Author: Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week, and while the library is closed the weekly recommendations will all be digital – eBooks & downloadable audiobooks available through the Digital Catalog.

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I’m going to kick off our weekly suggested reading posting by recommending a handful of titles that focus on men and women who have served our country in the armed forces; to honor all those who have served, but especially, today, those who gave their lives to defend our country.

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Memorial Day Collection:

Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II written by Liza Mundy and read by Erin Bennett (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)

Recruited by the US Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges, more than ten thousand women served as codebreakers during World War II. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to Washington and learned the meticulous work of code-breaking. Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. A strict vow of secrecy nearly erased their efforts from history; now, through dazzling research and interviews with surviving code girls, bestselling author Liza Mundy brings to life this riveting and vital story of American courage, service, and scientific accomplishment.

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Every Man a Hero: A Memoir of D-Day, the First Wave at Omaha Beach, and a World at War written by Ray Lambert and read by Jim DeFelice (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

AN EXTRAORDINARY AND UNFORGETTABLE NEW FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT OF D-DAY

Seventy-five years ago, he hit Omaha Beach with the first wave. Now Ray Lambert, ninety-eight years old, delivers one of the most remarkable memoirs of our time, a tour-de-force of remembrance evoking his role as a decorated World War II medic who risked his life to save the heroes of D-Day.

At five a.m. on June 6, 1944, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Ray Lambert worked his way through a throng of nervous soldiers to a wind-swept deck on a troopship off the coast of Normandy, France. A familiar voice cut through the wind and rumble of the ship’s engines. “Ray!” called his brother, Bill. Ray, head of a medical team for the First Division’s famed 16th Infantry Regiment, had already won a silver star in 1943 for running through German lines to rescue trapped men, one of countless rescues he’d made in North Africa and Sicily.

“This is going to be the worst yet,” Ray told his brother, who served alongside him throughout the war.

“If I don’t make it,” said Bill, “take care of my family.”

“I will,” said Ray. He thought about his wife and son–a boy he had yet to see. “Same for me.” The words were barely out of Ray’s mouth when a shout came from below.

To the landing craft!

The brothers parted. Their destinies lay ten miles away, on the bloodiest shore of Normandy, a plot of Omaha Beach ironically code named “Easy Red.”

Less than five hours later, after saving dozens of lives and being wounded at least three separate times, Ray would lose consciousness in the shallow water of the beach under heavy fire. He would wake on the deck of a landing ship to find his battered brother clinging to life next to him.

Every Man a Hero is the unforgettable story not only of what happened in the incredible and desperate hours on Omaha Beach, but of the bravery and courage that preceded them, throughout the Second World War—from the sands of Africa, through the treacherous mountain passes of Sicily, and beyond to the greatest military victory the world has ever known.

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Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown by Eric Blehm (Format: eBook):

When Navy SEAL Adam Brown woke up on March 17, 2010, he didn’t know he would die that night in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan—but he was ready: In a letter to his children, not meant to be seen unless the worst happened, he wrote, “I’m not afraid of anything that might happen to me on this earth, because I know no matter what, nothing can take my spirit from me.”

Long before Adam Brown became a member of the elite SEAL Team SIX—the counterterrorism unit that took down Osama bin Laden—he was a fun-loving country boy from Hot Springs, Arkansas, whose greatest goal had been to wear his high school’s football jersey. An undersized daredevil, prone to jumping off roofs into trees and off bridges into lakes, Adam was a kid who broke his own bones but would never break a promise to his parents.

But after high school, Adam fell in with the wrong crowd, and his family watched as his appetite for risk dragged him into a downward spiral that eventually landed him in jail. Battling his inner demons on a last-chance road to redemption, Adam had one goal: to become the best of the best—a U.S. Navy SEAL.

An absorbing chronicle of heroism and humanity, Fearless presents an indelible portrait of a highly trained warrior who would enter a village with weapons in hand to hunt terrorists, only to come back the next day with an armload of shoes and meals for local children. It is a deeply personal, revealing glimpse inside the SEAL Team SIX brotherhood that also shows how these elite operators live out the rest of their lives, away from danger, as husbands, fathers, and friends.

Fearless is the story of a man of extremes, whose courage and determination was fueled by faith, family, and the love of a woman. It’s about a man who waged a war against his own worst impulses and persevered to reach the top tier of the U.S. military. Always the first to volunteer for the most dangerous assignments, Adam’s final act of bravery led to the ultimate sacrifice.

Adam Brown was a devoted man who was an unlikely hero but a true warrior, described by all who knew him as fearless.

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The Jersey Brothers written by Sally Mott Freeman and read by Cassandra Campbell (Format: eBook)

This extraordinary adventure of three brothers at the center of the most dramatic turning points of World War II is “liable to break the hearts of Unbroken fans, and it’s all true” (The New York Times).

They are three brothers, all Navy men, who end up coincidentally and extraordinarily at the epicenter of three of the war’s most crucial moments. Bill, a naval intelligence officer, is tapped by FDR to set up and run his secret map room in the White House basement. Benny is the gunnery and antiaircraft officer on USS Enterprise, one of the few ships to escape Pearl Harbor and, by the end of 1942, the only aircraft carrier left in the Pacific to defend against the Japanese. Barton, the youngest, gets a plum commission in the Navy Supply Corps because his mother wants him out of harm’s way. But this protection plan backfires when Barton is sent to Manila and listed as wounded and missing after a Japanese attack. Now it is up to Bill and Benny to find and rescue him…

Based on a decade of research drawn from archives around the world, interviews with fellow shipmates and POWs, and half-forgotten letters stashed away in attics, The Jersey Brothers is “a captivating tour-de-force” (San Antonio Express-News) that whisks readers from America’s front porches to Roosevelt’s White House to the battlefronts of the Pacific. But at its heart The Jersey Brothers is a family story, written by one of its own in intimate, novelistic detail. It is a remarkable tale of agony and triumph; of an ordinary young man who shows extraordinary courage as the enemy does everything short of killing him; and of brotherly love tested under the tortures of war.

 

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The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II by Katherine Sharp Landdeck (Format: eBook):

“With the fate of the free world hanging in the balance, women pilots went aloft to serve their nation. . . . A soaring tale in which, at long last, these daring World War II pilots gain the credit they deserve.”—Liza Mundy, New York Times bestselling author of Code Girls.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Cornelia Fort was already in the air. At twenty-two, Fort had escaped Nashville’s debutante scene for a fresh start as a flight instructor in Hawaii. She and her student were in the middle of their lesson when the bombs began to fall, and they barely made it back to ground that morning. Still, when the U.S. Army Air Forces put out a call for women pilots to aid the war effort, Fort was one of the first to respond. She became one of just over 1,100 women from across the nation to make it through the Army’s rigorous selection process and earn her silver wings.

The brainchild of trailblazing pilots Nancy Love and Jacqueline Cochran, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) gave women like Fort a chance to serve their country—and to prove that women aviators were just as skilled as men. While not authorized to serve in combat, the WASP helped train male pilots for service abroad, and ferried bombers and pursuits across the country. Thirty-eight WASP would not survive the war. But even taking into account these tragic losses, Love and Cochran’s social experiment seemed to be a resounding success—until, with the tides of war turning, Congress clipped the women’s wings. The program was disbanded, the women sent home. But the bonds they’d forged never failed, and over the next few decades they came together to fight for recognition as the military veterans they were—and for their place in history.

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General Recommendations of the Week:

1968 by Joe Haldeman (Format: eBook):

“So many tensions and so much emotion . . . A powerful novel” of the Vietnam era by the award-winning author of The Forever War (Booklist).

John “Spider” Spiedel is a college dropout who is drafted into the war as a combat engineer. Scared, he tries to keep his head down and stay safe, a plan that works until the Tet Offensive, when he is wounded and sent stateside—and receives a devastating diagnosis. And while he’s been away fighting, his girlfriend, Beverly, has fallen in with the hippie movement in an attempt to rebel against the repressive values of American society and the injustice of the war that took her boyfriend overseas.

Vietnam was the conflict that changed America’s relationship with war forever, and this novel by Nebula and Hugo Award–winning author Joe Haldeman, inspired by his own experience in the military, is a look at this turbulent time in US history as seen through the eyes of the people most affected: the soldiers and their loved ones. 1968 is not just a story of two young people attempting to find themselves in a tumultuous world—it’s the account of a country trying to find itself as well.

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A Catalog of Birds by Laura Harrington (Format: eBook)

Billy Flynn always wanted to fly. An attractive young man, a patriot, he is also an artist with pencil and paint and has an abiding affinity for nature. It’s 1970 and he cannot resist the call to serve in Vietnam. A year later he is the only survivor when his helicopter is shot down.

A wounded Billy returns home to his family in upstate New York, especially to Nell, his adoring younger sister. In his absence, the woman he loves has mysteriously disappeared. His wounds have crippled his ability to even hold a pencil and his hearing loss has cut him off from the natural world. Nell, a brilliant student headed for a career in science, will do all that’s possible to save him.

A Catalog of Birds is the story of a family and a community confronted with a loss of innocence and wounds that may never heal. The legacy of war and its destruction of nature is seared onto the memories of a small American town.

Laura Harrington has written a tale of forgiveness, of ourselves, and those we love. Illuminated by heartbreak and promise, the novel is alive with spirit and wonder and hope for the future.

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Home: A Novel by Toni Morrison (Format: eBook):

An angry and self-loathing veteran of the Korean War, Frank Money finds himself back in racist America after enduring trauma on the front lines that left him with more than just physical scars. His home–and himself in it–may no longer be as he remembers it, but Frank is shocked out of his crippling apathy by the need to rescue his medically abused younger sister and take her back to the small Georgia town they come from, which he’s hated all his life. As Frank revisits the memories from childhood and the war that leave him questioning his sense of self, he discovers a profound courage he thought he could never possess again. A deeply moving novel about an apparently defeated man finding his manhood–and his home.

