Tag: Freegal Music Service

Weekly Recommended Listens: May 2017, Week 3: Sixties Rock: The First British Invasion Continued

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, this week we’re continuing our look at the sounds of the first British Invasion that ran, roughly, from February of 1964 to May 31, 1967.

And as a reminder, each weekly recommended music posting features following sections:

I. Links To AllMusic Biographies Of The Weekly Artists/Groups

II. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week (streaming music)

III. CD Music Recommendations Of The Week

IV. Videos Of This Weeks’ Artists/Groups

V. Wild Card Print Book Recommendation Of The Week

VI. References (for those who’d like to know a bit more about the artists of the week).

Our artists for this week are The Rolling Stones, The Kinks & The Animals.

And just FYI as a beginning note, since we’re taking a look at the early years of The British Invasion you won’t find recommendations for any music released after the end of May 1967. We’ll take a look at the music of the second British Invasion, that ran from June 1, 1967 through the end of the sixties in July.

I. Links to AllMusic Artist Bios:

The Rolling Stones Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
https://goo.gl/ESaSb4

The Kinks Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
https://goo.gl/BVCC6z

The Animals Biography by Bruce Eder
https://goo.gl/CwB1bW

Freegal Notes:
To access Freegal Music from a desktop or laptop simply click on the following link:
http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

The Freegal Music Catalog homepage will display — it looks like this:

The Freegal Music app can be found in your app store and it looks like this:

II. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week:

The Rolling Stones:

Carol from the Various Artists LP Canciones Con Nombre De Mujer Vol. 2

The Rolling Stones original line-up included Mick Jagger on vocals, Keith Richards on guitar, Brian Jones on guitar, Bill Wyman on bass and Charlie Watts on drums. And the Freegal Music Catalog doesn’t contain any full-length albums by The Rolling Stones. However, I did discover the catalog features a live version of The Stones covering Chuck Berry’s Carol that offers you a good idea of their early sound.

Here’s a link to the live version of Carol is from the Various Artists LP Canciones Con Nombre De Mujer Vol. 2
https://goo.gl/fu0VTT

The Kinks:

The Kinks (1964):

This is indeed the first album released by The Kinks. The original line-up of the group included brothers Ray and Dave Davies on guitars, Mick Avery on drums and Peter Quaife on bass. And this album showcases their early, raw classic rock sound as epitomized by songs like You Really Got Me and All Day And All Of The Night. As the sixties progressed and Ray Davies songwriting skills matured the sounds of the band transformed into a smoother more polished style of rock. This collection of music though, aptly shows off the early, earthy sound of the Kinks and includes the songs: You Really Got Me, Beautiful Delilah, So Mystifying, Too Much Monkey Business, I’m A Lover Not A Fighter, Revenge and Stop Your Sobbing.
https://goo.gl/em4bPZ

The Animals:

The Animals On Their Own – The Dave Cash Collection:

If you’re wondering who on Earth Dave Cash was? You’re not alone! I’d never heard of him before I did the research for this posting. It turns out he was the British equivalent to Dave Clark — a long time D J who worked for The B.B.C. for more than fifty years.

But I digress! Back to The Animals! The Animals original line-up included Eric Burdon on vocals, John Steel on drums, Alan Price on keyboard, Chas Chandler on bass and Hilton Valentine on guitar. The group played really great traditional rhythm and blues based rock. And unlike The Stones and The Kinks who branched out stylistically by writing their own songs The Animals remained true to their traditional R&B and rock roots – and you can hear that in all their music.This collection offers a great introduction to the band including the songs: House Of The Rising Sun, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, Bring It On Home, When I was Young and Hard Times.

The Animals On Their Own – The Dave Cash Collection
https://goo.gl/FmMyk9

Freegal Wild Card Streaming Pick Of The Week:

Here is an interesting album featuring a mixture of fuzzy guitars and clear vocals – today I suppose you’d classify this album as Indie Rock. I like the sound of this Australian band and also, being a cat fan, I like the name of the group too!

