Tech & Book Talk at SSCL

Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week, five digital titles, eBooks & downloadable audio books, available through OverDrive and five print titles available through StarCat.

DIGITAL SUGGESTIONS OF THE WEEK:

A Dangerous Act of Kindness by LP Fergusson:

What would you risk for a complete stranger?

When widow Millie Sanger finds injured enemy pilot Lukas Schiller on her farm, the distant war is suddenly at her doorstep. Compassionate Millie knows he’ll be killed if discovered, and makes the dangerous decision to offer him shelter from the storm.

On opposite sides of the inescapable conflict, the two strangers forge an unexpected and passionate bond. But as the snow thaws, the relentless fury of World War Two forces them apart, leaving only the haunting memories of what they shared, and an understanding that their secret must never see light.

As Millie’s dangerous act of kindness sets them on paths they never could have expected, those closest to them become their greatest threats, and the consequences of compassion prove deadly…

A Dangerous Act of Kindness is a beautiful, harrowing love story, perfect for fans of Rachel Hore and Santa Montefiore

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Fall; or, Dodge in Hell A Novel by Neal Stephenson:

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Seveneves, Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon returns with a wildly inventive and entertaining science fiction thriller—Paradise Lost by way of Philip K. Dick—that unfolds in the near future, in parallel worlds.

In his youth, Richard “Dodge” Forthrast founded Corporation 9592, a gaming company that made him a multibillionaire. Now in his middle years, Dodge appreciates his comfortable, unencumbered life, managing his myriad business interests, and spending time with his beloved niece Zula and her young daughter, Sophia.

One beautiful autumn day, while he undergoes a routine medical procedure, something goes irrevocably wrong. Dodge is pronounced brain dead and put on life support, leaving his stunned family and close friends with difficult decisions. Long ago, when a much younger Dodge drew up his will, he directed that his body be given to a cryonics company now owned by enigmatic tech entrepreneur Elmo Shepherd. Legally bound to follow the directive despite their misgivings, Dodge’s family has his brain scanned and its data structures uploaded and stored in the cloud, until it can eventually be revived.

In the coming years, technology allows Dodge’s brain to be turned back on. It is an achievement that is nothing less than the disruption of death itself. An eternal afterlife—the Bitworld—is created, in which humans continue to exist as digital souls.

But this brave new immortal world is not the Utopia it might first seem . . .

Fall, or Dodge in Hell is pure, unadulterated fun: a grand drama of analog and digital, man and machine, angels and demons, gods and followers, the finite and the eternal. In this exhilarating epic, Neal Stephenson raises profound existential questions and touches on the revolutionary breakthroughs that are transforming our future. Combining the technological, philosophical, and spiritual in one grand myth, he delivers a mind-blowing speculative literary saga for the modern age.

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Horse Latitudes by Morris Collins:

Morris Collins’ Horse Latitudes is one of the most impressive debuts I’ve read. A hybrid narrative that’s part thriller, part surreal noir, and part tropical gothic, it reads like a collaboration between William Faulkner, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, and Hunter S. Thompson, as directed by David Lynch.

Ethan is a New York photographer whose crumbling marriage ends when his wife commits herself to a mental institution after being raped by a stranger. Confused and haunted by guilt over not being able to help her, Ethan flees to Mexico. He doesn’t know if he wants to find himself, find some sense of purpose, or just drink himself into oblivion and find death at the hands of a machete-wielding gangbanger. While figuring it out, he gets in a bar fight, smashes a bottle into the face of a man with cartel connections, and ends up on a journey to the interior of the country to save a young woman from being trafficked — a journey that will put him in touch with violent gangs, crazy expatriates, strange detectives, mystics, and the ubiquitous aftermath of colonialism. Gabino Iglesias, NPR

Access the full NPR review here: https://www.npr.org/2019/01/24/687519241/horse-latitudes-is-a-gripping-mix-of-genres

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Mr. Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood (An NPR Summer Reading selection):

Two Englishmen meeting on a train to Berlin in 1930 kick off one of Isherwood’s most enduring novels. On a train to Berlin in late 1930, William Bradshaw locks eyes with Arthur Norris, an irresistibly comical fellow Englishman wearing a rather obvious wig and nervous about producing his passport at the frontier. So begins a friendship conducted in the seedier quarters of the city, where Norris runs a dubious import-export business and lives in excited fear of his bullying secretary, his creditors, and his dominatrix girlfriend, Anni. As the worldwide economic Depression strangles the masses and the Communists make a desperate stand against Fascism and war, Norris sells himself as political orator, spy, and double agent. He also sells his friends. Like its companion novel, Goodbye to Berlin, Mr Norris Changes Trains offers unforgettable characters struggling in the vortex as the Nazis rise to power.

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Patsy: A Novel by Nicole Dennis-Benn:

One of the “Most Anticipated Books of the Summer”

Entertainment Weekly • Washington Post • Buzzfeed • Vulture • O Magazine • Vanity Fair • Elle • Real Simple
A beautifully layered portrait of motherhood, immigration, and the sacrifices we make in the name of love from award-winning novelist Nicole Dennis-Benn.

“Nicole Dennis-Benn’s debut novel, Here Comes the Sun, stunned critics when it was released in 2016. The story of a woman and her two daughters fighting for survival in their drought-stricken Jamaican town, it was a powerful look at issues like poverty, colorism and homophobia.

Admirers of Here Comes the Sun have waited three years for Dennis-Benn’s followup, and anyone who was enchanted by her gorgeous writing are in for a happy surprise: Patsy isn’t just as good as its predecessor, it’s somehow even better.

The title character of the novel is a young single mother in Jamaica, living with her devoutly Christian mother, Mama G, and her young daughter, Tru. She works a minimum-wage civil service job to support her family; it’s barely enough to cover her family’s rent and food and her daughter’s private school tuition.

Patsy has a dream: “a dream every Jamaican of a certain social ranking shares: boarding an airplane to America.” She’s determined to get a travel visa to visit Cicely, her longtime friend and former lover, who moved to New York years before. She envisions herself and Cicely living what she sees as a normal American life, “trying on clothes in boutiques and zipping up each other’s dresses like they did as girls, and shopping for household items together, like real couples do for their house — a two-story brick house.” , Michael Schaub, NPR

Access the full-NPR review here: https://www.npr.org/2019/06/04/726728394/patsy-discovers-her-dreams-dont-match-reality

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PRINT BOOK SUGGESTIONS OF THE WEEK:

Angel Thieves by Kathi Appelt:

An ocelot. A slave. An angel thief.

Multiple perspectives spanning across time are united through themes of freedom, hope, and faith in a most unusual and epic novel from Newbery Honor–winning author and National Book Award finalist Kathi Appelt.

Sixteen-year-old Cade Curtis is an angel thief. After his mother’s family rejected him for being born out of wedlock, he and his dad moved to the apartment above a local antique shop. The only payment the owner Mrs. Walker requests: marble angels, stolen from graveyards, for her to sell for thousands of dollars to collectors. But there’s one angel that would be the last they’d ever need to steal; an angel, carved by a slave, with one hand open and one hand closed. If only Cade could find it…

Zorra, a young ocelot, watches the bayou rush past her yearningly. The poacher who captured and caged her has long since lost her, and Zorra is getting hungrier and thirstier by the day. Trapped, she only has the sounds of the bayou for comfort—but it tells her help will come soon.

Before Zorra, Achsah, a slave, watched the very same bayou with her two young daughters. After the death of her master, Achsah is free, but she’ll be damned if her daughters aren’t freed with her. All they need to do is find the church with an angel with one hand open and one hand closed…

In a masterful feat, National Book Award Honoree Kathi Appelt weaves together stories across time, connected by the bayou, an angel, and the universal desire to be free.

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The Behavior of Love: A Novel by Virginia Reeves: 

An incredibly compulsive, poignant exploration of marriage, lust, and ambition from one of America’s great young literary talents, the Man-Booker Prize longlisted author of Work Like Any Other.

Doctor Ed Malinowski believes he has realized most of his dreams. A passionate, ambitious behavioral psychiatrist, he is now the superintendent of a mental institution and finally turning the previously crumbling hospital around. He also has a home he can be proud of, and a fiercely independent, artistic wife Laura, whom he hopes will soon be pregnant.

But into this perfect vision of his life comes Penelope, a beautiful, young epileptic who should never have been placed in his institution and whose only chance at getting out is Ed. She is intelligent, charming, and slowly falling in love with her charismatic, compassionate doctor. As their relationship grows more complicated, and Laura stubbornly starts working at his hospital, Ed must weigh his professional responsibilities against his personal ones, and find a way to save both his job and his family.

A love triangle set in one of the most chaotic, combustible settings imaginable, The Behavior of Love is wise, riveting, and deeply resonant.

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The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman:

Branches and stones, daggers and bones, They locked the Beast away.

After the death of her sister, seventeen-year-old Violet Saunders finds herself dragged to Four Paths, New York. Violet may be a newcomer, but she soon learns her mother isn’t: They belong to one of the revered founding families of the town, where stone bells hang above every doorway and danger lurks in the depths of the woods. Justin Hawthorne’s bloodline has protected Four Paths for generations from the Gray—a lifeless dimension that imprisons a brutal monster. After Justin fails to inherit his family’s powers, his mother is determined to keep this humiliation a secret. But Justin can’t let go of the future he was promised and the town he swore to protect. Ever since Harper Carlisle lost her hand to an accident that left her stranded in the Gray for days, she has vowed revenge on the person who abandoned her: Justin Hawthorne. There are ripples of dissent in Four Paths, and Harper seizes an opportunity to take down the Hawthornes and change her destiny—to what extent, even she doesn’t yet know. The Gray is growing stronger every day, and its victims are piling up. When Violet accidentally unleashes the monster, all three must band together with the other Founders to unearth the dark truths behind their families’ abilities… before the Gray devours them all.

