Tech & Book Talk at SSCL

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

Suggested Listening postings are published on Fridays; and our next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, July 23, 2021.

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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Calling Home by Amy Helm (Genre: Folk, Singer-Songwriter)

A terrific solo album by the singer-songwriter best known for her work as a member of Ollabelle, and with her father the late musician and Band co-founder Levon Helm.

From The Album: What The Flood Leaves Behind (2021)

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The Dreamer by Jackson Brown, featuring Los Cenzontles (Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Pop-Rock)

A thoughtful song from the introspective singer-songwriter.

From The Album: Downhill From Everywhere (2021)

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Going Down To Main Street by Muddy Waters (Genre: Blues)

The great blues-master Muddy Waters recorded this song/album at Levon Helm’s Woodstock studio, and is supported by Helm and his fellow Band member Garth Hudson — and it sound like they had a good time recording the LP!

From The Album: Muddy Waters Woodstock Album (1975)

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Leno’s Theme by Just Leg It (Genre: Instrumental, Classic Rock)

Just Leg It is a multi-musician studio band led by Bruce Watson, head honcho of Possum Records and the album features 19 instrumental party songs for adults – adults that like music of the sixties I’d say as the album definitely has a sixties vibe to it!

From The Album: Just Leg It (2021)

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Let’s Get Happy Together by Maria Muldaur and Tubby Skinny (Genre: Jazz, Blues)

Terrific music from the talented singer songwriter who has been playing and recording for years, and who first came to the attention of music lovers with the song Midnight at the Oasis from her third album, Maria Muldaur (1973).

From The New Album: Let’s Get Happy (2021)

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Mystical by Brian Simpson (Genre: Jazz, Easy Listening)

Illinois born composer and keyboardist Brian Simpson has just released his mellow tenth album, which includes the equally mellow tune Mystical – light and upbeat music – perfect for summer.

From The Album: All That Matters (2021).

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The Same Boat, Brother by Tim O’Brien (Genre: Folk, Country, Americana)

A great song from the new album by the talented multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter Tim O’Brien; best known as a member of the Bluegrass band Hot Rize.

From The Album: He Walked On (2021)

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That’s Entertainment by The Jam (Genre: Rock, Pop)

The Jam is one of the best of the British punk groups of the Punk Era (late seventies – mid-eighties) and consisted of singer and guitarist Paul Weller, bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Rick Buckler – their music isn’t as well known in America as the U.K. where they were superstars – but it is very cool, very British and well worth a listen!

From The Album: Sound Effects (1980).

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Twistin’ The Night Away by Sam Cooke (Genre: Vocal, R&B)

The great vocalist with a song that compliments the summer season – not that you can’t twist in the fall or winter time too!

From The Album: The Man Who Invented Soul (1962)

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Waterloo Sunset by Colin Hay (Genre: Rock, Pop)

Colin Hay, best known in the U.S. as the lead singer for the Australian band Men at Work, got bored during the pandemic and recorded a bunch of his favorite songs for his new album, including the Kink’s classic Waterloo Sunset.

From The Album: I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself (2021)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

Greatest Hits by Huey Lewis And The News (Genre: Pop-Rock)

A greatest hits collection by the popular eighties band – featuring light, upbeat songs.

And from the album, the song:

Hip To Be Square

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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.

–

The Digital Catalog (OverDrive & Libby Apps)

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

–

Hoopla

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

–

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

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

And as it is summertime , I’ve included some scary novels as it is the perfect season to enjoy some truly spooky reads while hanging out around the campfire with your Kindle, or on your couch in front of the A/C!

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 (OverDrive & Libby apps) 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.

The next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Tuesday, July 20, 2021.

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All The Murmuring Bones by A. G. Slatter

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Set in a fantasy world reminiscent of 19th-century Ireland, this stunning gothic adventure from Slatter (Sourdough and Other Stories) shimmers with fairy tale enchantment. Miren O’Malley has lived her 18 years under the thumb of her overbearing grandmother, Aoife, the matriarch of the once powerful O’Malley dynasty, now paupers in a crumbling coastal mansion. Miren grew up with stories of her family sacrificing children to the sea-queen in return for their prosperity. But their line has been diluted—Miren’s mother married an outsider and had only one child, leaving none to be sacrificed. To revive the family wealth, Aoife plans to marry Miren off to her rich and brutal cousin. But when Miren learns that her mother was a witch and that her supposedly long-dead parents are still alive, she finally takes control of her life and sets out to find them. While navigating the greed and arrogance of man and the magic of kelpies and merfolk, Miren vows to right her family’s generations of wrongs. In lyrical prose, Slatter evokes the decay and dread that surround her strong characters. Anyone who likes gutsy heroines, beautiful language, and well-wrought worlds won’t want to miss this. Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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Daughter of Black Lake by Cathy Marie Buchanan

(Available Formats; Print Book)

For some in first-century Britain, the occupying Romans bring wealth and trade; for others, they threaten the old ways that have governed life for time out of mind. Hobble is a Bog Dweller, living in a small, isolated settlement. Her mother, Devout, is a healer whose commitment to Mother Earth is personified in her name. Her father, Smith, is a tradesman from a once-powerful family. Hobble has the gift of foretelling the future and can also see the past; she’s troubled by secrets that drive a wedge between her parents. These concerns pale when a fanatical druid arrives in the settlement, attempting to foment rebellion against the Romans. The druid’s old ways demand a blood sacrifice for victory in war, and Hobble, marked by a limp, lives in terror of being chosen as an offering to the gods. Based on bodies raised from English bogs in the 1980s, Buchanan (The Painted Girls, 2013) has crafted an engrossing novel awash in historical atmosphere. From religious beliefs to culture clashes to social stratification and the activities of daily life, Buchanan immerses readers in Roman Britain in this beautifully emotive tale of family, community, and love. Starred Booklist Review

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Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Although it’s not strictly a prequel to Cargill’s masterful Sea of Rust (2017), his new novel is set in the same world. In fact, it’s set at the beginning of the robot revolution that created that world. The narrator, Pounce, is a Blue Star Industries Deluxe Zoo Model Au Pair–a robotic tiger. A nannybot. When robots begin rebelling against their owners, Pounce has only one concern: to protect eight-year-old Ezra. As it becomes clear that the goal of the robot rebellion is to remove the human species from the face of the Earth, Pounce puts his own survival on the line to keep one small boy alive. Cargill, who is perhaps best known for cowriting the movies Dr. Strange and Sinister, is a gifted storyteller, and, with his robotic central character, he pulls off quite a feat: he makes Pounce a sympathetic, compassionate, deeply human protagonist–a real being, not a mere machine. His near-future postapocalyptic world, too, is abundantly real, so firmly anchored in our own reality that we feel as though Cargill’s vision of the future is not merely possible but likely. Like Daniel H. Wilson, in Robopocalypse (2011) and Robogenesis (2014), Cargill offers a fascinating and intellectually engaging take on the venerable robots-versus-humans theme. An absolute must-read. Starred Booklist Review.

