Tag: Beatles

Suggested Reading Five: June 17, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five suggested reads of the week!

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Ash Dark as Night by Gary Phillips 

The times, they are a-changing in Phillips’s outstanding sequel to One-Shot Harry (2022). It’s August 1965: Vietnam is heating up; the civil rights movement is marching forward. Escalating tensions between the police and Black Americans have boiled over most recently in the Watts Riots. Black photographer Harry Ingram is in Los Angeles to document the unrest and winds up capturing the police shooting of unarmed activist Faraday Zinum. The widely reproduced photo brings Harry newfound fame, as well as the unwelcome attention of LAPD chief William Parker and his intelligence division. Meanwhile, an acquaintance hires Harry to look into the disappearance of her business associate Moses Tolbert, who ran a building company in the Watts neighborhood and vanished during the riots. As Harry investigates, stumbling into citywide conspiracies along the way, he finds that he has a natural aptitude for the work, and ponders the possibility of becoming a private detective full-time. Phillips folds real historical figures, including TV journalist Louis Lomax, and events into a complex narrative of shifting alliances that captures the urgency and volatility of the mid-’60s. The results rank with the best of Walter Mosley in the canon of Los Angeles noir. Agent: David Hale Smith, InkWell Management. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review  

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Inner City Blues by Paula L. Woods 

The award-winning first book in the series featuring black LAPD homicide detective Charlotte Justice. 

Meet Detective Charlotte Justice, a black woman in the very white, very male, and sometimes very racist Los Angeles Police Department. The time is 48 hours into the epochal L.A. riots and she and her fellow officers are exhausted. She saves the curfew-breaking black doctor Lance Mitchell from a potentially lethal beating from some white officers—only to discover nearby the body of one-time radical Cinque Lewis, a thug who years before had murdered her husband and young daughter. Was it a random shooting or was Mitchell responsible? And what had brought Lewis back to a city he’d long since fled? 

Charlotte’s quest for the truth behind Cinque’s death will set her at odds with the LAPD hierarchy, plunge her into the intricacies of everything from L.A.’s gang-banging politics to its black blue-bloods, and lead her into deep emotional waters with Mitchell’s partner (and her old flame), Dr. Aubrey Scott. 

In Charlotte Justice, Paula L. Woods has created a tough, tart, but also vulnerable heroine sure to draw comparisons to such classic figures as Easy Rawlins and Kinsey Milhone, but a true original as well. 

Winner of the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel from Mystery Readers International.  

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The Island Club by Nicola Harris  

On California’s Balboa Island in the 1950s, three different women strive to make the best of their strenuous situations. Milly moved to the island in hopes that she would have more quality time with her husband, who works in the movie business in L.A. Despite her plans for family dinners and beach trips, she is alone most of the time as he barely comes home from work. Sylvia, a pillar in the social community, has started a tennis club with her husband, hoping to boost membership and boost their already fulfilling income. Sylvia’s husband has a habit of playing poker, and with a shattering loss, he puts the family in danger and the club at risk of closure. Adele, once a famous tennis pro who left the profession due to a scandal that ruined her career, slowly begins to coach women at the tennis club but keeps her identity a secret. Harrison (Hotel Laguna, 2023) excels at creating compelling characters. These women struggle with loneliness and sexism, but Harrison focuses on their resilience and strength and the powerful bonds of female friendship.- Booklist Review  

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Mr. Moonlight: Brian Epstein and the Making of the Beatles by Philip Norman 

There will never be another pop manager like Brian Epstein, the young record retailer from Liverpool behind the 20th century’s greatest romance. Having achieved his much-derided aim of making the Beatles “bigger than Elvis,” Brian went on to make them bigger than any earthly instrument could measure. Only a handful of years older, he nonetheless referred them as “The Boys,” protecting and pampering them like the children he could never hope to have. 

Brian’s achievement in a profession in which he had no experience, and for which nor rulebook existed, remains jaw-dropping. A devout classical music fan, he was nonetheless solely responsible for a new genre of pop that was to change its course, and Britain’s international image, forever—yet, disgracefully, earn him no public honor nor even thanks. 

