This site offers news and discussion mostly about books, with a sprinkling of information on personal technology and digital literacy.
Hi everyone, here is the latest edition of Library Connections, our weekly readers’, viewers’ and listeners’ advisory videocast.
The next Library Connections video will be posted in on Tuesday, December 21, 2021.
Library Connections videos may also be accessed via the Southeast Steuben County Library’s YouTube channel.
Have a great week!
Linda Reimer, SSCL
Hi everyone, here are our recommended reads for the week.
Format Note: Under each book title you’ll find a list of all the different formats that specific title is available in; including: Print Books, Large Print Books, CD Audiobooks, eBooks & Downloadable Audiobooks from the Digital Catalog (Libby app) and Hoopla eBooks & Hoopla Downloadable Audiobooks (Hoopla app).
*More information on the three catalogs is found at the end of the list of recommended reads*
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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Tuesdays.
And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Tuesday, December 21, 2021
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The Best Thing You Can Steal by Simon R. Green
(Available Formats: Print BookHoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)
Master thief and con man Gideon Sable has a plan. He intends to breach the private vault of Fredric Hammer, noted bad guy, and rob him blind. To do that, he needs to assemble a crack team of professionals. But this is no ordinary team, because this is no ordinary London. This is an alternate London, wherein ghosts and demons and people with special gifts coexist with regular human folk. And Gideon’s team consists of former girlfriend Annie Anybody, whose gift is luck; a fellow known as the Damned (because he’s, you know, damned); the Ghost, who retains the memory of what it is to be a man; and the Wild Card, who sees all the truths in the world. Each of them has a score to settle with Hammer, and each of them is willing to risk plenty to get revenge. This novel by the author of the terrific Ishmael Jones series is a treat for anyone who relishes the blending of alternate-world fantasy, urban fantasy, and the caper novel. Exciting, witty, and stuffed full of fun. – Booklist Review
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The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, Libby Audiobook & Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)
This highly enjoyable medieval fantasy from Nielsen (the Underworld Chronicles), set in the medieval kingdom of Carthya, centers on 15-year-old Sage, an angry and pugnacious orphan, who is unexpectedly purchased by Conner, one of the king’s regents. The entire royal family—king, queen, and heir—has recently died under mysterious circumstances, and to prevent civil war, Conner is collecting orphans who might believably be substituted for the dead king’s younger son, who was reported lost at sea years earlier. Sage is soon engaged in a deadly, winner-take-all contest with two other boys to earn the right to impersonate Prince Jaron. Sage is deftly characterized through humorous first-person narration, quickly establishing himself as a beguiling antihero: “I’d never attempted roast thievery before, and I was already regretting it,” he says when readers first meet him. “It happens to be very difficult to hold a chunk of raw meat while running.” Secondary characters are equally fleshed-out. First in the Ascendancy Trilogy, this is an impressive, promising story with some expertly executed twists. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review
Listeners’ Note: All five of the audios in this series are available for instant checkout through Hoopla!
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The Hating Game: A Novel by Sally Thorpe
(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, OverDrive/Libby audiobook & Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)
Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman sit across from each other working as executive assistants for their co-CEO bosses of the merged publishing house Bexley and Gamin. From the first, it seems they’re not destined to be friends: Joshua is tall, intimidating, and wears the same colored shirts in the same sequence every week, whereas five-foot-tall Lucy is approachable, yet feisty with her flamethrower-red lipstick and varying ensembles. Their differences manifest themselves in nonverbal games including the Staring Game, the Mirror Game, and the HR Game. When a promotion possibility comes up, both Josh and Lucy would do anything to get it. Thorne pens a novel that is more than a game of one-upmanship between two coworkers. She slowly begins to unfurl their insecurities both inside and between themselves, fearlessly aiming at the heart of what makes Lucy and Joshua tick. As a result, a new game begins–one of sexual chemistry and frustration. VERDICT Thorne is a strong writer and one to watch. Her debut will have readers rooting for both Lucy and Joshua in whatever games they play. –Library Journal Review
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Letters From Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien
(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout eBook)
Every December an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole would arrive for J.R.R. Tolkien’s children. Inside would be a letter in a strange, spidery handwriting and a beautiful colored drawing or painting. The letters were from Father Christmas.
They told wonderful tales of life at the North Pole: how the reindeer got loose and scattered presents all over the place; how the accident-prone North Polar Bear climbed the North Pole and fell through the roof of Father Christmas’s house into the dining room; how he broke the Moon into four pieces and made the Man in it fall into the back garden; how there were wars with the troublesome horde of goblins who lived in the caves beneath the house, and many more.
No reader, young or old, can fail to be charmed by Tolkien’s inventiveness in this classic holiday treat.
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Meet Me In London by Georgia Toffolo
(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout audiobook)
This debut romance by British TV personality Toffolo (the first in a series whose second installment, Meet Me in Hawaii, was published in the U.K. in Mar. 2021) stars Victoria Scott, who dreams of being a fashion designer. She’s felt stalled since her ex-boyfriend takes that dream (and their work partnership) with him after cheating on her. Nowadays, Victoria spends her time managing a bar and teaching kids about fashion while working on her designs when she can. Oliver Russell is acting as the head of his family’s department store franchise, and the company is building a new location in Victoria’s London neighborhood. His dad is in poor health, and he will do anything to make his parents happy, even faking a fiancé. After a few chance encounters, Victoria and Oliver strike up a mutually beneficial partnership: Victoria will act as his fake fiancé until the new store opens and Oliver will host a fashion show at the grand opening for Victoria and her students. Victoria opens up Oliver’s eyes to what life can be, but she is harboring a secret that she thinks threatens Oliver’s life plans. The good news is they get along great, but things get a little too real as they spend more time together. VERDICT A fun story for fans of the fake dating trope. – Library Journal Review
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Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen: A Novel of Victorian Cookery and Friendship by Annabel Abbs
(Available Formats: eBook)
Poet Eliza Acton is initially insulted by the suggestion that she write a cookery book. She refuses to entertain such a notion, until her father faces bankruptcy. Suddenly, organizing recipes and creating culinary delights are her only options. To aid her in this endeavor, she hires Ann Kirby, a woman living in desperate poverty. The two women, though from vastly different backgrounds, forge an unlikely friendship as they work tirelessly on Eliza’s recipe book. Told from the dual perspectives of Eliza and Ann, this novel, based on actual events, chronicles the challenges they face due to gender and class; family pressures and obligations; and their hopes and dreams. Eliza’s recipe format, the first of its kind, is still used today. With Eliza’s writing skills and Ann’s organic talent for cooking, the women made a formidable team. Eliza broke barriers and has been a model for many future English authors and cooks alike.
