Tech & Book Talk at SSCL

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

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

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

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New York Times Bestseller blog posts are published on Sundays.And the next New York Times blog post will be published Sunday, April 23, 2023.

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FICTION

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ABOVE GROUND by Clint Smith

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A collection of poems by the author of “How the Word Is Passed.”

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CAMP ZERO by Michelle Min Sterling

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

At a building project in remote northern Canada, a woman is on a secret mission to monitor the architect in charge.

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COUNTDOWN by James Patterson and Brendan DuBois

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

A botched field operation and a terrorist plot endanger Amy Cornwall and her family.

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DAISY JONES & THE SIX by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

A fictional oral history charting the rise and fall of a ’70s rock ’n’ roll band.

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DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver

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

A reimagining of Charles Dickens’s “David Copperfield” set in the mountains of southern Appalachia.

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HANG THE MOON by Jeannette Walls

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

Nine years after being cast out, a young woman returns to reclaim her place in her family and comes into her own as a bootlegger.

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HEART BONES by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

After an unexpected death prevents her from going to Penn State and and forces her to move in with her absent father, Beyah Grim has a summer fling with the rich guy next door.

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HELLO BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano

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

In a homage to Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women,” a young man’s dark past resurfaces as he gets to the know the family of his college sweetheart.

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HOMECOMING by Kate Morton

(Available Formats: Print Book & Large Print)

An unemployed journalist connects events in a true-crime book, which details a long-buried murder in 1959 in South Australia, to her own family.

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IT ENDS WITH US by Colleen Hoover

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

A battered wife raised in a violent home attempts to halt the cycle of abuse.

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IT STARTS WITH US by Colleen Hoover

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

In the sequel to “It Ends With Us,” Lily deals with her jealous ex-husband as she reconnects with her first boyfriend.

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I WILL FIND YOU by Harlan Coben

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

A man imprisoned for murdering his 3-year-old son becomes convinced his son is still alive and plans an escape.

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THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME by Laura Dave

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

Hannah Hall discovers truths about her missing husband and bonds with his daughter from a previous relationship.

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LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus

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

A scientist and single mother living in California in the 1960s becomes a star on a TV cooking show.

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NEVER NEVER by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

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

Questions arise when a pair of lovers try to uncover why they suddenly became strangers.

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PINEAPPLE STREET by Jenny Jackson

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

Three women navigate their roles in a well-to-do family living in Brooklyn Heights.

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REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt

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

A widow working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium is aided in solving a mystery by a giant Pacific octopus living there.

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ROMANTIC COMEDY by Curtis Sittenfeld

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A late-night show’s sketch writer may become involved with a pop music sensation who is a guest host.

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THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

A movie icon recounts stories of her loves and career to a struggling magazine writer.

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SOULMATE by Sally Hepworth

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

The marriage between a couple, who live in a cottage near cliffs where people try to end their lives, begins to crack.

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TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin

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

Two friends find their partnership challenged in the world of video game design.

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TRESS OF THE EMERALD SEA by Brandon Sanderson

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Tress stows away on a ship to look for the Sorceress of the Midnight Sea.

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UGLY LOVE by Colleen Hoover

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

Tate Collins and Miles Archer, an airline pilot, think they can handle a no strings attached arrangement. But they can’t.

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VERITY by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Lowen Ashleigh is hired by the husband of an injured writer to complete her popular series and uncovers a horrifying truth.

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NON-FICTION:

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ALL ABOUT LOVE by bell hooks

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

The late feminist icon explores the causes of a polarized society and the meaning of love.

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THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk

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

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

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BRAIDING SWEETGRASS by Robin Wall Kimmerer

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook, Hoopla instant check out eBook & Audiobook)

A botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation espouses having an understanding and appreciation of plants and animals.

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THE COURAGE TO BE FREE by Ron DeSantis

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

The Florida governor gives his account of his achievements and shares his opinions about the political left.

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THE COURAGE TO BE FREE by Ron DeSantis

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

The Florida governor gives his account of his achievements and shares his opinions about the political left.

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CRYING IN H MART by Michelle Zauner

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

The daughter of a Korean mother and Jewish-American father, and leader of the indie rock project Japanese Breakfast, describes creating her own identity after losing her mother to cancer.

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FEVER IN THE HEARTLAND by Timothy Egan

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

The Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning author details the Ku Klux Klan’s rise to the height of its power in the 1920s and how one brutalized woman’s testimony diminished it.

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FOLLOW ME TO HELL by Tom Clavin

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A portrayal of a ranger named Leander McNelly and his men in 1870s Texas.

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GOT YOUR NUMBER by Mike Greenberg with Paul Hembekides

(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook)

The ESPN host partners with his producer to create their list of top 100 sports legends.

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GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey

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

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

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I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED by Jennette McCurdy

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

The actress and filmmaker describes her eating disorders and difficult relationship with her mother.

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IT’S OK TO BE ANGRY ABOUT CAPITALISM by Bernie Sanders with John Nichols

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The Vermont senator depicts the impact capitalism has on key areas of our lives and ways to address this.

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THE LIGHT WE CARRY by Michelle Obama

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

The former first lady shares personal stories and the tools she uses to deal with difficult situations.

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OUTLIVE by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

A look at recent scientific research on aging and longevity.

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PARIS by Paris Hilton

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

The entrepreneur and pop culture icon shares her personal and professional rise in the age of influencers.

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POVERTY, BY AMERICA by Matthew Desmond

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

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Evicted” examines the ways in which affluent Americans keep poor people poor.

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SAVED by Benjamin Hall

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The Fox News journalist gives his account of the injuries he sustained from a Russian attack while covering the war in Ukraine.

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SPARE  by Prince Harry

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

The Duke of Sussex details his struggles with the royal family, loss of his mother, service in the British Army and marriage to Meghan Markle.

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WALK THE BLUE LINE by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann with Chris Mooney

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

A collection of stories about police officers.

 

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSL

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*Information on the Three Catalogs*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Also of Note: If a New York Times Bestseller isn’t yet available in any of the three catalogs; you can contact the library and request to be notified when it becomes available.

Southeast Steuben County Library Tel: 607-936-3713

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

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

Suggested Listening postings are published on Fridays; and our next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, April 21, 2023.

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week – this week, we are enjoying ten songs by The Beatles!

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I Want To Hold Your Hand

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A Hard Day’s Night

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Hide Your Love Away

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Taxman

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Help!

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Norwegian Wood

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Here Comes The Sun

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Something

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Let It Be

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The Long And Winding Road

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The Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week is on vacation and will be back next week!

You can check out the Hoopla music catalog here: https://www.hoopladigital.com/browse/music

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Have a great weekend,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

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

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The Digital Catalog, web version of Libby

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

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The Libby App

Libby is the companion app to the Digital Catalog and may be found in the Apple & Google app.

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Hoopla

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

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

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

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

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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are now published on Wednesdays.

And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.