The Summer Cats:

Songs for Tuesdays
“The Summer Cats aren’t the kind of cats who like to curl up and purr the day away, they’re more apt to chase things, run around wildly, and basically tear stuff up. The Australian quintet states their aim as clearly as possible on the first track of their first album Songs for Tuesdays. “Let’s Go” bursts out of the gate with a supercharged Flying Nun-inspired attack (the Clean especially, but also some early Chills too) built around fuzzy guitars, peppy organ, and shouted vocals. The rest of the album follows in kind with barely a break for breath. Thirteen songs in 32 minutes doesn’t leave a lot of space for meandering or epic ballads or wasting time with guitar solos; it does leave plenty of space for memorable hooks and for songs that sound like they were created just to be played loudly in the summertime. Any summer mixtape would be improved by the addition of the noisy rocker “Hey You,” the droning Stereolab-esque “Lonely Planet,” or the wildly oscillating “St. Tropez.” You could really take any song and plug it into that sentence; the record is that strong and unified. The only complaint you might have with a record as tightly constructed as this could be that the songs all run together. The group heads this off in a couple of ways. While bandleader Scott Stevens takes most of the vocals, he turns a few over to other members of the group, most notably Irene, who provides the innocent female vocals that pair up with Stevens’ slightly manic tones perfectly. Secondly, they vary the sound of each song just a little bit. Some songs are heavy; some are lighter than air. Some have distorted guitars; some have clean and jangly guitars. It’s an admirable attention to detail that does a world of good. The Summer Cats spent a few years honing their sound on singles and EPs, and it really pays off on their debut. It’s the sound of a great rock band playing and writing at the peak of their game, and Songs for Tuesdays is an album anyone with a fondness for spiky, catchy, and super fun indie pop should own.”
–AllMusic Review by Tim Sendra–

https://goo.gl/nlOy6a

III. Compact Discs Recommendations:

The Rolling Stones:

Out of Our Heads (1965):
Out of Our Heads shows the Stones at a great time in their career. The band was still playing music that mixed traditional rhythm and blues with the sounds of classic rock and they were still covering other artists songs while also branching out and writing their own songs. This great album includes some super covers songs including Don Covay’s Mercy, Mercy, Bo Diddley’s I’m Alright, Marvin Gaye’s Hitch Hike and Sam Cooke’s Good Times. The album also includes some great original songs by Jagger & Richards including: The Last Time, Play With Fire, The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man, The Spider & The Fly and one of their all-time biggest hits — Satisfaction.

This CD isn’t quite ready to circulate but should be in the next few days – here’s a link to the request page in StarCat: https://goo.gl/9obOZz

The Kinks:

Face to Face (1966)
The Kinks were so much more than the sum of the hits they had – great songs though they were – the band was capable of producing excellent albums that flowed together as compared to simply being a group that whose albums featured hit singles.

This album received a great AllMusic review, which praises the album and notes that it is “One of the finest collections of pop songs released during the ’60s.” And I agree with that assessment!

When you listen to the early sound of The Kinks, as heard on their first album from 1964, and compare it to the sound of this album, released just a scant two years later — you can hear how the band has matured. Songs like the Dandy, Too Much on My Mind, Rainy Day in June, Sunny Afternoon and, my favorite, Party Line are really great classic rock songs that feature cool, creative lyrics.

And I do have to wonder – who out there even has a party line anymore?

But once upon time people did!

And this great album will be available in StarCat and our New CD Section shortly — it isn’t quite ready to circulate yet.

I will update this posting to include a request link for the album on CD as soon as it is ready to circulate.

The Animals:

Animalisms (1966)
The Animals, like The Rolling Stones started out playing a combination of traditional rhythm and blues and classic rock with a heavy emphasis on rhythm and blues. This is a great album! And in his review of Animalisms AllMusic editor Bruce Elder describes it nicely as “a truly transcendent collection of a dozen songs, mostly superb covers interspersed with some good originals, principally by Eric Burdon and Dave Rowberry. Burdon was never singing better and the group had developed a bold, tight sound that seemed to lift his soul shouting to ever higher levels of passion and conviction.” This album features twenty five songs including: Maudie, Sweet Little Sixteen, Gin House Blues, I Put A Spell on You, Don’t Bring Me Down and Inside Looking Out.

