Tech & Book Talk at SSCL

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, June 16, 2023.

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And here are the baker’s 10 recommended songs of the week!

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By The Light of the Moon by Dave Simonett (Genre: Folk)

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From The Album: Red Tail (2020)

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Down In The Willow Garden by Rufus Wainwright with Brandi Carlile (Genre: Folk)

From The Album: Folkocracy (2023)

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The Girl From Ipanema by Stan Getz & João Gilberto with Astrud Gilberto on vocals (Genre: Vocal, Jazz)

From The Album: Getz/Gilberto (1964)

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Here Comes Summer by Jerry Keller (Genre: Vocal/Pop)

From The Album: Here Comes Summer (1959)

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In The Mood by Bette Midler (Genre: Vocal)

From The Album: Bette Midler (1973)

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Lovely Day by Bill Withers (Genre: Vocal, R&B)

From The Album: Menagerie (1977)

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Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett (Genre: Pop/Rock)

From The Album: Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes (1977)

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One Time One Night by Los Lobos (Genre: Folk/Rock)

From The Album: By The Light of the Moon (1987)

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Riders On The Storm by George Winston (Genre: Piano)

From The Album: Night Divides The Day (2002)

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Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan (Genre: Folk/Rock)

From The Album: Bringing It All Back Home (1965)

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To The Mountains by Lizzy McAlpine (Genre: Folk)

From The Album: Give Me A Minute (2020)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies [Music from the Paramount+ Original Series] (2023) (Genre: Classic Pop/Rock/Soundtrack)

And from the album the song:

Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies

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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.

–

The Libby App

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

–

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 streaming recommendations for the month ahead of us – just a little bit late, as I was swamped last week – sorry about that!

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The next streaming recommendation post will be out the first Saturday in July – July 1, 2023.

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June 1

Another 48 Hours (1990) (Paramount+)

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June 7

Arnold (2023) (Netflix)

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Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) (Disney+ and Max)

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June 9

Brooklyn 45 (2023) (Shudder)

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Flamin’ Hot (Hulu and Disney+)

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June 14

The Full Monty (2023) (Hulu)

(25 years later!)

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June 15

Black Mirror, Season 6 (2023) (Netflix)

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 2 (2023) (Paramount+)

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June 16

Outlander, Season 7 (Stars)

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June 30

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Season 4 (Amazon Prime)

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Hoopla Streaming Pick of the Month

Manhattan: Season 1 (2014)

Have a great week,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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

Each title is followed by a listing of which formats it is available in for check out within the three catalogs: StarCat (Print, Large Print & CD 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, June 11, 2023.

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FICTION

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23RD MIDNIGHT by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

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

The 23rd book in the Women’s Murder Club series. Lindsay Boxer tracks a copycat killer.

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THE COVENANT OF WATER by Abraham Verghese

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

Three generations of a family living on South India’s Malabar Coast suffer the loss of a family member by drowning.

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DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver

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

Winner of a 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. A reimagining of Charles Dickens’s “David Copperfield” set in the mountains of southern Appalachia.

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FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros

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

Violet Sorrengail is urged by the commanding general, who also is her mother, to become a candidate for the elite dragon riders.

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HAPPY PLACE by Emily Henry

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

A former couple pretend to be together for the sake of their friends during their annual getaway in Maine.

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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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THE HOUSEMAID by Freida McFadden

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Troubles surface when a woman looking to make a fresh start takes a job in the home of the Winchesters.

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ICEBREAKER by Hannah Grace

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

Anastasia might need the help of the captain of a college hockey team to get on the Olympic figure skating team.

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IDENTITY by Nora Roberts

(Available Formats: Print Book & CD Audiobook)

After her roommate is killed by a con artist, a former Army brat builds a new life at her mother’s home in Vermont.

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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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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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THE MAKING OF ANOTHER MAJOR MOTION PICTURE MASTERPIECE by Tom Hanks

(Available Formats: Print Book & Large Print)

A World War II soldier’s experiences inspire a comic book, which gets adapted into a superhero movie.

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MEET ME AT THE LAKE by Carley Fortune

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

A decade after a one-day adventure, Will appears again in Fern’s life at her mother’s lakeside resort.

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ONLY THE DEAD by Jack Carr

(Available Format: Print Book)

The sixth book in the Terminal List series. The killing of a freshman congressman reverberates for decades and James Reece faces a global conspiracy.

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ROGUE JUSTICE by Stacey Abrams

(Available Formats: Print Book & CD Audiobook)

The second book in the Avery Keene series. The Supreme Court clerk suspects something sinister inside the nation’s third branch of government.

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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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SIMPLY LIES by David Baldacci

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

A former detective becomes the prime suspect in a murder case involving a man with mob ties who was in witness protection.