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An American in Scotland by Lucy Connelly

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, Hoopla instant check out eBook & Audiobook)

DEBUT Dr. Emilia McRoy really should have read that 30-page contract before moving from Seattle to Sea Isle, Scotland. After 15 years as an emergency room doctor, she fled family tragedy and burnout to take a position as the small town’s general practitioner. She learns that her new practice and home are in a deconsecrated church that comes with two employees. The town is eager to welcome the new doctor, except for a man named Smithy who refuses to drink in any pub where there’s a McRoy at the bar. Three hours later when she takes shelter in a hut during a rainstorm, Em finds Smithy dead. As she seeks help, she runs smack into Ewan Campbell, the constable/mayor/laird of Sea Isle who’s also her new boss. She’s stunned when she learns her contract says she’s the local coroner. Investigating Smithy’s death will take everything Em’s learned from British mysteries on TV, and she butts heads with Ewan at every turn.

VERDICT Connelly writes an atmospheric, character-driven debut that’s amusing at times, with a quirky, spirited cast. It has a strong sense of place that should appeal to fans of Carlene O’Connor’s Irish mysteries. – Starred Library Journal Review

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Everything That Rises: A Climate Change Memoir by Brianna Craft

(Available Formats: eBook)

One of Ms. magazine’s “Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2023”

Authentic and inspiring, Everything That Rises personalizes the realities of climate change by paralleling our relationship to the planet with the way we interact within our own homes.

Nineteen-year-old Brianna Craft is having a panic attack. A professor’s matter-of-fact explanation of the phenomenon known as “climate change” has her white-knuckling the table in her first environmental studies lecture. Out of her father’s house, she was supposed to be safe.

This moment changed everything for Brianna. For her first internship, she jumped at the chance to assist the Least Developed Countries Group at the United Nations’ negotiations meant to produce a new climate treaty. While working for those most ignored yet most impacted by the climate crisis, she grappled with the negligent indifference of those who hold the most power. This dynamic painfully reminded her of growing up in a house where the loudest voice always won and violence silenced those in need.

Four years later, Brianna witnessed the adoption of the first universal climate treaty, the Paris Agreement. In this memoir that blends the political with the personal, Brianna dives into what it means to advocate for the future, and for the people and places you love, all while ensuring your own voice doesn’t get lost in the process.

It will take all of us to protect our home.

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Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It Janina Ramirez

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant check out Audiobook)

Historian Ramirez (Julian of Norwich) spotlights in this vibrant and accessible account remarkable medieval women including polymath Hildegard of Bingen and Margery Kempe, author of the first autobiography written in English. Diligently sifting through monastic, legal, and diplomatic materials, Ramirez unearths intriguing clues about the power medieval women held and the way they lived, despite contemporaneous efforts to remove them from the historical record. In 10th-century England, for example, Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, ruled the kingdom of Mercia after her husband’s death and excelled as a military strategist against the Vikings, but is not remembered as well as her male relatives, largely because her brother “suppressed her reputation in order to bolster his position as king of Wessex.” The chapter beginnings, which recount relevant archaeological discoveries or scholarly reexaminations of primary sources, often link modern women with their medieval predecessors; in one noteworthy instance, Ramirez details how medieval scholar Margarete Kühn, with the help of Caroline Walsh, the wife of a high-ranking U.S. military official, spirited the famed Reisencodex containing the collected writing of 12th-century nun Hildegard of Bingen out of Soviet-occupied East Germany in 1948. Throughout, Ramirez’s adept scene-setting segues gracefully into deeper considerations of these women’s lives and work. This feminist history fascinates. – Publishers Weekly Review

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The Hidden Life of Aster Kelly by Katherine Sherbrooke

(Available Formats: Hoopla instant check out eBook)

When a runway model in 1940s Hollywood makes a split-second decision intended to protect those she loves, she triggers a cascade of secrets that threatens to upend her daughter’s life decades later.

After winning a prestigious fashion design contest in 1948, Aster Kelly flees the world of modeling in New York and arrives in Beverly Hills to claim her prize: a design apprenticeship with Fernando Tivoli. But Fernando has no such job available. He’s busily preparing for the opportunity of a lifetime—proving to Galaxy Studios that he is the perfect couturier for their A-list stars. The moment he meets Aster, though, he knows she’s the missing ingredient he needs and asks her to be his stand-in model for Lauren Bacall. Aster is dismayed to once again have her creative potential sidelined, but when Fernando promises to mentor her if he wins the contract, she agrees.

Aster and Fernando quickly become romantically entangled with Hollywood insiders—Aster with the head of Galaxy Studios, Fernando with their biggest up-and-coming star, Christopher Page—and Aster and Fernando’s friendship becomes essential as they navigate a glamorous and complicated existence where what’s real must often be hidden, and no one is quite who they seem. As Aster’s ambitions grow and she faces a crisis, and Fernando’s future is threatened by the judgmental Hollywood machine, Aster makes a decision that changes the trajectory of their lives forever.

Twenty-five years later, despite knowing little of her mother’s time in Hollywood and being raised well outside the reaches of fame, Aster’s daughter Lissy is poised to become a Broadway star. But when the musical gets off to a rocky start, Lissy makes a rash decision of her own in an attempt to save the show. And when long-buried secrets blindside them both, mother and daughter are forced to question everything they thought they knew.

The Hidden Life of Aster Kelly is a story about the bonds of chosen family, the cost of fame and the enduring strength of love that will keep you guessing until the last page.

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A Most Efficient Murder by Anthony Slayton

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant check out Audiobook)

Set in 1920s England, Slayton’s appealing debut, a series launch, introduces Mr. Quayle, a self-effacing but astute amateur sleuth who serves as the secretary to the Earl of Unsworth. The earl is anticipating a joyful celebration at his castle to mark his niece Fanny’s 18th birthday when he gets upsetting news from his stoic butler, Perkins: “Forgive me, Your Lordship… I did not wish to disturb you, but there appears to be a body in the garden.” The corpse is that of a woman apparently unknown to the earl and any of the family and friends assembled for the festivities. Unsworth asks Mr. Quayle to assist the police in identifying the victim and her killer while protecting the family from as much scandal over the crime as possible. Slayton tosses in another murder, as well as the hunt for a legendary treasure trove with elements reminiscent of Conan Doyle’s “The Musgrave Ritual.” Slayton gets everything right—the fairly-planted clues, plot twists, and characters who are more than stereotypes. P.G. Wodehouse fans will want to have a look. – Publishers Weekly Review

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The Night Agent by Matthew Quirk

(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla instant check out eBook & Audiobook)

At first, this reads like something by Samuel Beckett. Peter Sutherland spends his nights, 284 of them so far, sitting in a little room waiting for the phone to ring. It doesn’t. The phone is in the basement of the White House, and if anybody does call, Peter’s supposed to tell somebody important. On this night, the phone rings. A woman’s wavering voice: “He’s inside. He’s going to kill me.” What follows hits close to home: Russia is planting moles in U.S. government offices as part of an effort to rebuild the old Soviet Union. Peter learns quickly that the people he should report to are treacherous, forcing him to go it alone, with some help from the frightened caller. Lots of good, tense plotting and wild action here, though, like a Mission: Impossible movie, it doesn’t know when it’s time to end. A real pleasure of espionage fiction is tradecraft secrets, and Quirk doesn’t disappoint. Someone glancing at his dominant hand as he talks is being deceptive. Hydrogen peroxide, unlike bleach, will destroy DNA. – Booklist Review

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Once We Were Home by Jennifer Rosner