And this album too, is not quite ready to circulate, It will be available in StarCat and our New CD Section shortly.
I will update this posting to include a request link for the album on CD as soon as it is ready to circulate.

IV: Videos Of This Weeks’ Artists/Groups:

The Rolling Stones:

The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man

Mercy, Mercy

The Spider and the Fly

The Kinks:

A Well Respected Man

End of the Season

Waterloo Sunset 

Bonus Video:
The Big Boys by Chuck Berry – this is Berry’s first ever music video from his forthcoming album Chuck – being released posthumously in June:

V. Wild Card Print Book Recommendation Of The Week:

Talking Guitar: Conversations with Musicians Who Shaped Twentieth-Century American Music

by Jas Obrecht:

In this lively collection of interviews, storied music writer Jas Obrecht presents a celebration of the world’s most popular instrument as seen through the words, lives, and artistry of some of its most beloved players. Readers will read–and hear–accounts of the first guitarists on record, pioneering bluesmen, gospel greats, jazz innovators, country pickers, rocking rebels, psychedelic shape-shifters, singer-songwriters, and other movers and shakers. In their own words, these guitar players reveal how they found their inspirations, mastered their instruments, crafted classic songs, and created enduring solos. Also included is a CD of never-before-heard moments from Obrecht’s insightful interviews with these guitar greats.

Highlights include Nick Lucas’s recollections of waxing the first noteworthy guitar records; Ry Cooder’s exploration of prewar blues musicians; Carole Kaye and Ricky Nelson on the early years of rock and roll; Stevie Ray Vaughan on Jimi Hendrix; Gregg Allman on his brother, Duane Allman; Carlos Santana, Eric Johnson, and Pops Staples on spirituality in music; Jerry Garcia, Neil Young, and Tom Petty on songwriting and creativity; and early interviews with Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, and Ben Harper.
https://goo.gl/gi71zo

VI. References:

The Animals – Animalisms AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder
https://goo.gl/MhQOmm

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

DJ Dave Cash celebrates 50 years on the air
https://goo.gl/4SZMVm

The Kinks – Face to Face AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
https://goo.gl/vCJo8T

The Kinks Something Else Reviewed by Thomas Erlewine – AllMusic
https://goo.gl/oVTbaZ

The Kinks – The Kinks AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger
https://goo.gl/uvhH9B

The Rolling Stones – Out Of Our Heads AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger
https://goo.gl/9nxe6F

Sixties Rock: A Listener’s Guide by Robert Santelli (Contemporary Books. Chicago. 1985.)

Summer Cats Songs for Tuesday AllMusic Review by Tim Sendra
https://goo.gl/eI1iKL

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

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

*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and including our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York. Library cards are free and at our library you can obtain one by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features both your name and your current address.

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Friday, May 19, 2017

Linda Reimer

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

Our digital suggestion for today is the e-book:

 

A Daring Sacrifice by Jody Hedlund:

 In a reverse twist on the Robin Hood story, a young medieval maiden stands up for the rights of the mistreated, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. All the while, she fights against her cruel uncle who has taken over the land that is rightfully hers. Forced to live in the woods and hide with the poor people she’s grown to love, she works to save and protect them, but she never anticipates falling in love with the wealthy knight who represents all she’s come to despise.

Here’s a link to the check out page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/2307029

And our print book suggested read for the day is: 

Hashimoto’s Protocol: A 90-Day Plan for Reversing Thyroid Symptoms and Getting Your Life Back

by Izabella Wentz PharmD  

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller

Dr. Izabella Wentz, the author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, returns with a long-awaited, groundbreaking prescription to reverse the symptoms of this serious autoimmune condition that is becoming one of the country’s fastest growing diseases.

More than thirty-five million Americans currently suffer from Hashimoto’s—an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid gland and causes the body to attack its own cells. To alleviate the symptoms of this debilitating condition—including chronic cough, acid reflux, IBS, allergies, chronic pain, hair loss, brain fog, and forgetfulness—patients are often prescribed synthetic hormones that have numerous life-altering side effects.

But there is a better way.

