Author: Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here is the latest edition of Library Connections, our weekly readers, viewers and listeners advisory videocast.

The next Library Connections video will be posted on Monday, May 3 2021.

Have a great day,
Linda Reimer, SSCL

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

Each title is followed by a listing of which formats it is available in for check out within the three catalogs: StarCat (Print, Large Print & CD Audiobooks), The Digital Catalog (eBook & Downloadable Audiobook) and the Hoopla Catalog (Hoopla instant checkout eBook & Hoopla Audiobook).

For more information on the three catalogs skip to the section below the bestselling titles*

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New York Times Bestseller blog postings are published on Sundays; and the next New York Times Bestselling blog posting will be published on Sunday, May 2, 2021.

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FICTION

THE DEVIL’S HAND by Jack Carr

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The fourth book in the Terminal List series. James Reece is given a top-secret C.I.A. mission.

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THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

As dust storms roll during the Great Depression, Elsa must choose between saving the family and farm or heading West.

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GOOD SISTER by Sally Hepworth

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Past secrets come up when Fern decides to pay back her twin sister, Rose, by having a baby for her.

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THE HILL WE CLIMB by Amanda Gorman

(Available Formats: Print, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The poem read on President Joe Biden’s Inauguration Day, by the youngest poet to write and perform an inaugural poem.

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THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE by V.E. Schwab

(Available Formats: Print Books, Large Print, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

A Faustian bargain comes with a curse that affects the adventure Addie LaRue has across centuries.

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KLARA AND THE SUN by Kazuo Ishiguro

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

An “Artificial Friend” named Klara is purchased to serve as a companion to an ailing 14-year-old girl.

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LATER by Stephen King

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook coming soon)

An N.Y.P.D. detective asks the son of a struggling single mother to use his unnatural ability to track a killer.

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LIFE AFTER DEATH by Sister Souljah

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In a sequel to “The Coldest Winter Ever,” Winter Santiaga emerges after time served and seeks revenge.

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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobooks)

Nora Seed finds a library beyond the edge of the universe that contains books with multiple possibilities of the lives one could have lived.

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NORTHERN SPY by Flynn Berry

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The sister of a BBC producer may have joined the Irish Republican Army.

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OCEAN PREY by John Sandford

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD audiobook & eBook)

The 31st book in the Prey series. When federal officers are killed, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers team up to investigate matters.

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THE RED BOOK by James Patterson and David Ellis

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook & eBook)

The second book in the Black Book thriller series. Chicago detective Billy Harney investigates his own past.

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THE ROSE CODE by Kate Quinn

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook coming shortly)

As a post-World War II royal wedding approaches, an encrypted letter resurrects an alliance between three female code breakers.

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THE SONGS OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout eBook & Audiobook)

 

 A reimagining of Homer’s “Iliad” that is narrated by Achilles’ companion Patroclus.

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STARGAZER by Anne Hillerman

(Available Formats: Print Book & CD Audiobook)

Can Leaphorn give Chee and Manuelito the guidance they need to find the justice they seek?

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THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD audiobook, eBook & downloadable Audiobook)

The lives of twin sisters who run away from a Southern Black community at age 16 diverge as one returns and the other takes on a different racial identity but their fates intertwine.

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WHEN THE STARS GO DARK by Paula McLain

(Available Formats: Print Book & CD Audiobook)

Personal tragedy ushers a missing persons detective back to where she grew up and onto a new case.

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

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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WIN by Harlan Coben

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Windsor Horne Lockwood III might rectify cold cases connected to his family that have eluded the F.B.I. for decades.

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NON-FICTION:

BEAUTIFUL THINGS by Hunter Biden

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The lawyer and artist, who is the son of the current president, details tragedies within his family and his path to sobriety.

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BECOMING by Michelle Obama

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The former first lady describes how she balanced work, family and her husband’s political ascent.

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THE BODY by Bill Bryson

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

An owner’s manual of the human body covering various parts, functions and what happens when things go wrong.

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THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook & Hoopla Audiobook)

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

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BROKEN by Jenny Lawson

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The humorist maps out her mental and physical health journey.

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BROKEN HORSES by Brandi Carlile

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter recounts difficulties during her formative years and her hard-won successes.

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CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson

(Available Formats: Print Book, Audiobook on CD, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist examines aspects of caste systems across civilizations and reveals a rigid hierarchy in America today.

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THE CODE BREAKER by Walter Isaacson

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook coming shortly)

How the Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues invented CRISPR, a tool that can edit DNA.

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EMPIRE OF PAIN by Patrick Radden Keefe

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A portrait of the Sackler family, known for their philanthropy toward institutions around the world, and their involvement with Valium and OxyContin.

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GOD EQUATION by Michio Kaku

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The theoretical physicist explains the controversy around the synthesis of the theory of relativity and quantum theory.

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GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey

(Available Formats: Print Book, Audiobook on CD & Downloadable Audiobook)

The Academy Award-winning actor shares snippets from the diaries he kept over the last 35 years.

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LIGHT OF DAYS by Judy Batalion

(Available Formats: CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

How Jewish women in Poland turned Jewish youth groups into resistance cells to fight the Nazis and helped build systems of underground bunkers.

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ON THE HOUSE by John Boehner

(Available Formats: Print Book; eBook coming shortly)

The former speaker of the House reflects on his time in Washington, key political figures and the current state of the Republican Party.

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A PROMISED LAND by Barack Obama

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

In the first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama offers personal reflections on his formative years and pivotal moments through his first term.

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THE SUM OF US by Heather McGhee

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The chair of the board of the racial justice organization Color of Change analyzes the impact of racism on the economy.

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THINK AGAIN by Adam Grant

(Available Formats: Print Book)

An examination of the cognitive skills of rethinking and unlearning that could be used to adapt to a rapidly changing world.

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UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle

(Available Formats: Print Book, Audiobook on CD, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

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

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Be well and read on!

Linda Reimer, SSL

 

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*Information on the Three Catalogs*

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

The Digital Catalog has two companion apps, Libby & OverDrive. Libby is the app for newer devices and the OverDrive app should be used for older devices and Amazon tablets.

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

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

The Hoopla Catalog features instant check outs of eBooks, downloadable audiobook, comic books, albums and streaming videos. Patron check out limit is 4 items per month.

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

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

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StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

The StarCat app is called Bookmyne and is available for Apple and Android devices.

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Southeast Steuben County Library Tel: 607-936-3713

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, welcome to our Suggested Listening posting for this week!

