November 2023 – Tech & Book Talk at SSCL

Suggested Listening: November 24, 2023

November 24, 2023November 21, 2023 Linda Reimer

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, December 2, 2023.

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And here are our dozen recommended songs of the week!

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Ac-Cent-Tchua-Ate the Positive by Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers

From The Album: Accentuate The Positive! (1957)

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Call It Stormy Monday by T-Bone Walker

From The Album: T-Bone Blues (2005)

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Choo Choo Ch’Boogie by Louis Jordan

From The Album: No Moe! Louis Jordan’s Greatest Hits (1992)

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Guitar Boogie by Arthur Smith

From The Album: Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith (2015)

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How High The Moon by Les Paul and Mary Ford

From The Album: The Hit Makers (1953)

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Money Honey by The Drifters

From The Album: Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters (1956)

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New San Antonio Rose by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys

From The Album: The Essential Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys (2013)

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Nuages by Django Reinhardt

From The Album: Nuages (2019)

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Rock Me by Sister Rosetta Tharpe

From The Album: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Vol. 2 1942-1944 (2005)

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Rumble by Link Wray

From The Album: Rumble / The Swag (1958)

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Seven Come Eleven by The Benny Goodman Sextet with Charlie Christian

From The Album: The Original Guitar Hero (2002)

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Wake Up Little Susie by The Everly Brothers

From The Album: The Very Best of the Everly Brothers (1964)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

The Soundtrack: Hymie’s Fair Ladies (1962) by Hymie Baleson

And from the album the song:

Lulu’s Back In Town by Hyme Baleson

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And if you have a lot of time of the long holiday weekend, here is a link to an NPR article focusing on 150 of the best albums ever made by women!

https://www.npr.org/2017/07/24/538387823/turning-the-tables-150-greatest-albums-made-by-women

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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

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.

New York Times Bestsellers December 3, 2023

November 23, 2023November 21, 2023 Linda Reimer

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

New York Times Bestsellers can be requested through StarCat (for print books) & The Digital Catalog/Libby for eBooks and Downloadable Audiobooks. Select titles may also be checked out, on demand, through the Hoopla Catalog/app.

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 usually published on Sundays; although the new New York Times Bestseller Lists come out, and are accessible for free through the NYT website, on Thursdays.

And this week, the library is closed from Thursday, November 23 through Sunday, November 26, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, and the annual fall deep cleaning days; so I’m going to provide the direct links to the New York Times Bestseller lists so you can access the bestseller lists and see what new books are popular anytime over the long holiday weekend.

Our regular New York Times Bestsellers blog posts will resume next Sunday, December 3, 2023.

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The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestseller Bestsellers

https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/hardcover-fiction/

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The New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Bestsellers

https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/combined-print-and-e-book-fiction/

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The New York Times Hardcover Non-Fiction Bestsellers

https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/hardcover-nonfiction/

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The New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Non-Fiction Bestsellers

https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/

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Have a great long weekend & happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Search for and request books online!

eBooks & Audiobooks Through The Digital Catalog/Libby

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

The Digital Catalog has a companion app named Libby.

The Libby app is available for Android or Apple devices.

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

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Through Hoopla!

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

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

The Hoopla App is available online, 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 throughout 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 Telephone Number: 607-936-3713.

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Suggested Reading: November 22, 2023

November 22, 2023December 13, 2023 Linda Reimer

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 published on Wednesday.

And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, November 29, 2023.