Diagnosed with Hashimoto’s at twenty-seven, pharmacist Dr. Izabella Wentz knows first-hand the effects of the disease, as well as the value—and limitations—of medication. The key to improved health, she argues, involves lifestyle interventions. In Hashimoto’s Protocol, she outlines a proven treatment that has helped thousands heal and many others feel better—in as fast as ninety days.

Drawing on her own personal experience as well as her work consulting with thousands of patients, Hashimoto’s Protocol offers a practical pathway for healing and reversing the autoimmune damage at the root of the disease. The first step is a quick-start two-week detox that includes foods to eat and inflammatory foods to avoid, advice on supplements to support the liver, and an adrenal recovery plan. Next, readers create a personalized plan with foods, supplements, and other lifestyle interventions tailored to their body’s own unique Hashimoto’s triggers, which they can identify using self-tests included in the book. Hashimoto’s Protocol also features original recipes.

Grounded in the latest science, Hashimoto’s Protocol is the first book to offer a proven protocol by an acknowledged expert in the field to treat this condition and help sufferers reclaim their lives.

You can request the book by clicking on the following link to StarCat:

https://goo.gl/g8gZW5

Or by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!

Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

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

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

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

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

About Library Mobile Apps:

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

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Thursday, May 18, 2017

Linda Reimer

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

Our digital suggestion for today is the e-book:

What Angels Fear, Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery Series, Book 1 by C. S. Harris:

It’s 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III’s England. Then a beautiful young woman is found savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol found at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man-Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/613691

Also available in the Digital Catalog are books 2, 3, 4 5 & 6 in the Sebastian St. Cyr series:

2. When Gods Die – https://stls.overdrive.com/media/204881

3. Why Mermaids Sing – https://stls.overdrive.com/media/204897

4. Where Serpents Sleep – https://stls.overdrive.com/media/200633

5. What Remains of Heaven – https://stls.overdrive.com/media/274875

6. Where Shadows Dance – https://stls.overdrive.com/media/585309

And our print book suggested read for the day is:

Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole:

As the Civil War rages between the states, a courageous pair of spies plunge fearlessly into a maelstrom of ignorance, deceit, and danger, combining their unique skills to alter the course of history and break the chains of the past . . .

Elle Burns is a former slave with a passion for justice and an eidetic memory. Trading in her life of freedom in Massachusetts, she returns to the indignity of slavery in the South—to spy for the Union Army.

Malcolm McCall is a detective for Pinkerton’s Secret Service. Subterfuge is his calling, but he’s facing his deadliest mission yet—risking his life to infiltrate a Rebel enclave in Virginia.

Two undercover agents who share a common cause—and an undeniable attraction—Malcolm and Elle join forces when they discover a plot that could turn the tide of the war in the Confederacy’s favor. Caught in a tightening web of wartime intrigue, and fighting a fiery and forbidden love, Malcolm and Elle must make their boldest move to preserve the Union at any cost—even if it means losing each other . . .

Here’s a link to StarCat to request the book:

https://goo.gl/iWnPtZ

Or by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

And since both the suggested books for today are historical fiction – here’s another suggestion for history fans —

The June 1, 2017 edition of American Heritage which you can check out and read for free — and keep forever if you wish. You can read it either on a PC, or through the Zinio for Libraries app – here’s the link:

https://goo.gl/9pVSsj

Have a great day!

Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

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

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

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

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

About Library Mobile Apps:

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

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Linda Reimer

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

Our digital suggestion for today is the e-book:

Sleeping Giant: How the New Working Class Will Transform America
by Tamara Draut:

There was a time when America’s working class was seen as the backbone of the American economy, having considerable political, economic, and moral authority. But the working class we have now—far more female and racially diverse and employed by the fast food, retail, health care, and other service industries—has been marginalized, if not ignored, by politicians and pundits. This is changing, swiftly and dramatically.

Today’s working class is a sleeping giant. And as Tamara Draut makes abundantly clear, it is just now waking up to its untapped political power. Sleeping Giant is the first major examination of the new working class and the role it will play in our economic and political future. Blending moving individual narratives, historical background, and sophisticated analysis, Draut forcefully argues that this newly energized class is far along in the process of changing America for the better.

