Month: February 2023

Hi everyone, here is the latest edition of Library Connections, our weekly readers’ and listeners’ advisory videocast.

The next Library Connections video will be posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Library Connections videos may also be accessed via the Southeast Steuben County Library’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/SESTEUBENCOLIBRARY

Have a great week!
Linda Reimer, SSCL

 

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

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

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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are now published on Wednesdays.

And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, February 15, 2023.

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Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook and Hoopla instant check out eBook & audiobook)

Feisty Marietta Greer changes her name to “Taylor” when her car runs out of gas in Taylorville, Ill. By the time she reaches Oklahoma, this strong-willed young Kentucky native with a quick tongue and an open mind is catapulted into a surprising new life. Taylor leaves home in a beat-up ’55 Volkswagen bug, on her way to nowhere in particular, savoring her freedom. But when a forlorn Cherokee woman drops a baby in Taylor’s passenger seat and asks her to take it, she does. A first novel, The Bean Trees is an overwhelming delight, as random and unexpected as real life. The unmistakable voice of its irresistible heroine is whimsical, yet deeply insightful. Taylor playfully names her little foundling “Turtle,” because she clings with an unrelenting, reptilian grip; at the same time, Taylor aches at the thought of the silent, staring child’s past suffering. With Turtle in tow, Taylor lands in Tucson, Ariz., with two flat tires and decides to stay. The desert climate, landscape and vegetation are completely foreign to Taylor, and in learning to love Arizona, she also comes face to face with its rattlesnakes and tarantulas. Similarly, Taylor finds that motherhood, responsibility and independence are thorny, if welcome, gifts. This funny, inspiring book is a marvelous affirmation of risk-taking, commitment and everyday miracles. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Better The Blood by Michael Bennett

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

Bennett (In Dark Places: The Confessions of Teina Pora and an Ex-Cop’s Fight for Justice) makes his fiction debut with a stellar series launch set in contemporary New Zealand that explores the devastating belated consequences of a horrific murder of a Maori chief by six British soldiers in 1863—an act preserved in a daguerreotype. The opening pages reveal the original crime, and it soon becomes apparent that a killer is enacting vengeance on the six soldiers’ descendants. As the body count mounts, Bennett dramatically portrays the psychological fallout of age-old violence upon Auckland police detective Hana Westerman and a range of well-drawn secondary characters; and he convincingly reveals Hana’s inner turmoil and the conflicts inherent among her roles of detective, Maori woman, ex-wife to the senior police officer, and mother to a talented, outspoken teen activist. Told in third person mainly from Hana’s perspective but also from the perspectives of her daughter, the killer, and the victims, the narrative moves at a quick pace. Immersed in modern-day technologies and with a keen sensitivity to cultural issues, this is a finely crafted page-turner. Bennett is a writer to watch.

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The Chinese Groove: A Novel by Kathryn Ma

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

In January 2015, 18-year-old Shelley (sporting the name bequeathed by a beloved English teacher) leaves home in “the most beautiful realm in all of China.” His father can no longer ignore the unprovoked abuse Shelley endures from their extended family and finally fulfills his promise to Shelley’s late mother to send their only son “away from this unhappy life and into a brighter world.” Relying on the titular Chinese groove that links even strangers as long as backgrounds overlap, Shelley lands in San Francisco to start anew with a “conveniently rich” uncle. That “uncle” turns out to be second-cousin-once-removed Ted, who picks him up in a “crapmobile,” stops by Costco, and arrives at a modest “saltbox” to a party (not for Shelley) in progress. Ted’s not-Chinese Jewish wife, Aviva, has already set a two-week limit for Shelley occupying the sagging downstairs sofa. Shelley prevails through English classes, boarding-house woes, homelessness, illegal green-bean prepping, elder-, child-, and dog-care, app development, and more. While reconnecting broken bonds, Shelley succeeds in accomplishing the “Three Achievables . . . Family, Love, Fortune,” albeit eventually and not particularly resembling his initial expectations. Balancing humor and poignancy with seemingly effortless ease, Ma (The Year She Left Us, 2014) is a magnificent storyteller.