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TOM CLANCY: FLASH POINT by Don Bentley 

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

When aircraft from rival nations have a midair collision and the Campus is attacked, Jack Ryan Jr. tries to avert a war.

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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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YELLOWFACE by R.F. Kuang

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

June Hayward, a struggling writer, must conceal the fact that she stole Athena Liu’s just-finished masterpiece after Liu’s sudden death.

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NON-FICTION:

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ALL ABOUT LOVE by bell hooks

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

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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THE BOOK OF CHARLIE by David Von Drehle

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

The Washington Post columnist shares stories and wisdom he learned from a neighbor who was more than a century old.

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BRAIDING SWEETGRASS by Robin Wall Kimmerer

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, 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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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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DADDY DIARIES by Andy Cohen

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The host and executive producer of “Watch What Happens Live” juggles fatherhood and his career.

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THE ESCAPE ARTIST by Jonathan Freedl

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

Rudolf Vrba, who became one of the first Jews to escape from Auschwitz, warned others about the death camp.

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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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HOLDING THE NOTE by David Remnick

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

A collection of profiles of popular musicians, including Leonard Cohen, Buddy Guy, Mavis Staples and Patti Smith, from the editor of The New Yorker.

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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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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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KING: A LIFE by Jonathan Eig

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

A biography of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., which includes new archival material and reflections from some who worked, lived and fought with him.

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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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LOOK FOR ME THERE by Luke Russert

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

The Emmy Award–winning journalist details how he grieved for his late father and sought to make his own way.

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ON OUR BEST BEHAVIOR by Elise Loehnen

(Available Formats: Not yet in any catalog)

An examination of the seven deadly sins and their influence over the lives of women today.

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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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POVERTY, BY AMERICA by Matthew Desmond

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

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

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RAW DOG by Jamie Loftus

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The comedian and Emmy-nominated TV writer explains the cultural and culinary significance of hot dogs.

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THE SHADOW DOCKET by Stephen Vladeck

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The legal scholar examines the Supreme Court’s authority to issue emergency rulings and the potential consequences of doing so.

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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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THE WAGER by David Grann

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The survivors of a shipwrecked British vessel on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain have different accounts of events.

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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,

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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Around And Around by The Rolling Stones (Genre: Classic Rock)

From The Album: 12 x 5 (1964)

And as a bonus, just for fun – here is Chuck Berry with the original version!

Around And Around by Chuck Berry (Genre: Classic Rock)

From The Album: Chuck Berry Is on Top (1959)

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Baby Please Don’t Go by Willie and the Poor Boys (Genre: Classic Rock)

From The Album: Willie and the Poor Boys (1985)

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Bluebird by The Charlie Watts Quintet (Genre: Jazz)

From The Album: From One Charlie (1991)

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Dear Mister Fantasy by Traffic (Genre: Classic Rock)

From The Album: Mr. Fantasy (1967)

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How Mable Get Sable Cha Cha Cha by David Carbonara (Genre: Easy Listening/Cocktail)

From The Album: Mad Men: After Hours (2014)

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Koto Song by Dave Brubeck (Genre: Jazz)

From The Album: Dave Brubeck in Berlin (1964)

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Summertime by The Tornadoes (Genre: Classic Rock, Surf)

From The Album: Bustin’ Surfboards (1963)

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Take Me To The River by Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton and others (from the 1983 A.R.M.S. concert)

From the ARMS concerts to benefit Ronnie Lane’s MS charity in 1983 (no album currently available)

Studio Version by Steve Winwood – From The Album: Talking Back to the Night (1982)

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Rocket 88 by Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats (Genre: Classic Rock, Swing)

From The Album: Blues Got Me Again: Singles 1951-1962

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That’s Alright Mama Medley by Carl Perkins with George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Rosanne Cash, David Edmunds, Lee Rocker and others

Recorded Live: 9/9/1985 – Capitol Theatre – Passaic, NJ

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I’ve run out of week here so you can access great albums from the Hoopla catalog via this link: https://www.hoopladigital.com/browse/music

And I’ll recommend two albums from the Hoopla collection next week!

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.

–

The Digital Catalog, web version of Libby

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

–

The Libby App

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

–

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 is the latest edition of Library Connections, our monthly new book alert videocast.

The next Library Connections video will be posted on July 1, 2023.

Library Connections videos may also be accessed via the Southeast Steuben County Library’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/SESTEUBENCOLIBRARY

Have a great week!
Linda Reimer, SSCL

 

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, June 7, 2023.

