Month: November 2024

This blog post includes all the new titles that have been ordered by the library for December 2024.

Our print book ordering calendar year, runs from January through October. So all new items ordered for December are eBooks or eAudiobooks that you can check out through Libby or its companion website the Digital Catalog found online at https://stls.overdrive.com/

And here is the list the list of New eBooks & eAudios Coming Your Way for this month:

Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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 6, 2024.

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week; and this week, we have a “baker’s ten” collection of relaxing songs in anticipation of the long holiday weekend.

And just a reminder, the library is closed today and tomorrow, that is Friday, November 29 and Saturday, November 30 for deep rug cleaning.

We will reopen at our usual time of 9:00 a.m. on Monday, December 2.

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The Best Is Yet To Come by Frank Sinatra, featuring Count Basie & His Orchestra 

From The Album: Nothing But The Best (2008)

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Blue In Green by Miles Davis

 From The Album: Kind Of Blue (1959)

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Blue Moon by Mel Torme 

 From The Album: Swingin’ On The Moon (1960)

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Dream A Little Dream of Me by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

From The Album: Cheek To Cheek by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong (2018)

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Fever by Peggy Lee

 From The Album: Ultimate Peggy Lee (2020)

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Harlem Nocturne by Ray Noble & His Orchestra  

 From The Album: Ray Noble Plays Ray Noble and Others (2003)

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Moonlight Serenade by The Glenn Miller Orchestra 

 From The Album: Moonlight Serenade (1992)

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Love Is Blue by Paul Mauriat

From The Album: Love Is Blue (Anniversary Collection) (1988)

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Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini & His Orchestra 

From The Album: Pink Panther And Other Hits (1992)

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Puttin’ on The Ritz by Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass

From The Album: Steppin’ Out (2013)

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Quiet Village by Martin Denny

From The Album: A Quiet Village (1959)

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A Swinging Safari by Bert Kaempfert And His Orchestra

From The Album: Sounds Of The World, Vol. 5 (2018) by Various Artists

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Sway by Dean Martin

From The Album: The Essential Dean Martin (1997)

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The Way You Look Tonight The Dave Brubeck Quartet

From The Album: Jazz At Oberlin (1953)

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When I Fall In Love by Nat King Cole

From The Album: The World of Nat King Cole (2005)

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Hoopla Album of the Week 

Winter (1990) by Michael Gettel  

And from the album the song:

First Snow 

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Have a great long 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.

–

The Digital Catalog, web version of Libby

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

–

The Libby App

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

–

Hoopla

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

–

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

All titles can be requested/checked out through the library.

If you’d like to go the traditional route to request a title on this list and drop by the library, or give us a call – please do!

Our telephone number is: 607-936-3713

–

New York Times Bestseller lists are shared via blog post on Sundays.

And due to the library being closed for the Thanksgiving holiday and rug cleaning from Thursday, November 28 – Saturday, November 30, the next NYT blog post will be posted on Sunday, December 8, 2024

THE BESTSELLERS

FICTION

1. TO DIE FOR by David Baldacci: The third book in the 6:20 Man series. Devine digs into the deaths of an orphan’s parents and uncovers a large conspiracy.

2. 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.

3. THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah: In 1965, a nursing student follows her brother to serve during the Vietnam War and returns to a divided America.

4. THE BOYFRIEND by Freida McFadden: A series of recent deaths causes Sydney Shaw to become suspicious of the handsome doctor she started dating.

5. A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES by Sarah J. Maas: After killing a wolf in the woods, Feyre is taken from her home and placed inside the world of the Fae.

6. 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.

7. IN TOO DEEP by Lee Child and Andrew Child: The 29th book in the Jack Reacher series. Reacher wakes up in a precarious position with no memory of how he got there.

8. HOW MY NEIGHBOR STOLE CHRISTMAS by Meghan Quinn: A fake relationship and a Christmas contest may lead to unexpected consequences.

9. JAMES by Percival Everett: A reimagining of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” shines a different light on Mark Twain’s classic, revealing new facets of the character of Jim.

10. LIGHTS OUT by Navessa Allen: As Aly and Josh live out their dark fantasies, someone with sinister intentions impinges on them.

