Tech & Book Talk at SSCL

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

Videos in this series make their debut on Facebook and YouTube on Fridays; and on this blog the following Wednesday. The next Library Connections video will be posted to this blog on Wednesday, March 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 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, February 26, 2023.

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FICTION

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THE BOYS FROM BILOXI by John Grisham

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

Two childhood friends follow in their fathers’ footsteps, which puts them on opposite sides of the law.

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DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver

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

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

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ENCORE IN DEATH by J.D. Robb

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

The 56th book of the In Death series. Eve Dallas investigates the mysterious death of a well-loved star of stage and screen.

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FAIRY TALE by Stephen King

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

A high school kid inherits a shed that is a portal to another world where good and evil are at war.

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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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HOUSE OF EVE by Sadeqa Johnson

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Complications involving love, family and higher education impact the lives of two women living in the 1950s.

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HOUSE IN THE PINES by Ana Reyes

(Available Formats: eBook)

Seven years after witnessing her best friend drop dead, May returns to her Berkshires hometown to piece together what happened.

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HOUSE OF WOLVES by James Patterson and Mike Lupica

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

After her father is murdered, Jenny Wolf becomes the head of a powerful family in California.

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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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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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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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MAAME by Jessica George

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Maddie, the daughter of an overbearing mother recently returned from Ghana and a father suffering from Parkinson’s, begins to build a life for herself in London.

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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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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig

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

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

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RADIANT SIN by Katee Robert

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

The fourth book in the Dark Olympus series. A danger emerges as things heat up between Cassandra and Apollo.

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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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SECRETLY YOURS by Tessa Bailey

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

A college professor finds himself in proximity to a former high school classmate who is now tending the gardens of his family’s winery.

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THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides

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

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

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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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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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UGLY LOVE by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Hoopla instant checkout 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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UNNATURAL HISTORY by Jonathan Kellerman

(Available Formats:

The 38th book in the Alex Delaware series. Alex and Milo investigate the murder of a wealthy photographer.

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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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VICTORY CITY by Salman Rushdie

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

After a battle in 14th-century southern India, a girl named Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for a goddess and spends 250 years seeking to give women equal agency in a patriarchal world.

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NON-FICTION:

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1619 PROJECT edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman and Jake Silverstein

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

Viewing America’s entanglement with slavery and its legacy, in essays adapted and expanded from The New York Times Magazine

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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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BAD MORMON by Heather Gay

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A star of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” describes leaving the Mormon Church and finding success as a businesswoman and single mother.

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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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FINDING ME by Viola Davis

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

The multiple award-winning actress describes the difficulties she encountered before claiming her sense of self and achieving professional success.

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FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING by Matthew Perry

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

The actor, known for playing Chandler Bing on “Friends,” shares stories from his childhood and his struggles with sobriety.

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GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, 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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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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LOVE, PAMELA by Pamela Anderson

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

The actress and activist details her childhood, rise to fame and the ways she is reclaiming the narrative of her life.

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THE MYTH OF NORMAL by Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté

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

The potential ways in which trauma and stress from modern-day living can affect our physical health.

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NAZI CONSPIRACY by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch

(Available Formats: Print Book & CD Audiobook)

The story of a Nazi plot to kill President Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill.

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NEVER GIVE AN INCH by Mike Pompeo

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The former secretary of state gives his account of his time serving under President Trump, with a focus on an America First approach.

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PEOPLE VS. DONALD TRUMP by Mark Pomerantz

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any format)

An inside account of the attempt to prosecute former President Trump for financial crimes and the Manhattan district attorney’s refusal to do so.

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SPARE  by Prince Harry

(Available Formats: Print Book,

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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STRAIGHT SHOOTER by Stephen A. Smith

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The ESPN analyst recounts the highs and lows of his life and career.

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

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

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.

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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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This week, for something different, a collection of songs that were in the 1920s!

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Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground by Blind Willie Johnson (Genre: Blues)

From The Album: The Complete Blind Willie Johnson (1993)

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Down Hearted Blues by Bessie Smith (Genre: Blues)

From The Album: The Complete Recordings, Volume 1 (1991)

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In the Jailhouse Now by Jimmie Rodgers (Genre: Country)

From The Album: The Essential Jimmie Rodgers (2013)

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Keep on The Sunny Side by The Carters (Genre: Country)

From The Album: Can The Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music’s First Family (Originally Released 1935, 1940, (P) 2000 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.)

