Tag: books.

Suggested Reading Five: October 7, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, at the Southeast Steuben County Library we order books on a 10-month calendar, from January through October; and in October we pre-order upcoming releases by popular authors who have new books coming out during October, November & December and we do not place another book order until January.

With that in mind, the pre-ordered titles we’ll be receiving for you to check out this fall, are listed in the post New Books Coming Your Way for October 2026 – you can find that list on the blog.

And our Suggested Reading Five titles for the months of October, November & December will be themed collections; for October we’ve got books that complement the autumn season with falling leaves, personal reflections, colder weather, wool sweaters etc., and featuring stories that incorporate family sagas into the mix.  

Enjoy! 

Linda Reimer, SSCL  

P.S. I’ll let you know what the themes are for our Suggested Reading Five posts, for November & December, just as soon as I figure that out! 

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The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver  

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

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The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni 

Sam Hill always saw the world through different eyes. Born with red pupils, he was called “Devil Boy” or Sam “Hell” by his classmates; “God’s will” is what his mother called his ocular albinism. Her words were of little comfort, but Sam persevered, buoyed by his mother’s devout faith, his father’s practical wisdom, and his two other misfit friends. 

Sam believed it was God who sent Ernie Cantwell, the only African American kid in his class, to be the friend he so desperately needed. And that it was God’s idea for Mickie Kennedy to storm into Our Lady of Mercy like a tornado, uprooting every rule Sam had been taught about boys and girls. 

Forty years later, Sam, a small-town eye doctor, is no longer certain anything was by design―especially not the tragedy that caused him to turn his back on his friends, his hometown, and the life he’d always known. Running from the pain, eyes closed, served little purpose. Now, as he looks back on his life, Sam embarks on a journey that will take him halfway around the world. This time, his eyes are wide open―bringing into clear view what changed him, defined him, and made him so afraid, until he can finally see what truly matters. 

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The Help by Kathryn Stockett  

Set in Stockett’s native Jackson, MS, in the early 1960s, this first novel adopts the complicated theme of blacks and whites living in a segregated South. A century after the Emancipation Proclamation, black maids raised white children and ran households but were paid poorly, often had to use separate toilets from the family, and watched the children they cared for commit bigotry. In Stockett’s narrative, Miss Skeeter, a young white woman, is a naive, aspiring writer who wants to create a series of interviews with local black maids. Even if they’re published anonymously, the risk is great; still, Aibileen and Minny agree to participate. Tension pervades the novel as its events are told by these three memorable women. Is this an easy book to read? No, but it is surely worth reading. It may even stir things up as readers in Jackson and beyond question their own discrimination and intolerance in the past and present. – Starred Library Journal Review 

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Plainsong by Kent Haruf 

It’s a good thing young Ike and Bobby Guthrie are close, because they’re in for a spell of loss and radical change. Victoria Roubideaux, 17, is too, but she has no sibling to stand beside her during bouts of morning sickness, or when her mother throws her out of the house. Haruf, author of “The Tie That Binds” (1984), alternates between the Guthrie boys’ adventures and Vicky’s quest to find a safe place for herself and her baby, but the two story lines soon entwine because all lives converge in the small Colorado town of Holt, which he so adroitly portrays. The Guthrie boys are often on their own after their mother leaves, while their nearly overwhelmed father, Tom, a high-school teacher, is distracted by the threats of a violent student. Vicky goes to Maggie Jones, a colleague of Tom’s, for help. Unable to provide her with the sanctuary she needs, Maggie delivers Vicky to the elderly McPheron brothers, farmers as tightly connected as Tom’s sons. Vicky revolutionizes their staid lives, and they provide her with her first true home, and the resulting familial love seems to set the entire countryside aglow. Haruf’s narrative voice is spare and procedural, and his salt-of-the-earth characters are reticent almost to the point of mannerism until it becomes clear that their terseness is the result of profound shyness and an immensity of feeling. Haruf’s unforgettable tale is both emotionally complex and elemental, following, as it so gracefully does, the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. – Booklist Review  

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The Shipping News by Annie Proulx 

Proulx has followed Postcards , her story of a family and their farm, with an extraordinary second novel of another family and the sea. The fulcrum is Quoyle, a patient, self-deprecating, oversized hack writer who, following the deaths of nasty parents and a succubus of a wife, moves with his two daughters and straight-thinking aunt back to the ancestral manse in Killick-Claw, a Newfoundland harbor town of no great distinction. There, Quoyle finds a job writing about car crashes and the shipping news for The Gammy Bird , a local paper kept afloat largely by reports of sexual abuse cases and comical typographical errors. Killick-Claw may not be perfect, but it is a stable enough community for Quoyle and Co. to recover from the terrors of their past lives. But the novel is much more than Quoyle’s story: it is a moving evocation of a place and people buffeted by nature and change. Proulx routinely does without nouns and conjunctions–“Quoyle, grinning. Expected to hear they were having a kid. Already picked himself for godfather”–but her terse prose seems perfectly at home on the rocky Newfoundland coast. She is in her element both when creating haunting images (such as Quoyle’s inbred, mad and mean forbears pulling their house across the ice after being ostracized by more God-fearing folk) and when lyrically rendering a routine of gray, cold days filled with cold cheeks, squidburgers, fried bologna and the sea. –  Publishers Weekly 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.

Belated Suggested Reading Ten: September 16 & 23, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, I realized today, I forgot to publish the Suggested Reading posts for September 16 & 23 – so here they are!

And I’ll make sure the next batch of Suggested Reading five posts are published on the right dates.

So, basically, we have a suggested reading 10 post this time!

Have a great weekend!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel 

Mandel revisits a character from her second novel, The Singer’s Gun (2010), in this sophisticated, layered look at societal breakdown. Readers are reintroduced to Ari Waker, who has served an 18-year prison sentence after being convicted of taking out a hit on her cousin. Ari reemerges in 2031 in what is no longer the United States: the country has fallen and splintered into separate and often unstable nation states. Ari first makes her home in Los Angeles, part of the Republic of California, where she attends a strange party with her roommate, during which the doppelgangers of two-party guests appear and the host vanishes. The repercussions of this reverberate over the next several decades and throughout two timelines. As in her previous title, Sea of Tranquility (2022), Mandel jumps through time and multiple perspectives to create a thoroughly unique narrative that requires deep involvement and attention to detail. “”If you live long enough, you become a migrant from another timeline,”” one of her characters observes in a statement that is both literal and thematic in this multifaceted, sprawling exploration of two very different futures for a country that stands on the brink of massive change. As ever in her own wholly original and singular way, Mandel offers up a completely compelling, richly rendered yarn that’s sure to generate both major interest and discussion.–Starred Booklist Reivew

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Hollow Bones by Jodi Picoult 

Picoult revisits a character from one of her beloved previous books in this latest entry, which follows Molly, who lost her mother on 9/11. She was just a baby but her mother’s death shaped her life, motivating her to pursue a career in disaster relief. In the present day, Molly is head of the Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response in Rhode Island. She’s fallen hard for and wed Jesse Fitzgerald, a polygraph expert Picoult fans will recognize as the troubled teen arsonist from My Sister’s Keeper (2004), who is almost a decade and a half older than her. When Molly discovers she’s pregnant, she struggles with the implications of bringing a child into her life given her career, but then she’s thrown a major curveball that leads her to question everything she thought she knew about herself and her family. Picoult never shies away from difficult subject matter, and here she shines a light on postpartum psychosis and the devastating fallout both the condition and its under-diagnosis can cause. A few late-in-the-game melodramatic developments don’t undercut what is ultimately a powerful and deeply affecting exploration of grief, loss, guilt, and enduring love. — Starred Booklist Review

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A Murderous Business by Cathy Pegau 

A sharp, captivating historical mystery about two queer women in turn-of-the-century New York, for fans of Lavender House and A Most Agreeable Murder 

There can be a blurry line between what is ethical and what is legal. 