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Where is home when your home has been destroyed? Among the tragedies of WWII were the Jewish children separated from their families, at times forcibly taken, given new names, and instructed to follow new religions. Rosner follows her first WWII novel, The Yellow Bird Sings (2020), with this complex tale about fear, survival, and what it means to be a family as four children grapple with their identities during the war and in the decades that follow. Roger, taken to a French convent and baptized into Catholicism, is smuggled away to Spain when his relatives petition for his return. Their mother sends seven-year-old Mira and her three-year-old brother, Daniel, away from the Jewish ghetto to the relative safety of a childless couple in the Polish countryside, who tell prying neighbors the children are their niece and nephew. And in the late 1960s, Renata, a German-born Brit whose mother insisted they not mention their homeland, begins work on an archaeological dig in Jerusalem. All Rosner’s uprooted characters eventually come to Israel, seeking a path to the future while struggling with the losses of the past. – Booklist Review

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Said No One Ever by Stephanie Eding

(Available Formats: Hoopla instant check out eBook & Audiobook)

At the start of this effervescent rom-com from Eding (The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale), Ellie Reed has lost both her relationship and her Ohio medical transcription job. Chaffing under the harsh opinions of family members (especially her perfect older sister), Ellie decides to treat herself to an Airbnb in small-town Montana. But things don’t go as planned: her octogenarian hostess, Marilyn Perry, falls and shatters her kneecap immediately before Ellie hits town, leaving Ellie to deal with a menagerie of assorted animals (including two sheep, an ill-behaved dog, and a donkey); a weasely neighbor determined to buy Marilyn’s farm out from under her; and Marilyn’s hot but grumpy grandson, Warren Oliver. Convalescing Marilyn, meanwhile, is determined to track down the man she once planned to marry and enlists Ellie’s aid gaining access to helpful materials hidden throughout her house. Ellie finds purpose in this unexpected new life—and discovers potent chemistry with Warren—but her new normal is threatened when Marilyn’s uptight daughters return to town. Marilyn is a hoot, easily stealing every scene she’s in, while go-with-the-flow Ellie and rules-follower Warren make a lovely match. This is sunshine in book form. – Publisher’s Weekly Review

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Standing Dead by Margaret Mizushima

(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla instant check out eBook & Audiobook)

After her father was killed, Mattie Wray, her mother, and her brother were kidnapped when Mattie was only two. Now in her 30s, Mattie is still trying to put her family together, locate a sister she never knew about, and reunite with her mother. But when Mattie and her sister Julia travel to Pueblo del Sol, Mexico, they learn their mother and her second husband, Juan Martinez, have left town abruptly. Mattie returns home to her job as a deputy sheriff and K-9 handler in Timber Creek, CO, and finds a note on her door: “You’ll find him among the standing dead,” signed “A friend of your father’s.” When the sheriff’s department mounts a search, they find the body of Juan Martinez. Now Mattie is forced to reveal her mother’s story. Notes continue to appear, and Mattie’s friends are threatened and even shot. Pressure mounts quickly, and she and the supportive law enforcement team know Mattie is the ultimate target for someone who has terrorized her family for 30 years.

VERDICT Readers who have followed the story of Mattie’s family through Mizushima’s other “Timber Creek K-9” mysteries will enjoy this fast-paced, relentlessly tense installment.—Library Journal Review

Series Note: If you’d like to start reading the Timber Creek K-9 series from the beginning, check out book one: Killing Trail.

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Have a great week!

Linda Reimer

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*Information on the three catalogs*

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

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, digital magazines and a handful of streaming videos. The catalog, which allows one to download content to a PC, also has a companion app, Libby, which you can download to your mobile device; so you can enjoy eBooks and downloadable audiobooks on the go!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Have questions or want to request a book?

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

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

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

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

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

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New York Times Bestseller blog posts are published on Sundays.And the next New York Times blog post will be published Sunday, April 16, 2023.

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FICTION

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ABOVE GROUND by Clint Smith

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A collection of poems by the author of “How the Word Is Passed.”

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COUNTDOWN by James Patterson and Brendan DuBois

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

A botched field operation and a terrorist plot endanger Amy Cornwall and her family.

–

DAISY JONES & THE SIX by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

A fictional oral history charting the rise and fall of a ’70s rock ’n’ roll band.

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DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver

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

A reimagining of Charles Dickens’s “David Copperfield” set in the mountains of southern Appalachia.

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HANG THE MOON by Jeannette Walls

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

Nine years after being cast out, a young woman returns to reclaim her place in her family and comes into her own as a bootlegger.

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HEART BONES by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

After an unexpected death prevents her from going to Penn State and and forces her to move in with her absent father, Beyah Grim has a summer fling with the rich guy next door.

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HELLO BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano

(Available Formats:Print Book & eBook)

In a homage to Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women,” a young man’s dark past resurfaces as he gets to the know the family of his college sweetheart.

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I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU by Rebecca Makkai

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

A film professor and podcaster is invited back to teach a course at the boarding school where her roommate was murdered.

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IT ENDS WITH US by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

A battered wife raised in a violent home attempts to halt the cycle of abuse.

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IT STARTS WITH US by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In the sequel to “It Ends With Us,” Lily deals with her jealous ex-husband as she reconnects with her first boyfriend.

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I WILL FIND YOU by Harlan Coben

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

A man imprisoned for murdering his 3-year-old son becomes convinced his son is still alive and plans an escape.

–

THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME by Laura Dave

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

Hannah Hall discovers truths about her missing husband and bonds with his daughter from a previous relationship.

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LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus

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

A scientist and single mother living in California in the 1960s becomes a star on a TV cooking show.

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LOYALTY by Lisa Scottoline

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

The lives of a lemon grower, a young lawyer, a new mother and a reclusive goatherd collide in Sicily during the rise of the Mafia.

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MAD HONEY by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

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

After returning to her hometown, Olivia McAfee’s son gets accused of killing his crush.

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NEVER NEVER by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Questions arise when a pair of lovers try to uncover why they suddenly became strangers.

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PINEAPPLE STREET by Jenny Jackson

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Three women navigate their roles in a well-to-do family living in Brooklyn Heights.

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REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt

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

A widow working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium is aided in solving a mystery by a giant Pacific octopus living there.

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THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

A movie icon recounts stories of her loves and career to a struggling magazine writer.

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SOMEONE ELSE’S SHOES by Jojo Moyes

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook)

Drastic changes and a pair of six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes shake up the lives of two women.

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STORM WATCH by C.J. Box

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

The 23rd book in the Joe Pickett series. Joe and Nate might be on opposite sides for the first time.

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TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin

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

Two friends find their partnership challenged in the world of video game design.

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VERITY by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Lowen Ashleigh is hired by the husband of an injured writer to complete her popular series and uncovers a horrifying truth.

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NON-FICTION:

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ALL ABOUT LOVE by bell hooks

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

The late feminist icon explores the causes of a polarized society and the meaning of love.

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ALL MY KNOTTED-UP LIFE by Beth Moore

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

The founder of Living Proof Ministries details key moments from her life and her 2018 break with the Southern Baptist movement.

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THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk

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

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

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BRAIDING SWEETGRASS by Robin Wall Kimmerer

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook, Hoopla instant check out eBook & Audiobook)

A botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation espouses having an understanding and appreciation of plants and animals.