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House of a Hundred Whispers by Graham Masterton

(Available Formats: Print Book)

God, it’s good’ STEPHEN KING

On a windswept moor, an old house guards its secrets…

The new standalone horror novel from ‘a true master of horror.’

All Hallows Hall is a rambling Tudor mansion on the edge of the bleak and misty Dartmoor. It is not a place many would choose to live. Yet the former Governer of Dartmoor Prison did just that. Now he’s dead, and his children – long estranged – are set to inherit his estate.

But when the dead man’s family come to stay, the atmosphere of the moors seems to drift into every room. Floorboards creak, secret passageways echo, and wind whistles in the house’s famous priest hole. And then, on the same morning the family decide to leave All Hallows Hall and never come back, their young son Timmy disappears – from inside the house.

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The Last Watch by J. S. Dewes

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A group of likable rogues race to stop the universe collapsing in Dewes’s gripping space opera debut, whose premise will put readers in mind of A Song of Ice and Fire’s Night’s Watch. Ships stripped of their engines line the edge of the universe, staffed by the Sentinels, court-martialed Legion soldiers sent to guard the Divide in case the hostile alien Viators return. Cavalon Mercer, a rebellious royal heir, becomes the only civilian among them when he’s stripped of his titles and sent to the Argus to serve under stoic war hero Adequin Rake. Sharply pointed descriptions pepper Dewes’s prose as Cavalon faces the soldiers’ hostility over his family’s background in eugenics, and an investigation into a suspected sensor error reveals that the Divide is collapsing. Failing communication systems compel Rake to send a group to the nearest jump gate to warn the Legion and request evacuation transports, but the gate is mysteriously abandoned when they arrive. Meanwhile, those aboard the Argus experience some delightfully strange temporal anomalies as the Divide races inward. Dewes fluidly interweaves complex worldbuilding with a fast-moving plot and satisfying character development in Cavalon and Rake. This should win many fans. Publishers Weekly Review.

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Near The Bone by Christina Henry

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Mattie lives off the grid in a cabin on the side of a mountain with her older, emotionally and physically abusive husband. An unreliable narrator who knows nothing of the outside world, Mattie has flashbacks to her past, memories that are incomplete and terrifying. When a violent creature clearly not of this world begins leaving mutilated animal corpses across their territory, Mattie expands her limited range to investigate and encounters hikers who help her come to terms with the true, sinister nature of her past and present. Overflowing with intensity, action, and an oppressive, isolated atmosphere, this is a violent, compelling, and disturbing mix of domestic suspense and creature-feature horror that will appeal to a wide swath of readers. VERDICT Henry has expertly walked the line between psychological suspense and horror to crowd-pleasing results for years, and this title is no exception. Hand out freely to fans of Sarah Pinborough, Jennifer McMahon, and Zoje Stage. Library Journal Review.

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The Night of the Hunter: A Thriller by Davis Grubb

(Available Formats: Print)

Note: the film version is available for instant checkout through Hoopla!

Book Synopsis: The bestselling, National Book Award–finalist novel that inspired Charles Laughton’s expressionist horror classic starring Robert Mitchum and Shelley Winters – Night of the Hunter (1955).

Two young children, Pearl and John Harper, are being raised alone by their mother in Cresap’s Landing, Ohio. Their father Ben has just been executed for killing two men in the course of an armed robbery. Ben never told anyone where he hid the ten thousand dollars he stole; not his widow Willa, not his lawyer, nor his cell-mate Henry “Preacher” Powell. But Preacher, with his long history of charming his way into widows’ hearts and lives, has an inkling that Ben’s money could be within his reach. As soon as he is free, Preacher makes his way up the river to visit the Harper family where—he hopes—a little child shall lead him to the fortune that he seeks.

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The Residence by Andrew Pyper

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Haunted house stories are a dime a dozen, but haunted White House stories are a bit harder to find. Pyper (The Homecoming, 2019) reimagines life in the Franklin Pierce White House, beginning shortly after his inauguration and the death of his last living son in a bizarre train accident. First Lady Jane Pierce is reticent about joining him at the residence but eventually acquiesces, and sets up a replica of their son’s bedroom down the hall from her own. Shortly after the furniture is placed, Mrs. Pierce invites the Fox Sisters, world renowned for their spiritual séances (though they were later unmasked as frauds), to attempt to contact her son. A portal is opened and soon the White House and its inhabitants are surrounded by unexplainable activity with frightening implications. Pyper weaves traditional and legitimately creepy horror tropes with a larger examination of the complexities of marriage, and to a lesser degree, the direction and morality of the country at the time of its impending split. Recommended for fans of historical fiction with a bite, like that of Alma Katsu.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

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The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Newly married and newly widowed, Elsie has traveled to her deceased husband’s country estate, along with his cousin Sarah, for the duration of her pregnancy. Long neglected, the estate is avoided by villagers, who look suspiciously on it as the site of many strange deaths, the most recent being that of Elsie’s husband. Her first night there, Elsie is disturbed by strange sounds from the garret. Upon exploring it, she and Sarah find a wooden cutout painting of a small girl that is unnervingly lifelike, called a silent companion. Afterwards, strange things begin to happen. And the companion moves. Found in different places throughout the house, it seems to watch Elsie, waiting. Soon Elsie cannot tell if she is going mad, or being hunted. In Purcell’s gothic tale, the unknown past is as relevant as the current unknown person or thing that’s haunting the estate. A constant question persists: is everything as Elsie thinks, or is her mind the thing being haunted? This perfect fireside read combines all the best characteristics of the gothic genre. Booklist Review

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Twelve Nights at Rotter House by J. W. Ocker

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

Felix Allsey is a travel writer with a keen eye for the paranormal, and he’s carved out a unique, if only slightly lucrative, niche for himself in nonfiction; he writes travelogues of the country’s most haunted places, after haunting them himself.