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And before we get into our regular weekly ten recommended titles, I’d like to take a minute to note that today, Wednesdays, November 22, 2023, is the sixtieth anniversary of the assassination President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

To mark the occasion, I’m going to recommend a top-notch biography of President Kennedy:

An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917 – 1963 by Robert Dallek

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook & Hoopla Instant Checkout Audiobook)

In this riveting tour de force, Boston University history professor Dallek (Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1961–1973) delivers what will most assuredly become the benchmark JFK biography for this generation. A master of the art of narrative history, Dallek is also the first biographer since Doris Kearns Goodwin to be granted unrestricted access to key Kennedy family papers (most importantly, the Joseph and Rose Kennedy Papers) in the JFK Library. This is a substantial and significant trove to which Dallek brings a refreshingly critical eye. He has also mined many nuggets of key information from the papers of JFK’s colleagues, doctors and friends.Thus Dallek has significant new ground to break on a range of fronts including but not limited to Kennedy’s health, politics, personal recklessness and love affairs. Dallek’s revelations about JFK’s health, based on previously unavailable medical files maintained by Kennedy’s personal physician, have already received significant publicity from the Atlantic excerpt in December 2002. But here Dallek expands on that information and reveals (for the first time) the full extent of the medical coverup orchestrated by the Kennedy family: a coverup that involved the destruction of key medical records even after JFK was in his grave. On the political front, Dallek uses new inside information from a Kennedy associate to reveal the detailed mechanics (and enormous scope) of the use of Kennedy money to purchase the West Virginia primary in 1960. At the same time, Dallek has new evidence on both Jack’s philandering and his recklessness. Example: During the same 1960 campaign on which his father spent millions, JFK risked it all by inviting an underage cheerleader to his hotel room. As is appropriate, close to two-thirds of this biography covers Kennedy’s truncated presidency. In one of the book’s most important sections, Dallek marshals new evidence that JFK did not view with favor the expansion of the war in Vietnam, and that he most likely would not have sanctioned such an expansion. Throughout the book, Dallek stops short of worshipping his subject. He is a Kennedy admirer, but he never allows this admiration to cloud either his focus or his truth telling. Dallek is to be thanked for providing the thoroughly researched, well-sourced, responsible and readable biography that has for so long been wanting in Kennedy scholarship. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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And here are the ten recommended reads of the week.

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Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

(Available Formats: Print Book, eAudiobook & Hoopla Instant Checkout eAudiobook)

The great Native American Novel of a battered veteran returning home to heal his mind and spirit

More than thirty-five years since its original publication, Ceremony remains one of the most profound and moving works of Native American literature, a novel that is itself a ceremony of healing. Tayo, a World War II veteran of mixed ancestry, returns to the Laguna Pueblo Reservation. He is deeply scarred by his experience as a prisoner of the Japanese and further wounded by the rejection he encounters from his people. Only by immersing himself in the Indian past can he begin to regain the peace that was taken from him. Masterfully written, filled with the somber majesty of Pueblo myth, Ceremony is a work of enduring power.

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Dancing At The Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla Instant Checkout eAudiobook)

Dancing at the Rascal Fair by National Book Award nominee Ivan Doig captures the passion and tenacity of turn-of-the-century immigrants struggling to build new lives amidst Montana’s windswept Rockies. The tale unfolds into a contest of the heart between Anna Ramsay and Angus McCaskill-kept apart by obligations-as they and their stormy kin vie to tame the brutal land. “Magnificent . Dancing at the Rascal Fair establishes its author in the front ranks of contemporary American writers.”-Seattle Times

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Fool’s Crow by James Welch

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In the Two Medicine Territory of Montana, the Lone Eaters, a small band of Blackfeet Indians, are living their immemorial life. The men hunt and mount the occasional horse-taking raid or war party against the enemy Crow. The women tan the hides, sew the beadwork, and raise the children. But the year is 1870, and the whites are moving into their land. Fools Crow, a young warrior and medicine man, has seen the future and knows that the newcomers will punish resistance with swift retribution. First published to broad acclaim in 1986, Fools Crow is James Welch’s stunningly evocative portrait of his people’s bygone way of life.

