Tag: Southeast Steuben County Library

Suggested Reading Five: June 25, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

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Broken Fields by Marcie Rendon 

Cash Blackbear, a young Ojibwe woman and occasional sleuth, is back on the case after a man is found dead on a rural Minnesota farm in the next installment of the acclaimed Native crime series. 

Minnesota, 1970s: It’s spring in the Red River Valley and Cash Blackbear is doing fieldwork for a local farmer—until she finds him dead on the kitchen floor of the property’s rented farmhouse. The tenant, a Native field laborer, and his wife are nowhere to be found, but Cash discovers their young daughter, Shawnee, cowering under a bed. The girl, a possible witness to the killing, is too terrified to speak. 

In the wake of the murder, Cash can’t deny her intuitive abilities: she is suspicious of the farmer’s grieving widow, who offers to take in Shawnee temporarily. While Cash is scouring White Earth Reservation for Shawnee’s missing mother—whom Cash wants to find before the girl is put in the foster system—another body turns up. Concerned by the escalating threat, Cash races against the clock to figure out the truth of what happened in the farmhouse. 

Reader’s Note: Broken Fields is the fourth book in the Cash Blackbear mystery series. If you’d like to read the series from the beginning, check out book one: Murder on the Red River. 

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Don’t Let Him In: A Novel by Lisa Jewell 

Meet Nick Radcliffe: tall, handsome, successful–everything Nina needs, a year after her husband’s unexpected death. She’s been struggling, alongside her daughter Ash. But Nick has secrets, apparently. We learn this before Nina begins to suspect: the author gives the reader a broader perspective, letting us see Nick when he’s not with Nina . . . when he’s not the man he’s pretending to be. Meanwhile, a florist and mother is dealing with her own list of revelations about the man she married and thought she could trust. Jewell is on a hot streak, with one brilliant thriller after another: The Night She Disappeared (2021), The Family Remains (2022), None of this is True (2023), even her Marvel Crime novel Breaking the Dark (2024). Her fans will be lining up to read this new novel (libraries should stock multiple copies), but it’s also a perfect introduction for new readers to the author’s brand of storytelling. As tantalizingly labyrinthine as her stories are, it’s the way she anchors them in a recognizably real world, and populates them with abundantly human characters, that makes them so successful. In a genre full of top-flight authors, she ranks very near the absolute top.

HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Jewell has become a multi-time best-seller with her sensational thrillers. – Starred Booklist Review 

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The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong 

When elderly Grazina, of East Gladness, Connecticut, sees 19-year-old Hai poised to jump from a bridge into the rushing river below, she stops him, invites him in, and offers him a room in her nearly condemned house on the river’s bank. She needs a new nurse, after all. When their cash for frozen dinners runs low, Hai gets a job at the chicken chain HomeMarket through Sony, his Civil War-war obsessed cousin who sees their enthusiastic manager, BJ, as the finest general these young soldiers could ask for. Found family is the core of award-winning poet and novelist Vuong’s (On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, 2019) meaty second novel, especially the loving relationship between Hai, who’s caught in the grips of a pill addiction while his mom thinks he’s away at medical school, and Grazina, who increasingly needs Hai’s help to both stay above water in the present and also excavate the traumas she lived through in WWII-era Lithuania. Love grows, too, among the richly sketched HomeMarket crew, who rally around one another in word and deed. Also exploring themes of war and labor–their wretchedness, their dignity–Vuong’s epic-feeling novel is a determined portrait of community, caretaking, and characters who, if they only have each other, have quite a lot. – Starred Booklist Review 

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Picturing Black History: Photographs and Stories that Changed the World by Daniela Edmeier 

Picturing Black History uncovers untold stories and rarely seen images of the Black experience, providing new context around culturally significant moments. This beautiful collectible volume makes a thoughtful gift and is full of rousing, vibrant essays paired with rarely seen photographs that expand our understanding of Black history. 

The book is a collaborative effort between Getty Images, Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, and the History departments at The Ohio State and Miami Universities. It informs, educates, and inspires our current moment by exploring the past, blending the breadth and depth of Getty Images’s archives with the renowned expertise of Origins contributors and The Ohio State’s and Miami’s History departments, including Daniela Edmeier, Damarius Johnson, Nicholas Breyfogle, and Steve Conn. 