VERDICT Abbs (The Joyce Girl) has written a fascinating, long overdue tribute to the unconventional Eliza Acton, the woman who revolutionized the English cookbook. Ann’s and Eliza’s drives for independence is inspiring, and their passion for cooking will awaken readers’ inner chef.-Starred Library Journal Review
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Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant’s Search for Her Family’s Lasting Legacy by Gayle Jessup White
(Available Formats: Print Book)
In this family history, White describes being a 13-year-old Black girl growing up in Washington, DC, when she learned the legend handed down by her great aunt–that the family was descended from Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings–which White would spend much of her later life trying to prove. The Hemings lineage became clearer in later years, and as an adult White began to research her roots while also pursuing a career in journalism and enduring a rocky first marriage. White writes that the first time she toured Monticello and announced, “I’m a descendant,” she was met with uncomfortable stares. But she kept mapping the family tree with the help of a Monticello genealogist, met many other Jefferson and Hemings descendants (both Black-presenting and white-presenting; some helpful, some not), and eventually struck gold with DNA evidence and historic documents that proved that she was indeed a direct descendant of Jefferson and of Peter Hemings (Sally’s brother). White is now the community engagement officer at Monticello, fulfilling a lifelong goal to help tell the stories of all of her ancestors there. VERDICT A brisk read that uncovers another side of the Jefferson-Hemings family tree; for readers of genealogy and the history of American slavery. – Library Journal Review
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Tied Up in Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh
(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)
It’s the Christmas season in 1972, and Agatha Troy is at a house party, enjoying the local holiday pageant and also painting the host’s portrait. The painting’s coming along fine, but the pageant goes a little pear-shaped when one of the players disappears. Could one of the eccentric guests have been involved? Or could the finger of blame come to rest on one of the manor-house servants, each of whom happens to be a recent prison parolee? Inspector Alleyn is on hand to wrap up the case…
Readers’ Note: This is the 27th book in the Roderick Alleyn series. If you’d like to start with book one, check out A Man Lay Dead.
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Stupid Things I Won’t Do When I Get Old: A Highly Judgmental, Unapologetically Honest Accounting of All the Things Our Elders Are Doing Wrong by Steven Petrow
(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)
When he turned 50, award-winning journalist, columnist, and Ted Talk favorite Petrow began to keep a list of “the stupid things I won’t do when I get old,” a litany of all the annoying things his parents and other old people around him were doing. Included are such offenses as being afraid to fall, lying to their doctors, and refusing to change their ways. As he grew older, Petrow began to ruminate on things like continuing to drive when one has become a threat to others, waiting to be deaf before getting a hearing aid, and turning his home into a “sweat lodge.” Finally, looking at life’s end, Petrow vows to refuse to die without planning his own funeral, or writing letters to loved ones. With coauthor Henry, Petrow supports his plans up with quotes from favorite authors and facts from various studies, ultimately presenting a solid case for paying attention as you age. Along the way, he began to understand his parent’s actions. Readers dealing with aging parents or beginning to feel twinges of age’s tolls themselves will be especially interested. Petrow can’t prevent you from becoming your parents, but he can remind you how a positive attitude, gratitude, patience, and compassion can make a big difference. – Booklist Review
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The Wicked Widow by Beatriz Williams
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Williams continues her Wicked City series (after the Wicked Redhead) with an engrossing New York City mystery spanning several decades. In 1998, Ella Dommerich moves into her boyfriend Hector’s Greenwich Village walk-up, following her separation from Patrick, the father of her unborn child. Ella’s aunt Julie asks her to use her investigative skills as a financial analyst to dig up dirt on Senator Frank Hardcastle, a presidential candidate who was once married to another relative of Ella and Julie’s, and to whom Julie bears a grudge. In a parallel narrative set in 1924, Geneva Kelley marries Oliver Anson Marshall and they move into the townhouse later occupied by Hector and Ella. After Louis Hardcastle, the head of an East Coast bootlegging organization, is murdered, Louis’s son blames Anson, a former Prohibition enforcement special agent, and Anson decides to fake his death and go into hiding to protect Geneva. As Ella continues to delve into the background of the Hardcastle family while enduring prenatal nausea, she discovers connections to Patrick’s employer and some financial anomalies, and ropes Patrick in to an increasingly dangerous situation. Williams’s fast-paced story line features engaging dialogue and thematic connections between Ella and Geneva. Series fans will eat this up. Publishers Weekly Review
Readers’ Note: The Wicked Widow is the third book in the Wicked City series. If you’d like to start reading the series from the beginning, check out book one: The Wicked City.
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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.
The StarCat app is called Bookmyne and is available for Apple and Android devices.
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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
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Have questions or want to request a book?
Feel free to call the library! Our telephone number is 607-936-3713.
Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.
Hi everyone, here is the weekly list of New York Times Bestsellers.
Each title is followed by a listing of which formats it is available in for check out within the three catalogs: StarCat (Print, Large Print & CD Audiobooks), The Digital Catalog (eBook & Downloadable Audiobook) and the Hoopla Catalog (Hoopla instant checkout eBook & Hoopla Audiobook).
For more information on the three catalogs skip to the section below the bestselling titles*
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New York Times Bestseller blog posts are published on Sundays. The next New York Times Bestseller post will be published on Sunday, December 19, 2021.
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FICTION
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AUTOPSY by Patricia Cornwell
(Available Formats: Print Book, Audiobook on CD & eBook)
The 25th book in the Kay Scarpetta series. Scarpetta investigates crime scenes in Virginia and outer space.
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BECOMING by Nora Roberts
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook & eBook)
The second book in the Dragon Heart Legacy series. Breen returns to Talamh as her grandfather Odran plots destruction.
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CLOUD CUCKOO LAND by Anthony Doerr
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, Libby eBook & audiobook)
An interconnected cast of dreamers and outsiders are in dangerous and disparate settings past, present and future.
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DARK HOURS by Michael Connelly
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, Libby eBook & audiobook)
A death on New Year’s Eve, an unsolved murder and a hunt for serial rapists bring Bosch and Ballard back together.
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FEAR NO EVIL by James Patterson
(Available Formats: Print Book)
The 29th book in the Alex Cross series. Cross fights the mastermind who has stalked him for years.
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GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE by Diana Gabaldon
(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)
The ninth book in the Outlander series. As the Revolutionary War moves closer to Fraser’s Ridge, Claire and Jamie reunite with their daughter and her family.
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IT ENDS WITH US by Colleen Hoover
(Available Formats: Print Book & Libby audiobook)
A battered wife raised in a violent home attempts to halt the cycle of abuse.
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THE JUDGE’S LIST by John Grisham
(Available Formats: Print Book, Libby eBook & audiobook)
The second book in the Whistler series. Investigator Lacy Stoltz goes after a serial killer and closes in on a sitting judge.
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LEVIATHAN FALLS by James S.A. Corey
(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)
The ninth book in the Expanse series. A group of unlikely allies might find a way to bring peace to a vast galactic civilization.