Draut examines the legacy of exclusion based on race and gender that contributes to the invisibility of the new working class, despite their entwinement in everyone’s day-to-day life. No longer confined to the assembly line, today’s working class watches our children and cares for our parents. They park our cars, screen our luggage, clean our offices, and cook and serve our meals. They are us.

With “Fight for $15” minimum-wage protests popping up throughout the country (and in some places winning) and economic inequality being recognized as one of the defining issues of our time, today’s working class will soon become impossible to ignore and foolish to dismiss. Sleeping Giant is the first book to tell the story of this extraordinary transformation in full and inspiring detail.

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/2411779

And our print book suggested read for the day is:

By Any Name by Cyntia Voigt:

From the award-winning author of Homecoming and Dicey’s Song comes a heartfelt adult novel perfect for readers of Judy Blume.

Rida is an orphan out of California who dances for the troops in the USO. Spencer is a naval officer with roots deep in New England’s upper crust. They meet during World War II at an Officer’s Club dance, and Spencer might have been dissuaded if he saw just one engagement ring on her finger, but instead, he sees four.

The courtship is easy, Rida wins him and wears his ring alone. But Rida is a wild card, and Spencer’s family can’t accept her unconventional approach to marriage, motherhood, and life.

Even Rida’s four daughters struggle to understand her, but for them it becomes a quest―to untangle the mystery of their stubborn, off-beat, clear-sighted, loving, and above all mesmerizing mother.

Award-winning author Cynthia Voigt has penned a novel for readers who grew up loving her Newbery Award-winning novels for children and young adults. By Any Name features an indelible woman who sees lines as meant to be crossed, changing the lives of all who come into contact with her indefatigable spirit.

Here’s a link to the StarCat request page for the book:

https://goo.gl/Zri6qQ

You can also requests books simply by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

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

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

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

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

About Library Mobile Apps:

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

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for today.

Our digital suggestion for today is the e-book:

The Return (Pulitzer Prize Winner) Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between
by Hisham Matar:

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • The acclaimed memoir about fathers and sons, a legacy of loss, and, ultimately, healing—one of The New York Times Book Review’s ten best books of the year, winner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times • The Washington Post • The Guardian • Financial Times

When Hisham Matar was a nineteen-year-old university student in England, his father went missing under mysterious circumstances. Hisham would never see him again, but he never gave up hope that his father might still be alive. Twenty-two years later, he returned to his native Libya in search of the truth behind his father’s disappearance. The Return is the story of what he found there.

The Pulitzer Prize citation hailed The Return as “a first-person elegy for home and father.” Transforming his personal quest for answers into a brilliantly told universal tale of hope and resilience, Matar has given us an unforgettable work with a powerful human question at its core: How does one go on living in the face of unthinkable loss?

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/2547202

And our print book suggested read for the day is:

Billy Pinto’s War by Michael Zimmer:

In 1904, sixteen-year-old Billy Pinto watches as the three men accused of murdering his Shoshone mother are set free, simply because the judge and prosecuting attorney don’t believe they can successfully try white men for the killing of an Indian. Stunned by the court’s decision, Billy decides to take justice into his own hands. He ambushes the three killers outside of town, then kidnaps the judge’s granddaughter before fleeing into the remote San Pedro Mountains.

Here’s a link to the request page in StarCat:

https://goo.gl/DAzADU

Or by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

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

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

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

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

About Library Mobile Apps:

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

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Monday, May 15, 2017

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our suggested daily recommended titles for today.

Our digital suggestion for today is the e-book:

Revenge of the Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen:

Last fall, Cynthia Rothschild saved her best friend, Annie, (and everyone else in her high school) from the demon librarian, Mr. Gabriel. But now all that demon stuff is over, and Cyn is ready to have the best summer ever — at theater camp (!) with her former crush and now boyfriend (!!) Ryan Halsey.

Once she gets to camp, though, the Best Summer Ever does not seem to be following the script. For one thing, there is Ryan’s very talented and very female lifelong camp best friend, whom he has somehow failed to mention before now. For another, it appears the demon stuff is not as entirely over as Cyn had hoped. Also, there are some secrets that perhaps she should not have kept from Ryan for quite this long.

