s lore: an otherworldly, dog-like creature appears near his cottage. When Grady links the creature’s warnings to the disappearance of a woman he befriended on the plane to Hawaii, he realizes he’s been chosen to either find the missing or join them. Horror collides with amateur sleuthing here as the island’s protective spirits seek justice for a predator’s crimes against its sacred space and its adopted people. Hand, author of the iconic 12 Monkeys, is a master at genre-blending stories that feature carefully dosed supernatural malevolence. Here, she wields that mix of horror and thriller to draw together a cast of sympathetically awkward, fiercely loyal outcasts. Another strange, satisfying winner.
–
The Metavers And How It Will Revolutionize Everything by Mathew Ball
(Available Formats: Print Book)
In this thorough guide to the future of the internet, Ball, the former global head of strategy for Amazon Studios, introduces readers to the metaverse, “a massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds that can be experienced synchronously and persistently by an effectively unlimited number of users.” In the first section, Ball explores some of the metaverse’s precursors, which largely consist of online video games such as Minecraft and Fortnite that allow players from all over the world to jump into the same in-game locations and have a shared experience. The second part covers technological challenges to making the metaverse a reality, notably outdated infrastructure and a lack of low-latency connections (which are required to efficiently transmit large amounts of data through a network). The final section predicts how metaverse technology might change people’s lives: education and dating could be reimagined, he posits, and the most exciting prognostications are for the entertainment business, where filmmakers are using real-time rendering engines for sets and greater interactivity is coming for movies and TV shows. Informative and accessible, this is worth a look for anyone curious about what’s around the digital corner. Publishers Weekly Review
–
The Path of Thorns by A. G. Slatter
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Slatter returns to her Sourdough universe (following All the Murmuring Bones) for a standalone dark, feminist fairy tale. Asher Todd arrives at Morwood manor as a governess carrying a dark secret. She’s there to exact revenge against the family and fulfill a promise to her mother, all using forbidden witchcraft that she must keep a secret or risk arrest and execution. She hastily puts a sinister scheme into action, but her plans go awry as she finds the Morwoods have dark motives of their own. The more Asher’s forced to pivot, the more she becomes entangled in the web of secrets and lies she has woven, and the greater the cost of her eventual victory becomes. Slatter’s careful prose gradually builds a delicious tension, culminating in a genuinely satisfying twist. The tale draws inspiration from a medley of European folklore and creatures, and delves deeply into their thematic implications, interrogating motherhood, obligation, and toxic family dynamics. Boasting an unflinchingly morally gray heroine and all the grit and nuanced political awareness of Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver or Ava Reid’s The Wolf and the Woodsman, this is a truly enthralling fantasy. – Publishers Weekly Review
–
The Sizzle Paradox by Lily Menon
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Two best friends fake date to try to discover the perfect formula for love.
Not only is Lyric Bishop unlucky in love, but she’s beginning to feel like a fraud. She’s in her penultimate year at Columbia as an experimental psychology doctoral student, and her focus on sexual chemistry should make her a pro at dating. But other than the fact that she’s a self-proclaimed “picky bitch,” she can’t seem to solve her biggest problem yet: the Sizzle Paradox. Lyric rates her romantic and sexual partners by the Sizzle Paradox Scale—scoring elements like “pre-sex sexual chemistry” or “initiation to kiss”—but the more she’s into a guy, the less chance they have at a healthy, committed relationship, hence the paradox. Everyone thinks that she should date her hot best friend and roommate, Kian Montgomery, but hooking up with him would be a “disaster of civilization-ending proportions.” Lyric and Kian “live and thrive” in the friend zone, and neither of them would ever do anything to ruin their bond. Besides, Kian is a total lady’s man and goes through women like “sheets of paper,” though he’s starting to become bored with the no-strings-attached lifestyle. So when Lyric’s thesis reaches a roadblock, Kian volunteers to tutor her with a few fake dates to help them both crack the Sizzle Paradox once and for all. Menon’s latest novel follows the unbeatable rom-com blueprint of laugh-out-loud moments (“I scowl at him; he doesn’t need to make it sound like I’m some repulsive species of sea cucumber”) and sweltering sex scenes (“Everything about him is an aphrodisiac: his voice that’s barely a rumbling growl in the dark like thunder on a steamy night”). While at times Lyric can prove frustratingly clueless and immature when faced with her romantic prospects, readers will no doubt find her and Kian’s friendship endearing and their blistering chemistry unmistakable. Starred Kirkus Review
–
Stephen King Two-For: Blaze & The Regulators by Richard Bachman (Stephen King writing pseudonymously)
Blaze
(Available Formats: Print Book & CD audiobook)
Master storyteller Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman) presents this gripping and remarkable New York Times bestselling crime novel about a damaged young man who embarks on an ill-advised kidnapping plot—a work as taut and riveting as anything he has ever written.