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Eat to Sleep: What to Eat and When to Eat It for a Good Night’s Sleep―Every Night by Karman Meyer:

Utilize food as your all-natural solution to sleeplessness with this easy guide that teaches you just what to eat—and when to eat it—to fall asleep faster and wake up refreshed.

We’ve all heard that it’s the turkey that makes you so sleepy after every Thanksgiving dinner, and a cup of warm milk is just the thing to help you settle down for night, but it may surprise you to find just how much what you eat can affect how well you sleep at night.

Whether you experience occasional insomnia or suffer from chronic sleeplessness, Eat to Sleep explains which foods to eat and when to eat them in order to get the best night’s rest possible. With information on how to easily incorporate “sleepy” foods into your diet, and how to prepare your food to increase its sleep-inducing effectiveness, Eat to Sleep shows you the way to getting optimal shuteye—naturally.

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Invisible Heroes of World War II: Extraordinary Wartime Stories of Ordinary People by Jerry Borrowman:

Invisible Heroes of World War II, documents ten fascinating true stories of a diverse group of soldiers and noncombatants from all over the world, including African Americans, women, and Native Americans, who fought with the Allies during World War II. These heroes made significant contributions in the war effort, and sometimes gave their lives for freedom and liberty, often without much recognition or fanfare. Some were frontline soldiers who were captured by the enemy and endured horrific conditions as POWs, others were ordinary citizens who fought in the French Resistance and provided vital operations to undermine Nazi occupation, while others were engineers, workers in industry, or war correspondents and photographers. All served with valor and distinction as part of the massive Allied forces who fought to free the world from tyranny and oppression.

Have a great week!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

References

All Aboard! A Reading List For Riding The Rails, June 17, 2014, NPR, https://www.npr.org/2014/06/17/318601772/all-aboard-a-reading-list-for-riding-the-rails

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.

Freegal Music Service

This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial-free music each day:

RBDigital

*Magazines are available for free and on demand! You can check out magazines and read them on your computer or download the RBDigital app from your app store and read them on your mobile devices.

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or RB Digital app 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 the top New York Times fiction and non-fiction bestsellers for the week that ends June 23, 2019.

(Click on the book covers to read a summary of each plot and to request the books of your choice.)

FICTION:

18TH ABDUCTION by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro:

The 18th book in the Women’s Murder Club series. Lindsay Boxer investigates the disappearance of three female teachers.

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ASK AGAIN, YES by Mary Beth Keane:

The lives of neighboring families in a New York City suburb intertwine over four decades.

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BEFORE WE WERE YOURS by Lisa Wingate:

A South Carolina lawyer learns about the questionable practices of a Tennessee orphanage.

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CITY OF GIRLS by Elizabeth Gilbert:

An 89-year-old Vivian Morris looks back at the direction her life took when she entered the 1940s New York theater scene.

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FALL by Neal Stephenson:

A dead multibillionaire’s brain is scanned and turned back on at a time when humans live as digital souls.

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FRIENDS WE KEEP by Jane Green:

Berkley A 30th reunion between three college friends reveals shattered hopes and a dark secret.

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THE GUEST BOOK by Sarah Blake:

Evie Milton uncovers a story going back a couple generations that may shatter a family myth.

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LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng:

An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland.

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LOST GIRLS OF PARIS by Pam Jenoff:

Grace Healey investigates the fates of 12 women who were sent to occupied Europe to help the resistance during World War II.

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ON EARTH WE’RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS by Ocean Vuong:

Little Dog writes a letter to a mother who cannot read, revealing a family history.

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PAST TENSE by Lee Child:

Jack Reacher explores the New England town where his father was born and a Canadian couple now find themselves stranded.

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REDEMPTION by David Baldacci:

The fifth book in the Memory Man series. The first man Amos Decker put behind bars asks to have his name cleared.

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SEARCHING FOR SYLVIE LEE by Jean Kwok:

An immigrant Chinese family’s secrets emerge as Amy looks for her older sister, who vanished after flying to the Netherlands.

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SKIN GAME by Stuart Woods and Parnell Hall:

The third book in the Teddy Fay series. Teddy Fay scours Paris’s underworld to find a treasonous criminal.

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SUNSET BEACH by Mary Kay Andrews:

Drue Campbell inherits a run-down beach bungalow and takes a job at her estranged father’s personal injury attorney office.

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TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ by Heather Morris:

A concentration camp detainee tasked with permanently marking fellow prisoners falls in love with one of them.

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UNSOLVED by James Patterson and David Ellis:

A string of seemingly accidental and unrelated deaths confound F.B.I. agent Emmy Dockery.

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens:

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:

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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BORN A CRIME by Trevor Noah:

A memoir about growing up biracial in apartheid South Africa by the host of “The Daily Show.”

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THE BRITISH ARE COMING by Rick Atkinson:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist begins his Revolution Trilogy with events from 1775 to 1777.

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CONSERVATIVE SENSIBILITY by George F. Will:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist describes what he considers to be threats to conservatism.

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EDUCATED by Tara Westover:

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

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HOWARD STERN COMES AGAIN by Howard Stern:

The radio interviewer delves into some of his favorite on-air conversations from the past four decades of his career.

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MOMENT OF LIFT by Melinda Gates: 

The philanthropist shares stories of empowering women to improve society.

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THE MUELLER REPORT with an introduction by Alan Dershowitz: 

Redacted findings from the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential obstruction of justice by the president.

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THE MUELLER REPORT with related materials by The Washington Post: 

Redacted findings from the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential obstruction of justice by the president.

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NATURALLY TAN by Tan France: 

A coming-of-age memoir by the “Queer Eye” star, with behind-the-scenes stories of the reality TV show.

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THE PIONEERS by David McCullough:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian tells the story of the settling of the Northwest Territory through five main characters.

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RANGE by David Epstein:

An argument for how generalists excel more than specialists, especially in complex and unpredictable fields.

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SEA STORIES by William H. McRaven:

A memoir by the retired four-star Navy admiral, including the capture of Saddam Hussein and the raid to kill Osama bin Laden.

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THE SECOND MOUNTAIN by David Brooks:

A New York Times Op-Ed columnist espouses having an outward focus to attain a meaningful life.

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SIEGE by Michael Wolff:

The author of “Fire and Fury” weaves a story of the second year of the Trump White House.

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UNFREEDOM OF THE PRESS by Mark R. Levin:

The conservative commentator and radio host makes his case that the press is aligned with political ideology.

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WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE by Sonia Purnell:

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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Have a great day!

Linda Reimer, SSL

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our lucky seven musical streaming* suggestions for the week.

(Click on the album cover to stream the album.)

Boppin’ Acetates, Coast to Coast Various Artists (Genre: Traditional Country):

This 31 song collection features rare tracks recorded by country and bluegrass players in the 1930s and 1940s. It offers a fascinating listen to country music of the era, which sounds grassroots-y and quaint by modern standards.

Songs featured in the collection include Black Mountain Rag by Curly Fagan & The Watkins Brothers, Sleeping in the Cellar by Eddie Moore, Mixed Boogie by Burton Harris & Billy Smith, Looking for a Date Tonight by Carl Petz & The Drifting Cowboys and Pistol Packin’ Mama by Red Belcher.

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Hits of Western Swing (1999) by Western Swing All Stars (Genre: Country, Western Swing):

Information on the Western Swing All Stars is scarce, at least online; Amazon, Spotify and iTunes all have this album for sale but their album description pages simply list the song titles and no-other information. However, that is okay because one listen to this album and you’ll know this group plays great instrumental music in the country swing style.

Songs on this fun and upbeat collection include My Window Faces South, Rout 66, Hey Good Lookin’, Settin’, The Woods On Fire and Call Me The Breeze.

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Unbreakable: A Juneteenth Playlist by Various Artists (Genre: Pop, Vocal, Blues, Jazz, Rap, Rock etc.)

The celebration of Juneteenth commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States. The celebration dates to June 19, 1865 when U.S. soldiers, under the command of General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston Texas and relayed the news that all slaves in the United States were free.

The celebration is held annual on June 19 and this playlist is great for listening to whilst celebrating or really at any time — it is a terrific playlist. Songs on the eighty-two song list include Feeling Good by Nina Simone, Young Woman’s Blues by Queen Latifah, People Get Ready by The Staple Singers, Freedom by Pharrel Williams, Freedom (traditional) by The Golden Gate Quartet, Noah by Harry Belafonte and Don’t Stop Til’ you Reach The Top by The Sounds of Blackness.

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Peace…Back By Popular Demand (2004) by Keb’ Mo’ (Genre: Blues):

Modern blues guitarist Keb’ Mo’, born Kevin Moore, covers some classic protest songs in this thoughtful collection. Songs on the LP include Wake Up Everybody, Get Together, Someday We’ll All Be Free, What’s So Funny About Peace, Love And Understanding, The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Imagine.

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Western Stars by Bruce Springsteen (Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Rock):

The brand new album from The Boss, released June 14, 2019!

Songs in the set include Hitch Hikin’, The Wayfarer, Western Stars, Sleepy Joe’s Cafe, Drive Fast, Chasin’ Wild Horses and Moonlight Motel.

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Mothers of Blues – An Introductory Collection of the Most Influential Women of Blues with Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Trixie Smith, Memphis Minnie, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mamie Smith, And More! by Various Artists (Genre:Blues):

That long title certainly gives us a clue that the music on this LP offers an introduction to some of the most influential female blues players of the early 20th century. And that is true! Ma Rainey, Ida Cox, Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie and Rosetta Tharpe were wonderful blues sings and if you’re not familiar with their works, this set offers a great place to start listening to their music.

Songs in the collection include Million Dollar Blues by Memphis Minnie, Strange Things Happen by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Dope Head Blues by Victoria Spivey, My Man Rocks Me by Trixie Smith and Wild Women Don’t Have The Blues by Ida Cox.