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THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY by Amor Towles
(Available Formats: Print Book, Libby eBook & audiobook)
Two friends who escaped from a juvenile work farm take Emmett Watson on an unexpected journey to New York City in 1954.
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MERCY by David Baldacci
(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)
The fourth book in the Atlee Pine series. Atlee discovers her twin sister survived an abduction at the age of 6.
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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig
(Available Formats: Print Book, Libby eBook & audiobooks)
Nora Seed finds a library beyond the edge of the universe that contains books with multiple possibilities of the lives one could have lived.
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THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print & Libby eBook & audiobook)
A movie icon recounts stories of her loves and career to a struggling magazine writer.
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STATE OF TERROR by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, Libby eBook & audiobook)
In the wake of the previous administration’s mishandling of international affairs, the new Secretary of State Ellen Adams confronts interconnected global threats.
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STRANGER IN THE LIFEBOAT by Mitch Albom
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print & CD Audiobook)
After a ship explodes, nine people struggling to survive pull a man who claims to be the Lord out of the sea.
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THE WISH by Nicholas Sparks
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, Libby eBook & audiobook)
Maggie Dawes, a renowned travel photographer, struggles with a medical diagnosis over Christmas.
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WISH YOU WERE HERE by Jodi Picoult
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Libby/OverDrive Audiobook)
Diana O’Toole re-evaluates her seemingly perfect life when a pandemic disrupts her vacation in the Galápagos Islands.
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NON-FICTION:
1619 PROJECT edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman and Jake Silverstein
(Available Formats: Print Book)
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 ME! by Mel Brooks
(Available Formats: Print Book)
The EGOT and Kennedy Center honoree shares stories about making comedy for the stage, film and television
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ALL AMERICAN CHRISTMAS by Rachel Campos-Duffy and Sean Duffy
(Available Formats: Not currently available)
A collection of holiday memories from members of the staff of Fox News.
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AMERICAN MARXISM by Mark R. Levin
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Libby/OverDrive Audiobook)
The Fox News host gives his take on the Green New Deal, critical race theory and social activism.
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BEATLES: GET BACK by the Beatles
(Available Formats: Print Book)
The story of the making of the band’s final album, gathered from transcripts of their conversations.
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BETRAYAL by Jonathan Karl
(Available Formats: Print Book)
The ABC News’ chief Washington correspondent gives an account of the end of the Trump presidency.
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BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)
How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.
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THE LYRICS: 1956 TO THE PRESENT by Paul McCartney
(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)
A two-volume celebration of 154 songs, with handwritten texts, paintings and photographs from the songwriter’s archives.
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THE PRESIDENT AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTER by Brian Kilmeade
(Available Formats: Print Book)
The Fox News host gives an account of the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
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The REAL ANTHONY FAUCI by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook)
The anti-vaccine advocate gives his take on the chief medical advisor to the president.
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RENEGADES by Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Conversations between the 44th president and the multiple award-winning musician on a range of topics.
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THE STORYTELLER by Dave Grohl
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD audiobook & Libby eBook)
A memoir by the musician known for his work with Foo Fighters and Nirvana.
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TASTE by Stanley Tucci
(Available Formats: Print Book, Libby eBook & audiobook)
The award-winning actor reflects on his career, Italian-American heritage, meals and mishaps.
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WELCOME TO DUNDER MIFFLIN by Brian Baumgartner and Ben Silverman
(Available Formats: Not currently available)
An oral history of the TV series “The Office” by one of its stars and one of its producers.
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WILL by Will Smith with Mark Manson
(Available Formats: Print Book)
The actor, producer and musician tells his life story and lessons he learned along the way.
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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.
The StarCat app is called Bookmyne and is available for Apple and Android devices.
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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, December 17, 2021.
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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!
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Give Peace A Chance by John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band
From The Album: Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon (1997)
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I’d Really Love To See You Tonight by England Dan & John Ford Coley
From The Album: Nights Are Forever (1976)
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I Feel Free by Cream (Genre: Classic Rock)
From The Album: Fresh Cream (1966)
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If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot (Genre: Folk, Pop-Rock)
From The Album: If You Could Read My Mind (1970)
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Nights In White Satin by The Moody Blues (Genre: Classic Rock)
From The Album: Days Of Future Passed (1967)
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On And On by Gladys Knight (Genre: Vocal, R&B)
From The Album: On & On: The Buddah / Columbia Anthology (2019)
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Pretty Little Angel Eyes by Lee Curtis, featuring the Halos (Genre: Pop)
From The Album: Pretty Little Angel Eyes – Golden Classic Edition (1996)
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When The Lights Go On Again All Over The World by Vaughn Monroe
From The Album: Vaughn Monroe’s Greatest Hits (2016)
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Wonderland By Night Bert Kaempfert And His Orchestra featuring Charly Tabor (Genre: Instrumental)
From The Album: Wonderland By Night (1961)
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You’ve Got To Love Her With A Feeling by Freddie King
From The Album: Hide Away: The Best of Freddy King (Rhino Records; 1994)
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Yulevsille by Edd ‘Kookie’ Byrnes (Genre: Pop/Rock, Novelty)
We Wish You a Merry Christmas (1962) by Various Artists
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And
Last Train To Clarksville by The Monkees
(in honor of Mike Nesmith who just passed today)
From The Album: The Monkees (1966)
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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week
Duane Does Dylan by Duane Eddy (Genre: Instrumental, Guitar)
And from the album the song
Blowin’ In The Wind
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Have a great weekend,
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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REFERENCES:
Print References
The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn
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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’, viewers’ and listeners’ advisory videocast.
The next Library Connections video will be posted on Tuesday, December 14, 2021.
Library Connections videos may also be accessed via the Southeast Steuben County Library’s YouTube channel.
Have a great week!
Linda Reimer, SSCL
Hi everyone, here are our recommended reads for the week.
Format Note: Under each book title you’ll find a list of all the different formats that specific title is available in; including: Print Books, Large Print Books, CD Audiobooks, eBooks & Downloadable Audiobooks from the Digital Catalog (Libby app) and Hoopla eBooks & Hoopla Downloadable Audiobooks (Hoopla app).
*More information on the three catalogs is found at the end of the list of recommended reads*
–
Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Tuesdays.
And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Tuesday, December 14, 2021.