Mr. Moonlight draws on a cache of exclusive interviews with those closest to Brain, including his mother, Queenie, and brother, Clive, to tell the story of this hugely complex, self-contradictory, and ultimately tragic character. This revelatory narrative explores the unplumbed depths of Brian’s many trials and tribulations—how he almost lost the Beatles to organized crime, the antisemitism and homophobia he had to face even at the height of his success, his complex relationship with John Lennon that led to their reckless “Spanish Honeymoon”—and sheds new light on Brian’s mysterious, lonely death in the throes of the so-called Summer of Love. 

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A Year of Marvelous Ways by Sarah Winman 

In this latest from Winman (Still Life), a war-weary young man and a sage older woman come together in a journey of recovery. Francis Drake (not the explorer), a lucky survivor of World War II, finally arrives back in England with a letter entrusted to him by a dying soldier with a plea to deliver it to his father in Cornwall. Making his way there, Drake is sidetracked after catching sight of Missy Hall, his childhood companion and the love of his life. She invites him up to her room, where they spend the night together. But by the next day, she has disappeared again. Now bereft, drunk, and much the worse for wear, Drake washes up on the shores of St. Ophere, a tiny Cornish hamlet where an 89-year-old woman named Marvelous Ways seems to have been waiting for him. With hearty soups and herbal remedies, she nurses him back to health while spinning out tales about her life and lost loves.  

VERDICT Once again, Winman delivers historical fiction that memorably evokes the sweetness and sorrow of times past.–Library Journal Review  

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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

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Information on the four library catalogs

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks 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 on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

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

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.

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Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders!

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV).

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

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

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Have questions about how to access Internet based content (i.e. eBooks, eAudios)? Feel free to drop by the Reference Desk or call the library and we will assist you! The library’s telephone number is: 607-936-3713.

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Tech & Book Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Suggested Listening October 12, 2018

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our musical recommendations for the week; five streaming suggestions* and one recommended album on CD.

(Click on the photo to stream or request the album you’re interested in!)

Freegal Streaming Suggestions*

Jammin’ in Georgia by Harlem Stompers (Genre: Blues/Jazz):

The Harlem Stompers consisted of drummer and band leader William Henry “Chick” Webb, John Trueheart on guitar, Don Kirkpatrick on piano, Bobby Stark on trumpet, Johnny Hodges on saxophone and Ella Fitzgerald as a featured vocalist. The group formed in the late 1920s and played through the 1930s with an expanded line-up. Unfortunately, Webb died young in 1939 at the age of  only 30 but fortunately, the great music he produced lives on.

This collection features just four great songs and gives you a good idea of the style of music that was popular during the Harlem Renaissance years.

The LP contains the songs: Jammin’ in George, My Understanding Man, Serenade to a Jitterbug and The Monkey Swing.

The Psychedelic World Of The 13th Floor Elevators (Genre: Rock, Psychedelic, Garage Band):

The 13th Floor Elevators hailed from Kerrville, Texas; and at its creative peak in the mid-sixties, the band consisted of Stacy Sutherland, John Ike Walton, Benny Therman, Tommy Hall and vocalist Roger Erickson. Erickson became the lead singer and front man for the band.

The Psychedelic World of The 13 Floor Elevators was the band’s first albums and its 1966 release date shows it is clearly one of the first psychedelic rock LPs to be released.

And to this listener’s ears, the music sound a bit psychedelic and bit like a garage band; by any designation though, this album features fun rock n roll!

Songs on the LP include: Your Gonna Miss Me, Roller Coaster, Splash 1, Everybody Needs Somebody and the aptly titled Fire Engine.

Under The Covers, Vol. 1 by Susanna Hoffs & Matthew Sweet (Genre: Rock):

Hoffs and Sweet are both huge fans of sixties pop and rock, which is something you can hear in their solo projects, and of course, in Hoffs’s work with The Bangles.They join up for this album to record cover versions of some great sixties songs – and they succeed in offering an upbeat and fun album that shows their obvious love for the music.

