Tag: Corning NY

Suggested Reading Five: December 24, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

And on another library note, just a reminder, the library is closed today, Wednesday, December 24, and tomorrow, Thursday, December 25 for the Christmas holiday. We will re-open on Friday, December 26 at our usual opening time of 9:00 a.m.

This week we’re going to take a look at five of the best romances of 2025, selected from several Best of 2025 book lists – links to the lists are found at the end of this post.

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After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian 

1968 New York City

News about the war might be keeping Patrick up at night—news in general might be keeping Patrick up at night—but he’s doing fine. He’s sure of it. He gets to spend his days selling books in the gayest neighborhood on the East Coast and his nights merrily sleeping his way through the rare book community. But when he takes in a drifter who seems to be hiding something, and his best friend and her newborn move into the apartment upstairs, his life gets turned on its head.

A sleepy little bookstore should be the perfect place for Nathaniel to lie low, waiting for his past to catch up with him, but it turns out Dooryard Books is full of political radicals and anti-war agitators. If the FBI isn’t actively surveilling this place, it will be. Nathaniel should go anywhere else. The last thing he expects is to like these subversives. There’s a grieving folk musician and her baby—a demon of a child who will only sleep if Nathaniel, of all people, holds her. There’s a pair of rabble-rousing teenagers who, upsettingly, seem to be right about everything. And then there’s Patrick, who can’t walk past anyone who needs his help—and who is perplexingly determined to help Nathaniel.

As the world balances on the precipice of something new and scary and maybe even hopeful, Patrick needs to decide what he’s willing to risk for this chaotic new community he’s accidentally created. And Nathaniel needs to figure out whether he has a place in this messy, flawed world—and whether he can believe he deserves it.

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Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley 

In her U.S. debut, Stanley follows a decade in the life of Coralie Bower, beginning in 2013 when she’s newly arrived in London. A chance encounter with Adam, a handsome journalist, blossoms into a romance, and her life becomes everything she’s hoped for. But the reasons she left Australia–family issues, an abusive boss–still lurk. Adam is her rock throughout numerous life events, but when their first daughter’s birth coincides with a major book deal for Adam, Coralie finds herself struggling to stay afloat. As the years pass, Coralie feels like she’s surrendered herself to motherhood and managing the household, abandoning her own dreams to ensure that Adam succeeds. By the time COVID hits, the resentment has built, and Coralie realizes that something must change. Stanley cleverly entwines British politics with the plot of the story, grounding the narrative in a specific time. The trajectory of Coralie and Adam’s relationship is authentic, and the family relationships enhance the story, providing further detail about the characters’ motivations. Fans of Jojo Moyes will be drawn into this emotionally candid deep dive into a long-term relationship.

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Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone 

 

Six months after cancer took her beloved best friend and roommate, Lou, Helen “Lenny” Bellamy is still adrift, spending most nights riding the Staten Island Ferry instead of returning to the apartment she once shared with Lou or trying to check items off Lou’s “Live Again” list. An experienced nanny, Lenny can keep herself together only for short-term gigs like a weekend with Ainslie, an eight-year-old girl with a single mom and a grumpy uncle named Miles, who seems to see right through Lenny’s fragile facade. Having lost his mother and cousin in a car accident years ago, and more recently his father and Ainslie’s pop pop, Miles is determined to be a lifeboat for Lenny, with no judgment. As Miles helps Lenny fulfill the items on Lou’s list, they both find they have so many things to live for. VERDICT A stunning book by Bastone (Ready or Not), who delivers another slow-burn and emotional romance that doesn’t shy away from also exploring life’s hardest moments. Recommended for readers who also enjoy Abby Jimenez. – Starred Library Journal

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Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola 

 Sweet and spicy second-chance romance animates this delightfully layered contemporary from Babalola (Honey and Spice). Kiki Banjo was heartbroken after her first love, filmmaker Malakai Korede, left London for what was supposed to be a six-month job in Los Angeles only to never return. Fast-forward three years, and Kiki has a wealthy new man (though she’s not sure how she feels about him) and doles out romantic advice as the host of popular podcast The Heartbeat. When her employer insists on bringing an out-of-touch white woman in as Kiki’s cohost, Kiki quits. In the midst of this personal upheaval, she has to put on a smile to play maid of honor at her best friend’s wedding, a task made harder by the knowledge that Malakai is the best man. After the pair’s reunion at the engagement party, they struggle to navigate the still-powerful attraction between them. When a musician they both love asks Malakai to direct and Kiki to produce a documentary, working together brings even more old feelings to the surface. Babalola has a talent for convincingly depicting the extremes of human emotion, from devastating heartbreak to intense passion, and her characters feel wonderfully real and well rounded. Readers won’t be able to resist. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Time Loops and Meet Cutes by Jackie Lau 

Lau (Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie) offers up a fun contemporary rom-com with a Groundhog Day twist. Workaholic mechanical engineer Noelle Tom has been in survival mode for most of her life, believing she can find a straightforward solution to every problem if she keeps her head down and works hard. However, after eating some magical dumplings that make her endlessly repeat the day she ate them, Noelle abruptly discovers the flaws in her worldview. Now no matter what she does–leaving her time zone, quitting her job, or trying to find other magic dumplings to reverse the spell–she can’t escape June 20. There are some unexpected benefits to this mystical problem: she finds a friend in Avery, who is also stuck in the loop after eating the same dumplings, and she gets myriad, consequence-free chances at redoing her first meeting with handsome brewery manager Cam Huang, who, strangely enough, seems to subconsciously remember Noelle through hundreds of meet-cutes. Despite the repetition, Lau keeps the pace moving at a brisk clip, thanks in large part to Noelle’s attempts to apply the scientific method to her predicament. The author’s fans will be very pleased with this breezy treat. – Publishers Weekly Review