Margot Baxter Harriman took the reins of B&H Foods after her father passed. It’s not easy being a business woman in 1912, but she is determined to continue what her grandparents started decades ago, no matter what it takes. 

So when Margot finds Mrs. Gilroy, her father’s former assistant, dead in the office with a half-finished note confessing to nebulous misdeeds at B&H, she seeks out help from a very discreet, private investigator to figure out what’s going on. Her company, and her good name, are at stake if scandal breaks…and she could lose everything, including her freedom. 

Loretta “Rett” Mancini has run her father’s investigation operation since he started becoming increasingly forgetful. When Margot offers her the chance to look into the potential scandal with B&H, she jumps at it. 

But the more the two dig in, the more it becomes clear that Margot’s company may be too far lost…and someone is willing to kill them both to keep things quiet. 

Charming and witty, Cathy Pegau’s A Murderous Business is perfect for fans of Lev Ac Rosen, Enola Holmes by Nancy Springer, and the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mysteries by Claudia Gray.

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Never Say Die: A Memoir by Ke Huy Quan 

Memories of a child star turned Oscar winner. With wit, charm, and gratitude, Quan traces his history from the time he was a child in Vietnam in the 1970s through winning an Oscar and other major awards for the role of Waymond Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). As ethnic Chinese, Quan and his parents and eight siblings were persecuted in Vietnam after the war before making their way to a refugee camp in Hong Kong and then on to Los Angeles. He describes with care and attention a harrowing experience that involved much uncertainty and a year-long separation from his mother and three of his siblings. In 1982, he says, his life split again into “before and after,” when, on a whim, he auditioned for a movie role and was cast as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), followed by the role of Data in The Goonies (1985). He relates with enthusiasm and affection stories of being mentored by Steven Spielberg, taught to swim by Harrison Ford, and hanging out with other cast members in a motel. After The Goonies, film roles dried up for Quan, but he doesn’t neglect the story of what he calls “the lost years”: He went to film school at the University of Southern California, served as a stunt man and assistant director in several films, and met the woman, Echo, who would become his wife. He brings to life the challenges and rewards of filming Everything Everywhere, for which he had to create “three versions of the same man, each with his own physical language and way of moving through the world.” A touching account of a life with more than its share of ups and downs.– Kirkus Review 

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When America Roared How the 1980s Saved, Then Broke, the Country—and Led Us to Today by Jonathan Kaufman 

The panoramic story of the 1980s, exploring the triumphs and failures of the decade that shaped the 21st century more than any other, from a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter who witnessed the transformations firsthand 

In January 1980, America seemed broken. Inflation raged. Interest rates topped 20 percent. Americans were held hostage in Iran. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan with impunity. Japan was eating American manufacturing alive. Three networks controlled what Americans watched. China had been closed for 30 years. 

Ten years later, everything had changed. The economy was booming. The Soviet Empire was collapsing. American businesses were competitive again. 

In this immersive, character-driven narrative, Jonathan Kaufman lays bare the contending ideologies—and people—who battled for control of business, media and politics in the 1980s, shaping the way we live today. As Ronald Reagan and conservatives pummeled the Democratic party, as Jack Welch redefined leadership at Fortune 500 companies, and as deregulation spearheaded by Mark Fowler allowed television to become the hundreds of specialized and partisan channels we watch now, the groundwork was laid for our current economic and political conflicts. The decade also launched transformative social and political movements. Karen Nussbaum and Jane Fonda galvanized a struggling women’s movement, Evan Wolfson spearheaded the gay community’s legal fight against a hostile government, and Barack Obama cut his teeth as a community organizer in Chicago—all building long-lasting movements whose success progressives can learn from today. 

From pivotal moments in board rooms and court rooms, to cultural touchstones like the birth of hip hop and of conservative talk radio, as well as the author’s eyewitness experiences in Tiananmen Square and Prague, When America Roared is the riveting story of how the 1980s built the world we live in, for better and for worse. It is the decade that made us—and the key to understanding where we go from here. 

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Buzzard by Inez Ray  

DEBUT Midwife Mae is one of the last abortion providers in a fractured former United States. After being arrested, she’s put to work as a nurse in Buzzard, a training camp for teen drone operators. When a pregnant teen begs for help, Mae has to decide whether to keep her head down or stand up for her beliefs. Years later, a government representative hoping to expose Buzzard’s corporate sponsor tracks Mae down to ask for her story, forcing her to revisit the secrets she discovered during her time there. This is a modern cousin of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, reflecting contemporary anxieties with its high-tech, climate-impacted future. The abortion doula perspective adds a new and welcome twist to speculative fiction exploring reproductive rights, as Mae–like everyone–has to choose between her principles and keeping herself and her family safe. Ray’s other point-of-view characters (the government representative Sona and one of Mae’s sons left to fend for himself after her arrest) are less fleshed out, primarily serving to support Mae’s story. VERDICT Ray’s debut, a timely post-Dobbs dystopia, is likely to attract attention and get readers talking.–Library Journal Review  

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Fury In Death by J. D. Robb 

Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her seasoned colleagues at the NYSPD, along with her dashing husband, businessman and police consultant Roarke, are in a race against time to solve a string of brutal murders. The mystery revolves around who is targeting top employees of the bioengineering firm Banner-Wyst and why. The sheer savagery of the victims’ beatings makes it difficult to believe only a single assailant was involved, especially given the staff’s high-security measures. However, the violent deaths appear isolated to the victims, with their family and friends safe from harm. Dallas’s instincts lead her to conclude that these are deeply personal attacks, driven by profound trauma and rage rather than a motive of financial gain. Following a trail of suspicious offshore accounts, Dallas works to unravel a 13-year-old mystery. What she and her team discover is a level of corruption, greed, and evil almost too shocking to believe.  

VERDICT Readers will be on the edge of their seats with this latest intricately crafted thriller in Robb’s bestselling series (following Stolen in Death). 

Reader’s Note: This is the sixty third book in the In Death Series. If you’d like to binge read from the beginning, check out book one: Naked In Death.  