–
In honor of the 80th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor, which is today; our first recommended read is a memoir by a sailor who survived the attack – Donald Stratton:
All the Gallant Men: An American Sailor’s Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor by Donald Stratton with Ken Gire
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)
Approaching the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Stratton’s (one of the few survivors) memoir, co-written with Gire (Windows of the Soul), offers an intimate account of his experiences on the USS Arizona and beyond. The narrative begins with a look at his childhood, explaining how a need for employment during the Great Depression compelled many of his generation to join the service and how that attitude changed after Pearl Harbor. It then sets the context and time line of the attack and shares the accounts of various shipmates. Thoughtful yet concise, Stratton relates his subsequent recovery and return to duty and analyzes the encounters that have helped to shape his life. Stratton’s story parallels those of many servicemen. The details may change, but the mental and physical challenges are often similar: survivor’s guilt, vengefulness, and difficulties in accepting and granting forgiveness. VERDICT Gire corroborates Stratton’s accounts while allowing the author’s powerful voice to shine through this volume that will sit nicely alongside other World War II memoirs and firsthand tales of combat. It would work well as a YA introduction to Pearl Harbor and to frontline servicemen’s experiences. See also Gordon Prange’s At Dawn We Slept and “Pearl Harbor, 75 Years Later,” Library Journal Review
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Big City Eyes by Delia Ephron
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Ephron is best known for her screenwriting work (Sleepless in Seattle; You’ve Got Mail), but her talent for witty dialogue flourishes in her second novel (after Hanging Up), set in Sakonnet Bay, Long Island, where freelance reporter and single mom Lily Davis moves from Manhattan with her 15-year-old son, Sam. Lily decided to move to the small town when she realized Sam was sneaking out to nightclubs and hiding a knife in his bureau drawer, but her efforts to give him safe harbor are thwarted by his sullen rebelliousness and his Klingon-speaking girlfriend, Deidre. An inveterate New Yorker, Lily is uncomfortable in the cozy, gossipy town and fearful of almost everything. Do the deer grazing on her front lawn have rabies? Are Sam’s antisocial tendencies and dreadful haircut “normal range behavior”? Has she become the town joke for insulting police Sgt. Tom McKee during an incident involving a dog whose head got stuck in a pitcher? Soon Lily has serious issues to worry about, such as the naked woman–dead, drugged or sleeping–she and Tom discover in a supposedly empty house. When the woman’s body is later found after having been haphazardly buried by someone in a swampy area, Lily starts sleuthing to find out what happened. Not only does this investigation reveal a less than idyllic side to Sakonnet Bay, it also forces her to confront disturbing truths about her son, her divorce and her growing feelings for the married Tom. Despite billing herself as an “irritating,” liberated city woman, Lily tends to musings about family and divorce that reveal Ephron’s moral to the story: divorce can be confusing and painful for kids, but a loving parent can still keep her child on track. Lily learns she can’t safeguard her son merely by shielding him from big-city dangers. The road to this hard-earned lesson takes the reader through a novel that sparkles with lively characters.-Publishers Weekly Review
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Christmas Every Day by Beth Moran
(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook)
When Jenny inherits her estranged grandmother’s cottage in Sherwood Forest, she has nothing to lose – no money, no job, no friends, no family to speak of, and zero self-respect. Things can only get better…
Her grumpy, but decidedly handsome new neighbour, Mack, has a habit of bestowing unsolicited good deeds on her. And when Jenny is welcomed into a rather unusual book club, life seems to finally be getting more interesting.
Instead of reading, the members pledge to complete individual challenges before Christmas: from finding new love, learning to bake, to completing a daredevil bucket list. Jenny can’t resist joining in, and soon a year of friendship and laughter, tears and regrets unfolds in the most unexpected ways.
Warm, wise, funny and utterly uplifting, what one thing would you change in your life before Christmas comes around?
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The Hanged Man by P. N. Elrod
(Available Formats: Print Book)
On a freezing Christmas Eve in 1879, a forensic psychic reader is summoned from her Baker Street lodgings to the scene of a questionable death. Alexandrina Victoria Pendlebury (named after her godmother, the current Queen of England) is adamant that the death in question is a magically compromised murder and not a suicide, as the police had assumed, after the shocking revelation contained by the body in question, Alex must put her personal loss aside to uncover the deeper issues at stake, before more bodies turn up. Turning to some choice allies-the handsome, prescient Lieutenant Brooks, the brilliant, enigmatic Lord Desmond, and her rapscallion cousin James-Alex will have to marshal all of her magical and mental acumen to save Queen and Country from a shadowy threat. Our singular heroine is caught up in this rousing gaslamp adventure of cloaked assassins, meddlesome family, and dark magic.
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Know Your Place by Shelly Ellis
(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout eBook)
Ellis’ Branch Avenue Boys series continues, following In These Streets (2018), with the story of Derrick, Ricky, and Jamal, who have each been marked by their connection to D.C. kingpin Dolla Dolla. After the raid on his restaurant and nightclub, Ricky decides to work as an informant for the police in their investigation of Dolla while surreptitiously tracking down the girl who stole his heart before she turned on him and fled the city. Meanwhile, Derrick, who runs the Branch Avenue Boys Institute, is desperately trying to save his relationship, while shoving aside his romantic feelings for a colleague; trouble escalates when one of his students is caught hiding money and drugs for Dolla’s gang. Even Jamal, deputy mayor for the corrupt Mayor Johnson, finds himself tangled up with the deadly crime boss who has Johnson on his payroll. Each man faces a difficult choice: give Dolla what he wants or fight back and risk losing everything. High drama and well-crafted dialogue keep the pages turning in this unique series, which melds urban fiction with romantic suspense. Booklist Review
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The Left-Handed Twin by Thomas Perry
(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)
At the start of Edgar winner Perry’s engrossing eighth Jane Whitefield novel (after 2015’s A String of Beads), Jane, a Native American guide who specializes in helping people in trouble disappear, finds a stranger, Sara Doughton, waiting for her one night in the Amherst, N.Y., house Jane shares with her new husband, surgeon Carey McKinnon. When Sara explains she’s fled L.A. to escape a murderous former boyfriend bent on revenge, Jane agrees to help. Meanwhile, the ex-boyfriend enlists the aid of some Russian criminals, who soon take an interest in Jane. After relocating Sara in Boston with a new identity, Jane attempts to lose her pursuers in Maine on the Appalachian Trail. Utilizing wisdom from her Seneca ancestors and some bad-ass survival skills, Jane matches wits with a gang of elite killers. Though a few sequences strain credibility, Perry delivers nonstop action, relentless tension, and such three-dimensional secondary characters as the female thief Magda. Jane’s developing relationship with Carey is a plus. Fans will hope they won’t have to wait another six years for Jane’s next outing. Publishers Weekly Review
Readers’ Note: If you’d like to start reading this great series from the beginning, checkout book one Vanishing Act.