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Yesterday’s Gone (1964/2010) by Chad & Jeremy (Genre: Pop, Folk-Pop, British Invasion):

Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde were a British folk-pop duo known for their sophisticated sound. They recorded this their first album in 1963, became popular in the wake of the Beatles and appeared on a number of television shows of the era including the Hollywood Palace, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Danny Kaye Show, Hullabaloo and Shindig.

Three of their most popular, and best known songs appear on this LP: A Summer Song, Yesterday’s Gone and Willow Weep for Me. Other songs include

Videos of the Week:

Black Mountain Rag by Curly Fagan & The Watkins Brothers

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Mixed Boogie by Burton Harris & Billy Smith

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Call Me The Breeze by Western Swing All-Stars

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Route 66 by Western Swing All-Stars

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Feeling Good by Nina Simone

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Wake Up Everybody by Harold Melvin & The Notes

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Get Together by Keb’ Mo’

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Walking Blues by Keb’ Mo’ & Others

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What’s So Funny About Peace Love & Understanding by Keb’ Mo’

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Hello Sunshine by Bruce Springsteen

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Western Stars by Bruce Springsteen

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Booze and Blues by Ma Rainey

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Million Dollar Blues by Memphis Minnie

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A Summer Song by Chad & Jeremy

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Yesterday’s Gone by Chad & Jeremy

Have a great weekend!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Online References

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

The Emancipation Proclamation, National Archives,
https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation

Ma Rainey, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Online,
https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/ma-rainey

Transcription of the Emancipation Proclamation, National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation/transcript.html

What Is Juneteenth? by Henry Louis Gates Jr., PBS (origianlly posted on The Root), https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/what-is-juneteenth/

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*Freegal is a free streaming music service available for free to library cardholders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries. STLS member libraries include all the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler, and Allegany counties — including our own Southeast Steuben County Library.

You can download the Freegal music app to your mobile device or access the desktop version of the site by clicking on the following link:

*The Freegal service offers library card holders the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week, five digital titles available through OverDrive and five print titles available through StarCat.

DIGITAL SUGGESTIONS OF THE WEEK:

The Cliff House by RaeAnne Thayne:

Three women—two sisters and their aunt—and the cliff house on the northern California coast that served as a beacon to them all…

After the death of their mother, sisters Daisy and Beatriz Davenport found a home with their aunt Stella in the beautiful and welcoming town of Cape Sanctuary. They never knew all the dreams that Stella sacrificed to ensure they had everything they’d ever need. Now, with Daisy and Bea grown, it’s time for Stella to reveal the secret she’s been keeping from them—a secret that will change their family forever.

Bea thought she’d sown all her wild oats when she got pregnant far too young. The marriage that followed was rocky and not destined to last, but it gave Bea her wonderful, mature, now eleven-year-old daughter, Marisol. But just as she’s beginning to pursue a new love with an old friend, Bea’s ex-husband resurfaces and turns their lives completely upside down.

Then there’s Daisy—sensible, rational, financially prudent Daisy. She’s never taken a risk in her life—until she meets a man who makes her question everything she thought she knew about life, love and the power of taking chances.

In this heartwarming story, Stella, Bea and Daisy will discover that the path to true happiness is filled with twists and turns, but love always leads them back home.

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The Dream Daughter: A Novel by Diane Chamberlain:

New York Times bestselling author Diane Chamberlain delivers a thrilling, mind-bending novel about one mother’s journey to save her child.

When Carly Sears, a young woman widowed by the Vietnam war, receives the news that her unborn baby girl has a heart defect, she is devastated. It is 1970, and she is told that nothing can be done to help her child. But her brother-in-law, a physicist with a mysterious past, tells her that perhaps there is a way to save her baby. What he suggests is something that will shatter every preconceived notion that Carly has. Something that will require a kind of strength and courage she never knew existed. Something that will mean an unimaginable leap of faith on Carly’s part.

And all for the love of her unborn child.

The Dream Daughter is a rich, genre-spanning, breathtaking novel about one mother’s quest to save her child, unite her family, and believe in the unbelievable. Diane Chamberlain pushes the boundaries of faith and science to deliver a novel that you will never forget.

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The Fifth Doctrine by Karen Robards:

With her back against the wall, everything’s on the line for Bianca St. Ives. She’s either going to save the world—or die trying.

It took one hell of an effort for the authorities to finally get the jump on master manipulator Bianca St. Ives, but now that they have, it’s far from the capture she expected. Instead of taking her in, there’s an offer on the table, a one-shot deal that would allow Bianca to walk away scot-free as if they’d never found her. And all she has to do is run one last mission—the kind she might never return from. But if Bianca wants to go back to her normal life in Savannah, it’s not like she has a choice.

An intelligence operation is already under way in North Korea, one that’s poised to end the country’s existing tyrannical regime for good. But first, the US need one of their own to go undercover as the female hacker who recently stole top secret intel from NORAD. Enter Bianca. After everything she’s seen, Bianca knows feeding fake information directly into the belly of the beast is about as dangerous as it gets. It could mean torture or endless imprisonment—assuming she survives. But it might also ignite the kind of chaos that forces a revolution. It might just change the world. Besides, if Bianca has to go down, she’s gonna go down swinging…

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The New Health Rules: Simple Changes to Achieve Whole-Body Wellness by Frank Lipman & Danielle Claro:

Frank Lipman, M.D., is one of the country’s top pioneers in the field of integrative medicine. A leading international speaker on health and wellness, he has been featured in Men’s Health, Vogue, Men’s Journal, Redbook, and Martha Stewart Living.

Danielle Claro is a writer, editor, longtime yogi, and former professional dancer. She has ghostwritten two New York Times bestsellers, launched an indie lifestyle magazine called Breathe, and served as special projects director at Condé Nast’s Domino magazine. She’s currently deputy editor of Real Simple.

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The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer:

“Fans of The Nightingale and Lilac Girls will adore The Things We Cannot Say.” —Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author

In 1942, Europe remains in the relentless grip of war. Just beyond the tents of the Russian refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny…and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century.

Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now fifteen and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina’s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate.

Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears. Where Alina used to measure time between visits from her beloved, now she measures the spaces between hope and despair, waiting for word from Tomasz and avoiding the attentions of the soldiers who patrol her parents’ farm. But for now, even deafening silence is preferable to grief.

Slipping between Nazi-occupied Poland and the frenetic pace of modern life, Kelly Rimmer creates an emotional and finely wrought narrative. The Things We Cannot Say is an unshakable reminder of the devastation when truth is silenced…and how it can take a lifetime to find our voice before we learn to trust it.

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PRINT BOOK SUGGESTIONS OF THE WEEK:

Home Remedies: Stories by Xuan Juliana Wang:

“These dazzling stories interrogate the fractures, collisions and glorious new alloys of what it means to be a Chinese millennial.”—Adam Johnson, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Orphan Master’s Son

Named One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2019 by Nylon, Electric Literature, The Millions, and LitHub • An Elle Best Book of Spring

In dexterous, electric prose, the twelve stories in Xuan Juliana Wang’s first collection reveal the new face of a generation of Chinese youth.

Her characters stand at the threshold of bold and uncertain futures, navigating between their heritage and the chaos of contemporary life. In a crowded apartment on Mott Street, an immigrant family raises its first real Americans. At the Beijing Olympics, a pair of synchronized divers stands poised at the edge of success and self-discovery. And in New York, a father creates an algorithm to troubleshoot the problem of raising a daughter born into a world so different from his own.

From fuerdai (second-generation rich kids) and livestream stars to a glass-swallowing qigong grandmaster, these stories upend the well-worn immigrant narrative to reveal a new experience of belonging: of young people testing the limits of who they are and who they will one day become, in a world as vast and varied as their ambitions.

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More Deadly than the Male: Masterpieces from the Queens of Horror edited by Graeme Davis:

A darkly luminous new anthology collecting the most terrifying horror stories by renowned female authors, presenting anew these forgotten classics to the modern reader.

Readers are well aware that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein: few know how many other tales of terror she created. In addition to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote some surprisingly effective horror stories. The year after Little Women appeared, Louisa May Alcott published one of the first mummy tales. These ladies weren’t alone. From the earliest days of Gothic and horror fiction, women were exploring the frontiers of fear, dreaming dark dreams that will still keep you up at night.

More Deadly than the Male includes unexpected horror tales by Louisa May Alcott and Harriet Beecher Stowe, and forgotten writers like Mary Cholmondely and Charlotte Riddell, whose work deserves a modern audience. Readers will be drawn in by the familiar names and intrigued by their rare stories.

In The Beckside Boggle, Alice Rea brings a common piece of English folklore to hair-raising life, while Helene Blavatsky, best known as the founder of the spiritualist Theosophical Society, conjures up a solid and satisfying ghost story in The Cave of the Echoes. Edith Wharton’s great novel The Age of Innocence won her the Pulitzer prize, yet her horror stories are known only to a comparative few.

Readers will discover lost and forgotten women who wrote horror every bit as effectively as their male contemporaries. They will learn about their lives and careers, the challenges they faced as women working in a male-dominated field, the way they overcame those challenges, and the way they approached the genre―which was often subtler, more psychological, and more disturbing.

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Odd Partners: An Anthology by Mystery Writers Of America, Allison Brennan, Jeffery Deaver et al.

Unlikely pairs join forces to crack a slew of intriguing cases in an anthology edited by New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry, featuring original stories by Jacqueline Winspear, Jeffery Deaver, Allison Brennan, Charles Todd, and many more, including Perry herself.

Throughout the annals of fiction, there have been many celebrated detective teams: Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Nick and Nora Charles. Hercule Poirot and Arthur Hastings. Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. That last pair is the creation of beloved mystery writer Anne Perry, who, as the editor of Odd Partners and in conjunction with Mystery Writers of America, has enlisted some of today’s best mystery writers to craft all-new stories about unlikely duos who join forces—sometimes unwillingly—to solve beguiling whodunits.