When he convinces the owner of the infamous Rotterdam Mansion to let him stay on the premises for 13 nights, he believes he’s finally found the location that will bring him a bestseller. As with his other gigs, he sets rules for himself: no leaving the house for any reason, refrain from outside contact, and sleep during the day.

When Thomas Ruth, Felix’s oldest friend and fellow horror film obsessive, joins him on the project, the two dance around a recent and unspeakably painful rough-patch in their friendship, but eventually fall into their old rhythms of dark humor and movie trivia. That’s when things start going wrong: screams from upstairs, figures in the thresholds, and more than what should be in any basement. Felix realizes the book he’s writing, and his very state of mind, is tilting from nonfiction into all out horror, and the shocking climax answers a question that’s been staring these men in the face all along: In Rotter House, who’s haunting who?

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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, a catalog containing eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, Digital Magazines and a handful of streaming videos, 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 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 latest edition of Library Connections, our weekly readers, viewers and listeners advisory videocast.

The next Library Connections video will be posted on Tuesday, July 20 2021.

Have a great day,
Linda Reimer, SSCL

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

Each title is followed by a listing of which formats it is available in for check out within the three catalogs: StarCat (Print, Large Print & CD 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 Bestselling blog posting will be published on Sunday, July 18, 2021.

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FICTION

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THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah

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

As dust storms roll during the Great Depression, Elsa must choose between saving the family and farm or heading West.

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GOLDEN GIRL by Elin Hilderbrand

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

A Nantucket novelist gets one final summer to watch what happens from the great beyond

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THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE by V.E. Schwab

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

A Faustian bargain comes with a curse that affects the adventure Addie LaRue has across centuries.

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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 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 MAIDENS by Alex Michaelides

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

A therapist suspects a Greek tragedy professor at Cambridge University of committing murder.

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MALIBU RISING by Taylor Jenkins Reid

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of summer. But over the course of 24 hours, their lives will change forever.

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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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ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD by Quentin Tarantino

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A novelization of the film set in 1969, by its director and screenwriter.

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THE OTHER BLACK GIRL by Zakiya Dalila Harris

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Tension unfurls when two young Black women meet against the starkly white backdrop of New York City book publishing.

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PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION by Emily Henry

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Opposites Poppy and Alex meet to vacation together one more time in hopes of saving their relationship.

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PRESIDENT’S DAUGHTER by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

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

Matthew Keating, a past president and former Navy SEAL, goes on his own to find his abducted teenage daughter.

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PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

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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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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THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides

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

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

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THE SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller

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

A reimagining of Homer’s “Iliad” that is narrated by Achilles’ companion Patroclus.

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SOOLEY by John Grisham

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

Samuel Sooleymon receives a basketball scholarship to North Carolina Central and determines to bring his family over from a civil war-ravaged South Sudan.

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STAR WARS: THE RISING STORM by Cavan Scott

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In this installment of the High Republic series, Marchion Ro sows chaos at the Republic Fair.

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SURVIVE THE NIGHT by Riley Sager

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

On a long ride back to Ohio in 1991, a college student suspects she might be sharing a car with the man known as the Campus Killer.

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A TIME FOR MERCY by John Grisham

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

The third book in the Jake Brigance series. A 16-year-old is accused of killing a deputy in Clanton, Miss., in 1990.

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens

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

In a quiet town on the North Carolina coast in 1969, a young woman who survived alone in the marsh becomes a murder suspect.

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NON-FICTION:

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ANTHROPOCENE REVIEWED by John Green

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A collection of personal essays that review different facets of the human-centered planet.

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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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BOMBER MAFIA by Malcolm Gladwell

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

A look at the key players and outcomes of precision bombing during World War II.

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BRAIDING SWEETGRASS by Robin Wall Kimmerer

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

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CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson

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

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist examines aspects of caste systems across civilizations and reveals a rigid hierarchy in America today.

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CRYING IN H MART by Michelle Zauner

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

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

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GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey

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

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

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HOW THE WORD IS PASSED by Clint Smith

(Available Formats: Print Book & Large Print)

A staff writer at The Atlantic explores the legacy of slavery and its imprint on centuries of American history.

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KILLING THE MOB by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The 10th book in the conservative commentator’s Killing series looks at organized crime in the United States during the 20th century.

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NICE RACISM by Robin DiAngelo

(Available Formats; Print Book)

The ways white progressives may cause daily harm to people of color.

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THE PREMONITION by Michael Lewis

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Stories of skeptics who went against the official response of the Trump administration to the outbreak of Covid-19.

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THINK AGAIN by Adam Grant

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

An examination of the cognitive skills of rethinking and unlearning that could be used to adapt to a rapidly changing world.

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UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle

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

The activist and public speaker describes her journey of listening to her inner voice.

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

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

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

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSL

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*Information on the Three Catalogs*

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

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

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

–

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

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

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

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

–

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

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

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, July 16, 2021.

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week with an emphasis on classic rock and swing this week!