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My Man by Fanny Brice (Genre: Vocal)

From The Album: Fanny Brice and Helen Morgan Fabulous Favourites (2016)

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Rhapsody In Blue by Paul Whiteman (vocal) featuring George Gershwin on piano (Genre: Vocal/Jazz)

From The Album: The Birth of Rhapsody in Blue: Paul Whiteman’s Historic Aeolian Hall Concert of 1924 (1987)

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See See Rider Blues by Ma Rainey (Genre: Blues/Jazz)

From The Album: See See Rider Blues (The Best Of) by Ma Rainey (2009)

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Swingin’ Down the Lane by Isham Jones (Genre: Jazz)

From The Various Artists Album: And So The Jazz Started/41 (2018)

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Waitin’ For the Evening Mail by Nobel Sissle & Eubie Blake (Genre: Jazz)

From The Album: N/A on a current streaming or CD album.

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West End Blues by Louis Armstrong (Genre: Jazz)

From The Album: Volume IV – Louis Armstrong And Earl Hines (Originally Released 1928, 1929, 1941 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

The Cornshucker’s Frolic: Classic Recordings from the 1920’s and 30s Vol 2. by Various Artists

And from the album the song:

The Grape Vine Twist by Steve & His Hot Shots (Genre: Country)

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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 is the latest edition of Library Connections, our weekly readers’ and listeners’ advisory videocast.

The next Library Connections video will be posted on Wednesday, February 22, 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, February 24, 2023.

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Americanah: A Novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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

Ifemelu, the Nigerian expat and Princeton lecturer at the heart of this latest novel by Orange Prize winner Adichie (Half of a Yellow Sun), writes biting, dead-on blog posts taking aim at the cultural schism between non-African blacks, Africans, and everyone else. She also observes her Auntie Uju turning herself inside out to attract a man as Ifemelu’s nephew silently accepts his mother’s aspirations. Whether Ifemelu is writing a treatise on how to care for black hair or a scathing take on American students earning extra credit for bombast, her opinions bring her money and acknowledgment. But one day, as she is complimented on her nurtured American accent, Ifemelu senses that she has lost her way. A parallel plotline follows Obinze, the man Ifemelu left behind in Lagos, who emigrated to London and longs for a life in America with her.

VERDICT Witty, wry, and observant, Adichie is a marvelous storyteller who writes passionately about the difficulty of assimilation and the love that binds a man, a woman, and their homeland. Her work should be read by anyone clutching at the belief that we’re living in a post-racial United States.

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The Book Haters’ Book Club by Gretchen Anthony

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla Instant Check Out Audiobook)

Anthony returns with a sparkling novel that finds joy in spite of regret. Irma Bedford has been the owner of Over the Rainbow, a bookshop in small-town Minnesota, for many years. Her business partner, Elliot, has passed away, and Irma is intent on selling the store to a corporate building group. But Elliot’s romantic partner, Thom, and Irma’s daughters, Laney and Bree, are not going to let the bookstore go easily. Bree has made a career out of her job there, and while Laney is reluctant at first, she warms to Thom and Bree’s ideas. The three band together on a grassroots campaign to save the shop. Along the way, all three have revelations about their own life journeys as family secrets are revealed. Elliot also weighs in from beyond the grave, and snippets of his newsletter for “book haters” help solidify his voice. Anthony includes a slew of real recommendations sourced from her own friends, bookstore employees, and librarians, giving readers a chance to head off on their own paths. – Booklist Review

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Forever, Erma: Best-Loved Writing From America’s Favorite Humorist by Erma Bombeck

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Hoopla Instant Check Out eBook)

The housewife columnist whose gently subversive humor has won her a prominent niche in American culture is commemorated in this collection of over 120 of her most popular and memorable essays. Bombeck, whose bestsellers include All I Know About Animal Behavior I Learned in Loehmann’s Dressing Room, died in 1996. Trained as a newspaper reporter, she honed her skills into a unique blend of humorous social commentary based on the quotidian passage of domestic life and an empathy with women in their relations with the larger world, including spouses and children. Much honored, quoted and sought after for advice, Bombeck had an infectious sense of human absurdity that is highlighted in this collection celebrating her 25-year career as a low-key enforcer of the positive in the face of adversity, whether it be her own terminal illness, or “missing socks, promiscuous hangovers and other unexplained phenomena” that were grist for her reporter’s mill. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Getting Lost by Annie Ernaux