From Perry’s own entry, in which an English sergeant and his German counterpart set out to find a missing soldier during World War I, to a psychological tale of an airplane passenger who wakes up unsure of who he is and must enlist his fellow passengers to help him remember, to a historical mystery about a misguided witch-hunt and the unlikely couple that brings it down, each story deals in the wonderful complexities of human interactions. And not just human interactions: Honey bees avenge the death of their beekeeper, a wandering cat brings home clues to a murder, and a gray wolf and a fly fisherman in the Minnesota woods try to protect their land from a brash billionaire.

Featuring work by New York Times bestselling authors, Edgar Award winners, and up-and-coming members of the Mystery Writers of America, these tales of friends, enemies, and pairs who lie somewhere in the middle will satisfy every type of mystery reader. With each author’s signature brand of suspense, these stories give new meaning to the word “teamwork.”

Featuring stories by:

Ace Atkins • Allison Brennan • Shelley Costa • Jeffery Deaver • Robert Dugoni • William Frank • Georgia Jeffries • Lou Kemp • William Kent Krueger • Joe R. Lansdale • Lisa Morton • Claire Ortalda • Anne Perry • Adele Polomski • Stephen Ross • Mark Thielman • Charles Todd • Jacqueline Winspear • Amanda Witt

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Scientists Against Time: The Role of Scientists in World War II by Harold Feiveson:

In early 1942, the fate of the Allies appeared dire. Germany had conquered most of Western Europe, and its armies were deep into Russia. Japan had overrun Manchuria, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies, had conquered large swathes of China, and had destroyed much of the US battle fleet at Pearl Harbor. But the tide of World War II turned dramatically in favor of the Allies, and in this, Allied scientists played a critical role. The chapters covered in this book include an Overview summary of the entire war, the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic against the German U-boats, the battle for command of the air, the Allied breaking of the German Enigma cipher, D-Day and the Allied invasion of Europe, and the Manhattan Project to develop an atomic bomb.

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Walking on the Ceiling by Aysegül Savas:

After her mother’s death, Nunu moves from Istanbul to a small apartment in Paris. One day outside of a bookstore, she meets M., an older British writer whose novels about Istanbul Nunu has always admired. They find themselves walking the streets of Paris and talking late into the night. What follows is an unusual friendship of eccentric correspondence and long walks around the city. M. is working on a new novel set in Turkey and Nunu tells him about her family, hoping to impress and inspire him. She recounts the idyllic landscapes of her past, mythical family meals, and her elaborate childhood games. As she does so, she also begins to confront her mother’s silence and anger, her father’s death, and the growing unrest in Istanbul. Their intimacy deepens, so does Nunu’s fear of revealing too much to M. and of giving too much of herself and her Istanbul away. Most of all, she fears that she will have to face her own guilt about her mother and the narratives she’s told to protect herself from her memories.

Have a great week!
Linda, SSCL

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.

Freegal Music Service

This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial-free music each day:

RBDigital

*Magazines are available for free and on demand! You can check out magazines and read them on your computer or download the RBDigital app from your app store and read them on your mobile devices.

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or RB Digital app 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 the top New York Times fiction and non-fiction bestsellers for the week that ends June 16, 2019.

(Click on the book covers to read a summary of each plot and to request the books of your choice.)

FICTION:

18TH ABDUCTION by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro:

The 18th book in the Women’s Murder Club series. Lindsay Boxer investigates the disappearance of three female teachers.

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ASK AGAIN, YES by Mary Beth Keane:

The lives of neighboring families in a New York City suburb intertwine over four decades.

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BEFORE WE WERE YOURS by Lisa Wingate:

A South Carolina lawyer learns about the questionable practices of a Tennessee orphanage.

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BLESSING IN DISGUISE by Danielle Steel:

Isabelle McAvoy faces challenges as she raises three daughters from three separate fathers on her own

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CARI MORA by Thomas Harris:

Hans-Peter Schneider pauses his ghastly deeds to seek a dead man’s gold hidden under a Miami mansion, but its caretaker’s surprising skills prove daunting.

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FIRE AND BLOOD by George R.R. Martin:

The first volume of the two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros.

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GAME OF THRONES by George R.R. Martin:

In the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are mustering. Basis of the HBO series.

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A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles:

A Russian count undergoes 30 years of house arrest in the Metropol hotel, across from the Kremlin.

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THE GUEST BOOK by Sarah Blake:

Evie Milton uncovers a story going back a couple generations that may shatter a family myth.

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LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng:

An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland.

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THE MISTER by E L James:

Maxim Trevelyan inherits several estates and overpowers his cleaner Alessia Demachi, an Albanian piano prodigy who has been trafficked into England.

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NEON PREY by John Sandford:

The 29th book in the Prey series. Lucas Davenport goes after a serial killer.

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THE NIGHT WINDOW by Dean Koontz:

The fifth book in the Jane Hawk series. The former F.B.I. agent pursues a slew of bad guys, including a Vegas mob boss.

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NORMAL PEOPLE by Sally Rooney:

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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PAST TENSE by Lee Child:

Jack Reacher explores the New England town where his father was born and a Canadian couple now find themselves stranded.

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THE QUEEN BEE by Dorothea Benton Frank:

A beekeeper’s quiet life is unsettled by her demanding mother, outgoing sister and neighboring widower.

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REDEMPTION by David Baldacci:

The fifth book in the Memory Man series. The first man Amos Decker put behind bars asks to have his name cleared.

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SENTENCE IS DEATH by Anthony Horowitz:

Detective Daniel Hawthorne teams up with the author Anthony Horowitz to solve the mysterious killing of a celebrity divorce lawyer.

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THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides:

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

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THE STIEHL ASSASSIN by Terry Brooks:

The third book in the Fall of Shannara series.

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SUNSET BEACH by Mary Kay Andrews:

Drue Campbell inherits a run-down beach bungalow and takes a job at her estranged father’s personal injury attorney office.

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TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ by Heather Morris:

A concentration camp detainee tasked with permanently marking fellow prisoners falls in love with one of them.

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens:

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 Morrow:

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:

ANTHONY BOURDAIN REMEMBERED by CNN:

Ecco A collection of photographs and remembrances by some who were impacted by the chef and television host.

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BECOMING by Michelle Obama:

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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BORN A CRIME by Trevor Noah:

A memoir about growing up biracial in apartheid South Africa by the host of “The Daily Show.”

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THE BRITISH ARE COMING by Rick Atkinson:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist begins his Revolution Trilogy with events from 1775 to 1777.

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EDUCATED by Tara Westover:

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

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FURIOUS HOURS by Casey Cep:

Harper Lee’s work on the true-crime story about a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members in the 1970s.

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HOWARD STERN COMES AGAIN by Howard Stern:

The radio interviewer delves into some of his favorite on-air conversations from the past four decades of his career.

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MOMENT OF LIFT by Melinda Gates: 

The philanthropist shares stories of empowering women to improve society.

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THE MUELLER REPORT with an introduction by Alan Dershowitz: 

Redacted findings from the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential obstruction of justice by the president.

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THE MUELLER REPORT with related materials by The Washington Post: 

Redacted findings from the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential obstruction of justice by the president.

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THE PIONEERS by David McCullough:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian tells the story of the settling of the Northwest Territory through five main characters.

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RANGE by David Epstein:

An argument for how generalists excel more than specialists, especially in complex and unpredictable fields.

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SACRED DUTY by Tom Cotton:

The veteran and Republican senator from Arkansas describes the services enacted by the Army unit known as the Old Guard.

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SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari:

How Homo sapiens became Earth’s dominant species.

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SEA STORIES by William H. McRaven:

A memoir by the retired four-star Navy admiral, including the capture of Saddam Hussein and the raid to kill Osama bin Laden.

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THE SECOND MOUNTAIN by David Brooks:

A New York Times Op-Ed columnist espouses having an outward focus to attain a meaningful life.

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SPYING ON THE SOUTH by Tony Horwitz:

A retracing of Frederick Law Olmsted’s time as an undercover correspondent during the 1850s in the South for The New York Times and one of the designers of Central Park.

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THEODORE ROOSEVELT FOR THE DEFENSE by Dan Abrams and David Fisher:

The 1915 courtroom fight between William Barnes and the former president who had accused him of political corruption.

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UNFREEDOM OF THE PRESS by Mark R. Levin:

The conservative commentator and radio host makes his case that the press is aligned with political ideology.

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Have a great day!

Linda Reimer, SSL

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our lucky seven musical streaming* suggestions for the week.

(Click on the album cover to stream the album.)

Solo Wurlitzer Electric Piano: Peter Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive (2017) by Rob Arthur (Genre: Pop, Electric Piano):

Keyboardist and guitarist Rob Arthur is a friend of, and has been the musical director for, Peter Frampton. On this instrumental LP from 2017, he offers a fun, upbeat keyboard-centric take on Frampton’s 1976 break out album Frampton Comes Alive.

Songs on the album include: Show Me The Way, All I Want To Be, It’s A Plain Shame, Wind of Change and Baby, I Love Your Way

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The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings (2019) by Bob Dylan (Genre: Folk, Rock):

“A comprehensive anthology of music from the mythic first leg of Bob Dylan’s groundbreaking Rolling Thunder Revue, this 147 song digital box-set includes all five of Dylan’s full sets from that tour that were professionally recorded. The collection also provides the listener with an intimate insider’s seat for recently unearthed rehearsals at New York’s S.I.R. studios and the Seacrest Mote in Falmouth.” – Columbia Records

Songs in the collection include: One More Cup of Coffee, The Ballad of Ira Hayes, She Belongs to Me, A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, I Shall Be Released and Ballad of a Thin Man.