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The Grass Dancer by Susan Power

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A major talent debuts with this beguiling novel whose characters are Dakota Sioux and their spirit ancestors. Covering some of the same themes as Louise Erdrich but displaying her own distinctive voice and transcendent imagination, Power has produced an authentic portrait of Native American culture and characters who are as resilient and tangible as the grass moving over the Great Plains. In interconnected stories that begin in 1981 and range back to 1864, the residents of a Sioux reservation endure poverty, epidemic illness, injustice and–no less importantly–jealousy, greed, anger and unrequited love. The tales begin and end with Harley Wind Soldier, a 17-year-old whose soul is a “black, empty hole” because his mother has not spoken a word since the accident 17 years earlier in which Harley’s father and brother died. Eventually we discover the true circumstances surrounding that event and other secrets–of clandestine love affairs, of childrens’ paternity–that stretch back several generations but hold a grip on the present. Meanwhile, Harley falls in love with enchanting Pumpkin, an amazingly adept grass dancer whose fate will make readers gasp. Mercury Thunder and her daughter Anna use magic in a sinister way, and tragedy results. Herod Small War, a Yuwipi (interpreter of dreams), tries to bring his community into harmony with the spiritual world. The existence of ghosts in the real world is accepted with calm belief by the characters, who know the old legends and understand that the direction of their lives is determined by their gods and ancestors. Power weaves historical events–the Apollo Moon landing; the 19th-century Great Plains drought–into her narrative, reinforcing the seamless coexistence of the real and the spirit realm. A consummate storyteller whose graceful prose is plangent with lyrical metaphor and sensuous detail, she deftly uses suspense, humor, irony and the gradual revelation of dramatic disclosures to compose a tapestry of human life. Seduced by her humane vision and its convincing depiction, one absorbs the traditions and lore of the Sioux community with a sense of wonder reflecting that with which the characters view the natural world. This is a book that begs to be read at one sitting, and then again. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Green Grass Running Water by Thomas King

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Strong, Sassy women and hard-luck hardheaded men, all searching for the middle ground between Native American tradition and the modern world, perform an elaborate dance of approach and avoidance in this magical, rollicking tale by Cherokee author Thomas King. Alberta is a university professor who would like to trade her two boyfriends for a baby but no husband; Lionel is forty and still sells televisions for a patronizing boss; Eli and his log cabin stand in the way of a profitable dam project. These three—and others—are coming to the Blackfoot reservation for the Sun Dance and there they will encounter four Indian elders and their companion, the trickster Coyote—and nothing in the small town of Blossom will be the same again…

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House Made of Dawn by N. Soctt Momaday

(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla Instant Checkout eAudiobook)

The magnificent Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of a stranger in his native land.

“Both a masterpiece about the universal human condition and a masterpiece of Native American literature. . . . A book everyone should read for the joy and emotion of the language it contains.” – The Paris Review

A young Native American, Abel has come home from war to find himself caught between two worlds. The first is the world of his father’s, wedding him to the rhythm of the seasons, the harsh beauty of the land, and the ancient rites and traditions of his people. But the other world—modern, industrial America—pulls at Abel, demanding his loyalty, trying to claim his soul, and goading him into a destructive, compulsive cycle of depravity and disgust.

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The Jailing of Cecelia Capture by Janet Campbell Hale

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Cecelia Capture Welles, an Indian law student and mother of two, is jailed on her thirtieth birthday for drunk driving. Held on an old welfare fraud charge, she reflects back on her life on the reservation in Idaho, her days as an unwed mother in San Francisco, her marriage to a white liberal, and her decision to return to college. This mixed inheritance of ambition and despair brings her to the brink of suicide.