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

Winner of the Noble Prize in Literature 2022

In this entrancing work, French writer Ernaux (The Years) relives the passionate yet devastating memories of a whirlwind affair through her own diary entries. From November 1989 to April 1990, when she was a writer and teacher living in Paris, Ernaux became besotted with a married Russian diplomat at the Soviet embassy. Set against the political, social, and literary events that defined the parameters of their relationship, Ernaux’s narrative traces her secret love affair with “Mr. S,” a man 13 years her junior, as she recalls falling under S’s narcissistic hold (“a lovely hell”) and the “state of nameless terror” she endures between his phone calls and brief visits. Their affair revives old and painful memories that threaten her self-worth: an abortion in 1964, a failed marriage, and recurring dreams of her mother’s death. Ernaux’s writing is astonishingly candid as she illustrates the ways loss, heartache, and love intersect with her craft as a writer: “I am consumed with desire…. I want perfection in love, as I believe I attained a kind of perfection in writing with A Woman’s Story. That can only happen through giving, while throwing all caution to the wind. I’m already well on my way.” Fans will relish every scintillating detail. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Leader of the Pack by David Rosenfelt

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Hoopla Instant Check Out Audiobook)

Over the course of his legal career, Andy Carpenter has lost a few cases. But that doesn’t mean he forgets his clients. Andy has always been convinced that Joey Desimone, a man convicted of murder nine years ago, was innocent and believes that Joey’s family’s connections to organized crime played a pivotal role in his conviction. While there isn’t much Andy can do for him while he serves out his prison sentence, Joey suggests that he check up on Joey’s elderly uncle. He’d rather not, but as a favor to Joey,

Andy agrees to take his dog, Tara, on a few visits.

The old man’s memory is going, but when Andy tries to explain why he’s there, it jogs something in the man’s mind, and his comments leave Andy wondering if Uncle Nick is confused, or if he just might hold the key to Joey’s freedom after all this time.

Andy grabs on to this thread of possibility and follows it into a world where the oath of silence is stronger than blood ties, and where people will do anything to make sure their secrets are kept.
Riveting, suspenseful, and highly entertaining, Leader of the Pack is bestseller David Rosenfelt’s latest entry in his much-beloved Andy Carpenter series.

Reader’s Note: This is the tenth book in the Andy Carpenter series. If you’d like to start reading the series from the beginning, check out book one Open And Shut.

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The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey

(Available Formats: Hoopla Instant Check Out eBook & Audiobook)

A sweet romance from a debut author to watch. Darcy Jane Wells works at a bookstore and likes to memorize lines from her favorite classics. Her friends are her beloved characters and her best friend, Mexican/Cuban American fashionista Marisol, who is the only one who knows Darcy’s secret–her mother is a hoarder. Brokenhearted and traumatized by the abandonment of Darcy’s father, her mother is the image of perfection in public, but their small San Diego apartment is filled to the brim with her compulsive purchases. Darcy’s only refuge is her bookshelf-covered room. With the help of Marisol, a used copy of Peter Pan, and an older boy struggling with his own trauma and illness, the linguistic savant begins to muddle through her senior year. Peppered with literary quotes and chapter headings, this novel will delight teen lit fans. Taylor Namey’s portrayal of mental illness is thoughtful and well executed, and the characterizations of even background characters are fully developed. The friendship between Darcy and Marisol is well balanced and charming, and the happy ending is swoony–but not overly so. The author sometimes relies too much on tropes (super self-aware teens, a mean-girl ex, a grumpy bookstore owner, and a boisterous Latinx family), but this doesn’t detract from the feel-good narrative. Darcy and most characters appear to be white. A lovely tale for bookish readers that will give them all the feels. – Kirkus Review

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Murder Book: A Novel by Thomas Perry

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla Instant Check Out Audiobook)

Chicago PI Harry Duncan, the protagonist of this strong crime novel from Edgar winner Perry (The Old Man), accepts a contract from his ex-wife, Ellen Leicester, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, to investigate a sudden spike in criminal activity in small towns along Indiana’s Ash River (“Assaults and robberies by teams rather than individuals, extortion, and that sort of thing”). Ellen believes that organized crime elements in Chicago are making a move to expand operations into Indiana, and Duncan’s task is to scout out the territory and report back to her on whether an FBI investigation is warranted. Duncan makes his first stop at a bar by the river for a bite to eat and winds up contending with two thugs in the bar’s parking lot who try to steal his car. Tough, self-reliant, and fearless, Duncan soon plunges into a full-scale battle with hired crooks intent on seizing control of the entire region, and lives are suddenly at stake—including his own. The pages melt away as the story maintains a breathless pace throughout. This is further proof that Perry is a dominating force in the world of contemporary suspense thrillers. Hopefully, Duncan will be back for an encore. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Remember Me Now: A Journey Back to Myself and a Love Letter to Black Women by Faitth Brooks

