Tech & Book Talk at SSCL

Stop by and pick up some stocking stuffers; or just get a few extra books and DVDs for those stormy winter days we are bound to have!

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 postings are published on Sundays; and due to the Thanksgiving holiday, and the fact that the library is closed for deep cleaning on Friday  & Saturday, November 26 & 28, the next New York Times Bestseller blog posting will be published on Sunday, December 5, 2021.

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FICTION

APPLES NEVER FALL by Liane Moriarty

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

The Delaney siblings suspect their father of causing the disappearance of their mother.

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BETTER OFF DEAD by Lee Child and Andrew Child

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

The 26th book in the Jack Reacher series. Reacher helps an F.B.I. agent look for her missing brother and takes on a foe named Dendoncker.

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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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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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DARK TAROT by Christine Feehan

(Available Formats: Print Book & Libby eBook)

The 35th book in the Carpathian series. Adalasia’s ability to see what is to come in her deck of cards is both a blessing and a curse.

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DUNE by Frank Herbert

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

The 1965 science fiction novel that is the basis of several adaptations, including the recent film directed by Denis Villeneuve.

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GAME ON by Janet Evanovich

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

The 28th book in the Stephanie Plum series. Diesel and Stephanie track the international computer hacker Oswald Wednesday.

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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 LAST THING HE TOLD ME by Laura Dave

(Available Formats: Print Book & Libby eBook & audiobook)

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

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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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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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NEVER by Ken Follett

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

Tensions escalate around the globe as President Pauline Green works to prevent a world war.

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THE SENTENCE by Louise Erdrich

(Available Formats: Print Book & Libby eBook)

A woman released from prison deals with the ghost of an annoying customer haunting a bookstore in Minneapolis during a contentious time.

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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:

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AMERICAN MARXISM by Mark R. Levin

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

The Fox News host gives his take on the Green New Deal, critical race theory and social activism.

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BEST WISHES, WARMEST REGARDS by Daniel Levy and Eugene Levy

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

Character profiles, major story moments and behind-the-scenes tales from the Emmy Award-winning series “Schitt’s Creek.”

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THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk

(Available Formats: Print Book, Libby eBook, Libby audiobook & Hoopla 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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E.R. NURSES by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann with Chris Mooney

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

A collection of stories from people working in big-city and small-town hospitals.

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GOING THERE by Katie Couric

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

The former anchor of the “CBS Evening News” and “Today” describes some of the personal and professional challenges she faced.

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IMMUNE by Philipp Dettmer

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

The founder of the YouTube channel Kurzgesagt gives an overview of elements of the body’s immune system

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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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MY BODY by Emily Ratajkowski

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The model and actress explores the subjects of feminism, sexuality and power.

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PERIL by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa

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

The Washington Post journalists detail the dangers and challenges during the transition to the Biden presidency.

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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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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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TO RESCUE THE REPUBLIC by Bret Baier with Catherine Whitney

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The Fox News chief political anchor recounts challenges faced by Ulysses S. Grant.

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UNGUARDED by Scottie Pippen with Michael Arkush

(Available Formats: Not yet available in any catalog)

The six-time N.B.A. champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist and Hall of Famer details his life on and off the court.

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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, November 26, 2021.

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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Friday@5 by Paul Taylor (Genre: Instrumental, Jazz)

From The Album: And Now This (2021)

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Go Your Way by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (Genre: Rock, Folk-Country, Vocal)

From The Album: Raise The Roof (2021)

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Hold On by Rod Stewart (Genre: Pop-Rock)

From The Album: The Tears of Hercules (2021)

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If I Had A Hammer by The Kronos Quartet and Friends with Sam Amidon (Genre: Classical, Folk)

From The Album: Long Time Passing: Kronos Quartet and Friends Celebrate Pete Seeger (2020)

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In the Quiet of Christmas Morning (Bach 147) (Genre: Pop-Rock, Classical)

From The Album: December (2003)

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I Was Born to Love You by Ray LaMontagne (Genre: Folk)

From The Album: Monovision (2020)

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Minstrel of the Dawn by Gordon Lightfoot (Genre: Pop-Rock, Folk, Singer-Songwriter)

From The Album: Sit Down Young Stranger (1970)

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Talvez by Caetano Veloso and Tom Veloso (Genre: Vocal, Pop)

This beautiful ballad just won Record of the Year award at the Latin Grammy Awards – it doesn’t seem to be available on an album but can be accessed as an MP3 through online music stores.