Created by a growing collective of professional historians, art historians, Black Studies scholars, and photographers and showcasing Getty Images’s unmatched collection of photographs, Picturing Black History embraces the power of visual storytelling to relay little-known stories of oppression and resistance, perseverance and resilience, freedom, dreams, imagination, and joy within the United States and around the world. 

In collecting these new photographic essays, this book furthers an ongoing dialogue on the significance of Black history and Black life, sharing new perspectives on the current status of prejudice and discrimination bias with a wider audience. Picturing Black History uses the latest academic learning and scholarship to recontextualize and dispel prejudices, while uncovering, digitizing, and preserving new archival materials to amplify a more inclusive visual landscape. 

“Picturing Black History offers a trove of both famous and unseen photos with brief, poignant accompanying essays to show not only the centrality of Black people to American history but also how African Americans used the photographer’s lens to tell their own stories. The editors, authors, and Getty images have created a beautiful book that stands on its own as a work of art, a veritable museum in print.” —Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University 

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Them Bones: A McKenzie Novel by David Housewright 

Cop-turned-millionaire Rushmore McKenzie isn’t exactly a private investigator. Sure, he takes on the occasional case for a friend, but he doesn’t have a license or, you know, any official standing as a PI. When he’s asked to track down a stolen dinosaur skull, how can he possibly refuse? Turns out this was no random heist–the people who took the very rare specimen knew exactly what they were doing, and they are determined to hold onto the skull, no matter what it takes. Rushmore isn’t what you’d call an action hero, but he’s no stranger to physical danger, either, and he’s never been known to shy away from a fight. Can he recover the stolen skull without risking his own life? The McKenzie series has been rolling along smoothly since 2004’s A Hard Ticket Home, and this, the 22nd installment, is just as well written, suspenseful, and satisfying as its predecessors. A sure-fire hit for Housewright’s fans. – Booklist Review 

Reader’s Note: As mentioned, Them Bones it the twenty-second mystery in the Rushmore McKenzie mystery series. If you like to binge read from the beginning, check out book one: A Hard Ticket Home.  

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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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Suggested Reading Five posts are published on Wednesdays.

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Information on the four library catalogs

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

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!

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

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

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Suggested Reading Five: June 18, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

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King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby 

Roman Carruthers did it. He got out. He left the dying town of Jefferson Run, Virginia, and he built himself a prosperous life making money for other people. When he learns that his father is in a coma after a car accident, he flies home immediately to find a family in disarray: a sister who’s become obsessed with the long-ago disappearance of their mother, and a brother who’s deep in debt to some very bad people. Can Roman somehow find a way to bring peace to his family, even as his father lies dying? Cosby has published one magnificent crime novel after another, beginning with 2019’s My Darkest Prayer, and this new book spotlights the author’s gift for building complex characters. It also continues his exploration of the dark places humans keep hidden within us. His dialogue, too, is pitch-perfect: colloquial and idiomatic, reflecting the education and upbringing of his characters–it feels like we’re eavesdropping on real people. A stunning novel. 

HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Cosby’s rural southern noir mysteries have become consistent best-sellers, and this one comes out in time for beach read season. – Booklist Review 

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The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater 

 It’s January 1942, and in the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack, the regal Avallon Hotel in rural West Virginia has been requisitioned by the United States government as a detention center for diplomats from Axis countries. General manager June Hudson, who controls the hotel and the mysterious sweetwater that runs through the property, must convince her staff–men who are worried about being drafted into the war, and women with family members heading off to fight–to offer the same level of service to the detainees as they do to their regular guests. Complicating matters is the presence of the State Department and the FBI, especially mysterious agent Tucker Minnick, who has more of a connection to the region and the sweetwater than he initially lets on. June must be careful as she navigates her loyalties to the hotel and the realities of life during wartime.

VERDICT YA author Stiefvater’s (“The Raven Cycle”) first foray into historical fiction retains her unique voice and signature magical realism. Well-drawn characters and excellent worldbuilding bring a little-known element of World War II to life in this must-read for all historical fiction fans.-Starred Library Journal Review 

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Poet’s Square: A Memoir in Thirty Cats by Courtney Gustafson  