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Death at the Falls by Rosemary Simpson

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook and Hoopla instant check out eBook & audiobook)

Simpson’s intriguing seventh Gilded Age mystery (after 2021’s The Dead Cry Justice) sends New York investigative attorneys Prudence MacKenzie and Geoffrey Hunter to Niagara Falls in 1890, when land prices are skyrocketing in the face of burgeoning industrialization. Lucas Adderly, before he went missing seven years earlier, put some of his family fortune as well as valuable newly purchased land in trust for his daughter, Rowan, who’s expected to gain control of the trust on her upcoming 18th birthday. Lucas’s greedy mother attempts to block Rowan’s inheritance by claiming that the girl’s late mother was promiscuous and she’s another man’s child. Shortly after arriving in Niagara, Prudence and Geoffrey watch “Crazy Louie” Whiting, who hopes to be the first human to survive a trip over the falls, send a sheep down the cascade in a barrel. When the barrel reaches the bottom, it reveals the corpse of a surveyor’s assistant who suspected collusion between corrupt government officials and those seeking profits from Niagara land. Incorporating characters ranging from Indigenous tribespeople to souvenir shills, Simpson brings Niagara and its contentious modernization to life. This one’s for history buffs and fans of smart female sleuths.

On a Reader’s Note: As noted, this is the seventh book in the Gilded Age series, if you’d like to start reading the series from the beginning, check out book one: What the Dead Leave Behind (2017).

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Deluge by Stephen Markley

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

In this brilliant dystopian epic from Markley (Ohio), spanning from 2013 to 2040, a range of characters attempt to avert catastrophic climate change, sometimes at great personal risk, and with varying degrees of success. There’s geologist Tony Pietrus; climate justice activist Kate Morris; Shane Acosta, a sophisticated ecoterrorist; and Ashir al-Hasan, chief of staff for the Senate Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. The plot begins in familiar terrain, with scientists sounding the alarm that time is running out. Speculative elements emerge with the meteoric ascent of Morris, whose organization, A Fierce Blue Fire, has made global warming the sole litmus test for its political support. The charismatic Morris also dreams up investment opportunities to benefit neglected and poverty-stricken regions. Interstitial segments, including a newspaper article written by AI about Shane’s truck bombing of an Ohio power station in 2030, add to the sense of frightening plausibility. Meanwhile, the bureaucratic al-Hasan comments in a memo on the “inanity and profiteering that surround the legislative process,” while Pietrus, whose work on methane clathrates is quietly incorporated into government models, remains divisive and marginalized. Markley makes this anything but didactic; his nuanced characterizations of individuals with different approaches to the existential threat make the perils they encounter feel real as they navigate cover-ups and lies. It’s a disturbing tour de force. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Novel by Benjamin Stevenson

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

Ernie Cunningham, the narrator of this exceptionally clever and amusing mystery from Stevenson (Either Side of Midnight), hooks the reader immediately with his opening words: “Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once.” Ernie, who acknowledges up front the recent trend in crime fiction for narrators such as himself to be unreliable, self-publishes how-to books for aspiring authors. As another character comments, “You write books about how to write books that you’ve never written, bought by people who will never write one.” It’s been three years since Ernie’s testimony sent his brother Michael to prison for murder after Michael asked Ernie to dispose of a corpse that turned out not to be quite dead yet. While attending a tense family reunion at an Australian ski resort, Ernie winds up in the middle of a real-life whodunit. The death of a stranger, apparently killed by a fire in the snow that didn’t melt any snow, resembles the work of a serial murderer known as the Black Tongue. Along the way, the author tosses in other deaths, past and present. Stevenson carries off this tour de force with all the aplomb of a master magician who conducts his tricks in plain view. This is perfect for Peter Lovesey fans. Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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The Forever Witness: How DNA and Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder written and read by Edward Humes

(Available Formats: Print Book and Downloadable Audiobook)