Suggested Listening postings are published on Fridays; and our next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, April 30, 2021.

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Black Like Me by Mickey Guyton (Genre: Country)

Singer-songwriter Mickey Guyton has been working in the music field as a songwriter for more than ten years; and has previously released several EPs. Black Like Me is the insightful single that brought her music to the attention of mainstream music fans.

From The EP: Bridges (2020).

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Feel So Good by Junior Kimbrough (Genre: Blues)

Mississippi based Junior Kimbrough played an earthy, juke-style blues – very cool!

If you haven’t heard his music before, check it out!

From The Album: First Recordings (1966).

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The Foothills by Sara Watkins (Genre: Folk, Americana)

Singer-songwriter and fiddle player Sara Watkins first came to the attention of music fans as a member of the bluegrass band Nickel Creek. In 2009, she branched out and launched a successful solo career, recording an array of insightful folk songs along the way.

And as the song The Foothills is a rather short, but grand, instrumental; here is another song from the same album:

You’re The One I Love with Fiona Apple

From The Album: Sun Midnight Sun (2012)

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I Shall Not Be Moved by Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi (Genre: Folk, Americana, Vocal)

A new song from the brand-new album by the very talented multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter!

From The Album: They’re Calling Me Home (2021).

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I’ve Got To See You Again by Nora Jones (Genre: Jazz, Vocal)

Jazz singer Nora Jones delivers her first ever live album!

From The Album: ‘Til We Meet Again (Live) (2021)
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No Such Thing by Sara Bareilles (Genre: Pop-Rock)

A terrific song from the talented singer-songwriter and pianist!

From The Album: Amidst The Chaos (2019).

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Put Your Record On by Corinne Bailey Rae (Genre: R&B, Pop)

Corinne Bailey Rae is a gifted singer-songwriter and guitarist; and this upbeat song has a spring-tinged feel to it!

From The Album: The Heart Speaks In Whispers (2015).

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Stagger Lee by Lloyd Price (Genre: R&B, Pop-Rock)

Stagger Lee was a smash hit for the New Orleans based Lloyd Price. Price was known far and wide for his flamboyant concert performances, as “Mr. Personality” , and you can even hear his enthusaism in his music!

From The Album: Stagger Lee (1959).

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Tambo by Rubén Blades (Genre: Jazz, Latin)

The great salsa player Rubén Blades is still going strong, and recording upbeat tunes at the age of 72!

From The Album: SALSWING! (2021)
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Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers (Genre: Soul, Pop)

The classic blue-eyed soul duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield with one of their most popular songs.

From The Album: One For The Road (1968).

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Hoopla Recommendation of the Week

The Plastic Ono Band Ultimate Edition (2021) by John Lennon with Yoko Ono (Genre: Rock)

The Plastic Ono Band Ultimate Collection features 121 songs recorded during the sessions for the original Plastic Ono Band album, which was released in 1970.

Beatles and Lennon fans – check it out!

Hold On by John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band

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Have a good weekend,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Online References

AllMusic. 2021. AllMusic | Record Reviews, Streaming Songs, Genres & Bands. [online] Available at: <https://www.allmusic.com/&gt;.

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Weekly References

Blake, J. (2021, January 1). This Black country singer wrote the most powerful song about race in 2020. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/31/entertainment/mickey-guyton-country-singer/index.html
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Leight, E. (2021, April 16). Song You Need to Know: Rubén Blades, ‘Tambó.’ Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/ruben-blades-tambo-song-review-1153017/
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Rogers, J. (2021, April 16). Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi: They’re Calling Me Home review – big, beautiful laments. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/apr/16/rhiannon-giddens-and-francesco-turrisi-theyre-calling-me-home-review
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Tucker, K. (2020, September 22). Country Singer Mickey Guyton Opens Up About Race And Gender In “Black Like Me.” NPR WSKG. https://www.npr.org/2020/09/22/915611804/country-singer-mickey-guyton-opens-up-about-race-and-gender-in-black-like-me

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Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

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

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The Digital Catalog (OverDrive & Libby Apps)

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

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Hoopla

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

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our recommended reads for the week.

Format Note: Under each book title you’ll find a list of all the different formats that specific title is available in; including: Print Books, Large Print Books, CD Audiobooks, eBooks & Downloadable Audiobooks from the Digital Catalog (OverDrive & Libby apps) and Hoopla eBooks & Hoopla Downloadable Audiobooks (Hoopla App).

*More information on the three catalogs is found at the end of the list of recommended reads*

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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Tuesdays. The next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Tuesday, April 27, 2021.

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Beneath The Keep by Erika Johansen

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Johansen takes readers back to the world of the Tearling with a stand-alone novel set 20 years before the events in The Queen of the Tearling (2014). It is a time of drought, famine, and civil unrest. The aristocracy have no sense of noblesse oblige, the church is run by hypocrites, and the queen rules through fear and intimidation. Princess Elyssa is nothing like her mother and hopes she can become her people’s prophesied True Queen. Her dream of saving her kingdom and providing justice for all will be immutably impacted–for good or ill–by a brutal young slave with aspirations of escaping to freedom and a deviously callous procurer with designs on the throne. The story considers the nature of forgiveness, the use and abuse of power, and the morality of right and wrong as characters develop in unexpected ways. The dramatic climax will have readers questioning who the real hero is at the end of this compelling tale of epic fantasy. Series fans will be intrigued to discover the background details of individuals who are pivotal to events in the trilogy, and those new to the series will want to find out what comes next. – Booklist Reivew

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Guilt at the Garage by Simon Brett

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout eBook)

Brett takes a shrewd look at the nasty side of village life in his slyly witty 20th Fethering mystery (after 2019’s The Killer in the Choir). When garage owner Bill Shefford, a longtime widower, returns home to Fethering, “a village of unimpeachable middle-class propriety, minding its own business in West Sussex on the South Coast of England,” from a vacation in Thailand with Malee, his beautiful new bride, the locals are quick to brand Malee a gold digger who’s out to cheat Billy, Bill’s son, out of his rightful inheritance. The noxious flow of village gossip escalates when a gearbox falls on Bill’s head while he’s working on a car, killing him. The tone darkens as the series leads—Carole Seddon, a straight-laced retired civil servant, and her zaftig neighbor, Jude Nichols, an alternative healer—investigate the circumstances surrounding Bill’s death. The disparate duo uncover a crime even more sinister than outright murder. Well-developed subplots support the intricate narrative. Brett proves once again to be a master of the amateur sleuth genre.