At least any new demons that show up to ruin her summer can’t possibly be as evil as Mr. Gabriel, who is, thankfully, very dead now. It’s not like he could somehow come back to life to seek his terrible revenge or something. Right?

Best-selling author Michelle Knudsen brings back all of the hilarity and horror in this sizzling sequel to Evil Librarian.

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:
https://stls.overdrive.com/media/3135150

And our print book suggested read for the day is:

Bigfootloose and Finn Fancy Free: A Darkly Funny Urban Fantasy by Randy Henderson:

In Bigfootloose and Finn Fancy Free, the sequel to Randy Henderson’s acclaimed debut novel, Finn Fancy Necromancy, Finn Gramaraye is settling back into the real world after his twenty-five-year-long imprisonment in the otherworld of the Fey. He’s fallen in love with a woman from his past, though he worries she may love a version of him that no longer exists. He’s proved his innocence of the original crime of Dark Necromancy, and he’s finding a place in the family business–operating a mortuary for the Arcane, managing the magical energies left behind when an Arcane being dies to prevent it from harming the mundane world.

But Finn wants more. Or different. Or something. He’s figured out how to use the Kinfinder device created by his half-mad father to find people’s True Love, and he’d like to convert that into an Arcane Dating Service. It’s a great idea. Everyone wants True Love! Unfortunately, trouble always seems to find Finn, and when he agrees to help his friend, the Bigfoot named Sal, they walk right into a Feyblood rebellion against the Arcane Ruling Council, a rebellion being fomented by unknown forces and fueled by the drug created by Finn’s own grandfather.

Here’s a link to request the book in StarCat:
https://goo.gl/eMGq4r

Or by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

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

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

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

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

About Library Mobile Apps:

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

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Friday, May 12, 2017

Linda Reimer

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

Our digital suggestion for today is the e-book:

The Relic Master by Christopher Buckley:

“Christopher Buckley’s “hilarious, bawdy, and irreverent frolic of a tale” about a sixteenth-century relic hunter and the artist Albrecht Dürer who conspire to fabricate Christ’s burial shroud reads “like Indiana Jones gone medieval” (USA TODAY).

The year is 1517. Dismas is a relic hunter who procures “authentic” religious relics for wealthy and influential clients. His two most important patrons are Frederick the Wise and soon-to-be Cardinal Albrecht of Mainz. While Frederick is drawn to the recent writing of Martin Luther, Albrecht pursues the financial and political benefits of religion and seeks to buy a cardinalship through the selling of indulgences. When Albrecht’s demands for grander relics increase, Dismas and his artist friend Dürer fabricate a shroud to sell to the unsuspecting noble. Unfortunately Dürer’s reckless pride exposes the trickery, so Albrecht puts Dismas and Dürer in the custody of four mercenaries and sends them all to steal Christ’s burial cloth (the Shroud of Chambéry), Europe’s most celebrated artifact. On their journey to Savoy where the Shroud will be displayed, they battle a lustful count and are joined by a beautiful female apothecary. It is only when they reach their destination they realize they are not alone in their intentions to acquire a relic of dubious legitimacy.

“A rollicking good time, Christopher Buckley has transported his signature wit and irreverence from the Beltway to sixteenth-century Europe in The Relic Master” (GQ). This epic quest, “as rascally and convivial as any that Mr. Buckley has written” (The Wall Street Journal), is filled with fascinating details about art, religion, politics, and science; Vatican intrigue; and Buckley’s signature wit “holds the reader till the very last page” (The New York Times Book Review).”

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/2204497

And our print suggestion for today is the book:

Enduring Vietnam: An American Generation and Its War

by James Edward Wright:

The Vietnam War is largely recalled as a mistake, either in the decision to engage there or in the nature of the engagement. Or both. Veterans of the war remain largely anonymous figures, accomplices in the mistake. Critically recounting the steps that led to the war, this book does not excuse the mistakes, but it brings those who served out of the shadows.