In 1987, 18-year-old Tanya Van Cuylenborg and 20-year-old Jay Cook, the victims at the center of this stellar true crime account from Pulitzer Prize winner Humes (Burned: A Story of Murder and the Crime That Wasn’t), disappeared while on a road trip from Canada to Seattle. Their bodies and their abandoned van were found days later; Tanya had been raped and shot and Jay beaten to death. The case made headlines for months, but it would be 31 years before Bill Talbott, a 55-year-old Seattle trucker “with no criminal convictions on his record and no known connection to the victims,” was arrested, thanks to determined cold case investigator Jim Scharf and genetic genealogist CeCe Moore. Humes delves into Scharf’s and Moore’s personalities and backgrounds while explaining the development of home DNA kits, their use in solving crimes, and the controversy over police use of these private for-profit databases, from which anyone can update a DNA profile to trace their ancestors and unknowingly finger a criminal relative in the process. In “the first-ever genetic genealogy murder trial,” Talbott was convicted in 2019, though he’s currently awaiting a second trial after the first was overturned on appeal based on an issue unrelated to the DNA evidence. Humes matches taut prose with assured storytelling. This fascinating look at how technology has revolutionized crime solving is must reading. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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Hokuloa Road: a Novel

(Available Formats: Print Book & CD Audiobook)

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.

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The Guest House by Robin Morgan-Bentley

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant check out eBook)

How far would you go to protect the ones you love?

Jamie and Victoria are off for a last quick vacation before the arrival of their first baby. The remote country guesthouse Victoria chose seems like the perfect retreat—miles away from the distractions of work and their regular life. And the older couple that run the establishment, Barry and Fiona, are more than accommodating.

But when Jamie and Victoria awake on their first morning, they find the house deserted. Barry and Fiona are nowhere to be seen. All the doors are locked. And their cell phones and car keys have disappeared.

They have no way out and no way to call for help and the contractions are getting stronger.

Disturbing and irresistible, The Guest House is devilish, jaw-dropping, and completely unpredictable with twists perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Mary Kubica.

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Meredith, Alone by Clarie Alexander

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Alexander’s satisfying debut follows a woman who hasn’t left her home for over three years. Meredith Maggs, nearing her 40th birthday, is content to live within the confines of her Glasgow flat, working as a freelance writer, solving jigsaw puzzles, and spending time with her best friend, Sadie, who helps with such errands as taking Meredith’s cat to the vet. Meredith finds company in an online mental health support group, where she meets Celeste, a kindred soul who loves cats as much as Meredith does. Also keeping her company is Tom McDermott, a volunteer from the Holding Hands charity whose objective is to offer “friendship and support to anyone who needs it.” She insists on not needing charity, but Tom turns out to be a caring companion with whom Meredith enjoys sharing biscuits and poetry. He gently prods into her past, seeking the reason she stopped going outside and stirring up memories of her difficult childhood. The measured pace keeps the plot moving even as most of the action takes place within Meredith’s flat, and the endearing characters offer a sensitive portrayal of what it means to live with mental health issues. The result is a quiet slice-of-life story with heart to spare. – Publishers Weekly Review

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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, 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.

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

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.

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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.

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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).

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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, 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*

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New York Times Bestseller blog posts are published on Sundays.And the next New York Times blog post will be published Sunday, February 12, 2023.

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FICTION

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THE BOYS FROM BILOXI by John Grisham

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

Two childhood friends follow in their fathers’ footsteps, which puts them on opposite sides of the law.

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CABINET OF DR. LENG by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

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

The 21st book in the Pendergast series. Constance Greene travels back in time to prevent the deaths of her siblings.

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DAISY JONES & THE SIX by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

A fictional oral history charting the rise and fall of a ’70s rock ’n’ roll band.

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DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver

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

A reimagining of Charles Dickens’s “David Copperfield” set in the mountains of southern Appalachia.

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DEVIL’S RANSOM by Brad Taylor

(Available Formats: Print Book & Large Print)

The 17th book in the Pike Logan series. Pike must stop a man seeking to upset the global balance of power.

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FAIRY TALE by Stephen King

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & downloadable audiobook)

A high school kid inherits a shed that is a portal to another world where good and evil are at war.