11. THE FROZEN RIVER by Ariel Lawhon: In Maine, 1789, a midwife seeks to uncover the true cause of the death of a man discovered entombed in the Kennebec River.

12. WICKED by Gregory Maguire: A misunderstood girl named Elphaba is declared a witch; the basis of the musical and the film.

13. IRON FLAME by Rebecca Yarros: The second book in the Empyrean series. Violet Sorrengail’s next round of training under the new vice commandant might require her to betray the man she loves.

14. THE GREY WOLF by Louise Penny: The 19th book in the Chief Inspector Gamache series. Shifting alliances complicate the frenzied pursuit of a sinister threat.

15. CLIVE CUSSLER: DESOLATION CODE by Graham Brown: The 21st book in the NUMA Files series. An A.I. system might be behind an attempt to create a new world order.

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NON-FICTION

1. MELANIA by Melania Trump: The former and future first lady describes her work as a fashion model, marriage to Donald Trump and time in the White House.

2. ON TYRANNY by Timothy Snyder: Twenty lessons from the 20th century about the course of tyranny.

3. HILLBILLY ELEGY by JD Vance: The vice president-elect, in a memoir written shortly after graduating from Yale Law School, looks at the struggles of the white working class through the story of his own childhood.

4. FRAMED by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey: Our criminal justice system viewed through the struggles of 10 wrongfully convicted people to achieve exoneration.

5. THE WAR ON WARRIORS by Pete Hegseth: The former “Fox & Friends Weekend” host shares his experiences serving in the Army and his views on the current state of the American military.

6. THE ANXIOUS GENERATION by Jonathan Haidt: A co-author of “The Coddling of the American Mind” looks at the mental health impacts that a phone-based life has on children.

7. REVENGE OF THE TIPPING POINT by Malcolm Gladwell: Through a series of stories, Gladwell explicates the causes of various kinds of epidemics.

8. CONFRONTING THE PRESIDENTS by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard: The conservative commentator evaluates the legacies of American presidents.

9. BE READY WHEN THE LUCK HAPPENS by Ina Garten: A memoir by the cookbook author and Food Network host known as the Barefoot Contessa.

10. FROM HERE TO THE GREAT UNKNOWN by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough: Presley’s memoir, completed by her daughter, explores her relationships and challenges.

11. THE MESSAGE by Ta-Nehisi Coates: The author of “Between the World and Me” travels to three locations to uncover the dissonance between the realities on the ground and the narratives shaped about them.

12. THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk: How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.

13. WAR by Bob Woodward: The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist looks at our contentious time through battles in Ukraine and the Middle East and for the American presidency.

14. NEXUS by Yuval Noah Harari: The author of “Sapiens” delves into how societies and political systems have used information and gives a warning about artificial intelligence.

15. THE BACKYARD BIRD CHRONICLES by Amy Tan: Essays and drawings by the author of “The Joy Luck Club” and “The Bonesetter’s Daughter,” which depict a search for peace through birding.

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Have a great Sunday!

Linda

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THE CATALOGS:

Catalog 1: StarCat

StarCat is the catalog of physical materials including print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. StarCat is available to all patrons of all public libraries in the Southern Tier Library System*

Starcat can be found online at: https://starcat.stls.org/

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Catalog 2: The Digital Catalog

The Digital Catalog (and its companion app Libby) offers all Southern Tier Library System member library patrons access to eBooks, eAudiobooks & eMagazines via a lending model known in Library-ese as “one copy/one user;” that library speak means that eBooks & eAudiobooks found in The Digital Catalog/Libby are like print books found on library shelves, only one patron can check out a copy of a title at a time.

Exception: Magazines found in the digital catalog are available via a different lending model known as simultaneous access. And that fancy library speak means that magazines are available for all patrons to check out at the same time, i.e. if you and all your family and friends wish to read the latest digital edition of Newsweek, all of you can check out the e version of the magazine and read it at the same time.

The Digital Catalog/Libby checkout limit is 5 titles a time.