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References with Links

Colgan, J. (2025, December 4). The five best romance books of 2025. The Guardian; The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/dec/04/five-best-romance-books-2025-ali-hazelwood-bolu-babalola-jessica-stanley

New York Public Library. (2025). Best Books. Nypl.org. https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recommendations/best-books/adults?year=2025&f%5B0%5D=terms%3ARomance

Puckett-Pope, L. (2025, November 14). The Best Books of Fall 2025, According to ELLE Editors. ELLE. https://www.elle.com/culture/books/g69251844/best-books-fall-2025/

Waite, O. (2025, December 9). The Best Romance Books of 2025. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/books/review/best-romance-books-2025.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7U8.C_Eg.i5cFvhqPxSwv&smid=nytcore-ios-share

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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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Suggested Listening & Viewing: December 19, 2025

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here is our weekly Suggested Listening and Viewing post; featuring ten songs and two streaming video recommendations, one from a mainstream service and the other from Kanopy, the library’s free to access streaming service (all you need is a library card!).

This week we’re turning our listening spotlight on classic blues and jazz songs. Enjoy!

First the songs: 

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St. Louis Blues (1925) by Bessie Smith 

 

Found on the Album: Smith, Bessie: St. Louis Blues (1924-25) (2003) 

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West End Blues (1928) by Louis Armstrong 

 

Found on the Album: Volume IV – Louis Armstrong And Earl Hines (1989) 

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Caravan (1936) by Duke Ellington 

 

Found on the Album: Money Jungle (2002) 

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Cross Road Blues (1937) by Robert Johnson 

 

Found on the Album: King of the Detla Blues Singers (1937) 

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Jumpin’ at the Woodside (1938) by Count Basie & His Orchestra  

 

Found on the Album: The Complete Decca Recordings (1992) 

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Key to the Highway (1940) by Big Bill Broonzy 

 

Found on the Album: Vol. 1: The Pre-War Years (2007) 

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A Night in Tunisia (1942) by Dizzy Gillespie 

 

Found on the Album: Night In Tunisia: The Very Best Of Dizzy Gillespie (2006) 

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I’m In The Mood (1951) by John Lee Hooker 

 

Found on the Album: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best Of John Lee Hooker (1999) 

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I’m Ready (1954) by Muddy Waters 

 

Found on the Album: The Best of Muddy Waters (1957) 

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Smokestack Lighting (1958) by Howlin’ Wolf 

 

Found on the Album: Moanin’ In The Moonlight (1958) 

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So What (1959) by Miles Davis 

 

Found on the Album: Kind of Blue (1959) 

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Take Five (1959) by The Dave Brubeck Quarter 

 

Found on the Album: Time Out (1959) 

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Lullaby of Birdland (1955) by Sarah Vaughan  

 

Found on the Album: Lullaby of Birdland (1955) 

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All The Things You Are (1963) by Ella Fitzgerald 

 

Found on the Album: Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Jerome Kern Song Book (1963) 

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Second The videos: 

A new title available through one of the mainstream U.S. streaming services, followed by a Kanopy title that you can check out with your library card and stream on-demand.

Mainstream Streaming Pick of the Week 

Fallout, Season 2 (2025) (Amazon Prime)  

 

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Kanopy Streaming Pick of the Week 

The Travel Detective, Season 10 (2025) 

Trailer 

 

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Have a great weekend!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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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. 

Suggested Reading Five: December 17, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

This week we’re turning our reading spotlight on five of the best mysteries of 2025, as found on several of Best Books of 2025 lists; links to the Best Books lists used in researching this post, are found at the end of the post.

Have a great holiday season!

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Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall 

English writer Hall serves up twist after twist in her canny U.S. debut, a story of grief, love, and murder set in the Dorset countryside. The year is 1968 and Beth Johnson, wife of gentle sheep farmer Frank, remains shattered by the death of her nine-year-old son, Bobby, in an accident two years earlier. Her first love, Gabriel, a bestselling novelist who grew up wealthy on a nearby estate, returns with his young son, Leo, after separating from his American wife. Beth reconnects with Gabriel, fantasizing about rewinding her life to a simpler time, and she forges a bond with Leo, who reminds her of Bobby. An unreliable narrator, Beth provides a blinkered view of the action, mentioning early on that a farmer has been murdered and someone close to her is on trial for the crime, but neglecting to reveal the identities of these two characters until more than halfway through the narrative. As a result, readers are kept guessing about the precise consequences of Gabriel’s return and the circumstances behind Bobby’s death. Hall makes Beth a fascinatingly complex lead who vacillates between restlessness and contentment, and the other characters’ motivations prove to be different than they seem at first glance. This sharp morality tale will stay with readers. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Fair Play by Louise Hegarty 