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Begin Again (2019) by Fred Hersch with WDR Big Band (Genre: Jazz):

The new album by the incomparable jazz composer and pianist Fred Hersch accompanied by the WDR Big Band!

Songs Without Words, No. 2 Ballad, Rain Waltz, Forward Motion, The Big Easy, Out Some Place (Blues for Matthew Shephard) and Pastorale.

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Chasing Lights (2019) by Ida Mae (Rock, Folk, Blues):

“Hailing from Norfolk, U.K., Ida Mae are an acoustic alt-folk duo made up of husband-and-wife Chris Turpin and Stephanie Jean. Delivering romantic and atmospheric songs with resonant guitar and passionate vocals, the pair owe their influences to the sound of Americana and deep South blues-rock. Their work can be heard on their 2019 debut LP Chasing Lights.” AllMusic

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Play Our Favorite Country Classics (2016) by Ozarkansas Travelers (Genre: Country, Classic Country):

I wasn’t able to find out much about the band The Ozarkansas Travelers. Their website doesn’t seem to be up at the moment; and although they have a Facebook page, their is only a brief description of the group – “A band playing Classic Country Music from the 1940s and 1950s.”

Their FB page does feature a neat photo of the band:

And, really, as their music is great, perhaps all we need to know about them is that they play classic country music. If you like classic country music you should enjoy this album; the lead singer has a terrific deep voice, whoever he is!

Songs on the LP include Get Rhythm, Billy Bayou, Shotgun Boogie, Thanks A Lot and Oh Lonesome Me.

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Full Moon (1993) by Dave Stryker (Genre: Jazz, Guitar):

Dave Stryker is a New York City based jazz guitarist who mixes blues and soul into his jazz for a delightful musical mixture. Full Moon is his 1993 break-out album, featuring great songs, some originals and some classics including The Sphinx composed by Ornette Coleman, Monk’s Mood composed by Thelonious Monk, I Mean You composted by Hawkins and Monk, Wise One composed by John Coltrane and Bayou Blues and Full Moon composed by Dave Stryker.

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Father’s Day Playlist by Various Artists:

In the week up to Father’s Day, Sunday, June 16, now seems like a good time to listen to a collection of songs that focus on dads!

Songs in this 82 song collection include Daddy Sang Bass by Johnny Cash, Daddy Lessons by Beyoncé with the Dixie Chicks, Father’s House by Bruce Springsteen, Father and Daughter by Paul Simon, Papa Loves Mambo by Perry Como and I’m a Ding Dong Daddy by Louis Armstrong.

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Videos of the Week:

Do You Feel Like We Do by Rob Arthur

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Jumpin’ Jack Flash by Rob Arthur

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Ballad of a Thin Man by Bob Dylan

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One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below) (S.I.R. Studio Rehearsals, Oct. 21, 1975)

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The Big Easy by Fred Hersch & WDR Big Band

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Forward Motion by Fred Hersch & WDR Big Band

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Chasing Lights by Ida Mae

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Rightfully, Honestly

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Get Rhythm by Ozarkansas Travelers

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Thanks a Lot by Ozarkansas Travelers

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Bayou Blues by The Dave Stryker Quartet

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The Sphinx by The Dave Stryker Quartet

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Daddy Lessons by Beyoncé with the Dixie Chicks

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I’m Her Daddy by Bill Withers

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Papa Loves Mambo by Perry Como

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Seeing My Father In Me by Paul Overstreet

Have a great weekend!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Online References

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

Bill Withers: Still Himselft, but He’ll Allow the Attention by Ben Sisario (9/18/2015), New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/arts/music/bill-withers-still-himself-but-hell-allow-the-attention.html

Fred Hersch & the WDR Big Band: Begin Again Review by Jack Bowers (May 4, 2019), https://www.allaboutjazz.com/begin-again-fred-hersch-palmetto-records-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Ozark Travelers, Bandcamp, https://theozarktravelers.bandcamp.com/

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*Freegal is a free streaming music service available for free to library cardholders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries. STLS member libraries include all the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler, and Allegany counties — including our own Southeast Steuben County Library.

You can download the Freegal music app to your mobile device or access the desktop version of the site by clicking on the following link:

*The Freegal service offers library card holders the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week, five digital titles available through OverDrive and five print titles available through StarCat.

This week, to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of D-Day, all suggested read titles, a mixture of fiction and non-fiction books, focus on the World War II era.

DIGITAL SUGGESTIONS OF THE WEEK:

The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw:

The instant classic that changed the way we saw World War II and an entire generation of Americans, from the beloved journalist whose own iconic career has lasted more than fifty years.

In this magnificent testament to a nation and her people, Tom Brokaw brings to life the extraordinary stories of a generation that gave new meaning to courage, sacrifice, and honor.

From military heroes to community leaders to ordinary citizens, he profiles men and women who served their country with valor, then came home and transformed it: Senator Daniel Inouye, decorated at the front, fighting prejudice at home; Martha Settle Putney, one of the first black women to serve in the newly formed WACs; Charles Van Gorder, a doctor who set up a MASH-like medical facility in the middle of battle, then opened a small clinic in his hometown; Navy pilot and future president George H. W. Bush, assigned to read the mail of the enlisted men under him, who says that in doing so he “learned about life”; and many other laudable Americans.

To this generation that gave so much and asked so little, Brokaw offers eloquent tribute in true stories of everyday heroes in extraordinary times.

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Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945 by Max Hastings:

From one of our finest military historians, a monumental work that shows us at once the truly global reach of World War II and its deeply personal consequences.

World War II involved tens of millions of soldiers and cost sixty million lives–an average of twenty-seven thousand a day. For thirty-five years, Max Hastings has researched and written about different aspects of the war. Now, for the first time, he gives us a magnificent, single-volume history of the entire war.

Through his strikingly detailed stories of everyday people–of soldiers, sailors and airmen; British housewives and Indian peasants; SS killers and the citizens of Leningrad, some of whom resorted to cannibalism during the two-year siege; Japanese suicide pilots and American carrier crews–Hastings provides a singularly intimate portrait of the world at war. He simultaneously traces the major developments–Hitler’s refusal to retreat from the Soviet Union until it was too late; Stalin’s ruthlessness in using his greater population to wear down the German army; Churchill’s leadership in the dark days of 1940 and 1941; Roosevelt’s steady hand before and after the United States entered the war–and puts them in real human context.

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Manhattan Beach: A Novel by Jennifer Egan:

Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction

The daring and magnificent novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author.

Named One of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, Esquire, Vogue, The Washington Post, The Guardian, USA TODAY, Time • A New York Times Notable Book

Anna Kerrigan, nearly twelve years old, accompanies her father to visit Dexter Styles, a man who, she gleans, is crucial to the survival of her father and her family. She is mesmerized by the sea beyond the house and by some charged mystery between the two men.

‎Years later, her father has disappeared and the country is at war. Anna works at the Brooklyn Naval Yard, where women are allowed to hold jobs that once belonged to men, now soldiers abroad. She becomes the first female diver, the most dangerous and exclusive of occupations, repairing the ships that will help America win the war. One evening at a nightclub, she meets Dexter Styles again, and begins to understand the complexity of her father’s life, the reasons he might have vanished.

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A Meal in Winter: A Novel of World War II by Hubert Mingarelli:

Mingarelli’s timeless novel begins one morning in the dead of winter, during the darkest years of World War II, with three German soldiers heading out into the frozen Polish countryside. They have been charged by their commanders with tracking down and bringing back for execution “one of them”—a Jew. Having flushed out a young man hiding in the woods, they decide to rest in an abandoned house before continuing their journey back to the camp. As they prepare food, they are joined by a passing Pole whose virulent anti-Semitism adds tension to an already charged atmosphere. Before long, the group’s sympathies begin to splinter when each man is forced to confront his own conscience as the moral implications of their murderous mission become clear.

Described by Liberation as “impossible to put down,” A Meal in Winter, with its “simple declarative sentences and crystalline, cinematic vignettes” (Publishers Weekly) is a “masterpiece of empathy and horror” (The Guardian) that recalls the cinema of Polanski and Hitchcock, the work of Isaac Babel and Ernest Hemingway, and Louis Begley’s Wartime Lies.

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Warlight: A Novel by Michael Ondaatje:

NATIONAL BEST SELLER

From the internationally acclaimed, best-selling author of The English Patient: a mesmerizing new novel that tells a dramatic story set in the decade after World War II through the lives of a small group of unexpected characters and two teenagers whose lives are indelibly shaped by their unwitting involvement.

In a narrative as beguiling and mysterious as memory itself—shadowed and luminous at once—we read the story of fourteen-year-old Nathaniel, and his older sister, Rachel. In 1945, just after World War II, they stay behind in London when their parents move to Singapore, leaving them in the care of a mysterious figure named The Moth. They suspect he might be a criminal, and they grow both more convinced and less concerned as they come to know his eccentric crew of friends: men and women joined by a shared history of unspecified service during the war, all of whom seem, in some way, determined now to protect, and educate (in rather unusual ways) Rachel and Nathaniel. But are they really what and who they claim to be? And what does it mean when the siblings’ mother returns after months of silence without their father, explaining nothing, excusing nothing? A dozen years later, Nathaniel begins to uncover all that he didn’t know and understand in that time, and it is this journey—through facts, recollection, and imagination—that he narrates in this masterwork from one of the great writers of our time.

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PRINT BOOK SUGGESTIONS OF THE WEEK:

Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two by Joseph Bruchac: 

Throughout World War II, in the conflict fought against Japan, Navajo code talkers were a crucial part of the U.S. effort, sending messages back and forth in an unbreakable code that used their native language. They braved some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and with their code, they saved countless American lives. Yet their story remained classified for more than twenty years.