The Digital Catalog is found online at: https://stls.overdrive.com/

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Catalog 3: Hoopla

The Hoopla Digital Catalog (and its companion app, also called Hoopla) offers Southeast Steuben County Library patrons access to a second digital catalog with an on-demand lending model. In library speak, this lending model, like The Digital Catalog/Libby’s magazine lending model, is known as “simultaneous access.” The difference is, the Hoopla catalog offers access to more formats: eBooks, eAudiobooks, eComics, digital albums, TV shows & movies – and all items, in all those formats, are available  for patrons to checkout immediately. The Hoopla check out limit is ten titles per month.

Hoopla Formats: All Hoopla content can be accessed on a computer or mobile device, and TV shows and movies can be accessed on computers, mobile devices, smart TVs and media streaming players, i.e. Roku or  Apple TV.

The Hoopla Catalog is found online at: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

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*The Southern Tier Library System includes the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler & Allegheny counties.

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 29, 2024.

And on an informational note, the library will be closed on Thursday, November 28, in observance of Thanksgiving; and will also will closed on Friday, November 29 & Saturday, November 30 for rug cleaning.

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel

From The Album: Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)

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Come Rain, Or Come Shine by Billie Holiday

From The Album: Billie’s Best (1992)

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Closer To Fine by The Indigo Girls

From The Album: The Indigo Girls (1989)

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Feelin’ Good Again by Robert Earl Keene

Studio Version from the Album: Walking Distance (1998)

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Feeling Good by Nina Simone

From The Album: Feeling Good: Her Greatest Hits & Remixes (2022)

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I’ve Got The World On A String by Frank Sinatra

Studio Version From The Album: Classic Sinatra – His Great Performances 1953-1960 (2000)

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Respect by Aretha Franklin 

From The Album: I Never Loved A Man The Way I Loved You (1967)

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Songbird by Fleetwood Mac 

From The Album: Rumours (1977)

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What a Diff’rence a Day Makes by Dinah Washington  

From The Album: What a Diff’rence a Day Makes (1959)

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You’ve Got A Friend by Carole King  

Studio Version From The Album: Tapestry (1971)

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Hoopla Album of the Week 

Something Like This…The Bob Newhart Anthology (2001)

And from the album:

The Cruise of the U.S.S. Codfish 

–

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

–

Hoopla

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

–

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our five suggested reads of the week!

Weekly Suggested Reading Five postings are usually published on Wednesdays, unless Monday is a holiday and then they are published later in the week.

And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.

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Cher: The Memoir, Part One by Cher 

The extraordinary life of Cher can be told by only one person . . . Cher herself. 

After more than seventy years of fighting to live her life on her own terms, Cher finally reveals her true story in intimate detail, in a two-part memoir. 

Her remarkable career is unique and unparalleled. The only woman to top Billboard charts in seven consecutive decades, she is the winner of an Academy Award, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Cannes Film Festival Award, and an inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who has been lauded by the Kennedy Center. 

She is a lifelong activist and philanthropist. 

As a dyslexic child who dreamed of becoming famous, Cher was raised in often-chaotic circumstances, surrounded by singers, actors, and a mother who inspired her in spite of their difficult relationship. 

With her trademark honesty and humor, Cher: The Memoir traces how this diamond in the rough succeeded with no plan and little confidence to become the trailblazing superstar the world has been unable to ignore for more than half a century. 

Cher: The Memoir, Part One follows her extraordinary beginnings through childhood to meeting and marrying Sonny Bono—and reveals the highly complicated relationship that made them world-famous, but eventually drove them apart. 

Cher: The Memoir reveals the daughter, the sister, the wife, the lover, the mother, and the superstar. 

It is a life too immense for only one book. – Publisher description  

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Guilt and Ginataan by Mia P. Manansala 

Autumn is in full swing for the town of Shady Palms—the perfect time for warm drinks, cozy cardigans, and…dead bodies? 

The annual Shady Palms Corn Festival is one of the town’s biggest moneymakers, drawing crowds from all over the Midwest looking to partake in delicious treats, local crafts, and of course, the second largest corn maze in Illinois. Lila Macapagal and her Brew-ha Cafe crew, Adeena Awan and Elena Torres, are all too happy to participate in the event and even make a little wager on who can make it through the corn maze the fastest—but their fun is suddenly cut short when a dead body is found in the middle of the maze…and an unconscious Adeena lies next to it, clutching a bloody knife. 