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THE COURAGE TO BE FREE by Ron DeSantis

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

The Florida governor gives his account of his achievements and shares his opinions about the political left.

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CRYING IN H MART by Michelle Zauner

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

The daughter of a Korean mother and Jewish-American father, and leader of the indie rock project Japanese Breakfast, describes creating her own identity after losing her mother to cancer.

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GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey

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

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

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HUMANLY POSSIBLE by Sarah Bakewell

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

The author of “At the Existentialist Café” explores 700 years of humanism.

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I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED by Jennette McCurdy

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

The actress and filmmaker describes her eating disorders and difficult relationship with her mother.

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IT’S OK TO BE ANGRY ABOUT CAPITALISM by Bernie Sanders with John Nichols

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The Vermont senator depicts the impact capitalism has on key areas of our lives and ways to address this.

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KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON by David Grann

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

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

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THE LIGHT WE CARRY by Michelle Obama

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

The former first lady shares personal stories and the tools she uses to deal with difficult situations.

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OUTLIVE by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A look at recent scientific research on aging and longevity.

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PARIS by Paris Hilton

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The entrepreneur and pop culture icon shares her personal and professional rise in the age of influencers.

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POVERTY, BY AMERICA by Matthew Desmond

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Evicted” examines the ways in which affluent Americans keep poor people poor.

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RINGMASTER by Abraham Riesman

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

A biography of the former World Wrestling Entertainment chairman and chief executive Vince McMahon.

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SAVED by Benjamin Hall

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The Fox News journalist gives his account of the injuries he sustained from a Russian attack while covering the war in Ukraine.

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SPARE  by Prince Harry

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

The Duke of Sussex details his struggles with the royal family, loss of his mother, service in the British Army and marriage to Meghan Markle.

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THINKING, FAST AND SLOW by Daniel Kahneman

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobooks)

The winner of the Nobel in economic science discusses how we make choices.

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UNDERTOW by Jeff Sharlet

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

A look at the religious dimensions of American politics.

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WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook & Hoopla instant check out Audiobook)

An approach to dealing with trauma that shifts an essential question used to investigate it.

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSL

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*Information on the Three Catalogs*

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

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

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

–

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

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

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

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

–

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

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

–

Also of Note: If a New York Times Bestseller isn’t yet available in any of the three catalogs; you can contact the library and request to be notified when it becomes available.

Southeast Steuben County Library Tel: 607-936-3713

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

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

Suggested Listening postings are published on Fridays; and our next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, April 14, 2023.

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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Bye Bye Love by The Everly Brothers (Genre: Rock n’ Roll)

From The Album: The Everly Brothers (1958)

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Happy Together by The Turtles

From The Album: Happy Together (1967)

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

From The Album: Pete Seeger: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection (2019)

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I Like It by Gerry and the Pacemakers (Genre: Pop/Rock)

From The Album: The Best of Gerry & The Pacemakers: The Definitive Collection (2006)

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Freeman in Paris by Joni Mitchell (Genre: Singers-Songwriter)

From The Album: Court And Spark (1974)

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If She Knew What She Wants by The Bangles (Genre: Pop-Rock)

From The Album: A Different Light (1986)

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In The Midnight Hour by Wilson Pickett (Genre: R&B)

From The Album: The Very Best of Wilson Pickett (1993)

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Subterranean Home Sick Blues (Genre: Folk/Rock)

From The Album: Bringing It All Back Home (1964)

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Take Five by the Dave Brubeck Quartet (Genre: Jazz)

From The Album: Time Out (1959)

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We Can Work It Out by The Beatles (Genre: Rock)

From The Album: 1 (2000)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

The Best of the Vanguard Years by The Weavers (Genre: Folk)

And from the album the song:

Goodnight Irene by The Weavers

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Have a great weekend,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

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

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The Digital Catalog, web version of Libby

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

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The Libby App

Libby is the companion app to the Digital Catalog and may be found in the Apple & Google app.

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Hoopla

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

–

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

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

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

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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are now published on Wednesdays.

And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.

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Dust Child by Que Mai Phan Nguyen

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Acclaimed Vietnamese activist and best-selling writer Quế Mai (The Mountains Sing, 2020) draws for her second novel on interviews and research to explore the lasting effects of the Vietnam War, particularly on the children of American servicemen and Vietnamese women. Abandoned at birth and ostracized as a dark-skinned Amerasian, Phong is desperate to prove his parentage so that his wife and children will qualify for immigrant visas and a better life in the U.S. Meanwhile, American veteran Dan has reluctantly returned to Vietnam with his wife, who hopes the trip will help with his debilitating PTSD. Dan undertakes a clandestine search for Kim, a Vietnamese bar girl whose pregnancy he knew about but never acknowledged. Quế Mai adeptly balances these contemporary narratives with Phong’s early experiences and the wartime story of sisters Trang and Quynh, who seek jobs in Saigon but are quickly ensnared in the shadowy world of nightclubs and sex work. There are no clear heroes or villains here as characters’ actions and choices are shaped by their circumstances and the war’s legacy. – Booklist Review

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I Am the Storm: Inspiring Stories of People Who Fight Against Overwhelming Odds by Janice Dean

(Available Formats: Print Book)

New York Times bestselling author Janice Dean shares the journeys and lessons she’s learned from everyday heroes taking on long odds.

After her acclaimed memoir, Mostly Sunny, Janice Dean figured she was done trying to survive or bring down awful men. Then she found herself taking on Governor Andrew Cuomo on social media and then at rallies. What at first seemed like a futile fight ended with Cuomo’s historic resignation. But it caused Janice to wonder: What fuels someone’s resolve to go up against a powerful opponent? And how can ordinary people make the world a better place?

In I Am the Storm, Janice shares the stories of others who stood like David against Goliath, choosing to fight for what was right rather than take the easy path. In the book, she shares stories from ordinary people doing extraordinary things, such as:

* a California chef who went up against the government to help restaurants and restaurant workers

*an American college hockey team that beat Soviet champions

*a mother taking on the opioid crisis after her daughter dies

*a gymnast working to reform a broken and abusive system

*a courageous southern nurse who headed to NYC at the height of the pandemic

These and other true stories will reveal what it takes for real people to go through life’s storms. And sometimes, those storms leave permanent damage. You may need a box of tissues as you read about a veteran who lost his hearing and sight to an IED, or a Minnesota mom who took up the fight against the opioid epidemic after losing her own daughter. But even in our darkest seasons, Janice shows, we can still have hope, resilience, and perseverance. I Am the Storm is an uplifting call to be brave like David no matter what Goliaths we face.

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The Journey Prize Stories 33: The Best of Canada’s New Black Writers selected by David Chariandy, Esi Edugyan & Canisia Lubrin

(Available Formats: Print Book)

This much-anticipated, game-changing special edition of Canada’s premier annual fiction anthology celebrates the country’s best emerging Black writers.
For over thirty years, The Journey Prize Stories has consistently introduced readers to the next generation of great Canadian writers. The 33rd edition of Canada’s most prestigious annual fiction anthology proudly continues this tradition by celebrating the best emerging Black writers in the country, as selected by a jury comprising internationally acclaimed, award-winning writers David Chariandy, Esi Edugyan, and Canisia Lubrin.