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Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger (Format: eBook):

“A brilliant achievement, and one every crime reader and writer needs to celebrate.” —Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Glass Houses

“A master craftsman [and] a series of books written with a grace and precision so stunning that you’d swear the stories were your own.” —Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire series

“Among thoughtful readers, William Kent Krueger holds a very special place in the pantheon.” —C.J. Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Disappeared

Read the thrilling, universally acclaimed debut that introduced the award-winning Cork O’Connor mystery series to the world by New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger.

In eighteen novels over twenty years, William Kent Krueger has enthralled readers with the adventures of P.I. Cork O’Connor, former sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota—selling more than 1.5 million copies of his books and winning the Edgar Award, Minnesota Book Award, Northeastern Minnesota Book Award, Dilys Award, Lovey Award, and Anthony Award along the way. Now, in this special anniversary edition, longtime fans and new readers alike can read the novel that first introduced Corcoran “Cork” O’Connor to the world.

Part Irish, part Anishinaabe Indian, Cork is having difficulty dealing with the marital meltdown that has separated him from his children, getting by on heavy doses of caffeine, nicotine, and guilt. Once a cop on Chicago’s South Side, there’s not much that can shock him. But when the town’s judge is brutally murdered, and a young Eagle Scout is reported missing, Cork takes on this complicated and perplexing case of conspiracy, corruption, and a small-town secret that hits painfully close to home.

Iron Lakes is the first book in the Cork O’Connor mystery series.

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Keeping Watch by Laurie R. King (Format: eBook):

Acclaimed as one of the most original talents to emerge in the last decade, award-winning author Laurie R. King returns to Folly Island to deliver her most stunning achievement yet—a breathtaking novel of suspense that explores the very essence of good and evil.

Allen Carmichael came back from Vietnam a lifetime ago—but only now was he ready to return home. For years, he’s lived on the fringes of the law, using a soldier’s skills to keep watch over those too young to defend themselves. Some consider him nothing but a kidnapper for hire—the best in the business; others call him a hero. His specialty has been rescuing children from abusive parents and escorting them to loving homes. But after twenty-five years, he is ready to take on his final case—a case that could destroy him.

The boy’s name is Jamie: He believes his father is going to kill him. Allen is convinced that the twelve-year-old is right and devises a strategy to save him. His last job done, Allen heads back to Folly Island, where he plans to settle into a quiet life. But not long after his return, a small plane piloted by the boy’s father’s crashes, leaving behind debris—but no body. Now it is up to Allen to resolve whether Jamie’s father is dead or alive—and to make sure Jamie himself stays out of harm’s way. But a series of ominous events leads Allen to question whether Jamie’s father is really the enemy after all. Or if the real threat is far more unspeakable…and the killer unimaginable.

Riveting, harrowing, and unforgettable, Keeping Watch takes psychological suspense to its most dizzying heights and proves again why Laurie R. King has been called by both readers and critics an undisputed master of suspense.

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Machine Dreams by Jayne Anne Phillips (Format: eBook):

In her highly acclaimed debut novel, the bestselling author of Shelter introduces the Hampsons, an ordinary, small-town American family profoundly affected by the extraordinary events of history. Here is a stunning chronicle that begins with the Depression and ends with the Vietnam War, revealed in the thoughts, dreams, and memories of each family member. Mitch struggles to earn a living as Jeans becomes the main breadwinner, working to complete college and raise the family. While the couple fight to keep their marriage intact, their daughter Danner and son Billy forge a sibling bond of uncommon strength. When Billy goes off to Vietnam, Danner becomes the sole bond linking her family, whose dissolution mirrors the fractured state of America in the 1960s. Deeply felt and vividly imagined, this lyrical novel is “among the wisest of a generation to grapple with a war that maimed us all” (The Village Voice), by a master of contemporary fiction.

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Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War written by Karl Marlantes and read by Bronson Pinchot (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

An incredible publishing story—written over the course of thirty years by a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, a New York Times bestseller for sixteen weeks, a National Indie Next, and a USA Today bestseller—Matterhorn has been hailed as a “brilliant account of war” (New York Times Book Review).

Matterhorn is an epic war novel in the tradition of Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead and James Jones’ The Thin Red Line. It is the timeless story of a young marine lieutenant, Waino Mellas, and his comrades in Bravo Company, who are dropped into the mountain jungle of Vietnam as boys and forced to fight their way into manhood. Standing in their way are not merely the North Vietnamese but also monsoon rain and mud, leeches and tigers, disease and malnutrition. Almost as daunting, it turns out, are the obstacles they discover between each other: racial tension, competing ambitions, and duplicitous superior officers. But when the company finds itself surrounded and outnumbered by a massive enemy regiment, the marines are thrust into the raw and all-consuming terror of combat. The experience will change them forever. Matterhorn is a visceral and spellbinding novel about what it is like to be a young man at war. It is an unforgettable story that transforms the tragedy of Vietnam into a powerful and universal story of courage, camaraderie, and sacrifice—a parable not only of the war in Vietnam but of all war, and a testament to the redemptive power of literature.

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Kristin Hannah’s Coming Home 4-Book Bundle: On Mystic Lake, Summer Island, Distant Shores, Home Again by Kristin Hannah (Format: eBook):

ON MYSTIC LAKE

“Superb . . . I’ll heartily recommend On Mystic Lake to any woman . . . who demands that a story leaves her with a satisfied glow.”—The Washington Post Book World

Annie Colwater’s husband has just confessed that he’s in love with a younger woman. Devastated, Annie retreats to the small town where she grew up. There, she is reunited with her first love, Nick Delacroix, a recent widower who is unable to cope with his silent, emotionally scarred young daughter. Together the three of them begin to heal. But just when Annie believes she’s been given a second chance at happiness, she is forced to make a choice that no woman in love should ever have to make.

SUMMER ISLAND

“Many a daughter will see something of herself in Ruby.”—People

Years ago, Nora Bridge walked out on her marriage and her family. Now she is a celebrity talk-show host. Her daughter Ruby is a struggling comedienne. The two haven’t spoken in more than a decade. Then a scandal from Nora’s past is exposed, and Ruby is offered a fortune to write a tell-all. Reluctantly she returns to the family house on Summer Island, with its frayed memories of joy and heartache. Confronting a mother who has harbored terrible secrets, Ruby finally begins to understand the complex ties that bind—and the healing that comes with forgiveness.

DISTANT SHORES

“There are real-life lessons here told with truth, humor, and courage. You will love this story.”—Adriana Trigiani

Elizabeth and Jackson Shore married young and weathered the storms as they built a family. From a distance their lives look picture perfect. But after their two girls leave home, Jack and Elizabeth quietly drift apart. Then tragedy turns Elizabeth’s world upside down. In the aftermath, she questions everything about her life—her choices, her marriage, even her long-forgotten dreams. In a move that shocks her husband, friends, and daughters, she lets go of the woman she has become—and reaches out for the woman she wants to be.

HOME AGAIN

“A tender, beautifully told story of emotional growth, forgiveness [and] the possibility of miracles.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Madelaine Hillyard may be a world-famous heart surgeon, but her personal life is less successful. Her teenage daughter, Lina, is fast becoming a stranger—a rebel desperate to find the father who walked away before she was born. Complicating matters are the vastly different DeMarco brothers: While priest Francis is always ready to lend a helping hand, Angel long ago took on the role of bad boy. Years earlier Angel abandoned Madelaine—and fatherhood—to seek fame and fortune, leaving her devastated. Now he needs help from the very people he betrayed—as a patient in dire need.

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Sunrise on Half Moon Bay by Robyn Carr (Format: eBook):

Sometimes the happiness we’re looking for has been there all along…

Adele and Justine have never been close. Born twenty years apart, Justine was already an adult when Addie was born. The sisters love each other but they don’t really know each other.

When Addie dropped out of university to care for their ailing parents, Justine, a successful lawyer, covered the expenses. It was the best arrangement at the time but now that their parents are gone, the future has changed dramatically for both women.

Addie had great plans for her life but has been worn down by the pressures of being a caregiver and doesn’t know how to live for herself. And Justine’s success has come at a price. Her marriage is falling apart despite her best efforts.

Neither woman knows how to start life over, but both realize they can and must support each other the way only sisters can. Together they find the strength to accept their failures and overcome their challenges. Happiness is within reach, if only they have the courage to fight for it.

Set in the stunning coastal town of Half Moon Bay, California, Robyn Carr’s new novel examines the joys of sisterhood and the importance of embracing change.

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What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism written by Dan Rather and read by Elliot Kirschner (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)

In a collection of original essays, the venerated television journalist, Dan Rather, celebrates our shared values and what matters most in our great country, and shows us what patriotism looks like. Writing about the institutions that sustain us, such as public libraries, public schools, and national parks; the values that have transformed us, such as the struggle for civil rights; and the drive toward science and innovation that has made the United States great, Rather will bring to bear his decades of experience on the frontlines of the world’s biggest stories, and offer readers a way forward. After a career spent as reporter and anchor for CBS News, where he interviewed every living President since Eisenhower and was on the ground for every major event, from the assassination of John F. Kennedy to Watergate to 9/11, Rather has also become a hugely popular voice of reason on social media, with nearly two million Facebook followers and an engaged new audience who help to make many of his posts go viral. With his famously plainspoken voice and a fundamental sense of hope, Rather has written the book to inspire conversation and listening, and to remind us all how we are ultimately united.