The body is discovered to be a local politician’s wife, and all signs—murder weapon included—point to Adeena as the culprit. But Lila knows her best friend couldn’t have done this, so she and her crew put on their sleuthing caps yet again to find the killer who framed Adeena and show them what happens when they mess with a Brew-ha… 

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The Mirror by Nora Roberts 

 

Sonya MacTavish will do whatever it takes to make sure Hester Dobbs doesn’t win the battle for Lost Bride Manor. Soon after moving into the beautiful Victorian mansion on the coast of Maine, Sonya discovers its tragic history. Over the years, seven Poole brides have died, all victims of a curse cast by the vengeful witch, Hester Dobbs. Recently a mirror has appeared in the mansion, which offers Sonya a glimpse into the past. Will this prove to be the key Sonya needs to shatter the curse? Picking the story up right where she left off in the first title in the Lost Bride trilogy, The Inheritance (2023), best-selling and magically creative and prolific Roberts continues to cast her own spell over readers with this bewitching story. With plenty of chills and thrills, this paranormal romantic suspense tale also brilliantly celebrates the importance of family, friends, and love. – Booklist Review  

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Now or Never by Janet Evanovich 

She said yes to Morelli. She said yes to Ranger. Now Stephanie Plum has two fiancés and no idea what to do about it. But the way things are going, she might not live long enough to marry anyone. 

While Stephanie stalls for time, she buries herself in her work as a bounty hunter, tracking down an unusually varied assortment of fugitives from justice. There’s Eugene Fleck, a seemingly sweet online influencer who might also be YouTube star Robin Hoodie, masked hero to the homeless, who hijacks delivery trucks and distributes their contents to the needy. She’s also on the trail of Bruno Jug, a wealthy and connected man in the wholesale produce business who is rumored to traffic young girls alongside lettuce and tomatoes. Most terrifying of all is Zoran—a laundromat manager by day and self-proclaimed vampire by night with a taste for the blood of pretty girls. When he shows up on Stephanie’s doorstep, it’s not for the meatloaf dinner. 

With timely assists from her stalwart supporters Lula, Connie, and Grandma Mazur, Stephanie uses every trick in the book to reel in these men. But only she can decide what to do about the two men she actually loves. She can’t hold Ranger and Morelli at bay for long, and she’s keeping a secret from them that is the biggest bombshell of all. Now or never, she’s got to make the decision of a lifetime. 

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The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer 

While picking serviceberries among singing birds doing the same, Kimmerer, a Potawatomi botanist, professor, MacArthur fellow, and writer renowned for Braiding Sweetgrass (2013), envisions a new take on a traditional way of living in sync with nature. Serviceberries, she explains, sustain numerous animals and insects and have long been prized by Indigenous people for being delicious, nourishing, and medicinally beneficial. When her farmer neighbors invite people to pick their serviceberry harvest for free, Kimmerer found herself musing over how the Anishinaabe people are guided by gratitude and respect for nature’s sustaining abundance and reciprocity. In a “gift economy” based on sharing “the sustenance that the land provides,” and in which “all flourishing is mutual,” there would be “no such thing as waste.” Gracefully elucidating these resonant concepts, Kimmerer contrasts the imperative to share and an abiding respect for nature with our economy’s harsh focus on commodification, scarcity, and competition. She writes about how using “”the living world” as a model for “human ways of living” could decrease economic inequity and environmental destruction. Accompanied by John Burgoyne’s vibrant line drawings, Kimmerer’s deeply rooted, wise, and inspiring reflections coalesce into a fresh approach to connecting ecology, economics, and ethics, beginning with achievable grassroots endeavors in the hope of gradually widening the circle. – Starred Booklist Review 

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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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

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

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks 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 on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

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

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile 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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Have questions about how to access Internet based content (i.e. eBooks, eAudios)? Feel free to drop by the Reference Desk or call the library and we will assist you! The library’s telephone number is: 607-936-3713.

–

Tech & Book Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

All titles can be requested/checked out through the library.