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Liberation Summer: The Moment That Changed the Women’s Movement and the Future of American Politics by Micki McElya 

Women on parade. Feminist historian McElya uses the 1968 Miss America pageant as an anchor for a wide-ranging, comprehensive cultural history of the anti-war, civil rights, and women’s liberation movements that converged to protest the event. Drawing on a wealth of sources–including memoirs, published interviews, biographies, and histories–McElya recounts the origins and activities of the many contingencies that roiled American society: the National Organization for Women, National Women’s Party, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, Jeannette Rankin Brigade, NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Students for a Democratic Society, Yippies, Miss Black America Pageant Organization, and several factions of the women’s liberation movement. Hardly cohesive and often fractious, the movement comprised three main blocs that competed to set goals: “One faction thought the women should meet primarily as a reading and study group to better understand the sources of their oppression and build the theoretical foundations for liberation; another faction urged focusing mostly on direct-action protests; and the third faction…argued that the foundations for liberation would be found only through consciousness raising (CR), which should be the core of the group’s work.” They were united, however, over their view of the cultural significance of the pageant, which they believed demeaned and trivialized women. McElya traces the history of the pageant, from its beginnings in post-World War I America, when it mirrored the “anti-radicalism” and “anti-immigrant politics” of mainstream America; Bess Myerson, the first Jewish winner, in 1945, confronted unabashed antisemitism. The Miss Black America Pageant, protesting the event’s long history of racism, augmented the scope of women’s anger. McElya’s narrative is well-populated with activists (liberal and conservative), politicians (and their wives), reporters, and pageant contestants, among a huge cast. Prodigious research informs a lively contribution to women’s history.–Starred Kirkus Review  

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Story Telling: A Writing Life by Isabel Allende 

In this charming and welcome celebration of the magic and power of literature, Allende (My Name Is Emilia del Valle, 2025) reflects on her experiences, from joys to tragedies, dreams, and inspiring mentors. Beginning with her early days as a journalist in Chile through her exile in Venezuela, life in California, and travels around the world, writing has been Allende’s constant companion. She now shares her knowledge and insights, covering all the basics and beyond, with openness and a disarming vulnerability. In 10 chapters, each with fitting quotes from the likes of Margaret Atwood and Pablo Picasso, she muses on the topic at hand–story, plot, characters, sex and violence, even the why of writing–followed by suggestions, concrete advice, and strategies for moving forward with a writing practice. Allende also recounts her triumphs, mistakes, and lessons learned from challenges and triumphs over the years, creating an invaluable master class for anyone beginning a literary journey and a pleasing and illuminating read for anyone interested in this author’s process and life story. Allende’s uplifting examples, encouraging suggestions, and passion for writing, reading, and literature make this a gem not to be missed.–Starred Booklist Review  

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Three Graces of Pearl Street by Elizabeth Wellington Rollins  

DEBUT This auspicious debut by Rollins introduces the three memorable Valentini women. The matriarch of the Italian American family, 96-year-old Graziella, runs her family and her church’s food pantry in Mamaroneck, NY; her daughter Grace is a psychology professor who is navigating divorce proceedings and a midlife crisis; and her granddaughter Ella is searching for her place and purpose in the world. After years apart, the women move in together. Graziella’s kitchen is her command center, where she dispenses wisdom and feeds family, friends, and neighbors. The new living situation causes family secrets, old rivalries and grudges, and hidden heartbreaks to bubble up, flavoring the story with humor and heart. There are alternating chapters narrated by each of the three Valentini women, allowing their individual stories to unfold and connect as each protagonist finds herself speaking truth to power. Rollins seasons the narrative with celebrations, conflicts, and the confidence gained as each character finds her authentic self. VERDICT With as many layers as Graziella’s lasagna, this is a story that will satisfy readers for a long time.–Library Journal Review  

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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 Reading Five: July 22, 2026

Linda Reimer

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

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Data Empire The Power of Information to Organize, Control, and Dominate by Roopika Risam 

During 11,000 years of global history, recordkeeping has taken countless forms–tally sticks, clay tablets, knotted cords, scrolls, codices, ledgers, formularies, databases, and digital content–but people have always collected and classified information in pursuit of power. According to Risam (digital humanities, Dartmouth Coll.; New Digital Worlds), collecting and making sense of data drives commerce, conquest, and social control. Powerful elites decide how to interpret data and create narratives. Empires gather intelligence, draw maps, deed land, tax trade, and conduct censuses. Traditions and customs may endure, but information is authoritative only when recognized by authorities. Over the past century, data has become an empire in its own right, shaping institutions and worldviews, powering surveillance capitalism and the rise of artificial intelligence, and reducing all ideas and actions to raw data and predictive modeling. The author’s arguments will resonate with readers of Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff, and The Power of Knowledge by Jeremy Black. Readers are left with the impression that information and its uses produce exploitation, failing to enrich or empower lives. It is high time to reclaim data for good.  

VERDICT A sweeping and convincing argument that information undergirds power. –Library Journal Review 

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Dooneen by Keith Ridgway  

A surreal, magical realist joy of a novel, highly acclaimed Ridgway’s (A Shock, 2021) latest is a remarkable work sure to feature on best-of-the-year lists. The opening sees Bartholomew Port–Mew–mysteriously transport from a London park to a near-future Dublin with no cars, shifting roads, and a still-worsening housing crisis. As Mew drifts around a recognizable but off-kilter Dublin seeing acquaintances and family, he describes all to his lover Mootie, whom he longs to rejoin in London. Mew stumbles into being part of a reckoning of sorts, led by those seeking a collective solution to the housing crisis, and here the novel truly takes off with a staccato, breathless pace that sweeps the reader up and refuses to let go. Like the intoxicating, dreamlike prose of Evan Dara and Kazuo Ishiguro, this suspenseful tale explores community, identity, housing, and the remorseless power of the state. The vividly described backdrop of monuments of Irish revolutionary history contrasts with the contemporary feeling of powerlessness many people feel. A love letter, a puzzle, a haunting–Doneen unsettles and entrances like Susanna Clarke’s dreamlike Piranesi (2020) but also packs a political punch. A stunning achievement, Ridgway’s novel is urgent, profound, and shimmeringly beautiful. — Starred Booklist Review 

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The Forty-Year Grudge by Liza Tully 

The guests at an exclusive sorority reunion include murder. Aubrey Merritt, “the nationally renowned private investigator,” never intended to leave Gramercy Park for the wilds of New Mexico even though she was an invited member of Sarah Lawrence College’s Sigma Delta Tau chapter. She changes her mind when her old friend John Fitzroy tells her of a note announcing that “she who lives by the sword shall die” that his wife, retired Brigadier General Joan Battersea, received shortly before her guests were scheduled to arrive at the Muddy River Ranch. Merritt decides to make the trip in the company of her assistant and amanuensis, Olivia Blunt. Sure enough, someone’s shot to death during the festivities, but it’s not the general. Instead, the victim is MIT biochemist Eve Exeter, who together with her husband, entrepreneur Conrad Zander, had been about to launch Lifespan, Inc., as a public corporation dedicated to using Eve’s research to extend the lives of its clients. As the newly married Blunt mingles with the guests, all of them old enough to be her mother, she learns one of them has held a grudge against Eve since they were in school together. In case you’ve forgotten that original threat against the general, someone hides no fewer than five scorpions in her bed. Of all the possible antagonists, the one Blunt takes most seriously is Merritt, who challenges her to solve the mystery herself if she wants to keep her job. Considering Merritt’s national reputation, which actually ends up being an important plot point, the mystery is, as she acknowledges, not very challenging at all. Looking for a reason to avoid your college reunion? Tully is happy to oblige. –Kirkus Review  

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It Will Come Back to You: Collected Stories by Sigrid Nunez 