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Killer Content by Olivia Blacke

(Available Formats: Print Book)

It’s murder most viral in this debut mystery by Olivia Blacke.

Bayou transplant Odessa Dean has a lot to learn about life in Brooklyn. So far she’s scored a rent free apartment in one of the nicest neighborhoods around by cat-sitting, and has a new job working at Untapped Books & Café. Hand-selling books and craft beers is easy for Odessa, but making new friends and learning how to ride the subway? Well, that might take her a little extra time.

But things turn more sour than an IPA when the death of a fellow waitress goes viral, caught on camera in the background of a couple’s flash-mob proposal video. Nothing about Bethany’s death feels right to Odessa—neither her sudden departure mid-shift nor the clues that only Odessa seems to catch. As an up-and-coming YouTube star, Bethany had more than one viewer waiting for her to fall from grace.

Determined to prove there’s a killer on the loose, Odessa takes matters into her own hands. But can she pin down Bethany’s killer before they take Odessa offline for good?

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Mrs. Jeffries Demands Justice by Emily Brightwell

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout audiobook)

In Brightwell’s energetic 39th Victorian mystery (after 2019’s Mrs. Jeffries and the Alms of the Angel), Mrs. Jeffries, the smart housekeeper of Insp. Gerald Witherspoon, is on the case when her employer’s well-born colleague, Insp. Nigel Nivens, is implicated in the fatal shooting of iceman Bert Santorini in Whitechapel, and Witherspoon’s superior, who’s eager to end press accusations that the Metropolitan Police will cover up a crime committed by one of their own, assigns the inspector to the investigation. Though the weaselly Nivens has double-crossed Witherspoon in the past to get ahead, Mrs. Jeffries believes that everyone deserves justice, and deploys her fellow servants and other associates to pump residents for information. They soon learn that Santorini had numerous enemies, was romancing his landlady as well as a barmaid, seemed quite friendly with a notorious pickpocket, had an unexplained cache of cash, and may have sent innocent men to prison through false testimony. But why is Nivens acting so suspiciously? Memorable characters resonate amid the unusual scenario of an unsympathetic prime suspect. Both longtime fans and readers new to the series will have a grand time. Publisher Weekly Review

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Northern Spy by Flynn Berry

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Berry juxtaposes the pleasures, wonder, and frustrations of life with a baby against a journalist’s life in contemporary Northern Ireland. Terrorism first encroaches on Tessa Daly’s life as a single mother when she sees her sister, Marian, on TV donning a ski mask to rob a bank with IRA members. Baby care and work fade to insignificance as Tessa scrambles to determine where her sister is, whether she was kidnapped by the terrorists and forced to do take part in the robbery, and how to get her home. That’s just the start of this twisting thriller, though, as Tessa becomes far more involved with the terrorists’ cause than she ever planned, risking her life to save all she loves. Edgar-winning Berry (Under the Harrow, 2016) unobtrusively uses Tessa’s agonizing journey to portray life in the IRA and the nonchalance of the British forces toward Northern Ireland’s locals, in the process dropping readers headfirst into the emotions of living in conflict. Berry’s portrayal of Irish life is uncannily accurate; give this to all who love an emotional thriller, but also to Irish and Irish American patrons seeking a no-shamrocks look at Ireland in the not-so-distant past. Booklist Review

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The Officer’s Daughter: A Memoir of Family and Forgiveness by Elle Johnson

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Screen writer Johnson debuts with a beautiful and emotional memoir of a family tragedy. In 1981, her cousin and best friend, 16-year-old Karen Marsh, was killed in a botched Burger King robbery in the Bronx. In 2014, Karen’s brother asked her to write a letter to the parole board asking to keep the convicted killer in prison, which prompted Johnson to revisit the incident and the devastating effects it had on her family. At the time of the crime, Johnson’s father was an NYPD parole officer and her uncle was an NYPD homicide detective, and before the suspects were caught she overheard them talking about finding and killing them. Her relationship with her father, a controlling man who beat her mother, was already strained, and overhearing this made it more so. Eventually, two teenage boys involved in the robbery turned themselves in, and the shooter was tracked to California and returned for trial. All received lengthy prison sentences and were denied parole multiple times, but they were eventually released. Johnson never did write the letter, because she waited until it was too late. By researching the case and revisiting her past, though, she finally found forgiveness, for the robbers and her own father. Assured prose bolsters the personal insights. This searing story deserves a wide readership. Agent: Eric Simonoff, WME. Starred PW Review

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Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis by Jeffrey H. Jackson

(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook & downloadable audiobook)

Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe were two singular, if long unsung, figures of WWII French artists, lesbians, subversive and unapologetically empathetic to humanity. As gender-bending creatives in Paris, Schwob and Malherbe were known as Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, respectively. As residents of the English Channel island of Jersey, they were a two-woman resistance movement against the Nazi occupation. The paper bullets of the title refer to insults against Hitler and the Nazis that they wrote on scraps of paper and ingeniously and secretly distributed around the island to lower the morale of German soldiers. It is a remarkable story of creative courage. Historian Jackson (Paris under Water, 2010) describes life on the island under German occupation and the women’s elaborate resistance campaigns until the rueful day both were placed under arrest. Schwob and Malherbe’s fierce intelligence is on full display during their court martial, which was a tour de force of cunning and truth telling, including moments of levity, as they parried every question, leaving their German interrogators angry and baffled, since they showed no regret for their actions nor pled for their lives. Most political propaganda is designed to prevent people from thinking. Ours was designed to make them [the German soldiers] think, said Schwob. Exceptional and inspiring. Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.) Starred Booklist Review

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A Piece of the Moon by Chris Fabry

(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla instant checkout eBook & downloadable audiobook)

Waite Evers oversees an eccentric cast of misfits at a dilapidated 1980s country music radio station in West Virginia’s Hill Country. The main news of the day is a local legend about Gideon Quidley’s treasure, supposedly worth enough to lift the whole town of Emmaus out of poverty. The unconventional Quidley hid the windfall in a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, which he then concealed somewhere in the mountains. In an effort to spark religious revival, Quidley left a series of Bible verse clues for the community, but when a local pastor is gravely injured searching for the gold, the radio crew feels responsible for feeding the treasure madness. Waite and his friends decide to solve the mystery to heal the division in their small town. VERDICT Every title by Fabry (Borders of the Heart) draws readers into the story with clear, honest writing in a similar style to Charles Martin and Lynn Austin. The rural South comes to life, with themes of forgiveness and second chances as highlights. The characters are both deeply flawed and immensely relatable, making this another hit for Fabry.–Christine Barth, Scott Cty. Lib. Syst., IA – Library Journal

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Three Missing Days by Colleen Coble

(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla instant checkout eBook & downloadable audiobook)

Book Three in the gripping romantic suspense series from USA TODAY bestselling author Colleen Coble.