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105 Degrees by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Genre: Rock)

From The Album: Angel Dream (Songs From The Motion Picture “Shes The One”) (2021)

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Begin the Beguine by Artie Shaw (Genre: Big Band, Swing, Jazz)

From The Album: The Essential Artie Shaw (2005)

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Brand New Morning by Bob Seger (Genre: Rock)

From The Album: Brand New Morning (1971)

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Closer To Fine by The Indigo Girls (Genre: Folk, Folk-Rock)

From The Album: The Indigo Girls (1989)

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Endless Summer Nights by Richard Marx (Genre: Rock)

From The Album: Richard Marx (1987)

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In The Mood by Glenn Miller (Genre: Big Band, Swing, Jazz)

From The Album: The Essential Glenn Miller (2007)

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Love Will Find A Way by Yes (Genre: Rock)

From The Album: Big Generator (1987)

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Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves by The Eurythmics with Aretha Franklin (Genre: Pop, Rock, Vocal)

From The Album: Be Yourself Tonight (1985)

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Wild Summer Nights by John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band (Genre: Classic Rock, Soundtrack)

From The Soundtrack Album: Eddie And The Cruisers (1983)

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You Turn Me On (I’m A Radio) by Joni Mitchell (Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Vocal, Pop)

From The Album: For The Roses (1972)

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

Summertime (2021) by Isaa Kanneh-Mason (Genre: Classical, Piano)

And from the album, the song:

I Got Rhythm

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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

–

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

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

–

The Digital Catalog (OverDrive & Libby Apps)

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

–

Hoopla

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

–

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

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

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 (OverDrive & Libby apps) 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.

The next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Tuesday, July 13, 2021.

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Breach of Honor by Janice Cantore

(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)

Cantore’s hard-hitting yet outlandish inspirational thriller (after Visible Threat) centers on the unraveling of secrets held in a small town’s police department. In Table Rock, Ore., patrol officer Leah Radcliffe is ready to give up on her physically abusive husband and fellow officer Brad. Then she witnesses him taking a payoff from a shady businessman and confronts him. When Brad attacks and tries to kill her, she shoots him in self-defense and is subsequently charged with murder. Leading up to the trial, Leah descends into emotional turmoil trying to understand what drove Brad to want to silence her and why her colleagues have turned against her. After Leah is convicted, Clint Tanner, a fellow officer and her only friend, embarks on his own investigation and quickly realizes corruption runs through the police department and local judicial system. Clint believes Brad’s powerful father is behind it all, but the more he uncovers, the clearer it becomes that a ring of businessmen control corrupt politicians across the state. With every setback Leah faces, she leans more heavily on the faith she rediscovers while in prison and in Clint’s efforts to free her. As the mystery unravels and implausible twists pile up, readers might be hard-pressed to believe how deep the corruption goes. Those who can roll with the far-fetched plot will have fun. Publishers Weekly Review

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The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History by Margalit Fox

(Available Formats: eBook)

Fox (Conan Doyle for the Defense), a former obituary writer for the New York Times, recounts in this marvelous history how two British army officers in WWI orchestrated “the most singular prison break ever recorded.” Seeking to alleviate the monotony of life at the remote Yozgad prison camp in Turkey, British POWs built a Ouija board from salvaged materials. After numerous failed attempts to raise a spirit, Elias Henry Jones, “the Oxford-educated son of a British lord,” began manipulating the board, convincing his compatriots that they were conversing with the dead. Intended merely as a lark, Jones’s game became a more serious affair when a Turkish officer asked if the board could help him find a buried treasure. Jones partnered with Cedric Waters Hill, an Australian pilot and “master magician,” to devise a complex scheme to trick the camp commandant into sending them to Constantinople, where they spent six months feigning madness in an insane asylum before being repatriated. Fox enriches her account with intriguing deep dives into the psychology of “coercive persuasion,” the mechanics of confidence games, and the history of spiritualism in the U.S. and England. Readers will be mesmerized by this rich and rewarding tale. Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Hugo-winning short story author and translator Liu opens his ambitious first novel, which launches the Dandelion Dynasty epic fantasy series, with hefty helpings of political philosophy and violence. When the unpopular Emperor of Xana dies, leaving his unprepared 12-year-old son to take the throne, rebel factions across the empire seize the opportunity to strike blows for freedom. Encouraged by prophecies, picaresque bandit Kuni Garu quickly becomes an unlikely forerunner in the crowd of would-be rulers. He teams up with the scholar Luan Zya, who adds some wisdom to Kuni’s usual flashy scheming, and the two join forces with warrior Mata Zyndu, last of the once-powerful Zyndu line, who believes it’s his destiny to rule. The route to power is decidedly crooked, and the outcomes are very much in doubt. Liu seasons his fantastical Han Dynasty drama with plenty of intrigue, passion, bloodlust, and even a nod to historical feminism, against a backdrop of magical and technological marvels. Epic fantasy fans will enjoy this large-scale story of political strategy and skullduggery. Publishers Weekly Review

Readers’ Note: This is the first book in a series; book 2 & 3 are:
The Wall of Storms (2016), The Veiled Throne (November, 2021).

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The House Guests by Emilie Richards

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

In this serpentine thriller from Richards (the Ministry Is Murder series), Cassie Costas moves from Manhattan to Tarpon Springs, Fla., her hometown, with her 15-year-old stepdaughter, Savannah Westmore, after her husband’s death. Savannah detests the place and manifests her unhappiness by making friends with the wrong crowd. When the girl finds a handmade purse containing $800 in a parking lot, she lets her friends persuade her that the money should be spent on a party to be held at her house while Cassie is out of town. On returning to her now trashed home, Cassie discovers the distinctive purse among the rubble and determines its true owner: Amber Blair, the single mother of a 16-year-old son. As a result of losing the money, the pair have been evicted from their humble apartment. Deciding to right Savannah’s wrong, Cassie invites them to live with her until Amber can get on her feet. Both women are hiding dangerous secrets that will alter their lives. The carefully constructed entwining of Cassie and Amber’s stories offers some genuine surprises. This is pure soap opera of the best sort. Publishers Weekly

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The Keepers by Jeffrey Burton

(Available Formats: Print Book)

In Burton’s enjoyable sequel to 2020’s The Finders, three separate murder investigations preoccupy Mace Reid, a cadaver dog trainer who assists the Chicago police and various sheriffs’ departments, and his pack of five working dogs, notably Vira, an exceptionally sensitive golden retriever, who “takes the art of human remains detection to the next level… the Sherlock Holmes level.” Vira is literally able to sniff out the guilty parties, leaving her wily human companions the job of figuring out how to bring the killers to justice. The murder cases—those of a union organizer, a former one-hit-wonder rock star, and the head of the Special Prosecutions Bureau inside the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office—eventually entwine, and draw Mace and the dogs into a disturbing web of political corruption at the highest level. Who can they trust? The answer seems to be no one as the fast-paced, action-packed plot builds to a thrilling finale. Burton carefully crafts each dog’s personality, ensuring that they, like the humans, are fully realized characters. Dog lovers are in for a treat. Publishers Weekly Review