Hegarty’s brilliant debut kicks off with a murder mystery–themed New Year’s Eve party at a posh London Airbnb. The guests of wealthy siblings Abigail and Benjamin include work acquaintance Barbara; Benjamin’s childhood friend, Stephen; bankrupt spoilsport Declan; extravagant couple Cormac and Olivia; and Dorcas, the maid. The morning after the festivities, Benjamin is found dead in his locked bedroom. The doctor who arrives on the scene suspects suicide, but a skeptical Abigail hires famous PI Auguste Bell to investigate. When Benjamin and Abigail’s eccentric aunt arrives to console Abigail, she, too, is unconvinced that Benjamin took his own life, and she partners with Bell to solve the crime. “There are too many clues,” complains a frustrated Bell, who asks absurd questions (“Does this house have gas central heating?”) of each suspect in an attempt to sniff out the murderer. A distraught Abigail turns against each of her friends until Bell finally announces the name of the killer. Or does he? Readers, especially fans of Richard Osman, will happily go along with the plot’s many reversals and take heart in its surprisingly tender conclusion. Hegarty’s wonderfully eccentric characters, expert knowledge of classic whodunits, and ability to balance silly hijinks and serious emotional stakes mark her as a writer worth keeping tabs on. For mystery lovers, this is a joy. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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Holy City by Henry Wise 

Winner of the 2025 Edgar Award for Best Novel by an American Author

 A heinous crime tests a freshly minted deputy sheriff’s allegiances in Wise’s stylish debut. When Will Seems’s mother died 13 years ago, he fled rural Euphoria County, Va., for the “holy city” of Richmond. Now, he’s returned to take a job with Euphoria County’s police department, and he finds that his old neighborhood remains mired in poverty and crime. Soon after Will dons his badge, his childhood friend, Tom Janders, is murdered in an arson. Zeke Hathom, father of another of Will’s boyhood friends, is spotted running from the burning building, and authorities swiftly place him in custody. Substantial evidence implicates Zeke in Tom’s death, and Will’s boss wants to send Zeke to prison. Will, however, owes a deep adolescent debt to Zeke’s son and sets out to prove the older man’s innocence. When Zeke’s friends and family hire PI Bennico Watts to help exonerate him, she and Will enter into an uneasy alliance and plunge together into Euphoria County’s underworld. Wise propels the plot forward with flashbacks to the violence of Will’s past and the shame that motivates his return. Bold characters and splendid prose further enhance the proceedings. Wise knocks it out of the park his first time up to bat. – Publishers Weekly Review

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The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell

Winner of the 2025 Edgar Award for Best Novel

The second in the rompy, contemporary, Agatha Christie-esque Detective Inspector Caius Beau series, following The Other Half, sees Caius Beauchamp’s evening at the theater interrupted when a dead body is discovered. Two cold cases complicate matters further, as do politics and a duke-in-waiting. – Library Review

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Vantage Point: A Novel by Sarah Slinger  

 To be a member of one of the country’s wealthiest, most prestigious families means, well, wealth and prestige. But what if your family’s cursed and you’re a woman on the internet—are you ever truly safe? Sara Sligar’s Vantage Point blends family drama, generational trauma and the destructive forces of cutting-edge technology in a disturbing suspense story told from two compelling female perspectives. For the Wieland family, April is a historically tragic month: 14 Aprils ago, a teenage Clara Wieland witnessed both her parents’ brutal demise. A whirlwind of chaotic world travel, heavy substance use and eating disorder clinic stays later, Clara returns to Vantage Point, the family estate on a remote Maine island. Also living at Vantage Point are Clara’s brother, Teddy, now running for the U.S. Senate, and Clara’s childhood best friend, Jess, now married to Teddy. At the beginning of April, an intimate, graphic video of Clara surfaces online and immediately goes viral, but Clara has no memory of the video’s events. Is it real, or an extremely advanced deepfake? As Teddy’s political campaign is threatened and Jess struggles to hold the family together, Clara experiences disturbing hallucinations she insists are also engineered. Has Clara descended into madness, or are the three surviving Wielands in serious danger? Author and academic Sligar expertly crafts the history of her fictional dynasty through fictional Wikipedia entries describing the tragic outcomes of the Wieland curse, from wine cellar explosions to rogue horse tramplings. Jess grew up impoverished and became enmeshed with the Wielands at an early age, and Clara is still grappling with the tremendous loss in her adolescence. Close confidantes and now in-laws, they each provide a unique perspective on the family’s collective trauma, and they share common ground as women vulnerable to a society intent on ruining them. The “future” of believable deepfakes is already here, and Sligar’s novel serves as an entertaining literary companion to shows like Succession, but also a warning to women everywhere: Your moment of deepfake reckoning may be just around the corner. – Starred BookPage Review

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References

Best Books. (2025).New York Public Library. https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recommendations/best-books/adults?year=2025&f%5B0%5D=terms%3ACrime%2C%20Mysteries%20%26%20Thrillers. Retrieved December 17, 2025, from https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recommendations/best-books/adults?year=2025&f%5B0%5D=terms%3ACrime%2C%20Mysteries%20%26%20Thrillers

Gaffney, A. (2025, October 31). The best mysteries and thrillers of 2025. ELLE. https://www.elle.com/culture/books/g69127582/best-mystery-thriller-books-2025/

Mwa. (2025, May 2). 2025 Edgar Award Winners announced. Mystery Writers of America. https://mysterywriters.org/mystery-writers-of-america-announces-the-2025-edgar-award-winners/

Schumer, L. (2025, December 6). PEOPLE picks the 15 best books of 2025. People.com. https://people.com/peoples-best-books-of-2025-11862936

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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

–

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

–

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: December 10, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

This week we are turning the reading spotlight on five of the years’ best general fiction titles, as found on several Best Books of 2025 lists. Links to the review articles are found in the references section at the end of the post.