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The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra

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

Nagendra (Cities and Canopies: Trees in Indian Cities) makes her fiction debut with an exceptional series launch. In 1921, 19-year-old Kaveri Murthy, who has a passion for advanced mathematics, lives just outside the sprawling city of Bangalore. While Kaveri and her physician husband, Ramu, are attending a reception at the prestigious Century Club, the body of a pimp is found murdered in the garden. When the deputy inspector of the local police force arrives to investigate, Kaveri confides that she saw the dead man in the garden with his hands around the throat of a beautiful woman. Kaveri’s desire to see justice done takes her from the bastions of British wealth to humble mud-floored shacks. By placing her intelligent and clear-eyed protagonists in the multilayered and multicultural milieu of colonial India, Nagendra, a university professor in Bangalore, imbues this mystery with a rich, edifying, and authentic feel. She rounds out the volume with easy-to-follow recipes for dishes like spiced rice with lentils, a welcome change from the sugary fare that culinary cozy recipes typically offer. Readers will hope Kaveri and Ramu will be back soon. Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy by Carl Sferrazza Anthony

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Presidential families historian Anthony returns to Jackie Bouvier Kennedy, the subject of one of his previous books, As We Remember Her. This time, he focuses on the years 1949 to 1953, beginning with her arrival in Paris with a new Leica camera for a junior year at Smith College’s study-abroad program. The book notes she longed for independence from her “privileged, but also traumatic” past after the bitter divorce of her parents, which left her determined to resist getting married herself. After winning—and declining—Vogue’s prestigious Prix de Paris award (a year-long junior editorship with the magazine) because her mother didn’t want her to leave the country at that time, Jackie became the Washington Times-Herald’s “Inquiring Camera Girl” until forced to give up the job after becoming engaged to John F. Kennedy. Anthony mines her articles with aplomb, using the questions she posed to people on the streets of Washington, DC, as a window into her psyche. The book ends with her much-publicized marriage to Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy.

VERDICT Whether she’s avoiding a traffic ticket after speeding in her car named Zelda, or translating books for Kennedy’s report on the history of France in Indochina, this portrait of young Jackie Bouvier shines with wit and intelligence. – Starred Library Journal Review

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A Death at the Party: A Novel by Amy Stuart

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Virginia Woolf meets Agatha Christie in this taut psychological thriller from Stuart (Still Here). Around midnight in a basement bathroom, Nadine Walsh, who’s hosting a birthday party upstairs for her 60-year-old mother, a bestselling thriller writer, checks the pulse of an unidentified dying man. After he dies, Nadine, who lives in “Winngrove, an affluent-but-liberal village within a city,” returns to the party without being spotted leaving the basement. Flashbacks starting early that morning follow Nadine as she prepares for more than a hundred guests that evening. Her lawyer husband doesn’t help much, nor do their two self-absorbed teenage children. She feels judged by her 24-year-old niece, who has lived with the Walshes since Nadine fell down the stairs and broke her hip six months before. She also contends with her unresolved feelings for her rags to riches mother and the lingering trauma of a family tragedy that occurred exactly 30 years earlier. Stuart’s complex lead immediately grabs the reader’s sympathy, even if she is a killer. Fans of Mrs. Dalloway, which provides the book’s epigraph, will want to check this one out. – Publishers Weekly

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The Family Bones by Elle Marr

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Olivia Eriksen, the protagonist of this mesmerizing psychological thriller from Marr (Strangers We Know), is working on her dissertation in psychology at U.C. Davis after gaining notoriety through her social media videos about her family’s extensive history of psychiatric disorders, including her great-uncle’s murder of her great-grandfather. Because her dissertation focuses on whether psychopathy is revealed at birth, Olivia decides to attend an upcoming Ericksen family reunion at a remote Oregon resort, where she’ll be able to use her relatives as primary sources. Oliva’s boyfriend, Howard Ngo, an administrator at U.C. Davis, agrees to go along in the hope that Olivia will announce their engagement to her family. After a storm rolls through Oregon that isolates Olivia, Howard, and her relatives, a family member dies and Olivia tries to discover the culprit. Meanwhile, amateur detective and podcaster Birdie Tan is investigating the cold case disappearance of Li Ming Na, last seen 10 years earlier in Eugene, Ore., who left a small child and an on-again, off-again boyfriend behind. Marr expertly builds tension by alternating between the two narratives, which eventually merge and build to an explosive conclusion. Readers will be captivated from the very first page. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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I’m Just Saying: A Guide to Maintaining Civil Discourse in an Increasingly Divided World by Milan Kordestani

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A straightforward look at the history and the art of maintaining courteous communication in an increasingly divided world.

Have you ever been in a conversation that, after volleying back and forth, ended with the words, “I’m just saying . . .”? Usually, this signals frustration, that the discussion has reached a dead end, that you haven’t made your point, and may even leave you feeling that your relationship with the other person has changed for the worse. Digital interactions, devoid of nuance and understanding, further complicate discussion. We may believe that we are superior because our opinions are the “right” ones, and in the future avoid conversations with those whose opinions differ from ours, sending us into a never-ending echo chamber.