Once upon a time, a fellow named Richard Bachman wrote Blaze on an Olivetti typewriter, then turned the machine over to Stephen King, who used it to write Carrie. Bachman died in 1985 (“cancer of the pseudonym”), but this last gripping Bachman novel resurfaced after being hidden away for decades—an unforgettable crime story tinged with sadness and suspense.
Clayton Blaisdell, Jr., was always a small-time delinquent. None too bright either, thanks to the beatings he got as a kid. Then Blaze met George Rackley, a seasoned pro with a hundred cons and one big idea. The kidnapping should go off without a hitch, with George as the brains behind their dangerous scheme. But there’s only one problem: by the time the deal goes down, Blaze’s partner in crime is dead. Or is he?
Master storyteller Stephen King presents the classic, terrifying New York Times bestseller of those caught between the surreal forces of good versus evil in a small suburban Ohio town.
“The red van rolls past…humming and glinting. …Things are happening fast now, although no one on Poplar Street realizes it yet.”
It’s a gorgeous midsummer afternoon along Poplar Street in the peaceful suburbia of Wentwort, Ohio, where life is as pleasant as you ever dreamed it could be. But that’s all about to end in blaze of gunfire and sudden violence, forever shattering the tranquility and the good times here. For the physical makeup of Poplar Street itself is now being transformed into a surreal landscape straight out of the active imagination of the innocent and vulnerable Seth Garin—an autistic boy who’s been exposed to and possessed by a horrific, otherworldly force of evil, one with sadistic and murderous intent and who is willing to use whatever means necessary to grow ever stronger.
–
Switchboard Soldiers by Jennifer Chiaverini
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD audiobook & eBook)
Chiaverini’s enchanting latest (after The Women’s March) highlights the heroic efforts of a group of women who helped the U.S. war effort during WWI. After the U.S. joins the war in 1917, General Pershing discovers there’s a lack of adequate phone service in Europe. The Army then recruits French-and-English-speaking American women as telephone operators to serve in France in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, including Barnard-educated telephone operator Grace Banker, talented French vocalist Marie Miossec, and Belgian-born Valerie DeSmedt from Los Angeles. After undergoing training in New York, the women travel to France by ship, encountering the dangerous waters patrolled by German U-boats. Marie, who met a soldier on the train to New York, keeps writing to him, holding out hope that they may reunite after the war ends. As the women work tirelessly to ensure lines of communication remain open, they discover the meaning of true friendship and the resilience needed to live in sparse quarters while working long hours in less than ideal circumstances. Chiaverini brings her singular characters to life, including real historical figures, as they become united in the quest to serve their country. Fans of historical fiction will be captivated. – Publishers Weekly Review
The Digital Catalog,is an online catalog containing eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, digital magazines and a handful of streaming videos. The catalog, which allows one to download content to a PC, also has a companion app, Libby, which you can download to your mobile device; so you can enjoy eBooks and downloadable audiobooks on the go!
All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.
The Hoopla Catalog features instant checkouts of eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV series. 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.
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.