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Bonus Streaming Video Recommendation:

PBS’s Annual Memorial Day Concert, during which D Day veteran Ray Lambert will be honored, will be shown on PBS Stations on Monday, May 25, 2020.

It will also be streamed at 8:00 p.m. EST via at the following web page:

http://www.pbs.org/national-memorial-day-concert

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References

Ray Lambert To Be Honored at 2020 National Memorial Day Concert. The Pilot. Laura Douglass, Staff Writer, May 21, 2020, https://www.thepilot.com/news/ray-lambert-to-be-honored-at-2020-national-memorial-day-concert/article_1be9810c-9b9a-11ea-a23b-8bdb4e61e115.html

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Be well and happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Note: Book summaries are from the publisher unless otherwise specified.

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StarCat

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

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS:

You can access digital library content, i.e. eBooks & downloadable audiobooks, on PCs, Macs and mobile devices.

For mobile devices simply download the Libby (eBooks & downloadable audiobooks) or the RB Digital app (on-demand magazines), from your app store to get started. And if you’re using a PC or Mac simply click on the following link: https://stls.overdrive.com/

If you have questions call the library at 607-936-3713 and one of our tech coaches will be happy to assist you.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, since as all the libraries in the Southern Tier Library System are currently closed and you can’t place holds for physical materials, nor, of course, pick up holds; for the duration of the Corona Virus crisis, I’m going to post links to the New York Times Bestsellers, in eBook or downloadable audiobook form, that can be requested, or checked out, through the Digital Catalog.

 

If you have questions about how to access digital content you can write a comment and post it on the blog, or send me, SSCL Librarian Linda Reimer, questions via email: reimerl@stls.org

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And to kick off this Sunday posting for May 24, 2020, I’m going to digress from the book subject for a moment and veer off into the music lane; and note that Bob Dylan turns 79 years young today!

In celebration of the wonderful gift of Dylan’s music, and of course his birthday, here’s a video of him playing Blowing in the Wind, from 1963:

 

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And now, on to the New York Times Bestsellers that can be found in the Digital Catalog!

 

FICTION:

THE 20TH VICTIM by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

The 20th book in the Women’s Murder Club series. Lindsay Boxer looks into the murders of disreputable persons in three separate cities.

 

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ALL ADULTS HERE by Emma Straub (Format: eBook):

A repressed memory triggers Astrid Strick to weigh the outcomes of her parenting of her now-grown children.

 

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AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins (Format: eBook):

A bookseller flees Mexico for the United States with her son while pursued by the head of a drug cartel.

 

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BIG SUMMER by Jennifer Weiner (Format: eBook):

Daphne Berg’s former best friend asks her to be the maid of honor at her wedding in Cape Cod.

 

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BLUE MOON by Lee Child (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

Jack Reacher gets caught up in a turf war between Ukrainian and Albanian gangs.

 

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THE BOOK OF LONGINGS by Sue Monk Kidd (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

A scholarly young woman named Ana meets an 18-year-old Jesus and becomes caught up in a confluence of dangers.

 

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THE BOOK OF LOST FRIENDS by Lisa Wingate (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

The stories of three women struggling to get from Louisiana to Texas during Reconstruction are discovered by a first-year teacher living a century later.

 

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CAMINO WINDS by John Grisham (Format: eBook):

The line between fact and fiction becomes blurred when an author of thrillers is found dead after a hurricane hits Camino Island.

 

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THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

In Depression-era America, five women refuse to be cowed by men or convention as they deliver books throughout the mountains of Kentucky.

 

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HENNA ARTIST by Alka Joshi (Format: eBook):

In 1950s Jaipur, a young woman who escaped an abusive marriage and started a new life is confronted by her husband.

 

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IF IT BLEEDS by Stephen King (Format: eBook):

Four novellas: “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” “The Life of Chuck,” “Rat” and “If It Bleeds.”

 

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THE LAST TRIAL by Scott Turow (Format: eBook):

An 85-year-old defense lawyer puts off his retirement to aid a Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, who is accused of insider trading, fraud and murder.

 

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LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng (Format eBook):

An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland.

 

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NORMAL PEOPLE by Sally Rooney (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

The connection between a high school star athlete and a loner ebbs and flows when they go to Trinity College in Dublin.

 

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SHAKESPEARE FOR SQUIRRELS by Christopher Moore (Format: eBook):

When the Duke orders his death, Pocket of Dog Snogging escapes to the woods where he works to become the fairy king’s replacement fool.

 

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SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

Theo Faber looks into the mystery of a famous painter who stops speaking after shooting her husband.

 

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WALK THE WIRE by David Baldacci (Format: eBook):

The sixth book in the Memory Man series. Decker and Jamison investigate a murder in a North Dakota town in a fracking boom.

 

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THE WEDDING DRESS by Danielle Steel (Format: eBook):

The triumphs and losses of one family over the last century are recounted as a symbolic piece of apparel gets handed down through the generations.

 

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens (eBook):

In a quiet town on the North Carolina coast in 1969, a young woman who survived alone in the marsh becomes a murder suspect.

 

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WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A.J. Finn (Format: eBook):

A recluse who drinks heavily and takes prescription drugs may have witnessed a crime across from her Harlem townhouse.

 

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NON-FICTION:

24 by Willie Mays and John Shea (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

A memoir by the Baseball Hall of Famer told in 24 chapters to correspond with his well-known uniform number.

 

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BECOMING by Michelle Obama (eBook):

The former first lady describes her journey from the South Side of Chicago to the White House, and how she balanced work, family and her husband’s political ascent.

 

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THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk (Format: eBook):

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

 

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EDUCATED by Tara Westover (Format: eBook):

The daughter of survivalists, who is kept out of school, educates herself enough to leave home for university.

 

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THE GREAT INFLUENZA by John M. Barry (Format: eBook):

An overview of the 1918 flu epidemic and cautionary tale for similar kinds of large-scale outbreaks.

 

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GRIT by Angela Duckworth (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

A psychologist argues that passion and perseverance are the keys to success.

 

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HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD by Robert Kolker (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

From 1945 to 1965, a family in Colorado had 12 children, six of whom went on to develop schizophrenia.

 

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HOUSE OF KENNEDY by James Patterson and Cynthia Fagen (Format: eBook):

A look at the achievements of the political family and what has been called “the Kennedy curse.”

 

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THE MAMBA MENTALITY by Kobe Bryant (Format: eBook):

Various skills and techniques used on the court by the Los Angeles Lakers player.

 

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PELOSI by Molly Ball (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

An overview of the speaker of the House’s accomplishments during the Obama and Trump administrations.

 

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SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari (Format: Downloadable Audiobooks):

How Homo sapiens became Earth’s dominant species.

 

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THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE by Erik Larson (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

An examination of the leadership of the prime minister Winston Churchill.

 

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TALKING TO STRANGERS by Malcolm Gladwell (Format: eBook):

Famous examples of miscommunication serve as the backdrop to explain potential conflicts and misunderstandings.

 

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UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle (Format: eBook):

The activist and public speaker describes her journey of listening to her inner voice.

 

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WHITE FRAGILITY by Robin DiAngelo (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

Historical and cultural analyses on what causes defensive moves by white people and how this inhibits cross-racial dialogue.

 

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A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE by Sonia Purnell (Format: eBook):

The true story of a Baltimore socialite who joined a spy organization during World War II and became essential to the French Resistance.

 

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Be well and read on!

Linda Reimer, SSL

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Note: this list contains all the New York Times fiction and non-fiction bestsellers for the week that are owned by libraries within the Southern Tier Library System.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here is our bi-weekly recommended listening posting for May 22, 2020!

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On another music note, just FYI there is a library music app, Freegal Music, that allows you to stream unlimited commercial free music to a  mobile device. You can find it in your app store, or, alternately you can stream music to a PC from the Freegal Catalog by clicking on the following link:

https://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/home

If you have questions about how to use the Freegal Music Service, please let me know! You can contact me by leaving a message on the blog. Or, you can send an email to the following address reimerl@stls.org and I’ll get back to you!

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Recommended Music Videos

Both Sides Now & The Circle Day by Joni Mitchell (Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Folk)

The talented singer-songwriter performs two of her classic songs. The video clip is from the CBS series This Is It, and was recorded in 1968.

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Mini Concert (1973) by Jim Croce (Genre: Folk, Singer-Songwriter)

The great singer-songwriter and storyteller Jim Croce filmed by the Los Angeles Public Broadcasting System as part of a pledge drive in 1973. Songs include Next Time, This Time, Operator & Roller Derby Queen.

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Misty by Sarah Vaughan (Genre: Jazz, Vocal)

Sarah Vaughan was one of the great jazz vocalists of the 20th Century. Here she is signing the vocal classic Misty, which was recorded in Sweden in 1964.

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Mr. Bojangles by Sammy Davis Jr. (Genre: Vocal)

The great showman and singer Sammy Davis Jr. singing the great bittersweet Jerry Jeff Walker story song – Mr. Bojangles!
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Playground by Henry Adam Curtis (Genre: New Age, Instrumental, Piano)

Playground, performed by the talented Kauai based pianist and educator Henry Adam Curtis, is the opening track on a relaxing LP from Windham Hill titled Sundown Piano Collection. The entire album, will automatically play once you click on the Playground play button. Other artist featured in the collection include George Winston, Liz Story, Jim Brickman, Philip Aaberg and Peggy Stern.

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Polk Salad Annie by Tony Joe White (Genre: Classic Rock, Swamp Rock)

The premier swamp rocker, Tony Joe White, performing one of his biggest hits, the atmospheric and humorous Polk Salad Annie.