In I’m Just Saying, author Milan Kordestani shows us that although challenging conversations can be unpleasant, they can also help us grow. Sometimes, people inspire us to change how we speak, making us better communicators in the process as we search to find common ground with those with whom we disagree. Kordestani uses contemporary case studies and personal experience to teach readers how to have constructive conversations by engaging in civil discourse—the idea that good-faith actors can reach consensus on any opinion-based disagreement. He discusses influential leaders and reflects on his successes and failures in creating The Doe, an online publication focused on civil discourse. He addresses the challenges that digital media consumption presents when seeking common ground—especially when people are only digitally connected.

Civil discourse, an essential part of democracy, is becoming rare in today’s digital age. I’m Just Saying examines discourse’s successes and the ways to rebuild it. Drawing from history, popular culture, and personal anecdotes, the book promotes effective civil discourse by providing practical advice and strategies for respect. Through story, I’m Just Saying offers insight and tools for politeness in a divided world.

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The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History by Serhii Plokhy

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Imperial nostalgia and miscalculation precipitated the war in Ukraine, according to this wide-ranging study. Harvard historian Plokhy (Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern Front) spends the book’s first half on the historical background of the 2022 Russian invasion, surveying Russia’s domination of Ukraine from the Middle Ages through the Soviet era, recent wranglings over Ukraine’s bids to join NATO and the European Union, and the course of the low-level war that followed Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and its support of Russian separatist militias in the Ukrainian Donbas. The book’s second half recaps the present conflict from the initial attack on Kiev to Ukraine’s counteroffensives in Kharkiv and Kherson, covering major battles; the killings of civilians by Russian occupiers; the charismatic leadership of Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenski; Putin’s poor military planning and delusional expectations, and more. Plokhy’s narrative is lucid, well-crafted, and judicious—he’s especially good on the complexities of the failed Minsk accords that sought to end the war in the Donbas—and vividly conveys the war’s destruction through Ukrainians’ firsthand experiences. (“It seems to be flying straight for your head,” one woman recalls of an attacking Russian warplane; “not even into your head but right through it.”) The result is an essential account of the conflict that manages to make sense of its obscure and tangled origins. – Publishers Weekly Review

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The Search: Finding Meaningful Work in a Post-Career World by Bruce Feiler

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Americans are fed narrow, outdated notions of what work means—9 to 5 days, climbing the corporate ladder, dreams of bigger offices and higher salaries—argues TV personality Feiler (Life Is in the Transitions) in this energetic challenge to status quo notions of success. After taking in the disruptions wrought on work culture by the pandemic, Feiler embarked on a “Work Story Project” in which he interviewed people across the country to discover what makes jobs meaningful. He found that most people reported having more than one job, and that definitions of success are highly individual and based on a “work narrative” rooted in personal beliefs, experiences, and lessons. Since people can be unaware of their work narrative, he suggests conducting a “meaning audit”—surveying past, present, and future priorities and perspectives—in order to assume control of the story. As well, Feiler discusses harnessing “workquakes,” or moments of professional disruption, to initiate soul-searching, and the importance of allowing oneself permission to enact a life change; he supports his arguments with examples of those who overcame difficulties to find fulfilling careers. While the abundance of anecdotes sometimes crowds out Feiler’s advice, his down-to-earth delivery and emphasis on individual agency will resonate with readers seeking direction. Those at professional crossroads will benefit. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina

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

Who’s responsible for the disappearance of members of Louisiana’s Takoda tribe? That question, inspired by the real-life epidemic of disappearances of Native Americans in both the U.S. and Canada, drives the plot of Medina’s pulse-pounding debut. Anna Horn, one of the few from the Takoda reservation to attend high school in the nearby town, is routinely subject to bullying and harassment. Anna is also troubled by the disappearance several months earlier of 19-year-old best friends Erica Landry and Amber Bloom, who also lived on the reservation. She’s skeptical that the teens just ran off, and fears their fate is linked to an older mystery: 10 years earlier, Shelby Mire, “the last of the Takoda tribe’s official singers and Legend Keepers,” was murdered, an unsolved crime that still haunts the surviving tribe members. Then, after someone else close to Anna vanishes, she searches frantically for answers, unsure whether the disappearances are linked to a new casino that the police suspected would attract riffraff or if something supernatural is at play. Medina resolves the plot well and gracefully weaves real-life concerns about disappearing Native people into the whodunit plot. This author is off to a strong start. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Someone Else’s Life by Lyn Liao Butler