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Angel Down by Daniel Kraus  

Kraus’ follow-up to Whalefall (2023) explores the same deeply emotional themes, this time in WWI France. Private Bagger has used his wits to stay alive in the trenches as a latrine and grave digger. He and four other misfits are asked to stay behind in order to “take care” of a suffering soldier lying in the dangerous no-man’s land between them and the Germans. However, it is not a soldier they find screaming–it is an angel, fallen from heaven and stuck in barbed wire. As the men travel to rejoin their unit, carrying the angel, each is mesmerized by her light and tempted by her power. She could save them all or lead to their deaths. The book unfolds like a chant, in short paragraphs each beginning with the word and, and readers will quickly fall under Bagger’s narrative spell as they see the visceral and gruesome toll war takes on the entire planet. Is Bagger going to survive through a miracle or by luck? A brilliant novel that will encourage its readers to live their best lives, despite the horrors that surround them. For fans of John Milas’ The Militia House (2023) and thought-provoking tales that sow discomfort through story and narrative structure, such as Agustina Bazterrica’s The Unworthy (2025). – Booklist Review 

Angel Down is found on the New York Times Best Books of 2025 list.

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Antidote by Karen Russell 

The prairie witch calls herself The Antidote because people feel so much better after she unburdens them of painful memories, storing them in her “vault.” But when she finds herself in jail in the midst of a terrifying dust storm in Uz, Nebraska, she realizes that the deposits she’s been paid to protect have vanished. High-school basketball star Asphodel Oletsky, living, since her mother was murdered, with her uncle Harp, a dryland farmer, is desperate to keep her winning team on the court after they lose their sponsor. Harp is haunted by how his Polish parents were forced off their land by the Germans, only to find themselves unwittingly doing the same to Native Americans. New Deal photographer Cleo Allfrey, at risk on the plains as a Black woman, arrives in Uz during the worst of the Dust Bowl and finds people pushed to the brink by drought, deadly and otherworldly dust storms, vanished crops and topsoil, unsolved murders, and a corrupt and brutal sheriff. Among many strange occurrences, Cleo’s photographs inexplicably depict the horrific past and a possible future. Highly honored Russell follows two stellar story collections with her second novel, an ardent work of encompassing and compassionate historical fiction supercharged with her signature imaginative, astutely calibrated supernatural twists. A dramatic and uncanny tale of the drastic consequences of our destruction of nature and Indigenous communities. – Booklist Review 

Found on Pen America’s Best Books of 2025 list.

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Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor 

Fired from her lackluster job as an adjunct professor of writing, and on the verge of needing to move back in with her parents, Zelu has lost control of her life. Because she’s disinclined to pick up the pieces in a way that will satisfy her family, a Nigerian American dynasty for whom being exceptional is considered merely ordinary, she turns instead back to her writing. What comes out of those dark moments is a piece of science fiction set in the aftermath of humanity’s extinction. Upon publication, the novel captures the entire world’s imagination, quickly becoming a bestseller and almost immediately being optioned as a movie. But the consequences of Zelu’s meteoric rise aren’t all so dreamy. As they ripple out, they change her life forever, causing her to rethink her relationship to her writing, her family and even her own body. Death of the Author, by acclaimed science fiction writer Nnedi Okorafor (Who Fears Death), is comfortable straddling the line between genres. Okorafor explores the dynamics Zelu experiences as a disabled Nigerian American author from the south suburbs of Chicago, rendering familiar experiences with remarkable specificity, pulling us in so that we understand Zelu’s truth, warts and all. As the book shines on a literary level, so, too, do its science fiction elements. In a metafictional twist, Okorafor peppers in chapters from Zelu’s bestselling novel with increasing frequency as the story progresses. Beyond being interesting in their own right, the chapters give us a lens through which to see Zelu more clearly—and influence the course of her journey. A remarkable exploration of storytelling, fame and the Nigerian American experience, Death of the Author surprises all the way to its brilliant ending. Read our interview with Nnedi Okorafor about Death of the Author. – BookPage Review 

Found on the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2025 list.

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The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai 

Booker winner Desai returns 19 years after The Inheritance of Loss with an elegant bildungsroman of two Indian people and their convergence in the early 2000s U.S. The reader meets the pair before they meet each other, when they’re unhappy with their current partners. Sunny, a journalist in New York City, navigates the contradictory feelings that come with dating an American woman and the challenge of reporting on one world while feeling suspended between two. Meanwhile, Sonia, a college student and aspiring novelist in Vermont, struggles to adapt to American life. She winds up in a relationship with Ilan de Toorjen Foss, an artist 30 years her senior, and moves with him to New York, where she hopes to feel less lonely. Instead, Ilan proves controlling and quickly isolates her. Eventually, Sunny and Sonia meet on a train. Their love story is affecting and enriched by Desai’s forays into the lives of their family members in India, including Sunny’s widowed and overbearing mother, who’s stuck with her corrupt brothers-in-law and lives vicariously through her son; Sonia’s mother, who leaves her husband to become a hermit in the jungle cottage that was once her German father’s art studio; and many more. Desai’s artful prose is subtle even when pitched on a grand scale (“There were no children in India anymore in the homes of successful parents of a successful class”). This ambitious yet intimate saga is well worth the wait. – Publisher’s Weekly Review  

Found on both Maureen Corrigan’s Best Books of 2025 list and the New York Times Best Books of 2025 list.