If you’d like to go the traditional route to request a title on this list and drop by the library, or give us a call – please do!

Our telephone number is: 607-936-3713

–

New York Times Bestseller lists are shared via blog post on Sundays. And the next NYT blog post will be posted on Sunday, November 24, 2024.

–

THE BESTSELLERS

FICTION

1. HEXED by Emily McIntire: The sixth book in the Never After series. A forbidden love develops between the underboss to a mafia syndicate and his fiancée’s cousin.

2. LOST AND LASSOED by Lyla Sage: The third book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series. Tempers and tension may give way to something more between Teddy and Gus.

3. THE GREY WOLF by Louise Penny: The 19th book in the Chief Inspector Gamache series. Shifting alliances complicate the frenzied pursuit of a sinister threat.

4. IN TOO DEEP by Lee Child and Andrew Child: The 29th book in the Jack Reacher series. Reacher wakes up in a precarious position with no memory of how he got there.

5. THE BOYFRIEND by Freida McFadden: A series of recent deaths causes Sydney Shaw to become suspicious of the handsome doctor she started dating.

6. 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.

7. THE WAITING by Michael Connelly: The sixth book in the Ballard and Bosch series. Bosch’s daughter, Maddie, becomes a new volunteer on the cold case unit.

8. THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah: In 1965, a nursing student follows her brother to serve during the Vietnam War and returns to a divided America.

9. THE FROZEN RIVER by Ariel Lawhon: In Maine, 1789, a midwife seeks to uncover the true cause of the death of a man discovered entombed in the Kennebec River.

10. 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.

11. A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES by Sarah J. Maas: After killing a wolf in the woods, Feyre is taken from her home and placed inside the world of the Fae.

12. COUNTING MIRACLES by Nicholas Sparks: A man in search of the father he never knew encounters a single mom and rumors circulate of the nearby appearance of a white deer.

13. HOW MY NEIGHBOR STOLE CHRISTMAS by Meghan Quinn: A fake relationship and a Christmas contest may lead to unexpected consequences.

14. LIGHTS OUT by Navessa Allen: As Aly and Josh live out their dark fantasies, someone with sinister intentions impinges on them.

15. IRON FLAME by Rebecca Yarros: The second book in the Empyrean series. Violet Sorrengail’s next round of training might require her to betray the man she loves.

–

NON-FICTION

1. MELANIA by Melania Trump: The former first lady describes her work as a fashion model, marriage to Donald Trump and time in the White House.

2. FRAMED by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey: Our criminal justice system viewed through the struggles of 10 wrongfully convicted people to achieve exoneration.

3. HILLBILLY ELEGY by JD Vance: The vice president-elect, in a memoir written shortly after graduating from Yale Law School, looks at the struggles of the white working class through the story of his own childhood.

4. WAR by Bob Woodward: The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist looks at our contentious time through battles in Ukraine and the Middle East and for the American presidency.

5. ON TYRANNY by Timothy Snyder: Twenty lessons from the 20th century about the course of tyranny.

6. BE READY WHEN THE LUCK HAPPENS by Ina Garten: A memoir by the cookbook author and Food Network host known as the Barefoot Contessa.

7. CONFRONTING THE PRESIDENTS by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard: The conservative commentator evaluates the legacies of American presidents.

8. THE ANXIOUS GENERATION by Jonathan Haidt: A co-author of “The Coddling of the American Mind” looks at the mental health impacts that a phone-based life has on children.

9. FROM HERE TO THE GREAT UNKNOWN by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough: Presley’s memoir, completed by her daughter, explores her relationships and challenges.

10. REVENGE OF THE TIPPING POINT by Malcolm Gladwell: Through a series of stories, Gladwell explicates the causes of various kinds of epidemics.

11. THE MESSAGE by Ta-Nehisi Coates: The author of “Between the World and Me” travels to three locations to uncover the dissonance between the realities on the ground and the narratives shaped about them.

12. THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk: How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.

13. PATRIOT by Alexei Navalny: A posthumously published memoir by the late Russian political opposition leader and political prisoner who began writing this after his near-fatal poisoning in 2020.