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We Gather Together by Paul McCandless, Philip Aaberg & Michael Manring (Genre: New Age, Instrumental)

From The Album: Thanksgiving: A Windham Hill Collection by Various Artists

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We’ve Only Just Begun by Curtis Mayfield (Genre: R&B, Vocal)

From The Album Curtis Live! (1971)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

Jerry Before Seinfeld (2021) by Jerry Seinfeld

Jerry Before Seinfeld is the new album the popular comedian and features stand-up from his Netflix show, Netflix Is A Joke.

And from the album, the skit The First Time Jerry Seinfeld’s Parents Saw His Stand-Up 

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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, November 23, 2021.

Library Connections videos may also be accessed via the Southeast Steuben County Library’s YouTube channel.

Have a great day,
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, November 23, 2021.

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The Cartographer’s Secret by Tea Cooper

(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)

A young woman investigates her family’s role in a decades-old mystery in Australian writer Cooper’s moving latest (after The Girl in the Painting). In 1911, 25-year-old Lettie Rawlings’s older brother, Thorne, dies in a boating accident. Lettie’s mother, Miriam, sends her from Sydney to the family’s horse-breeding estate to tell her great-aunt Olivia that she is now the estate’s rightful heir, which Olivia disputes. Though despondent over Thorne’s death, Lettie gets swept up in uncovering both what happened to her aunt Evie Ludgrove, who went missing nearly 20 years ago, as well as the disappearance decades earlier of real-life explorer Ludwig Leichhardt, which had obsessed her late grandfather. Since Olivia and Miriam are estranged, Olivia is initially wary of Lettie’s surprise visit, but they become close as Lettie’s research uncovers Evie’s possible fate, and Lettie makes no claim on the estate. An 1880 narrative follows Evie, a gifted artist and promising mapmaker, who shares her father’s preoccupation with Leichhardt; when a large reward is offered for proof of where Leichhardt died, Evie is determined to claim the reward for the cash-strapped farm, but she vanishes while pursuing a lead. Cooper gets to the heart of a family’s old wounds, puzzles, and obsessions, while providing a luscious historical rendering of the landscape. This layered family saga will keep readers turning the pages.

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Christmas In Evergreen: Bells Are Ringing by Lacy Baker

(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)

Based on a Hallmark Channel original movie

Part of the Christmas in Evergreen series

Welcome back to Evergreen, the town built on Christmas wishes…

And learn what happens after one snow-globe wish comes true.
Life is going great for Hannah, really. She’s fallen in love with her best friend, her brother is getting married, and she’s looking forward to another festive Christmas in Evergreen. Still, between her job, taking charge of the choir, and being the town’s jill-of-all-trades, she’s feeling uninspired…especially when Elliot starts to question his own role in the town.

Hannah finds fresh inspiration in the brand-new Evergreen Christmas Museum, and she volunteers for their storytelling project. When she interviews her fellow Evergreenians, however, she learns that not everyone wants the museum around; specifically Mr. Cooper who owns a third of the building. As Hannah finds herself with more and more responsibilities, and as her relationships with Elliot and her family grow strained, she starts to wonder about what she really wants. Can her love and newly-found purpose survive the changes that loom after the holidays are over?

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The Devil’s Reward: A Novel by Emmanuelle De Villepin

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A Parisian grandmother trying to help her daughter through a marital crisis mines the rich history of the family’s past in this first novel to be translated into English by prizewinning French author de Villepin. Eighty-six-year-old Christiane lives alone, missing her late husband. She feels little patience for her daughter Catherine’s marital complaints but is happy to have both Catherine and her daughter, Luna, take refuge with her. “I choose to be resolutely nonconformist and scandalous,” Christiane tells us. “I hate those qualities in young people, but I find them charming among us oldsters.” She chides Catherine for overvaluing the marriage pact and delights her granddaughter, who’s writing a thesis on pedagogical systems, with family stories about Rudolf Steiner. “I’ve had plenty of time to measure what one owes to the sacred and what must not under any circumstances be denied to the profane.” Born in 1929, “spoiled and rather poorly raised” in a château, she recalls an adored and charming father with a motorcycle and side car and a prim, religious mother who terrorized her inadvertently with late-night applications of holy water. As she reminisces, a complex family portrait emerges of privilege and deprivation, anthroposophy and debauchery, suffering and grace. “One can’t deny that old ladies like myself have tons of experience. When things are going to hell, we at least have this advantage: we know the truth—everything always ends badly.” Her beloved father has a dark secret which causes a devastating rupture, and the idyllic childhood of hot air balloons and treasure hunts collapses into social ostracism. “One should not retrace one’s steps,” she muses, “one quickly smells death and abandonment.” Although romantic liaisons are the putative theme here, the deepest relationships are the ones between parents and children. Christiane says, of her daughter, “My greatest love story is her.”A sprightly tour through an old woman’s family secrets reveals that loving someone often requires the ability to forgive and a certain “sleight of hand.”–Kirkus Reviews