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In this inspiring memoir, social worker and activist Brooks (The Anti-Racism Journal) extends to her fellow Black women “an invitation for us to commune with each other.” Brooks recalls formative life events, including navigating Black and white spaces in childhood, seeking self-acceptance in college, and attempting to heal from sexual assault in adulthood, drawing wisdom from each. Though her quest is one of personal discovery, Brooks writes of gathering strength from her ancestry, church, and sisterhood, as “we find healing in community.” Fittingly, she addresses readers directly in upbeat letters at the end of each chapter (“A Letter to My Sister in College Trying to Find Her Way,” “A Letter to the Black Suburban Girl”). As well, Brooks recounts the ways community and faith spaces have helped and hurt her. A college mission trip to Rwanda, for example, proved both a transformational experience of “being in a country where everyone looked like me” and a rude awakening at her white classmates’ racist behavior. As she learned to challenge the status quo and ask difficult questions, Brooks writes, she deepened her faith practice, ancestral connection, and sense of self: “I am a liberated Black woman, embracing every ounce of who I am.” This is an encouraging guide for those seeking self-discovery, fulfillment, and faith in an often unsafe world. – Publishers Weekly

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Village in the Sky by Jack McDevitt

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In Nebula Award–winning author Jack McDevitt’s ninth installment in the beloved Alex Benedict science fiction mystery series, humanity discovers new intelligent life lightyears away—only for it to disappear without a trace.

Centuries after a war with the Mutes, the first aliens to be encountered by humankind, a startling new discovery in the far reaches of the Orion Nebula appears. On a planet with conditions favorable to life, explorer vessel The Columbia comes across a small town seemingly inhabited by an intelligent species not yet discovered.

But when a highly publicized follow-up mission is sent to make contact mere months later, the entire town has vanished, leaving no trace—or such is presumed to be the case until Alex Benedict and his archaeological crew show up to investigate. Officially, their mission is to find concealed artifacts that may have been left behind, but the team’s real goal is to solve the mystery of how these aliens disappeared so rapidly—and why. In turns terrifying and miraculous, the answers raise the stakes for every member on board as they look to make their mark on history.

Nebula Award–winning author Jack McDevitt, whom Stephen King has called “the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke,” brings back Alex, Chase, and Gabe for another brilliantly crafted science fiction mystery.

Reader’s Note: As noted, this is the ninth book in the series, if you’d like to start reading the series from the beginning check out book one A Talent for War.

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Yesterday Is History by Kosoko Jackson

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

After Andre Cobb receives a life-saving liver transplant, he passes out and wakes up in 1969 Boston. When he returns to present-day Boston, it is to learn that his experience wasn’t as singular as he imagined. His donor’s family explains that he now has the same ability as their late son: he can time travel. The family’s grief-stricken, remaining son, Blake, is tasked with helping Andre learn and navigate his new abilities. Though Blake keeps Andre at arm’s length, an undeniable connection forms between them. Meanwhile, during his travels to 1969, Andre also feels powerfully drawn to Michael, who teaches him to follow his passions. Ultimately Andre must decide where he belongs, whom he loves, and, most importantly, who he is meant to be. Jackson’s charming debut is thought-provoking, romantic, and fun; furthermore, his characters are well drawn and fictional world is authentic. It is important to note that Jackson capably delivers both a swoon-worthy romance with a gay Black main character and a coming-of-age story rife with adventure, where racial trauma and pain aren’t at the forefront of the narrative. A stellar novel that today’s teens needed yesterday. – Starred 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.

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, February 19, 2023.

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FICTION

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THE BOYS FROM BILOXI by John Grisham

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

Two childhood friends follow in their fathers’ footsteps, which puts them on opposite sides of the law.

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DAISY JONES & THE SIX by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

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

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FAIRY TALE by Stephen King

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

A high school kid inherits a shed that is a portal to another world where good and evil are at war.

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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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HORSE by Geraldine Brooks

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

The story of a racehorse, an enslaved groom and an itinerant painter reverberates in three different eras.

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HOUSE IN THE PINES by Ana Reyes

(Available Formats: eBook)

Seven years after witnessing her best friend drop dead, May returns to her Berkshires hometown to piece together what happened.

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HOUSE OF WOLVES by James Patterson and Mike Lupica

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

After her father is murdered, Jenny Wolf becomes the head of a powerful family in California.

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HOW TO SELL A HAUNTED HOUSE by Grady Hendrix

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

After her parents die, Louise encounters more than she expected in dealing with the family home.

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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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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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MAAME by Jessica George

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Maddie, the daughter of an overbearing mother recently returned from Ghana and a father suffering from Parkinson’s, begins to build a life for herself in London.

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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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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig

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

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

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NOVEMBER 9 by Colleen Hoover

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

Is Ben using his relationship with Fallon as fodder for his novel?