14. BROTHERS by Alex Van Halen: The drummer of the iconic rock band Van Halen shares stories about his partnership in life and music with his late brother Edward.

15. AMERICAN HEROES by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann with Tim Malloy: A collection of stories of soldiers who served in conflicts overseas.

–

Have a great Sunday!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

THE CATALOGS:

Catalog 1: StarCat

StarCat is the catalog of physical materials including print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. StarCat is available to all patrons of all public libraries in the Southern Tier Library System*

Starcat can be found online at: https://starcat.stls.org/

–

Catalog 2: The Digital Catalog

The Digital Catalog (and its companion app Libby) offers all Southern Tier Library System member library patrons access to eBooks, eAudiobooks & eMagazines via a lending model known in Library-ese as “one copy/one user;” that library speak means that eBooks & eAudiobooks found in The Digital Catalog/Libby are like print books found on library shelves, only one patron can check out a copy of a title at a time.

Exception: Magazines found in the digital catalog are available via a different lending model known as simultaneous access. And that fancy library speak means that magazines are available for all patrons to check out at the same time, i.e. if you and all your family and friends wish to read the latest digital edition of Newsweek, all of you can check out the e version of the magazine and read it at the same time.

The Digital Catalog/Libby checkout limit is 5 titles a time.

The Digital Catalog is found online at: https://stls.overdrive.com/

–

Catalog 3: Hoopla

The Hoopla Digital Catalog (and its companion app, also called Hoopla) offers Southeast Steuben County Library patrons access to a second digital catalog with an on-demand lending model. In library speak, this lending model, like The Digital Catalog/Libby’s magazine lending model, is known as “simultaneous access.” The difference is, the Hoopla catalog offers access to more formats: eBooks, eAudiobooks, eComics, digital albums, TV shows & movies – and all items, in all those formats, are available  for patrons to checkout immediately. The Hoopla check out limit is ten titles per month.

Hoopla Formats: All Hoopla content can be accessed on a computer or mobile device, and TV shows and movies can be accessed on computers, mobile devices, smart TVs and media streaming players, i.e. Roku or  Apple TV.

The Hoopla Catalog is found online at: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

–

*The Southern Tier Library System includes the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler & Allegheny counties.

Hi everyone, here are our five suggested reads of the week!

Weekly Suggested Reading Five postings are usually published on Wednesdays, unless Monday is a holiday and then they are published later in the week.

And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, November 20, 2024

–

The Author’s Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams 

Three authors walk into a bar. That’s how Cassie Pringle, a cozy mystery writer; Kat de Noir, writer of erotic romantic fantasy; and Emma Endicott, who writes historical portraits of forgotten women, end up at a writers’ retreat on an isolated Scottish island. The besties are researching and writing a book called Fifty Shades of Plaid while staying at Kinloch Castle. Then, fellow author Brett Saffron Presley is murdered on the night of the village dance celebration. On an island where everyone is interrelated, it’s natural for Detective Chief Inspector Euan Macintosh to eye the American writers with suspicion. Their stories don’t add up, and each of them has a history with the dead man. Knowing that they’re suspects, the three women decide to find the person who really killed the man they all hated. This novel by Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White is a fun send-up of the publishing industry in which mystery-writing, imbued with humor and mixed with tropes of the genre, is turned on its head. Women sexualize men, and there’s even a dramatic helicopter rescue. VERDICT Three pros unite again (after The Lost Summers of Newport) for this fun, dramatic mystery with an exotic setting and delightful characters. Readers who recognize and like satire will enjoy. – Starred Library Journal Review  

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Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic by Lindsay M. Chervinsky 

John Adams may have been one of the most qualified Americans to be elected president. He has, however, been largely overshadowed by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Award-winning Chervinsky (The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution), a noted presidential historian and the executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library, wants to highlight the Adams presidency with a new analysis of its lasting historic impact. She provides a nuanced perspective of the election of 1796, which brought Vice President Adams to the presidency and then illustrates the unique challenges faced by Adams and shows how he shaped the office for his successors. The peaceful transition of political power to a new president is one lesson learned from Washington and Adams. The book also sets the election of 1796 in its historical context with echoes to the 21st-century American political landscape. VERDICT Readers will gain a greater appreciation for the way the United States became the nation it is today. Chervinsky’s insights are for all interested in the presidency and how it developed through U.S. history. – Library Journal Review  