A chilling murder.
Chief of Police Jane Hardy plunges into the investigation of a house fire that claimed the life of a local woman as well as one of the firefighters. It’s clear the woman was murdered. But why? The unraveling of Jane’s personal life only makes the answers in the case more difficult to find.

Her son’s arrest.
Then Jane’s fifteen-year-old son is accused of a horrific crime, and she has to decide whether or not she can trust her ex, Reid, in the attempt to prove Will’s innocence—and whether she can trust Reid with her heart.

Her stolen memories.
Three days of Jane’s past are missing from her memory, and that’s not all that has been stolen from her. As she works to find the woman’s murdered and clear her son’s name, finding out what happened in those three days could change everything.

It all started with one little lie. But the gripping truth is finally coming out.

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When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson

(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook & downloadable audiobook)

In this moving, suspenseful debut novel, three courageous women confront the complexities of trust, friendship, motherhood, and betrayal under the rule of a ruthless dictator and his brutal secret police. Former foreign correspondent Gina Wilkinson draws on her own experiences to take readers inside a haunting story of Iraq at the turn of the millennium and the impossible choices faced by families under a deadly regime.

At night, in Huda’s fragrant garden, a breeze sweeps in from the desert encircling Baghdad, rustling the leaves of her apricot trees and carrying warning of visitors at her gate. Huda, a secretary at the Australian embassy, lives in fear of the mukhabarat-the secret police who watch and listen for any scrap of information that can be used against America and its allies. They have ordered her to befriend Ally Wilson, the deputy ambassador’s wife. Huda has no wish to be an informant, but fears for her teenaged son, who may be forced to join a deadly militia. Nor does she know that Ally has dangerous secrets of her own.

Huda’s former friend, Rania, enjoyed a privileged upbringing as the daughter of a sheikh. Now her family’s wealth is gone, and Rania too is battling to keep her child safe and a roof over their heads. As the women’s lives intersect, their hidden pasts spill into the present. Facing possible betrayal at every turn, all three must trust in a fragile, newfound loyalty, even as they discover how much they are willing to sacrifice to protect their families.

“Vivid…secrets and lies mingle as easily as the scent of apricot blossoms and nargilah smoke. Wilkinson weaves in the miasma of fear and distrust that characterized Hussein’s regime with convincing detail. Richly drawn characters and high-stakes plot.”-Publishers Weekly

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Have a great week!

Linda Reimer

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*Information on the Three Catalogs*

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

The Digital Catalog, a catalog containing eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, Digital Magazines and a handful of streaming videos, has two companion apps, Libby & OverDrive. Libby is the app for newer devices and the OverDrive app should be used for older devices and Amazon tablets.

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

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

The Hoopla Catalog features instant checkouts of eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV series. Patron check out limit is 6 items per month.

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

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

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StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

The StarCat app is called Bookmyne and is available for Apple and Android devices.

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

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Have questions or want to request a book?

Feel free to call the library! Our telephone number is 607-936-3713.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here is the latest edition of Library Connections, our weekly readers, viewers and listeners advisory videocast.

The next Library Connections video will be posted on Monday, April 26 2021.

Have a great day,
Linda Reimer, SSCL

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

Each title is followed by a listing of which formats it is available in for check out within the three catalogs: StarCat (Print, Large Print & CD Audiobooks), The Digital Catalog (eBook & Downloadable Audiobook) and the Hoopla Catalog (Hoopla instant checkout eBook & Hoopla Audiobook).

For more information on the three catalogs skip to the section below the bestselling titles*

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New York Times Bestseller blog postings are published on Sundays; and the next New York Times Bestselling blog posting will be published on Sunday, April 25, 2021.

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FICTION

THE DUKE AND I by Julia Quinn

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The first book in the Bridgerton series. Daphne Bridgerton’s reputation soars when she colludes with the Duke of Hastings. The basis of the Netflix series “Bridgerton.”

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ETERNAL by Lisa Scottoline

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook)

Three people involved in a love triangle find everything they hold dear is tested as Mussolini’s power grows and laws change in Rome.

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FIRST PERSON SINGULAR by Haruki Murakami

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A collection of eight short stories on love, childhood and memory.

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THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

As dust storms roll during the Great Depression, Elsa must choose between saving the family and farm or heading West.

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GOOD COMPANY by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The foundation of a marriage between actors is shaken when they reunite with an old friend who is now a TV star

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THE HILL WE CLIMB by Amanda Gorman

(Available Formats: Print, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The poem read on President Joe Biden’s Inauguration Day, by the youngest poet to write and perform an inaugural poem.

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THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE by V.E. Schwab

(Available Formats: Print Books, Large Print, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

A Faustian bargain comes with a curse that affects the adventure Addie LaRue has across centuries.

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KLARA AND THE SUN by Kazuo Ishiguro

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

An “Artificial Friend” named Klara is purchased to serve as a companion to an ailing 14-year-old girl.

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LATER by Stephen King

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook coming soon)

An N.Y.P.D. detective asks the son of a struggling single mother to use his unnatural ability to track a killer.

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LIFE AFTER DEATH by Sister Souljah

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In a sequel to “The Coldest Winter Ever,” Winter Santiaga emerges after time served and seeks revenge.

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LIFE’S TOO SHORT by Abby Jimenez

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The third book in the Friend Zone series. Vanessa Price deals with unexpected changes.

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LOST APOTHECARY by Sarah Penner

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

An aspiring historian in London finds a clue that might put to rest unsolved apothecary murders from 200 years ago

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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobooks)

Nora Seed finds a library beyond the edge of the universe that contains books with multiple possibilities of the lives one could have lived.

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NORTHERN SPY by Flynn Berry

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The sister of a BBC producer may have joined the Irish Republican Army.

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THE RED BOOK by James Patterson and David Ellis

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook & eBook)

The second book in the Black Book thriller series. Chicago detective Billy Harney investigates his own past.

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THE ROSE CODE by Kate Quinn

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook coming shortly)

As a post-World War II royal wedding approaches, an encrypted letter resurrects an alliance between three female code breakers.