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HELL BENT by Leigh Bardugo

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

The second book in the Alex Stern series. Alex risks her future at Lethe and Yale to get Darlington out of purgatory.

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HORSE by Geraldine Brooks

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

The story of a racehorse, an enslaved groom and an itinerant painter reverberates in three different eras.

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HOUSE IN THE PINES by Ana Reyes

(Available Formats: eBook)

Seven years after witnessing her best friend drop dead, May returns to her Berkshires hometown to piece together what happened.

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HOUSE OF WOLVES by James Patterson and Mike Lupica

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

After her father is murdered, Jenny Wolf becomes the head of a powerful family in California.

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HOW TO SELL A HAUNTED HOUSE by Grady Hendrix

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

After her parents die, Louise encounters more than she expected in dealing with the family home.

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IT ENDS WITH US by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

A battered wife raised in a violent home attempts to halt the cycle of abuse.

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IT STARTS WITH US by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In the sequel to “It Ends With Us,” Lily deals with her jealous ex-husband as she reconnects with her first boyfriend.

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THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME by Laura Dave

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

Hannah Hall discovers truths about her missing husband and bonds with his daughter from a previous relationship.

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LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus

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

A scientist and single mother living in California in the 1960s becomes a star on a TV cooking show.

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MAD HONEY by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

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

After returning to her hometown, Olivia McAfee’s son gets accused of killing his crush.

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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig

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

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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RECOVERY ROAD by Christine Feehan

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The eighth book in the Torpedo Ink series. A member of the motorcycle club helps an investment banker deal with thugs attempting to coerce her into marriage.

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REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt

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

A widow working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium is aided in solving a mystery by a giant Pacific octopus living there.

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THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

A movie icon recounts stories of her loves and career to a struggling magazine writer.

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THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides

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

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

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TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin

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

Two friends find their partnership challenged in the world of video game design.

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UGLY LOVE by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Hoopla instant checkout audiobook)

Tate Collins and Miles Archer, an airline pilot, think they can handle a no strings attached arrangement. But they can’t.

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VERITY by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Lowen Ashleigh is hired by the husband of an injured writer to complete her popular series and uncovers a horrifying truth.

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NON-FICTION:

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1619 PROJECT edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman and Jake Silverstein

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

Viewing America’s entanglement with slavery and its legacy, in essays adapted and expanded from The New York Times Magazine

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AND THERE WAS LIGHT by Jon Meacham

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

The Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer portrays the life of Abraham Lincoln.

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BILL OF OBLIGATIONS by Richard Haass

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

The president of the Council on Foreign Relations makes his case for what he considers obligations for American citizens.

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CRYING IN H MART by Michelle Zauner

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

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

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FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING by Matthew Perry

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

The actor, known for playing Chandler Bing on “Friends,” shares stories from his childhood and his struggles with sobriety.

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I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED by Jennette McCurdy

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

The actress and filmmaker describes her eating disorders and difficult relationship with her mother.

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AN IMMENSE WORLD by Ed Yong

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

The Pulitzer Prize–winning science writer explains the sensory perceptions and ways of communication used by a variety of animals.

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THE LIGHT WE CARRY by Michelle Obama

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

The former first lady shares personal stories and the tools she uses to deal with difficult situations.

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MASTER SLAVE HUSBAND WIFE by Ilyon Woo

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In 1848, Ellen Craft, disguised as a disabled white man, and her husband, William, posing as that man’s slave, achieved freedom only to have to flee again.

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THE MYTH OF NORMAL by Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté

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

The potential ways in which trauma and stress from modern-day living can affect our physical health.

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NAZI CONSPIRACY by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch

(Available Formats: Print Book & CD Audiobook)

The story of a Nazi plot to kill President Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill.

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NEVER GIVE AN INCH by Mike Pompeo

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The former secretary of state gives his account of his time serving under President Trump, with a focus on an America First approach.

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SPARE  by Prince Harry

(Available Formats: Print Book,

The Duke of Sussex details his struggles with the royal family, loss of his mother, service in the British Army and marriage to Meghan Markle.