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Theft: A Novel by Abdulrazak Gurnah 

The bonds of family, friends, and workers are tested in this coming-of-age tale about three young people. Beautiful Fauzia is magnetically drawn to the handsome, suave Karim who comes from a well-to-do family. Badar is an uneducated domestic worker in Karim’s household; his family severely neglected him. Fauzia teaches Badar how to cook and clean the house, and he proves capable until he is falsely accused of theft. This accusation changes his life, but Karim gets him a job at the Tamarind Hotel. At the hotel, Badar meets an attractive woman, a guest who invites him out to dinner. When Badar declines, Karim steps in and takes the guest to one of his favorite restaurants. This begins an affair, another pivotal moment that leads to abrupt changes in the lives of the novel’s three protagonists.  

VERDICT Nobel Prize winner Gurnah (emeritus, English and postcolonial literatures, Univ. of Kent; Afterlives) is a captivating, enthralling storyteller whose characters are vibrant and sympathetic. The pages fly by quickly in his wonderful new novel. – Library Journal Review 

Found on Town And Country Magazine’s The 20 Best Books of 2025 list.

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References

Best Books for Adults 2025. (2025). The New York Public Library. Retrieved December 9, 2025, from https://www.nypl.org/spotlight/best-books-2025 

Burack, E., & Rathe, A. (2025, December 8). The 20 best books of 2025. Town & Country. https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a68851782/best-books-2025/ 

Corrigan, M. (2025, December 8). Maureen Corrigan’s 10 favorite books of 2025 — with plenty for nonfiction lovers. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2025/12/08/nx-s1-5634019/best-books-2025-maureen-corrigan 

New York Times Staff. (n.d.). The 10 Best Books of 2025. The New York Times. Retrieved December 9, 2025, from https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/books/review/best-books-2025.html

Tolin, L. (2025, November 26). Best Books of 2025: 15 top picks from the ‘Best Of’ lists. PEN America. https://pen.org/best-books-of-2025/ 

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

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

–

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

–

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.

New Books Coming Your Way: December 2025

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, as we are at the end of our ordering year for print books and physical media items, this list of new titles consists entireley of eAudios & eBooks available for check out through Libby.

We’ll be getting more print books after the holiday season.

New Books Coming Your Way: December 2025

New Books Coming Your Way December 2025Download

Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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P.S. Some of the print books & physical media items may not yet appear in StarCat. So, if you see any title you’d like to check out, but it isn’t in StarCat, send me an email or give me a call and I’ll put your name on the list for it, as soon as it has arrived.

P.S.S. The three digital catalogs are:

The Digital Catalog found online at https://stls.overdrive.com/ and its companion app Libby found in mobile app stores.

The Hoopla Catalog found online at: https://www.hoopladigital.com/ and its companion app, also called Hoopla and found in mobile app stores.

Kanopy: The streaming video catalog found online at https://www.kanopy.com/ and its companion app, also called Kanopy, found in mobile app stores.

Books Sandwiched In 2026 Schedule

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, January is coming!

And along with the new year, will be a new season of Books Sandwiched In, hosted by The Friends of the Library, SSCL and held at the First Congregational Church (171 West Pulteney Street) in Corning.

Here is an informal version of the schedule:

Professional/formal copies of the schedule may be picked up at the library.

Have a great weekend,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

Suggested Reading Five: December 4, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

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Home of the American Circus: A Novel by Allison Larkin 

In Larkin’s charming latest (after The People We Keep), a 30-something woman forges an unexpected bond with her teenage niece. Freya, a bartender in coastal Maine, returns to her hometown in the Hudson Valley after her parents die in a car accident, having inherited the ramshackle house she grew up in. She’s surprised to find her troubled niece Aubrey, 15, secretly living in the house. The reason at first seems to be teenage rebellion, but the troubling truth is gradually revealed, along with Freya’s fraught history with her sister, Steena, who is Aubrey’s mother, and with Steena’s scummy husband, Charlie. Freya gets a job at a local inn and reconnects with old friends, who, along with Aubrey, help her repair the house. While the storytelling is simplistic—Steena, Charlie, and the sisters’ late mother are dastardly, while those on Freya and Aubrey’s side are correspondingly good-hearted—Larkin explores with tenderness and nuance the strong yet complicated relationship between her protagonists, and successfully uses the details of home repair as a metaphor for the rebuilding of Freya’s and Aubrey’s lives. It’s a cozy tale of new beginnings. – Publishers Weekly Review  

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Murder in Constantinople by A.E. Goldin 

DEBUT Ben Canaan, the son of a Jewish East End tailor in 1850s London, finds himself at the center of the international intrigue of the Crimean War in this first entry in a swashbuckling and highly entertaining series. Ben, dissatisfied with his lot in life and itching for more, runs afoul of the law, his family, and a local gangster. Discovering a recent photo of a lost love he believed was dead, Ben escapes to Constantinople to find her. Once there, he is pursued by the police and embroiled in a series of political murders called the White Death, plus a conspiracy that threatens the life of the sultan of the Ottoman Empire with potentially disastrous outcomes for Britain in the Crimean War. Although the book includes numerous plot contrivances and derring-do stereotypes, Goldin writes Ben with such verve and fun that he’s a natural companion to Agatha Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence and John Buchan’s Richard Hannay. VERDICT Goldin interweaves romance and vibrant local and historical color into this winning first novel. Readers willing to fully suspend their disbelief will be delighted by this boisterous and charming espionage mystery.-Library Journal Review  

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Murder at Holly House by Denzil Meyrick 