“The Jailing of Cecelia Capture is a beautifully written book. Janet Campbell Hale’s gifts are genuine and deeply felt.”‚ Toni Morrison

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Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

(Available Formats: Print Book & Large Print)

This reissue of Erdrich’s exquisite first novel includes five new sections that color and complement the original multigenerational saga of two extended families who live on and around a Chippewa reservation in North Dakota. Each chapter is narrated in a memorable voice like the one of Lipsha Morrissey, a young man who is believed to have “the touch,” with which he attempts to bring his wandering grandfather back to his long-suffering grandmother with a love medicine made from goose hearts. By placing us right inside the heads of her remarkable characters, Erdrich allows us to feel the despair that insensitive government policies, poverty, and alcoholism have brought them. For those who have yet to discover this magical novel and for those who will have the pleasure of reexperiencing its heartbreak and its hope, this new version is highly recommended. -Library Journal Review

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Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese

(Available Formats: Print Book, Libby eBook, Hoopla Instant Checkout eBook & eAudiobook)

Canadian author and memoirist Wagamese (Indian Horse) has penned a complex, rugged, and moving father-son novel. Franklin Starlight, a 16-year-old Ojibway Indian, is summoned to the Canadian mill town of Parson’s Gap by his alcoholic father, Eldon Starlight, to discuss an important matter. Franklin goes reluctantly, since he has a dysfunctional and distant relationship with his dad. (Franklin was raised by a rancher identified only as “the old man.”) Eldon persuades Franklin to take him on a 40-mile journey to an isolated ridge to die (he suffers from a cirrhotic liver) so that he can be buried “in the warrior way.” Wagamese deftly weaves in the backstory as Eldon, racked with heartache and horror, relates different episodes from his past (when he’s lucid enough). Initially, Franklin is unsympathetic to his father’s plight, which seems to be caused by a lifetime of boozing and womanizing. However, as Eldon tells his tales, including that of his harrowing ordeal in the Korean War, which precipitated his chronic drinking, Franklin comes to see his father in a new light. Wagamese’s muscular prose and spare tone complement this gem of a narrative, which examines the bond between father and son. – Starred Publisher’s Weekly

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Solar Storms by Linda Hogan

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In her luminous, quietly compelling second novel, Hogan, a Chickasaw poet and writer (whose first novel, Mean Spirit, was a finalist for the Pulitzer), ties a young woman’s coming-of-age to the fate of the natural world she comes to inhabit. Angela Jensen, a troubled 17-year-old, narrates the tale of her return to Adam’s Rib, an island town in the boundary waters between Minnesota and Canada. Tucked into a pristine landscape of countless islands, wild animals and desperately harsh winters, it’s her Native American family’s homeland. As a child, Angela was abandoned by her mother, Hannah Wing, but not before Hannah had permanently scarred half of Angela’s face; earlier, Hannah herself had been separated from her family and unspeakably abused. In Adam’s Rib, Angela is reunited with her great-grandmother, Agnes Iron, and Agnes’s mother, Dora-Rouge; she also spends a winter with Bush, a solitary woman who briefly raised her and, years earlier and also briefly, raised Hannah. Just as Angela discovers through her family’s elemental way of life her own blood ties to the land, the threat of a huge hydroelectric dam project ruins her idyll. The four women–Angela, Agnes, Dora-Rouge and Bush–embark on a dangerous journey far northward to visit the homeland, where Hannah Wing is known to live. Hogan’s finely tuned descriptions of the land and its spiritual significance draw a parallel between the ravages suffered by the environment and those suffered by Angela’s mother. And, as the land is transformed, so are the lives of the characters, often in deeply resonant ways.

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Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla Instant Checkout eBook)

Winner of the American Book Award and the Murray Morgan Prize, Sherman Alexie’s brilliant first novel tells a powerful tale of Indians, rock ’n’ roll, and redemption

Coyote Springs is the only all-Indian rock band in Washington State—and the entire rest of the world. Thomas Builds-the-Fire takes vocals and bass guitar, Victor Joseph hits lead guitar, and Junior Polatkin rounds off the sound on drums. Backup vocals come from sisters Chess and Checkers Warm Water. The band sings its own brand of the blues, full of poverty, pain, and loss—but also joy and laughter.