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Annie Lin, the protagonist of this unsettling thriller from Butler (The Red Thread of Fate), has recently moved from New York to Kauai, Hawaii, with her husband, Brody, and their four-year-old son, Finn. She hopes the change of scene will provide comfort and stability for Finn, who suffered a traumatic accident six months earlier, and shore up her shaky marriage. But most of all, Annie hopes to regain some semblance of normalcy after personal and professional failures, including the bankruptcy of her dance studio, have left her depressed, resentful, and difficult to be around. She’s even started to doubt her own sanity. As the family adjusts to a fragile happiness, severe weather rocks the island, and a strange woman appears at their door seeking shelter. What happens next forces Annie to question everything in her life as she wonders whether this stranger is friend or foe. Well-developed characters and plenty of local color add to the slowly simmering plot, which builds to a strong and unexpected climax. Alfred Hitchcock fans will be satisfied. – Publishers Weekly Review

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The Spite House by Johnny Compton

(Available Formats: Print Books)

Compton’s chilling debut is horror with heart that puts a refreshingly modern spin on the haunted house story. On the run and in hiding from a mysterious family curse, Eric Ross and his daughters, Dess and Stacy, are desperate to find ways to make ends meet. Eunice Houghton, a wealthy eccentric, is willing to pay a substantial sum for anyone willing to stay in the Masson House, one of Texas’s most haunted buildings, and record their encounters with the supernatural. Eager to provide a better life for his daughters, Eric takes the job and is determined to see it through to the massive payday at the end. But as staying in Masson House becomes increasingly dangerous, Eric realizes that no one is telling him the entire truth about the house and its history. By changing perspectives between Eric, Dess, Stacy, and Eunice, this tense work of gothic horror provides a complex and multidimensional look at how anger, grief, and trauma can strengthen bonds of familial love. The tale’s simmering tension builds to an inevitable but thoroughly satisfying conclusion that, like the ghosts of the spite house, lingers. Even the most jaded horror fans will be wowed. – 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.

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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, June 4, 2023.

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FICTION

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23RD MIDNIGHT by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

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

The 23rd book in the Women’s Murder Club series. Lindsay Boxer tracks a copycat killer.

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THE COVENANT OF WATER by Abraham Verghese

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

Three generations of a family living on South India’s Malabar Coast suffer the loss of a family member by drowning.

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DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver

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

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

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FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros

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

Violet Sorrengail is urged by the commanding general, who also is her mother, to become a candidate for the elite dragon riders.

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FRACTAL NOISE by Christopher Paolini

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In July 2234, the crew of the Adamura investigate the mysteries of a 50-kilometer-wide pit they found on a seemingly uninhabited planet.

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HAPPY PLACE by Emily Henry

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

A former couple pretend to be together for the sake of their friends during their annual getaway in Maine.

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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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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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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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THE MAKING OF ANOTHER MAJOR MOTION PICTURE MASTERPIECE by Tom Hanks

(Available Formats: Print Book & Large Print)

A World War II soldier’s experiences inspire a comic book, which gets adapted into a superhero movie.

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MEET ME AT THE LAKE by Carley Fortune

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

A decade after a one-day adventure, Will appears again in Fern’s life at her mother’s lakeside resort.

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ONLY THE DEAD by Jack Carr

(Available Format: Print Book)

The sixth book in the Terminal List series. The killing of a freshman congressman reverberates for decades and James Reece faces a global conspiracy.

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QUEEN CHARLOTTE by Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz weds King George III and contends with the politics of the court.

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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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SIMPLY LIES by David Baldacci

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

A former detective becomes the prime suspect in a murder case involving a man with mob ties who was in witness protection.

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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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WEDDING PLANNER by Danielle Steel

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

An unmarried wedding planner contends with problems, secrets and scandals.

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YELLOWFACE by R.F. Kuang

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

June Hayward, a struggling writer, must conceal the fact that she stole Athena Liu’s just-finished masterpiece after Liu’s sudden death.

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NON-FICTION:

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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, 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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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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DADDY DIARIES by Andy Cohen

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The host and executive producer of “Watch What Happens Live” juggles fatherhood and his career.

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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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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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KING: A LIFE by Jonathan Eig

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

A biography of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., which includes new archival material and reflections from some who worked, lived and fought with him.

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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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LOOK FOR ME THERE by Luke Russert

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

The Emmy Award–winning journalist details how he grieved for his late father and sought to make his own way.

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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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POVERTY, BY AMERICA by Matthew Desmond

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

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

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QUIETLY HOSTILE by Samantha Irby

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

A new collection of essays detailing personal and professional experiences by the author of “Wow, No Thank You.”

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SHADOW DOCKET by Stephen Vladeck

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The legal scholar examines the Supreme Court’s authority to issue emergency rulings and the potential consequences of doing so.

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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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THE WAGER by David Grann

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The survivors of a shipwrecked British vessel on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain have different accounts of events.

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WALKING WITH SAM by Andrew McCarthy

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

The actor and travel writer treks 500 miles across Spain’s Camino de Santiago with his elder son.