An eagle-eyed mother and a hungry child contend with the aftereffects of an unusual multi-course meal. Both the debts of the past and the promise of the future hover over two siblings as they debate what to do with an unexpected windfall. A pesky but beloved baboon looms large in the memory of a daughter whose family has been forced to move to a new town. Unclear boundaries and cheerful hypocrisy dominate a woman’s whirlwind romance with a photographer. A schoolgirl contends with complicated emotions as she awaits the return of her long-absent mother. News of a hunter’s death reverberates throughout his family, travelling across oceans and phonelines to trouble his cousin’s already-shaky relationship. An office worker joins a lost grandmother on an unexpected pilgrimage. After years away, a woman journeys back to Jamaica—and back to the sister who refused to leave with her—stirring up insecurities, laughter, and wounds unhealed by time. All the instructions in the world cannot protect a family from the impacts of grief. The only Black girls in school experiment with what it means to be a lady when you’re not yet a woman.

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Last Seen In Lapaz by Kwei Quartey

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Quartey’s intriguing third Emma Djan investigation (after 2021’s Sleep Well, My Lady) finds the Ghanaian PI, an operative for the Sowah Private Investigators Agency, leading the search for Ngozi Ojukwu, a prominent diplomat’s 18-year-old daughter, who was about to start law school and disappeared from her parents’ house in Lagos, Nigeria, months earlier under suspicious circumstances. Ngozi’s parents believe she ran off with 28-year-old Femi Adebanjo, the Ghanaian Nigerian manager of a hotel and high-class brothel in Accra. The stakes rise when Femi turns up murdered in his upscale home with Ngozi nowhere to be found. It turns out Femi was engaged in human trafficking, and Emma subsequently goes undercover as a sex worker to get a lead on Ngozi’s fate. The somewhat leisurely paced investigation builds to a satisfactory resolution. Well-defined characters complement the clever narrative structure, and dialogue in West African pidgin dialect (for which a glossary is provided) adds realism. Not just those looking for a detailed picture of modern West African life, the book’s main strength, will be rewarded. – Publishers Weekly

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The Long and Faraway Gone: A Novel by Lou Berney

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, Hoopla instant check out eBook & audiobook)

Edgar Award finalist Berney (Whiplash River) will raise a lump in the throats of many of his readers with this sorrowful account of two people’s efforts to come to terms with devastating trauma. In 1986, Wyatt Rivers worked at an Oklahoma City movie theater that was hit by gun-wielding robbers who massacred the staff, but, for some reason, let Wyatt live. A month later, 12-year-old Julianna Rosales attended the Oklahoma State Fair, where her older sister, Genevieve, walked off into the night, never to return. In 2012, those tragedies still preoccupy Wyatt and Julianna. Wyatt, now a PI, gets a case that takes him back to Oklahoma City, where he can’t help reliving the night of the massacre. Meanwhile, Julianna, now a nurse, is obsessed with pursuing any possible lead to her sister’s fate, and gets new hope of a breakthrough when someone posts online an image from the last evening she saw Genevieve. The leads’ struggles are portrayed with painful complexity, and Berney, fittingly, avoids easy answers.- Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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Sweet Enough: A Dessert Cookbook by Alison Roman

(Available Formats: Book Print)

Food writer Roman (Nothing Fancy), who parted ways with the New York Times after her criticism of Marie Kondo and Chrissy Teigen, has returned with a new cookbook focused on baking. Roman is known for her viral recipes and millennial hipster aesthetic, which come through vividly in this cookbook’s writing style and photography. Whether or not readers appreciate her vibe, they will likely be drawn in by the interesting and approachable recipes. Pies, tarts, and galettes comprise the first and longest chapter and include both sweet and savory offerings, from the caramelized maple tart to the creamy cauliflower galette; many call for Roman’s recipe for “The Only Pie Crust.” Next up are cakes, such as her famous raspberry ricotta cake, which first appeared in Bon Appétit. There are also chapters on “things called pudding,” “frozen things,” cookies (mostly shortbread variations), fruit, breakfast, and staples. While the instructions are clear, some readers might wish the light-orange font of the ingredient lists were easier to read.

VERDICT Those who like a more casual, carefree approach to baking will appreciate this, where the aim is for a delicious, not perfect, result.-

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Two Wars And A Wedding by Lauren Willig

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Inspired by a trailblazing woman she researched for her previous novel, Band of Sisters (2021), Willig tells the tale of an American archaeologist turned war nurse at the dawn of the twentieth century who finds herself caught up in two foreign wars. In 1896, fresh from graduating Smith college, heiress Betsy Hayes travels to Athens to study Greek archaeology only to be derided by her male classmates. She finds a safe haven lodging with a wealthy Greek woman, but soon her heart and life are in jeopardy when she falls in love with an older, married French archaeologist and throws herself into volunteer work as a nurse in the Greek fight for independence from Turkey. Willig jumps back and forth between 1896 and 1898, when Betsy once again volunteers as a wartime nurse, this time in the conflict between Spain and Cuba, with the hope of saving her estranged friend, Ava, from the horrors of war. Willig delivers yet another engrossing historical yarn, replete with surprising twists and compelling romances. – Booklist Review

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The Unfortunates: A Novel by J K Chukwu

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Chukwu’s inventive debut explores the isolation of a queer Black woman at an elite university. The narrative is framed as an honors thesis (the narrative begins, “Dear Thesis Committee,/ It has come to my attention that smoking kills, along with police, loner white boys, and looks”), and it includes footnotes, a table of contents modeled on a playlist, and zine-inspired collage illustrations, all from college sophomore Sahara. She’s struggled with depression and self-harm for years, dubbing depression her “Life Partner” and having imagined arguments with it. At her university, however, incessant microaggressions, institutional hypocrisy, healthcare inequities, and a relentless trend of other Black students dropping out, disappearing, or dying by suicide (the “Unfortunates” of the title) lead the troubled Sahara into disordered eating, binge drinking, and suicidal ideation. Sahara is clearly bright—her narration is playful even at its angriest—and a little bored by her coursework; depression clouds her ability not only to excel but also to clearly see those who would gladly support her if given the chance (especially her longtime best friend, called “Ride or Die”). Though the prevalence of code names for secondary characters verges on overkill, Sahara’s voice is formidable, and her story powerful. This blistering anthem brims with rage and hope. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Unnatural History by Jonathan Kellerman

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

Once again, best friends Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis tackle a strange murder together. A woman discovers her boyfriend, billionaire’s son Donny Klement, lying in bed with three bullet holes in his chest. Det. Milo Sturgis asks psychologist Alex Delaware to work with him for the psychological insights he can bring to this oddball murder. The vic was about to give a one-man show of his photography, a project he’d called the Wishers: He dressed up homeless people as the successes they wished they were, photographed them, paid them $500 each, and let them go back to their lives on the street. Donny had felt that homelessness created unnatural histories, and he wanted to show what his subjects’ lives might have been like if they’d been luckier. But how did the homeless people react to the whole experience? Did someone return to whack him? “The Wishers project itself–bringing strangers with troubled histories into his home–seemed potentially explosive,” Delaware muses. And the vic’s family is strange: Rich dad Viktor’s M.O. in life is to marry a beautiful woman, impregnate her, then leave her. He’s done it six times, creating a batch of loosely connected half siblings: “technically a family, but really a collection of strangers.” (Donny isn’t a nickname for Donald, by the way, but for Adonis.) More murders follow in this complicated and unusual plot, and the characters and clever lines make the story fun. Milo is a smart cop who believes that “stupidity is the fertile soil [he] farm[s],” and the big guy sure loves to eat. A woman backs away from him, “as if there was only so much space to go around and he’d just taken a second helping.” And Delaware doesn’t think much of his friend’s taste in ringtones: “As we waited, Milo’s phone played something that could have been extracted from Chopin’s nightmare.” Kellerman’s legion of fans will eat this up like his detective eats bear claws. – Kirkus Review