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Hullabaloo In The Guava Orchard by Kiran Desai

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

Winner of the 2006 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for her second novel The Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai is one of the most talented writers of her generation. Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard—Desai’s dazzling debut novel—is a wryly hilarious and poignant story that simultaneously captures the vivid culture of the Indian subcontinent and the universal intricacies of human experience. Sampath Chawla was born in a time of drought into a family not quite like other families, in a town not quite like other towns. After years of failure at school, failure at work, of spending his days dreaming in tea stalls, it does not seem as if Sampath is going to amount to much—until one day he climbs a guava tree in search of peaceful contemplation and becomes unexpectedly famous as a holy man, sending his tiny town into turmoil. A syndicate of larcenous, alcoholic monkeys terrorize the pilgrims who cluster around Sampath’s tree, spies and profiteers descend on the town, and none of Desai’s outrageous characters goes unaffected as events spin increasingly out of control.

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The Hummingbird’s Cage by Tamara Dietrich

(Available Formats: Print Book)

When Joanna meets the attractive and charming Jim West, she can’t believe her luck. But it doesn’t take long for Jim’s abusive nature to manifest itself. Long separated from family and friends, Joanna has no one to turn to in their small town; she can’t even call the police because Jim is a deputy sheriff for the county. She does her best to protect her young daughter, Laurel, and suffers in silence until the day Bernadette, Jim’s ex, arrives in town. Bernadette survived Jim’s attacks and wants to help Joanna, giving her money and plane tickets. Joanna and Laurel flee but don’t get far. One minute Joanna is seeing Jim’s flashing lights in her rearview mirror, and the next she’s waking up in an old farmhouse. Given shelter and safety there, Joanna begins the process of healing in a peaceful place. VERDICT An abused woman reclaims the power she lost and moves on with her life in this well-written debut story that makes readers hope for more from this talented author. Recommended for fans of Barbara Delinsky and Luanne Rice.-Library Journal Review

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Impala by Andrew Diamond

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Mystery and thriller readers are in for a treat with Impala, a story in which a man trying to change his world battles forces which draw him back into the seedier side of life. Russell can’t back down and can’t let go of anything completely. Neither can the reader let go of the winding, compelling story that is Impala… Impala does a terrific job of crafting a gritty, savvy and devious protagonist who moves through his world with precision and personal angst. The result fine-tunes a personal story and thriller, bringing Russell’s purposes and decisions to life in a series of events that make for a compelling, unexpected mystery that’s hard to put down and satisfyingly complex to the end. — D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

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The London House by Katherine Reay

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)

Reay’s (Of Literature and Lattes) latest is a complex portrait of a family torn apart by secrets. It covers multiple threads, from the brave women spies in World War II to perspectives on history to the ways in which trauma stops people from accepting the love that they are offered. Caroline Payne is in her late 20s, and the accidental death of her sister 20 years ago and the disintegration of her family loom over her relationships even as she returns to Boston to be near her dying father. A surprise call from an old flame, who’s writing a history article, reminds Caroline of her long-dead British great-aunt, whom the family had disowned for being a Nazi collaborator. Caroline impulsively travels to London to the house her father grew up in, where she reads letters and diaries that bring to life her grandmother and great-aunt, the vivacious “Waite girls.” She learns that the shame of Nazi collaboration that overshadowed her family for 80 years is not quite what it seems. VERDICT For readers who enjoy novels featuring courageous women in World War II. Reay explores the uncertainty of history and how trauma can be carried across generations, but makes clear that it’s never too late for redemption.-Library Journal Review

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The Lost Castle by Kristy Cambron

(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)

A brooch, diary, and photograph are links to three women living in different periods–the French Revolution, World War II, and the present–in Cambron’s split-time romance. As the revolution breaks out, Aveline and Philippe, Duc Vivey, narrowly escape with their lives as their castle in the Loire Valley is sacked and burned. Ellie Carver watches Alzheimer’s steal her grandmother’s memories until discovery of a family heirloom and a journal sends Ellie to the ruins of a 13th-century castle in France on a journey of revelations about her grandmother, her family, and herself. Cambron’s (The Illusionist’s Apprentice) series launch combines the past and the present in a tale of secret loves, bitter losses, and hopeful beginnings. VERDICT Cambron’s atmospheric settings, historical details, and ability to create well-rounded characters who wend their way into readers’ hearts has garnered her many fans. They will be eagerly awaiting this title. – Library Journal

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Moonlight In Winter Park by Samantha Chase

(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)

All Hope Cooper needed this year was to have the kind of Christmas her family always cherished. But with her parents gone and her only brother having to work, it doesn’t look like it’s going to work out for her. There’s nothing she can do about her parents, but she most certainly can voice her annoyance at her brother’s boss for making him work out of town all through the holidays.