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The River by Garth Brooks (Genre: Country, Modern Country)

The maestro of modern country music recorded at a music award show in 1992!

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Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo by Rick Derringer (Genre: Rock, Classic Rock, Seventies Rock)

Guitarist and producer Rick Derringer played with the McCoys and with brothers Johnny and Edgar Winter in the sixties. In the seventies, he launched a successful solo career, and in the years since has continued to play live, record and produce other artists.

Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo is both a Derringer and a seventies rock classic. It is the lead song on the soundtrack to the set in 1970s American Graffiti-esque film Dazed and Confused (1993). If you haven’t seen it, the film follows students on the last day of high school in in 1976, and it has a great soundtrack! It is also one of those films that is a great compliment to the summer season.

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Union, God and Country by Steve Earle & The Dukes (Genre: Folk, Roots Rock, Singer-Songwriter)

The insightful singer songwriter Steve Earle offers a brand new album, Ghosts of West Virginia, that focuses on the lives and hardships of modern day coal miners.

The song Union, God and Country may be about coal miners, but it will also strike a chord with many blue collar workers.

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Vivaldi: Concerto for Violin and Strings in E, Op.8, No.1, R.269 “La Primavera” – 2. Largo, performed by The Ancient Academy of Music with Christopher Hogwood conducting (Genre: Classical)

It seems a good time of year, when the seasons are changing, to listen to Vivaldi’s the Four Seasons. The suggested composition is the soothing La Primavera – 2. Largo, and you can access the entire recording on YouTube.

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Bonus Video

Rainy Night in Georgia performed by Brooks Benton, written by Tony Joe White

I didn’t realize until doing research for this positing, that in addition to recording his own music, and producing artists, that Tony Joe White was also a prolific songwriter! Artists who recorded his songs included Buffalo Springfield, Elvis, Hank Williams Jr. and Brooks Benton who did a terrific cover of this song – Rainy Night in Georgia!

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Be well & happy listening!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Online References

AllMusic: https://www.allmusic.com/

–

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

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

The Digital Catalog (OverDrive)

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

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS: Libby & RBDigital:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the Libby and/or the RBDigital app, to check out eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and on-demand magazines, from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at 607-936-3713 and one of our tech coaches will be happy to assist you.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here is our bi-weekly recommended listening posting for Monday, May 18, 2020.

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On another music note, just FYI there is a library music app, Freegal Music, that allows you to stream unlimited commercial free music to a  mobile device. You can find it in your app store, or, alternately you can stream music to a PC from the Freegal Catalog by clicking on the following link:

https://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/home

If you have questions about how to use the Freegal Music Service, please let me know! You can contact me by leaving a message on the blog. Or, you can send an email to the following address reimerl@stls.org and I’ll get back to you!

–

I’m going to preface today’s posting with a little bit of trivia and a related video clip from YouTube.
Aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss was born in Hammondsport, New York on May 21, 1878. And here is a short Smithsonian clip showing just how much Curtiss contributed to the evolution of flight technology!

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And on to the music of the day, a bit of country, a bit of rock, a bit of jazz and classical too – we’ve got a well-balanced musical plate today – enjoy!

Recommended Music Videos

The Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton | From the LP The Spectacular Johnny Horton (Genre: Country, Classic Country)

A classic and slightly whimsical song by the great country singer Johnny Horton, chronicling how the U.S. army won the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.

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The Beat Goes on by Sonny & Cher | From the LP In Case You’re In Love (Genre: Folk-Rock, Pop)

The then husband and wife duo, Sonny & Cher, performing one of their biggest hits!

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Countin’ The Blues by Gertrude “Ma” Rainey | From the album Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1924-1925) (Genre: Blues)

Ma Rainey is considered one of the queens of the blues. She only recorded during the 1920s but was quite prolific – recording more than 100 songs. Here is Countin’ the Blues from 1924.

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Fantasia dei Gatti by Augustin Hadelich | from the album Paganini 24 Caprices (Genre: Classical)

A fantasy video, with cats, for a fantasy song, Fantasia dei Gatti, played by the talented Italian violinist Augustin Hadelich.

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Love Reign O’er Me by The Who (Live At Hyde Park) | Original sone from the LP Quadrophenia (Genre: Rock, Classic Rock)

One of The Who’s classic songs from their second best rock opera – Quadrophenia!

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My Heart is Burning Dogs of Desire, Annika Socolofsky, John Daugherty & David Alan Miller (Genre: Classical, Folk) | From the LP This Land Sings

The This Lands Sings album, features some great singing and the whole LP is inspired by the work of Woody Guthrie. This song, is an instrumental and is very atmospheric, featuring harmonica playing you can just picture coming from a hobo riding a train.

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Rain For Sleeping and Relaxation (Sounds of Nature) by Joe Baker | From the LP Rain For Sleeping and Relaxation (Genre: Nature Sounds)

One hour of the sound of raining coming down – relaxation on demand!

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Summertime by Miles Davis | From the album Porgy and Bess (Genre: Jazz)

The great jazz trumpetist Miles Davis offers a terrific version of one of the best known songs from the musical show Porgy and Bess – Summertime.

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Walking After Midnight by Patsy Cline | From the album Patsy Cline (Genre: Country, Classic Country)

A huge hit for Patsy Cline in 1957, Walking After Midnight is still one of her best known songs today.

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When You’re My Age by Lori McKenna with Hillary Lindsey & Liz Rose | From the forthcoming album The Balladeer (Genre: Folk, Americana)

The insightful folk singer-songwriter Lori McKenna, has a new album coming out in July; When You’re My Age is the title track and first single. McKenna seems to be singing to her adult children with this song – which is a great I’m-a-certain-age-so-I-have-a-deeper-perspective type of song. I was a little surprised, in doing research for this posting, to find that McKenna is slightly younger than I am – but as she has been married for more than 30 years and has 5 children and she’s got that looking down the years perspective thing down pat. (How is it that time flies so fast?!)

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You Make Me Feel Like Dancing by Leo Sayer | From the LP Endless Flight (Genre: Pop, Classic Pop)

And our finally song for today is an upbeat pop classic from one of the masters of 1970s pop/rock – Leo Sayer. It is very easy to dance to the song You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.

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Be well & happy listening!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Online References

AllMusic: https://www.allmusic.com/

–

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

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

The Digital Catalog (OverDrive)

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

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS: Libby & RBDigital:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the Libby and/or the RBDigital app, to check out eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and on-demand magazines, from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at 607-936-3713 and one of our tech coaches will be happy to assist you.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week, and while the library is closed the weekly recommendations will all be digital – eBooks & downloadable audiobooks available through the Digital Catalog.

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Since so many people have spare time on their hands these days, this week I’m going to suggest ten titles that are the first book in a series – so you can dig in deep and immerse yourself in the worlds presented in these reads!

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Suggested Reads:

“A” is for Alibi (Kinsey Malone Series) by Sue Grafton (Format: eBook)

READ THE SENSATIONAL BLOCKBUSTER THAT STARTED IT ALL!

Take it from the top in #1 New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton’s knockout thriller that introduced detective Kinsey Millhone—and a hot new attitude—to crime fiction…

A IS FOR AVENGER
A tough-talking former cop, private investigator Kinsey Millhone has set up a modest detective agency in a quiet corner of Santa Teresa, California. A twice-divorced loner with few personal possessions and fewer personal attachments, she’s got a soft spot for underdogs and lost causes.

A IS FOR ACCUSED
That’s why she draws desperate clients like Nikki Fife. Eight years ago, she was convicted of killing her philandering husband. Now she’s out on parole and needs Kinsey’s help to find the real killer. But after all this time, clearing Nikki’s bad name won’t be easy.

A IS FOR ALIBI
If there’s one thing that makes Kinsey Millhone feel alive, it’s playing on the edge. When her investigation turns up a second corpse, more suspects, and a new reason to kill, Kinsey discovers that the edge is closer—and sharper—than she imagined.

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An Extraordinary Union (The Loyal League Series) by Alyssa Cole (Format: eBook)

“Richly detailed setting, heart-stopping plot, and unforgettable characters.”
—Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author

The first of award-winning author Alyssa Cole’s highly-acclaimed Loyal League series! As the Civil War rages between the states, a courageous pair of spies plunge fearlessly into a maelstrom of ignorance, deceit, and danger, combining their unique skills to alter the course of history and break the chains of the past . . .

Elle Burns is a former slave with a passion for justice and an eidetic memory. Trading in her life of freedom in Massachusetts, she returns to the indignity of slavery in the South—to spy for the Union Army.

Malcolm McCall is a detective for Pinkerton’s Secret Service. Subterfuge is his calling, but he’s facing his deadliest mission yet—risking his life to infiltrate a Rebel enclave in Virginia.

Two undercover agents who share a common cause—and an undeniable attraction—Malcolm and Elle join forces when they discover a plot that could turn the tide of the war in the Confederacy’s favor. Caught in a tightening web of wartime intrigue, and fighting a fiery and forbidden love, Malcolm and Elle must make their boldest move to preserve the Union at any cost—even if it means losing each other . .

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Area X Bundle (Southern Reach Trilogy) written by Jeff VanderMeer and read by Carolyn McCormick (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)

If J. J. Abrams, Margaret Atwood, and Alan Weisman collaborated on a series, it might be this awesome.

This collection includes all three novels in the epic Southern Reach trilogy—Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance. Praised for its evocative prose, chilling psychological twists, and intriguing story arc, this series has amassed high critical and popular acclaim, with book one landing on the New York Times bestsellers list.