Songs on the LP include: And Your Bird Can Sing, It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue, Who Knows Where the Time Goes, The Warmth of the Sun and Different Drum.

Wish I Was Here by Various Artists (Genre: Soundtrack, Indie, Pop, Rock):

This 2004 soundtrack features a collection of contemplative songs by a mix of artists old and new.

The coming of age theme of the movie sets the tone for the songs on the soundtrack which include: So Now What by The Shins, Wish I Was Here by Cold Play & Cat Power, Mend by The Weepies, The Obvious Child by Paul Simon and Raven’s Song by Aaron Embry.

Recommended CD of the Week:

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) & Magical Mystery Tour (1967) by The Beatles (Genre: Rock):

I’m recommending two albums on CD this week because I came across the neat video for Strawberry Fields Forever on YouTube while doing research for this posting, and, the song was the first one recorded for the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band but didn’t appear on an album until Magical Mystery Tour was released.

And the music of The Beatles is always worth another listen.

And incidentally, our library owns all the Beatles albums on CD – so check them out!

Songs on Sgt. Pepper include: With A Little Help From My Friends, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, Getting Better, Fixing A Hole, Lovely Rita and Good Morning Good Morning.

Songs on Magical Mystery Tour include: Fool On The Hill, Magical Mystery Tour, Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane, I Am The Walrus and All You need is love

Videos of the Week:

Jamin’ In George (1939) by Harlem Stompers

You’re Gonna Miss Me by 13th Floor Elevators

Different Drum by Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet

So Now What? By The Shins

Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles

Have a great weekend!

Linda, SSCL

*A library card is required to use the Freegal Music Service. If you live in the service area of the Southern Tier Library System, which consists of the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Alleghany counties in New York State, you can get a library card for free at your nearest public library – including our own Southeast Steuben County Library in Corning, New York. The Freegal Music Service is free for all Southern Tier Library System member libraries library card holders to access.

References:

Artist Biography & Discography Information:

http://www.allmusic.com/

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn (Billboard Books. New York. 2009.)

Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance By Aberjhani, Sandra L. West

https://books.google.com/books?id=XP48QWTmjyUC&pg=PA355&lpg=PA355&dq=Harlem+Stompers&source=bl&ots=XwrULHUTg0&sig=E9JmlkxB9sNALBbVeJxlcgl5NLQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiah76nge3dAhWRdN8KHX-2C38Q6AEwDXoECAAQAQ#v=onepage&q=Harlem%20Stompers&f=false

P.S. If you have any questions about how to download or stream free music through the Freegal Music service to a desktop or laptop computer or how to download and use the Freegal Music app let us know! Drop by the library or give us a call at: 607-936-3713

*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and includes our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York!

Library cards are free if you live in our service area. And you can obtain a card by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features your name and your current address.

Links to the desktop versions of the catalogs for the library system – apps for each are available in your app store:

Digital Library Catalogs:

Freegal offers streaming and downloadable music

OverDrive allows you to check out eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and handful of streaming videos

RB Digital is the place you go to check out magazines – on demand – and you never have to return them!

The Traditional Library Catalog:

You can search for and request books, DVDs, music CDs, audiobooks on CD and other physical format items through StarCat – it is the modern day card catalog!

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our suggested daily recommended titles in print and digital formats.

Our Digital Catalog suggested title for today is the e-book:

elephant-company

Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II by Vicki Croke:

The remarkable story of James Howard “Billy” Williams, whose uncanny rapport with the world’s largest land animals transformed him from a carefree young man into the charismatic war hero known as Elephant Bill.

Billy Williams came to colonial Burma in 1920, fresh from service in World War I, to a job as a “forest man” for a British teak company. Mesmerized by the intelligence, character, and even humor of the great animals who hauled logs through the remote jungles, he became a gifted “elephant wallah.” Increasingly skilled at treating their illnesses and injuries, he also championed more humane treatment for them, even establishing an elephant “school” and “hospital.” In return, he said, the elephants made him a better man. The friendship of one magnificent tusker in particular, Bandoola, would be revelatory. In Elephant Company, Vicki Constantine Croke chronicles Williams’s growing love for elephants as the animals provide him lessons in courage, trust, and gratitude.