Beckett James hates the holidays and everything that goes with them. They were important at one time, but now the only thing that mattered was his company and its continued growth and anyone who worked for him better feel the same way. If not, they could find employment elsewhere and good riddance. With a major expansion deal on the line, Beckett needs to focus. What he doesn’t need is Hope to come barging into his mountain retreat demanding that her brother come home immediately due to an emergency.

Suddenly it’s two alone in a snowstorm. Two alone for Christmas. And two alone to fight an attraction that had been there all along. Hope soon begins to realize she may have misjudged Beckett while he comes to see that there really is something special and magical about Christmas. But once they leave their private winter wonderland and return to their normal lives, will the magic still be there?
A modern-day Beauty and the Beast style Christmas.

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Ten Thousand Things by Maria Dermout

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In Wild, Cheryl Strayed writes of The Ten Thousand Things: “Each of Dermoût’s sentences came at me like a soft knowing dagger, depicting a far-off land that felt to me like the blood of all the places I used to love.” And it’s true, The Ten Thousand Things is at once novel of shimmering strangeness—and familiarity. It is the story of Felicia, who returns with her baby son from Holland to the Spice Islands of Indonesia, to the house and garden that were her birthplace, over which her powerful grandmother still presides. There Felicia finds herself wedded to an uncanny and dangerous world, full of mystery and violence, where objects tell tales, the dead come and go, and the past is as potent as the present. First published in Holland in 1955, Maria Dermoût’s novel was immediately recognized as a magical work, like nothing else Dutch—or European—literature had seen before. The Ten Thousand Things is an entranced vision of a far-off place that is as convincingly real and intimate as it is exotic, a book that is at once a lament and an ecstatic ode to nature and life.

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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 postings are published on Sundays; and the next New York Times Bestseller  blog posting will be published on Sunday, November 14, 2021.

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FICTION

APPLES NEVER FALL by Liane Moriarty

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

The Delaney siblings suspect their father of causing the disappearance of their mother.

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ATTIC ON QUEEN STREET by Karen White

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

The seventh book in the Tradd Street series. Melanie Trenholm’s husband asks for a separation while ghosts invade her home.

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BETTER OFF DEAD by Lee Child and Andrew Child

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

The 26th book in the Jack Reacher series. Reacher helps an F.B.I. agent look for her missing brother and takes on a foe named Dendoncker.

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BILLY SUMMERS by Stephen King

(Print Book, Large Print, CD Audiobook & eBook)

A killer for hire who only takes out bad guys seeks redemption as he does one final job.

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CLOUD CUCKOO LAND by Anthony Doerr

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

An interconnected cast of dreamers and outsiders are in dangerous and disparate settings past, present and future.

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DUNE by Frank Herbert

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

The 1965 science fiction novel that is the basis of several adaptations, including the recent film directed by Denis Villeneuve.

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GAME ON by Janet Evanovich

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

The 28th book in the Stephanie Plum series. Diesel and Stephanie track the international computer hacker Oswald Wednesday.

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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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THE JUDGE’S LIST by John Grisham

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable 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 LAST THING HE TOLD ME by Laura Dave

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

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

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THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY by Amor Towles

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable 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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LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood

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

A young professor agrees to pretend to be a third-year Ph.D. candidate’s boyfriend.

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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig

(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook & Downloadable 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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OH WILLIAM! by Elizabeth Strout

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

Lucy Barton joins her ex-husband on a trip to look into a family secret.

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OUR COUNTRY FRIENDS by Gary Shteyngart

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Betrayals emerge and romances develop when eight friends wait out the pandemic in a country house.

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THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

Maggie Dawes, a renowned travel photographer, struggles with a medical diagnosis over Christmas.

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NON-FICTION:

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THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk

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

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

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THE BOYS by Ron Howard and Clint Howard

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

The Howard brothers credit their success in Hollywood to their Midwestern parents, Rance and Jean.

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E.R. NURSES by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann with Chris Mooney

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

A collection of stories from people working in big-city and small-town hospitals.

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GOING THERE by Katie Couric

(Available Formats: eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The former anchor of the “CBS Evening News” and “Today” describes some of the personal and professional challenges she faced.