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To Die For by David Baldacci  

The feds must protect an accused criminal and an orphaned girl. Maybe you’ve met him before as protagonist of The 6:20 Man (2022): Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine, who’d had the dubious fortune to tangle with “the girl on the train,” is now assigned by his homeland security boss to protect Danny Glass, who’s awaiting trial on multiple RICO charges in Washington state. Devine has what it takes: He “was a closer, snooper, fixer, investigator,” and, when necessary, a killer. These skills are on full display as the deaths of three key witnesses grind justice to a temporary halt. Glass has a 12-year-old niece, Betsy Odom, and each is the other’s only living relative–her parents recently died of an apparent drug overdose. The FBI has temporary guardianship of Betsy, who’s a handful. She tells Travis that though she’s not yet 13, she’s 28 in “life-shit years.” The financially well-heeled Glass wants to be her legal guardian with an eye to eventual adoption, but what are his real motives? And what happens to her if he’s convicted? Meanwhile, Betsy insists that her parents never touched drugs, and she begs Travis to find out how they really died. This becomes part of a mission that oozes danger. The small town of Ricketts has a woman mayor who’s full of charm on the surface, but deeply corrupt and deadly when crossed. She may be linked to a subversive group called “12/24/65,” as in 1865, when the Ku Klux Klan beast was born. Blood flows, bombs explode, and people perish, both good guys and not-so-good guys. Readers might ponder why in fiction as well as in life, it sometimes seems necessary for many to die so one may live. And what about the girl on the train? She’s not necessary to the plot, but she’s a fun addition as she pops in and out of the pages, occasionally leaving notes for Travis. Maybe she still wants him dead. Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish. – Stared Kirkus Review  

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The Women Behind the Door by Roddy Doyle 

Doyle reaches back to earlier novels (The Woman Who Walked into Doors and Paula Spencer) to continue the story of Paula in a tale set during the COVID-19 pandemic. Paula has been widowed for 30 years, but she still has flashbacks to her violently abusive marriage, so evocatively and disturbingly captured in the previous books. However, now sober for many years, she has an enjoyable job, spends time with similarly minded friends, and her four children are doing well. Then one day her oldest and most successful child, Nicola, turns up on her doorstep, having abandoned her own family, and Paula and Nicola reluctantly revisit the traumas they have experienced together and the effects. While Doyle creates a sparse, play-like structure focused on one family, he explores larger themes related to the pandemic, the Irish housing crisis, and the rise of the gig economy. Doyle’s hugely influential style–colloquial Irish dialogue, realistic settings, and a focus on working-class life–continues to produce deeply evocative and rewarding fiction, and Paula continues to be a compelling, flawed, and brilliant creation. – Booklist Review  

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The Wood At Midwinter by Susanna Clarke 

Clarke, the Hugo Award-winning author of the beloved Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, and Piranesi, which won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, returns with a short story set in the world of Jonathan Strange. It features Merowdis Scot, who finds herself at a crossroad between desire and magical possibility. The story is brief, but what Clarke does well–conjure mood through evocative language and story suggestion–is on rich display. Highly atmospheric, this winter tale is set in a wood and navigates the line between a Grimms’ fairy tale and a feminist manifesto. Talking animals as well as a sentient tree all play a role, as Merowdis decides what she wants and somehow makes it so. The story is illustrated with pen and ink drawings and specially designed text, giving the entire package the feeling of a manuscript found in a castle on the edge of some wild moor. Don’t miss Clarke’s note at the end.  

VERDICT Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell nods towards Jane Austen, but this short story leans towards the Brontes. Clarke’s many fans will not be disappointed, other than in the story’s brevity. – Library Journal Review  

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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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

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

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks 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 on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

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

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile 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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Have questions about how to access Internet based content (i.e. eBooks, eAudios)? Feel free to drop by the Reference Desk or call the library and we will assist you! The library’s telephone number is: 607-936-3713.

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Tech & Book Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.