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STRAIGHT SHOOTER by Stephen A. Smith

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The ESPN analyst recounts the highs and lows of his life and career.

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SURRENDER by Bono

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

The lead singer of the Irish rock band U2 offers details of his life, career and activism.

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Happy reading!

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.

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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

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our streaming recommendations for the month ahead of us

The next streaming recommendation post will be out the first Saturday, in March, that’s Saturday, March 3, 2023.

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Disney+ available now; can also be purchased via Amazon, Google Play & Apple)

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Joe Pickett (Paramount+) (Season 1, streaming now & based on the mystery series by C. J. Box)

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Poker Face (Peacock) (Episodes drop weekly, season 1 launched in January)

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Something in the Dirt (2022) (Amazon Prime & may be rented/purchased from Amazon, Google, Apple, YouTube etc.)

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The Watch (February 1) (Hulu)

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Harlem, Season 2 (Netflix) (February 3)

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All That Breaths (February 7) (HBO Max)

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Empire of Light (February 7) (HBO Max)

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Carnival Row, Season 2 (February 17) (Amazon Prime Video)

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Hello Tomorrow! (February 17)  (Apple TV+)

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Star Trek Picard, Season 3 (February 16) (Paramount+)

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Hoopla Streaming Pick of the Month

Signora Volpe – Season One (2022)

And here is the trailer:

Have a great weekend,

Linda

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

Suggested Listening postings are published on Fridays; and our next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, February 10, 2023.

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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Alceste ou le Triomphe d’Alcide, LWV 50: Air pour les pêcheurs by Ensemble Leviathan & Lucile Tessier (Genre: Classical)

From The Album: Music for Lady Louise (2022)

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Better Times Will Come by Janis Ian (Genre: Singer-Songwriter)

From The Album: The Light at The End of The Line (2022)

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Days Beyond Recall by Bunk Johnson & Sidney Bechet (Genre: Jazz)

From The Album: Days Beyond Recall (1951)

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Freedom Highway by Rhiannon Giddens

From The Album: Freedom Highway (2017)

And as a bonus, because it is a great song – here is the original version:

Freedom Highway by The Staple Singers

From The Album: Freedom Highway (1965)

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Guinevere by Donovan (Genre: Classic Rock, Sixties Rock)

From The Album: Sunshine Superman (1966)

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Heart in Sorrow by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (Genre: Blues, Harmonica)

From The Album: Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry Sing (1990)

And also, the album: Classic Harmonica Blues from Smithsonian Folkways (2013) by Various Artists

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Let Us Get Together by Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams (Genre: Americana)

From The Album: Live at Levon’s! (2023)

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Luck of the Draw by Bonnie Raitt (Genre: Blues/Rock)

From The Album: Luck of the Draw (1991)

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The Tender Years by Robert Forester (Genre: Singer-Songwriter)

From The Album: The Candle And The Flame

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That’s What I’ll Do by Robert Cray (Genre: Blues)

From The Album: Too Many Cooks (1990)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

A Valentine from Bing (2023) by Bing Crosby (Genre: Vocal)

And from the album the song:

My Funny Valentine by Bing Crosby

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Have a great weekend,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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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, web version of Libby

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

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The Libby App

Libby is the companion app to the Digital Catalog and may be found in the Apple & Google app.

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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.

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

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

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

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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are now published on Wednesdays.

And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, February 8, 2023.

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Back In A Spell by Lana Harper

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Harper’s charming third Witches of Thistle Grove romance (after From Bad to Cursed) continues to plumb surprising emotional depths while maintaining a lighthearted rom-com vibe. Responsible pansexual witch Nina Blackmoore agrees to a blind date with spontaneous nonbinary bartender Morty Gutierrez, not realizing he’s from the same Gutierrez clan that her powerful family have been harassing into selling the bar. The date’s a disaster—but mystical forces are at work to keep this duo from calling it quits. After witnessing an apparition in the town lake, Nina wakes to find her powers are wildly magnified. Worse, somehow Morty now has powers of his own. The only way he could have acquired magic overnight is if the pair of them are witchbound, the metaphysical equivalent of marriage. Though Nina is desperate to regain control over her power and halt the connection rapidly growing between her and Morty, she also welcomes the unexpected benefit of the bond: having someone she can be herself with, who helps her to confront the damage her self-centered mother has wrought on her life. Harper doesn’t hold back in showing the effects of being raised by a narcissistic parent, grounding the witchy story in heartfelt reality. This is sure to enchant series fans and new readers alike. – Publishers Weekly Review