Dive into the mysteries of Area X, a remote and lush terrain that has inexplicably sequestered itself from civilization. Twelve expeditions have gone in, and not a single member of any of them has remained unchanged by the experience—for better or worse.

The Area X Bundle contains all three books in the Southern Reach Trilogy
1. Annihilation (2014)
2. Authority (2014)
3. Acceptance (2012)

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The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth Series) written by N. K. Jemisin and read by Robin Miles (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)

At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this “intricate and extraordinary” Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution. (The New York Times)

This is the way the world ends…for the last time.

It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world’s sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester.

This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium Trilogy) by Stieg Larsson (Format: eBook)

Murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue combine into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel, the first in Stieg Larsson’s thrilling Millenium series featuring Lisbeth Salander.

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

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In The Woods (Dublin Murder Squad Series) by Tana French (Format: eBooks)

The debut novel of an astonishing voice in psychological suspense

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

Richly atmospheric, stunning in its complexity, and utterly convincing and surprising to the end, In the Woods is sure to enthrall fans of Mystic River and The Lovely Bones.

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Interview with a Vampire (Vampire Chronicles Series) written by Anne Rice and read by Simon Vance  (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)

The time is now.

We are in a small room with the vampire, face to face, as he speaks—as he pours out the hypnotic, shocking, moving, and erotically charged confessions of his first two hundred years as one of the living dead. . .

He speaks quietly, plainly, even gently . . . carrying us back to the night when he departed human existence as heir—young, romantic, cultivated—to a great Louisiana plantation, and was inducted by the radiant and sinister Lestat into the other, the “endless,” life . . . learning first to sustain himself on the blood of cocks and rats caught in the raffish streets of New Orleans, then on the blood of human beings . . . to the years when, moving away from his final human ties under the tutelage of the hated yet necessary Lestat, he gradually embraces the habits, hungers, feelings of vampirism: the detachment, the hardened will, the “superior” sensual pleasures and much, much more…

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The Lord of the Rings Bundle (Lord of the Rings Series, all three books in one volume!) by J.R.R. Tolkien (Format: eBook)

If you’re anything like me, you may have read part of the lengthy Lord of the Rings trilogy, and thoroughly enjoyed the movies filmed in New Zealand but never quite gotten back to reading the entire trilogy. I started reading The Fellowship of the Ring in high school but found it challenging to keep track of the characters as most of them had names I’d never heard before. Many years later, and brushing up on how to say, and thus remember those names, thanks to the movies – it just might be time to take another crack at the books – what say you?! — LR

And here’s a description of this all-in-one volume from the publisher: A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.

From Sauron’s fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spread far and wide. Sauron gathered all the Great Rings to him, but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.

When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.

The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.

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One for the Money (Stephanie Plum Series) written by Janet Evanovich phanieand read by Lori Petty (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)

One For The Money is the first book in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series and it introduces the witty protagonist! And every time I read this title One For The Money, I hear Carl Perkins  in the jukebox in my mind “Well, it’s one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and go, cat go! But don’t you…step  on my blue suede shoes!”

And here a description of the plot from the publisher: Meet Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter with attitude. In Stephanie’s opinion, toxic waste, rabid drivers, armed schizophrenics, and August heat, humidity, and hydrocarbons are all part of the great adventure of living in Jersey.

She’s a product of the “burg,” a blue-collar pocket of Trenton where houses are attached and narrow, cars are American, windows are clean, and (God forbid you should be late) dinner is served at six.

Out of work and out of money, Stephanie blackmails her bail-bondsman cousin Vinnie into giving her a try as an apprehension agent. Stephanie knows zilch about the job requirements, but she figures her new pal, el-primo bounty hunter Ranger, can teach her what it takes to catch a crook. Her first assignment: nail Joe Morelli, a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one. Morelli’s the inamorato who charmed Stephanie out of her virginity at age sixteen. There’s still powerful chemistry between them, so the chase should be interesting…and could also be extremely dangerous.

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A Study in Scarlet Women (Lady Sherlock Series) by Sherry Thomas (Format: eBook)

USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas turns the story of the renowned Sherlock Holmes upside down in the first novel in this Victorian mystery series….

With her inquisitive mind, Charlotte Holmes has never felt comfortable with the demureness expected of the fairer sex in upper class society. But even she never thought that she would become a social pariah, an outcast fending for herself on the mean streets of London.

When the city is struck by a trio of unexpected deaths and suspicion falls on her sister and her father, Charlotte is desperate to find the true culprits and clear the family name. She’ll have help from friends new and old—a kind-hearted widow, a police inspector, and a man who has long loved her.

But in the end, it will be up to Charlotte, under the assumed name Sherlock Holmes, to challenge society’s expectations and match wits against an unseen mastermind.

An NPR Best Book of 2016

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And as a bonus, here is Carl Perkins, from a 1956 Perry Como Show appearance, playing his classic tune – Blue Suede Shoes!

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Be well and happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Note: Book summaries are from the publisher unless otherwise specified.

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StarCat

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

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS:

You can access digital library content, i.e. eBooks & downloadable audiobooks, on PCs, Macs and mobile devices.

For mobile devices simply download the Libby (eBooks & downloadable audiobooks) or the RB Digital app (on-demand magazines), from your app store to get started. And if you’re using a PC or Mac simply click on the following link: https://stls.overdrive.com/

If you have questions call the library at 607-936-3713 and one of our tech coaches will be happy to assist you.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, since as all the libraries in the Southern Tier Library System are currently closed and you can’t place holds for physical materials, nor, of course, pick up holds; for the duration of the Corona Virus crisis, I’m going to post links to the New York Times Bestsellers, in eBook or downloadable audiobook form, that can be requested, or checked out, through the Digital Catalog.

 

If you have questions about how to access digital content you can write a comment and post it on the blog, or send me, SSCL Librarian Linda Reimer, questions via email: reimerl@stls.org

 

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And here are the New York Times Bestsellers that can be found in the Digital Catalog.

 

FICTION:

THE 20TH VICTIM by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

The 20th book in the Women’s Murder Club series. Lindsay Boxer looks into the murders of disreputable persons in three separate cities.

 

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ALL ADULTS HERE by Emma Straub (Format:eBook):

A repressed memory triggers Astrid Strick to weigh the outcomes of her parenting of her now-grown children.

 

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AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins (Format: eBook):

A bookseller flees Mexico for the United States with her son while pursued by the head of a drug cartel.

 

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BIG SUMMER by Jennifer Weiner (Format: eBook):

Daphne Berg’s former best friend asks her to be the maid of honor at her wedding in Cape Cod.

 

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BLUE MOON by Lee Child (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

Jack Reacher gets caught up in a turf war between Ukrainian and Albanian gangs.

 

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THE BOOK OF LONGINGS by Sue Monk Kidd (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

A scholarly young woman named Ana meets an 18-year-old Jesus and becomes caught up in a confluence of dangers.

 

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THE BOOK OF LOST FRIENDS by Lisa Wingate (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

The stories of three women struggling to get from Louisiana to Texas during Reconstruction are discovered by a first-year teacher living a century later.

 

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CAMINO WINDS by John Grisham (Format:eBook):

The line between fact and fiction becomes blurred when an author of thrillers is found dead after a hurricane hits Camino Island.

 

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THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

In Depression-era America, five women refuse to be cowed by men or convention as they deliver books throughout the mountains of Kentucky.

 

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HELLO, SUMMER by Mary Kay Andrews (Format: eBook):

Conley Hawkins loses her big-city beat and takes over the gossip column of her family’s small-town newspaper.

 

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IF IT BLEEDS by Stephen King (Format: eBook):

Four novellas: “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” “The Life of Chuck,” “Rat” and “If It Bleeds.”

 

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LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng (Format eBook):

An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland.

 

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MASKED PREY by John Sandford (Format: eBook):

The 30th book in the Prey series. Washington politicians ask Lucas Davenport to look into someone who is targeting their children.

 

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NORMAL PEOPLE by Sally Rooney (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

The connection between a high school star athlete and a loner ebbs and flows when they go to Trinity College in Dublin.

 

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SHADOW FLIGHT by Christine Feehan (Format: eBook):

The fifth book in the Shadow Riders series. Taviano Ferraro steps outside his crime family’s rules to keep Nicoletta Gomez safe.

 

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SOMEONE LIKE YOU by Karen Kingsbury (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

After uncovering a secret, Maddie Baxter West breaks off from the life she has to find out what could have been.

 

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WALK THE WIRE by David Baldacci (Format: eBook):

The sixth book in the Memory Man series. Decker and Jamison investigate a murder in a North Dakota town in a fracking boom.

 

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THE WEDDING DRESS by Danielle Steel (Format: eBook):

The triumphs and losses of one family over the last century are recounted as a symbolic piece of apparel gets handed down through the generations.

 

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens (eBook):

In a quiet town on the North Carolina coast in 1969, a young woman who survived alone in the marsh becomes a murder suspect.

 

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NON-FICTION:

BECOMING by Michelle Obama (eBook):

The former first lady describes her journey from the South Side of Chicago to the White House, and how she balanced work, family and her husband’s political ascent.

 

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THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk (Format: eBook):

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

 

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EDUCATED by Tara Westover (Format: eBook):

The daughter of survivalists, who is kept out of school, educates herself enough to leave home for university.

 

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THE GREAT INFLUENZA by John M. Barry (Format: eBook):

An overview of the 1918 flu epidemic and cautionary tale for similar kinds of large-scale outbreaks.

 

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HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD by Robert Kolker (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

From 1945 to 1965, a family in Colorado had 12 children, six of whom went on to develop schizophrenia.