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What Have We Done: A Novel by Alex Finlay

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

In the prologue of this top-notch mystery thriller from Finlay (The Night Shift), five kids from Savior House, a group home for troubled teens—Jenna, Nico, Donnie, Benny, and Arty—take turns firing a gun into a shallow grave. Twenty-five years later, aging rocker Donnie is forced over the side of a cruise ship at gunpoint; an explosion traps gambling addict and reality show producer Nico in a coal mine shaft; and ex-assassin Jenna, the book’s action hero, is activated again to hit Arty, now a tech billionaire. Benny, a federal judge, has already been murdered in Chestertown, Pa., near the now-abandoned Savior House. The person who gave Jenna her assignment turns on her when Jenna intentionally botches the job. Eventually, Jenna, Nico, and Donnie—each a distinct, original character despite drawing on genre tropes—reunite to discover who’s trying to kill them and why. Amid multiple red herrings, Finlay slowly reels out his protagonists’ combined backstories. Readers will eagerly follow the maze-like plot, with its many twists and turns, to the exciting conclusion. This isn’t to be missed. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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Have a great week!

Linda Reimer

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*Information on the three catalogs*

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

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, digital magazines and a handful of streaming videos. The catalog, which allows one to download content to a PC, also has a companion app, Libby, which you can download to your mobile device; so you can enjoy eBooks and downloadable audiobooks on the go!

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

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

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

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

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

–

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

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

–

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

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

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Have questions or want to request a book?

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

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

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

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

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

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New York Times Bestseller blog posts are published on Sundays.And the next New York Times blog post will be published Sunday, April 9, 2023.

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FICTION

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COUNTDOWN by James Patterson and Brendan DuBois

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

A botched field operation and a terrorist plot endanger Amy Cornwall and her family.

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DAISY JONES & THE SIX by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

A fictional oral history charting the rise and fall of a ’70s rock ’n’ roll band.

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DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver

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

A reimagining of Charles Dickens’s “David Copperfield” set in the mountains of southern Appalachia.

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HEART BONES by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

After an unexpected death prevents her from going to Penn State and and forces her to move in with her absent father, Beyah Grim has a summer fling with the rich guy next door.

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HELLO BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano

(Available Formats:Print Book & eBook)

In a homage to Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women,” a young man’s dark past resurfaces as he gets to the know the family of his college sweetheart.

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I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU by Rebecca Makkai

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

A film professor and podcaster is invited back to teach a course at the boarding school where her roommate was murdered.

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IT ENDS WITH US by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

A battered wife raised in a violent home attempts to halt the cycle of abuse.

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IT STARTS WITH US by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In the sequel to “It Ends With Us,” Lily deals with her jealous ex-husband as she reconnects with her first boyfriend.

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I WILL FIND YOU by Harlan Coben

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

A man imprisoned for murdering his 3-year-old son becomes convinced his son is still alive and plans an escape.

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THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME by Laura Dave

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

Hannah Hall discovers truths about her missing husband and bonds with his daughter from a previous relationship.

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LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus

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

A scientist and single mother living in California in the 1960s becomes a star on a TV cooking show.

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MAD HONEY by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

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

After returning to her hometown, Olivia McAfee’s son gets accused of killing his crush.

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NEVER NEVER by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Questions arise when a pair of lovers try to uncover why they suddenly became strangers.

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PINEAPPLE STREET by Jenny Jackson

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Three women navigate their roles in a well-to-do family living in Brooklyn Heights.

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REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt

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

A widow working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium is aided in solving a mystery by a giant Pacific octopus living there.

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THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

A movie icon recounts stories of her loves and career to a struggling magazine writer.

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SMOLDER by Laurell K. Hamilton

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The 29th book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. Anita and Jean-Claude get engaged and an ancient evil comes to St. Louis.

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SOMEONE ELSE’S SHOES by Jojo Moyes

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook)

Drastic changes and a pair of six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes shake up the lives of two women.

–

STORM WATCH by C.J. Box

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

The 23rd book in the Joe Pickett series. Joe and Nate might be on opposite sides for the first time.

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TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin

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

Two friends find their partnership challenged in the world of video game design.

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VERITY by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Lowen Ashleigh is hired by the husband of an injured writer to complete her popular series and uncovers a horrifying truth.

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THE WHITE LADY by Jacqueline Winspear

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

In 1947, Elinor White, a former wartime operative, must face an organized crime gang in London.

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WORTHY OPPONENTS by Danielle Steel

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

A divorced mother of twins and chief executive of a luxury department store goes against a wealthy investor looking to take it over.

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NON-FICTION:

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ALL ABOUT LOVE by bell hooks

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

The late feminist icon explores the causes of a polarized society and the meaning of love.

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ALL MY KNOTTED-UP LIFE by Beth Moore

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

The founder of Living Proof Ministries details key moments from her life and her 2018 break with the Southern Baptist movement.

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THE BEST STRANGERS IN THE WORLD by Ari Shapiro

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A collection of essays on journalism and finding commonalities by the host of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

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THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk

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

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

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BRAIDING SWEETGRASS by Robin Wall Kimmerer

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook, Hoopla instant check out eBook & Audiobook)

A botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation espouses having an understanding and appreciation of plants and animals.

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THE COURAGE TO BE FREE by Ron DeSantis

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

The Florida governor gives his account of his achievements and shares his opinions about the political left.

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CRYING IN H MART by Michelle Zauner

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

The daughter of a Korean mother and Jewish-American father, and leader of the indie rock project Japanese Breakfast, describes creating her own identity after losing her mother to cancer.

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I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED by Jennette McCurdy

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

The actress and filmmaker describes her eating disorders and difficult relationship with her mother.

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IT’S OK TO BE ANGRY ABOUT CAPITALISM by Bernie Sanders with John Nichols

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The Vermont senator depicts the impact capitalism has on key areas of our lives and ways to address this.

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THE LIGHT WE CARRY by Michelle Obama

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

The former first lady shares personal stories and the tools she uses to deal with difficult situations.

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PARIS by Paris Hilton

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The entrepreneur and pop culture icon shares her personal and professional rise in the age of influencers.

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POVERTY, BY AMERICA by Matthew Desmond

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Evicted” examines the ways in which affluent Americans keep poor people poor.

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SAVED by Benjamin Hall

(Available Formats:Not yet in any catalog)

The Fox News journalist gives his account of the injuries he sustained from a Russian attack while covering the war in Ukraine.

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SPARE  by Prince Harry

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

The Duke of Sussex details his struggles with the royal family, loss of his mother, service in the British Army and marriage to Meghan Markle.