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The Burnout Challenge: Managing People’s Relationships with Their Jobs by Christina Maslach

(Available Formats: Print Book & CD Audiobook)

A majority of American workers consider their jobs to be mediocre or bad, constituting a crisis in the workplace, according to this no-nonsense survey from Banishing Burnout coauthors Maslach, a UC Berkeley psychology professor, and Leiter, an organizational psychologist. They make a case that such bad feelings toward one’s work manifest as burnout, a miserable trifecta comprising crushing exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and alienation, and a sense of ineffectiveness. Burnout, they write, is the result of “the increasing mismatch between workers and workplaces,” and is not an individual problem but one that comes down to the relationship between an individual and their place of work. Solutions, therefore, must be systemic and structural. The authors break down how burnout affects workplace relationships (it can lead to workers “causing greater personal conflict and disrupting job tasks”) and lay out how organizations can ensure an ideal job-person match, which they posit involves six conditions: a sustainable workload; ample choice and control; recognition and rewards; supportive work community; norms of fairness, respect, and social justice; and well-aligned values and meaningful work. With the Great Resignation looming large, this timely, practical guide is worth a look for business leaders aiming to foster a healthy workplace. – Publishers Weekly Review

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City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita

(Available Formats: Print Book)

DEBUT In Oscar-nominated screenwriter Yamashita’s first novel, a teen finds body parts in a cove in Point Mettier, a very small town in Alaska. The police assume the limbs are from a passenger from a cruise ship. Detective Cara Kennedy arrives from Anchorage on a personal search. A year earlier, her husband and son disappeared on a camping trip, and their body parts were only recently discovered. She hopes to make a connection to those murders. Instead, she finds a secretive town where all 205 residents live in one apartment building with services, including a two-man police department. When she finds no answers, she plans to leave town–but the only exit, a two-mile tunnel, is blocked due to an avalanche. She’s stuck in a town where everyone is lying, an isolated place where abused women flee for safety. It’s not so safe when a head is discovered, a gang storms into town from a nearby reservation, and a woman and her sons disappear. Cara teams up with a police officer on a rescue plan that leads to shoot-outs and violence in the tunnels.
VERDICT The claustrophobic atmosphere in this unique one-building town, isolated by tunnels, weather, and secrets, builds a memorable debut crime novel. – Starred Library Journal Review

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Financial Feminist: Overcome the Patriarchy’s Bullsh*t to Master Your Money and Build a Life You Love by Tori Dunlap

(Available Formats: Print Book)

From the globally-recognized personal finance educator and social media star behind Her First $100K, an inclusive guide to all things money—from managing debt to investing and voting with your dollars
Tori Dunlap was always good with money. As a kid, she watched her prudent parents balance their checkbook every month and learned to save for musical tickets by gathering pennies in an Altoids tin. But she quickly discovered that her experience with money was pretty unusual, especially among her female friends.
It wasn’t our fault. Investigating this financial literacy and wealth gap, Tori found that girls are significantly less likely to receive a holistic financial education; we’re taught to restrain our spending, while boys are taught about investing and rewarded for pursuing wealth. In adulthood, women are hounded by the unfounded stereotype of the frivolous spenders whose lattes are to blame for the wealth gap. And when something like, say, a global pandemic happens, we’re the first to have jobs cut and the last to re-enter the workforce. It’s no wonder money is a source of anxiety and a barrier to equality for so many of us.
But what if money didn’t mean restriction, and instead, choice? The ability to luxuriously travel, quit toxic jobs, donate to important organizations, retire early? The freedom to live the life you want, and change the world while you do it?