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Miss You: A Novel by Kate Eberlen
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)
Tess and Gus meet briefly in Italy as teenagers in 1997, Tess is having her summer vacation before eagerly heading to university, while Gus is there with his parents, trying to escape the gloom that has settled after his older brother’s tragic death. As the story moves into the present, Tess and Gus seem to keep showing up in the right place at the wrong time, narrowly missing chances to meet again. But this is much more than a series of missed meet-cutes; instead, the novel explores how their lives unfold into adulthood. Tess never gets the chance to further her education; instead, she becomes caretaker for her younger sister after their mother passes away. Gus manages to escape his stifling home life but never seems to land on what he wants to do or why he wants to do it. Readers follow both characters in alternating chapters, but the appeal here for fans of women’s fiction is Tess’ story. Eberlen, who has written historical fiction and chick lit under the name Imogen Parker, excels in creating realistic characters whom readers will adore including Tess’ unusual sister, Hope; Tess’ sassy best friend, Dolly; and Gus’ impulsive college pal, Nash. Eberlen also shines at keeping the story moving through 16 years of friendship, purpose, and love. Swoon-worthy. Starred Booklist Review
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Second Acts by Teri Emory
(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)
“Intelligent, witty, and filled with true feeling, Second Acts is a meditation on resilience, second chances, and the unfaltering strength of women’s friendships.” – Foreword Reviews
From midtown Manhattan to a Florida suburb, from coastal Savannah to the hills of Rome, the interwoven tales of three women unfold in the voices of Sarah, Miriam, and Beth. Their unshakable friendship takes root in a Buffalo college dorm in the late 1960s. Fueled by the optimism and bravado of that era, they charge into adulthood with high expectations and lofty ideas. They were, as Beth would later observe, “the first generation of women to feel entitled to interesting lives.” In the decades that follow, they come to terms with a disconcerting postscript to the Age of Aquarius: Life—inevitably, unsparingly, repeatedly—demands compromise. And, in the year leading up to 9/11, all three women face obstacles on the paths they have long followed and are forced to face hard truths about themselves. With emotional courage and wry humor, and sustained by their abiding friendship, they move to dispel past regrets and make peace with present circumstances as they move towards the second acts of their lives.
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Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout eBook)
Irish story writer Keegan’s gorgeously textured second novella (after Foster) centers on a family man who wants to do the right thing. It’s almost Christmas in a small town south of Dublin, Ireland, in 1985. Bighearted coal dealer Bill Furlong makes deliveries at all hours, buys dinner for his men, plays Santa Claus for the local children, and cares for his five daughters along with his wife, Eileen.
Meanwhile, rumors circulate about the “training school” at a nearby convent, suggesting it’s a front for free labor by young unwed mothers to support a laundry service, but no one wants to rock the boat. When Bill is there on a delivery, a teenage girl begs him to take her with him, and he politely makes excuses. He also notices broken glass topping the walls.
Eileen tells him to “stay on the right side of people,” but he feels he should do something—not just because he imagines his own daughters imprisoned there, but because he was born to a 16-year-old unwed mother who could have suffered a similar fate. Keegan beautifully conveys Bill’s interior life as he returns to the house where he was raised (“Wasn’t it sweet to be where you were and let it remind you of the past… despite the upset”). It all leads to a bittersweet culmination, a sort of anti–Christmas Carol, but to Bill it’s simply sweet. Readers will be touched. Library Journal Review
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Time and Time Again: A Novel by Ben Elton
(Available Formats: Print Book)
What if you had the opportunity to change one thing in history? Would you do it? What would you change? These are the central questions at the heart of Elton’s hybrid historical fiction time travel adventure. Due to a mathematical calculation done by Sir Isaac Newton and passed down in secret for close to 300 years not to be opened until Christmas Eve 2024; it’s possible to travel back to the early summer of 1914. Hugh Stanton, ex-military and overall adventurer, is recruited by the Chronations, a group of Trinity scholars who have confirmed Newton’s figures, to be the hero who will stop WWI from ever happening, thus saving millions of lives and, more important, stopping the twentieth century from entering into a spiral of bloodshed. The setup is compelling, the historical aspects are well researched, and the time-travel story line, though not well explained, wraps around itself in a tantalizing manner sure to please even the most hardcore time-travel purists. However, it is the complex, nuanced, and likable Stanton who will grab readers as they blindly follow and actively root for him with each turn of the page. He will do anything to set history right, even when he is what makes it wrong. Thought provoking and captivating, this is a novel for fans who love Stephen King’s 11/22/63 (2011), Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life (2013), and any of the award-winning time-travel hybrids by Connie Willis. A must-read with an awesomely unsettling ending that has very real implications for a modern audience.
And as a bonus title, at it has the exact same title – the classic novel:
Time And Again by Jack Finney
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)
When advertising artist Si Morley is recruited to join a covert government operation exploring the possibility of time travel, he jumps at the chance to leave his mundane 20th-century existence and step into the past. But he also has another motivation for going back in time: a half-burned letter that tells of a mysterious, tragic death and ominously of “fire which will destroy the whole world.”
Traveling to New York City in January 1882 to investigate, he finds a Manhattan teeming with a different kind of life, the waterfront unimpeded by skyscrapers, open-air markets packed with activity, Central Park bustling with horse drawn sleighs—a city on the precipice of great things. At first, Si welcomes these trips as a temporary escape but when he falls in love with a woman he meets in the past, he must choose whether to return to modern life or live in 1882 for good.
“Pure New York fun” (Alice Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author), Time and Again is meticulous recreation of New York in the late nineteenth century, exploring the possibilities of time travel to tell an ageless story of love, longing, and adventure. Finney’s magnum opus has been a source of inspiration for countless science fiction writers since its first publication in 1970.
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Have a great week!
Linda
*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.
The StarCat app is called Bookmyne and is available for Apple and Android devices.
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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
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Have questions or want to request a book?
Feel free to call the library! Our telephone number is 607-936-3713.
Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.
Hi everyone, here is the weekly list of New York Times Bestsellers.
Each title is followed by a listing of which formats it is available in for check out within the three catalogs: StarCat (Print, Large Print & CD Audiobooks), The Digital Catalog (eBook & Downloadable Audiobook) and the Hoopla Catalog (Hoopla instant checkout eBook & Hoopla Audiobook).
For more information on the three catalogs skip to the section below the bestselling titles*
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FICTION
BECOMING by Nora Roberts
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook & eBook)
The second book in the Dragon Heart Legacy series. Breen returns to Talamh as her grandfather Odran plots destruction.
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BILLY SUMMERS by Stephen King
(Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook & Libby eBook)
A killer for hire who only takes out bad guys seeks redemption as he does one final job.
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CHRISTMAS PROMISE by Richard Paul Evans
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print & CD Audiobook)
Richelle writes a book about her estranged and deceased twin sister, Michelle, that is titled “The Prodigal Daughter.”
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CLOUD CUCKOO LAND by Anthony Doerr
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, Libby eBook & audiobook)
An interconnected cast of dreamers and outsiders are in dangerous and disparate settings past, present and future.