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Songs in Ursa Major: A Novel by Emma Brodie

(Available Formats: Print & eBook)

Jane Quinn was raised in a matriarchal family on a remote tourist island off the coast of Massachusetts. Bayleen Island is home to a famous folk music festival, which, in the summer of 1969, draws teen idol Jesse Reid to Jane’s hometown. Jane’s band, the Breakers, serendipitously meets and ends up touring with Jesse, thus sparking Jane and Jesse’s incendiary love affair. Jesse believes wholeheartedly in Jane’s talent, and pushes her to write her first solo album, Songs in Ursa Major. Unfortunately, their love is ill-fated: their youth, family secrets, and the demands of record label contracts prove to be too much. Jane wants her talent to be valued apart from her connection to Jesse; Jesse simply wants Jane as his life’s companion. Set in the grooving 1970s music world, this sprawling novel follows Jane and Jesse through the epic highs and lows of their careers. Moving from New York to Los Angeles to Greece to the Grammys, then always back home to the island, Brodie’s debut is a furious page-turner, meditating on the glittering beast of fame. Booklist Review

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The War Nurse by Tracey Enerson Wood

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

In 1917, Julia Stimson was used to being one of the only powerful women in the “”old boys’ club”” field of medicine. A gifted nurse, talented administrator, and friend and confidante to many, she rose up the ranks at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis to become the superintendent of nurses at Washington University. Julia is shocked when she and most of her fellow staff are summoned to work for the Red Cross in Europe to treat soldiers fighting in the Great War. Julia is given six weeks to find and train 64 more nurses for wartime duty. When she and her fleet of nurses arrive in Liverpool, Julia realizes just how monumental their task will be. They confront unimaginable bloodshed, hardships, and the horrors of war, testing their inner strength beyond belief. Based on a true story, Wood’s (The Engineer’s Wife, 2020) latest highlights Julia’s quick thinking, organizational skills, and endlessly caring heart, bringing life to a brutal era. Fans of Patricia Harman will love Wood’s treatment of medical expertise in a historical setting. Booklist Review

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What’s Done in Darkness: A Novel by Laura McHugh

(Available Formats: Print Book)

One of 2021’s Best Beach Reads—OPRAH DAILY

Sarabeth Shepherd, the narrator of this moving psychological suspense novel from Thriller Award winner McHugh (The Wolf Wants In), is still struggling after being abducted five years earlier at 17 from her family’s farm in Wisteria, Ark., when she gets an out-of-the-blue plea for help from Nick Farrow, of the Missouri Highway Patrol’s missing persons unit. Even before Nick suggests that finding a 16-year-old girl might uncover information that finally cracks her own abduction, Sarabeth, who now goes by Sarah and works at an animal shelter, knows she would do anything to rescue another girl from an ordeal like hers, blindfolded and chained in a basement for a week before managing to escape. But despite Nick’s unexpectedly simpatico support, returning to her own neck of the Ozarks, where her estranged family still lives as part of a patriarchal religious sect, proves even more traumatic for Sarah than anticipated—and dangerous. As incredible as the plot’s harrowing twists may seem, any number of true crime accounts testify otherwise. Fortunately, there’s a light amid all this darkness—courageous, determined Sarah. Readers will hope to encounter her again. Publishers Weekly Review

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Willie Nelson’s Letters to America by Willie Nelson

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

An epistolary grab bag of memories, lyrics, jokes, and homespun philosophy from the legendary musician. As an indefatigable touring artist, Nelson (b. 1933) has had a lot of time on his hands during the pandemic. Following his collaboration with his sister, Me and Sister Bobbie, the road warrior offers a loose collection of lessons from a full life. If you’ve never read a book by or about Nelson, this one–characteristically conversational, inspirational, wise, funny, and meandering–is a good place to start. The book is filled with lyrics to many of his best-known songs, most of which he wrote but others that he has made his own as well. For those steeped in The Tao of Willie (2006), some of the stories will be as familiar as the songs–e.g., the origin story of his nicknames, including Booger Red and Shotgun Willie; his time as a DJ and a door-to-door Bible and encyclopedia salesman; early struggles in Nashville with “all the record executives who only see music as a bottom-line endeavor”; and return to his home state of Texas. Many of the personal stories about family and friends can be found in Me and Sister Bobbie, but they are good stories from a rich life, one of abundance for which Nelson remains profoundly grateful. So he gives thanks in the form of letters: to Texas, America, God, golf, and marijuana; the audiences who have supported him and the band that has had his back; those who have played any part in Farm Aid or his annual Fourth of July concert bashes; and departed friends and deceased heroes, one of whom, Will Rogers, answers him back. Nelson even addresses one to Covid-19, which looms over this book, making the author itchy and antsy. Even at 87, he can’t wait to be on the road again. Another amiable book that is just what you’d expect from Willie. Publishers Weekly Review

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The Wolf and the Woodsman: A Novel by Ava Reid

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver and Katherine Arden’s national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale, this unforgettable debut— inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant.

In her forest-veiled pagan village, Évike is the only woman without power, making her an outcast clearly abandoned by the gods. The villagers blame her corrupted bloodline—her father was a Yehuli man, one of the much-loathed servants of the fanatical king. When soldiers arrive from the Holy Order of Woodsmen to claim a pagan girl for the king’s blood sacrifice, Évike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered.

But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.

As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they’re on, and what they’re willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all.

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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, a catalog containing eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, Digital Magazines and a handful of streaming videos, 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 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 latest edition of Library Connections, our weekly readers, viewers and listeners advisory videocast.

The next Library Connections video will be posted on Monday, July 12, 2021.

Have a great day,
Linda Reimer, SSCL

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

Each title is followed by a listing of which formats it is available in for check out within the three catalogs: StarCat (Print, Large Print & CD 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 Bestselling blog posting will be published on Sunday, July 11, 2021.

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FICTION

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BEACH READ by Emily Henry

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

A relationship develops between a literary fiction author and a romance novelist as they both try to overcome writer’s block.