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The World: A Family History of Humanity by Simon Sebag Montefiore

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

The historian chronicles the world’s great dynasties through the prism of family ties in a single narrative.

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YOU CAN’T JOKE ABOUT THAT by Kat Timpf

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The co-host of “Gutfeld!” and Fox News contributor gives her take on free speech and comedy.

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YOU COULD MAKE THIS PLACE BEAUTIFUL by Maggie Smith

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

The poet explores her love for her children and commitment to herself after the end of her marriage.

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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.

This blog post includes all the new titles that have been ordered by the library this month.

Some of these titles have arrived and can be requested through StarCat; other titles are not yet ready to circulate (and thus are not yet found in StarCat).

So, if you see a book you’d love to read, but don’t find it listed in StarCat, send me an email and let me know which title you’d like to read; and I will place it on hold for you, when it is ready to circulate.

My email address is: reimerl@stls.org

And here is the list of New Books Coming Your Way for this month!

New Books is a monthly post; coming on the fourth Saturday of the month.

The next New Books Coming Your Was post will be out on Saturday, June 24, 2023.

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSC Library

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Accessing The Catalogs:

And the direct link to our catalog of physical materials, AKA StarCat, is: https://starcat.stls.org/

The direct link to the online version of the Digital Catalog (companion app Libby, found in your app store) is: https://stls.overdrive.com/

And the Hoopla catalog (which is like Netflix in that all content is available on-demand & which also has a complementary app, simply called Hoopla) can be accessed online at: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

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,

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar & Molly Mason Family Band (Genre: Folk)

Studio version found on the Album: The Civil War – Original Soundtrack Recording (1990)

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Barn Dance by Adolph Deutsch & The MGM Studio Orchestra (Genre: Folk, Orchestra/Dance)

From The Album: Seven Brides For Seven Brothers Soundtrack (1954)

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Crooked River by Official (Genre: Folk)

From The Album: Get Behind the Wheel (2023)

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Drum Boogie by Gene Krupa & Irene Daye (Genre: Jazz, Swing)

From The Album: Savage Rhythm by Various Artists (2014)

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Freedom Highway by Rhiannon Giddens (Genre: Americana, Folk)

From The Album: Freedom Highway (2017)

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Happy Feet by Paul Whiteman And His Orchestra with the Rhythm Boys (Genre: Jazz/Swing)

From The Album: The Very Best Of The 1920’s – 100 tracks Including The Greatest Hits of “The Great Gatsby Era” by Various Artists (2013)

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Moonlight Party by Rose City Band (Genre: Pop/Rock/Folk)

From The Album: Garden Party (2023)

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Peter, Paul and Mary Tonight in Person BBC Four 1965 (Genre: Folk) (Time: 57:44)

Songs played include: When The Ship Comes In, For Loving Me, Early Morning Rain, The

Times Are A-Changing & Blowing In The Wind

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The Star Spangled Banner (Live) by Louis Armstrong (Genre: Jazz)

From The Album: The Great Chicago Concert 1956 (1957)

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Steamy Windows by Tina Turner (Genre: R&B)

From The Album: Foreign Affair (1989)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

And from the album the song:

Rambling Boy of Pleasure by The Kronos Quartet with Olivia Chaney (Genre: Classical/Folk)

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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!

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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Wednesdays.

And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, May 31, 2023.

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

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Beware The Woman: A Novel by Megan Abbott

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In this spine-tingling suspense yarn from Edgar Award winner Abbott (The Turnout), pregnant second grade teacher Jacy learns there’s plenty she still doesn’t know about her taciturn artist husband Jed or the family he rarely mentions—maybe a dangerous amount. The action unfolds during the couple’s summer road trip from New York City to visit Jed’s father, a retired physician, at his cottage on Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula. At first, Jacy feels transported by the surroundings and her father-in-law’s near-courtly solicitousness. (His brusque caretaker, Mrs. Brandt, is a different story.) But things shift when Jacy has a miscarriage scare and, in the aftermath, Jed aligns with his father’s alarmingly old-school notions about women and pregnancy. Rightly or wrongly, Jacy starts to feel like a prisoner. Manipulating the sense of menace like a virtuoso violinist, Abbott expertly foreshadows the wrenching family secrets that are exposed in a ferocious finale. Sinewy prose and note-perfect pacing make this a masterful and provocative deep dive into desire, love, and gender politics. Readers will be left breathless. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Black Moses by Alain Mabanckou