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PERIL by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa

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

The Washington Post journalists detail the dangers and challenges during the transition to the Biden presidency.

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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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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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SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari

(Available Formats: Print Book & Libby Audiobook)

How Homo sapiens became Earth’s dominant species.

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THE STORYTELLER by Dave Grohl

(Available Formats: 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, eBook & Downloadable Audiobook)

The award-winning actor reflects on his career, Italian-American heritage, meals and mishaps.

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TO RESCUE THE REPUBLIC by Bret Baier with Catherine Whitney

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The Fox News chief political anchor recounts challenges faced by Ulysses S. Grant.

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WHOLEHEARTED FAITH by Rachel Held Evans with Jeff Chu

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

Reflections on the identity and purpose of Christianity completed posthumously.

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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.

–

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, November 19, 2021.

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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Burning Down The House by Bonnie Raitt (Genre: Blues, Rock)

From The Album: Road Tested (1995)

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Don’t Let Me Down by The Beatles (Genre: Rock)

From The Album: Let It Be (1970)

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Dream Weaver by Gary Wright (Genre: Seventies Rock)

From The Album: The Dream Weaver (1976)

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If We Make It Through December by Pistol Annies (Genre: Country)

From The Album: Hell Of A Holiday (2021)

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Jamaican Medley by Maria Thompson Corley (Genre: Piano, Classical)

From The Album: Soulscapes 2 – Piano Music by Women of African Descent (2021)

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The King by Loreena McKennitt (Genre: Vocal, Folk)

From The Album: To Drive The Cold Away (1987)

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Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave by Traffic (Genre: Classic Rock)

From The Album: Welcome To The Canteen (1971)

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Sleigh Ride by Ella Fitzgerald (Genre: Jazz, Holiday)

From The Album: Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas (1960)

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Women Be Wise by Sippie Wise (Genre: Blues)

From The Album: Women Be Wise (1994)

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You’re Still The One by Orleans (Genre: Rock, Seventies Rock)

From The Album: Walking And Dreaming (1976)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

Motown Thanksgiving Celebration by Various Artists (Genre: R&B, Rock)

This short LP is not a traditional Thanksgiving themed album; but instead features five terrific songs of thanks; or actually five terrific songs and four of thanks – as I’m not sure that I Heard It Through The Grapevine qualifies as a “thankful” song; but then Marvin Gaye songs are always top-notch!

And here is the five-song playlist: 1. Dancing In The Street (Stereo) by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, 2. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, 3. I’ll Be There by Jackson, 4. Love Is Like A Heatwave by Martha & The Vandellas & 5. I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye.

And from the album, a happy and thankful song if ever there was one!

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

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Have a great weekend,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

–

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

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

–

The Digital Catalog, web version of Libby

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

–

The Libby App

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

–

Hoopla

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

–

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

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

The next Library Connections video will be posted on Tuesday, November 16, 2021.

Library Connections videos may also be accessed via the Southeast Steuben County Library’s YouTube channel.

Have a great day,
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, November 16, 2021.

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The Book Of Form And Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

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

“Has it ever occurred to you that books have feelings, too?” As does every object in supersensitive Benny Oh’s world. They also have voices, and how they plague him after the death of his Japanese Korean jazz-musician father, Kenji. A young teen, Benny is left with Annabelle, his big, blond, utterly bereft mother. Her dream was to become a children’s librarian; instead, she labors as a media monitor. In a subconscious attempt to fill the void Kenji has left, she hoards things, filling their humble Pacific Northwest duplex with clamor and clutter, which is torture for Benny. He lands in a psychiatric ward, which leads to his infatuation with an intrepid teen artist who is devoted to her mentor, an aged, homeless Slovenian philosopher-poet. All three misfits find sanctuary in the public library. Ozeki (A Tale for the Time Being, 2013) draws on her Zen Buddhist attentiveness as she writes with bountiful insight, exuberant imagination, and levitating grace about psychic diversity, our complicated attitude toward our possessions, street protests, climate change, and such wonders as crows, the moon, and snow globes. Most inventively, Ozeki celebrates the profound relationship between reader and writer. This enthralling, poignant, funny, and mysterious saga, thrumming with grief and tenderness, beauty and compassion, offers much wisdom. “Books are works of love, after all.” Starred Booklist Review

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Danger, Sweetheart by Mary Janice Davidson