Tori founded Her First $100K to teach women to overcome the unique obstacles standing in the way of their financial freedom. In Financial Feminist, she distills the principles of her shame- and judgment-free approach to paying off debt, figuring out your value categories to spend mindfully, saving money without monk-like deprivation, and investing in order to spend your retirement tanning in Tulum.

You will learn:
– Exercises to help you understand your current relationship with money, figure out what you want to change, and how to make that happen
– How to decide on your investment goal, and discover the three steps to meeting it
– Learn how to source the data you need to negotiate the money you deserve
Featuring journaling prompts, deep-dives into the invisible aspects of the financial landscape, and interviews with experts on everything money—from predatory credit card companies to the racial wealth gap and voting with your dollars—Financial Feminist is the ultimate guide to making your money work harder for you (rather than the other way around.)

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Independence by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Divakaruni’s (The Last Queen, 2021) latest brilliant novel coincides with the seventy-fifth anniversary of the independence of India from British rule and its partition into India, Pakistan, and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). With great attention to detail regarding the political and religious upheaval this caused and its impact on ordinary citizens, Divakaruni tells a highly nuanced tale of a Hindu Bengali family living in the village of Ranipur near Calcutta. The oldest child, Deepa, is as dutiful and responsible as she is beautiful, and she is determined to be an asset to her family through marriage. Priya, the middle sister, is the firebrand, independent and idealistic, on a mission, against societal odds, to become a doctor like their father. Jamini, the youngest, is deeply religious like their mother and jealous of her more accomplished sisters. The innocence and safety of these sisters in their cocooned village where Hindus and Muslims are enmeshed in each others’ lives are shattered in the turmoil, and the sisters are torn asunder. Deepa follows her husband to Bangladesh. Priya’s dream leads her to America to study medicine, while Jamini is the glue that holds their mother’s life together. Woven throughout their stories is the violence, rage, and anguish of a divided nation, all stirringly depicted by Divakaruni in unforgettable prose. –Booklist Review

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The Ingenue: A Novel by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Saskia Kreis has finally returned home, but this isn’t the homecoming she had planned. A former piano prodigy, Saskia had a tempestuous relationship with her mother, Evie, now dead before they can reconcile or even say goodbye. At least she will inherit her ancestral home, the once grand Elf House on the Milwaukee lakefront. However, Saskia is shocked to learn that Evie willed the house to her colleague Patrick, a man with whom Saskia shares a secret past. Pursuing legal options, Saskia attends a photographic exhibition that shatters the illusion that she was unique in her relationship to Patrick. She was one of many underage girls Patrick groomed, and the idea of giving him her home is unthinkable. Questioning whether anyone would believe her story, Saskia wrestles with moving forward. Kapelke-Dale’s (The Ballerinas, 2021) absorbing novel delves into the repercussions of sexual abuse, interspersing tantalizing extracts from Evie’s feminist fairy-tale retellings and fragments of Saskia’s teen years with present events that crescendo to a stunning conclusion.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Aptly compared to Kate Elizabeth Russell’s much-buzzed-about My Dark Vanessa (2020), The Ingenue is poised to garner similar attention. – Booklist Review

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Liberation Day: Stories by George Saunders

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Booker winner Saunders (Lincoln in the Bardo) returns to the short form with a wide-ranging collection that alternates his familiar fun house of warped simulations with subtler dramas. In “Ghoul,” actors playing demons at an Inferno-esque attraction called “Maws of Hell” succumb to workplace rivalries under the watchful eye of their managers. “Love Letter,” set in a Trumpist dystopia where “loyalists” report dissenters for infractions, takes the form of a man’s cautionary letter to his defiant grandson. The title story imagines a sinister company whose employees, little more than programs, are forced to recreate Custer’s last stand. Other stories probe loss, regret, and hopefulness. “The Mom of Bold Action” follows a frustrated writer and housewife facing turmoil when her son is attacked by at least one of two identical old creeps. “Mother’s Day” explores the inner life of a once feisty elderly woman now living at a remove from the world after her daughter runs away from home. “Elliot Spencer” combines futurism and pathos as a mind-wiped counterprotester suddenly recovers his identity. Saunders’s four previous collections shook the earth a bit harder, but he continues to humanize those whom society has worn down to a nub. Despite the author’s shift to quieter character studies, there’s plenty to satisfy longtime devotees. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Mr. Breakfast by Jonathan Carroll

