Hi everyone, here are our five suggested reads of the week!
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Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum by Michael J. Fox
A poignant, heartfelt, and funny memoir about how, in 1985, Michael J. Fox brought to life two iconic roles simultaneously—Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties and Marty McFly in Back to the Future. An amazing true story as only Michael J. Fox can tell it
In early 1985, Michael J. Fox was one of the biggest stars on television. His world was about to get even bigger, but only if he could survive the kind of double duty unheard of in Hollywood. Fox’s days were already dedicated to rehearsing and taping the hit sitcom Family Ties, but then the chance of a lifetime came his way. Soon, he committed his nights to a new time-travel adventure film being directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg—Back to the Future. Sitcom during the day, movie at night—day after day, for months.
Fox’s nightly commute from a soundstage at Paramount to the back lot at Universal Studios, from one dream job to another, would become his own space-time continuum. It was in this time portal that Alex P. Keaton handed the baton to Marty McFly while Michael J. Fox tried to catch a few minutes of sleep. Alex’s bravado, Marty’s flair, and Fox’s comedic virtuosity all swirled together to create something truly special.
In Future Boy, Fox tells the remarkable story of playing two landmark roles at the same time—a slice of entertainment history that’s never been told. Using new interviews with the cast and crew of both projects, the result is a vividly drawn and eye-opening story of creative achievement by a beloved icon.
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King Sorrow by Joe Hill
Hill not only escapes the shadow of his famous father, Stephen King, but may even eclipse him with his first work of long-form fiction since 2016’s The Fireman. Bookish Arthur Oakes is enjoying his college studies, his best friends, and his job at the library, but a family of criminals have got Arthur under their thumb and are forcing him to steal books from said library. Out of options, Arthur and his friends perform a ritual to summon a hungry dragon named King Sorrow to protect themselves. As part of the bargain, they must spend the rest of their lives keeping King Sorrow fed. Spanning decades and exploring the inner and outer lives of this group of friends, Hill’s latest is as epic and touching a story as King’s It. Though nearly 900 pages, the book never feels long or overstuffed, since Hill deftly moves between characters’ viewpoints while rendering them vividly. VERDICT The novel evokes elements of the revenge plot, fantasy quests, and thrillers featuring shadowy organizations to tell an outstanding tale about how power corrupts. Hill’s fans will love it, as will those who like King’s more fantastical works, such as Fairy Tale.–Library Journal Review
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Proving Ground by Michael Connelly
Mickey Haller, called “The Lincoln Lawyer” because of his longstanding practice of conducting business from the back seat of a Lincoln Town Car, takes a sharp U-turn. After his searing experiences in the preceding novel, Resurrection Walk (2023), Haller has moved from criminal defense work to civil defense. What the reader will encounter here is every bit as terrifying as in any previous Lincoln Lawyer thriller, made more terrifying by the contemporary threat of AI. Haller defends the mother of a high-school girl who was slain at school by her boyfriend. The mother’s suit against an enormous tech company claims that one of their inventions, a chatbot, went rogue and urged a young man to murder her daughter. As is customary with Connelly thrillers, danger expands, this time with the surveillance powers of the tech company, and its minions, threatening key witnesses and experts. Connelly works in extensive (and never tedious) background on the perils of AI by having an investigative writer join forces with Haller. As always, it’s fun to watch Haller argue, manipulate, and wheedle his way from pre-trial through the explosive trial itself. One of the best yet from best-selling author Connelly. — Starred Booklist Review
Reader’s Note: Proving Ground is the eighth book in the Lincoln Lawyer (AKA Mickey Haller) Series. If you’d like to start reading the series from the beginning check out book one simply titled Lincoln Lawyer.
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Remain by Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shyamalan
When New York architect Tate Donovan’s psychic sister Sylvia dies, he has a complete mental breakdown. After a stay in a psychiatric hospital, he agrees to travel to Cape Cod to design a summer home for his best friend, Oscar. Tate is in a fragile state. Staying in an old B&B, he begins to have troubled dreams and is soon haunted by the spirit of a young woman, Wren, who died in the upstairs bathroom two years before. He finds he can communicate with her as she drinks wine, does yoga, puts together puzzles, and interacts with Tate’s cat. At each sporadic appearance, Tate becomes more involved with Wren and her story. In recurring visions, Tate hears the tub fill and witnesses scenes leading up to her death. Although authorities have ruled it an accident, Tate is convinced that someone murdered Wren. He and Oscar decide to investigate. Wren and Tate are drawn together in poignant and sensuous scenes despite the inability of the two to physically touch. Told in chapters written from both Tate’s and Wren’s viewpoints, this is deeply involving. The blending of best-selling novelist Sparks’ signature romance with renowned film director Shyamalan’s supernatural touches is brilliant.
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Given the immense popularity of Sparks and Shyamalan and with a film adaptation in the works, this mysterious and moving love story will attract legions of eager readers. — Booklist
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The Widow by John Grisham
After more than three decades of producing bestselling legal thrillers, Grisham tries his hand at a whodunit. Eleanor Barnett wants Simon Latch to write her a will. That’s pretty much his job description, since practicing law in Braxton, Virginia, for 18 years hasn’t given him much opportunity to spread his wings. But the case of Netty, as she insists he call her, is different. She’s an 85-year-old widow whose second husband, Harry Korsak, left her with something like $20 million in cash and securities. She has a pair of stepsons, Clyde and Jerry Korsak, she’s determined to disinherit. And she already has a will, a document Wally Thackerman drafted a few weeks ago that basically allowed him, as Simon soon discovers, to pillage her estate. So instead of following his usual procedure and asking his longtime secretary, Matilda Clark, to type out the will, Simon types it himself and has it witnessed without saying anything to her. Of course he’d never do what Wally Thackerman did, but given his poverty, his gambling addiction, and his estrangement from his wife, Paula, whose income is a lot more stable than his own, he wouldn’t mind drawing just a bit on Netty’s wealth. As it happens, his new client turns out to be more trouble than she’s worth, maybe even more trouble than she would’ve been worth to Wally. And when she ends up dying, her death is swiftly identified as murder, with every indication that Simon killed her himself. The whodunit is unremarkable, but Grisham handles the legal complexities of the case with professional finesse and adds a wonderfully poignant portrait of a nothingburger lawyer trying his best to keep things more or less legal. Everything you’d expect from Grisham, and this time something more. –Kirkus Review
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Happy reading!
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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Weekly Suggested Reading Five postings are usually published on Wednesdays, unless Monday is a holiday and then they are published later in the week.
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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
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Information on the four library catalogs
The Digital Catalog aka Libby: 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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Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en
The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.
The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders!
You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV).
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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.
Tech & Book Talk at SSCL 