 

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HOUSE OF KENNEDY by James Patterson and Cynthia Fagen (Format: eBook):

A look at the achievements of the political family and what has been called “the Kennedy curse.”

 

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THE MAMBA MENTALITY by Kobe Bryant (Format: eBook):

Various skills and techniques used on the court by the Los Angeles Lakers player.

 

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OPEN BOOK by Jessica Simpson with Kevin Carr O’Leary (Format: eBook):

The singer, actress and fashion designer discloses times of success, trauma and addiction.

 

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THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE by Erik Larson (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

An examination of the leadership of the prime minister Winston Churchill.

 

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UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle (Format: eBook):

The activist and public speaker describes her journey of listening to her inner voice.

 

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A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE by Sonia Purnell (Format: eBook):

The true story of a Baltimore socialite who joined a spy organization during World War II and became essential to the French Resistance.

 

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Be well and read on!

Linda Reimer, SSL

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Note: this list contains all the New York Times fiction and non-fiction bestsellers for the week that are owned by libraries within the Southern Tier Library System.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here is our bi-weekly recommended listening posting for Friday, May 15, 2020.

And on a did you know note – Did you know that today, Friday, May 15 is National Pizza Party day?

It is!

So today is a perfect day to order a pizza, or make one from scratch, and celebrate the deliciousness of pizza!

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On another music note, just FYI there is a library music app, Freegal Music, that allows you to stream unlimited commercial free music to a  mobile device. You can find it in your app store, or, alternately you can stream music to a PC from the Freegal Catalog by clicking on the following link:

https://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/home

If you have questions about how to use the Freegal Music Service, please let me know! You can contact me by leaving a message on the blog. Or, you can send an email to the following address reimerl@stls.org and I’ll get back to you!

–

Recommended Music Videos

American Pie by Don McLean (Genre: Pop/Rock, Folk)

The classic title track from McLean’s smash hit second album of the same name, released in 1971.

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An Ending (Ascent) by Brian Eno (Genre: Experimental Rock, Electronic Music)

An Ending (Ascent) is a lovely, soothing song from the experimental master, and former co-founder of Roxy Music.

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Birgit Nilsson in Concert (Stockholm, 1964) (Genre: Classical, Vocal)

The great twentieth century soprano Birgit Nilsson sings!

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Forest Gump Suite from the film soundtrack, composed by Alan Silvestri

The Forest Gump Suite, a simple instrumental song featuring piano and strings, is that rare thing in popular music, a majestic song!

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Galveston by Glen Campbell (Genre: Country, Classic Country, Folk, Pop)

Glen Campbell, the great session player and solo artist, sings one of his greatest hits, Galveston, originally released in 1968.

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Here Come’s The Sun & Homeward Bound by George Harrison & Paul Simon (Genre: Traditional Rock, Folk)

George Harrison and Paul Simon live!

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In The Still of the Night by the Five Satins (Genre: Doo-Wop, R&B, Traditional R&B)

In The Still of the Night is one of the best Doo-Wop songs ever, and the biggest hit by far of the group the Five Satins. The song was originally issued in 1956.

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I’ve Been Everywhere by Hank Snow (Genre: Country, Classic Country)

The classic country singer Hank Snow offering a song he took to #1 on the country charts, back in 1962.

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What Have You Done For You Lately by Janet Jackson (Genre: R&B)

The ever talented Janet Jackson with an early hit – What Have You Done For Me Lately, from her third album, 1986’s Control.

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Woodchopper’s Ball by Woody Herman & His Swingin’ Herd (Genre: Jazz, Swing)

Saxophonist and clarinetist Woody Herman and his band playing one of Woody’s best known songs – the up-temp Woodchopper’s Ball.

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Be well & happy listening!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Online References

AllMusic: https://www.allmusic.com/

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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 (OverDrive)

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

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS: Libby & RBDigital:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the Libby and/or the RBDigital app, to check out eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and on-demand magazines, from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at 607-936-3713 and one of our tech coaches will be happy to assist you.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here is our bi-weekly recommended listening posting for Monday, May 11, 2020.

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On another music note, just FYI there is a library music app, Freegal Music, that allows you to stream unlimited commercial free music to a  mobile device. You can find it in your app store, or, alternately you can stream music to a PC from the Freegal Catalog by clicking on the following link:

https://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/home

If you have questions about how to use the Freegal Music Service, please let me know! You can contact me by leaving a message on the blog. Or, you can send an email to the following address reimerl@stls.org and I’ll get back to you!

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Recommended Music Videos for Monday, May 11, 2020

Say a Little Prayer for You composed by Burt Bacharach and performed by Dionne Warwick (Genre: Easy Listening, American Standards)

Composer Burt Bacharach turns 92 years young on Tuesday, May 12th. To celebrate his birthday here is Dionne Warwick singing his classic song I Say A Little Prayer For You.

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Sunshine of Your Love by Cream with Jack Bruce on bass on lead vocals (Genre: Rock, Jazz, Classic Rock)

Bassist and composer Jack Bruce, member of the Graham Bond Organization, Manfred Mann, briefly a member of John Mayall’s Blues Breakers and later lead vocalist and bassist for Cream, was born on May 14, 1943. To celebrate his life and music, the week of his birth, here he is with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker playing their seminal tune Sunshine of Your Love.

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Keep on the Sunny Side by The Carter Family featuring Maybelle Carter (Genre: Country, Folk)

Banjoist, guitarist and singer Maybelle Carter, of the famous country music group The Carter Family, was born on May 10, 1909.

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God Bless American by Kate Smith, compose Irving Berlin (Genre: American Standards, Vocal Music)

The iconic American composer Irving Berlin was born on May 11, 1888 in Tyuman, Russia. Berlin immigrated to the U.S. with his parents when he was four-years-old and grew up to compose many American standards including White Christmas, God Bless America, Puttin’ On The Ritz and There’s No Business Like Show Business.

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With or Without You by U2 featuring Bono on lead vocals (Genre: Rock, Socially Conscious Rock)

Bono, founding member of U2 and one of those great musicians known simply by one name, was born in Paul Hewson, in Dublin, Ireland on May 10, 1960.

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Manteca by Gil Evans (Genre: Jazz)

Jazz Pianist and composer Gil Evans was born on May 13, 1912 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Give a listen to one of his great songs, Manteca,this Wednesday on the 108th anniversary of his birth.

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Hold My Hand by Hootie & The Blowfish featuring Darius Rucker on lead vocals (Genre: Pop, Rock, Country)

Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish and solo country fame, was born on May 13, 1968 and will celebrate his 52-birthday on Wednesday.

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Feelin’ Alright by Traffic (Genre: Rock, Classic Rock)

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Low Sparks of High Heeled Boys by Traffic (Genre: Rock, Classic Rock)

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Two of Traffic’s founding members, Dave Mason and Steve Winwood, are both celebrating birthdays this week. Mason was born on May 10, 1946 and Winwood on May 12, 1948.

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My Guy by Mary Wells (R&B):

Mary Wells born May 13, 1943 in Detroit, Michigan. Wells was one of Motown’s earliest stars and here she is signing her best known song – My Guy.

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Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours by Stevie Wonder (Genre: R&B, Soul, Singer-Songwriter, Jazz)

Celebrate the music of Stevie Wonder this week. Wonder turns 70 on Wednesday, May 13th!

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Bonus Videos: Limericks and Little Richard!

Limerick Day is observed on May 12, the anniversary of the birth of a master of limerick, Edward Lear (1812-1888).

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Lucille by Little Richard (Genre: Rock n’ Roll!)

Little Richard died of bone cancer, at the age of 87, this past Saturday. To celebrate his life and music, here he is singing one of his greatest songs – Lucille.

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Be well!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Chase’s Calendar of Events 2020. Rowman & Littlefield. Lanham, Maryland. 2019.

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Joel Whitburn’s Top Pop Singles 1955-1990. Record Research Inc. Menomonee Falls. 1991.

Online References

AllMusic: https://www.allmusic.com/

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Freegal Catalog, https://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/home

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Digital Catalogs:

Note: There are apps for each catalog or, you can download digital content to a PC.

The Digital Catalog (OverDrive)

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

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Freegal Music

You can stream an unlimited amount of music for the duration of the Corona Crisis.

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RBDigital:

RBDigital offers on-demand magazines, so you can read til your heart’s content!

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week, and while the library is closed the weekly recommendations will all be digital – eBooks & downloadable audiobooks available through the Digital Catalog.

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Recommended Reads:

All Adults Here: A Novel by Emma Straub (Format: eBook)

A warm, funny, and keenly perceptive novel about the life cycle of one family—as the kids become parents, grandchildren become teenagers, and a matriarch confronts the legacy of her mistakes. From the New York Times bestselling author of Modern Lovers and The Vacationers.

When Astrid Strick witnesses a school bus accident in the center of town, it jostles loose a repressed memory from her young parenting days decades earlier. Suddenly, Astrid realizes she was not quite the parent she thought she’d been to her three, now-grown children. But to what consequence?

Astrid’s youngest son is drifting and unfocused, making parenting mistakes of his own. Her daughter is pregnant yet struggling to give up her own adolescence. And her eldest seems to measure his adult life according to standards no one else shares. But who gets to decide, so many years later, which long-ago lapses were the ones that mattered? Who decides which apologies really count? It might be that only Astrid’s thirteen-year-old granddaughter and her new friend really understand the courage it takes to tell the truth to the people you love the most.

In All Adults Here, Emma Straub’s unique alchemy of wisdom, humor, and insight come together in a deeply satisfying story about adult siblings, aging parents, high school boyfriends, middle school mean girls, the lifelong effects of birth order, and all the other things that follow us into adulthood, whether we like them to or not.