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

A small book with a big narrative voice, this wacky new novel by Mabanckou follows the existential misfortunes of an orphan whose “kilometrically extended name” means “Thanks be to God, the black Moses is born on the earth of our ancestors.” Things were always bad for Moses at the orphanage in Loango, a place full of corrupt and unscrupulous administrators who treat children “no better than cattle.” But after the orphanage’s director and his cronies, all relatives, change allegiance as the socialist revolution takes over the Congo, Moses decides to escape to the city of Pointe-Noire with the twins Songi-Songi and Tala-Tala. They agree to let him join them and give him the nickname Little Pepper when he spikes their food with chilis. The sordid streets of the city offer few better opportunities, however, and in colorful, weird prose, Moses recounts his few triumphs and many travails. His fellow escapees form a gang of petty thieves, but at 16, Moses is taken in by a kindly Zairian madam called Maman Fiat 500, who—with her employees, “ten girls, each more beautiful than the last”—provides him with the only family he will ever know. Moses ages quickly, spiraling into madness and forgetting. He wishes to become his own hero, Robin Hood, but he more closely resembles Don Quixote, eventually striking out on a last noble and violent quest worthy of his long name. This mythic, beguiling novel is a journey to discover what is hard-wired in us and what we make up about ourselves. Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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Central Park West: A Crime Novel by James B. Comey Jr.

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Former FBI director Comey (A Higher Loyalty) makes a sturdy crime fiction debut with this twisting account of the murder of a disgraced former New York governor. The novel opens as Tony Burke, who left office tainted by a #MeToo scandal, is murdered in his Central Park West apartment. With the assassin having dressed up like Tony’s estranged wife, Kyra, to gain access to the building, Kyra herself is soon hauled up on murder charges. Meanwhile, assistant U.S. attorney Nora Carleton is prosecuting a mob case that gets derailed after her star witness tells her the mafia was involved in Burke’s death—shortly before turning up dead himself. The stakes climb as the wheels of justice churn, with Kyra’s case hanging in the balance while a team of investigators works to identify the killer who framed her. Comey draws on his vast experience in the criminal justice world to bring a sense of authenticity to the setting and plot machinations, though he’s occasionally guilty of leaning a bit too much toward education over entertainment. A sequel would be welcome. – Publishers Weekly Review

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The Chateau: A Novel by Jaclyn Goldis

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Provence is the stunning backdrop for this murder mystery, in which a much-anticipated vacation turns deadly and friends struggle to discover the killer in their midst. Visiting the lush lavender fields and olive groves of the French countryside is a dream come true for Darcy, Jade, Vix, and Arabelle when Darcy’s Grand-mere Seraphine invites them to stay at her chateau. The women have known each other for decades and are looking forward to their reunion. But not long after their arrival Seraphine is stabbed to death. Reeling from the horrific attack, the four friends are even more unsettled when they receive a follow request from an anonymous Instagram account entitled @imwatchingyou88. The feed contains photos of the women at the chateau and includes menacing messages: “You can’t hide,” and “I know what you did. You won’t get away with it.” In the tradition of a classic Agatha Christie locked-room mystery, everyone in the chateau is a suspect, and each of the women may have a motive unknown to the other three. At least three of them have serious financial issues and could benefit if they are included in Seraphine’s will. Goldis is in firm control of her plotting and stealthily employs the unreliable narrator trope with alternating first-person chapters told by Darcy, Jade, Vix, and Arabelle as well as Seraphine; the groundskeeper, Raph; and Seraphine’s housekeeper, Sylvie. They all have reasons for hiding their truths, but past traumas and secrets slowly come to light. A messy extramarital affair, a missing Van Gogh painting, and a Holocaust-era betrayal spin the plot toward shocking revelations that do not stop until the very last page. Sex, lies, and secrets turn deadly in this modern-day tale built on classic plot devices. – Kirkus Review

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Graveminder by Melissa Marr

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

YA bestseller Marr (Wicked Lovely), in her first novel for adult readers, serves up a quirky dark fantasy fashioned around the themes of fate, free will and zombies. When Rebekkah Barrow is summoned home to Claysville for the funeral of her beloved grandmother, Maylene, Rebekkah doesn’t know that she’s been designated Maylene’s successor as the town Graveminder, whose job it is to give the recently deceased food to keep them in the Land of the Dead. Not coincidentally, her sometimes lover, Byron Montgomery, has just succeeded his dad as the Undertaker, who works intimately with the Graveminder. Even as the pair ponder the grave responsibilities that their weird destinies have thrust upon them, they doggedly pursue Daisha, an adolescent who died under suspicious circumstances and who, unburied and untended, is wreaking havoc around town as a rampaging member of the Hungry Dead. Not everything adds up in Marr’s story, but the well-drawn characters and their dramatic interactions keep the tale loose and lively. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Look for Me There: Grieving My Father, Finding Myself by Luke Russert