–
Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
–
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, 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 Audiobook), The Digital Catalog (eBook & Downloadable Audiobook) and the Hoopla Catalog (Hoopla instant checkout eBook & Hoopla Audiobook).
For more information on the three catalogs skip to the section below the bestselling titles*
–
New York Times Bestseller blog posts are published on Sundays. And as I’m taking a few vacation days the next New York Times Bestseller list will be published to this blog on Sunday, August 7, 2022.
–
FICTION
–
6:20 MAN by David Baldacci
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD audibook, eBook & downloadable audiobook)
When his ex-girlfriend turns up dead in his office building, an entry-level investment analyst delves into the halls of economic power.
The daughter of a Korean mother and Jewish-American father, and leader of the indie rock project Japanese Breakfast, describes creating her own identity after losing her mother to cancer.
–
EDUCATED by Tara Westover
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD audiobook, eBook & downloadable audiobook)
The daughter of survivalists, who is kept out of school, educates herself enough to leave home for university.
–
FINDING ME by Viola Davis
(Available Formats: Print Book & downloadable audiobook)
The multiple award-winning actress describes the difficulties she encountered before claiming her sense of self and achieving professional success.
–
GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD audiobook, eBook & downloadable audiobook)
The Academy Award-winning actor shares snippets from the diaries he kept over the last 35 years.
–
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY by David Sedaris
(Available Formats: Print Book & CD audiobook)
The humorist portrays personal and public upheavals of his life in its seventh decade and the world in the time of a pandemic.
–
I’D LIKE TO PLAY ALONE, PLEASE by Tom Segura
(Available Formats: Print Book & CD audiobook)
The stand-up comedian and podcaster shares stories of parenting and strange encounters
–
JAMES PATTERSON by James Patterson
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD audiobook & eBook)
The author’s life, from growing up in small-town New York to working in the advertising industry to becoming a successful storyteller.
–
KILLING THE KILLERS by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
(Available Formats: Print Book & CD audiobook)
The 11th book in the conservative commentator’s Killing series gives an account of the global war against terrorists.
–
Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy by Henry Kissinger
(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)
The former secretary of state profiles the statecraft strategies of Richard Nixon, Margaret Thatcher and others.
–
TANQUERAY by Stephanie Johnson and Brandon Stanton
(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)
A profile of a performer who was a well-known burlesque dancer in New York City.
–
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVITUDE by Mark Leibovich
(Available Formats: Print Book)
A staff writer at The Atlantic details how some Republicans shifted their loyalty to Donald Trump.
–
THEY WANT TO KILL AMERICANS by Malcolm Nance
(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)
The author of “The Plot to Hack America” examines radicalization and terror threats within the United States.
–
WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD audiobook, eBook & downloadable audiobooks)
An approach to dealing with trauma that shifts an essential question used to investigate it.
–
WHY WE DID IT by Tim Miller
(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)
The former Republican political operative assesses why some centrist conservatives fell under the sway of Donald Trump.
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.
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.
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.
–
Also of Note: If a New York Times Bestseller isn’t yet available in any of the three catalogs; you can contact the library and request to be notified when it becomes available.
Southeast Steuben County Library Tel: 607-936-3713
–
Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.
The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.
–
The Libby App
Libby is the companion app to the Digital Catalog and may be found in the Apple & Google app.
–
Hoopla
A catalog of instant check out items, including eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, TV shows and movies for patrons of the Southeast Steuben County Library.
–
Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.
If you’re a digital magazine fan, you probably already know that you can checkout digital magazines, individually, through the Libby app and its companion, the online version AKA The Digital Catalog found online at https://stls.overdrive.com/ but you may not know that you can checkout a library of magazines through Hoopla – and you can!
To checkout the Hoopla magazine library, also known as a binge pass, on a computer and
2) Click on the Browse menu located at the top of the page, the Browse menu will open
3) Click the BingePasses option
Once you click on the BingePasses link the Binge Pass libraries page will display, it looks like this:
4) Then you click on the hoopla Magazines link and you’ll be prompted to complete your checkout; at which point you’ll gain access to all the magazines in the Hoopla magazine library for a week!