Sad Boy and Lola, Monkey, and Mr. Bigbutt are just a few of the feral cats featured on Gustafson’s social media pages, @poetsquarecats. Gustafson had no idea that after moving into her new home in Tucson’s Poets Square neighborhood, the 30 feral cats living on and around the property would change the trajectory of her life and career. After months of haphazardly tossing kibble at the wayward ferals and lamenting over how best to care for them on her meager nonprofit salary, Gustafson took some chances, learning about TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) efforts and feral cat care just as the COVID-19 pandemic struck. In alternating story lines–one often connected to a specific cat and the other to Gustafson’s life experiences–she shares her battles with mental health, chronic illness, and quarter-life crisis. As she contemplates her life and internet virality, Gustafson grapples with perception by the online masses, the significant and empowering love of an animal, misogyny in rescue work, the financial strain of pet ownership, the ache of animal loss, and most importantly, how to develop a community. Her riveting and emotional vignettes are loaded with humanity and all the important lessons we can learn from little creatures just trying to survive. – Starred Booklist Review  

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Three Junes by Julia Glass 

A National Book Award Winner. 

This strong and memorable debut novel draws the reader deeply into the lives of several central characters during three separate Junes spanning ten years. At the story’s onset, Scotsman Paul McLeod, the father of three grown sons, is newly widowed and on a group tour of the Greek islands as he reminisces about how he met and married his deceased wife and created their family. Next, in the book’s longest section, we see the world through the eyes of Paul’s eldest son, Fenno, a gay man transplanted to New York City and owner of a small bookstore, who learns lessons about love and loss that allow him to grow in unexpected ways. And finally there is Fern, an artist and book designer whom Paul met on his trip to Greece several years earlier. She is now a young widow, pregnant and also living in New York City, who must make sense of her own past and present to be able to move forward in her life. In this novel, expectations and revelations collide in startling ways. Alternately joyful and sad, this exploration of modern relationships and the families people both inherit or create for themselves is highly recommended for all fiction collections. – Booklist Review 

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With a Vengeance: A Novel by Riley Sager  

Sager’s newest book, With a Vengeance, is also one of his very best. The setup is simple: in the mid-1950s, Anna Matheson invites a handful of people to take a cross-country journey, overnight from Philadelphia to Chicago, aboard a luxury train. Who is Anna? What is her relationship to these seemingly unconnected people? All will be revealed in the author’s good time: Sager demonstrates his gift for dispensing information a piece at a time by keeping the reader in a constant state of suspense. And, anyway, Anna’s plan–one enacting her own idea of justice–goes tragically wrong when one of the passengers is apparently murdered, and the killer begins picking off passengers, one by one. Back at the top of his game, Sager delivers a thriller so tautly written, so tightly constructed, that readers will emerge from the book breathless and in a mild state of shock. With this book, Sager has committed an act of brilliance. 

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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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Suggested Reading Five posts are published on Wednesdays.

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Information on the four library catalogs

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

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!

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

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

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

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

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

–

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

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

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

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

–

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

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

–

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.

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

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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.

–

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

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

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

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

–

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

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

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

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

–

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

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

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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.

Suggested Reading Five: June 11, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

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Dorothea Lange: Seeing People by Philip Brookman et al.

An expansive look at portraiture, identity, and inequality as seen in Dorothea Lange’s iconic photographs 

Dorothea Lange (1895–1965) aimed to make pictures that were, in her words, “important and useful.” Her decades-long investigation of how photography could articulate people’s core values and sense of self helped to expand our current understanding of portraiture and the meaning of documentary practice. 

Lange’s sensitive portraits showing the common humanity of often marginalized people were pivotal to public understanding of vast social problems in the twentieth century. Compassion guided Lange’s early portraits of Indigenous people in Arizona and New Mexico from the 1920s and 1930s, as well as her depictions of striking workers, migrant farmers, rural African Americans, Japanese Americans in internment camps, and the people she met while traveling in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. 

Drawing on new research, the authors look at Lange’s roots in studio portraiture and demonstrate how her influential and widely seen photographs addressed issues of identity as well as social, economic, and racial inequalities—topics that remain as relevant for our times as they were for hers. 