It all started one day when legendary bluesman Robert Johnson showed up on the Spokane Indian Reservation with a magical guitar, leaving it on the floor of Thomas Builds-the-Fire’s van after setting off to climb Wellpinit Mountain in search of Big Mom.

In Reservation Blues, National Book Award winner Alexie vaults with ease from comedy to tragedy and back in a tour-de-force outing powered by a collision of cultures: Delta blues and Indian rock.

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There There by Tommy Orange

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

Orange’s debut novel offers a kaleidoscopic look at Native American life in Oakland, California, through the experiences and perspectives of 12 characters. An aspiring documentary filmmaker, a young man who has taught himself traditional dance by watching YouTube, another lost in the bulk of his enormous body–these are just a few of the point-of-view characters in this astonishingly wide-ranging book, which culminates with an event called the Big Oakland Powwow. Orange, who grew up in the East Bay, knows the territory, but this is no work of social anthropology; rather, it is a deep dive into the fractured diaspora of a community that remains, in many ways, invisible to many outside of it. “We made powwows because we needed a place to be together,” he writes. “Something intertribal, something old, something to make us money, something we could work toward, for our jewelry, our songs, our dances, our drum.” The plot of the book is almost impossible to encapsulate, but that’s part of its power. At the same time, the narrative moves forward with propulsive force. The stakes are high: For Jacquie Red Feather, on her way to meet her three grandsons for the first time, there is nothing as conditional as sobriety: “She was sober again,” Orange tells us, “and ten days is the same as a year when you want to drink all the time.” For Daniel Gonzales, creating plastic guns on a 3-D printer, the only lifeline is his dead brother, Manny, to whom he writes at a ghostly Gmail account. In its portrayal of so-called “Urban Indians,” the novel recalls David Treuer’s The Hiawatha, but the range, the vision, is all its own. What Orange is saying is that, like all people, Native Americans don’t share a single identity; theirs is a multifaceted landscape, made more so by the sins, the weight, of history. That some of these sins belong to the characters alone should go without saying, a point Orange makes explicit in the novel’s stunning, brutal denouement. “People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them,” James Baldwin wrote in a line Orange borrows as an epigraph to one of the book’s sections; this is the inescapable fate of every individual here. In this vivid and moving book, Orange articulates the challenges and complexities not only of Native Americans, but also of America itself. – Starred Kirkus Review

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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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.

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

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Information on the three library catalogs

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

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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Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

New York Times Bestsellers November 26, 2023

November 19, 2023November 17, 2023 Linda Reimer

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

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 posted in two weeks on Sunday, November 26, 2023.

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FICTION

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ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr

The lives of a blind French girl and a gadget-obsessed German boy before and during World War II.

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BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST by Travis Baldree

In a prequel to “Legends & Lattes,” an orc who was hurt during a battle winds up in a sleepy beach town called Murk.

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CLIVE CUSSLER: THE CORSICAN SHADOW by Dirk Cussler

The 27th book in the Dirk Pitt series. A murderous cabal targets water treatment facilities around the world.

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THE COVENANT OF WATER by Abraham Verghese

Three generations of a family living on South India’s Malabar Coast suffer the loss of a family member by drowning.

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DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver

Winner of a 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. A reimagining of Charles Dickens’s “David Copperfield” set in the mountains of southern Appalachia.

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DIRTY THIRTY by Janet Evanovich

The 30th book in the Stephanie Plum series. Plum tracks a local jeweler’s former security guard and has an overnight stakeout with relatives.

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THE EXCHANGE by John Grisham

In a sequel to “The Firm,” Mitch McDeere, who is now a partner at the world’s largest law firm, gets caught up in a sinister plot.

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FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros

Violet Sorrengail is urged by the commanding general, who also is her mother, to become a candidate for the elite dragon riders.

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HOLLY by Stephen King

The private detective Holly Gibney investigates whether a married pair of octogenarian academics had anything to do with Bonnie Dahl’s disappearance.