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

Popular and inventive Davidson, best known for her Undead books, including Undead and Unforgiven (2015), has a field day with conventional romance tropes as she brings readers to Sweetheart, North Dakota. There, millionaire intellectual Blake Tarbell feels compelled to work on a farm to make up for his mistake of selling area farms to a land developer and becomes enchanted by the no-nonsense, part-time foreman, Natalie. Davidson provides a guide to the 46 romance themes she has cleverly woven into this madcap, tongue-in-cheek tale, including hot librarians and characters who are erroneously presumed dead. A somewhat slow start will not keep voracious romance fans from relishing Davidson’s humor and characters. – Booklist Review

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I Will Have Vengeance by Maurizio De Giovanni

(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)

The first English translation of veteran Italian crime writer de Giovanni, this murder mystery set in Fascist 1930s Italy introduces new readers to haughty homicide detective Luigi Alfredo Ricciardi. A loner cursed with a “scar on his soul,” Commissario Ricciardi can see in his mind’s eye the final moments in the lives of victims “who had died violently,” an ability that has propelled him to the top of his profession. Arnaldo Vezziârevered by opera audiences as the world’s greatest tenor but reviled by everyone who knew himâis fatally stabbed with a large shard of a mirror in his dressing room before a performance of Pagliacci. Ricciardi re-creates the prelude to murder in his mind and hears Vezzi softly rehearsing his lines, which include the Italian words of this book’s title. Under pressure from his superior, who is eager to deliver swift justice in such a high-profile case and win Il Duce’s praises, the detective pieces together two disparate storylines for a drawn-out but didn’t-see-it-coming denouement. Appel deserves credit for retaining de Giovanni’s distinct brand of noir in her translation, which will appeal to Agatha Christie and Manuel Vazquez Montalban fans. – Publishers Weekly Review

Readers’ Note: This is the first book in the Commissario Ricciardi Mystery Series

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First Lady: My Thirty Days Upstairs in the White House by Patrick Dennis

(Available Formats: Print Book)

“Here it is at last for all the world to share – the inside story of the ill-fated Butterfield Administration (March 4, 1909 – April 4, 1909). And who could tell the tragic tale better than the First Lady herself – Martha Dinwiddie Butterfield, patent medicine heiress, social leader, Nobel Prize winner and haunted hostess of the Executive Mansion for one cataclysmic month.” (from inside flap)”

If you’re looking for a humorous, historical fiction novel – check out this one!

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It’s A Wonderful Woof by Spencer Quinn

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Holiday time in the Valley, and in the holiday spirit—despite the dismal shape of the finances at the Little Detective Agency—Bernie refers a potential client to Victor Klovsky, a fellow private eye. It’s also true that the case—promising lots of online research but little action—doesn’t appeal to Bernie, while it seems perfect for Victor, who is not cut out for rough stuff. But Victor disappears in a rough-stuff way, and when he doesn’t show up at his mom’s to light the Hanukkah candles, she hires Chet and Bernie to find him.

They soon discover that Victor’s client has also vanished. The trail leads to the ruins of a mission called Nuestra Señora de los Saguaros, dating back to the earliest Spanish explorers. Some very dangerous people are interested in the old mission. Does some dusty archive hold the secret of a previously unknown art treasure, possibly buried for centuries? What does the Flight into Egypt—when Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus fled Herod—have to do with saguaros, the Sonoran desert cactus?

No one is better than Chet at nosing out buried secrets, but before he can, he and Bernie are forced to take flight themselves, chased through a Christmas Eve blizzard by a murderous foe who loves art all too much.

Readers’ Note: This is the twelfth book in the Chet & Bernie Mystery series. If you’d like to start reading the series from the beginning, the first book is Dog On It.

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Foretold By Thunder by E. M. Davey (Thunder Series, Book 1)

(Available Formats: Print Book)

When journalist Jake Wolsey stumbles upon a declassified file showing Winston S. Churchill’s interest in the ancient, esoteric Etruscan civilization, his curiosity is piqued—but a series of deadly coincidences seems to surround the file and everyone who knows of its existence. Wolsey soon attracts the unlikely attention of alluring archaeologist Florence Chung—and that of MI6. As the journalist and archaeologist are pursued across Europe and Africa in search of a sacred Etruscan text, danger closes in and more questions than answers arise. Are there powers in the sky modern science has yet to understand? Could the ancients predict the future? And what really explains the rise of Rome, that of Nazi Germany, the ebb and flow of history itself? In a thrilling race against time and enemies known and unknown, Wolsey fears the very survival of the West may depend on his ability to stay one step ahead of his adversaries.

An assured rollercoaster full of unexpected twists and turns, E.M. Davey offers up a gripping read for fans of Dan Brown in this bombastic debut.