Published in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington 

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Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suites by Jason Pargin (AKA David Wong) 

A young woman who believes her father dead enters a cyberpunk theme park where everyone is trying to kill her for a secret she doesn’t even know she has. All right, grab some popcorn and strap in. We’re in for another profane and funny roller-coaster ride from Wong (This Book is Full of Spiders, 2012, etc.)-better known as the playful pseudonym of Cracked’s Jason Pargin. Here the author strays from his previous horror adventures to craft a sci-fi comedy-thriller full of ray guns, sentient programs, and cybernetically enhanced psychotic killers. Our hero(ine) is Zoey Ashe, a self-identified “trailer troll” from rural Colorado whose single mother shills drinks in a zombie-themed bar. It doesn’t take long for Wong to offer lots of clues that this is the near future, one in which the chasm between the rich and the poor has reached cartoonish proportions. It turns out that Zoey’s father was Arthur Livingston, the founder of a utopian city geared toward criminals and the superrich called Tabula Ra$a, located out in the high desert. Arthur was blown up by a rival arms dealer, so his gang, the Suits of the title, are under instruction to fetch Zoey, who holds the key to retrieving his fortune, not to mention his violent revenge. “I want no part of this nonsense,” Zoey says. “This whole city is a butt that farts horror.” The enhanced bad guys are all broadcasting to the fictional “Blink” network, a kind of POV live stream that lends itself well to the insane supervillain monologues that pepper the book. Meanwhile, Zoey’s lack of enthusiasm is irksome to Will Blackwater, her escort. “You take risks; you get hurt,” he says. “And you put your head down and plow forward anyway and if you die, you die. That’s the game. But don’t tell me you’re not a hero.” Some of the sci-fi elements are comic book-y and the humor is as juvenile as ever, but the book more than makes up for any shortcomings with its Technicolor tomorrowland, mischievous humor, and frenetic action sequences. – Kikus Review 

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A Slant of Light by Kathryn Lasky 

Lasky’s latest Georgia O’Keeffe mystery (after Mortal Radiance, 2024) begins with a young Native American boy running through the desert. It soon becomes clear that he has escaped the boarding school of St. Ignatius, and when Georgia takes him in, she learns his sister was killed at the school, one of countless tragedies that has struck there. Meanwhile, Sheriff Ryan McCaffrey is investigating the death of a local bishop who was found hanging, but the medical examiner is sure it was murder. Georgia takes a job teaching at the school to find out if the two cases are connected. They are, and there are also connections to self-mortification devices, antisemitic priest Father Charles Coughlin, and a papal legate. Lasky once again combines real-life figures and events (O’Keeffe, Coughlin, and the abdication of King Edward VIII) into a compelling mystery that culminates in a terrifying showdown during a blizzard. Though A Slant of Light is best enjoyed as part of a series, fans of historical mysteries need not have read the first two to appreciate this one. – Booklist Review  

Reader’s Note: A Slant of Light is the third book in Georgia O’Keefe mystery series. If you’d like to start reading from the beginning of the series, check out book one: Light on Bone. 

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A Slash of Emerald by Patrice McDonough 

In 1867, Annie O’Neill, a London shopgirl, is on her way home from modeling for a woman artist–a gig she takes on to supplement her meager wages–when she is accosted by soldiers and then detained by the police as a probable prostitute. As required by the law, Inspector Richard Tennant calls in Dr. Julia Lewis for the exam. On her way home, Julia is on the scene of a skating disaster in Regents Park, treating, among others, Charles Allingham, a respected art publisher. When she calls at the Allingham mansion the next day, she meets Mary Allingham, an artist preparing for the upcoming women’s salon. Mary is distraught that her studio had been broken into, with a portrait slashed and painted over with a large green W. It’s not until Tennant calls on Julia to examine the body a woman who, like Annie, was a model, that the threads converge: this model is the subject of Mary’s painting. As Julia and Richard join forces to solve the murders, they uncover sordid links between the rarefied art world and the difficult life that poor women, especially single women and widows, face in the city. As with the first in the series (Murder by Lamplight, 2024), this book will appeal to Anne Perry fans, with both the exploration of societal ills and with the developing relationship between Julia and Richard. – Booklist Review  

Reader’s Note: A Slash of Emerald is the second book in the Dr. Julia Lewis Mystery Series. If you’d like to start reading at the beginning of the series, check out book one: Murder By Lamplight.

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Storybook Ending by Moira Macdonald 

DEBUT Westley, an unassumingly handsome bookstore employee, is at the center of Seattle Times art critic Macdonald’s debut novel about books and friendships, set in a Seattle bookshop and full of references to the hit 1993 movie Sleepless in Seattle. One of the shop’s customers is April, a work-from-home real estate promoter, who decides to attract Westley’s attention by leaving an anonymous note in a used book she is returning for store credit. Laura, a young widow with a seven-year-old daughter, is desperate for a copy of the same book for her first book club meeting and buys April’s copy before can Westley inspect it. What results is more notes left in specific shelved books, and both women thinking that it’s Westley who’s writing to them. A subplot involves a Hollywood director filming a low-budget movie at the bookstore, with Westley as a stand-in. The happily-ever-after in Macdonald’s novel is a new circle of relationships formed among the bookstore’s employees, its customers, and the movie crew. VERDICT Ideal for fans of thirtysomething second-chance love stories with appealing secondary characters.-Library Journal Review 

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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

–

Weekly Suggested Reading Five posts are published on Wednesdays.