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DARK HOURS by Michael Connelly
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, Libby eBook & audiobook)
A death on New Year’s Eve, an unsolved murder and a hunt for serial rapists bring Bosch and Ballard back together.
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FEAR NO EVIL by James Patterson
(Available Formats: Print Book)
The 29th book in the Alex Cross series. Cross fights the mastermind who has stalked him for years.
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FLYING ANGELS by Danielle Steel
(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)
Six women join the Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron during World War II.
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GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE by Diana Gabaldon
(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)
The ninth book in the Outlander series. As the Revolutionary War moves closer to Fraser’s Ridge, Claire and Jamie reunite with their daughter and her family.
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IT ENDS WITH US by Colleen Hoover
(Available Formats: Print Book & Libby audiobook)
A battered wife raised in a violent home attempts to halt the cycle of abuse.
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THE JUDGE’S LIST by John Grisham
(Available Formats: Print Book, Libby eBook & audiobook)
The second book in the Whistler series. Investigator Lacy Stoltz goes after a serial killer and closes in on a sitting judge.
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THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY by Amor Towles
(Available Formats: Print Book, Libby eBook & audiobook)
Two friends who escaped from a juvenile work farm take Emmett Watson on an unexpected journey to New York City in 1954.
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MERCY by David Baldacci
(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)
The fourth book in the Atlee Pine series. Atlee discovers her twin sister survived an abduction at the age of 6.
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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig
(Available Formats: Print Book, Libby eBook & audiobooks)
Nora Seed finds a library beyond the edge of the universe that contains books with multiple possibilities of the lives one could have lived.
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PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print & CD Audiobook)
Ryland Grace awakes from a long sleep alone and far from home, and the fate of humanity rests on his shoulders.
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THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print & Libby eBook & audiobook)
A movie icon recounts stories of her loves and career to a struggling magazine writer.
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STATE OF TERROR by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook, Libby eBook & audiobook)
In the wake of the previous administration’s mishandling of international affairs, the new Secretary of State Ellen Adams confronts interconnected global threats.
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STRANGER IN THE LIFEBOAT by Mitch Albom
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print & CD Audiobook)
After a ship explodes, nine people struggling to survive pull a man who claims to be the Lord out of the sea.
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THE WISH by Nicholas Sparks
(Available Formats: Print Book, Large Print, Libby eBook & audiobook)
Maggie Dawes, a renowned travel photographer, struggles with a medical diagnosis over Christmas.
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NON-FICTION:
1619 PROJECT edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman and Jake Silverstein
(Available Formats: Print Book)
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 AMERICAN CHRISTMAS by Rachel Campos-Duffy and Sean Duffy
(Available Formats: Not currently available)
A collection of holiday memories from members of the staff of Fox News.
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BEATLES: GET BACK by the Beatles
(Available Formats: Print Book)
The story of the making of the band’s final album, gathered from transcripts of their conversations.
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BETRAYAL by Jonathan Karl
(Available Formats: Print Book)
The ABC News’ chief Washington correspondent gives an account of the end of the Trump presidency.
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BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)
How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.
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DAWN OF EVERYTHING by David Graeber and David Wengrow
(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)
A reinvestigation of social evolution and suggestions for new ways of organizing society.
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GOD BLESS THIS MESS by Hannah Brown with Mark Dagostino
(Available Formats: Not currently available)
The reality TV star describes the pressures she felt in the public eye and the ways her faith was tested.
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THE HOUSE OF GUCCI by Sara G. Forden
(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)
An account of the murder of Maurizio Gucci in 1995; the basis of the film.
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THE LYRICS: 1956 TO THE PRESENT by Paul McCartney
(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)
A two-volume celebration of 154 songs, with handwritten texts, paintings and photographs from the songwriter’s archives.
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THE PRESIDENT AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTER by Brian Kilmeade
(Available Formats: Print Book)
The Fox News host gives an account of the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
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REAL ANTHONY FAUCI by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook)
The anti-vaccine advocate gives his take on the chief medical advisor to the president.
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RENEGADES by Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Conversations between the 44th president and the multiple award-winning musician on a range of topics.
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THE STORYTELLER by Dave Grohl
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD audiobook & Libby eBook)
A memoir by the musician known for his work with Foo Fighters and Nirvana.
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TASTE by Stanley Tucci
(Available Formats: Print Book, Libby eBook & audiobook)
The award-winning actor reflects on his career, Italian-American heritage, meals and mishaps.
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WELCOME TO DUNDER MIFFLIN by Brian Baumgartner and Ben Silverman
(Available Formats: Not currently available)
An oral history of the TV series “The Office” by one of its stars and one of its producers.
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WILL by Will Smith with Mark Manson
(Available Formats: Print Book)
The actor, producer and musician tells his life story and lessons he learned along the way.
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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.
The StarCat app is called Bookmyne and is available for Apple and Android devices.
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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, December 10, 2021.
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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!
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The Age of Miracles (Live) by Mary Chapin Carpenter
From The Album: One Night Lonely (2021)
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Do Re Mi by Colter Wall (Genre: Folk/Americana)
From The Album: Home In This World: Woody Guthrie’s Dustbowl Ballads by Various artists
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Laura by David Raksin (Genre: Easy Listening, Instrumental, Film Scores)
David Raksin Conducts His Great Film Scores (1975/2021)
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Everything’s Gonna Be Cool This Christmas by The Eels (Genre: Pop, Rock)
From The Album: Electro-Shock Blues Show (2002).
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A Long December by Counting Crows (Genre: Pop, Rock)
From The Album: Recovering the Satellites (1996)
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Peaceful Easy Feeling by The Eagles (Genre: Rock, Classic Rock)
From The Album: The Eagles (1972)
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Rainy Day Crossroad Blues by The Doobie Brothers (Genre: Pop-Rock)
From The Album: Stampede (1975)
Bonus & Title Related!
Crossroad Blues by Robert Johnson (Genre: Delta Blues)
From The Album: King of The Delta Blues Singers (recorded in 1936 and released on this LP in 1961)
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Schubert: Nacht und Träume, Op. 43 No. 2, D. 827 by Harriet Krijgh & Magda Amara (Classical, Violin)
From The Album: Silent Dreams (2021)
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Sunshine State of Mind by Elyse Saunders (Genre: Country)
From The EP: Free (2021)
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This Winter by Jamie Cullum with Lady Blackbird & Kansas Smitty’s (Genre: Piano, Vocal, Jazz)
From The Album: The Pianoman at Christmas (The Complete Edition) (2021)
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Merry Christmas by Stan Kenton & His Orchestra (Genre: Big Band, Jazz, Holiday, Instrumental)
And from the album the song
Christmas Medley
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Have a great weekend,
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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REFERENCES:
Print References
The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn
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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.
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).
*More information on the three catalogs is found at the end of the list of recommended reads*
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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Tuesdays.