The magazines you’ll have instant access to include:
Let me reiterate the super cool part, you don’t have to checkout each individual magazine – with the Magazine BingePass you’ll checkout access to the entire magazine library!
So once you’ve checked out the magazines BingePass you click on any title in the library to read the magazine.
–
And if you’re using a smartphone or tablet; open the Hoopla app and tap on the More option at the bottom of the screen —
And then the BingePasses screen will display and you simply tap the photo showing Hoopla Magazines to checkout the magazine BingePass, which counts as 1 Hoopla checkout.
–
The magazines look pretty cool too – here are two pages from the terrific audiobook review magazine – AudioFile:
And here are two pages from Jazz Times magazine, also cool!
So if you’re looking for something new to read this weekend, check out the Hoopla BingePass Magazine library!
And if you have questions about how to access Hoopla or check out a BingePass, let us know!
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 (Libby app) 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*
–
Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Tuesdays.
And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Tuesday, July 26, 2022.
–
Even the Darkest Night: A Terra Alta Novel by Javier Cercas
(Available Formats: Print Book)
The shadow of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables looms large over the engrossing latest from Spanish writer Cercas (Outlaws). Hugo’s classic is the favorite of ex-con Melchor Marín, who read the book while serving time for his involvement with a Colombian drug cartel and who identifies with police inspector Javert, whom he thinks of as a “false bad guy.” Now a detective in the Spanish town of Terra Alta, Melchor begins to channel some of Javert’s implacable pursuit of justice in his investigation of the murder of a printing magnate and his wife. Though the businessman had many enemies, no evidence turns up to implicate anyone for the crime, prompting his department to close the case. That rankles Melchor, in part because it reminds him of the death of his mother, a sex worker whose murder was never solved. Melchor’s dogged determination to keep investigating the case behind the backs of his superiors eventually risks danger to himself and his loved ones. While Cercas resorts to lengthy swaths of exposition to relate the characters’ back stories, the narrative is generally well paced and suspenseful, and a surprise ending firmly roots the novel in Spain’s troubled 20th-century history and brings Melchor’s Javert fixation full circle. Fans of literary detective novels ought to take a look. – Publishers Weekly Review
–
The Foundling by Ann Leary
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD audiobook & eBook)
One of the cardinal rules of the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age is that staff and inmates must never fraternize. To even acknowledge each other could cause the employee to be fired and the inmate to be incarcerated in the asylum’s most punitive housing. So Mary Engle’s shock at seeing Lillian, her childhood friend from their mutual time at a local orphanage, as one of the patients assigned to the onerous dairy crew is enough to raise conflicting emotions. Mary needs her prestigious job as secretary to Dr. Agnes Vogel, the psychiatrist and eugenics proponent who runs the facility. But she also knows that Lillian is not intellectually or morally deficient, as Vogel claims. When Lillian asks Mary to help free her from Nettleton so that she can reunite her with her child and lover, Mary puts herself and others at great risk. Leary’s (The Children, 2016) richly rendered, tender tale of friendship and loyalty, based on her own family history, brings into sharp focus the horrors of such punitive institutions, which proliferated in early-twentieth-century America. – Booklist Review
–
The Heart of Summer by Felicity Hayes-McCoy
(Available Formats: Print Book)
“Maeve Binchy fans will adore it—she just gets better and better.”—Patricia Scanlan
On Ireland’s Finfarran Peninsula, summer means glorious weather and a life-changing choice for local librarian Hanna Casey in this delightful installment in the USA Today bestselling series, a captivating tale filled with all the beauty, charm, and warmth of Ireland that is perfect for fans of Jenny Colgan, Nina George, and Nancy Thayer.
Summer has finally arrived on Ireland’s west coast. On the Finfarran Peninsula, Hanna Casey is looking forward to al fresco lunches with friends and balmy evenings with her boyfriend Brian in their stunning new home in beautiful Hag’s Glen. With a painful divorce behind her and family drama finally settled, Hanna begins to plan a romantic holiday getaway for the two of them.