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

Former NBC correspondent Russert shares stories from his peripatetic life after the death of his father, Meet the Press host Tim Russert. He primarily focuses on the highs and lows of a three-year trip around the world, with stops in 67 countries. Luke quit his NBC job to find himself during this voyage, but he loses his way. It’s easy to groan over some of his choices even as one comes to understand his grief and the pressure he felt as the only child of two famous journalists. His mom, Maureen Orth, wrote acclaimed pieces for Newsweek, National Geographic, and Vanity Fair. His well-meaning parents named him after St. Luke, who said, “”To whom much is given, much is expected.”” Heartbreakingly, Luke writes, “”The inadequacy cuts deep.”” Just as his dad wrote a letter to his dad in Big Russ & Me (2004), Luke pens one to his father, pledging to keep believing in the American promise and trying to help others with his words. Readers will sympathize with Luke as he mourns, feeling both self-doubt and gratitude. – Booklist Review

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Once More With Feeling: A Novel by Elissa Sussman

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Sussman (Funny You Should Ask) dazzles in this smart second-chance romance. The artist formerly known as Katee Rose—now Kathleen Rosenberg—gets a second chance at her Broadway dreams 10 years after her music career was torpedoed by her vengeful ex-boyfriend, Ryan. Her best friend, songwriter Harriet Watson, has written a part specifically for Kathleen in her new 1940s-set musical. There’s just one problem: the director is Cal Kirby, who was in a popular boy band with Ryan and whom Kathleen has been crushing on since their theater camp days. The press has painted Kathleen as a man-eating “slut” ever since Ryan leaked news that Kathleen cheated on him—but no one knows that she cheated with Cal. In the fallout, Cal stayed far away, and Kathleen struggled to rebuild her life. But when they’re forced to work together, old feelings reignite. Sussman skillfully toggles between flashbacks and the present, teasing out her characters’ fraught backstories. Her leads are complex, appealing, and multilayered, and the perfectly paced plot offers real insight into celebrity culture and media slut-shaming. Sussman’s first-rate latest will please her existing fans and win her many new ones. Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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The River Is Indigo by Suleiman Manan

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The River Is Indigo which begins in Java in the 1930s, is a story of mystical dreams, dire predictions, a family curse and destiny gone wrong. The young, prodigious Hamzah is raised by his grandmother, the enormously matriarchal Ibu Tutik who loves him dearly, in an extraordinary mansion known as the Mataram House. Hamzah’s life is intertwined with Mataram House and he is sworn by an oath never to leave it. On his thirteenth birthday his father, Norreddin, steals him away and together they clandestinely escape in the dead of night from Mataram House, thus betraying the sworn oath. Immediately his life is bedeviled with tortuous elements. At every crossroad Mataram House shadows him, tormenting him, deciding for him the path he takes, as though the forces of fate are taking complete control of his own free will. From then on his life is no longer his own to live.

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A Summer In The Catskills: A Novel by Richard Mangan

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Byron Rutledge, a twenty-year-old university student from Queens, can’t believe his good fortune when he stumbles upon summer work at a resort in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. Hired as a dishwasher, Byron is excited to spend his summer in the beautiful outdoors. But his expectations are quickly dashed when he encounters hellish working conditions, and is forced to live in a vermin-ridden bunkhouse with unbridled youths bent on doing drugs and alcohol. The picturesque mountains that surround the resort soon turn to concrete walls, and the tall pines seem to keep watch over him as sentry guards. Inevitably, Byron’s unruly coworkers stir up trouble within the resort and with the townsfolk, with Byron finding himself caught in the middle. The story takes a Gothic turn as pressure mounts, triggering nightmares that nearly drive him to madness. Can he endure the summer’s hardships by conquering his chimeras, or will he quit and return home? Rich in imagery and balanced with humorous dialogue, A Summer in the Catskills depicts individual stories of desperation, tragedy, absurdity, and unhealed emotional wounds.

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Swamp Story: A Novel by Dave Barry

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Crime fiction doesn’t come much funnier than this Florida-set caper from Barry (Insane City), in which a lucky find precipitates a cascade of unexpected consequences. Jesse Braddock lives in the Everglades with Willa, her baby daughter, and Slater, Willa’s deadbeat father. She has little hope for a better life until she stumbles on a cache of gold bars, supposedly a buried Confederate Army payroll shipment. But the treasure has already captured the interest of some ex-cons who plotted to find it during their time in prison. Meanwhile, the enterprising owner of a local beer and bait shop concocts a harebrained get-rich-quick scheme: he employs a down-on-his-luck journalist to don a Dora the Explorer costume and pretend to be the mythical Everglades Melon Monster so he can lure tourists to the area in search of it. That scheme results in an influx of visitors at the very moment Braddock hopes to evade the treasure-seekers and make off with her life-changing fortune. Barry conducts the hijinks like a maestro of comic suspense. Carl Hiaasen fans will be in heaven. – 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.

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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.