The dazzling first collection by novelist Nunez (The Friend, 2018) includes 13 stories published over the past few decades. They range from the nightmarishly surreal “Airport Story,” in which an unnamed woman spirals downward after being diverted to an airport she doesn’t know, to the noir-tinged “The Plan,” in which an increasingly unstable narrator contemplates murder, to the wild, coming-of-age tale “Imagination,” in which a high-strung 14-year-old sees one guest at a party at her parents’ country home “turn into a small dog, no, a large dog” as he enters the bathroom, and the deceptively casual title story, which asks, “Aren’t we all unreliable narrators of our own lives?” Nunez has a gift for surprise, whether it’s in the turn a sentence or a story takes, the little revelations that detonate as a seemingly matter-of-fact story unwinds or the variety of protagonists and settings in her stories. She also knows how to calibrate despair and surprising joy, leaving the reader giddily off-balance. Each of these stories, even the most ostensibly wispy, reverberates long after it ends. – Starred Booklist Review  

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Shadow Step: A Detective Miller Novel by Mark Billingham 

The Cookie Monster with a badge personified, or as the Brits might say, a biscuit fiend with a warrant card: Billingham’s peripatetic DS Declan Miller takes his third turn, following The Wrong Hands (2024), tearing around Blackpool on his trusty blue moped. His dead wife, Alex, continues to manifest herself as needed. This is one rambling and wildly funny tale that is set in motion by Ruby, a wobbling, incontinent sausage of a dog who is the companion of the unfortunate Barry Cheshire. The pair are involved in a contretemps with a mean dog owner in the park, and when that man is found dead, Cheshire is the likely suspect. It turns out the victim was involved in a major drug network with ties to Alex’s death. The story branches out from there, with intermittent fox-trotting for Miller, who proudly displays his tango trophy on his mantelpiece. Not spiraling out of control, by any means, this is as carefully plotted as expected from Billingham. There is the promise of redemption for some, although for “Google” McDougall, maybe not so much. – Booklist Review 

Reader’s Note: If you’d like to start reading the Detective Miller Mystery Series from the beginning, check out book one: The Last Dance.  

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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.

–

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.

–

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).

–

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.

–

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.

–

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

Suggested Reading Five: April 23, 2026

Linda Reimer

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

–

The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire by India Holton

Professors Amelia Tarrant and Caleb Sterling are best friends working in the field of magical antiquities and mired in the gender politics of Oxford University–which means no one can ever know they are best friends and that no one takes the brilliant Amelia seriously. The two bicker, create chaos, and pretend to hate each other in public, while secretly leaning on each other to navigate the world. When a staged argument gets out of hand, their faculty head banishes them to the country and tasks them with investigating a collection of possibly magical objects at a country manor house. In the company of an ever-growing collection of irritating–and perhaps villainous–people, Amelia and Caleb navigate mayhem, undertake intellectual inquiry, and finally admit that the sparks they generate when they pretend to hate each other are actually the embers of a delightful romantic life. VERDICT The follow-up to The Geographer’s Map to Romance is the best of the “Love’s Academic” trilogy, rich with magical and academic details, a zany plot that moves the story forward, and a tender, engaging romance. It sees all the series’ couples united and offers a lovely note of acceptance and appreciation.-Library Journal Review 

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The Mother-Daughter Book Club: A Novel by Susan Patterson & James Patterson 

Elin, Mariella, and Grace met in college, and Jamie later joined their tight-knit friend group that now includes the four women’s five now-adult daughters. Three years after their last Mother-Daughter Book Club, which ended in disaster, the crew is meeting at Mariella’s house on Lake Como for a weekend planned to the hilt that will include wine, yoga, boat rides, and a little bit of talking about books. As pastor Grace (still a virgin at 60) finds romance, Elin’s daugther, neurologist Brigid, is conspiring with Jamie to hide a secret. This is written by James Patterson with his wife, Susan, with whom he collaborated on Things I Wish I Told My Mother (2023), so despite its relationship-fiction trappings, there’s lots of plot that keeps the pages turning, especially the big reveal at the end. Chapters alternate among the nine women–helpfully labeled with the name of the narrator–giving a full picture of a weekend away, bolstered by delicious descriptions of meals and scenery. Fans of Elin Hilderbrand’s The Five-Star Weekend (2023) will enjoy this girls’ trip to Italy. 

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Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History by Susan Page 

The Crown meets The West Wing in this illuminating history that chronicles the largely unknown story of Queen Elizabeth II’s relationship with thirteen American presidents, from Harry S. Truman to Donald J. Trump. With that, she changed the world. 

No American or foreign leader has met with as many sitting presidents as Queen Elizabeth II. Her Royal Majesty’s seventy-year reign witnessed the highs and lows of the close and crucial alliance between the U.S. and the U.K., from the Suez crisis to Brexit. 

Following the advice of her mentor, Winston Churchill, to “stay close to the Americans,” Queen Elizabeth played an unexpected role behind the scenes that has never been thoroughly explored. In The Queen and Her Presidents, veteran political reporter Susan Page goes beyond the image of a staid monarch in colorful hats to reveal a skilled strategist, who, like many powerful women, was routinely underestimated and discounted. 

Page also shows the impact American presidents had on the monarch as she developed from a shy, anxious princess to a powerful and persuasive global leader, and analyzes both the reach and the limits of the “soft power” she wielded. These accounts of the Queen’s deft diplomacy provide candid and telling assessments of her partners in the Oval Office as well. 

Page shares fascinating true stories and details, including: 

Going beyond rumors and speculation, the reality of the relationship between Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth – and Trump’s own surprising comments about the monarch whose approval he coveted. 

The unexpected and genuine connection between the Queen and Barack Obama, and her surprising admission to him, and how each ranked the other as among the most impressive leaders of their lifetimes. 

Her influential friendship with Ronald Reagan during the Cold War, a bond built on their shared love of horses—and their conflict with Britain’s then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. 

How Richard Nixon sought the Queen’s help during Watergate—and even wanted to make her a relative. 

Elizabeth’s hand-in-glove cooperation with John F. Kennedy and the distance from his successor, Lyndon Johnson, the only president who declined to meet with her in office. 

The almost paternal role played by Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, offering support and advice as the young monarch assumed the crown in the wake of her beloved father’s death. 

Eye-opening and compelling, featuring an 8-page color photo insert, The Queen and Her Presidents is a remarkable chronicle of a legendary contemporary monarch and the American presidents who helped shape who helped shape her—and were shaped by her. 

– 

When It’s Your Turn For Midnight by Blessing Musariri 

When fifteen-year-old Chianti learns that her dad isn’t her biological father, her family splinters. Chianti goes to stay with her maternal grandmother, Ambuya, an eccentric and formidable ex-freedom fighter in Zimbabwe’s civil war. Ambuya’s closest neighbors are the gogos: her three best-friends-turned-business-partners, who take Chianti under their wings. They make a living by upcycling choice items of secondhand clothing—when their supply chain’s not being disrupted by thieves. In between helping with the gogos’ business, Chianti becomes fascinated by a box of her grandmother’s old photos. As she wrestles with the ghosts of their past as well her own, she realizes that time is slippery, that family isn’t defined by blood, and that it’s never too late for a transformation. 