Enduring Vietnam recounts the experiences of the young Americans who fought in Vietnam and of families who grieved those who did not return. By 1969 nearly half of the junior enlisted men who died in Vietnam were draftees. And their median age was 21―among the non-draftees it was only 20. The book describes the “baby boomers” growing up in the 1950s, why they went into the military, what they thought of the war, and what it was like to serve in “Nam.” And to come home. With a rich narrative of the Battle for “Hamburger Hill,” and through substantial interviews with those who served, the book depicts the cruelty of this war, and its quiet acts of courage.

James Wright’s Enduring Vietnam provides an important dimension to the profile of an American generation―and a rich account of an American War.

Here’s a link to request the book:

https://goo.gl/K8rVZS

You can also request items by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

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

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

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

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

About Library Mobile Apps:

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

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Thursday, May 11, 2017

Linda Reimer

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

Our digital suggestions for today include two related e-books published by The American Psychological Association and written by Professor Fathali M. Moghaddam. And these are rather heavy non-fiction titles – so fiction loving fans should skip down to the print book recommendation!

The Psychology of Democracy:

Where democracy thrives, it seems far and away the best system of governance. Yet, relatively few countries have managed to transition successfully to democracy, and none of them have attained what Fathali M. Moghaddam calls actualized democracy, the ideal in which all citizens share full, informed, equal participation in decision making. The obstacles to democratization are daunting, yet there is hope. What is it about human nature that seems to work for or against democracy?

In The Psychology of Democracy, Moghaddam explores political development through the lens of psychological science. He examines the psychological factors influencing whether and how democracy develops within a society, identifies several conditions necessary for democracy (such as freedom of speech, minority rights, and universal suffrage), and explains how psychological factors influence these conditions. He also recommends steps to promote in citizens the psychological characteristics that foster democracy. Written in a style that is both accessible and intellectually engaging, the book skillfully integrates research and an array of illustrative examples from psychology, political science and international relations, history, and literature.

Here’s a link to the checkout page for The Psychology of Democracy in the Digital Catalog: https://stls.overdrive.com/media/2557367

The Psychology of Dictatorship:

In this book, Fathali Moghaddam presents his springboard model of dictatorship, derived from both a substantive analysis of the common structures underlying dictatorial regimes and his own personal experience of life in a modern dictatorship. He discusses the importance of psychological processes such as displacement of aggression, conformity, obedience, fear, and cognitive dissonance as tools that aid the development and maintenance of dictatorships, as well as the crucial role of ideology in cementing the allegiance of elites. Since even democracies contain an ever-shifting relationship between democratic and dictatorial tendencies, with elements that can pull democracies back to dictatorship, this book has important implications for citizens of all nations, even our own.

Here’s a link to the checkout page, for The Psychology of Dictatorship,  in the Digital Catalog: https://stls.overdrive.com/media/2525508

About the Author:

Fathali M. Moghaddam, PhD, is a professor of psychology, Georgetown University, and editor-in-chief, Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology (American Psychological Association). Dr. Moghaddam was born in Iran, educated from an early age in England, and worked for the United Nations and McGill University before joining Georgetown University in 1990. His research focus includes the psychological changes required to move from dictatorship to democracy, a topic he studied for 5 years in postrevolution Iran, when he returned there in 1979. His most recent books include Psychology for the Third Millennium, (2012, with Rom Harré), The Psychology of Friendship and Enmity, (two volumes, 2013, with Rom Harré), and The Psychology of Dictatorship (2013), which received an honorable mention from the PROSE Awards and the American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence. He currently is editing the two-volume Sage Encyclopedia of Political Behavior.

And our suggested print title today is the book:

Change Agent by Daniel Suarez:

New York Times bestselling author Daniel Suarez delivers an exhilarating sci-fi thriller exploring a potential future where CRISPR genetic editing allows the human species to control evolution itself.

On a crowded train platform, Interpol agent Kenneth Durand feels the sting of a needle—and his transformation begins…

In 2045 Kenneth Durand leads Interpol’s most effective team against genetic crime, hunting down black market labs that perform “vanity edits” on human embryos for a price. These illegal procedures augment embryos in ways that are rapidly accelerating human evolution—preying on human-trafficking victims to experiment and advance their technology.