And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Tuesday, December 7, 2021.
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And They Lives Happily Ever After by Therese Beharrie
(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook)
Bestselling romance author Gaia has a secret. Her dreams shape her novels. At her longtime best friend’s party, she has a hot make-out session with his younger brother, Jacob, whom she hasn’t seen in years. Then she realizes that Jacob has now entered her dreams. Workaholic Jacob is burning himself out trying to keep his dad’s company afloat. His brother doesn’t want any part of it, and Jacob made a promise to his now deceased mother to help. He can’t believe the wild dreams he is having about Gaia. When he seeks her out, they realize they are having shared dreams. He begins to accept her unusual gift, and she helps him make needed changes in his life. Beharrie’s dreams-into-books idea is clever and the best-friend’s brother trope is especially appealing as enacted by Jacob and Gaia. Rom-com fans who like a little magic may enjoy this one, and debut romance author Beharrie is an author to watch. Booklist Review
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Christmas Every Day by Beth Moran
(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook)
When Jenny inherits her estranged grandmother’s cottage in Sherwood Forest, she has nothing to lose – no money, no job, no friends, no family to speak of, and zero self-respect. Things can only get better…
Her grumpy, but decidedly handsome new neighbour, Mack, has a habit of bestowing unsolicited good deeds on her. And when Jenny is welcomed into a rather unusual book club, life seems to finally be getting more interesting.
Instead of reading, the members pledge to complete individual challenges before Christmas: from finding new love, learning to bake, to completing a daredevil bucket list. Jenny can’t resist joining in, and soon a year of friendship and laughter, tears and regrets unfolds in the most unexpected ways.
Warm, wise, funny and utterly uplifting, what one thing would you change in your life before Christmas comes around?
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Daughter of York by Anne Easter Smith
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Smith, fresh off of her triumphant debut, “A Rose for the Crown”, returns to the drama and intrigue of the York family in this stunning follow-up. Margaret of York, younger sister to Edward IV and elder sister to Richard III, is a powerful member of the York clan in her own right. Beautiful, witty, and intelligent, she quickly becomes a political pawn when Edward seizes the throne and is crowned king. Married off to Charles, Duke of Burgundy, Margaret blossoms in her role as an eloquent ruler of vast estates and immense wealth. In private, however, she struggles to survive the pain of her loveless marriage to a cold, temperamental brute and her vanquished youthful hopes of a fulfilling union with Edward’s already married brother-in-law, Anthony Woodville. Unrequited love simmers throughout this richly detailed historical romance; Smith’s vivid characters and deft handling of the passions and prejudices that so greatly influenced the events of this era in history make for a delicious read. Highly recommended for all popular fiction collections. Starred Library Journal Review
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Jim The Boy by Tony Earley
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Simple, resonant sentences and a wealth of honest feeling propel this tracing of a 10-year-old boy’s coming of age in Aliceville, N.C., in the 1930s. Earley’s debut novel (after his well-received collection Here We Are in Paradise) carries us, in charmingly ungangly fashion, toward its moving, final epiphanies. Quizzical, innocent Jim Glass lives on a farm with his widowed mother and three uncles, who provide companionship for the boy and offer casual wisdom on life’s travails. Jim’s father’s sudden death at age 23 left a wake of tenderness as his legacy, so much so that Jim’s mother still feels married even after his death. However, she will never speak to her father-in-law, who has spent some time in jail and is a despicable loner with a rumored penchant for illegally distilled whiskey. The stormy background Earley provides makes Jim’s openness and na vet all the more haunting. The narrative develops as a series of loosely related, moving anecdotes: the tragic story behind Aliceville’s name, a trip with an uncle to buy a horse that becomes a lesson in the transience of corporeal life, a race up a greased pole at a carnival that casts a new light on Jim’s bonds with another boy, Jim’s best friend’s struggle with polio, Jim’s mother’s resistance to a suitor, and the introduction of electricity to Aliceville on Christmas Eve. In roundabout fashion, and in simple, often poetic prose, Earley brings his protagonist to knowledge of his identity. The dramatic and entrancing growth of this wisdom may strike some readers as overly sentimental. Nevertheless, the closure the book achieves is solid and well-earned. Starred Publishers Weekly Review
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King Of The Blues by Daniel De Visé
(Available Formats: Print Book, Libby eBook, Hoopla instant checkout audiobook)
The Rise and Reign of B.B. King
Riley “Blues Boy” King (1925-2015) was born into deep poverty in Jim Crow Mississippi. Wrenched away from his sharecropper father, B.B. lost his mother at age ten, leaving him more or less alone. Music became his emancipation from exhausting toil in the fields. Inspired by a local minister’s guitar and by the records of Blind Lemon Jefferson and T-Bone Walker and encouraged by his cousin, the established blues man Bukka White, B.B. taught his guitar to sing in the unique solo style that, along with his relentless work ethic and humanity, became his trademark. In turn, generations of artists claimed him as inspiration, from Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton to Carlos Santana and the Edge. King of the Blues presents the vibrant life and times of a trailblazing giant. Witness to dark prejudice and lynching in his youth, B.B. performed incessantly (some 15,000 concerts in 90 countries over nearly 60 years). Several of his concerts, including his landmark gig at Chicago’s Cook County Jail, endure in legend to this day. His career roller-coastered between adulation and relegation, but he always rose back up. At the same time, his story reveals the many ways record companies took advantage of artists, especially those of color. Daniel de Visé has interviewed almost every surviving member of B.B. King’s inner circle, and their voices and memories enrich and enliven the life of this Mississippi blues titan, whom his contemporary Bobby “Blue” Bland simply called “the man.
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The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook, eBook, Downloadable Audiobook, Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)
In the late eighteenth century, Nella owns an apothecary specializing in remedies for women, with a brisk side business in poisons. Her latest customer is Eliza, a servant girl charged with procuring poison for her mistress. Nella’s dreams of motherhood were destroyed by a callous young man, and Eliza is curious about the intricacies of Nella’s business. The two form a tenuous bond that quickly strengthens when Nella’s livelihood is threatened. In the present day, Caroline’s romantic anniversary trip to London becomes a solo sojourn because of her husband’s infidelity. Determined to make the best of the situation, Caroline joins a mudlarking expedition and finds a mysterious bottle in the river. Her investigation into the bottle’s provenance unravels the long-hidden mystery of Nella’s apothecary, while also reminding Caroline of her pre-marriage dreams. Penner finds clever parallels between Nella and Caroline, and avoids the pitfall of one storyline outshining the other–all three women have compelling tales, and while Nella’s business may not be on the up-and-up, her motives are understandable. Readers who enjoy Katherine Howe and Susanna Kearsley will be drawn to this promising, fast-paced debut. Booklist Review
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A Room Full Of Bones by Elly Griffiths
(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Hoopla instant checkout eBook)
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Galloway’s fourth exploit, set in 2009 in Norfolk, England after The House at Sea’s End, is another solid puzzle, matching crafty plotting with living and breathing characters readers will invest in. With her boss away, Galloway is representing the University of North Norfolk at the opening of a coffin believed to belong to 14th-century bishop Augustine Smith. What should be a routine duty turns out to be anything but. Griffiths’s wry understatement is perfect for Galloway’s grim discovery at the “Local History Room seems to be empty apart from a coffin on a trestle table, and a body lying beside it.” The corpse belongs to museum curator Neil Topham. There’s no obvious cause of death, but the police soon find evidence of foul play in the form of a threatening letter discovered in the dead man’s desk. The deductions and story developments are first-rate, and will certainly lead many first-timers to seek out other Galloway books.