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REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, Large Print, 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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THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides

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

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

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THINGS WE NEVER GOT OVER by Lucy Score

(Available Formats:

A runaway bride becomes the guardian of her evil twin’s daughter and gets some help from a bad-boy barber.

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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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UGLY LOVE by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Hoopla instant checkout 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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1619 PROJECT edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman and Jake Silverstein

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

Viewing America’s entanglement with slavery and its legacy, in essays adapted and expanded from The New York Times Magazine

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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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AND THERE WAS LIGHT by Jon Meacham

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

The Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer portrays the life of Abraham Lincoln.

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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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COBALT RED by Siddharth Kara

(Available Formats:

An investigation into the cobalt mining practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the moral implications for users of many electronic devices.

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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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FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING by Matthew Perry

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

The actor, known for playing Chandler Bing on “Friends,” shares stories from his childhood and his struggles with sobriety.

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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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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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LOVE, PAMELA by Pamela Anderson

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

The actress and activist details her childhood, rise to fame and the ways she is reclaiming the narrative of her life.

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MASTER SLAVE HUSBAND WIFE by Ilyon Woo

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In 1848, Ellen Craft, disguised as a disabled white man, and her husband, William, posing as that man’s slave, achieved freedom only to have to flee again.

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THE MYTH OF NORMAL by Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté

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

The potential ways in which trauma and stress from modern-day living can affect our physical health.

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NAZI CONSPIRACY by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch

(Available Formats: Print Book & CD Audiobook)

The story of a Nazi plot to kill President Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill.

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NEVER GIVE AN INCH by Mike Pompeo

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The former secretary of state gives his account of his time serving under President Trump, with a focus on an America First approach.

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SPARE  by Prince Harry

(Available Formats: Print Book,

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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STRAIGHT SHOOTER by Stephen A. Smith

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The ESPN analyst recounts the highs and lows of his life and career.

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SURRENDER by Bono

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

The lead singer of the Irish rock band U2 offers details of his life, career and activism.

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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, February 17, 2023.

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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Blues Don’t Lie by Buddy Guy (Genre: Blues)

From The Album: Blues Don’t Lie (2022)

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Crooked Tree by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway (Genre: Americana, Bluegrass)

From The Album: Crooked Tree (2022)

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Forever by Sheryl Crow (Genre: Americana)

From The Album: Sheryl: Music From The Feature Documentary (2022)

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Get On Board by Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder (Genre: Blues)

From The Album: Get On Board (2022)

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Good To Be (Home Again) by Keb’ Mo’

From The Album: Good To Be (2022)

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A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles (Genre: Rock)

From The Album: A Hard Day’s Night

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Just Like That by Bonnie Raitt (Genre: Blues, Roots Rock, Americana)

From The Album: Just Like That (2022)

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Linger Awhile by Samara Joy (Genre: Jazz, Vocal)

From The Album: Linger Awhile (2022)

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Peace Down In My Heart by Ranky Tank (Genre: Roots Rock)

From The Album: Live at the 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (2022)

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Stompin’ Ground by Aaron Neville with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (Genre: Vocal, R&B, Jazz)

From The Concert Video: Take Me to the River New Orleans! (2022)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

Buffalo Springfield Again (1967)

And from the album the song:

Mr. Soul by Buffalo Springfield

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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 is the latest edition of Library Connections, our weekly readers’ and listeners’ advisory videocast.

The next Library Connections video will be posted on Wednesday, February 15, 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, February 15, 2023.

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Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

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

Feisty Marietta Greer changes her name to “Taylor” when her car runs out of gas in Taylorville, Ill. By the time she reaches Oklahoma, this strong-willed young Kentucky native with a quick tongue and an open mind is catapulted into a surprising new life. Taylor leaves home in a beat-up ’55 Volkswagen bug, on her way to nowhere in particular, savoring her freedom. But when a forlorn Cherokee woman drops a baby in Taylor’s passenger seat and asks her to take it, she does. A first novel, The Bean Trees is an overwhelming delight, as random and unexpected as real life. The unmistakable voice of its irresistible heroine is whimsical, yet deeply insightful. Taylor playfully names her little foundling “Turtle,” because she clings with an unrelenting, reptilian grip; at the same time, Taylor aches at the thought of the silent, staring child’s past suffering. With Turtle in tow, Taylor lands in Tucson, Ariz., with two flat tires and decides to stay. The desert climate, landscape and vegetation are completely foreign to Taylor, and in learning to love Arizona, she also comes face to face with its rattlesnakes and tarantulas. Similarly, Taylor finds that motherhood, responsibility and independence are thorny, if welcome, gifts. This funny, inspiring book is a marvelous affirmation of risk-taking, commitment and everyday miracles. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Better The Blood by Michael Bennett