But Elephant Company is also a tale of war and daring. When Imperial Japanese forces invaded Burma in 1942, Williams joined the elite Force 136, the British dirty tricks department, operating behind enemy lines. His war elephants would carry supplies, build bridges, and transport the sick and elderly over treacherous mountain terrain. Now well versed in the ways of the jungle, an older, wiser Williams even added to his stable by smuggling more elephants out of Japanese-held territory. As the occupying authorities put a price on his head, Williams and his elephants faced his most perilous test. In a Hollywood-worthy climax, Elephant Company, cornered by the enemy, attempted a desperate escape: a risky trek over the mountainous border to India, with a bedraggled group of refugees in tow. Elephant Bill’s exploits would earn him top military honors and the praise of famed Field Marshal Sir William Slim.

Part biography, part war epic, and part wildlife adventure, Elephant Company is an inspirational narrative that illuminates a little-known chapter in the annals of wartime heroism.

And here’s a link to the request page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/1536579

And here is an additional link to a neat National Geographic interview with the author of Elephant Company Vickie Constantine Croke which sheds light on why she was inspired to write the book:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140928-burma-elephant-teak-kipling-japan-world-war-ngbooktalk/

And our Print Book Suggested Read for today is actually two volumes in the same fun Chuck Gunderson set that focus on the performing career of The Beatles titled Some Fun Tonight!: The Backstage Story of How the Beatles Rocked America: The Historic Tours of 1964-1966:

some-fun-tonight-1some-fun-tonight-2

Have Some Fun Tonight! Volumes 1 & 2

Here’s a summary of the two volume set:

The Beatles’ North American tours turned the entertainment business on its ear and forever changed the landscape of the concert touring industry. In February 1964, after finally achieving a number-one hit in America, the Fab Four came to the country with high hopes, performing on the wildly popular Ed Sullivan Show in both New York City and Miami and playing concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Washington Coliseum.

In just fifteen short days, the Beatles conquered America. The Beatles made music-entertainment history with their North American tours from 1964 to 1966. Some Fun Tonight! The Backstage Story of How the Beatles Rocked America: The Historic Tours of 1964-1966 is a comprehensive two-volume set which gives you a city-by-city synopsis of the group’s activities as they traveled the United States and Canada for their groundbreaking series of concerts. From San Francisco’s Cow Palace show on August 19, 1964, through their last-ever live performances at that city’s famed Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966, these books cover the music and the madness that characterized the Beatles’ three North American tours.

With hundreds of photographs and images of rare memorabilia, it is truly the definitive reference for what is arguably the most important period in the Beatles’ long and winding career. You’ll read about the behind-the-scenes negotiations, the mayhem at the airports and hotels, and the cheeky quotes delivered at the press conferences. You’ll also read about the opening acts, the concerts, and the stories behind the shows through the eyes of the Beatles, their entourage, the promoters, the emcees, and the fans.

Never before have the Beatles’ North American concerts been covered in such depth. If you witnessed the mania firsthand, you’ll relive the excitement in the pages of these books. If you were born too late to be a part of those halcyon days, you’ll learn what it was like to be swept up and carried away by the phenomenon of the greatest musical act of all time. When all is said and done, Some Fun Tonight is a tribute to the fans the first generation and beyond. Look carefully at the faces of the fans in this book; they may be your friends, parents, grandparents or even you! but together, they made Beatlemania happen. Fasten your seat belt and enjoy this comprehensive history!

Here’s a link to the request page in StarCat for volume 1:
https://goo.gl/PjDCWO

And a link to the request page in StarCat for volume 2:
https://goo.gl/03oa13

And you can also request the books by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat: The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. http://starcat.stls.org/

The Digital Catalog: The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos: https://stls.overdrive.com/

Freegal Music Service: This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day: http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

Zinio: Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available: https://www.rbdigital.com/stlschemungcony

About Library Mobile Apps:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or Zinio app from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at: 607-936-3713 and one of our Digital Literacy Specialists will be happy to assist you.