In Meyrick’s proposed trilogy starter, it’s December 1952 and Detective Inspector Frank Grasby has once again mishandled an investigation in York, England. As a reprimand, he is temporarily reassigned to the village of Elderby in the North Yorkshire moors to solve a string of thefts at several farms. Upon arrival, he discovers his staff consists of two constables, an American intern, and a sergeant prone to narcolepsy. While interviewing the local aristocratic family about the latest theft, Frank finds a body stuffed into a chimney. No one in the area claims to know the victim. After a second murder occurs, Frank realizes that Elderby is not just a sleepy country village; it conceals many secrets. When he is warned off investigating the deaths by his superiors, however, he is more curious than ever. Frank soon discovers he may be in over his head and that the people he has chosen to depend on may be his worst career mistake yet. VERDICT This is quite a departure from the author’s DCI Daley series. Meyrick, who died in February 2025, includes plenty of humorous asides and commentary from Grasby. That and the dialogue style add a lighthearted mood.-Library Journal Review  

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Never Rescue A Rogue: A Novel by Virginia Heath 

A duke teams up with a journalist to protect his tenants from his scheming uncle in Heath’s infectious second Merriwell Sisters historical romance (after Never Fall for Your Fiancée). Roguish Giles Sinclair, heir to the Duke of Harpenden, learned years ago that his real mother was the duke’s mistress, making him illegitimate. When his father dies suddenly, Giles fears it’s only a matter of time before the truth gets out and the law comes calling to seize his dukedom and hand it over to his greedy, philandering uncle Gervais. Brilliant Diana Merriwell also has a secret: she’s The Sentinel, an anonymous reporter with a reputation for using her pen to uncover dangerous secrets. Though no one in Diana’s family knows her real role at the paper, Giles suspects the truth. The quarrelsome pair have been forced to tolerate each other ever since Giles’s best friend married Diana’s sister—and now Giles turns to Diana for help. As they work together to protect each other’s secrets, their witty bickering becomes more like foreplay and trust and loyalty grow. Still, the threat of Gervais and Diana’s distrust for men threaten their budding romance. It’s the perfect mix of romance and intrigue, and the formidable central couple is sure to win hearts. This is a gem. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review  

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Return of the Spider by James Patterson 

Return of the Spider is the stunning companion novel to Along Came a Spider, the New York Times bestselling classic thriller from the world’s most popular storyteller. 

Enter the thrilling world of the #1 bestselling detective series that inspired the Prime Video show, Cross. 

Along Came a Spider introduced Detective Alex Cross to readers around the globe and delivered an unsurpassed rivalry: Cross—named the “human superhero” by The New York Times—versus Gary Soneji, who the Lexington-Herald Leader called the “most deliciously wicked character since Hannibal Lecter”. But that wasn’t their first meeting … 

Police discover that Soneji kept a murder book, Profiles in Homicidal Genius, detailing his transformation from substitute teacher to hardened serial killer—including clues that imply missteps that Alex Cross may have made a rookie homicide detective. 

Now, Alex must retrace the steps of that long-ago investigation and face … the Return of the Spider. 

Reader’s Note: Return of the Spider is the thirty-third book in the Alex Cross Series. If you’d like to binge read from the beginning, check out book one: Along Came A Spider. 

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

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

–

Weekly Suggested Reading Five postings are usually published on Wednesdays, unless Monday is a holiday, or the library is closed a day due to inclement weather, and then they are published later in the week.

–

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: October 10, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

–

Clown Town by Mick Herron 

A series of mounting complications leads to yet another fight to the death between the discarded intelligence agents of Slough House and the morally bankrupt head of MI5. As Jackson Lamb’s motley crew on Aldersgate Street struggles to cope with the deaths of River Cartwright’s grandfather and mentor, intelligence veteran David Cartwright, and their dim, beloved colleague Min Harper, new troubles are brewing. Diana Taverner, who runs the British Intelligence Service from Regent’s Park, is being blackmailed by former MP Peter Judd to do his bidding. Nothing untoward about that, of course, but this time, Judd’s demands, backed by a compromising tape recording, are more pressing than usual. So Diana reconvenes the Brains Trust–Al Hawke, Avril Potts, Daisy Wessex, and their ex-boss Charles Cornell Stamoran–whose last assignment was to serve as the contact for psychopathic IRA informant Dougie Malone while turning a blind eye to his multiple rapes and murders, which were really none of the Crown’s business. Taverner’s new assignment for the Brains Trust is the assassination of Judd. Since all these developments are filtered through the riotously cynical lens of Herron’s imagination, nothing goes as planned, and when the smoke clears, the fatalities don’t include Judd. Now that Judd knows he has as much reason to fear Taverner as she does to fear him, Lamb offers to broker a peace meeting between them which Slough House computer geek Roddy Ho will keep secret by knocking out 37 security cameras around Taverner’s dwelling. What could possibly go wrong? The best news of all: The climax leaves the door open to further reports from the hilariously misnamed British Intelligence. – Kirkus Review  

Reader’s Note: Clown Town is the nineth book in the Slough House series. If you’d like to start reading the series from the beginning, check out book one: Slow Horses.  