But now Joseph Bruchac brings their stories to life for young adults through the riveting fictional tale of Ned Begay, a sixteen-year-old Navajo boy who becomes a code talker. His grueling journey is eye-opening and inspiring. This deeply affecting novel honors all of those young men, like Ned, who dared to serve, and it honors the culture and language of the Navajo Indians.

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D-day Girls: The Spies Who Armed The Resistance, Sabotaged The Nazis And Helped Win World War II by Sarah Rose:

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The dramatic, untold true story of the extraordinary women recruited by Britain’s elite spy agency to help pave the way for Allied victory in World War II

“Gripping. Spies, romance, Gestapo thugs, blown-up trains, courage, and treachery (lots of treachery)—and all of it true.”—Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake

In 1942, the Allies were losing, Germany seemed unstoppable, and every able man in England was on the front lines. To “set Europe ablaze,” in the words of Winston Churchill, the Special Operations Executive (SOE) was forced to do something unprecedented: recruit women as spies. Thirty-nine answered the call, leaving their lives and families to become saboteurs in France.

In D-Day Girls, Sarah Rose draws on recently de­classified files, diaries, and oral histories to tell the thrilling story of three of these remarkable women. There’s Andrée Borrel, a scrappy and streetwise Parisian who blew up power lines with the Gestapo hot on her heels; Odette Sansom, an unhappily married suburban mother who saw the SOE as her ticket out of domestic life and into a meaningful adventure; and Lise de Baissac, a fiercely independent member of French colonial high society and the SOE’s unflap­pable “queen.” Together, they destroyed train lines, ambushed Nazis, plotted prison breaks, and gathered crucial intelligence—laying the groundwork for the D-Day invasion that proved to be the turning point in the war.

Rigorously researched and written with razor-sharp wit, D-Day Girls is an inspiring story for our own moment of resistance: a reminder of what courage—and the energy of politically animated women—can accomplish when the stakes seem incalculably high.

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D-Day, June 6, 1944 : The Climactic Battle of World War II by Stephen Ambrose:

Stephen E. Ambrose’s D-Day is the definitive history of World War II’s most pivotal battle, a day that changed the course of history.

D-Day is the epic story of men at the most demanding moment of their lives, when the horrors, complexities, and triumphs of life are laid bare. Distinguished historian Stephen E. Ambrose portrays the faces of courage and heroism, fear and determination—what Eisenhower called “the fury of an aroused democracy”—that shaped the victory of the citizen soldiers whom Hitler had disparaged.Drawing on more than 1,400 interviews with American, British, Canadian, French, and German veterans, Ambrose reveals how the original plans for the invasion had to be abandoned, and how enlisted men and junior officers acted on their own initiative when they realized that nothing was as they were told it would be.

The action begins at midnight, June 5/6, when the first British and American airborne troops jumped into France. It ends at midnight June 6/7. Focusing on those pivotal twenty-four hours, it moves from the level of Supreme Commander to that of a French child, from General Omar Bradley to an American paratrooper, from Field Marshal Montgomery to a German sergeant.

Ambrose’s D-Day is the finest account of one of our history’s most important days.

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The Wartime Sisters: A Novel by Lynda Cohen Loigman: 

For fans of Lilac Girls, the next powerful novel from the author of Goodreads Choice Awards semifinalist The Two-Family House about two sisters working in a WWII armory, each with a deep secret.

“Loigman’s strong voice and artful prose earn her a place in the company of Alice Hoffman and Anita Diamant, whose readers should flock to this wondrous new book.” —Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale

“The Wartime Sisters shows the strength of women on the home front: to endure, to fight, and to help each other survive.” —Jenna Blum, New York Times and international bestselling author of The Lost Family and Those Who Save Us

Two estranged sisters, raised in Brooklyn and each burdened with her own shocking secret, are reunited at the Springfield Armory in the early days of WWII. While one sister lives in relative ease on the bucolic Armory campus as an officer’s wife, the other arrives as a war widow and takes a position in the Armory factories as a “soldier of production.” Resentment festers between the two, and secrets are shattered when a mysterious figure from the past reemerges in their lives.

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The Winds of War and War & Remembrance by Herman Wouk:

If you like historical fiction and have never read these books, which together chronicle the lives of the Henry Family, their friends and historical figures encountered by family patriach Victor “Pug” Henry from 1939 through the end of World War II – you should read these books.

Granted, these books are not  light beach reads, and indeed, it might take you all summer to finish both books.

However, for those who love history/historical fiction they offer a fascinating window into the past and reading them is time well spent.

On a related note, the library also owns the entire, again very long, mini-series based upon both books – and those two DVD sets could also take you all summer to watch – but I don’t believe they are available for streaming – so check them out!

And here is the official, and quite short, overview of the two-book series:

A masterpiece of historical fiction, this is the Great Novel of America’s “Greatest Generation”.

Herman Wouk’s sweeping epic of World War II, which begins with The Winds of War and continues in War and Remembrance, stands as the crowning achievement of one of America’s most celebrated storytellers. Like no other books about the war, Wouk’s spellbinding narrative captures the tide of global events – and all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of World War II – as it immerses us in the lives of a single American family drawn into the very center of the war’s maelstrom.

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Bonus Recommendation – another World War II story written by Herman Wouk:

The Caine Mutiny:

The Novel that Inspired the Now-Classic Film The Caine Mutiny and the Hit Broadway Play The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial Herman Wouk’s boldly dramatic, brilliantly entertaining novel of life-and mutiny-on a Navy warship in the Pacific theater was immediately embraced, upon its original publication in 1951, as one of the first serious works of American fiction to grapple with the moral complexities and the human consequences of World War II. In the intervening half century, The Caine Mutiny has become a perennial favorite of readers young and old, has sold millions of copies throughout the world, and has achieved the status of a modern classic.

Have a great week!
Linda, SSCL

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.

Freegal Music Service

This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial-free music each day:

RBDigital

*Magazines are available for free and on demand! You can check out magazines and read them on your computer or download the RBDigital app from your app store and read them on your mobile devices.

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or RB Digital app 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 the top New York Times fiction and non-fiction bestsellers for the week that ends June 9, 2019.

(Click on the book covers to read a summary of each plot and to request the books of your choice.)

FICTION:

18TH ABDUCTION by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro:

The 18th book in the Women’s Murder Club series. Lindsay Boxer investigates the disappearance of three female teachers.

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BEFORE WE WERE YOURS by Lisa Wingate:

A South Carolina lawyer learns about the questionable practices of a Tennessee orphanage.

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BIG KAHUNA by Janet Evanovich and Peter Evanovich:

The sixth book in the Fox and O’Hare series. An F.B.I. agent teams up with a con man to search for a Silicon Valley billionaire.

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BLESSING IN DISGUISE by Danielle Steel:

Isabelle McAvoy faces challenges as she raises three daughters from three separate fathers on her own

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CARI MORA by Thomas Harris:

Hans-Peter Schneider pauses his ghastly deeds to seek a dead man’s gold hidden under a Miami mansion, but its caretaker’s surprising skills prove daunting.

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EXHALATION by Ted Chiang:

Nine short stories including “The Lifecycle of Software Objects” and “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom.”

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FIRE AND BLOOD by George R.R. Martin:

The first volume of the two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros.

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GAME OF THRONES by George R.R. Martin:

In the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are mustering. Basis of the HBO series.

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A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles:

A Russian count undergoes 30 years of house arrest in the Metropol hotel, across from the Kremlin.

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THE GUEST BOOK by Sarah Blake:

Evie Milton uncovers a story going back a couple generations that may shatter a family myth.

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LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng:

An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland.

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LOST ROSES by Martha Hall Kelly:

In 1914, the New York socialite Eliza Ferriday works to help White Russian families escape from the revolution.

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THE MISTER by E L James:

Maxim Trevelyan inherits several estates and overpowers his cleaner Alessia Demachi, an Albanian piano prodigy who has been trafficked into England.

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NEON PREY by John Sandford:

The 29th book in the Prey series. Lucas Davenport goes after a serial killer.

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THE NIGHT WINDOW by Dean Koontz:

The fifth book in the Jane Hawk series. The former F.B.I. agent pursues a slew of bad guys, including a Vegas mob boss.

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NORMAL PEOPLE by Sally Rooney:

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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PAST TENSE by Lee Child:

Jack Reacher explores the New England town where his father was born and a Canadian couple now find themselves stranded.

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REDEMPTION by David Baldacci:

The fifth book in the Memory Man series. The first man Amos Decker put behind bars asks to have his name cleared.

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THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides:

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

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SUNSET BEACH by Mary Kay Andrews:

Drue Campbell inherits a run-down beach bungalow and takes a job at her estranged father’s personal injury attorney office.

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TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ by Heather Morris:

A concentration camp detainee tasked with permanently marking fellow prisoners falls in love with one of them.

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens:

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:

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 BRITISH ARE COMING by Rick Atkinson:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist begins his Revolution Trilogy with events from 1775 to 1777.

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EDUCATED by Tara Westover:

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

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FURIOUS HOURS by Casey Cep:

Harper Lee’s work on the true-crime story about a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members in the 1970s.

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HOWARD STERN COMES AGAIN by Howard Stern:

The radio interviewer delves into some of his favorite on-air conversations from the past four decades of his career.

 

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MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE by Lori Gottlieb:

A psychotherapist gains unexpected insights when she becomes another therapist’s patient.

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MOMENT OF LIFT by Melinda Gates: 

The philanthropist shares stories of empowering women to improve society.

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THE MUELLER REPORT with an introduction by Alan Dershowitz: 

Redacted findings from the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential obstruction of justice by the president.

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THE MUELLER REPORT with related materials by The Washington Post: 

Redacted findings from the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential obstruction of justice by the president.

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THE PIONEERS by David McCullough:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian tells the story of the settling of the Northwest Territory through five main characters.