Bonus Recommendation the second book in the adventure series:

The Napoleon Complex by E.M. Davey (Thunder Series, Book 2)

(Available Formats: Print Book)

“Napoleon stood before a turbulent sky. In his hand was a scroll, and on that scroll were characters. Etruscan characters. Reporter Jake Wolsey has seen things he never thought possible. After stumbling across declassified documents showing Winston Churchill’s interest in the ancient Etruscan civilisation, he became a hunted man. Now he is hiding on a remote beach in Thailand, trying to put the past behind him. But when an anonymous letter arrives featuring authentic quotations from Napoleon about fate and destiny, Jake knows he is no longer safe. And when his former lover Jenny reaches out to him for help, he has no choice but to come to her aid. Unearthing secrets many would kill for, can Jake evade both Washington and MI6? And up against a maniacal Prime Minister who dreams of rebuilding the British Empire, what happens if the power to predict the future falls into the wrong hands? The sequel to Foretold by Thunder races through Sierra Leone, Israel, Egypt, Austria, Tanzania and Burundi, and peers back into the smoky Westminster drawing rooms of Victorian statesmen. As Jake fights for his life and his love in this fast-paced, thrilling adventure, can he solve the Napoleon Complex once and for all?” –Publisher’s website.

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The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Igharo

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Igharo’s distinguished sophomore outing (after Ties that Tether) follows biracial Hannah as she connects with her roots and falls in love along the way. After a brief fling with Hannah’s white American mother, Hannah’s Black Nigerian father, Chief Jolade, returned to his wife and children. Hannah had no contact with his side of the family growing up and, as a result, feels out of touch with her Nigerian heritage—until Chief Jolade’s death and posthumous request that she attend his funeral. Upon Hannah’s arrival in Nigeria, her siblings and extended relations learn of her existence for the first time. As Hannah navigates a foreign culture and finds her place within a complex family dynamic, her only lifeline is Lawrence, a longtime friend of her father’s family whom Hannah happens to have met at a party in her hometown of San Francisco. The pair reconnect in Nigeria, and in the midst of finding herself, Hannah finds love with Lawrence as well. This well-paced, multi-narrator tale expertly marries romance with a moving story of family and identity. Readers will be impressed. Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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Quiet Desperation, Savage Delight: Sheltering With Thoreau In The Age Of Crisis by David Gessner

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

Further evidence that Thoreau offers wise counsel in dark times. Melding memoir and nature writing, award-winning environmentalist Gessner celebrates Thoreau, whose Walden he discovered at the age of 16, inspiring him to question his values, attend to the natural world, keep a journal, and, as an adult, even build his own solitary writing shack. Now, facing environmental degradation and a global pandemic, Gessner sees Thoreau as his “presiding genius, and guiding spirit.” Examining Thoreau’s enduring relevance, he writes, “in an age of climate change he gets to the root of it: the need to do with less not acquire more. The need to live a moral life despite the risks and the ridicule. And of course the deep understanding of just how much nature can still offer us. Not nature in any vague or high-handed sense but in the physical daily experience of it.” Gessner vividly recounts his rich daily experiences of wildness, including walking, biking, kayaking, and bird-watching in North Carolina, his adopted home for the past 17 years; accompanying environmental activist Rick Bass for a project to save grizzlies; and traveling to Thoreau country–Cape Cod, Concord, and Maine–with his family. “Wildness, unlike wilderness,” he writes, “can be found anywhere.” Writing this book during the first seven months of the pandemic, the author reports the increasing numbers of cases and deaths, statistics that serve as bleak epigraphs to each chapter. As much as he asserts “that staying still and finding home can be exciting, even thrilling,” he admits to feeling low-level depression during “this endless night of a year.” He also admits to wondering if it is too late to save the planet and to raise consciousness about the perils of materialism and anthropocentrism. Yet despite evidence that sometimes overwhelms him, Gessner, like Thoreau, finds hope in every new morning and joy in the world that Thoreau so eloquently extolled. A grateful homage to the iconic naturalist and a pleasant memoir of wildness. – Kirkus Review

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The Twelve Jays of Christmas by Donna Andrews