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THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah

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

As dust storms roll during the Great Depression, Elsa must choose between saving the family and farm or heading West.

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GOLDEN GIRL by Elin Hilderbrand

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

A Nantucket novelist gets one final summer to watch what happens from the great beyond

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THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE by V.E. Schwab

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

A Faustian bargain comes with a curse that affects the adventure Addie LaRue has across centuries.

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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 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 MAIDENS by Alex Michaelides

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

A therapist suspects a Greek tragedy professor at Cambridge University of committing murder.

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MALIBU RISING by Taylor Jenkins Reid

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of summer. But over the course of 24 hours, their lives will change forever.

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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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THE OTHER BLACK GIRL by Zakiya Dalila Harris

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Tension unfurls when two young Black women meet against the starkly white backdrop of New York City book publishing.

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PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION by Emily Henry

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Opposites Poppy and Alex meet to vacation together one more time in hopes of saving their relationship.

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PRESIDENT’S DAUGHTER by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

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

Matthew Keating, a past president and former Navy SEAL, goes on his own to find his abducted teenage daughter.

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PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

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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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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THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides

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

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

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THE SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller

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

A reimagining of Homer’s “Iliad” that is narrated by Achilles’ companion Patroclus.

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SOOLEY by John Grisham

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

Samuel Sooleymon receives a basketball scholarship to North Carolina Central and determines to bring his family over from a civil war-ravaged South Sudan.

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SWEETNESS OF WATER by Nathan Harris

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

Two brothers freed by the Emancipation Proclamation hope to reunite with their mother while the forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers causes chaos.

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VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett

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

The lives of twin sisters who run away from a Southern Black community at age 16 diverge as one returns and the other takes on a different racial identity but their fates intertwine.

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens

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

In a quiet town on the North Carolina coast in 1969, a young woman who survived alone in the marsh becomes a murder suspect.

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NON-FICTION:

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ANTHROPOCENE REVIEWED by John Green

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A collection of personal essays that review different facets of the human-centered planet.

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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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BOMBER MAFIA by Malcolm Gladwell

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

A look at the key players and outcomes of precision bombing during World War II.

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BORN A CRIME by Trevor Noah

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

A memoir about growing up biracial in apartheid South Africa by the host of “The Daily Show.”

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BRAIDING SWEETGRASS by Robin Wall Kimmerer

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

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CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson

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

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist examines aspects of caste systems across civilizations and reveals a rigid hierarchy in America today.

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CRYING IN H MART by Michelle Zauner

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

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

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GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey

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

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

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HOW THE WORD IS PASSED by Clint Smith

(Available Formats: Print Book & Large Print)

A staff writer at The Atlantic explores the legacy of slavery and its imprint on centuries of American history.

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HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST by Ibram X. Kendi

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

A primer for creating a more just and equitable society through identifying and opposing racism.

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KILLING THE MOB by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

(Available Formats: Print Book)

The 10th book in the conservative commentator’s Killing series looks at organized crime in the United States during the 20th century.

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ON JUNETEENTH by Annette Gordon-Reed

(Available Formats: Print Book & Downloadable Audiobook)

The Pulitzer Prize winner weaves together American history with personal memoir to show the importance of events in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865.

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THE PREMONITION by Michael Lewis

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Stories of skeptics who went against the official response of the Trump administration to the outbreak of Covid-19.

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SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER by Ashley C. Ford

(Available Formats: Print Book)

A memoir about growing up a poor Black girl in Indiana with a family fragmented by incarceration

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UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle

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

The activist and public speaker describes her journey of listening to her inner voice.

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

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

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

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSL

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*Information on the Three Catalogs*

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

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

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

–

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

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

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

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

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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, July 9, 2021.

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And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week!

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4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy) by Bruce Springsteen (Genre: Rock, Singer-Songwriter)

From The Album: The Wild, The Innocent And The E-Street Shuffle (1973).

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America by Simon & Garfunkel (Genre: Rock, Singer-Songwriter, Folk-Rock)

From the Album: The Concert in Central Park (1982); original version on the album Bookends (1968).

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America The Beautiful by Ray Charles (Genre: Vocal, R&B)

From The Album: A Message From The People (1972).

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Armed Forces Salute (Genre: Brass Band)

Performed by The United States Marine Corps Band live.

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Back in the U.S.A. by Chuck Berry (Genre: Rock, Classic Rock, Guitar)

From The Album: Chuck Berry is on Top (1959).

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Color Me America by Dolly Parton (Genre: Country)

From The Album: For God And Country (2003).

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Erie Canal by The Weavers (Genre: Folk)

From The Album: Weaver’s Classics (1987).

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Fanfare for the Common Man composed by Aaron Copland; performed by The New York Philharmonic with Leonard Bernstein conducting (Genre: Classical, Instrumental – American Classical!)

From The Album: Copland: Appalachian Spring; Rodeo; Billy The Kid; Fanfare for the Common Man (Bernstein Royal Edition No. 26 of 100) (CD Release date: 2006)

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I’ve Been Working on The Railroad by Johnny Cash (Genre: Country, Americana, Folk)

From The Album: The Legend of Johnny Cash (2005).

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Little Boxes by Pete Seeger (Genre: Folk)

From The Album: Broadside Ballads, Volume 2 (1963).

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My Ramblin’ Boy by Tom Paxon (Genre: Folk)

From The Album: Ramblin’ Boy (1963).

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My Shot from the Broadway Alexander Hamilton

From The Album: Hamilton: An American Musical Original Broadway Cast Recording (2015).

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Only In America by Jay & The Americans (Genre: Classic Rock)

From The Album: Come A Little Bit Closer (1965)

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This Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie (Genre: Folk)

From The Album: The Greatest Songs of Woody Guthrie (1972).

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R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. by John Mellencamp (Genre: Rock, Singer-Songwriter)

From The Album: Scarecrow (1985).

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The Stars and Stripes Forever – “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band (Genre: Brass Band, Marching Music)

From The Album: Unknown; I believe this is only available as a video recorded live.

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The Star Spangled Banner (1991) by Whitney Houston (Genre: Vocal, R&B, Pop)

From The Album: Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances (2014).

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Yankee Doodle Dandy by The Brady Bunch (197?)