–

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: June 6, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

–

This week, in honor of all those who served during World War II, and especially those who took part in the Allied Invasion of Europe on D-Day,  on this the eighty-first anniversary of the invasion on June 6, 1944, here is a collection of songs that were popular during that momentous year.

–

And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine by Stan Kenton with Anita O’Day on vocals 

Found on the Album: Classics (1952) by Stan Kenton & His Orchestra

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Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me by Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 

Found on the Album: The Treasury Shows Vol. 17, Pt. 1 (2013) | Note the song isn’t available on many digital albums, but the original version seems to be available on both vinyl and CD.

–

G.I. Jive by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five 

Found on the Album: #1s (2004)

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I Couldn’t Sleep A Wink Last Night by Frank Sinatra  

Found on the Album: N/A, the song appeared in the 1944 comedy Higher And Higher.

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I’ll Get By (As Long as I Have You) by Harry James & His Orchestra with Dick Haymes 

Found on the Album: Dick Haymes with Harry James & Benny Goodman: The Complete Columbia Recordings (1998)

–

 I’m Making Believe by Ella Fitzgerald & The Ink Spots  

Found on the Album: The Best of the Ink Spots (1999)

–

Mairzy Doats by The Merry Macs 

Found on the Album: Hits From The War Years – The Sun Has Got His Hat On by Various Artists

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The Music Stopped by Woody Herman & His Orchestra  

Found on the Album: N/A; this song too is from the soundtrack of th comedy Higher & Higher (1944).

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Straighten Up and Fly Right by Nat King Cole & His Orchestra  

Found on the Album: The Nat King Cole Story (1991)

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Swinging on a Star by Big Crosby  

Found on the album: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best Of Bing Crosby (2007)

–

Hoopla Album of the Week

20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best Of Bing Crosby (2007) by Bing Crosby

And from the album, the song:

Don’t Fence Me In  

–

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

Suggested Reading Five: June 4, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

–

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

A female astronaut in the 1980s encounters sexism and finds romance as she chases her dreams. Joan Goodwin has always been obsessed with space, which is why she became an astrophysics professor at Rice University. But then, something happens that she’s only dreamed about–NASA announces that it’s looking for female scientists to join the space program. Joan is accepted on her second try, and in 1980, she begins training with a group of male and female candidates who, while all brilliant, have a wide range of personalities. Some of the men are sexist and spend most of their time cracking offensive jokes, but Joan finds a friend in kind-hearted pilot Hank Redmond, who gives her plenty of opportunities to learn. Joan finds both camaraderie and competition among the women–there’s determined Lydia Danes, who embodies the “I’m not here to make friends” ethos, and the more supportive Vanessa Ford, who quickly becomes one of Joan’s most trusted allies. As the group trains together, they begin to feel like a family–and as Joan grows closer to Vanessa, she realizes that life on Earth may contain just as many wonders as the cosmos. The story cuts back and forth between a disaster in 1984 and the story of Joan’s journey through the space program. Reid keeps the tension high, making this perhaps her most propulsive novel yet as she balances the drama of Joan’s personal life with the fast-paced action of a catastrophe in space. Even with the high-stakes action, the touching and surprising love story is the emotional heart of the book. A heart-pounding race against the clock combined with a love story adds up to a novel that’s impossible to put down. – Starred Kikus Review 

– 

The Californians: A Novel by Brian Castleberry 

Beset by complicated families and the crises of their eras, artists nevertheless strive for beauty and truth over a century of American life. Displaced by an apocalyptic Northern California wildfire, down-on-his-luck Tobey Harlan is pulled into a scheme to steal valuable paintings from his rich, politically exasperating father. Famous for her haunting 1980s portrayals of AIDS patients, painter Diane “Di” Stigl underscored the country’s moral shortcomings and battled her own demons. Castleberry reaches further back, to Di’s grandfather, silent-film auteur Klaus von Stigl, who “celebrated the dark and individualistic forces” of his adopted nation while harboring personal secrets. As the artists’ stories unfold during the turbulent twentieth century, their trajectories intertwine in complex and bewildering ways, yet the artistic striving and loss they represent is unambiguous. Fire, representing creativity and destruction, becomes a recurrent motif. Is theft the key to freedom, loss the key to renewal? Castleberry (Nine Shiny Objects, 2020) animates his characters’ lives with a longing for meaning and a commitment to historical detail. The result is a novel as ambitious, beautiful, and precarious as the Golden State itself. – Booklist Review  