With the worlds of genetic crime and human trafficking converging, Durand and his fellow Interpol agents discover that one figure looms behind it all: Marcus Demang Wyckes, leader of a powerful and sophisticated cartel known as the Huli jing.

But the Huli jing have identified Durand, too. After being forcibly dosed with a radical new change agent, Durand wakes from a coma weeks later to find he’s been genetically transformed into someone else—his most wanted suspect: Wyckes.

Now a fugitive, pursued through the genetic underworld by his former colleagues and the police, Durand is determined to restore his original DNA by locating the source of the mysterious—and highly valuable—change agent. But Durand hasn’t anticipated just how difficult locating his enemy will be. With the technology to genetically edit the living, Wyckes and his Huli jing could be anyone and everyone—and they have plans to undermine identity itself.

Here’s a link to request the book:

https://goo.gl/lJqZ8E

You can also request items by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

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

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

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

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

About Library Mobile Apps:

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

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Linda Reimer

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

Our digital suggestion for today is the e-book:

The Progeny: A Novel by Tosca Lee:

New York Times bestselling author Tosca Lee brings a modern twist to an ancient mystery surrounding the most notorious female serial killer of all time. A fast-paced thriller like Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and BBC America’s hit series Orphan Black.
Emily Jacobs is the descendant of a serial killer. Now, she’s become the hunted.

She’s on a quest that will take her to the secret underground of Europe and the inner circles of three ancient orders—one determined to kill her, one devoted to keeping her alive, and one she must ultimately save.

Filled with adrenaline, romance, and reversals, The Progeny is the present-day saga of a 400-year-old war between the uncanny descendants of “Blood Countess” Elizabeth Bathory, the most prolific female serial killer of all time, and a secret society dedicated to erasing every one of her descendants. It is a story about the search for self filled with centuries-old intrigues against the backdrop of atrocity and hope.

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/2260672

And the print suggestion for today is the book:

The Practice House by Laura McNeal:

Nineteen-year-old Aldine McKenna is stuck at home with her sister and aunt in a Scottish village in 1929 when two Mormon missionaries ring the doorbell. Aldine’s sister converts and moves to America to marry, and Aldine follows, hoping to find the life she’s meant to lead and the person she’s meant to love.

In New York, Aldine answers an ad soliciting a teacher for a one-room schoolhouse in a place she can’t possibly imagine: drought-stricken Kansas. She arrives as farms on the Great Plains have begun to fail and schools are going bankrupt, unable to pay or house new teachers. With no money and too much pride to turn back, she lives uneasily with the family of Ansel Price—the charming, optimistic man who placed the ad—and his family responds to her with kind curiosity, suspicion, and, most dangerously, love. Just as she’s settling into her strange new life, a storm forces unspoken thoughts to the surface that will forever alter the course of their lives.

Laura McNeal’s novel is a sweeping and timeless love story about leaving—and finding—home.

Here’s a link to request the book:

https://goo.gl/zhUiXq

You can also request items by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

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

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

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

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

About Library Mobile Apps:

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

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Linda Reimer

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

Our digital suggestion for today is the e-book:

Against the Tide of Years by S. M. Stirling:

Emberverse: Island in the Sea of Time Series, Book 2 by S. M. Stirling: In the years since the Event, the Republic of Nantucket has done its best to re-create the better ideas of the modern age. But the evils of its time resurface in the person of William Walker, renegade Coast Guard officer, who is busy building an empire for himself based on conquest by technology. When Walker reaches Greece and recruits several of their greater kinglets to his cause, the people of Nantucket have no choice. If they are to save the primitive world from being plunged into bloodshed on a twentieth-century scale, they must defeat Walker at his own game:

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/254001

And the physical item for today the audiobook on CD:

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood:

Now a Hulu Original Series Handmaid’s Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men in its population.

The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment’s calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions. The Handmaid’s Tale is funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing. It is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and a tour de force. It is Margaret Atwood at her best.

Here’s a link to request the book:

https://goo.gl/RuQixB

You can also request items by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

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

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

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

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

About Library Mobile Apps:

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