– 

It Was the Way She Said It Short Stories, Essays, and Wisdom by Terry McMillan 

The best part of reading this entertaining collection of published and unpublished fiction, sketches, and nonfiction is the sheer delight of immersing yourself in the works of a writer who has plenty to say and has never been afraid to say it. Author of 1990s megahits like Waiting To Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, McMillan has been chronicling the hopes, dreams, and defiance of Black women for decades, examining relationships between men and women, friends, neighbors, and family with hard-won wisdom and a rebellious authenticity. In these stories, economic woes figure prominently in the lives of her characters. Most of the protagonists are women, but in “The End,” published in 1976, a weary worker at the Ford Motor Co. confronts his dull days and the myriad factors that trap and isolate him. In “Reconstruction,” a man loses his job, and a couple’s relationship deteriorates into physical violence and sexual abuse. In “Ma’Dear (for Estelle Ragsdale),” a scrappy elderly widow survives by taking in boarders she’s not supposed to have. There are also characters struggling with love and its fallout–pregnancy scares, anger, regret, loneliness and loss–proving that McMillan has never shied away from frank assessments of sex and its power. In one of the best stories, “Can’t Close My Eyes to It,” a young girl spends time with her beloved grandmother and learns hard lessons about life. Even McMillan’s quick sketches are so immediately absorbing that you wish she’d fleshed them out into full-blown stories. You won’t want to skip the nonfiction pieces, which range from essays to a commencement speech, because the author’s voice is always engaging. But it’s through her fiction that McMillan shines brightest. “She reads the times we’re living through,” author Ishmael Reed writes in the foreword, a truth evident on every page. An entertaining reminder of McMillan’s storytelling abilities and unflinching honesty. – Starred Kirkus Review  

– 

A Land So Wide: A Novel by Erin A. Craig 

Greer Mackenzie has always dreamed of seeing the world beyond the borders of her settlement of Mistaken, and her work as a mapmaker only adds to that desire. However, she and everyone else who lives in Mistaken are trapped there by the Warding Stones that surround their tiny community. These stones also keep out the monsters, known as the Bright-Eyed, that live in the woodlands beyond Mistaken’s borders. Greer makes plans with her childhood love, Ellis Beaufort, to find each other during the Hunt (a hide-and-seek courting game that pairs up couples to marry), but when the Hunt begins, she is shocked to see Ellis walk through the boundary of the Warding Stones and be hunted by a creature. Determined to save Ellis, Greer discovers that the history of their town is not what its residents have been told. She and Mistaken have mysterious origins, and all will come to light as the Bright-Eyed face the travelers. The novel starts off at a slow pace, but the second half quickly sets up an action-filled sequence of events.

VERDICT Craig’s (The Thirteenth Child) adult debut pulls from Scottish folklore to explore a woman’s desire to be free. – Library Journal Review 

– 

Please Don’t Lie by Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt 

In this stylish, twisty thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christina Baker Kline and award-winning author Anne Burt, a young woman heads to the Adirondacks with her new husband for a fresh start—but the past won’t let her go. 

Two years ago, Hayley Stone lost everything. First, her parents died in a devastating fire. Then, her sister overdosed, leaving Hayley alone and hounded by a media circus that turned her family’s tragedy into tabloid fodder. When her new husband suggests a fresh start in the Adirondacks, the promise of anonymity in an isolated mountain town feels like salvation. 

But the mountains hold darker secrets than she ever imagined. 

Her once-loving husband grows distant and volatile. The widow down the road keeps spewing vague accusations. Not even their new friends—a free-spirited couple living on the property—can help Hayley shake the creeping sense that something is off. 

As winter edges closer, Hayley discovers that her sanctuary is anything but safe. Trapped and isolated, she faces a terrifying truth: in trying to escape her past, she may have run straight into something far more dangerous. – from the publisher  

–  

Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown  

The world’s most celebrated thriller writer and author of The Da Vinci Code returns with his most stunning novel yet—a propulsive, twisty, thought-provoking masterpiece that will entertain readers as only Dan Brown can do. 

Robert Langdon, esteemed professor of symbology, travels to Prague to attend a groundbreaking lecture by Katherine Solomon—a prominent noetic scientist with whom he has recently begun a relationship. Katherine is on the verge of publishing an explosive book that contains startling discoveries about the nature of human consciousness and threatens to disrupt centuries of established belief. But a brutal murder catapults the trip into chaos, and Katherine suddenly disappears along with her manuscript. Langdon finds himself targeted by a powerful organization and hunted by a chilling assailant sprung from Prague’s most ancient mythology. As the plot expands into London and New York, Langdon desperately searches for Katherine . . . and for answers. In a thrilling race through the dual worlds of futuristic science and mystical lore, he uncovers a shocking truth about a secret project that will forever change the way we think about the human mind.  

The Secret of Secrets is the sixth book in the Robert Langdon series, if you’d like to start reading the series from the beginning check out book one: Angels & Demons.  

– 

Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

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

–

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

–

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 Listening: August 1, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

–

Here is our Suggested Listening post spotlighting ten great musicians born during the month of August, on this the first day of August 2025.

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I Guess I Showed Her by Robert Cray (Born August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia)

Found on the Album: Strong Persuader (1986)

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West End Blues by Louis Armstrong (Born August 4, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana) 

Found on the Album: Volume IV – Louis Armstrong And Earl Hines (1989)

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Act Naturally by Buck Owens (Born August 12, 1929, in Sherman, Texas) 

Found on the Album: Essential Country Hits (2017)

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Walk of Life by Dire Straits featuring Mark Knopfler (Born August 12, 1949, in Glasgow, Scotland) 

 

 Found on the Album: Brothers In Arms (1985)

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Guinnevere by Crosby, Stills & Nash featuring David Crosby (Born August 14, 1941, in Los Angeles, California) 

Found on the Album: Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969)

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One O’Clock Jump by Count Basie (Born August 21, 1904, in Red Bank, New Jersey)  

Found on the Album: One O’Clock Jump: The Very Best of Count Basie (2006)

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Boogie Woogie by Count Basie featuring Jimmy Rushing on vocals (Born August 26, 1901, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 

Found on the Album: Count Basie at the Piano (1948)

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Boom Boom by John Lee Hooker (Born August 22, 1917, near Clarksdale, Mississippi) 

Found on the Album: Whiskey & Wimmen: John Lee Hooker’s Finest (2017)

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Scrapple from the Apple by Charlie Parker Jr. (Born August 29, 1920, in in Kansas City, Kansas) 

Found on the Album: The Original Parker (2008)

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What a Diff’rence a Day Makes by Dinah Washington (Born August 29, 1924, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) 

 

Found on the Album: What a Diff’rence a Day Makes (2000)

 

–

Have a great weekend,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

Suggested Listening postings are published on Fridays.