From the television show: The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (197?)

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You’re A Grand Old Flag by Billy Murray (recorded in 1917!)

Composed by George M. Cowen | From The Album Popular World War 1 Songs (Vocals and Quartets) [Recorded 1916 – 1919] (2015).

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And here are two playlists for those who prefer more traditional music to celebrate the 4th of July:

50 Patriotic Songs: Music for the Fourth of July by Various Artists (Genre: Vocal, Band
(Note: The song list starts with The Star Spangled Banner)

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God Bless America by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir (Genre: Vocal, Classical, Pop)

From The Album: God Bless America (1992).

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Hoopla Recommend Album of the Week

Hamilton: The Original Broadway Cast Recording (2015).

And from the album, the song:

Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)

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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

Online References

A Mix For America. (2010, June 29). https://Www.Npr.Org/2010/06/29/105623389/a-Mix-for-America. https://www.npr.org/2010/06/29/105623389/a-mix-for-america

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Dyas, B. (2021, June 29). The Best 4th of July Songs for the Perfect Holiday Soundtrack. Country Living. https://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/g32439503/4th-of-july-songs/

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Zinn, J. (2014, June 30). HPM Top 10 List: Music For The Fourth Of July. Houston Public Media. https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/arts-culture/2014/06/30/51839/hpm-top-10-list-music-for-the-fourth-of-july/

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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 (OverDrive & Libby Apps)

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

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Hoopla

A catalog of instant check out items, including eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, TV shows and movies for 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 (OverDrive & Libby apps) 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.

The next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Tuesday, July 6, 2021.

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Daughter of Black Lake: A Novel by Cathy Marie Buchanan

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Buchanan’s new novel (after The Painted Girls) is set in the early years of Roman rule in Britain, where Hobble, a young woman with a supernatural connection to the otherworldly, comes of age. Hobble’s abilities make her a subject of interest in the eyes of unpredictable religious zealots. She must use her gifts to assist in Britannia’s efforts against Roman invasion and guarantee the safety of her family’s future. Using vivid, and at times jarring, imagery, Buchanan’s storytelling weaves through Hobble’s past, her parents’ relationship, and the current structure of her small community, creating an intricate view of a society on the brink of change. VERDICT Recommended for readers of historical fiction, romance, and supernatural suspense.–Monique Martinez, Univ. of North Georgia Lib., Dahlonega – Library Journal Review

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The Island by Mary Grand

(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)

The Island – where everyone knows everyone, and secrets are impossible to keep…

‘Be careful, you don’t know them as well as you think. Remember – anyone can kill.’

Juliet has returned to the Isle of Wight from years abroad to visit her sick father and to be reunited with her three sisters – Cassie, a professional musician who seems to have lost her way in life, Mira, who is profoundly deaf, is married to the local vicar but their relationship is falling apart, and Rosalind, glamorous and charming but now deeply unhappy and secretive about her life.

As Juliet’s father lies dying, he issues her with a warning. There is a killer on the loose, and they may be closer than she can ever imagine. He anxiously tells Juliet that he confided a family secret in son-in-law Rhys, and now regrets ever saying a word.

Days later, as the clock strikes one in the morning, a man comes out of Rhys’s church, walks along the path and is run down by a car driven by an unidentified person. When the finger of suspicion points to Juliet, she realises the only way to clear her name is to uncover the secrets her family has been keeping from her for years. But with a killer on the loose, danger is getting closer all the time…

The Island is set on the Isle of Wight – insular, claustrophobic, and where secrets are hard to keep. Mary Grand’s heart-stopping who-dunnits are perfect for fans of Louise Candlish, Agatha Christie and Lucy Foley.

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The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar

(Available Formats: Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook)

In Escobar’s gripping latest (after Remember Me), a young woman risks everything to save a library in Saint-Malo, France, during WWII. Librarian Jocelyn marries police sergeant Antoine Ferrec on Sept. 1, 1939, the same day the Germans invade Poland to begin WWII. The story is told via Jocelyn’s letters to famous writer Marcel Zola, whom she hopes will preserve her experiences during the war after Antoine leaves her alone to organize the assistance of refugees in the library. After the Nazi occupation begins, Jocelyn is forced to house Adolf Bauman, a demanding and lecherous Nazi officer, in her apartment, and soon she learns the Germans plan to destroy many of the books in the library. Meanwhile, another German officer, Hermann von Choltiz, whose mission is to safeguard the heritage of occupied countries, becomes Jocelyn’s protector, saving her from Bauman’s advances and the books from destruction. While Jocelyn’s sole purpose is to preserve the books, she also must pray for a better future, as many loved ones are killed and lives will need to be rebuilt. This is a powerful portrait of a woman fighting to preserve knowledge in a crumbling world. Publishers Weekly Review

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The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton

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

Cleeton’s latest historical novel in her dazzling Cuba series, following The Last Train to Key West (2020), features another member of the Perez family, Marina, and her struggles during the Spanish American War as she is disowned by her well-to-do family and separated from her beloved rebel husband. The “”Beautiful Girl”” of the title is based on the real-life Evangelina Cisneros, whose daring escape from a Havana prison was orchestrated by newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst as part of his campaign to convince the U.S. to declare war on Spain. Hearst reporter Grace Harrington, a spunky Nelly Bly type, also pushes against the sexist constrictions of the time. These three women tell their stories in alternating sections set during 1896-98. Although raised in privilege, they lose status because of their integrity and refusal to bow to the expectations of their class. Ultimately, they find themselves struggling for survival while fighting for their country’s independence and, in Grace’s case, for her own. With a splash of romance and a healthy helping of history, this novel will be a hit for all collections. Booklist Review.