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THE SONGS OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)

 

 A reimagining of Homer’s “Iliad” that is narrated by Achilles’ companion Patroclus.

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VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD audiobook, eBook & downloadable audiobook)

The lives of twin sisters who run away from a Southern Black community at age 16 diverge as one returns and the other takes on a different racial identity but their fates intertwine.

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

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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WIN by Harlan Coben

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Windsor Horne Lockwood III might rectify cold cases connected to his family that have eluded the F.B.I. for decades.

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YOU LOVE ME by Caroline Kepnes

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The third book in the You series. Joe becomes interested in a librarian who appears to be too busy for him.

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NON-FICTION:

BEAUTIFUL THINGS by Hunter Biden

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The lawyer and artist, who is the son of the current president, details tragedies within his family and his path to sobriety.

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BODY by Bill Bryson

(Available Formats: eBook & downloadable audiobook)

An owner’s manual of the human body covering various parts, functions and what happens when things go wrong.

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BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook & Hoopla Audiobook)

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

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BROKEN by Jenny Lawson

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD audiobook, eBook & downloadable audiobook)

The humorist maps out her mental and physical health journey.

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BROKEN HORSES by Brandi Carlile

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter recounts difficulties during her formative years and her hard-won successes.

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CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson

(Available Formats: Print Book, Audiobook on CD, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist examines aspects of caste systems across civilizations and reveals a rigid hierarchy in America today.

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THE CODE BREAKER by Walter Isaacson

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook coming shortly)

How the Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues invented CRISPR, a tool that can edit DNA.

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GOD EQUATION by Michio Kaku

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The theoretical physicist explains the controversy around the synthesis of the theory of relativity and quantum theory.

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GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey

(Available Formats: Print Book, Audiobook on CD & Downloadable Audiobook)

The Academy Award-winning actor shares snippets from the diaries he kept over the last 35 years.

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KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON by David Grann

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD audiobook, eBook & downloadable audiobook)

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

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LIGHT OF DAYS by Judy Batalion

(Available Formats: CD audiobook, eBook & downloadable audiobook)

How Jewish women in Poland turned Jewish youth groups into resistance cells to fight the Nazis and helped build systems of underground bunkers.

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PHILIP ROTH by Blake Bailey

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A look at the life and work of the renowned novelist and short-story writer, based on his archive and interviews with his colleagues.

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A PROMISED LAND by Barack Obama

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

In the first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama offers personal reflections on his formative years and pivotal moments through his first term.

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THE SUM OF US by Heather McGhee

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The chair of the board of the racial justice organization Color of Change analyzes the impact of racism on the economy.

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THINK AGAIN by Adam Grant

(Available Formats: Print Book)

An examination of the cognitive skills of rethinking and unlearning that could be used to adapt to a rapidly changing world.

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THIS IS THE FIRE by Don Lemon

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The CNN host looks at the impact of racism on his life and prescribes ways to address systemic flaws in America.

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UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle

(Available Formats: Print Book, Audiobook on CD, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

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

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Be well and read on!

Linda Reimer, SSL

 

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*Information on the Three Catalogs*

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

The Digital Catalog has two companion apps, Libby & OverDrive. Libby is the app for newer devices and the OverDrive app should be used for older devices and Amazon tablets.

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

–

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

The Hoopla Catalog features instant check outs of eBooks, downloadable audiobook, comic books, albums and streaming videos. Patron check out limit is 4 items per month.

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

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

–

StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

The StarCat app is called Bookmyne and is available for Apple and Android devices.

–

Southeast Steuben County Library Tel: 607-936-3713

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, welcome to our Suggested Listening posting for this week!

Suggested Listening postings are published on Fridays; and our next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, April 23, 2021.

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Ain’t Nobody’s Business by Erwin Helfer (Genre: Blues, Jazz)

The piano master Erwin Helfer and friends, have crafted a wonderful swinging album that clearly shows their friendship with each other; and their love for the music. Very cool! Check it out!

From The Album: Celebrate The Journey (2021)

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Chimes Of Freedom By Bob Dylan (Genre: Folk)

Bob Dylan with one of his long-in-depth story telling songs!

From the album: Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964)

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If I Had A Hammer by Pete Seeger (Genre: Folk)

Another master folk player with a song that he co-wrote!

(Notable as the Peter, Paul & Mary version got much wider player)

From The Album: Strangers And Cousins (1964).

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Island of Dreams by The Seekers (Genre: Folk, Pop)

Australia’s premier folk group with a perfectly introspective folk song!

From The Album: Comes The Day (1966)

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Java by Al Hirt (Genre: Jazz, Trumpet)

A terrifically upbeat instrumental from the great Dixieland trumpeter and his band!

From The Album: Honey In The Horn (1963)

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On The Road by Canned Heat (Blues-Rock)

Canned Heat was founded by blues lovers Bob Hite and Alan Wilson; the band made their performing debut at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, played at the original Woodstock concert and, unfortunately, lost their lead vocalist and harmonicist Bob Hite in 1970. Alan Wilson continued to lead the band until his death the early 1980s.

From The Album: Boogie With Canned Heat (1968)

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Rhythm Is Our Business by Jimmie Lunceford (Genre: Jazz)

Jimmie Lunceford is an underappreciated & flamboyant band leader of Swing era. This video was recorded live in the 1930s!

From The Album: It’s The Way That You Swing It – The Hits Of Jimmie Lunceford (2007)

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Shake, Rattle & Roll by Big Joe Turner (Blues, Jazz)

The original version of a song that was a bigger hit for Bill Haley and his Comets; if you like swinging music though – this is the version of the song for you!

From The Album: The Best of Joe Turner (1963) (Atlantic).

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Sleepwalk by Santo & Johnny (Instrumental, Guitar, Pop-Rock)

Brothers & instrumentalist Santo and Johnny Farina with their smash hit from 1959.

From The Album: The Very Best of Santo & Johnny (2013)

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Smokestack Lightning by Howlin’ Wolf (Genre: Blues)

The blues giant with one of his classic songs!

From The Album: Moanin’ In The Moonlight (1959)

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A Taste of Honey by Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass (Easy Listening, Jazz, Pop)

Another upbeat instrumental and one of band leader and trumpet player Alpert’s most popular songs!

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Hoopla Recommendation of the Week

Alone With My Faith by Harry Connick Jr. (2021) (Genre: Jazz, Piano)

Harry Connick changes his pace, and offers listeners a spiritual album with his 2021 release!