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Discovering Home by Debbie Macomber (Format: eBook)

Rediscover two classic romantic stories about finding love and creating family, only from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber.

Father’s Day: Single mom Robin Masterson’s ten-year-old son, Jeff, thinks he needs a dog more than anything in the world. And there just happens to be one right next door! But the friendly black Lab belongs to Cole Camden, the unfriendliest man in the neighborhood. Robin can understand why Cole’s solitary life has made him cold—her own much-loved husband died when Jeff was just a baby. Still, Jeff persists…and soon his mom and Cole are looking at each other in a whole new way.

Lone Star Baby: Wade McMillen might be a minister, but he’s also a man. An unmarried and very attractive one. Is it as a man that he responds to the lovely young woman who shows up in Promise, pregnant and alone? Or as a man of God? Maybe it’s both. Amy Thornton hopes to make a new life for herself and her baby, and to do that, she needs Reverend McMillen’s help, his compassion. What she wants is the love of a man named Wade…

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Blackout by Connie Willis (Format: eBook)

Oxford in 2060 is a chaotic place. Scores of time-traveling historians are being sent into the past, to destinations including the American Civil War and the attack on the World Trade Center. Michael Davies is prepping to go to Pearl Harbor. Merope Ward is coping with a bunch of bratty 1940 evacuees and trying to talk her thesis adviser, Mr. Dunworthy, into letting her go to VE Day. Polly Churchill’s next assignment will be as a shopgirl in the middle of London’s Blitz. And seventeen-year-old Colin Templer, who has a major crush on Polly, is determined to go to the Crusades so that he can ‘catch up’ to her in age.

But now the time-travel lab is suddenly canceling assignments for no apparent reason and switching around everyone’s schedules. And when Michael, Merope, and Polly finally get to World War II, things just get worse. For there they face air raids, blackouts, unexploded bombs, dive-bombing Stukas, rationing, shrapnel, V-1s, and two of the most incorrigible children in all of history – to say nothing of a growing feeling that not only their assignments but the war and history itself are spiraling out of control. Because suddenly the once-reliable mechanisms of time travel are showing significant glitches, and our heroes are beginning to question their most firmly held belief: that no historian can possibly change the past.

From the people sheltering in the tube stations of London to the retired sailors who set off across the Channel to rescue the stranded British Army from Dunkirk, from shopgirls to ambulance drivers, from spies to hospital nurses to Shakespearean actors, Blackout reveals a side of World War II seldom seen before: a dangerous, desperate world in which there are no civilians and in which everybody – from the Queen down to the lowliest barmaid – is determined to do their bit to help a beleaguered nation survive.

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Exile Music: A Novel by Jennifer Steil (Format: eBook)

Based on an unexplored slice of World War II history, Exile Music is the captivating story of a young Jewish girl whose family flees refined and urbane Vienna for safe harbor in the mountains of Bolivia

As a young girl growing up in Vienna in the 1930s, Orly has an idyllic childhood filled with music. Her father plays the viola in the Philharmonic, her mother is a well-regarded opera singer, her beloved and charismatic older brother holds the neighborhood in his thrall, and most of her eccentric and wonderful extended family live nearby. Only vaguely aware of Hitler’s rise or how her Jewish heritage will define her family’s identity, Orly spends her days immersed in play with her best friend and upstairs neighbor, Anneliese. Together they dream up vivid and elaborate worlds, where they can escape the growing tensions around them.

But in 1938, Orly’s peaceful life is shattered when the Germans arrive. Her older brother flees Vienna first, and soon Orly, her father, and her mother procure refugee visas for La Paz, a city high up in the Bolivian Andes. Even as the number of Jewish refugees in the small community grows, her family is haunted by the music that can no longer be their livelihood, and by the family and friends they left behind. While Orly and her father find their footing in the mountains, Orly’s mother grows even more distant, harboring a secret that could put their family at risk again. Years pass, the war ends, and Orly must decide: Is the love and adventure she has found in La Paz what defines home, or is the pull of her past in Europe—and the piece of her heart she left with Anneliese—too strong to ignore?

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The Goodbye Man: Colter Shaw Series, Book 2 by Jeffrey Deaver (Format: eBook)

In this twisty thriller from the New York Times bestselling master of suspense, reward-seeker Colter Shaw infiltrates a sinister cult after learning that the only way to get somebody out . . . is to go in.

In the wilderness of Washington State, expert tracker Colter Shaw has located two young men accused of a terrible hate crime. But when his pursuit takes a shocking and tragic turn, Shaw becomes desperate to discover what went so horribly wrong and if he is to blame.

Shaw’s search for answers leads him to a shadowy organization that bills itself as a grief support group. But is it truly it a community that consoles the bereaved? Or a dangerous cult with a growing body count?

Undercover, Shaw joins the mysterious group, risking everything despite the fact that no reward is on offer. He soon finds that some people will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden . . . and to make sure that he or those close to him say “goodbye” forever.

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The House of Kennedy written by James Patterson and read by Cynthia Fagen (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)

Those who dwell in the House of Kennedy work hard, live hard, and win at all costs. But just how much has it cost them?

The Kennedy name is synonymous with American royalty. The family commitment to public service is legendary and enduring. But all their wild charisma has been dashed by disgrace and tragedy: Assassinations. Murder. Plane crashes. Fatal accidents. Mental illness. Drug overdoses. Alcohol abuse, and plenty of sex scandals. This family of widows and fatherless children has been cursed with nearly unimaginable losses — yet even today, there remains a glamorous aura around the indomitable Kennedys.

#1 bestselling author James Patterson once again tells a spellbinding story to “maximum dramatic effect” (The Wall Street Journal)—and this one is all true.

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I’d Give Anything: A Novel by Marisa de los Santos (Format: eBook)

A profound and heart-rending story about a horrific tragedy that marks one woman and her hometown and about the explosive secrets that come to light twenty years later.

Ginny Beale is eighteen, irreverent, funny, and brave, with a brother she adores and a circle of friends for whom she would do anything. Because of one terrible night, she loses them all—and her adventurous spirit—seemingly forever. While the town cheers on the high school football team, someone sets the school’s auditorium ablaze. Ginny’s best friend Gray Marsden’s father, a fire fighter, dies in the blaze.

While many in the town believe Daniel York, a notoriously troubled local teen, set the fire, Ginny makes a shattering discovery that casts blame on the person she trusts most in the world. Ginny tells no one, but the secret isolates her, looming between her and her friends and ruining their friendship.

Over the next two decades, Ginny puts aside her wanderlust and her dreams. Moving back to her hometown, she distances herself from the past and from nearly everyone in it. She marries a quiet man, raises their daughter, Avery, and cares for her tyrannical, ailing mother, Adela. But when Ginny’s husband, Harris, becomes embroiled in a scandal, Ginny’s carefully controlled life crumbles, and, just when she believes she is regaining her bearings, the secret she’s kept for twenty years emerges and threatens to destroy her hopes for the future.

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Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History written by Erik Larson and read by Richard Davidson (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)

September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people in what remains the greatest natural disaster in American history—and Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devastating personal tragedy.

Using Cline’s own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man’s heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude. Riveting, powerful, and unbearably suspenseful, Isaac’s Storm is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets the great uncontrollable force of nature.

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Lakeshore Chronicle Summer by Susan Wiggs (Format: eBook)

The Lakeshore Chronicles have captivated thousands of readers with unforgettable characters, warm humor and engaging stories. Summer at Willow Lake and The Summer Hideaway are emotional romances must-reads!

Summer at Willow Lake: Olivia Bellamy reluctantly trades a trendy Manhattan summer for her family’s old resort camp in the Catskills to renovate the bungalow colony for her grandparents, who want one last summer together filled with fun, friends and family. A posh resort in its heyday, the camp is now in disarray and Olivia is forced to hire contractor Connor Davis—a still-smoldering flame from her own summers at camp.

But as the days grow warm, not even the inviting blue waters of Willow Lake can cool the passions flaring or keep shocking secrets at bay. The nostalgic joy of summers past breathes new promise into a special place and people…a promise meant to last long after the season ends.

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The Summer Hideaway: By #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs
Never get attached—Private nurse and protected witness Claire Turner lives by this motto. Fleeing a treacherous past, she knows no other way.

Never give up—In the twilight of his life, George Bellamy makes it his final wish to reconcile with an estranged brother. He and Claire journey to Willow Lake—where it all went wrong for him fifty years ago.

Never let go—George’s grandson, Ross, is ruled by a fierce devotion to family and a deep mistrust of the mysterious Claire…yet sparks fly whenever she’s near. In the face of wrenching loss, amid the enchantment of Willow Lake, Ross and Claire dare to risk everything for love.

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The Paladin: A Spy Novel by David Ignatius (Format: eBook)

When a daring, high-tech CIA operation goes wrong and is disavowed, Michael Dunne sets out for revenge.

CIA operations officer Michael Dunne is tasked with infiltrating an Italian news organization that smells like a front for an enemy intelligence service. Headed by an American journalist, the self- styled “people’s bandits” run a cyber operation unlike anything the CIA has seen before. Fast, slick and indiscriminate, they steal secrets from everywhere and anyone, and exploit them in ways the CIA can neither understand nor stop.

Dunne knows it’s illegal to run a covert op on an American citizen or journalist, but he has never refused an assignment and his boss has assured his protection. Soon after Dunne infiltrates the organization, however, his cover disintegrates. When news of the operation breaks and someone leaks that Dunne had an extramarital affair while on the job, the CIA leaves him to take the fall. Now a year later, fresh out of jail, Dunne sets out to hunt down and take vengeance on the people who destroyed his life.