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THE HOUSEMAID by Freida McFadden

Troubles surface when a woman looking to make a fresh start takes a job in the home of the Winchesters.

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ICEBREAKER by Hannah Grace

Anastasia might need the help of the captain of a college hockey team to get on the Olympic figure skating team.

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LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus

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

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LOVE REDESIGNED by Lauren Asher

An interior designer and a billionaire who were childhood rivals have an attraction to each other.

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OLYMPIAN AFFAIR by Jim Butcher

The second book in the Cinder Spires series. The Spires may soon be involved in an open war.

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PRETTY BOYS ARE POISONOUS by Megan Fox

A collection of poems exploring how love relationships can affect one’s sense of identity.

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REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt

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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RESURRECTION WALK by Michael Connelly

The seventh book in the Lincoln Lawyer series. Haller and Bosch team up to prove the innocence of a woman in prison for killing her husband.

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THE SECRET by Lee Child and Andrew Child

The 28th book in the Jack Reacher series. It’s 1992 and Reacher looks into the cause of a string of mysterious deaths.

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SLAY by Laurell K. Hamilton

The 30th book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. Anita must introduce her fiancé, who is the vampire king of America, to her very religious family.

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TOM LAKE by Ann Patchett

Three daughters, who return to their family orchard in the spring of 2020, learn about their mother’s relationship with a famous actor.

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NON-FICTION

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BEING HENRY by Henry Winkler with James Kaplan

The Emmy Award-winning actor shares how playing roles such as the Fonz and his struggles with dyslexia affected his life.

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BEHIND THE SEAMS by Dolly Parton with Holly George-Warren

The country music legend shares stories about her favorite outfits she has worn on and off the stage.

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THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk

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

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CITY ON MARS by Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith

The authors of “Soonish” examine the pros and cons of space settlement.

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ELON MUSK by Walter Isaacson

The author of “The Code Breaker” traces Musk’s life and summarizes his work on electric vehicles, private space exploration and artificial intelligence.

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

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

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THE FUND by Rob Copeland

A finance reporter for The New York Times gives an account of the hedge-fund manager Ray Dalio’s work and how it affected others.

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THE GENIUS OF ISRAEL by Dan Senor and Saul Singer

The authors of “Start-Up Nation” share insights about Israeli society.

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KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON by David Grann

The story of a murder spree in 1920s Oklahoma that targeted Osage Indians, whose lands contained oil.

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KILLING THE WITCHES by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

The 13th book in the conservative commentator’s Killing series gives a portrayal of the events of 1692 and 1693 in Salem Village, Mass.

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MY NAME IS BARBRA by Barbra Streisand

The EGOT winner chronicles her journey in show business and reveals details about some of her personal relationships.

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OUTLIVE by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford

A look at recent scientific research on aging and longevity.

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PREQUEL by Rachel Maddow

The MSNBC host and co-author of “Bag Man” details a campaign to overthrow the U.S. government and install authoritarian rule prior to and during our involvement in World War II.

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TEDDY AND BOOKER T.by Brian Kilmeade

The Fox News host gives an account of the relationship between President Theodore Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington.

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UNWOKE by Ted Cruz

The Republican senator from Texas shares his opinions on an assortment of American institutions.

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THE WAGER by David Grann

The survivors of a shipwrecked British vessel on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain have different accounts of events.

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THE WOMAN IN ME by Britney Spears

The Grammy Award-winning pop star details her personal and professional experiences, including the years she spent under a conservatorship overseen by her father.

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THE WORLD WITHIN A SONG by Jeff Tweedy

The founder of the rock band Wilco explores 50 songs that made an impression on him.

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Have a great week!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Search for and request books online!

eBooks & Audiobooks Through The Digital Catalog/Libby

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

The Digital Catalog has a companion app named Libby.

The Libby app is available for Android or Apple devices.

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

–

Through Hoopla!

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

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

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

–

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 throughout the Southern Tier Library System.