Reader’s Note: The Ruth Galway mystery series currently features 14 titles; all of which may be requested through StarCat. And on the eBook front, the first 11 titles are available for instant checkout through Hoopla.
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Tarry This Night by Kristyn Dunnion
(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Hoopla instant checkout eBook)
This dark and painfully possible novel follows Ruth, a young woman who is coming of age in a post-climate-disaster, underground cult. The collective, led by the disturbingly delusional Father Ernst, bears all the trimmings of a racist/misogynist/wife-sharing nightmare. Ernst holds many wives and breeds many children, none of whom belong to any one mother. When Ruth is slated to become the latest Mrs. Father Ernst, she must decide not only whether she is willing to rebel and become a radical outlaw but also whether she has the strength to abandon the faith that has been restored in her ever since the cult rescued her from the violence of the above-ground streets many years ago. The book is a modern take on the Lilith story, the Jewish folktale made famous for its themes of female demonology and the rejection of male subservience. Immediate and terrifying, Dunnion’s fresh new narrative adds to the growing conversation about misogyny and freedom. A surefire hit for fans of Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale. – Booklist Review
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Yesterday’s Echo by Matt Coyle
(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout eBook)
“The first time I saw her, she made me remember and she made me forget.” This delectable opening line sets the tone for Coyle’s hard-boiled crime series debut, which introduces Rick Cahill, a former cop whose wife was brutally murdered eight years ago. Rick was accused of the crime but never convicted. Unable to fight the media maelstrom, he retreats to La Jolla, CA, to help run a restaurant with his best (and only) friend. It isn’t much of an existence but Rick is slowly regaining control of his life. Fate arrives in the figure of Melody, a gorgeous Filipina who embroils Rick in a lethal entanglement. Before too long, the protagonist finds himself back in the crosshairs of the media and the police, who remember all too well the cop that got away with murder. VERDICT Coyle does a superb job of drawing the reader in and keeps a steady pace of action along with solid character development. This celebration of the crime noir novels of old with a modern sensibility in Rick Cahill as hero will strongly appeal to fans of classic hard-boiled PI novels.—Starred Library Journal Review
Reader’s Note: The Rick Cahill mystery series currently features eight books; and all of them are available for instant checkout through Hoopla!
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Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
(Available Formats: Print Book, CD Audiobook & eBook)
Picoult, a best-selling novelist always attuned to the zeitgeist, takes on the COVID-19 pandemic in this powerful novel. In March 2020, art specialist Diana O’Toole is on the cusp of selling a major painting for Sotheby’s and getting engaged to her caring, handsome surgeon boyfriend, Finn. They have plane tickets to the Galapagos Islands, but when Finn’s work at the hospital prevents him from leaving, he urges Diana to take the trip on her own. Diana arrives on Isabela Island just as it and the rest of the world closes down. Stranded, she is taken in by a kindly older woman and befriends a troubled 15-year-old, Beatriz, who is grappling with abandonment issues that Diana can relate to: both women’s mothers walked away when they were children. Cut off from Finn save for emails he sends detailing the horrors he’s enduring in the hospital as COVID-19 ravages New York, Diana grows ever closer to Beatriz and the teenager’s handsome father, Gabriel. She also begins to question whether the goalposts she’s set for herself still represent the direction she wants her life to take. Stealthily surprising and very moving, Picoult’s latest, written while she was confined at home during the pandemic, taps into the trauma and uncertainty of 2020’s global crisis. Absolutely a must-read. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Picoult’s novels are always sure-bets for popular fiction readers, but she attains new heights in this keen and vivid pandemic drama. 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.
The StarCat app is called Bookmyne and is available for Apple and Android devices.
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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
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Have questions or want to request a book?
Feel free to call the library! Our telephone number is 607-936-3713.
Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.
Hi everyone, 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, December 3, 2021.
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And here are the 10 (plus 2 extra!) recommended songs of the week!
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Albatross by Mick Fleetwood & Friends (including David Gilmour on guitar)
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Celebration by Kool & The Gang (Genre: R&B)
From The Album: Celebrate! (1980)
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Dueling Jingle Bells by U.S. Navy Band (Genre: Guitar)
Recorded live in 2015 – dueling banjos and guitars indeed!
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Feeling Alright by Three Dog Night (Genre: Classic Rock)
(Maybe the singer had too much turkey!)
From The Album: Suitable For Framing (1969)
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Happy Together by The Turtles (Genre: Classic Rock)
From The Album: Happy Together (1967)
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I’ll Be Home For Christmas/Baby It’s Cold Outside by Jackie Gleason & Jack Marshall (Genre: Easy Listening, Instrumental)
From The Album: Merry Christmas (1956); also found on the various artists collection Ultra-Lounge: Christmas Cocktails, Part One (2006).
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Meet On The Ledge by Fairport Convention (Genre: Folk, Folk-Rock)
From The Album: What We Did On Our Holiday (1969)
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On The Sunny Side Of The Ocean by John Fahey (Genre: Guitar, Instrumental)
From The Album: The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death (1965).
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Riverfront by Leo Nocentelli (Genre: Folk, Classic Rock)
From The Album: Another Side (recorded in 1971/released in 2021)
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Sleigh Ride by The U.S Navy Band (Genre: Band Music, Holiday Music)
Recorded in concert in 2012.
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Sophisticated Cissy by The Meters (Genre: R&B, Classic Rock)
From The Album: The Meters (1969)
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Wouldn’t It Be Nice by The Beach Boys (Genre: Classic Rock)
From The Album: Pet Sounds (1966).
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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week
Ultra-Lounge: Christmas Cocktails, Volume 1 by various artists (including Peggy Lee, Lour Rawls, Nat King Cole & Les Brown & His Band Of Renown & more!)
And from the album the song
Christmas Trumpets/We Wish You A Very Merry Christmas (1996 Remaster) by Ray Anthony (Genre: Instrumental/Holiday)
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Have a great weekend,
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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REFERENCES:
Print References
The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn
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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.
Tech & Book Talk at SSCL 