– 

Where the Music Had to Go: How Bob Dylan and the Beatles Changed Each Other—and the World by Jim Windolf 

Windolf, an editor at the New York Times, traces “the long and eventful relationship” between Bob Dylan and the Beatles, weaving a riveting narrative from anecdotes “scattered piecemeal across biographies, out-of-print memoirs, and long-buried articles,” as well as recent interviews, most notably with Paul McCartney. Windolph reveals striking parallels in the artists’ origins, from their upbringing in the declining industrial towns of Hibbing, Minnesota, and Liverpool to their transformative encounters with the music of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and, especially, Little Richard. At the heart of this comparative biography is a dynamic exchange of influence: Dylan and the Beatles met, partied, shared songs, and challenged one another in ways both generous and competitive. When they first met in New York in 1964, the Beatles, already global stars, were passing around Dylan’s records obsessively; within months, their songwriting began to shift in response. As Dylan pushed beyond the constraints of folk toward electrified experimentation, the Beatles turned inward, embracing acoustic textures and greater lyrical ambition. Lively, incisive, and deeply researched, Windolf’s account captures the specific, consequential moments in a creative dialogue; one that didn’t just shape two towering acts but irrevocably expanded what popular music could say, sound like, and mean.- Starred Booklist Review  

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

Weekly Suggested Reading Five postings are usually published on Wednesdays, unless Monday is a holiday and then they are published later in the week.

–

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

–

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.

–

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.

–

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).

–

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.

–

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.

–

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

Suggested Reading Five: April 8, 2026

Linda Reimer

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

–

The Bridge Back To You by Riss M. Neilson

Neilson (A Love Like the Sun) crafts a heartfelt second-chance romance, bringing together Carmello Rodriguez and Olivia Jones through an unexpected inheritance. When Carmello’s late mother Celia leaves him 75 percent of her Filipino restaurant–with 25 percent going to his ex-girlfriend Olivia–the two professional chefs spend hours in Celia’s kitchen cooking together, rekindling favorite memories, and addressing their past relationship through their dual perspectives. Neilson excels at weaving cultural identity into the narrative. Carmello, of Filipino and Dominican descent, introduces his heritage through his passion of food, while Olivia explores her own multiracial identity and unique upbringing. Additionally, Neilson’s discussion of disabilities, such as chronic illnesses, includes a thoughtful portrayal of how they affect daily life. The couple’s honest communication feels genuine and is enhanced by posthumous emails from Celia that illuminate Carmello’s protectiveness as a father, Olivia’s nomadic lifestyle, and how their intertwined past shaped who they’ve become. VERDICT A slow-burn, small-town romance that beautifully demonstrates how food, family, and culture can bridge the past and present. Perfect for readers seeking emotional depth with a culinary heart.–Starred Library Journal Review

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The Delivery by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Merc Carter is not your typical deliveryman. A former postal inspector, he specializes in moving sensitive or dangerous packages—of all sorts—from point A to B. And sometimes he needs his gun to do so. Carter’s current mission leads him to Providence, Rhode Island, but his delivery is interrupted when he comes across a woman badly injured in a car wreck in the pouring rain. Then a man with a gun appears warning Carter away from the scene and Carter leaps into action, disarming the attacker and rescuing the crash victim.

Just as Carter thinks the danger has passed, he discovers a deeper mystery stemming from the crash, a deadly puzzle involving a memorable pair of grifters, a crooked ex-cop, stolen identities, human trafficking, and murder. And it appears that Carter’s next assignment will put him right in this conspiracy’s perilous center . . .

The follow-up to last year’s acclaimed hit, The Mailman, which launched the Mercury Carter series, The Delivery is a fast-paced, unpredictable thriller following a memorable protagonist whose resourcefulness is matched only by his quick wit and determination to never miss a delivery. – from the publisher

Reader’s Note: The Delivery is the second book in the Mercury Carter series. If you’d like to start reading the series from the beginning, check out book one: The Mailman.

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Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power by Abby Phillip

CNN anchor Phillip debuts with a fresh and illuminating account of Jesse Jackson’s 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns. Starting from Jackson’s childhood in segregated Greenville, S.C., Phillip traces his development into a prominent civil rights leader. Jackson became Martin Luther King Jr.’s “man in the North,” helming boycott campaigns that pressured companies into hiring more Black workers. He also took a growing interest in harnessing Black electoral power, spearheading efforts to register Black voters and aiding in the 1983 election of Chicago’s first Black mayor, Harold Washington, a victory that inspired Jackson to pursue his own presidential run. Phillip surveys the two Jackson campaigns’ notable achievements, including embarrassing President Reagan by negotiating directly with Syrian president Hafez al-Assad for the return of an imprisoned Black Navy lieutenant, and building his multiethnic “rainbow coalition” in part by advocating for white farmers. Phillip also delves into the campaigns’ catastrophic missteps, most destructively Jackson’s antisemitic reference to New York City as “Hymietown,” which derailed his 1984 bid. She also offers a striking analysis of Jackson’s continued influence, showing how his campaign prefigured the contemporary progressive platform and to some extent foreshadowed the populist agendas of both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. The result is a paradigm-shifting reassessment of a progressive firebrand’s legacy. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura

The third in Segura’s Raiders of the Lost Heart series features a sassy librarian and a hot, nerdy archaeologist. Dani Guiterrez has had a crush on her brother’s best friend since they were both teenagers, and when he disappears and is presumed dead, she is heartbroken. After a lifetime of playing it safe, Dani books a trip to Greece to mourn Theo in his favorite place. But she’s not there long before she sees Theo, who’s been kidnapped by smugglers who believe that he can lead them to a priceless ruby known as the Eye of the Minotaur. The kidnappers believe that she is his fiance, and Dani is soon caught up in the search. Starting as a slow burn, it eventually becomes a smoking inferno. Both of them have a hard time confessing their feelings, and there are several miscommunications, but Dani and Theo have amazing chemistry. Readers who love a good adventure romance combined with Greek mythology will not be able to put this one down. For fans of Ali Hazelwood and Sara Desai. – Booklist Review

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Moonlight Runner by Karen Robards

The brilliant Robards (Some Murders in Berlin, 2024) presents a captivating wartime adventure set it Ireland in 1918. The Irish are rebelling against the British for their independence and many of the locals are getting involved in dangerous acts. Rynn Carmichael is a 22-year-old local who is working as a nurse at Ballyshannon Court, a large family estate turned hospital during the war. Rynn discovers that her fiance , as well as her close childhood friends, are in a dire situation in which she involves herself. Several times over, in fact, starting with gun smuggling, murder, healing, and hiding the men who are fighting for Ireland. Trying to keep herself safe but also willing to support Ireland in whatever way she can, Rynn keeps getting embroiled in dangerous situations. This is an epic tale of feminine heroism, patriotism, and a touch of romance. With rich historical details of Ireland and London, descriptions of everything from fashion to classism, violence, and war, The Moonlight Runner captures readers right from the start. This page-turner is a must for historical fiction fans. – Booklist Review

–

Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

Weekly Suggested Reading Five postings are usually published on Wednesdays, unless Monday is a holiday and then they are published later in the week.

–

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

–

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.

–

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.

–

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).

–

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.

–

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.