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WAKE UP WITH PURPOSE! by Sister Jean Dolores

(Available Formats: Downloadable Audiobook)

Schmidt with Seth Davis The team chaplain for Loyola’s men’s basketball team recounts experiences from her more than 100 years of existence.

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WALK THE BLUE LINE by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann with Chris Mooney

(Available Formats: Print Book & CD Audiobook)

A collection of stories about police officers.

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YOUR BRAIN ON ART by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

A look at how our brains and bodies transform when we participate in the arts.

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSL

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*Information on the Three Catalogs*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Also of Note: If a New York Times Bestseller isn’t yet available in any of the three catalogs; you can contact the library and request to be notified when it becomes available.

Southeast Steuben County Library Tel: 607-936-3713

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Hi everyone, here are our streaming recommendations for the month ahead of us!

The next streaming recommendation post will be out the first Saturday, in May – that’s May 6, 2023.

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (April 1) (Netflix)

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The Crossover (April 5) (Disney+)

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Schmigadoon!, Season 2 (April 5) (Apple TV+)

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The Last Thing He Told Me (April 14) (Apple TV+)

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The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Season 5 (April 14) (Amazon)

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Citadel (April 28, Prime Video)

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The Diplomat (April 20) (Netflix)

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Mrs. Davis (April 20) (Peacock)

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Somebody Somewhere, Season 2 (April 23) (HBO)

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Peter Pan & Wendy (April 28) (Disney+)

Hoopla Streaming Pick of the Month

American OZ (PBS’s American Experience)

And here is the trailer:

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Have a great weekend,

Linda

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References

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

Suggested Listening postings are published on Fridays; and our next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, April 7, 2023.

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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Area Code 601 by Secret Stratosphere (Genre: Rock)

From The Album: The Impossible Truth / William Tyler / William Tyler & the Impossible Truth (2023)

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Cross Road Blues by Robert Johnson (Genre: Blues)

From The Album: King of the Delta Blues Singers (1961)

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Hawk by Jenny Conlee (Genre: Folk)

From The Album: Tides: Pieces for Accordion and Piano (2023)

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I Want To Fly by The Zombies (Genre: Pop/Rock)

From The Album: Different Game (2023)

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Jenny’s Chickens & Mason’s Apron by Fairport Convention (genre: Folk/Rock)

From The Album: Full House For Sale (Live) (2023)

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No Particular Place To Go by Chuck Berry (Genre: Rock)

From The Album: St. Louis to Liverpool (1964)

And as a bonus, another great song from the same album:

Things I Used To Do by Chuck Berry

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Ramblin’ by Johnny Shines (Genre: Blues)

Audio Recorded Version Found on the Album: Johnny Shines “Live” In Europe 1975 (2005)

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Real Gone by Ally Venable (Genre: Blues)

From The Album: Real Gone (2023)

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Who Do You Love? By Bo Diddley (Rock)

From The Album: Bo Diddley (1958)

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The Wonderful Grey Horse by Alasdair Roberts

From The Album: Grief in the Kitchin and Mirth in the Hall (2023)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

Delta Blues by Son House (Genre: Blues)

And from the album the song:

Delta Blues by Son House

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Have a great weekend,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

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

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The Digital Catalog, web version of Libby

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

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The Libby App

Libby is the companion app to the Digital Catalog and may be found in the Apple & Google app.

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Hoopla

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

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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

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

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

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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are now published on Wednesdays.

And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, April 5, 2023.

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Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The epigraph of Booker Prize-winner Catton’s fine new novel is a quote from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, which is appropriate given that the spirit of the Bard is mightily present. Mira Bunting is a young Kiwi horticulturalist and founder of a New Zealander activist collective called Birnam Wood. Bunting has a habit of assuming false identities to look at listings of land she cannot afford to buy and plants crops without permission on overlooked patches of land. In essence, Birnam Wood is a guerrilla gardening group, a combination of environmental anarchists and direct-action protesters. “Birnam Wood was . . . a pop-up, the brainchild of ‘creatives’; it was organic, it was local; it was a bit like Uber; it was a bit like Airbnb,” writes Catton. Bunting herself turns trespassing into a type of performance art. But when she inadvertently meets an American billionaire, Robert Lemoine, her world and the future of the collective change in ways she could not imagine. Catton’s filmic novel features vivid characters, not all of them likable, and sharp, sizzling dialogue. Themes in the intricate plot include identity politics, national identity, and exploitation by the -super-rich. Birnam Wood is tightly wound and psychologically thrilling, and Catton’s fans and readers new to her powers will savor it to the end.

HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Admirers of Catton’s award-winning best-seller, The Luminaries (2013), will flock to her third novel.

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The Change by Kristen Miller

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook, Hoopla instant check out eBook & audiobook)

Miller, author of the Kiki Strike YA series, triumphs with her adult debut about three women who discover supernatural abilities during menopause, which they use to avenge murdered teenage girls in the New York beach town of Mattuck. Just as retired nurse Nessa James becomes fast friends with gym owner Jo Levison, Nessa realizes she can see ghosts again. When she was a child, her grandmother told her she had a gift, and that she’d be called upon later in life to use it, along with other similarly gifted women. Nessa intuitively seeks out unapologetic Harriett Osborne, a former ad executive who was pushed out of her career and now cultivates toxic plants like wolfsbane. Along with Jo, who can summon her fury and channel it into fiery strength, the trio attempt to bring peace to three ghosts Nessa encounters on the beach near Culling Pointe, where the billionaires live. After a client at Jo’s gym starts leaving clues about one of the ghosts, the trio is let down by police detectives who make their own motives clear. To say anything further would spoil this tightly plotted page-turner. Miller’s book is that rare treat: a suspenseful story with great pacing, memorable characters, and an engaging voice. Fantastic in every way, this fierce anthem against misogyny is a smash. – Publishers Weekly

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Conquistador: A Novel of Alternate History by S. M. Striling

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

One adjustment to his radio sends John Rolfe VI, a descendant of the Virginia colonist, from 1946 into a California New World never touched by white men in Stirling’s (The Peshawar Lancers) mesmerizing new novel. Having discovered the Oakland Gate that allows one to switch secretly between worlds, Rolfe and a passel of army buddies found New Virginia, a Southern Agrarian “pirate kingdom,” and proceed to build wealth and power on both sides. Stirling cleverly switches between vignettes of New Virginian history since 1946 and the “present” of 2009, when a neo-Mafioso is plotting to take over Rolfe’s “theme park of perverted romanticism run amok.” In this luscious alternative universe, sidekicks quote the Lone Ranger and Right inevitably triumphs with panache. What more could adventure-loving readers ask for? – Publishers Weekly

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Forged In Love by Mary Connealy

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant check out eBook)

While returning home to Pine Valley, Wyoming, after a family funeral, Mariah Stover’s father and brother are killed by the notorious Deadeye Gang. She is trapped under the stagecoach and left for dead. Mariah recovers but has amnesia. Mariah’s friends encourage her to leave town because the Deadeye Gang is known to kill all witnesses. But she is determined to continue running her family’s blacksmith shop. Clint Roberts, the owner and chef extraordinaire of the town diner, does what he can to keep her safe, but she continues to be plagued with accidents, including a snake bite and an explosion. Clint proposes marriage, but in 1870 the only acceptable careers for a married woman are being a wife or working in her husband’s business. Mariah is determined to honor her father’s memory by working as the town’s only blacksmith; she is also an ardent supporter of the suffrage movement and won’t give that up to marry. The first novel in Connealy’s new Wyoming Sunrise series offers strong female characters and a richly developed historical backdrop. – Booklist Review