And from that same album the song:

Benevolent Man

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Have a good weekend,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Online References

AllMusic. 2021. AllMusic | Record Reviews, Streaming Songs, Genres & Bands. [online] Available at: <https://www.allmusic.com/&gt;.

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Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

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

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The Digital Catalog (OverDrive & Libby Apps)

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

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Hoopla

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

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here is the latest edition of Library Connections, our weekly readers, viewers and listeners advisory videocast.

The next Library Connections video will be posted on Monday, April 19, 2021.

Have a great day,
Linda Reimer, SSCL

P.S. A better, and non-cockeyed version, of the Odd Duck section of last weeks’ tour of streaming video players and smart TVs is included!

Hi everyone, here are our recommended reads for the week.

Format Note: Under each book title you’ll find a list of all the different formats that specific title is available in; including: Print Books, Large Print Books, CD Audiobooks, eBooks & Downloadable Audiobooks from the Digital Catalog (OverDrive & Libby apps) and Hoopla eBooks & Hoopla Downloadable Audiobooks (Hoopla App).

*More information on the three catalogs is found at the end of the list of recommended reads*

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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Tuesdays. The next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Tuesday, April 20, 2021.

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After Me Comes The Flood by Sarah Perry

(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla instant checkout eBook & downloadable audiobook)

On a hot summer day, John Cole closes his London bookshop and travels to his brother’s home on the Norfolk coast. Forgetting a map, he loses his way and comes upon a rundown house whose five residents somehow are expecting him. Appreciative of his welcome, he fails to inform his hosts that this must be a case of mistaken identity. In chapters toggling from Cole’s first-person voice to third-person accounts, the backgrounds and connections between the residents, who met at a nearby mental hospital, are revealed. One of them, a former patient at the hospital, has deepening concerns about a growing crack in the nearby reservoir that he fears will soon break open and flood their domicile. What compels the reader most in this tale of obsession, guilt, and love, with a religious underpinning, is the dreamlike atmosphere that Perry conjures in the most elegant of prose. This is the first U.S. release of Perry’s debut novel, originally published in the UK in 2014, before her lauded The Essex Serpent (2017) and Melmoth (2018); she has described the three books as a gothic trilogy, with this one the most focused on psychological suspense. A treat for Perry fans and all readers who appreciate ambiguity. Starred Booklist Review

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Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Hoopla instant checkout audiobook)

For readers of Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing and Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, this extraordinary historical debut novel follows three fierce Southern women in an unforgettable story of motherhood and womanhood.

It’s 1924 in Branchville, South Carolina and three women have come to a crossroads. Gertrude, a mother of four, must make an unconscionable decision to save her daughters. Retta, a first-generation freed slave, comes to Gertrude’s aid by watching her children, despite the gossip it causes in her community. Annie, the matriarch of the influential Coles family, offers Gertrude employment at her sewing circle, while facing problems of her own at home.

These three women seemingly have nothing in common, yet as they unite to stand up to injustices that have long plagued the small town, they find strength in the bond that ties women together. Told in the pitch-perfect voices of Gertrude, Retta, and Annie, Call Your Daughter Home is an emotional, timeless story about the power of family, community, and ferocity of motherhood.

“Like Jill McCorkle and Sue Monk Kidd, Spera probes the comfort and strength women find in their own company.”— O, The Oprah Magazine

“A mesmerizing Southern tale…Authentic, gripping, a page-turner, yet also a novel filled with language that begs to be savored.”— Lisa Wingate, New York Times Bestselling Author of Before We Were Yours

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I Am An Executioner: Love Stories by Rajesh Parameswaran

(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout audiobook)

A debut story collection from Parameswaran. The book opens with “The Infamous Bengal Ming,” narrated by a tiger who expresses affection for his keeper in the only language available to him, a fatal combination of mauling and love-biting; he then escapes the zoo to commit other acts of mayhem, under which lies a misunderstood tenderness. This tour de force sets the tone and the stage for these dark, rollickingly imaginative stories in which the powers of love and savagery are loosed upon each other again and again. In the title story, a semi-literate (and also fancily semi-literary) hangman tries to seduce his new wife despite her disgust at discovering the way he makes his living. Meanwhile, he tries to negotiate between the equal and opposite forces in him of compassion and brutishness.

In “The Strange Career of Dr. Raju Gopalarajan,” a fired computer salesman, an Indian-born American who believes deeply–too deeply–in the immigrant dream of self-reinvention, checks out anatomy texts from the public library and sets up shop in an exurban strip mall, claiming to be a doctor.

Other stories feature a panopticonic security state in which everyone seems to be a government agent spying on everyone else; an elephant composing a memoir (in “Englaphant, that strange tongue native to all places of elephant-human contact,” we’re told); an Indian woman soldiering on with Thanksgiving plans despite the fact that her husband lies dead on the floor.

The stories–some published in journals like McSweeney’s, Granta and Zoetrope–can sometimes be arch and tricksome, and they’re not for everyone. But Parameswaran is a dazzlingly versatile stylist and the conceits and voices here are varied and evocative. An inventive, impressive and witty book. –Kirkus Reivew

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The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Stonex’s story is based on a real-life event in 1900, when three lighthouse keepers disappeared from their remote lighthouse in the Outer Hebrides and were never seen again. This tale begins on New Year’s Eve 1972 and focuses on Arthur, Bill, and Vince, the keepers at an isolated lighthouse off the Cornish coast. Just before they’re due home for shore leave, they disappear. Fast-forward 20 years, and the three men’s families are still in limbo because the mystery of what happened has never been solved. Now, however, a respected author has decided to investigate. He finds three women who have dealt very differently with the men’s disappearance, but all three are still haunted by it. What might have happened is seen through flashbacks and the individual stories told by the missing keepers. Stonex’s unique tale juxtaposes oddly compelling reality–the daily challenges of being a lighthouse keeper for the men and their families–against a series of strange, poignant, near-mystical happenings that will pull readers in and keep them mesmerized right to the end. A fine read. – Booklist Reivew

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Little Bitty Lies by Mary Kay Andrews

(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla instant checkout eBook & downloadable audiobook)

New York Times bestselling author Mary Kay Andrews delivers another treasure of a comic novel. Little Bitty Lies is a tantalizing tale about an abandoned Atlanta housewife and mother who tells one tiny white lie that sets her world spiraling outrageously out of control. This winning and wonderful romp focuses on about all the important things in life: marriage and divorce, mothers and daughters, friendship and betrayal. Throw in small town secrets, one woman’s lifelong quest for home, and the perfect chicken salad recipe, and you have an ideal escape for fans of Fannie Flagg, Jennifer Crusie, Adriana Trigiani, Emily Giffin, and the Sweet Potato Queens. No lie!