–

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

Suggested Reading Five: March 11, 2026

Linda Reimer

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

–

Grizzled: Love Letters to 50 of North America’s Least Understood Animals by Jason Bittel 

Funny, fascinating, and scientifically grounded, this charming book reveals unknown details about 50 well-known animals. Effortlessly readable, Grizzled reintroduces nature lovers to species they thought they knew all about. From fireflies and hummingbirds to alligators and sharks, this collection of 50 brief essays combines witty prose and vivid illustrations to reveal the secret lives and oddball behaviors of North American creatures both familiar and little known. In Grizzled, science journalist Jason Bittel taps into current research about the behavior of key North American mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates, from insects to urchins. Along the way, he answers questions you didn’t know to ask, such as: -How do monarch butterflies emerge from sentient goo? -Why did beavers have to parachute into their newest habitats? -What’s inside a yellowjacket meatball? -How many jellyfish can a sea turtle eat? -Can deer really grow antlers on their legs? Grizzled offers a surprising, endearing, and altogether eye-opening tour of the animal kingdom—one you won’t soon forget. 

– 

Heir of Whitestone by Catherine Coulter

England, 1842. Queen Victoria reigns, Buckingham Palace is overrun with rats, and the streets of London are filled with intrigue. 

Alex Ivanov is a brilliant young innovator, designing cutting-edge train engines. But Alex has a secret—he isn’t really Alex Ivanov. As a boy, he was pulled from the Thames, presumed drowned, with no memory of who he was. Rescued and raised by the formidable Ryder Sherbrooke, Alex has built a new life, but his past is catching up with him. 

Lady Camilla Rohman has problems of her own. Trapped by a scheming stepmother and a family determined to see her married off, she is as clever as she is desperate. When fate throws her into Alex’s path, their connection is undeniable. 

But as their whirlwind romance turns into marriage, danger follows. On their honeymoon, a series of deadly attacks make one thing clear—someone wants Alex dead. As they race to uncover the truth, old enemies and long-buried secrets come to light, leading them to a shocking revelation that will change everything… 

– 

Hospital at the End of the World by Justin C. Key 

DEBUT Pok is in his twenties and living in the tech-centric New York City of the future, complete with augmented reality, which is necessary to function in society. His father is a respected doctor at the AI-operated medical center, the Shepherd Organization, which has managed to insert itself into all aspects of daily life. Pok wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a doctor. When a conspiracy forces him to attend the only remaining medical school not under the influence of artificial intelligence, in New Orleans, he uncovers secrets about AI in medicine, his heritage, and the fate of the last human-centered medical school in the country. This story explores the “what if” of AI in medicine and examines what a medical AI would consider best for patients. Key (The World Wasn’t Ready for You: Stories) adds a human touch to a detailed first novel that depicts a near-future world and provides realistic and thorough look into its medical field. VERDICT A medical-minded dystopia with mystery elements that emphasizes the importance of human connection and equity for everyone in a world of artificial intelligence. For readers of Laila Lalami. –Library Journal Review  

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Served Him Right by Lisa Unger 

When Paul Hayes is found murdered, no one is particularly upset or surprised. He’s made plenty of enemies in business and in his personal life, including several women who have accused him of sexual assault. Ana and Vera Blacksmith, sisters with a traumatic and mysterious past, find themselves in the middle of the investigation when police learn that Ana was Paul’s last girlfriend and has a history of volatile and erratic behavior. The investigation takes a turn when Ana’s best friend falls deathly ill, and Paul’s newest girlfriend goes missing. How are these people connected, who can be trusted, and what secrets are the Blacksmith sisters hiding? Unger’s latest mystery is an exploration of the patriarchy through the lens of female rage, with some witchy vibes added for extra fun. The combination of revenge, generational trauma, and girl power makes this a fun and twisted tale. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewel and Shari Lapena–and angry women everywhere. — Booklist Review  

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This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum 

Benny Abbott and Joy Moore’s successful podcast This Story Might Save Your Life chronicles real-life survival stories with humor. Just when the podcasters (and best friends) stand to make millions in a lucrative deal, Joy and her husband go missing in the hills of northeast Los Angeles; her cohost Benny is the prime suspect in the disappearance. Crum’s multi-timeline novel is structured in part as a manuscript of Benny and Joy’s joint memoir, with alternating chapters about each podcaster’s life, while narration from the present also switches between Benny and Joy to advance the plot and character development. Fused with the mystery of what happened to Joy and her producer husband is a will-they, won’t they romance between Joy and Benny, who seem like a perfect match. Domestic violence, pregnancy loss, and narcolepsy are all dealt with in a storyline that will have readers thinking they’ve got it figured out–until they don’t. VERDICT A timely novel for fans of the growing trend of books featuring podcasters, such as Amy Tintera’s Listen for the Lie.–Library Journal Review  

–

Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

Weekly Suggested Reading Five postings are usually published on Wednesdays, unless Monday is a holiday and then they are published later in the week.

–

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

–

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.

–

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.

–

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).

–

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.

–

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.

–

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

Suggested Reading Five: March 4, 2026

Linda Reimer

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

–

Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria by Loubna Mrie

In her first book, photojournalist Mrie recounts coming of age at the beginning of the Syrian civil war and the devastating costs of her involvement in documenting the conflict. Born into a family of Alawites, a minority group that ruled the country and prospered under the protection of the ruling al-Assad family, Mrie began questioning the government when the Arab Spring protests of 2010 spread to Syria. Inspired by her mother’s encouragement of education and personal liberty, Mrie began recording the clashes between protestors and government forces, a rejection of her family’s loyalty to Bashar al-Assad, which eventually led to her estrangement from relatives and friends, her exile from the country, and a series of personal losses. Mrie uses an exceptional eye for detail to evoke her surroundings, whether it be the peaceful Syrian countryside of her childhood or the carnage-filled chaos of rebel-held villages under bombardment. But the most remarkable aspect of Mrie’s memoir is her unflinching honesty as she details how trauma and guilt led to her struggles with impulsive behavior and an addiction to alcohol.  

VERDICT Recommended for libraries with sizable collections of autobiographies and memoirs, Mrie’s book will resonate with readers. – Starred Library Journal Review

 

– 

Felicia’s Favorites by Danielle Steel 

A mother bestows a life-changing legacy on her five adult daughters in this profoundly moving novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel. 

After the unexpected death of their mother, Felicia Morgan Weston, her five daughters are summoned to a historic Connecticut farmhouse for the reading of her will. Still reeling from shock, they hear revelations that will potentially change their lives—and they realize there was much more to their mother than they ever knew. 

Charlotte, the oldest, always resented her mother’s advice, but now misses her terribly. An entrepreneur and single mother, she doesn’t dare hope for a second chance at love. 

Although content with her career as a TV producer and her life with her partner in Greenwich Village, Quinne is about to have an opportunity to dream bigger. 

Former ballet dancer Olivia has lived as a paraplegic since a car accident twelve years ago. Refusing to be a burden, she has denied herself the love of her life. 

Despite her mother’s disapproval, Veronica resigned herself to a secret relationship with an ambitious married senator. 

Happily married mother of three Isabelle has just found out that her husband is having an affair with his much younger intern. 

Each sister is about to receive a gift beyond her wildest dreams from their very private but loving mother, who considered all her girls her favorites. Danielle Steel’s new novel is a moving testament to the power of a mother’s love and the importance of fully embracing life. 