–

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 or streaming videos)? 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.

–

Visit the Southeast Steuben County Library website for more information on the library, its programs and services: https://ssclibrary.org

New York Times Bestsellers: June 22, 2025

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. ATMOSPHERE by Taylor Jenkins Reid: In the summer of 1980, Joan Goodwin begins training with a group of candidates for NASA’s space shuttle program. 

2. THE FIRST GENTLEMAN by Bill Clinton and James Patterson: When President Wright’s husband goes on trial for murder, a pair of journalists search for answers. 

3. NEVER FLINCH by Stephen King: Holly Gibney does double duty by helping head off acts of retribution and protecting a women’s rights activist. 

4. PROBLEMATIC SUMMER ROMANCE by Ali Hazelwood: Things get complicated between an older biotech guy and a struggling graduate student who go to a destination wedding. 

 5. ONE GOLDEN SUMMER by Carley Fortune: A photographer returns to a place where she spent a summer as a teenager and runs into the guy she had a crush on back then. 

6. BADLANDS by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child: The fifth book in the Nora Kelly series. The discovery of a pair of skeletons sparks an investigation that runs into a dark power. 

7. THE TENANT by Freida McFadden: Things take an unsettling turn when a marketing executive loses his job and a woman rents a room in his brownstone. 

 8. GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE by Emily Henry: A writer looking for her big break competes against a Pulitzer winner to tell the story of an octogenarian with a storied past. 

 9. TILL SUMMER DO US PART by Meghan Quinn: To keep up with her co-workers, Scottie Price takes a fake husband with her to a summer marriage camp. 

10. NIGHTSHADE by Michael Connelly: The Los Angeles County sheriff’s detective Stilwell gets reassigned to Catalina Island, where he investigates a poaching case and a Jane Doe found in the harbor. 

 11. HIDDEN NATURE by Nora Roberts: After recovering from a gunshot, a Natural Resources police officer investigates a woman’s disappearance. 

12. IRON FLAME by Rebecca Yarros: The second book in the Empyrean series. Violet Sorrengail’s next round of training under the new vice commandant might require her to betray the man she loves.  

13. MY FRIENDS by Fredrik Backman: A young woman looks into the story behind a painting that was made 25 years ago and a small group of teens depicted in it; translated by Neil Smith. 

14. ONYX STORM by Rebecca Yarros: The third book in the Empyrean series. As enemies gain traction, Violet Sorrengail goes beyond the Aretian wards in search of allies. 

15. IT TAKES A PSYCHIC by Jayne Castle: The 18th book in the Harmony series. An investigation brings Leona and Oliver to a town where locals are obsessed with a chilling legend. 

NON-FICTION

1. HOW COUNTRIES GO BROKE by Ray Dalio: The author of “Principles” evaluates the forces that contribute to what he calls the “big debt cycle.” 

2. ORIGINAL SIN by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson: An account of Joe Biden’s initial decision to run for re-election in 2024 and its numerous consequences. 

3. A DIFFERENT KIND OF POWER by Jacinda Ardern: The former prime minister of New Zealand details challenges her country faced and makes her case for empathetic leadership. 

4. THIS DOG WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE by Elias Weiss Friedman with Ben Greenman: The photographer known as the Dogist contends that dog ownership can improve your life. 

5. TRUMP’S TRIUMPH by Newt Gingrich: The former speaker of the House depicts the political comeback of President Trump. 

 6. HOW TO LOSE YOUR MOTHER by Molly Jong-Fast: A contributing writer at Vanity Fair and podcast host describes her relationship with her mother, Erica Jong. 

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. MARK TWAIN by Ron Chernow: The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer portrays the life and career of the literary celebrity and political pundit. 

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

10. SO GAY FOR YOU by Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig: Two stars of “The L Word” share stories of their friendship, the making of the series and the positive effects of chosen family. 

11. FREE RIDE by Noraly Schoenmaker: The creator of the YouTube channel Itchy Boots recounts the transcontinental motorcycle ride she took after personal and professional changes. 

12. ABUNDANCE by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson: A New York Times opinion columnist and a staff writer at The Atlantic evaluate obstacles to American progress. 

13. THE DISENLIGHTENMENT by David Mamet: The author of “Recessional” shares his views on politics and entertainment. 

14. THE HAVES AND HAVE-YACHTS by Evan Osnos: The National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner examines the excesses of the ultrarich and the influence that Silicon Valley and Wall Street have on politics. 

15. BIG DUMB EYES by Nate Bargatze: The Grammy Award-nominated comedian shares snippets from his life and career. 

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Have a great day!

Linda

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New York Times Bestseller lists are shared via blog post on Sundays; and occasionally on Mondays.

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THE CATALOGS:

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

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