But life takes a turn when Brian’s adult son suddenly moves in and Hanna unexpectedly runs into Amy, a former flatmate from Hanna’s twenties in London. Reminded of her youth—and all the dreams and hopes she once had—Hanna begins to wonder if everything she now has is enough. When Amy suggests a reunion in London with old friends, Hanna accepts.
While it’s only short hop to England, Hanna feels like she’s leaving Brian far behind. And when she’s offered a new opportunity—the chance to be more than a local librarian in the little rural community where she grew up—Hanna is faced with a difficult choice: to decide what her heart truly wants.
–
The Kingdom of Sand by Andrew Holleran
(Available Formats: Print Book & downloadable audiobook)
The geographical and emotional landscape of contemporary rural Florida is at the core of this majestic and wistful rumination on ageing, loneliness, and mortality from Holleran (Dancer from the Dance). The 60-something unnamed narrator strives to hold onto a long, lingering friendship with Earl, who’s 20 years older, and reflects with bittersweetness on losses, past loves, and the indulgences of desire and lust. (His melancholy excursions include cruising a video arcade and a boat ramp in nearby Gainesville, places he’s visited for the past couple of decades.) Earl is a retired accountant and widower, and their common interests—books, music, “fine furniture,” picking blueberries—have bound them through the years as they remember friends of theirs who have died from AIDS and the narrator cared for his ailing parents. He thinks of their friendship as a “bucolic dream,” the “perfect combination of solitude and companionship.” The specter of death feels to the narrator “like a game of musical chairs… when the music stops you have to sit down wherever you are.” Though the novel is permeated by a mournful depression, Holleran brings stylistic flourishes and mordant nostalgia to the proceedings, and fully develops the narrator, who floats elegantly on his distilled memories and eventually lands on a beautiful resolution. This vital work shows Holleran at the top of his game. Starred Publishers Weekly Review
–
Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley
(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)
Pooley’s second novel, following The Authenticity Project (2020), is another joyous tale about serendipitous friendship and seizing each day with vigor. The epitome of a feel-good book that is also laugh-out-loud hilarious, it centers on the titular Iona, an indomitable middle-aged woman, and the eclectic cast of characters she encounters each day on the train. Her fellow travelers range from an awkward teenage girl to an obnoxious manspreader in a suit, but they all have one thing in common, they’re strangers who never, ever speak. But that changes the day the manspreader chokes on a grape, bringing this ragtag group together. The chapters shift among various points of view, providing a look into each commuter’s life and thoughts and a reminder that there is so much more to each of us than our outward appearance. Each person’s history is slowly unraveled as the bonds between the unlikely intergenerational group grow stronger. In a time when our differences so often divide us, Pooley’s novel is like a reassuring hug, assuring readers that our differences can strengthen relationships and should be embraced and celebrated. A not-to-be-missed read in the mode of Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (2017). – Booklist Review
–
The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda
(Available Formats: Print Book)
This eerie thriller, in which the setting itself may be actively malevolent, can stand next to Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Stephen King’s The Shining. Over the past 25 years, a string of visitors has vanished from the trails around a lodge in Cutter’s Pass, North Carolina, a mountainous region that includes access to the Appalachian Trail. The disappeared include four fraternity brothers (the first to vanish), a young woman who completed her hike and then went missing once she left the trail, and a journalist who was investigating the disappearances until he himself vanished. The past and present history of Cutter’s Pass is narrated by Abby, a woman who has worked at the lodge for the 10 years since her life derailed. The missing journalist’s brother turns up, growing increasingly paranoid and unhinged, and Abby forms a very uneasy alliance with him to solve the mystery. Abby is somewhat of a mystery herself: What is the draw she feels to this isolated area and to the people, at the lodge and in town, whom she feels may be in on a terrible secret? Expect shivers and lots of them. – Booklist Review
–
The Murder Book by Mark Billingham
(Available Formats: Print Book)