–

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 Telephone Number: 607-936-3713.

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Suggested Listening: November 17, 2023

November 17, 2023 Linda Reimer

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, November 24, 2023.

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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Nine Hundred Miles by Barbara Dane

From The Album: Anthology of American Folk Songs (2004)

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As Cool As I Am by Dar Williams

From The Album: Many Great Companions (2010)

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Crazy Blues by Mamie Smith

From The Album: Crazy Blues: The Best of Mamie Smith (2004)

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Let Him Fly by Patty Griffin

From The Album: Living With Ghosts (1996)

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Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean by Ruth Brown

From The Album: Ruth Brown (1957)

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Night In The City by Joni Mitchell

From The Album: Song To A Seagull (1968)

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Silver Dagger by Joan Baez

From The Album: Joan Baez (1960)

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Sleep With One Eye Open by Chris Thile and Michael Davis

From The Recording: Chris Thile and Michael Daves: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert (2011)

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Statesboro Blues by Blind Willie McTell

From The Album: Blind Willie McTell -Statesboro Blues – The Early Years 1927-1935 (2005)

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When The Lights Go Out by Sarah Jarosz

From The Album: When The Lights Go Out (2024)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

Tracy Chapman (1988) by Tracy Chapman

And from the album the song:

Fast Car by Tracy Chapman

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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

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.

New York Times Bestsellers November 19, 2023

November 12, 2023November 9, 2023 Linda Reimer

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

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 posted in two weeks on Sunday, November 19, 2023.

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FICTION

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ABSOLUTION by Alice McDermott

Two American women form an uneasy alliance in Saigon in 1963.

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ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr

The lives of a blind French girl and a gadget-obsessed German boy before and during World War II.

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ARMOR OF LIGHT by Ken Follett

The fifth book in the Kingsbridge series. Change and turmoil affect various aspects of society in the latter part of the 18th century.

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THE COVENANT OF WATER by Abraham Verghese

Three generations of a family living on South India’s Malabar Coast suffer the loss of a family member by drowning.

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DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver

Winner of a 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. A reimagining of Charles Dickens’s “David Copperfield” set in the mountains of southern Appalachia.

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THE EXCHANGE by John Grisham

In a sequel to “The Firm,” Mitch McDeere, who is now a partner at the world’s largest law firm, gets caught up in a sinister plot.

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FIRE IN THE FLESH by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The third book in the Flesh and Fire series. The destinies of Nyktos and Sera may be out of their hands.

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FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros

Violet Sorrengail is urged by the commanding general, who also is her mother, to become a candidate for the elite dragon riders.

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GRAHAM EFFECT by Elle Kennedy

Gigi Graham wants hockey glory but must ignore the chemistry she has with Luke Ryder to attain it.

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THE HEAVEN & EARTH GROCERY STORE by James McBride

Secrets held by the residents of a dilapidated neighborhood come to life when a skeleton is found at the bottom of a well.

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HOLLY by Stephen King

The private detective Holly Gibney investigates whether a married pair of octogenarian academics had anything to do with Bonnie Dahl’s disappearance.

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THE HOUSEMAID by Freida McFadden

Troubles surface when a woman looking to make a fresh start takes a job in the home of the Winchesters.

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ICEBREAKER by Hannah Grace

Anastasia might need the help of the captain of a college hockey team to get on the Olympic figure skating team.

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KING OF GREED by Ana Huang

The third book in the Kings of Sin series. The trophy wife of a Wall Street tycoon decides to put herself first.

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LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus

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

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LET US DESCEND by Jesmyn Ward

Annis, who was sold by the white enslaver who fathered her, tries to comfort herself with memories of her mother and stories of her African warrior grandmother.

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REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt

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

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

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TOM LAKE by Ann Patchett

Three daughters, who return to their family orchard in the spring of 2020, learn about their mother’s relationship with a famous actor.