– 

Far-Flung Life by M L Stedman 

For generations, members of the MacBride family have lived and prospered on their vast sheep station in remote Western Australia. However, their good fortune seems to run out in 1958, when a kangaroo crosses the path of the truck that is carrying Phil MacBride and his two sons. In the ensuing crash, Phil and his older boy are killed instantly, while Matt, the younger son, clings to life. Although Matt survives, a traumatic brain injury leaves him with a patchy memory and an altered personality. More tragedies crop up for the remaining MacBrides, and a shocking encounter leads to daughter Rose’s unwanted pregnancy. Soon after the birth of her son, she throws herself down a mine shaft. Unwilling to cause the family more grief, the pragmatic police chief rules her death an accident. In time, life improves as Matt regains mental stability while helping his mother run the station and care for Rose’s son. But the arrival of a new by-the-books police chief, who means to reopen irregular cold cases, threatens to expose old secrets.  

VERDICT This sweeping saga, told with great heart and tenderness, is a story of broken people working to heal themselves. The many admirers of Stedman’s The Light Between Oceans will find the same blend of sadness and hope in her latest. – Starred Library Journal Review  

– 

The Ghost Women: A Novel by Jennifer Murphy 

Murphy’s (Scarlet in Blue) new novel is a dark-academia tale of murder and revenge that delves into the depths of strength and determination that women can reach when they are pushed to the brink by men. On the autumnal equinox in 1972, Abel Montague, a student at the exclusive, secretive St. Luke’s Institute of the Arts, is found dead, hanging from a tree, his body position matching the pose of the Hanged Man tarot card in his pocket. So begins a series of ritualistic murders at St. Luke’s–a former monastery that once held witch trials and executions–with each death designed to match tarot cards left at the scene. When detective Lola Germany investigates, she discovers that the administration and students are keeping secrets, including Pearl, Abel’s girlfriend, who calls herself and her group of friends “witches.” As truth and lies emerge from the past and the present, Lola realizes that she must uncover how it all began to solve the case. VERDICT This fast-paced novel set in the South Carolina Lowcountry combines magic, mysticism, and mystery into an engrossing and entertaining story that is difficult to put down. Recommended for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Alex Michaelides. -Library Journal Review  

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Kin: A Novel by Tayari Jones 

Jones, whose previous novel, An American Marriage (2018), was an Oprah’s Book Club pick, is back with a tender love song to southern Black families, communities, and female friendships. Annie and Niecy have grown up as “cradle friends” in small-town Mississippi, “tended to but never mothered.” Niecy’s mother is dead and Annie’s has simply “up and left.” Their lives diverge dramatically after their last year of high school: Niecy graduates and reinvents herself at Spelman College, while Annie runs away with three friends, hoping to track down her errant mother in Memphis. Neither finds exactly what she was looking for, yet each girl will experience profound self-discovery. Told in alternating first-person narration and in letters, Jones’ novel is an intimate portrayal of the anxieties and mixed messages of African American girlhood in the early 1960s that linger in adulthood. Pining for their mothers, both girls will seek replacements: Niecy’s a tippling Atlanta social climber, Annie’s the no-nonsense madam of a brothel. As each faces her personal demons and disappointments, their unbreakable childhood bond keeps them anchored in a friendship transcending blood relatives and romantic partners. Jones deftly conveys the nuances of Southern Black culture in this novel full of depth, pain, and beauty. – Booklist 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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Weekly Suggested Reading Five postings are usually published on Wednesdays, unless Monday is a holiday and then they are published later in the week.

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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.

–

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).

–

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 & Viewing: March 2, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here is a belated Suggested Listening & Viewing post. And as today is Monday, instead of our usual post day of Friday, I’m going to make several YouTube video recommendations for relaxing videos you can set to play for hours while you work or unwind this week.

And this Friday, March 6, I will post a new Suggested Listening & Viewing post in the traditional format.

May you have a peaceful week!

Linda

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Slow Burn Fireplace for Sleep and Relaxation

Tranquil Fire Sounds Cozy Bonfire by the Lake for Sleep

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Cozy Winter Study Room | Gothic Ambience with Fireplace & Snowfall |Dark Academia Music for Studying

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Cozy Fireplace Ambience | Fireside Reading | Fire ASMR for Sleep, Study & Relaxation

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TROPICAL CAMPFIRE: Gentle Fire Sounds & Ocean Waves – Perfect for Unwinding

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Light Easy Listening Music – relaxing, peaceful, smooth music

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Elegant March Night Jazz & Gentle Rain Sound by the Window | Relaxing Piano Jazz for Sleep Tight

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Rainy Morning, Hot Tea & Quiet Reading

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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. 

And The Digital Catalog/Libby features titles that may be checked out via the one-copy-one-user lending model, just like print books.  

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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 checkout 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. 

Titles in the Hoopla Catalog are available to be checked out on-demand by all library card holders, with the caveat of being able to check out a maximum of ten titles per month, per card.  

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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. 

New York Times Bestsellers: March 8, 2026

Linda Reimer

All titles can be requested/checked out through the library.

If you’d like to go the traditional route to request a title on this list and drop by the library, or give us a call – please do!

Our telephone number is: 607-936-3713

You can also request titles through StarCat found at https://starcat.stls.org

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THE BESTSELLERS

FICTION

1. THEO OF GOLDEN by Allen Levi: A man travels to a small Southern town, where he purchases pencil drawings of local residents and exchanges them for stories.

2. PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir: Ryland Grace awakes from a long sleep alone and far from home, and the fate of humanity rests on his shoulders.

3. THE HARD LINE by Mark Greaney: The 15th book in the Gray Man series. As he tries to stop hit squads, Court Gentry becomes the target of an assassin known as Whetstone.

4. THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans: Letters from someone she used to know push Sybil Van Antwerp toward revisiting her past and finding a way to forgive.

5. DEAR DEBBIE by Freida McFadden: An advice columnist who is having trouble at work and home decides to get back at people she thinks deserve it.

6. HEATED RIVALRY by Rachel Reid: The second book in the Game Changers series. Rival captains of two hockey teams try to keep their relationship out of the spotlight.

7. THE ASTRAL LIBRARY by Kate Quinn: A hidden door at the Boston Public Library leads to a secret library where new worlds and potential danger come to life.

8. THE HOUSEMAID by Freida McFadden: Troubles surface when a woman looking to make a fresh start takes a job in the home of the Winchesters.

9. DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL by Matt Dinniman: A Coast Guard vet named Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, are trapped in a fantasy dungeon.

10. THE DEVIL’S BIBLE by Steve Berry: The 20th book in the Cotton Malone series. An 800-year-old book is at the center of a complicated international situation.

11. CROSS & SAMPSON by James Patterson and Brian Sitts: The 35th book in the Alex Cross series. Detectives Sampson and Cross track crimes over long distances.

12. THE LONG GAME by Rachel Reid: The sixth book in the Game Changers series. Ten years into their relationship, Ilya is tired of Shane keeping it a secret.

13. MY HUSBAND’S WIFE by Alice Feeney: In an old house in a seaside town, things may not be what they appear to be.

14. LIGHTS OUT by Navessa Allen: As Aly and Josh live out their dark fantasies, someone with sinister intentions impinges on them.