British author Billingham’s masterly 18th novel featuring Det. Insp. Tom Thorne (after 2020’s Cry Baby) finds Thorne content in his relationship with Melita Perera, who works with the police as a forensic psychiatrist, following a period of social isolation. Meanwhile, Thorne’s nemesis, Stuart Nicklin, who once tortured and nearly killed Thorne’s best friend, pathologist Phil Hendricks, escapes from prison and undergoes cosmetic surgery that makes him all but unrecognizable. When three grotesque murders, which imitate the proverbial “see no evil” theme, occur in London, Thorne and partner Det. Insp. Nicola Tanner investigate. They tie all three to sociopath Rebecca Driver, an acolyte of Nicklin’s, who meets her victims on a dating website, and arrest her. While Driver is in a holding cell after conviction and waiting to be sentenced, she finally decides to expose Nicklin’s evil manipulations. In the brilliant denouement, Thorne confronts Nicklin in Melita’s home, and the fallout from their violent encounter is sure to reverberate through the lives of Tanner, Hendricks, and himself in future installments. The intricate plot matches superior characterizations. Thorne fans will eagerly await his next outing. Starred Publishers Weekly Review
Reader’s Note: If you’d like to start reading this series from the beginning, checkout book 1, Sleepy Head.
–
Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton
(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)
In this engrossing saga, Cleeton picks up the story of the Perez family from When We Left Cuba, following their exile in Florida after Castro’s revolution. The eldest daughter, Isabel, 28, travels to Barcelona in 1964, worried that her sister Beatriz’s job at the U.S. consulate there, a cover for CIA-supported anti-Castro work, has put her in danger. In Beatriz’s apartment, Isabel discovers an old photo of herself as a toddler taken in Barcelona with her mother, Alicia, and an unknown man. Cleeton then shifts back to 1936, with Alicia taking Isabel to visit her parents in Spain after learning of her husband Emilio’s infidelities. Alicia reconnects with Nestor, a doctor she had a crush on when they were both students. They fall in love while Alicia tries to help her unmarried pregnant sister, Consuela, keep her baby. Back in 1964, Isabel falls in love with Beatriz’s friend, Diego, whom she later suspects is working for the CIA. There are satisfying endings for mother and daughter, with an unexpected revelation of how Alicia’s choice made Isabel’s possible a generation later. Cleeton’s complex female characters and evocative settings, spiced with a dollop of political drama, make this a pleasing outing. – Publishers Weekly Review
–
Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser
(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)
With spare dialogue and lush renditions of self-care rituals, Rowser and Smith paint a loving and intimate portrait of city life for a group of young Black women. The ensemble includes Kimana, a singer who is avoiding a scarily persistent suitor, Malik; Nisha, a photographer torn between two guys and the freedom of her “hoe phase”; Davene, who is drawn in blue-and-purple hued panels to reflect a bout of depression; and Cookie, whose Dominican grandmother attempts to make amends for her past homophobia as her granddaughter does her hair. Each story centers a different friend in their clique and is painted in a different rich color palette. Smith’s lithe character design and eye for detail pair nicely with Rowser’s economic storytelling, and Rowser expertly utilizes the group text as a sort of Greek chorus. The arc culminates at Kimana’s performance, where the women band together to stave off both an aggressive Malik and Davene’s looming blues, their colorful personalities coming together in a rainbow. The motif of wash day— as the women wash their own hair and others’, go to the salon, and get braids—invites the reader into the rhythm of their lives, with welcome inclusivity of queer romance, as well as non romantic story lines. This subtle but heartwarming homage to friendship, feminism, and reconciliation sings. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review
–
The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print & eBook)
Ryan’s latest historical novel, following The Kitchen Front (2021), is another charming read set during WWII and is centered on the lives of three very different women. Grace, Cressida, and Violet have all experienced some form of loss that has impacted their lives, and the war is taking its toll. Grace’s energy is consumed by her work as a vicar’s daughter and her duties as the soon-to-be wife of a vicar. Cressida’s home and business are lost to the blitz. Violet’s dependence on the predictability of class and society is in shambles. Though the women don’t have much in common, they band together to make the best out of a bad situation, and each woman undergoes a transformative journey through their friendships as they learn from one another. While these are fictional characters, Ryan weaves actual events into their story lines, and the backbone of this novel is the clothing shortage during WWII and how people did their best to make-do, particularly brides. Comforting but still rich with interesting history, this will please fans of cozy WWII fiction. – Booklist Review
The Digital Catalog,is an online catalog containing eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, digital magazines and a handful of streaming videos. The catalog, which allows one to download content to a PC, also has a companion app, Libby, which you can download to your mobile device; so you can enjoy eBooks and downloadable audiobooks on the go!