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

Bennett (In Dark Places: The Confessions of Teina Pora and an Ex-Cop’s Fight for Justice) makes his fiction debut with a stellar series launch set in contemporary New Zealand that explores the devastating belated consequences of a horrific murder of a Maori chief by six British soldiers in 1863—an act preserved in a daguerreotype. The opening pages reveal the original crime, and it soon becomes apparent that a killer is enacting vengeance on the six soldiers’ descendants. As the body count mounts, Bennett dramatically portrays the psychological fallout of age-old violence upon Auckland police detective Hana Westerman and a range of well-drawn secondary characters; and he convincingly reveals Hana’s inner turmoil and the conflicts inherent among her roles of detective, Maori woman, ex-wife to the senior police officer, and mother to a talented, outspoken teen activist. Told in third person mainly from Hana’s perspective but also from the perspectives of her daughter, the killer, and the victims, the narrative moves at a quick pace. Immersed in modern-day technologies and with a keen sensitivity to cultural issues, this is a finely crafted page-turner. Bennett is a writer to watch.

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The Chinese Groove: A Novel by Kathryn Ma

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

In January 2015, 18-year-old Shelley (sporting the name bequeathed by a beloved English teacher) leaves home in “the most beautiful realm in all of China.” His father can no longer ignore the unprovoked abuse Shelley endures from their extended family and finally fulfills his promise to Shelley’s late mother to send their only son “away from this unhappy life and into a brighter world.” Relying on the titular Chinese groove that links even strangers as long as backgrounds overlap, Shelley lands in San Francisco to start anew with a “conveniently rich” uncle. That “uncle” turns out to be second-cousin-once-removed Ted, who picks him up in a “crapmobile,” stops by Costco, and arrives at a modest “saltbox” to a party (not for Shelley) in progress. Ted’s not-Chinese Jewish wife, Aviva, has already set a two-week limit for Shelley occupying the sagging downstairs sofa. Shelley prevails through English classes, boarding-house woes, homelessness, illegal green-bean prepping, elder-, child-, and dog-care, app development, and more. While reconnecting broken bonds, Shelley succeeds in accomplishing the “Three Achievables . . . Family, Love, Fortune,” albeit eventually and not particularly resembling his initial expectations. Balancing humor and poignancy with seemingly effortless ease, Ma (The Year She Left Us, 2014) is a magnificent storyteller.

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Death at the Falls by Rosemary Simpson

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

Simpson’s intriguing seventh Gilded Age mystery (after 2021’s The Dead Cry Justice) sends New York investigative attorneys Prudence MacKenzie and Geoffrey Hunter to Niagara Falls in 1890, when land prices are skyrocketing in the face of burgeoning industrialization. Lucas Adderly, before he went missing seven years earlier, put some of his family fortune as well as valuable newly purchased land in trust for his daughter, Rowan, who’s expected to gain control of the trust on her upcoming 18th birthday. Lucas’s greedy mother attempts to block Rowan’s inheritance by claiming that the girl’s late mother was promiscuous and she’s another man’s child. Shortly after arriving in Niagara, Prudence and Geoffrey watch “Crazy Louie” Whiting, who hopes to be the first human to survive a trip over the falls, send a sheep down the cascade in a barrel. When the barrel reaches the bottom, it reveals the corpse of a surveyor’s assistant who suspected collusion between corrupt government officials and those seeking profits from Niagara land. Incorporating characters ranging from Indigenous tribespeople to souvenir shills, Simpson brings Niagara and its contentious modernization to life. This one’s for history buffs and fans of smart female sleuths.

On a Reader’s Note: As noted, this is the seventh book in the Gilded Age series, if you’d like to start reading the series from the beginning, check out book one: What the Dead Leave Behind (2017).

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Deluge by Stephen Markley

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

In this brilliant dystopian epic from Markley (Ohio), spanning from 2013 to 2040, a range of characters attempt to avert catastrophic climate change, sometimes at great personal risk, and with varying degrees of success. There’s geologist Tony Pietrus; climate justice activist Kate Morris; Shane Acosta, a sophisticated ecoterrorist; and Ashir al-Hasan, chief of staff for the Senate Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. The plot begins in familiar terrain, with scientists sounding the alarm that time is running out. Speculative elements emerge with the meteoric ascent of Morris, whose organization, A Fierce Blue Fire, has made global warming the sole litmus test for its political support. The charismatic Morris also dreams up investment opportunities to benefit neglected and poverty-stricken regions. Interstitial segments, including a newspaper article written by AI about Shane’s truck bombing of an Ohio power station in 2030, add to the sense of frightening plausibility. Meanwhile, the bureaucratic al-Hasan comments in a memo on the “inanity and profiteering that surround the legislative process,” while Pietrus, whose work on methane clathrates is quietly incorporated into government models, remains divisive and marginalized. Markley makes this anything but didactic; his nuanced characterizations of individuals with different approaches to the existential threat make the perils they encounter feel real as they navigate cover-ups and lies. It’s a disturbing tour de force. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Novel by Benjamin Stevenson