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Pelosi written by Molly Ball and read by Frankie Corzo (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)

An intimate, fresh perspective on the most powerful woman in American political history, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, by award-winning political journalist Molly Ball

She’s the iconic leader who puts Donald Trump in his place, the woman with the toughness to take on a lawless president and defend American democracy. Ever since the Democrats took back the House in the 2018 midterm elections, Nancy Pelosi has led the opposition with strategic mastery and inimitable elan. It’s a remarkable comeback for the veteran politician who for years was demonized by the right and taken for granted by many in her own party—even though, as speaker under President Barack Obama, she deserves much of the credit for epochal liberal accomplishments from universal health care to gays in the military. How did a 79-year-old Italian grandmother in four-inch heels become the greatest legislator since LBJ—and how will she manage her greatest challenge yet, impeachment?

Ball’s nuanced portrait takes listeners inside the life and times of this historic and underappreciated figure. Based on exclusive interviews with the Speaker and deep background reporting, Ball shows Pelosi through a thoroughly modern lens to explain how this extraordinary woman has met her moment.

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A Thousand Moons: A Novel written by Sebastian Barry and read by Kyla Garcia (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)

A dazzling new novel about memory and identity set in Paris, Tennessee, in the aftermath of the American Civil War from the Booker Prize–shortlisted author

Winona Cole, an orphaned child of the Lakota Indians, finds herself growing up in an unconventional household on a farm in West Tennessee. Raised by her adoptive father John Cole and his brother-in-arms Thomas McNulty, this odd little family scrapes a living on Lige Magan’s farm with the help two freed slaves, the Bougereau siblings. They try to keep the brutal outside world at bay, along with their memories of the past.

But Tennessee is a state still riven by the bitter legacy of the Civil War, and when first Winona and then Tennyson Bouguereau are violently attacked by forces unknown, Colonel Purton raises the militia to quell the rebels and night-riders who are massing on the outskirts of town. Armed with a knife, Tennyson’s borrowed gun, and the courage of her famous warrior mother, Winona decides to take matters into her own hands and embarks on a quest for justice which will uncover the dark secrets of her past and finally reveal to her who she really is.

Exquisitely written and thrumming with the irrepressible spirit of a young girl on the brink of adulthood, A Thousand Moons is a glorious story of love and redemption.

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Why Did I Come Into This Room: A Candid Conversation about Aging by Joan Lunden (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)

In her most candid and revealing book yet, acclaimed broadcast journalist and Baby Boomer Joan Lunden delves into the various phases of aging that leave many feeling uncomfortable, confused, and on edge. In her hilarious book, Lunden takes the dull and depressing out of aging, replacing it with wit and humor. After all, laughing is better than crying-unless it makes you pee! Funny, captivating, and raw, no topic is off limits. Lunden goes where others fear to tread, openly talking about wrinkles and age spots (which Lunden insists are sunspots), expanding waistlines (no, you didn’t shrink your jeans), diminished energy (my get-up-and-go got up and went), weak pelvic floors (yes, we’re talking about leaking), hot flashes (they suck), disrupted sleep (the morning host is an expert on lack of sleep), changes in sex drive (oh yeah, she goes there), ageism (it exists and it pisses us off), and yes, the real reasons we suddenly find ourselves always searching for those car keys! Through her poignant and often laugh out loud funny personal experiences, Lunden candidly shares her anxieties and breakthroughs. Why Did I Come into This Room? also explores the science of aging, including how it impacts the body and brain, while dispelling myths and revealing useful options to stave off the aging process as long as possible.

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Be well and happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Note: Book summaries are from the publisher unless otherwise specified.

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StarCat

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

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS:

You can access digital library content, i.e. eBooks & downloadable audiobooks, on PCs, Macs and mobile devices.

For mobile devices simply download the Libby (eBooks & downloadable audiobooks) or the RB Digital app (on-demand magazines), from your app store to get started. And if you’re using a PC or Mac simply click on the following link: https://stls.overdrive.com/

If you have questions call the library at 607-936-3713 and one of our tech coaches will be happy to assist you.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, since as all the libraries in the Southern Tier Library System are currently closed and you can’t place holds for physical materials, nor, of course, pick up holds; for the duration of the Corona Virus crisis, I’m going to post links to the New York Times Bestsellers, in eBook or downloadable audiobook form, that can be requested, or checked out, through the Digital Catalog.

 

If you have questions about how to access digital content you can write a comment and post it on the blog, or send me, SSCL Librarian Linda Reimer, questions via email: reimerl@stls.org

 

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And here are the New York Times Bestsellers that can be found in the Digital Catalog.

 

FICTION:

AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins (Format: eBook):

A bookseller flees Mexico for the United States with her son while pursued by the head of a drug cartel.

 

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BLUE MOON by Lee Child (Downloadable Audiobook):

Jack Reacher gets caught up in a turf war between Ukrainian and Albanian gangs.

 

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THE BOOK OF LONGINGS by Sue Monk Kidd (Format: Audiobook):

A scholarly young woman named Ana meets an 18-year-old Jesus and becomes caught up in a confluence of dangers.

 

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THE BOOK OF LOST FRIENDS by Lisa Wingate (Format: Audiobook):

The stories of three women struggling to get from Louisiana to Texas during Reconstruction are discovered by a first-year teacher living a century later.

 

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THE BOY FROM THE WOODS by Harlan Coben (Format: eBook):

When a girl goes missing, a private investigator’s feral childhood becomes an asset in the search.

 

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CAMINO WINDS by John Grisham:

The line between fact and fiction becomes blurred when an author of thrillers is found dead after a hurricane hits Camino Island.

 

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THE DUTCH HOUSE by Ann Patchett (Format: Audiobook):

A sibling relationship is impacted when the family goes from poverty to wealth and back again over the course of many decades.

 

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THE END OF OCTOBER by Lawrence Wright (Format: eBook):

Henry Parsons, a microbiologist and epidemiologist, goes to Indonesia to check out a deadly virus that soon will affect the entire planet.

 

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THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes (Format: Audiobook):

In Depression-era America, five women refuse to be cowed by men or convention as they deliver books throughout the mountains of Kentucky.

 

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IF IT BLEEDS by Stephen King (Format: eBook):

Four novellas: “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” “The Life of Chuck,” “Rat” and “If It Bleeds.”

 

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LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng (Format eBook):

An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland.

 

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MASKED PREY by John Sandford (Format: eBook):

The 30th book in the Prey series. Washington politicians ask Lucas Davenport to look into someone who is targeting their children.

 

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NORMAL PEOPLE by Sally Rooney (Format: Audiobook):

The connection between a high school star athlete and a loner ebbs and flows when they go to Trinity College in Dublin.

 

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REDHEAD BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD by Anne Tyler (Format: eBook):

Micah Mortimer’s orderly existence is thrown off kilter when his partner faces eviction and a teenager claims to be his son.

 

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THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides (Format: Audiobook):

Theo Faber looks into the mystery of a famous painter who stops speaking after shooting her husband.

 

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WALK THE WIRE by David Baldacci:

The sixth book in the Memory Man series. Decker and Jamison investigate a murder in a North Dakota town in a fracking boom.

 

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WEDDING DRESS by Danielle Steel (Format: eBook):

The triumphs and losses of one family over the last century are recounted as a symbolic piece of apparel gets handed down through the generations.

 

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens (eBook):

In a quiet town on the North Carolina coast in 1969, a young woman who survived alone in the marsh becomes a murder suspect.

 

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NON-FICTION:

BECOMING by Michelle Obama (eBook):

The former first lady describes her journey from the South Side of Chicago to the White House, and how she balanced work, family and her husband’s political ascent.

 

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EDUCATED by Tara Westover (Format: eBook):

The daughter of survivalists, who is kept out of school, educates herself enough to leave home for university.

 

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FRONT ROW AT THE TRUMP SHOW by Jonathan Karl (Format: Audiobook):

The ABC News chief White House correspondent gives his perspective on our current president and describes the shifts within their relationship.

 

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THE GREAT INFLUENZA by John M. Barry (Format: eBook):

An overview of the 1918 flu epidemic and cautionary tale for similar kinds of large-scale outbreaks.

 

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HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD by Robert Kolker (Format: Audiobook):

From 1945 to 1965, a family in Colorado had 12 children, six of whom went on to develop schizophrenia.

 

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HOUSE OF KENNEDY by James Patterson and Cynthia Fagen (Format: eBook):

A look at the achievements of the political family and what has been called “the Kennedy curse.”

 

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THE MAMBA MENTALITY by Kobe Bryant (Format: eBook):

Various skills and techniques used on the court by the Los Angeles Lakers player.

 

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MORE MYSELF by Alicia Keys with Michelle Burford (Format: Audiobook):

The Grammy Award-winning musician retraces her path to discovering her own worth.

 

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THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE by Erik Larson (Format: Audiobook):

An examination of the leadership of the prime minister Winston Churchill.

 

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TALKING TO STRANGERS by Malcolm Gladwell (Format: eBook):

Famous examples of miscommunication serve as the backdrop to explain potential conflicts and misunderstandings.

 

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TOGETHER by Vivek H. Murthy (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

The former surgeon general examines the importance of social connection.

 

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UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle (Format: eBook):

The activist and public speaker describes her journey of listening to her inner voice.

 

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A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE by Sonia Purnell (Format: eBook):

The true story of a Baltimore socialite who joined a spy organization during World War II and became essential to the French Resistance.

 

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Stay safe and read on!

Linda Reimer, SSL

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Note: this list contains all the New York Times fiction and non-fiction bestsellers for the week that are owned by libraries within the Southern Tier Library System.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.