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Graham Patterson wanted to be a famous comedian but didn’t have the edge that would make him a star. Ignoring the smart suggestions of his longtime girlfriend Ruth, he found himself without another gig. Buying a red Mustang off the showroom floor, Graham started searching for something he couldn’t name. Breaking down on the road, he impulsively chose his first tattoo without knowing the design contained magic. Now Graham can experience three possible lives at three different times, from the present into the future, but must pick only one for the rest of his days. What ensues is a wild ride as characters continuously change and grow through their experiences, which are full of surprises for characters and readers alike. As always with the exceptionally imaginative Carroll, he creates complex worlds for his hero to inhabit and with clever crossovers between realms that are carefully thought out and fun to explore. Carroll’s attention to details is impressive, and the unexpected prevails. Although not exactly comparable, this should appeal to fans of Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library (2020). –Booklist Review

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No One Left To Come Looking For You: A Novel by Sam Lipsyte

(Available Formats: Print Book)

At the start of this charming comic mystery set circa 1993 from Lipsyte (Hark), 20-something Jonathan “Jack” Shit, who plays in “the Shits, a fast-disintegrating band” on the fringes of Manhattan’s East Village music scene, is awakened by a call from Dyl Becker at King Snake Guitars. Dyl tells Jack that the band’s smack-addled lead singer, the Banished Earl, was just in his store with Jack’s bass guitar trying to sell it days before a big gig. Earl disappears, and the stolen bass, probably swapped for drugs, ends up in the hands of a thug named Mounce, whom Jack confronts as Mounce also tries to sell the instrument. A subsequent murder raises the stakes. Jack soon connects Earl’s disappearance with an aggressive real estate mogul known for stiffing his business associates while scheming to profit at any cost from the urban renewal of New York City. A wild array of neighborhood characters and scenesters guide Jack, including Corrina, an affectionate devotee engaged in mysterious art projects. This whodunit homage comes complete with dark satirical observations of New York 30 years ago. Spinal Tap fans will want to check it out. Publishers Weekly Review

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One: Simply One-Pan Wonders by Jamie Oliver

(Available Formats: Print Book)

One is the ultimate cookbook that will make getting good food on the table easier than ever before . . . Jamie Oliver is back to basics with over 120 simple, delicious, ONE pan recipes.

This edition has been adapted for the US market.

In ONE, Jamie Oliver will guide you through over 120 recipes for tasty, fuss-free and satisfying dishes cooked in just one pan. What’s better: each recipe has just eight ingredients or fewer, meaning minimal prep (and cleaning up) and offering maximum convenience.

Packed with budget-friendly dishes you can rustle up any time, ONE has everything from delicious work from home lunches to quick dinners the whole family will love; from meat-free options to meals that will get novice cooks started.

With chapters including . . .
· Veggie Delights
· Celebrating Chicken
· Frying Pan Pasta
· Batch Cooking

Simple dishes like Juicy Tahini Chicken and Hassleback Eggplant Pie and will soon become your new favorites.

There are plenty more no-fuss, tasty recipes that make ONE sit alongside 5 Ingredients and Ultimate Veg as your go-to kitchen companions.

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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, 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.

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

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.

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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.

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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).

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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, here is the latest edition of Library Connections, our weekly readers’ and listeners’ advisory videocast.

The next Library Connections video will be posted on Wednesday, February 8, 2023.

Library Connections: January 13, 2023

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Library Connections: January 20, 2023

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Library Connections: January 27, 2023

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Library Connections videos may also be accessed via the Southeast Steuben County Library’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/SESTEUBENCOLIBRARY

Have a great week!
Linda Reimer, SSCL