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

Agatha Award–winner Andrews’s fast-moving, high-spirited 30th Meg Langslow mystery (after Murder Most Fowl) finds witty Meg preparing to host her large extended family at her home in Caerphilly, Va., for the Christmas holidays. Unfortunately, she’s hampered by a sprained ankle, two wombats in the basement, and flocks of birds in the library. The birds were released from their cages by an unwanted houseguest, wildlife artist and “misogynistic jerk” Roderick Castlemayne, who’s in Caerphilly to illustrate the new book by Meg’s grandfather, an eminent naturalist and the owner of the zoo from which the furry and feathered guests have been brought to serve as models for the artist’s illustrations. When someone plunges a Swiss army knife into Castlemayne’s throat, the only people who are sorry to see him go seem to be the legions to whom he owes money. Ex-wives, bill collectors, and process servers are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to suspects. This Christmas romp, complete with a litter of adorable puppies, will certainly please fans and newcomers alike. Andrews consistently entertains. Publishers Weekly Review

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Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City by Andrew Waller

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Journalist Lawler (The Secret Token) explores in this sweeping account the complicated history of archaeological digs in Jerusalem. Ranging from imperialistic expeditions in the 19th century, when explorers competed in a “race to stake a claim to Jerusalem’s past,” to allegations that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government used archaeology “as a legitimizer for the state,” Lawler’s colorful narrative includes aristocrats, scientists, charlatans, and clerics who searched for the “authentic place of Jesus’s death and resurrection,” sought to uncover the remnants of the ancient City of David, and tried to find the Ark of the Covenant, among other archaeological treasures. He vividly describes early explorers navigating mud- and sewage-laden tunnels to “recover the biblical secrets locked beneath the Holy City,” and incisively untangles the contentious geopolitical dimensions of ancient history as modern-day Israelis and Palestinians use archaeological analysis to bolster their political viewpoints and territorial claims. Richly detailed, sensitively argued, and entertainingly written, this immersive history casts Jerusalem in a new light and reveals the tensions that meet at the intersection of science, politics, religion, and history. This fascinating, evenhanded chronicle is a treasure. Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky by Margaret Verble

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

At the Glendale Park Zoo outside of Nashville in 1926, Two Feathers, who is Cherokee, and her diving horse, Ocher, are among the biggest attractions. One day, Two and Ocher fall through the pool into the caves beneath–caves that are actually pillaged Native American burial grounds. Shell-shocked zoo manager Clive Lovett rescues her with the help of one of his cousins, who died in a trench in Europe years ago. While Two recovers, Little Elk, a Cherokee spirit from precolonial times, watches over her. Despite these supernatural elements, Verble (Cherokee America, 2019) has constructed a vivid world rooted in its time period: the Scopes trial rages on, the zoo owner is haunted by his Civil War boyhood, and racist attitudes of the day prevail, even among the most well-meaning. Even the secondary characters are richly drawn, giving life to romantic (and not-so-romantic) subplots and the deep friendship between Two and Crawford, a Black horse handler. Themes of death, belonging, and our distance from the past make this a good choice for book groups who like historical fiction. This utterly memorable, beautifully written story will linger with readers. 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.

–

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.

The StarCat app is called Bookmyne and is available for Apple and Android devices.

–

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

–

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, November 12, 2021.

–

And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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And Dream Of Sheep by Solem Quartet & William Newell (Genre: Classical)

From The Album: The Four Quarters (2021)

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Creep by Postmodern Jukebox with Haley Reinhart (Genre: Jazz)

From The Album: The Essentials (2016)

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Kiss The Rain by Betsy B Rheins (Genre: Jazz)

From The Album: Kiss The Rain (2021)

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Land of 1,000 Dances by Wilson Pickett (Genre: R&B)

From The Album: The Exciting Wilson Pickett (1966)

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Midnight To Six Man by The Pretty Things (Genre: Classic Rock)

From The Album: Get The Picture (1965)

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Sleigh Ride by The Jeff Steinberg Jazz Ensemble (Genre: Jazz, Holiday)

From The Album: Cocktail Lounge: Easy Jazz Christmas (2021)

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Sugar Drops by Davina and the Vagabonds (Genre: Blues, Vocal, Folk)

From The Album: Sugar Drops (2019)

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The Sweetest Thing by JJ Grey and Mofro featuring Toots Hibbert (Genre: Roots Rock, Blues)

From The Album: Georgia Warhorse (2010)

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White Rabbit by The Jefferson Airplane (Genre: Classic Rock)

From The Album: Surrealistic Pillow (1967)

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Work Song by Bonnie Bramlett (Genre: R&B, Blues, Roots Rock)

From The Album: Roots, Blues & Jazz (2006).

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

A Sentimental Christmas With Nat King Cole And Friends: Cole Classics Reimagined (2021) by Nat King Cole

And from the album, the song:

The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole & John Legend

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Have a great weekend,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

REFERENCES:

Print References

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn

–

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

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

–

The Digital Catalog, web version of Libby

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

–

The Libby App

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

–

Hoopla

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

–

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.