Month: February 2025

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, February 12, 2025.

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Abduction of a Slave by Dana Stabenow 

The gripping new historical mystery from New York Times bestselling author Dana Stabenow. In Cleopatra’s Egypt, the clouds of war are on the horizon… 

Cleopatra, seventh of her name, all-powerful ruler of Egypt, has found her most able and trusted agent in Tetisheri, her Eye of Isis. So when Tetisheri asks permission to visit the Kingdom of Cyrenaica, she is surprised – and suspicious – when her queen grants her leave from Alexandria. 

A middleman in Cyrenaica has ceased communication and Tetisheri’s uncle, a master trader, is on a mission to find out why. But there are others in Cyrenaica with hidden agendas: Julius Caesar’s spies, Caesar’s sworn enemy Mettelus Scipio, and the ever duplicitous King Juba I. 

Tetisheri soon realizes why Cleopatra consented to her mission, for Cyrenaica is a web of intrigue that also includes Pompey’s widow and an army readying to take on the might of Caesar, who is massing his legions in Sicily. With war on the horizon, Tetisheri’s skills will be stretched to the limit as she also tries to decipher a murder mystery closer to home. – Publisher Description 

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All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall 

DEBUT This captivating postapocalyptic novel is set in and around New York City’s American Museum of Natural History. Global warming has resulted in a sea level rise of unforeseen proportions. When the floodgates that keep the city dry are breached during a massive hurricane, the museum is inundated with water. The story is told from the perspective of Nonie, an adolescent insect enthusiast and the child of museum staffers who have taken flood refuge at their workplace. In the opening chapter, Nonie, older sister Bix, their father, and friend Keller barely escape the museum with their lives. After this, the book flashes back to their early days at the museum creating an embryonic community struggling to survive. The survivors flee the museum using a birchbark canoe taken from one of the exhibits and carefully make their way through the flooded city to the Hudson River. They then face a series of challenges and nearly lose everything before overcoming adversity in an epic finale.  

VERDICT The setting, the detailed emotive descriptions, and nail-biting adventure are incandescent. This debut novel from Caffall (The Mourner’s Bestiary) is like Peter Heller’s The Dog Stars met Barry Unsworth’s Sacred Hunger, with a focus on the essential nature of community.–Starred Library Journal Review 

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The Bones Beneath My Skin by T J Klune 

It is spring 1995, and Nate Cartwright is a broken man. His parents are dead, his brother estranged, and his job as a Washington, DC, journalist has been taken away from him. Hoping to collect himself and see what comes next, Nate heads to the mountains of Oregon, where his family summer cabin lies in the small town of Roseland. Except, upon his arrival, Nate finds a man named Alex there, along with a 10-year-old girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. Caught between his wounded past and an unexpected future, Nate joins Alex and Artemis in their frantic race for freedom. Artemis’s name is actually the least unusual thing about her, and those hunting for Artemis want her back–no matter what. VERDICT Even as the character arcs pack emotional punches and the plot builds with intensity, the story is balanced with the humor and wry character introspection Klune (In the Lives of Puppets) is known for. Previously self-published, this reissued stand-alone only solidifies Klune’s reputation for skillful prose and worldbuilding.–Starred Library Journal Review  

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Deep End by Ali Hazelwood 

Bestseller Hazelwood (The Love Hypothesis) spins a kinky, character-driven new adult romance. After star diver Scarlett Vandermeer, a junior at Stanford, is seriously injured during a competition, she fights to recover the fearless spirit that made her an athletic standout. Her best friend, Pen, has recently broken up with Swedish senior Lukas “Luk” Blomqvist, an Olympic swimming champion, and drunkenly confides to Scarlett that they were sexually incompatible due to Luk’s interest in BDSM. With Pen’s blessing, Scarlett, who is similarly inclined, meets up with Luk to negotiate a no-commitment, dom/sub relationship. The kink is relatively mild, consisting mostly of power exchange, and the pair quickly break their no-strings rule. As they help each other heal the broken bits of themselves, both work to balance their relationship, their athletic ambitions, and their demanding premed majors—until an important competition throws off everyone’s equilibrium. The chemistry between Scarlett and Lukas is volcanic thanks to Hazelwood’s crisp prose and molten-hot sex scenes. The author’s fans will eat this up. – Publishers Weekly Review  

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I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free by Lee Hawkins 

In this powerful deep dive into intergenerational trauma through the lens of his family history, Hawkins, host of the podcast What Happened in Alabama? and former editor for the Wall Street Journal, offers an authentic, emotionally evocative look into the ways that slavery, racism, and violence have created ripples that flow from one generation to the next–until someone like Hawkins has the courage to shed light on those dark places where trauma takes hold. Through genealogical research into his ancestors’ past and interviews with close family members, Hawkins expertly brings Black history to life, along with statistics reflecting the modern Black experience. Exploring the connections of corporal punishment in parenting practices to the atrocities of slavery, Hawkins compassionately offers readers a fresh narrative and an invitation to heal the future by better understanding the past. Gripping, thought-provoking, and personal, I Am Nobody’s Slave will inspire discussion and action in response to its powerful message of inner healing and social justice. – 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.

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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

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New York Times Bestseller lists are shared via blog post on Sundays. And the next NYT blog post will be posted on Sunday, February 9, 2025.

THE BESTSELLERS

FICTION

1. ONYX STORM by Rebecca Yarros: The third book in the Empyrean series. As enemies gain traction, Violet Sorrengail goes beyond the Aretian wards in search of allies.

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. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. THE GOD OF THE WOODS by Liz Moore: When a 13-year-old girl disappears from an Adirondack summer camp in 1975, secrets kept by the Van Laar family emerge.

10. THE HANDMAID’S TALE by Margaret Atwood: In the Republic of Gilead’s dystopian future, men and women perform the services assigned to them.

11. THE WEDDING PEOPLE by Alison Espach: A woman who is down on her luck forms an unexpected bond with the bride at a wedding in Rhode Island.

12. PARABLE OF THE SOWER by Octavia E. Butler: Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina fights to have her voice heard in her California community beset by climate change and economic crises.

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

14. QUICKSILVER by Callie Hart: Saeris is transported to a dangerous land of ice and snow, where she must contend with a Fae warrior who has suspect agendas.

15. THE NIGHTINGALE by Kristin Hannah: Two sisters are separated in World War II France: one in the countryside, the other in Paris.

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NON-FICTION

1. HILLBILLY ELEGY by JD Vance: The vice president, 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.

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

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

4. 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.

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

6. THE HOUSE OF MY MOTHER by Shari Franke: Franke gives an account of abuse within her family, who gained a following with their YouTube channel “8 Passengers.”

7. DARE I SAY IT by Naomi Watts: The Academy Award-nominated actress demystifies occurrences and unpacks stigmas related to menopause.

8. THE JFK CONSPIRACY by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch: The authors of “The Nazi Conspiracy” and “The Lincoln Conspiracy” tell the story of a retired postal worker who might have changed the course of history.

9. THE SERVICEBERRY by Robin Wall Kimmerer: The author of “Braiding Sweetgrass” illuminates how the gift economy in the natural world works and draws lessons for our economy; with illustrations by John Burgoyne.

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

11. GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey: The Academy Award-winning actor shares snippets from the diaries he kept over the last 35 years.

12. 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.

13. OUTLIVE by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford: A look at recent scientific research on aging and longevity.

14. HOPE by Pope Francis with Carlo Musso: Pope Francis recounts details of his life from his childhood through to key moments of his papacy; translated by Richard Dixon.

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.