All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.
The Hoopla Catalog features instant checkouts of eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV series. 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.
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.
–
Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
–
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, 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 Audiobook), The Digital Catalog (eBook & Downloadable Audiobook) and the Hoopla Catalog (Hoopla instant checkout eBook & Hoopla Audiobook).
For more information on the three catalogs skip to the section below the bestselling titles*
–
New York Times Bestseller blog posts are published on Sundays and the next New York Times Bestseller list will be published to this blog on Sunday, July 24 2022.
The daughter of a Korean mother and Jewish-American father, and leader of the indie rock project Japanese Breakfast, describes creating her own identity after losing her mother to cancer.
–
EDUCATED by Tara Westover
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD audiobook, eBook & downloadable audiobook)
The daughter of survivalists, who is kept out of school, educates herself enough to leave home for university.
–
FINDING ME by Viola Davis
(Available Formats: Print Book & downloadable audiobook)
The multiple award-winning actress describes the difficulties she encountered before claiming her sense of self and achieving professional success.
–
GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD audiobook, eBook & downloadable audiobook)
The Academy Award-winning actor shares snippets from the diaries he kept over the last 35 years.
–
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY by David Sedaris
(Available Formats: Print Book & CD audiobook)
The humorist portrays personal and public upheavals of his life in its seventh decade and the world in the time of a pandemic.
–
I’D LIKE TO PLAY ALONE, PLEASE by Tom Segura
(Available Formats: Print Book & CD audiobook)
The stand-up comedian and podcaster shares stories of parenting and strange encounters
–
INVISIBLE STORM by Jason Kander
(Available Format: Not yet available in any catalog)
The former Army intelligence officer and Kansas City mayoral candidate shares his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder.
–
JAMES PATTERSON by James Patterson
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD audiobook & eBook)
The author’s life, from growing up in small-town New York to working in the advertising industry to becoming a successful storyteller.
–
KILLING THE KILLERS by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
(Available Formats: Print Book & CD audiobook)
The 11th book in the conservative commentator’s Killing series gives an account of the global war against terrorists.
–
Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy by Henry Kissinger
(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)
The former secretary of state profiles the statecraft strategies of Richard Nixon, Margaret Thatcher and others.
–
SCARS AND STRIPES by Tim Kennedy and Nick Palmisciano
(Available Formats: Print Book)
The Green Beret and former mixed martial arts fighter describes how his failures shaped who he is today.
–
UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD audiobook, eBook & downloadable audiobook)
The activist and public speaker describes her journey of listening to her inner voice.
–
WHY WE DID IT by Tim Miller
(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)
The former Republican political operative assesses why some centrist conservatives fell under the sway of Donald Trump.
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.
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.
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.
–
Also of Note: If a New York Times Bestseller isn’t yet available in any of the three catalogs; you can contact the library and request to be notified when it becomes available.
Southeast Steuben County Library Tel: 607-936-3713
–
Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.
The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.
–
The Libby App
Libby is the companion app to the Digital Catalog and may be found in the Apple & Google app.
–
Hoopla
A catalog of instant check out items, including eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, TV shows and movies for patrons of the Southeast Steuben County Library.
–
Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.
Tech & Book Talk at SSCL 