Hi everyone, here are our five 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 published on Wednesday.
And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, October 11, 2023.
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The Caretaker: A Novel by Ron Rash
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Set in Rash’s beloved midcentury Appalachia, a nimbly plotted, suspenseful romance with a twist–its titular hero is the third wheel. Blackburn Gant is by habit, inclination, and necessity a loner. Disfigured (as he sees it) by polio and abandoned by his family members, who’ve moved to Florida, Blackburn has taken work, permanently it seems, as live-in caretaker of a mountain cemetery near Blowing Rock, North Carolina. When his closest friend, Jacob Hampton, gets drafted into the Korean War, Gant assumes responsibility, too, for protecting and tending to Jacob’s pregnant wife. Naomi Clarke, only 16, is an outlander from distant Tennessee who came east to work as a hotel maid; she’s ill-educated (but working diligently on that so that she can write better letters), without means, friends, or support. When she and Jacob–scion of the town’s most prominent family, shopkeepers revered for their generosity with credit during the Depression–met and fell in love, Jacob’s family disowned him, and now they refuse to have anything to do with Naomi. After a scary confrontation with Jacob’s father early in her third trimester, when Naomi and Blackburn venture out to the movies, Blackburn helps Naomi move back home, seven hours west, to await the baby and her husband’s return. But when–as recounted in the novel’s bravura opening, a hand-to-hand combat scene that evokes James Dickey’s To the White Sea–Jacob is grievously wounded, his parents see the prospect of his long convalescence as a chance to put things right–or to put them horribly wrong–and they seize that chance. Rash writes with finesse and affection, as usual, of western North Carolina and its people. But the mood isn’t mere nostalgia–there’s a flint and an unflinching realism underneath, especially in his portrayal of the stalwart, utterly solid Blackburn Gant, that elevates the novel. Rash’s 20th book is among his best. – Kirkus Review
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The Ghost Illusion by Kit Martin
(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla Instant Checkout eBook)
In a twisty page-turner for fans of Lisa Jewell and Melinda Leigh, New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin melds psychological thriller and ghost story as one woman’s daring search for the truth tests the dividing line between life and death.
If you need help, we are here for you.
Eve St. Clair desperately needs help sorting reality from her fearful imaginings when ghostly voices seem to haunt the Victorian house in Sunderland, England, that she inherited from her uncle. Online research leads to a group that claims to offer just the aid she’s seeking. But can Ransom King’s handpicked team of investigators truly banish Eve’s night terrors?
Since the deaths of his wife and daughter, Seattle billionaire Ransom King has devoted himself to researching parapsychology and debunking the frauds who prey upon the bereaved. But Eve is a psychologist herself, clearly sane, and her sincerity is palpable. King senses a very real danger stalking the beautiful divorcée. As his interest in her case turns deeply personal, he will move heaven and earth to uncover the truth—no matter how shocking—and save the woman he loves.
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Judgment Prey by John Sandford
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers team up to crack an unsolvable case in this thrilling new novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford.
Alex Sand was spending the evening at home playing basketball with his two young sons when all three were shot in cold blood. A wealthy federal judge, there’s no short list of people who could have a vendetta against Sands, but the gruesome murders, especially that of his children, turn their St. Paul community on its head. Sand was on the verge of a major donation to a local housing charity, Heart/Twin Cities, and with the money in limbo, eyes suddenly turn to his grieving widow, Margaret Cooper, to see what she might do with the money. Margaret, distraught over the death of her family, struggles to move forward, and can’t imagine how or why anyone would target her husband.
With public pressure mounting and both the local police force and FBI hitting dead end after dead end, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to do what others could not: find answers. With each potential lead flawed, Davenport and Flowers are determined to chase every theory until they figure out who killed the Sands. But when they find themselves being stonewalled by the most unlikely of forces, the two wonder if perhaps each misdirection could lead them closer to the truth.
Reader’s Note: Judgement Prey is the thirty-third book in the Prey Series. If you like to binge read from the beginning, check out book one: Rules of Prey (1989).
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No Reserve by Felix Francis
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Theo Jennings, an auctioneer in Newmarket, England, has been climbing the ladder at the bloodstock sales company for the past three years. He’s planning on making his first ever multi-million sale with a yearling colt. When he finds the colt dead a few days after the auction, Theo is suspicious that there was foul play involved.
As Theo begins to investigate the death, he finds that answers aren’t coming readily from those who he questions. When a person’s body is discovered in the same stable a few days later, all fingers point to him. As his world turns upside down with the accusations, Theo decides to further his investigation.
The only way to clear Theo’s name is to find the real murderer, but it isn’t just the police who have their eye on him–the killer has a target on his back.
Reader’s Note: This is the twelfth book in the Dick Francis Novels series, written by the late author’s son Felix Francis. If you’d like to start reading the series from the beginning, check out book one: Gamble (2011).
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Talking To My Angels by Melissa Etheridge
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print & CD Audiobook)
Twenty years after the success of her first memoir, the New York Times bestseller The Truth Is . . ., the Grammy and Oscar award-winning rocker and trailblazing LGBTQAI icon takes stock of the intervening years, recounting the euphoric triumphs and the life-altering tragedies of her life.
Live with spirit.
Find peace in the chaos.
Lean into the joy.
Over the past twenty years, Melissa Etheridge has been blessed with success, love, joy, contentment, freedom, and release. She became a mother again, recorded eleven albums, toured the world, performed at the Grammy Awards, won an Oscar, discovered her one true love, and underwent a profound spiritual awakening. She also experienced illness, incomparable loss, heartache, guilt, shame, and devastating grief. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, endured two contentious and public break ups, and witnessed the devastating disintegration and death of her son, Beckett, to opioid addiction. Yet through it all, Melissa found the strength and courage to carry on.
Talking to My Angels is a profoundly honest look into her inner life as a woman, an artist, a mother, and a survivor. With characteristic wit and courage, Melissa delves into how numerous tragedies served as a catalyst for growth, and what the past two decades have taught her about the value of music, love, family, and life in the face of death. It is her story: as raw, vulnerable, and electrifying as her acclaimed songs. Melissa shares hard truths about surviving and thriving—a journey through darkness and uncertainty that leads to forgiveness and love. A remarkable storyteller, she digs deep into the well of her life, sharing memories that, woven together, create a rich portrait of success and survival—an intimate, emotional and ultimately inspiring story of healing.
A memoir a lifetime in the making, Talking to My Angels is Melissa’s engrossing—and at times harrowing—story as she lived it. It is a testament to the power of art, a touchstone for anyone seeking a path out of darkness, and a powerful love letter to the family and fans who’ve been integral to her journey.
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Have a great day!
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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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.
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Information on the three library 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, 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).
Tech & Book Talk at SSCL 