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Giving The Devil His Due: A Charity Anthology Edited by Rebecca Brewer

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Featuring stories from Stephen Graham Jones, Christina Henry, Peter Tieryas, Kelley Armstrong, Linda D. Addison, Hillary Monahan and more

What if a young girl had the power to stop her tyrannical father from battering her mother ever again? What if a student had a secret weapon to end sexual assault by her predatory professor permanently? What if a housewife had unusual means to get back at her controlling husband and walk away from her marriage alive? In Giving the Devil His Due, The Pixel Project’s Audie Award-nominated and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated charity anthology, sixteen acclaimed fantasy, science fiction, and horror authors take readers on an unforgettable journey to alternative worlds where men who abuse and murder women and girls meet their comeuppance in uncanny ways. Featuring stories from Stephen Graham Jones, Christina Henry, Peter Tieryas, Kelley Armstrong, Linda D. Addison, Hillary Monahan and more which are read by some of today’s finest audiobook narrators including Edoardo Ballerini, Robin Miles, Christina Moore, Nancy Wu, Erin Moon, and Karen Chilton, Giving the Devil His Due presents sixteen stories that will make you think about the importance of justice for the victims of gender-based violence, how rare this justice is in our own world, and why we need to end violence against women once and for all.

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The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson

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

This isn’t exactly a sequel to Swanson’s The Kind Worth Killing (2015), though several of the characters, including the gloriously warped Lily Kintner, reappear here, but it does reprise the same creepy theme: sociopathic spiders and the not-quite-innocent flies they attempt to entrap in their labyrinthine webs (when they aren’t trapping one another). Only this time Swanson ups the ante dramatically, improvising in triple time on his theme and introducing a new queen spider to the game, Joan Grieve, who hires a private detective, Henry Kimball, to determine if her husband is cheating. Oh, but there’s so much more to it than that: Henry knows Joan from years before, when he was her teacher in high school and a tragic shooting impacted them both. And let’s not forget Lily, who was involved in her own tragedy long ago and who was investigated by Henry, with whom she now has a very odd friendship. When Henry turns to Lily for help after the matter of Joan’s philandering husband takes an unexpected turn, the stage is set for another of Swanson’s signature feats of vertigo-inducing legerdemain. It isn’t so much plot twists that keep the reader reeling here (though there are plenty of those) as it is the growing realization of the horrors lurking within the minds of seemingly ordinary people. – Booklist

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The Last Russian Doll by Kristen Loesch

(Available Formats: Print Book)

When Oxford graduate student Rosie White becomes a research assistant to famed Russian dissident Alexey Ivanov, her motives are not just scholarly. As a child, Raisa, as she was then known, and her mother fled Russia after the murders of her father and sister. When she’s not helping Ivanov search for a mysterious woman known only as Kukolka, or little doll, Rosie hopes to learn the full story behind her own family tragedy. Armed with a book of Russian fairy tales and a key to a locked drawer, deathbed gifts from her troubled mother, Rosie soon discovers that her two research projects intersect in some surprising and sinister ways. Spanning Russian history, from the 1917 Russian Revolution to the fall of the Soviet Union, Loesch’s ambitious debut novel intertwines Rosie’s present-day narrative with those of Tonya, a newly married noblewoman, and Valentin, a young revolutionary. Loesch’s knowledgeable and detailed depictions of the Siege of Leningrad and Soviet labor camps and extensive cast of characters can be a bit challenging, but ultimately, all comes together in this powerfully affecting tale. – Booklist Review

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Lotería by Cynthia Pelayo

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated poet and author Pelayo shines a spotlight on Latin American culture with this new horror short story collection. Lotería gives an eerie twist to the traditional game of chance, known for its colorful illustrated cards, which is often compared to bingo. In Pelayo’s book, each image weaves an unsettling tale related to regional folklore and mythology, spanning multiple countries and sometimes going back to pre-Columbian beliefs. “”El Paraguas (The Umbrella)”” takes place amidst Mayan ruins, centering around a newly discovered cenote (a natural pit) full of sunken treasures. “”El Gallo (The Rooster)”” offers a glimpse of the legendary Chupacabras, a creature that preys on livestock. “”La Dama (The Woman)”” tells a version of the popular myth of La Llorona, the specter of a mourning mother looking for her children. “”La Canoa (The Canoe)”” visits the canals of Lake Xochimilco, focusing on the very real Isla de las Muñecas (Island of the Dolls). Horror fans will enjoy 54 original stories full of murderers, monsters, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures, reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm and Horacio Quiroga. – Booklist Review

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Our Best Intentions: A Novel by Vibhuti Jain

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Jain’s riveting debut centers on a stabbing at a high school in affluent Westchester County, N.Y. While on the way to swimming practice, sophomore Angela Singh discovers her crush, Henry McCleary, collapsed and bleeding. After realizing he’s been stabbed, she calls 911. As the story unfolds from various characters’ points of view, the question is not who stabbed Henry, but why. Students, though, are quick to vilify Henry’s assailant, Chiara Thomkins, a Black girl enrolled at the school who’s been squatting on campus. As Henry, who is white, recuperates in the hospital, Chiara goes missing, and the McClearys’ lawyer disparages Chiara for having used her cousin’s address to attend the school. Henry, meanwhile, hides the fact that he and his friend Chris met Chiara to buy weed from her, and that Chris mocked her for being “homeless,” held her down, and went through her bag. Also in the mix is Angela’s father, Babur, an Uber driver and immigrant from India who has built up a fleet of cars to afford living in the school district for Angela’s benefit, and who worries Angela’s role in the affair will hurt her future. Jain excels at revealing each character’s motivations and fears, and at how easily the truth can be distorted. This page-turner will stay with readers. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Antonia Scott was once Spain’s Red Queen, part of an elite European Union crime-fighting unit devoted to foiling master criminals–like Dr. Evil, but for real. But after a severe personal trauma, she won’t even leave her apartment and suffers debilitating panic attacks, ever at the mercy of her “medications.” Disgraced police officer Jon Gutiérrez has a chance to salvage his career by convincing Antonia to return to work. The body of a teenage boy from a wealthy family is found exsanguinated and “anointed” with olive oil, and the daughter of one of the richest men in Spain has been kidnapped. A sinister mastermind is at work who makes impossible ransom demands–not the financial kind. Antonia’s mind is “a jungle full of monkeys leaping at full speed from limb to limb,” but she bonds with Jon, and they investigate. It is a suspenseful and terrifying case for both of them, not to mention the reader. A bit of Clarice Starling and a lot of Lisbeth Salander make Antonia a thoroughly compelling character, who will return in two more translations to complete Gomez-Jurado’s trilogy, which is being adapted for streaming by Amazon. – Booklist Review

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Have a great week!

Linda Reimer

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*Information on the three catalogs*

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

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, digital magazines and a handful of streaming videos. The catalog, which allows one to download content to a PC, also has a companion app, Libby, which you can download to your mobile device; so you can enjoy eBooks and downloadable audiobooks on the go!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Have questions or want to request a book?

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

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.