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SACRED DUTY by Tom Cotton:

The veteran and Republican senator from Arkansas describes the services enacted by the Army unit known as the Old Guard.

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SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari:

How Homo sapiens became Earth’s dominant species.

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SEA STORIES by William H. McRaven:

A memoir by the retired four-star Navy admiral, including the capture of Saddam Hussein and the raid to kill Osama bin Laden.

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THE SECOND MOUNTAIN by David Brooks:

A New York Times Op-Ed columnist espouses having an outward focus to attain a meaningful life.

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SPYING ON THE SOUTH by Tony Horwitz:

A retracing of Frederick Law Olmsted’s time as an undercover correspondent during the 1850s in the South for The New York Times and one of the designers of Central Park.

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THEODORE ROOSEVELT FOR THE DEFENSE by Dan Abrams and David Fisher:

The 1915 courtroom fight between William Barnes and the former president who had accused him of political corruption.

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UNFREEDOM OF THE PRESS by Mark R. Levin:

The conservative commentator and radio host makes his case that the press is aligned with political ideology.

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UPHEAVAL by Jared Diamond:

The ways in which six countries outlasted recent crises and adopted selective changes.

Have a great day!

Linda Reimer, SSL

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our lucky seven musical streaming* suggestions for the week.

This week, since it is almost summer, I’m going to highlight seven playlists you can enjoy during June, and indeed, all the lazy, hazy days of summer!

Age Against The Machine: A Playlist for Getting Older by Various Artists:

This is an eighty song set that features songs that range from reflective to humorous as the singer/narrators ponder life, where we’ve been, where we are and where we are going.

Songs in the set include Growin’ Up by Bruce Springsteen, Grow Old With Me by Tom O’Dell, That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine by Johnny Cash, Time Marches on by Tracy Lawrence and People Get Old by Lori McKenna.

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Book It: A Summer Reading Playlist by Various Artists:

This playlist is a vibrant eclectic collection of 80 songs that range the gamut from relaxing to modern in-your-face rock.

There is, undoubtedly, a song for every mood and listener in this set!

Songs in the collection include Reading by Matt Pond PA, I Could Write A Book by Dinah Washington, Tell Me A Story by Iggy Pop, Summer Jam by The Piano Guys, Read About It by Midnight Oil, Open Book by Cake, Sugar by Louis Armstrong and Word Crimes by Weird Al Yankovic.

Bonus Light Summer Reading Music Suggestion (for those that prefer more relaxing reading music!):

Classical Reading Backdrop by Martin Jacoby & Northern String Quartet:

Songs in this collection of soft relaxing music include Orchestra Suite No. 3, The Carnival Of The Animals, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Symphony No. 9 and November Rain by Northern String Quartet.

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The Journey is Long: A Hiking Playlist by Various Artists:

This eighty nine song playlist features a solid mix of classic and contemporary artists and, you could indeed listening to it while hiking; however, it would also make a nice barbeque-summer party playlist!

Songs in the collection include American Summer by Giilants, Pretty Shinning People by George Ezra, On The Road by Buddy Guy, People Going Places by The Servants, Can’t Run by Paul Simon and Riders on the Storm by Santana with Ray Manzarek.

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Midnight Jazz Playlist by Various Artists:

This is a great seventy-three song playlist that heavily features classic jazz artists including Bill Evans, Helen Merrill, Yoshiyuki Okayasu, Larry Coryell, Buddy Rich, Dexter Gordon, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis.

Songs in the set include To the Ends of the Earth by Nat King Cole, Along Came Betty by Art Blakey, Just The Way You Look by Art Farmer, Sugar by Stanley Turrentine and Jutterbug Waltz by Earl Hines.

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The Setting of the Sun: A Singer-Songwriter Playlist by Various Artists:

The Setting of the Sun is an eighty-three song playlist featuring some great, thoughtful folk songs including 1952 Vincent Black Lightning by Richard Thompson, Where’s My Tribe? By Charlene Soraia, Summers End by John Prime, The One That Got Away by The Civil Wars, The Lily of the West by Joan Baez, Hotel St. Cecilia by Joy Williams, This Land Is your Land by Woody Guthrie and The Timers Are A-Changin’ by Bob Dylan.

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Summer Heat Playlist by Various Artists:

Summer Heat, indeed! This is a ninety-four song collection of modern music including Giant by Calvin Harris, Deeper Shade of Soul by Urban Dance Squad, Summer Nights by Demy, 50 Ways to Leave  Your Lover by PPP & Rogier and Summertime Magic by Childish Gambino.

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Take it Easy: A Relaxation Playlist by Various Artists:

Take It Easy is a seventy six-song playlist of modern relaxation classics including Lighthouse by Grouper, Never Is a Promise by Fiona Apple, Requiem for a Fallen Tree by Lubomyr Melnyk, Yin and Yang by uyama hiroto and Africa by The Orb.

Bonus Relaxation Playlist:

The “V Discs” – The Columbia Years 1943 – 1952 by Frank Sinatra:

If your idea of easy listening is a more traditional vocal one, then check out this collection by the great Frank Sinatra.

The “V Discs” were specially made by various record companies in conjunction with the U.S Government, and were played for U.S. serviceman during the War, and the “V” actually stands for “Victory.”

In Sinatra’s case, since he was signed to Columbia Records, the recordings were made by Columbia who saved the masters.

This is a terrific fifty-three song collection!

Songs in the set include Kiss Me Again, (There’ll Be A) Hot Time In The Town of Berlin, I Couldn’t Sleep A Wink, The Way You Look Tonight, A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening, Speak Low and You Are Too Beautiful.

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Videos of the Week:

Grow Old With Me by Tom O’Dell

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Still Crazy After All These Years by Paul Simon

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Those Were The Days by Mary Hopkin

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Time Waits for No One by The Friends of Distinction

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I’m Going To Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter by Fats Waller

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Summer Jam by The Piano Guys

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Writer’s Retreat by Lloyd Cole

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American Summery by Giiants

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Can’t Run But by Paul Simon

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Texas by Jennifer Castle

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Gypsy Blue by Freddie Hubbard

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Second Balcony Jump by Dexter Gordon

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When You Wish Upon A Star- Ken Peplowski Quartet

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1952 Vincent Black Lightning by Richard Thompson

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Heart Like a Kite by John Paul White

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Hotel St. Cecilia by Joy Williams

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Montego Sunset by Menahan Street Band

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Summer Breese by The Isley Brothers

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Summer Nights by Demy

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Doughnuts Forever by The Orb

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Gavotte by Mark De Clive

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Lighthouse by Grouper

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I Only Have Eyes For You by Frank Sinatra

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Over The Rainbow by Frank Sinatra

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Stormy Weather by Frank Sinatra

Have a great weekend!

Linda, SSCL

REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

Online References

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

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*Freegal is a free streaming music service available for free to library cardholders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries. STLS member libraries include all the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler, and Allegany counties — including our own Southeast Steuben County Library.

You can download the Freegal music app to your mobile device or access the desktop version of the site by clicking on the following link:

*The Freegal service offers library card holders the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day.

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week, five digital titles available through OverDrive and five print titles available through StarCat.

DIGITAL SUGGESTIONS OF THE WEEK:

Bearskin: A Novel by James A. McLaughlin (Format: eBook):

WINNER OF THE 2019 EDGAR FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL

“Bearskin is visceral, raw, and compelling—filled with sights, smells, and sounds truly observed. It’s a powerful debut and an absolute showcase of exceptional prose. There are very few first novels when I feel compelled to circle brilliant passages, but James McLaughlin’s writing had me doing just that.” —C.J. Box, #1 NYT bestselling author of The Disappeared

Rice Moore is just beginning to think his troubles are behind him. He’s found a job protecting a remote forest preserve in Virginian Appalachia where his main responsibilities include tracking wildlife and refurbishing cabins. It’s hard work, and totally solitary—perfect to hide away from the Mexican drug cartels he betrayed back in Arizona. But when Rice finds the carcass of a bear killed on the grounds, the quiet solitude he’s so desperately sought is suddenly at risk.

More bears are killed on the preserve and Rice’s obsession with catching the poachers escalates, leading to hostile altercations with the locals and attention from both the law and Rice’s employers. Partnering with his predecessor, a scientist who hopes to continue her research on the preserve, Rice puts into motion a plan that could expose the poachers but risks revealing his own whereabouts to the dangerous people he was running from in the first place.

James McLaughlin expertly brings the beauty and danger of Appalachia to life. The result is an elemental, slow burn of a novel—one that will haunt you long after you turn the final page.

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Horse Latitudes by Morris Collins (Format: eBook):

Ethan, haunted by guilt in the wake of his wife’s tortured descent into madness, loses himself in a lawless and sensual world when he crosses the US’s southern border.

Wandering without hope in a place that obeys only raw power, he meets a woman who saves his life and, in return, extracts his promise to rescue her sister, Mirabelle, from a Central American country on the brink of revolution before Mirabelle can be lured into deeper danger by the false coyote Soto. Pursued through crumbling cities and down a jungle river, Ethan finds himself in a country where personal and political traumas converge in a guerrilla war in which the sides are unclear and the stakes beyond reckoning. Ethan sought absolution and relief when he abandoned everything he knew, but to save Mirabelle, he must make a choice that will place him far beyond the borders of redemption.

Horse Latitudes is a lushly-written modern gothic — part thriller, part nightmarish journey into the moral uncertainty at the heart of the American experience in Central America.

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House Witness written by Mike Lawson & read by Joe Barrett (Format: Downloadable Audiobook):

This novel in Mike Lawson’s critically acclaimed series takes political fixer Joe DeMarco to New York for behind—the—scenes work on a high—stakes murder case as the witnesses start to decamp one by one.

In House Witness, the expertly plotted twelfth novel in this critically acclaimed series, Mike Lawson puts his likable protagonist on the trail of a different kind of fixer-one whose job is to inject reasonable doubt into seemingly air-tight criminal cases.