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Pack Up The Moon by Kristan Higgins

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Higgins (Good Luck with That) delivers an outstanding romantic weeper with this tale of young newlyweds facing a terminal illness. Lauren Park is dying from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis—“twelve syllables of doom”—but she’s determined to leave a little bit of herself in her husband Josh’s life after she’s gone. She does so by writing letters to Josh and leaving them with her best friend to dole out month by month after her death. The letters are structured as to-do lists, ranging from basic tasks to ensure Josh takes care of himself (“Go to the grocery store and stop eating food from cartons over the sink. Don’t be a loser!”) to encouragement to start new relationships. After Lauren dies, Josh’s raw grief is palpable, as is Lauren’s reluctance to leave the love of her life, which comes through in her letters. Delightful supporting characters add to the charm, such as a Banana Republic salesman who comforts Josh after he has a breakdown while trying to fulfill one of Lauren’s tasks. Perfect pacing and plotting lift Higgins’s masterly latest. This is going to break (and restore) plenty of hearts. Publishers Weekly Review

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The Parted Earth by Anjali Enjeti

(Available Formats: eBook, Hoopla instant checkout eBook & audiobook; Print Book coming soon!)

Enjeti documents the impact of India’s Partition on successive generations in her immersive debut novel (after the essay collection Southbound). In 1947, British India is on the brink of being decolonized, with the lives of millions hanging in the balance. Hindu teenager Deepa Khanna’s doctor parents confront escalating hostilities from Hindu Indians because of their willingness to treat Muslims, while Deepa becomes secretly attracted to her Muslim friend Amir. After Deepa’s parents are killed in an attack, she moves to London and Amir leaves for Pakistan. The story then shifts to Deepa’s granddaughter Shan, who, following a miscarriage and subsequent divorce in 2016, begins digging into her past, finally uncovering the reason for her grandmother’s aloofness. Deepa’s experience renders her “unknowable” to Shan, filling Deepa with a grief that “seemed to burden generations of Khannas” with guilt. Meanwhile, other stories emerge of the Partition, from characters such as Shan’s neighbor, Chandani Singh, who supports Shan through her difficulties, and Chandani’s late husband, Harjeet, spinning an increasingly broad set of voices. While no less affecting, these supporting accounts receive an imbalanced, sometimes disproportionate attention that can detract from the novel’s main characters. Still, this intergenerational account of remembering and reconciliation sits comfortably alongside works of its kind. Publishers Weekly

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The Plague Year: America in the Time of Covid by Lawrence Wright

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

In this latest work, best-selling author Wright (The Looming Tower) looks back on a nearly unprecedented period of U.S. history: the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting from the discovery of the virus in China in early 2020, and leading up to the final days of the Trump administration in 2021, Wright surveys one momentous year. Delving into economic, social, biological, racial, and political aspects of the pandemic, this is an overarching behind-the-scenes look at the pandemic’s effects on individual lives. Wright cuts through misinformation to present nearly every aspect of the year 2020, including the biological breakthroughs of vaccines, personal tragedies, and collective trauma. All is thoroughly discussed with empathy and compassion. Also included are interviews with staff of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and personal reports from families across the country (from New York to Tulsa to New Orleans) whose lives were impacted by the pandemic. VERDICT While there are already several other books about COVID-19 and its sociological impact on the United States, this wide-ranging yet deeply personal account is a great starting point. At times infuriating, unbelievable, heartbreaking, and even witty, Wright’s narrative is sorely needed.–Laura Hiatt, Fort Collins, CO – Library Journal Review

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The Residence by Andrew Pyper

(Available Formats: Print Book)

Haunted house stories are a dime a dozen, but haunted White House stories are a bit harder to find. Pyper (The Homecoming, 2019) reimagines life in the Franklin Pierce White House, beginning shortly after his inauguration and the death of his last living son in a bizarre train accident. First Lady Jane Pierce is reticent about joining him at the residence but eventually acquiesces, and sets up a replica of their son’s bedroom down the hall from her own. Shortly after the furniture is placed, Mrs. Pierce invites the Fox Sisters, world renowned for their spiritual séance (though they were later unmasked as frauds), to attempt to contact her son. A portal is opened and soon the White House and its inhabitants are surrounded by unexplainable activity with frightening implications. Pyper weaves traditional and legitimately creepy horror tropes with a larger examination of the complexities of marriage, and to a lesser degree, the direction and morality of the country at the time of its impending split. Recommended for fans of historical fiction with a bite, like that of Alma Katsu. Booklist Review

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Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall

(Available Formats: Print Book & eBook)

Rosaline Palmer needs a change. She didn’t finish medical school, she had a daughter earlier than she planned, and she’s still under the financial thumb of her well-to-do parents. So what do you do as a better-than-average baker in the UK? You try out for Bake Expectations, Britain’s top baking show, which is definitely not based on a certain show on a certain streaming service. Hall (Boyfriend Material) seamlessly combines humor, romance, and drama to create a story that is intimately believable and at once cozy and sexy. Refreshingly, Hall writes the heroine’s identity as a bisexual woman in a way that addresses and conquers stereotypes; Rosaline isn’t picking between a man and a woman, she’s not interested in being the third in a relationship, and she rails against fetishization by potential dates, her daughter’s teacher, and her Bake Expectations castmates. The book combines sweet escapism and poignant cultural touchstones with well-crafted characters and hilariously familiar settings. VERDICT Hall does it again with this culturally relevant, wonderfully escapist foray into the baking world. This is a must-buy for any library.–Ahliah Bratzler, Indianapolis – Starred Library Journal Review

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Twelve Nights at Rotter House by J.W. Ocker

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

Felix Allsey is a travel writer with a keen eye for the paranormal, and he’s carved out a unique, if only slightly lucrative, niche for himself in nonfiction; he writes travelogues of the country’s most haunted places, after haunting them himself. When he convinces the owner of the infamous Rotterdam Mansion to let him stay on the premises for two weeks, he believes he’s finally found the location that will bring him a bestseller. As with his other gigs, he sets rules for himself: no leaving the house for any reason, refrain from outside contact, and sleep during the day. When Thomas Ruth, Felix’s oldest friend and fellow horror film obsessive, joins him on the project, the two dance around a recent and unspeakably painful rough-patch in their friendship, but eventually fall into their old rhythms of dark humor and movie trivia. That’s when things start going wrong: screams from upstairs, figures in the thresholds, and more than what should be in any basement. Felix realizes the book he’s writing, and his very state of mind, is tilting from nonfiction into all out horror, and the shocking climax answers a question that’s been staring these men in the face all along: In Rotter House, who’s haunting who?

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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, a catalog containing eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, Digital Magazines and a handful of streaming videos, 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 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.

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