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Summer By The River by Debbie Burns

(Available Formats: eBook, Hoopla instant checkout eBook & downloadable audiobook)

Bestselling author Debbie Burns combines her love for rescue dogs with a compelling woman’s journey in her brand new romantic women’s fiction.

Making a fresh start in a new part of the country is challenging, but fate and good fortune lead Josie Waterhill and six-year-old Zoe from urban war-zone LA to cozy Galena, Illinois—a famous Midwestern small town right on the river. There, Josie can raise Zoe away from the violent life she once knew, and make a new home in the historic house where they’ve been invited to stay. The situation is perfect, until Josie’s elderly landlord Myra welcomes more guests—journalist Carter O’Brien and his giant rescue dog, Buttercup. Carter is charming, compassionate…and way too curious. Carter’s interest in Josie deepens and he inadvertently stirs up trouble when he uncovers things that Josie would rather not have known. Ready or not, love happens and Josie has to let go of her painful past so she can create a glorious future.

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The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling (The Hoopla audio is read by read by Bonnie Wright, Evanna Lynch, Jason Isaacs & Jude Law)

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)

As every fan of the Harry Potter stories knows, the shelves of the Hogwarts Library are home to all sorts of fascinating books. There are three in particular you might have heard mentioned by certain Hogwarts students, and that you can add to your reading list too, including The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

As familiar to Hogwarts students as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are to Muggle children, Beedle’s stories are a collection of popular fairy tales written for young witches and wizards. So, if you’re wondering what’s in store… well, you’re in for a treat!

You’re bound to laugh when you read about the havoc wreaked by a father’s impish gift to his son in The Wizard and the Hopping Pot.

The Fountain of Fair Fortune will take you on a quest through an enchanted garden, alongside three witches and a luckless knight.

In The Warlock’s Hairy Heart you’ll be warned about a young warlock who is fearful of love, and turns to dark magic to avoid it at all costs.

The calamitous meeting of a foolish king, a cunning charlatan and a mischievous washerwoman unravels in Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump.

And finally, the most iconic of Beedle’s stories. The Tale of the Three Brothers – with its message of humility and wisdom – will introduce you, dear reader, to the Deathly Hallows.

Each of the tales is accompanied by wise and whimsical notes from a certain Albus Dumbledore, surely everyone’s favourite headmaster.

We’re told these five fables have been firm favourites in wizarding households for centuries. Now it’s your turn to experience these tales from the Wizarding World.

Note To Harry Potter Fans: All the Harry Potter eBooks & downloadable audiobooks are available for instant checkout in the Hoopla catalog!

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This Could Change Everything by Jill Mansell

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, Hoopla instant checkout eBook & downloadable audiobook)

International bestseller Jill Mansell crafts the perfect summertime tale, filled with love, friendship, and the power of redemption. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll never want the story to end. All it takes is one email to end her relationship, get her kicked out of her apartment, and just about ruin her life. Essie Phillips never meant for her private rant about her boss to be sent to everyone in her address book, but as soon as it goes viral, her life as she knows it is over. Solution: move to a new town, find a new job, make new friends. If only it were as simple as that…

What People Are Saying About Jill Mansell: “Captivating, warm, lighthearted and funny!”-What’s Better Than Books for Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay “Readers will hang on every word, falling in love with the story, its characters and its emotions.”-RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars for Three Amazing Things About You “Vivid and enchanting.”- Kirkus Reviews for You and Me, Always

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Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Hoopla instant checkout eBook)

As the acclaimed Patternist science fiction series begins, two immortals meet in the long-ago past—and mankind’s destiny is changed forever.

For a thousand years, Doro has cultivated a small African village, carefully breeding its people in search of seemingly unattainable perfection. He survives through the centuries by stealing the bodies of others, a technique he has so thoroughly mastered that nothing on Earth can kill him. But when a gang of New World slavers destroys his village, ruining his grand experiment, Doro is forced to go west and begin anew.

He meets Anyanwu, a centuries-old woman whose means of immortality are as kind as his are cruel. She is a shapeshifter, capable of healing with a kiss, and she recognizes Doro as a tyrant. Though many humans have tried to kill them, these two demi-gods have never before met a rival. Now they begin a struggle that will last centuries and permanently alter the nature of humanity.

Hugo and Nebula award–winning author Octavia E. Butler’s sweeping cross-century epic places her “among the best of contemporary SF writers” (Houston Chronicle).

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The Windsor Knot: A Novel by S. J. Bennett

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

British children’s author Bennett (The Look as Sophia Bennett) makes her adult debut with the delightful first in a series featuring Queen Elizabeth II as sleuth. One day in the spring of 2016, the queen is hosting a gathering at Windsor Castle when a young Russian pianist is found dead in a guest bedroom. First ruled a suicide, the death turns out to be murder, and MI5 suspects it’s an inside job by a sleeper agent planted at Windsor by Vladimir Putin. But when the authorities begin questioning the queen’s staff, Her Majesty, whose loyalty to her people is as deep as theirs is to her, decides to conduct her own discreet investigation with the help of her assistant private secretary, Rozie Oshodi. Rozie is impressed with the queen’s keen observations, as well as HM’s ability to plant ideas and steer the investigation without anyone the wiser. As Rozie learns, the queen has had lots of practice. She’s been quietly solving mysteries for decades. Bennett’s depiction of the warm, wise, and witty queen and the insights into her royal life are fascinating. Fans of Netflix’s The Crown will have fun. -Publishers Weekly Review

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Have a great week!

Linda Reimer

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*Information on the Three Catalogs*

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

The Digital Catalog, a catalog containing eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, Digital Magazines and a handful of streaming videos, has two companion apps, Libby & OverDrive. Libby is the app for newer devices and the OverDrive app should be used for older devices and Amazon tablets.

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

–

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

The Hoopla Catalog features instant checkouts of eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV series. Patron check out limit is 6 items per month.

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

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

–

StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

The StarCat app is called Bookmyne and is available for Apple and Android devices.

–

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

–

Have questions or want to request a book?