Minority Leader of the House and Joe DeMarco’s long-time employer John Mahoney has kept more than one secret from his wife over the years but none so explosive as this: He has a son, and that son has just been shot dead in a bar in Manhattan. Mahoney immediately dispatches DeMarco to his native New York to provide prosecutor Justine Porter with any assistance necessary, but with five bystanders willing to testify against rich- boy Toby Rosenthal, the case seems like a slam -dunk-that is, until Porter begins to suspect that someone is interfering with those witnesses and that this may be connected to a pattern of cases across the country. Could someone be helping to get witnesses out of the way when the fate of a wealthy defendant is on the line?

With the help of Porter’s intern, as outrageously smart as she is young, DeMarco becomes determined to follow that question through to its violent resolution in what turns out to be Joe DeMarco most unexpected adventure yet.

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A Knife in the Fog by Bradley Harper (Format: eBook):

Physician Arthur Conan Doyle takes a break from his practice to assist London police in tracking down Jack the Ripper in this debut novel and series starter.

September 1888. A twenty-nine-year-old Arthur Conan Doyle practices medicine by day and writes at night. His first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, although gaining critical and popular success, has only netted him twenty-five pounds. Embittered by the experience, he vows never to write another “crime story.” Then a messenger arrives with a mysterious summons from former Prime Minister William Gladstone, asking him to come to London immediately.

Once there, he is offered one month’s employment to assist the Metropolitan Police as a “consultant” in their hunt for the serial killer soon to be known as Jack the Ripper. Doyle agrees on the stipulation his old professor of surgery, Professor Joseph Bell—Doyle’s inspiration for Sherlock Holmes—agrees to work with him. Bell agrees, and soon the two are joined by Miss Margaret Harkness, an author residing in the East End who knows how to use a Derringer and serves as their guide and companion.

Pursuing leads through the dank alleys and courtyards of Whitechapel, they come upon the body of a savagely murdered fifth victim. Soon it becomes clear that the hunters have become the hunted when a knife-wielding figure approaches.

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A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, Countess of Harleigh Mystery Series, Book 1 written by Dianne Freeman and read by Sarah Zimmerman (Format: Downloadable Audiobook): 

In this exciting historical mystery debut set in Victorian England, a wealthy young widow encounters the pleasures—and scandalous pitfalls—of a London social season . . .

Frances Wynn, the American-born Countess of Harleigh, enjoys more freedom as a widow than she did as a wife. With her young daughter in tow, Frances rents a home in Belgravia and prepares to welcome her sister, Lily, arriving from New York—for her first London season.

But no sooner has Frances begun her new life than the Metropolitan police receive an anonymous letter implicating Frances in her husband’s death. Frances assures Inspector Delaney of her innocence, but she’s also keen to keep him from learning the scandalous circumstances of Reggie’s demise. As fate would have it, her dashing new neighbor, George Hazelton, is one of only two other people aware of the full story.

While busy with social engagements on Lily’s behalf, and worrying if Reggie really was murdered, Frances rallies her wits, a circle of gossips, and the ever-chivalrous Mr. Hazelton to uncover the truth. A killer is in their midst and Frances must unmask the villain before Lily’s season—and their lives—come to a most unseemly end . . .

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PRINT BOOK SUGGESTIONS OF THE WEEK:

Into The Jungle by Erica Ferencik:

Starred Publishers Weekly Review * A Publishers Weekly “Big Summer Books” * Featured in the New York Post Summer Round Up * A Crime by the Book “Most Anticipated” Novel

In this pulse-pounding thriller from the author of the “haunting, twisting thrill ride” (Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author) The River at Night, a young woman leaves behind everything she knows to take on the Bolivian jungle, but her excursion abroad quickly turns into a fight for her life.

Lily Bushwold thought she’d found the antidote to endless foster care and group homes: a teaching job in Cochabamba, Bolivia. As soon as she could steal enough cash for the plane, she was on it.

When the gig falls through and Lily stays in Bolivia, she finds bonding with other broke, rudderless girls at the local hostel isn’t the life she wants either. Tired of hustling and already world-weary, crazy love finds her in the form she least expected: Omar, a savvy, handsome local man who’d abandoned his life as a hunter in Ayachero—a remote jungle village—to try his hand at city life.

When Omar learns that a jaguar has killed his four-year-old nephew in Ayachero, he gives Lily a choice: Stay alone in the unforgiving city, or travel to the last in a string of ever-more-isolated river towns in the jungles of Bolivia. Thirty-foot anaconda? Puppy-sized spiders? Vengeful shamans with unspeakable powers? Love-struck Lily is oblivious. She follows Omar to this ruthless new world of lawless poachers, bullheaded missionaries, and desperate indigenous tribes driven to the brink of extinction. To survive, Lily must navigate the jungle–its wonders as well as its terrors—using only her wits and resilience.

Primal, gripping, and terrifying, Into the Jungle features Erica Ferencik’s signature “visceral, white-knuckle” (Entertainment Weekly) prose that will sink its fangs into you and not let go.

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The Last Day: A Novel by Domenica Ruta:

The fates of a cast of seemingly unconnected people converge during the celebration of an ancient holiday in a thought-provoking debut that brings to mind such novels as Station Eleven and The Age of Miracles.

In Domenica Ruta’s profoundly original novel, the end of the world comes once a year. Every May 28, humanity gathers to anticipate the planet’s demise—and to celebrate as if the day is truly its last.

On this holiday, three intersecting sets of characters embark on a possibly last-chance quest for redemption. In Boston, bookish wunderkind Sarah is looking for love and maybe a cosmic reversal from the much older Kurt, a tattoo artist she met at last year’s Last Day BBQ—but he’s still trying to make amends to the family he destroyed long ago. Dysfunctional Karen keeps getting into trouble, especially when the voices she’s been hearing coax her to abandon everything to search for her long-lost adoptive brother; her friend Rosette has left the Jehovah’s Witnesses to follow a new pastor at the Last Kingdom on Earth, where she brings Karen on this fateful day. Meanwhile, above them all, three astronauts on the International Space Station, Bear, an American; Russian Svec; and billionaire Japanese space tourist Yui, contemplate their lives as well as their precious Earth from afar.

With sparkling wit, verbal ingenuity, and wild imagination, Ruta has created an alternate world in which an ancient holiday brings into stark reflection our deepest dreams, desires, hopes, and fears. In this tour-de-force debut novel she has written a dazzling, haunting love letter to humanity and to our planet.

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Much Ado About Lewrie: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) by Dewey Lambdin:

Lewrie loses his ship and his command when he receives news that Vigilance must return to England to be decommissioned and turned over to the dockyards for a complete refit. Lewrie is grounded, put on half-pay, and his crew disperses to look for new positions.

It’s late Autumn, and being ashore is heavenly, after a time. Lewrie spends time with his wife Jessica, helps his son Hugh find a new ship, and happily marries off Charlotte. Life onshore is quiet until Lewrie finds himself once again in the headlines of the city papers after discovering a dognapping gang and uncovering stolen Bisquits and Rembrants. The headlines should be positive, but soon the tides turn against Lewrie once again. There’s never a dull moment for Lewrie.

Dewey Lambdin is the reigning master of maritime fiction, celebrated as the heir to Patrick O’Brian and C.S. Forester. For over twenty years, his devoted fans have followed the adventures of Alan Lewrie, Royal Navy, from his days as a midshipmen to captain of his own ship and, though on somewhat dubious grounds, a baronetcy.

Just in case you should wish to start this swashbuckling series from the beginning, the first book in the series is:

The King’s Coat by Dewey Lambdin:

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Where The Light Enters The Building by Jill Biden

An intimate look at the love that built the Biden family and the delicate balancing act of the woman at its center

“How did you get this number?” Those were the first words Jill Biden spoke to U.S. senator Joe Biden when he called her out of the blue to ask her on a date.

Growing up, Jill had wanted two things: a marriage like her parents’―strong, loving, and full of laughter―and a career. An early heartbreak had left her uncertain about love, until she met Joe. But as they grew closer, Jill faced difficult questions: How would politics shape her family and professional life? And was she ready to become a mother to Joe’s two young sons?

She soon found herself falling in love with her three “boys,” learning to balance life as a mother, wife, educator, and political spouse. Through the challenges of public scrutiny, complicated family dynamics, and personal losses, she grew alongside her family, and she extended the family circle at every turn: with her students, military families, friends and staff at the White House, and more.

This is the story of how Jill built a family―and a life―of her own. From the pranks she played to keep everyone laughing to the traditions she formed that would carry them through tragedy, hers is the spirited journey of a woman embracing many roles.

Where the Light Enters is a candid, heartwarming glimpse into the creation of a beloved American family, and the life of a woman at its center.

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The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns:

Oceans and decades apart, two women are inextricably bound by the secrets between them.

Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura’s prearranged marriage to the son of her father’s business associate would secure her family’s status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man—an American sailor, a gaijin—and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it’s learned Naoko carries the sailor’s child, she’s cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.

America, present day. Tori Kovac, caring for her dying father, finds a letter containing a shocking revelation—one that calls into question everything she understood about him, her family and herself. Setting out to learn the truth behind the letter, Tori’s journey leads her halfway around the world to a remote seaside village in Japan, where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption.

In breathtaking prose and inspired by true stories from a devastating and little-known era in Japanese and American history, The Woman in the White Kimono illuminates a searing portrait of one woman torn between her culture and her heart, and another woman on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.

Have a great week!
Linda, SSCL

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.

Freegal Music Service

This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial-free music each day:

RBDigital

*Magazines are available for free and on demand! You can check out magazines and read them on your computer or download the RBDigital app from your app store and read them on your mobile devices.

ABOUT LIBRARY APPS:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or RB Digital app 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.