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WILDFIRE by Hannah Grace

The second book in the Maple Hills series. Two summer camp counselors who previously had a one-night stand may run afoul of the camp’s rules.

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NON-FICTION

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BEING HENRY by Henry Winkler with James Kaplan

The Emmy Award-winning actor shares how playing roles such as the Fonz and his struggles with dyslexia affected his life.

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THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk

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

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DEMOCRACY AWAKENING by Heather Cox Richardson

The historian and author of the newsletter “Letters From an American” shares her views on the current political moment.

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ELON MUSK by Walter Isaacson

The author of “The Code Breaker” traces Musk’s life and summarizes his work on electric vehicles, private space exploration and artificial intelligence.

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

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

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GOING INFINITE by Michael Lewis

The author of “The Big Short” and “The Premonition” chronicles the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX.

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THE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR ON PALESTINE by Rashid Khalidi

An account of the history of settler colonialism and resistance, based on untapped archival materials and reports.

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KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON by David Grann

The story of a murder spree in 1920s Oklahoma that targeted Osage Indians, whose lands contained oil.

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KILLING THE WITCHES by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

The 13th book in the conservative commentator’s Killing series gives a portrayal of the events of 1692 and 1693 in Salem Village, Mass.

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OUTLIVE by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford

A look at recent scientific research on aging and longevity.

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PREQUEL by Rachel Maddow

The MSNBC host and co-author of “Bag Man” details a campaign to overthrow the U.S. government and install authoritarian rule prior to and during our involvement in World War II.

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RENEGADE by Adam Kinzinger with Michael D’Antonio

The former congressman from Illinois gives an account of his time serving in the military and on the Jan. 6 committee.

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ROMNEY by McKay Coppins

A staff writer at The Atlantic profiles the Republican senator from Utah and former governor of Massachusetts.

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THE WAGER by David Grann

The survivors of a shipwrecked British vessel on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain have different accounts of events.

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THE WOMAN IN ME by Britney Spears

The Grammy Award-winning pop star details her personal and professional experiences, including the years she spent under a conservatorship overseen by her father.

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WORTHY by Jada Pinkett Smith

The actress and talk-show host describes personal and professional difficulties she encountered and her journey to finding self-love.

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Have a great week!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Search for and request books online!

eBooks & Audiobooks Through The Digital Catalog/Libby

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

The Digital Catalog has a companion app named Libby.

The Libby app is available for Android or Apple devices.

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

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Through Hoopla!

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

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

The Hoopla App is available online, 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 throughout 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 Telephone Number: 607-936-3713.

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Suggested Listening: November 10, 2023

November 10, 2023November 10, 2023 Linda Reimer

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,

–

And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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Angel From Montgomery by Bonnie Raitt

From The Album: Streetlights (1974)

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If Not For You by George Harrison

From The Album: All Things Must Pass (1970)

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Into The Mystic by Van Morrison

From The Album: Moondance (1970)

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It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry by Bob Dylan

From The Album: Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

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Mister, You’re A Better Man Than I by The Yardbirds

From The Album: Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: 1964-1966 (1990)

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Mr. Tambourine Man by Cat Power

From The Album: Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert (2023)

Listener’s Note: The original “1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert” was performed by Bob Dylan; Cat Power is a bit younger – she was born in 1972.

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The Night We Met by Lord Huron

From The Album: Strange Trails (2015)

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One Too Many Morning by Bob Dylan

From The Album: The Times They Are A-Changin (1964)

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Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks

From The Album: The Village Green Preservation Society (1968)

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We Can Work It Out (2023 Mix)

From The Album: The Beatles 1962-1966 (2023) (AKA “The Red Album”)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

Sheryl Crow (1996) by Sheryl Crow

And from the album the song:

Ordinary Morning by Sheryl Crow

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Have a great weekend,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

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

–

The Digital Catalog, web version of Libby

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

–

The Libby App

Libby

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.