Feel free to call the library! Our telephone number is 607-936-3713.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

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

Each title is followed by a listing of which formats it is available in for check out within the three catalogs: StarCat (Print, Large Print & CD Audiobooks), The Digital Catalog (eBook & Downloadable Audiobook) and the Hoopla Catalog (Hoopla instant checkout eBook & Hoopla Audiobook).

For more information on the three catalogs skip to the section below the bestselling titles*

–

New York Times Bestseller blog postings are published on Sundays; and the next New York Times Bestselling blog posting will be published on Sunday, April 18, 2021.

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FICTION

A COURT OF SILVER FLAMES by Sarah J. Maas

(Available Format: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The fifth book in A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Nesta Archeron is forced into close quarters with a warrior named Cassian.

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THE DUKE AND I by Julia Quinn

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The first book in the Bridgerton series. Daphne Bridgerton’s reputation soars when she colludes with the Duke of Hastings. The basis of the Netflix series “Bridgerton.”

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ETERNAL by Lisa Scottoline

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook)

Three people involved in a love triangle find everything they hold dear is tested as Mussolini’s power grows and laws change in Rome.

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THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

As dust storms roll during the Great Depression, Elsa must choose between saving the family and farm or heading West.

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THE HILL WE CLIMB by Amanda Gorman

(Available Formats: Print, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The poem read on President Joe Biden’s Inauguration Day, by the youngest poet to write and perform an inaugural poem.

–

THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE by V.E. Schwab

(Available Formats: Print Books, Large Print, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

A Faustian bargain comes with a curse that affects the adventure Addie LaRue has across centuries.

–

KLARA AND THE SUN by Kazuo Ishiguro

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

An “Artificial Friend” named Klara is purchased to serve as a companion to an ailing 14-year-old girl.

–

LATER by Stephen King

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook coming soon)

An N.Y.P.D. detective asks the son of a struggling single mother to use his unnatural ability to track a killer.

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LIFE AFTER DEATH by Sister Souljah

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In a sequel to “The Coldest Winter Ever,” Winter Santiaga emerges after time served and seeks revenge.

–

LOST APOTHECARY by Sarah Penner

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

An aspiring historian in London finds a clue that might put to rest unsolved apothecary murders from 200 years ago

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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobooks)

Nora Seed finds a library beyond the edge of the universe that contains books with multiple possibilities of the lives one could have lived.

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OF WOMEN AND SALT by Gabriela Garcia

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Jeanette, the daughter of a Cuban immigrant, takes in the daughter of a neighbor detained by ICE and seeks to learn about her own family history.

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THE RED BOOK by James Patterson and David Ellis

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook & eBook)

The second book in the Black Book thriller series. Chicago detective Billy Harney investigates his own past.

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THE ROSE CODE by Kate Quinn

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook coming shortly)

As a post-World War II royal wedding approaches, an encrypted letter resurrects an alliance between three female code breakers.

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THE SONGS OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)

 

 A reimagining of Homer’s “Iliad” that is narrated by Achilles’ companion Patroclus.

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SUNFLOWER SISTERS by Martha Hall Kelly

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

During the Civil War, sisters Georgeanna and Eliza join the war effort together while sisters Jemma and Patience are enslaved on separate plantations.

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WE BEGIN AT THE END by Chris Whitaker

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Trouble might start for the chief of police and a self-proclaimed outlaw teen when a man is released from prison.

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

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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WILDE CHILD by Eloisa James

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The sixth book in the Wildes of Lindow Castle series. Lady Joan plans to perform the role of a prince in the manner of Thaddeus Erskine Shaw, Viscount Greywick.

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WIN by Harlan Coben

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Windsor Horne Lockwood III might rectify cold cases connected to his family that have eluded the F.B.I. for decades.

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NON-FICTION:

BEAUTY OF LIVING TWICE by Sharon Stone

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The actress and human rights activist recounts her childhood difficulties and biggest accomplishments.

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BECOMING by Michelle Obama

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The former first lady describes how she balanced work, family and her husband’s political ascent.

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BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook & Hoopla Audiobook)

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

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BREATH by James Nestor

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

A re-examination of a basic biological function and a look at the science behind ancient breathing practices.

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CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson

(Available Formats: Print Book, Audiobook on CD, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist examines aspects of caste systems across civilizations and reveals a rigid hierarchy in America today.

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THE CODE BREAKER by Walter Isaacson

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook coming shortly)

How the Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues invented CRISPR, a tool that can edit DNA.

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EVERY DAY IS A GIFT by Tammy Duckworth

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A memoir by the biracial daughter of an American father and a Thai-Chinese mother who served in the Iraq War and is currently a senator from Illinois.

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GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey

(Available Formats: Print Book, Audiobook on CD & Downloadable Audiobook)

The Academy Award-winning actor shares snippets from the diaries he kept over the last 35 years.

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HOOKED by Michael Moss

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter formerly with The New York Times looks at ways food can be addictive.

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HOW TO AVOID A CLIMATE DISASTER by Bill Gates

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

A prescription for what business, governments and individuals can do to work toward zero emissions.

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JUST AS I AM by Cicely Tyson with Michelle Burford

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The late iconic actress describes how she worked to change perceptions of Black women through her career choices.

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A PROMISED LAND by Barack Obama

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

In the first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama offers personal reflections on his formative years and pivotal moments through his first term.

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THE SUM OF US by Heather McGhee

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The chair of the board of the racial justice organization Color of Change analyzes the impact of racism on the economy.

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THINK AGAIN by Adam Grant

(Available Formats: Print Book)

An examination of the cognitive skills of rethinking and unlearning that could be used to adapt to a rapidly changing world.

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THIS IS THE FIRE by Don Lemon

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The CNN host looks at the impact of racism on his life and prescribes ways to address systemic flaws in America.

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UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle

(Available Formats: Print Book, Audiobook on CD, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

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

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WORLD ON THE WING by Scott Weidensaul

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout audiobook)

The navigational and physiological undertakings performed by billions of birds as they circumnavigate the globe.

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Be well and read on!

Linda Reimer, SSL

 

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*Information on the Three Catalogs*

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

The Digital Catalog has two companion apps, Libby & OverDrive. Libby is the app for newer devices and the OverDrive app should be used for older devices and Amazon tablets.

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

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

The Hoopla Catalog features instant check outs of eBooks, downloadable audiobook, comic books, albums and streaming videos. Patron check out limit is 4 items per month.

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

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

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StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

The StarCat app is called Bookmyne and is available for Apple and Android devices.

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Southeast Steuben County Library Tel: 607-936-3713

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.