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

Ernie Cunningham, the narrator of this exceptionally clever and amusing mystery from Stevenson (Either Side of Midnight), hooks the reader immediately with his opening words: “Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once.” Ernie, who acknowledges up front the recent trend in crime fiction for narrators such as himself to be unreliable, self-publishes how-to books for aspiring authors. As another character comments, “You write books about how to write books that you’ve never written, bought by people who will never write one.” It’s been three years since Ernie’s testimony sent his brother Michael to prison for murder after Michael asked Ernie to dispose of a corpse that turned out not to be quite dead yet. While attending a tense family reunion at an Australian ski resort, Ernie winds up in the middle of a real-life whodunit. The death of a stranger, apparently killed by a fire in the snow that didn’t melt any snow, resembles the work of a serial murderer known as the Black Tongue. Along the way, the author tosses in other deaths, past and present. Stevenson carries off this tour de force with all the aplomb of a master magician who conducts his tricks in plain view. This is perfect for Peter Lovesey fans. Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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The Forever Witness: How DNA and Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder written and read by Edward Humes

(Available Formats: Print Book and Downloadable Audiobook)

In 1987, 18-year-old Tanya Van Cuylenborg and 20-year-old Jay Cook, the victims at the center of this stellar true crime account from Pulitzer Prize winner Humes (Burned: A Story of Murder and the Crime That Wasn’t), disappeared while on a road trip from Canada to Seattle. Their bodies and their abandoned van were found days later; Tanya had been raped and shot and Jay beaten to death. The case made headlines for months, but it would be 31 years before Bill Talbott, a 55-year-old Seattle trucker “with no criminal convictions on his record and no known connection to the victims,” was arrested, thanks to determined cold case investigator Jim Scharf and genetic genealogist CeCe Moore. Humes delves into Scharf’s and Moore’s personalities and backgrounds while explaining the development of home DNA kits, their use in solving crimes, and the controversy over police use of these private for-profit databases, from which anyone can update a DNA profile to trace their ancestors and unknowingly finger a criminal relative in the process. In “the first-ever genetic genealogy murder trial,” Talbott was convicted in 2019, though he’s currently awaiting a second trial after the first was overturned on appeal based on an issue unrelated to the DNA evidence. Humes matches taut prose with assured storytelling. This fascinating look at how technology has revolutionized crime solving is must reading. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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Hokuloa Road: a Novel

(Available Formats: Print Book & CD Audiobook)

After COVID grinds his carpentry work in Maine to a halt, Grady Kendall takes a long shot and applies for a job as caretaker in Hawaii at an isolated island estate on Hokuloa Road owned by eccentric millionaire Wesley Minton. Grady’s fantasies of a Hawaiian paradise take a dark turn, however, when he’s warned upon arrival that the island tends to punish its inhabitants, and a glaring memorial to dozens of recently vanished people lends foreboding weight to those words. Later, on his own after Minton decamps to an outpost on sacred Hokuloa Point, Grady is confronted by evidence of the island’s lore: an otherworldly, dog-like creature appears near his cottage. When Grady links the creature’s warnings to the disappearance of a woman he befriended on the plane to Hawaii, he realizes he’s been chosen to either find the missing or join them. Horror collides with amateur sleuthing here as the island’s protective spirits seek justice for a predator’s crimes against its sacred space and its adopted people. Hand, author of the iconic 12 Monkeys, is a master at genre-blending stories that feature carefully dosed supernatural malevolence. Here, she wields that mix of horror and thriller to draw together a cast of sympathetically awkward, fiercely loyal outcasts. Another strange, satisfying winner.

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The Guest House by Robin Morgan-Bentley

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

How far would you go to protect the ones you love?

Jamie and Victoria are off for a last quick vacation before the arrival of their first baby. The remote country guesthouse Victoria chose seems like the perfect retreat—miles away from the distractions of work and their regular life. And the older couple that run the establishment, Barry and Fiona, are more than accommodating.

But when Jamie and Victoria awake on their first morning, they find the house deserted. Barry and Fiona are nowhere to be seen. All the doors are locked. And their cell phones and car keys have disappeared.

They have no way out and no way to call for help and the contractions are getting stronger.

Disturbing and irresistible, The Guest House is devilish, jaw-dropping, and completely unpredictable with twists perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Mary Kubica.