15. GAME CHANGER by Rachel Reid: The captain of a hockey team worries about public perceptions after he starts a relationship with a guy who works at a smoothie shop.

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NON-FICTION

1. STRIPPED DOWN by Bunnie Xo: The host of the “Dumb Blonde Podcast” shares how redemption was an important part of her journey toward reaching her goals.

2. NOBODY’S GIRL by Virginia Roberts Giuffre: The late activist and advocate for sex-trafficking survivors describes her time with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

3. AMERICAN STRUGGLE by Jon Meacham: The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer examines national divisions and debates over the last four centuries.

4. MANUFACTURING DELUSION by Buck Sexton: A conservative radio host and former C.I.A. analyst argues that mass delusion has begun to take hold in America.

5. THE LOOK by Michelle Obama with Meredith Koop: A celebration of the former first lady’s evolution in style, featuring more than 200 photographs.

6. A HYMN TO LIFE by Gisèle Pelicot with Judith Perrignon: Pelicot recounts her legal fight against her husband and dozens of men on the grounds of sexual assault; translated by Natasha Lehrer and Ruth Diver.

7. THE GREATEST SENTENCE EVER WRITTEN by Walter Isaacson: The historian and biographer examines the concepts of a statement found in the Declaration of Independence.

8. THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk: How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.

9. STRANGERS by Belle Burden: Burden retraces her marriage of 20 years in search of clues to help shape her understanding about its demise and to find a way forward.

10. THE ANXIOUS GENERATION by Jonathan Haidt: A co-author of “The Coddling of the American Mind” looks at the mental health impacts that a phone-based life has on children.

11. THE INVISIBLE COUP by Peter Schweizer: The author of “Blood Money” puts forward his argument that mass migration is a political weapon.

12. 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin: The New York Times journalist and CNBC host looks at the fight between Washington and Wall Street that fueled a historic crash of the stock market.

13. HOW TO TEST NEGATIVE FOR STUPID by John Kennedy: The Republican senator from Louisiana shares stories about politics in Washington, D.C., and in his home state.

14. DEVOUT by David Archuleta: The “American Idol” finalist and international pop star depicts struggles he had as a closeted Mormon teenager.

15. BLACK AF HISTORY by Michael Harriot: A columnist at TheGrio.com articulates moments in American history that center the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans.

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Have a great Sunday!

Linda

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New York Times Bestseller lists are shared via blog post on Sundays.

–

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.

–

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.

–

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).

–

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.

–

For more information on library materials and services, including how to get a library card call the library at 607-936-3713.

–

*The Southern Tier Library System includes the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler & Allegheny counties.

New York Times Bestsellers: February 15, 2026

Linda Reimer

All titles can be requested/checked out through the library.

If you’d like to go the traditional route to request a title on this list and drop by the library, or give us a call – please do!

Our telephone number is: 607-936-3713

You can also request titles through StarCat found at https://starcat.stls.org

–

THE BESTSELLERS

FICTION

1. DEAR DEBBIE by Freida McFadden: An advice columnist who is having trouble at work and home decides to get back at people she thinks deserve it.

2. THEO OF GOLDEN by Allen Levi: A man travels to a small Southern town, where he purchases pencil drawings of local residents and exchanges them for stories.

3. THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans: Letters from someone she used to know push Sybil Van Antwerp toward revisiting her past and finding a way to forgive.

4. HEATED RIVALRY  by Rachel Reid: The second book in the Game Changers series. Rival captains of two hockey teams try to keep their relationship out of the spotlight.

5. PENDERGAST: THE BEGINNING by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child: Agent Pendergast’s ghastly first case involves a suspension and ritualistic killings.

6. VIGIL by George Saunders: In the waning hours of an oil company chief executive’s life, worldly and otherworldly visitors put his time on Earth in perspective.

7. THE HOUSEMAID by Freida McFadden: Troubles surface when a woman looking to make a fresh start takes a job in the home of the Winchesters.

8. WOMAN DOWN by Colleen Hoover: An author hoping to get her career back on track has a relationship with a detective that goes from inspirational to confrontational.

9. HALF HIS AGE by Jennette McCurdy: A 17-year-old named Waldo has an inexplicable attraction to her creative writing teacher.

10. THE LONG GAME by Rachel Reid: The sixth book in the Game Changers series. Ten years into their relationship, Ilya is tired of Shane keeping it a secret.

11. PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir: Ryland Grace awakes from a long sleep alone and far from home, and the fate of humanity rests on his shoulders.

12. GAME CHANGER by Rachel Reid: The captain of a hockey team worries about public perceptions after he starts a relationship with a guy who works at a smoothie shop.

13. MY HUSBAND’S WIFE by Alice Feeney: In an old house in a seaside town, things may not be what they appear to be.

14. DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL by Matt Dinniman: A Coast Guard vet named Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, are trapped in a fantasy dungeon.

15. THE WIDOW by John Grisham: When Simon Latch, a lawyer in rural Virginia, is accused of murder, he goes in search of the real killer.

Non-Fiction

  1. THE INVISIBLE COUP by Peter Schweizer:  The author of “Blood Money” puts forward his argument that mass migration is a political weapon.

2. STRANGERS by Belle Burden: Burden retraces her marriage of 20 years in search of clues to help shape her understanding about its demise and to find a way forward.

3. THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk: How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.

4. WHERE WE KEEP THE LIGHT  by Josh Shapiro with Emily Jane Fox: The governor of Pennsylvania chronicles events that shaped his life and his political career.

5. 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin: The New York Times journalist and CNBC host looks at the fight between Washington and Wall Street that fueled a historic crash of the stock market.

6. HOW TO TEST NEGATIVE FOR STUPID by John Kennedy: The Republican senator from Louisiana shares stories about politics in Washington, D.C., and in his home state.

 7. THE ANXIOUS GENERATION by Jonathan Haidt: A co-author of “The Coddling of the American Mind” looks at the mental health impacts that a phone-based life has on children.

8. NOBODY’S GIRL by Virginia Roberts Giuffre:  The late activist and advocate for sex-trafficking survivors describes her time 9. with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

 9. THE GUY YOU LOVED TO HATE by Spencer Pratt:  The reality TV star recounts setbacks he faced and how his life changed after the Palisades wildfires in 2025.

10. ON TYRANNY by Timothy Snyder: Twenty lessons from the 20th century about the course of tyranny.

11. I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED by Jennette McCurdy:  The actress and filmmaker describes her eating disorders and difficult relationship with her mother.

12. ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS by Omar El Akkad:  In his nonfiction debut, El Akkad looks at how the West responds to mass suffering.

13. BLACK AF HISTORY by Michael Harriot:  A columnist at TheGrio.com articulates moments in American history that center the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans.

14. OUTLIVE by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford: A look at recent scientific research on aging and longevity.

15. EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS by John Green: The author of “The Anthropocene Reviewed” chronicles the fight against the deadly infectious disease tuberculosis.

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Have a great day!

Linda

–

New York Times Bestseller lists are shared via blog post on Sundays.

–

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.

–

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.

–

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).

–

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.

–

For more information on library materials and services, including how to get a library card call the library at 607-936-3713.

–

*The Southern Tier Library System includes the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler & Allegheny counties.