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Meredith, Alone by Clarie Alexander

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Alexander’s satisfying debut follows a woman who hasn’t left her home for over three years. Meredith Maggs, nearing her 40th birthday, is content to live within the confines of her Glasgow flat, working as a freelance writer, solving jigsaw puzzles, and spending time with her best friend, Sadie, who helps with such errands as taking Meredith’s cat to the vet. Meredith finds company in an online mental health support group, where she meets Celeste, a kindred soul who loves cats as much as Meredith does. Also keeping her company is Tom McDermott, a volunteer from the Holding Hands charity whose objective is to offer “friendship and support to anyone who needs it.” She insists on not needing charity, but Tom turns out to be a caring companion with whom Meredith enjoys sharing biscuits and poetry. He gently prods into her past, seeking the reason she stopped going outside and stirring up memories of her difficult childhood. The measured pace keeps the plot moving even as most of the action takes place within Meredith’s flat, and the endearing characters offer a sensitive portrayal of what it means to live with mental health issues. The result is a quiet slice-of-life story with heart to spare. – 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.

–

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, February 12, 2023.

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FICTION

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THE BOYS FROM BILOXI by John Grisham

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

Two childhood friends follow in their fathers’ footsteps, which puts them on opposite sides of the law.

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CABINET OF DR. LENG by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

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

The 21st book in the Pendergast series. Constance Greene travels back in time to prevent the deaths of her siblings.

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DAISY JONES & THE SIX by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

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

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DEVIL’S RANSOM by Brad Taylor

(Available Formats: Print Book & Large Print)

The 17th book in the Pike Logan series. Pike must stop a man seeking to upset the global balance of power.

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FAIRY TALE by Stephen King

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

A high school kid inherits a shed that is a portal to another world where good and evil are at war.

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HELL BENT by Leigh Bardugo

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

The second book in the Alex Stern series. Alex risks her future at Lethe and Yale to get Darlington out of purgatory.

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HORSE by Geraldine Brooks

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

The story of a racehorse, an enslaved groom and an itinerant painter reverberates in three different eras.

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HOUSE IN THE PINES by Ana Reyes

(Available Formats: eBook)

Seven years after witnessing her best friend drop dead, May returns to her Berkshires hometown to piece together what happened.

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HOUSE OF WOLVES by James Patterson and Mike Lupica

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

After her father is murdered, Jenny Wolf becomes the head of a powerful family in California.

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HOW TO SELL A HAUNTED HOUSE by Grady Hendrix

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

After her parents die, Louise encounters more than she expected in dealing with the family home.

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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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THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME by Laura Dave

(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, 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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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig

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

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

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RECOVERY ROAD by Christine Feehan

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The eighth book in the Torpedo Ink series. A member of the motorcycle club helps an investment banker deal with thugs attempting to coerce her into marriage.

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REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt

(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, Large Print, 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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THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides

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

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

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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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UGLY LOVE by Colleen Hoover

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Hoopla instant checkout 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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1619 PROJECT edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman and Jake Silverstein

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

Viewing America’s entanglement with slavery and its legacy, in essays adapted and expanded from The New York Times Magazine

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AND THERE WAS LIGHT by Jon Meacham

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

The Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer portrays the life of Abraham Lincoln.

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BILL OF OBLIGATIONS by Richard Haass

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

The president of the Council on Foreign Relations makes his case for what he considers obligations for American citizens.

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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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FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING by Matthew Perry

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

The actor, known for playing Chandler Bing on “Friends,” shares stories from his childhood and his struggles with sobriety.

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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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AN IMMENSE WORLD by Ed Yong

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

The Pulitzer Prize–winning science writer explains the sensory perceptions and ways of communication used by a variety of animals.

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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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MASTER SLAVE HUSBAND WIFE by Ilyon Woo

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In 1848, Ellen Craft, disguised as a disabled white man, and her husband, William, posing as that man’s slave, achieved freedom only to have to flee again.

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THE MYTH OF NORMAL by Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté

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

The potential ways in which trauma and stress from modern-day living can affect our physical health.

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NAZI CONSPIRACY by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch

(Available Formats: Print Book & CD Audiobook)

The story of a Nazi plot to kill President Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill.

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NEVER GIVE AN INCH by Mike Pompeo

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The former secretary of state gives his account of his time serving under President Trump, with a focus on an America First approach.

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SPARE  by Prince Harry

(Available Formats: Print Book,

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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STRAIGHT SHOOTER by Stephen A. Smith

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The ESPN analyst recounts the highs and lows of his life and career.

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SURRENDER by Bono

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

The lead singer of the Irish rock band U2 offers details of his life, career and activism.

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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.