– 

The Causative Factor by Megan Staffel 

An accident links the lives of two lovers in Staffel’s novel. Rachel Goodwin first sees Rubiat Elsayem when they attend a New York college together and meet in a performance art class called Body Expression. They’re partners on a project in which each must define the other’s essential quality. They fall in love over a 24-hour period before finding themselves on a long hike at Stony Brook State Park. Rachel watches Rubiat impulsively dive from a cliff and assumes (incorrectly) that he’s dead. She tries desperately to move on from the shock. The novel is split into two halves: The first follows Rachel through the aftermath as she builds her career as an artist and language teacher in Queens, eventually meeting someone new. The second follows both Rachel and Rubiat. Rachel unpacks her deep feelings for Rubiat, and he explores his issues with impulse control and pressure in the wake of leaving Rachel in such a spectacularly weird way. Staffel also incorporates perspectives from Dusty, Rachel’s boyfriend, whom she meets through her friend Angela, who’s Chinese American. The book movingly depicts the complexity of human psychology, such as Rachel’s inability to forget Rubiat. Other weighty themes, like Angela’s exoticization by her German boyfriend, are glossed over–a missed opportunity. Ultimately, the novel becomes a fascinating portrayal of identity, expanding on the moment that brought Rachel and Rubiat together (which lends its name as the title), explained by their teacher as an exercise that would guide the participants toward finding “their deepest motivation, the hidden foundation of their character, that quality that makes them the person they are.” A suspenseful plotline, sometimes slowed by flat secondary characters, continues to investigate the cast’s motivations, and Staffel probes Rachel’s and Rubiat’s personalities right until the final page. A gripping, unusual romance fueled by an ongoing mystery. – Kirkus Review 

– 

The English Masterpiece: A Novel by Katherine Reay 

At the gala opening of a Picasso exhibition at the Tate Modern, Lily Summers (the recently promoted assistant to curator Diana Gilden) does something unforgivable. Looking at a recently discovered painting hanging in the show, she exclaims, “It’s a forgery.” The ensuing scandal ignites a firestorm in the 1970s London art world and beyond. Lily looks up to Diane, even mimicking her fashion style and taste in art but eventually learns precisely who and what her mentor is. In the search for the painting’s provenance, secrets are revealed, alliances are formed, and lives are threatened. Amid all the chaos, Lily looks hard at her own life and choices and rediscovers her artistic aspirations. Reay’s (The London House) intricately woven tale combines an intriguing art mystery with one young woman’s journey of self-discovery. Her descriptions of 1970s food, art, fashion, and luxurious interiors are evocative, the story is fast-paced, and the dialogue fizzy.

VERDICT A stylish historical that will appeal to art-loving readers and fans of strong women characters.–Library Journal Review  

– 

Polybius by Collin Armstrong 

One damp California day in October 1982, Polybius strangely becomes the most popular game in Tasker Bay. With wildly advanced graphics and mesmerizing gameplay, it’s magnetic. Electronics-obsessed high-schooler Andi is in charge of the Home Video World’s arcade, and she notices things aren’t quite right with Polybius. The game was purchased used, with no marquee sign or markings, and Andi finds no way to reach the manufacturer when players slowly start to become infected with fugue states, go on violent rampages, and begin to take revenge. Debut author Armstrong taps into the urban legend of the eponymous game that mysteriously flickered in and out of existence in the early 1980s, rumored to be a government conspiracy. As Andi connects with fellow student Ro, the two team up to figure out why everyone is so affected by playing the game. Andi might have a secret weapon against Polybius’ hypnotic pull, while Ro’s helpless descent into its depths may be his downfall. Polybius is retro and atmospheric; fans of The God Game (2020), by Danny Tobey, or Rabbits, by Terry Miles (2021), will find enjoyable parallels. – Booklist Review 

–

Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

Suggested Reading Five posts are published on Wednesdays.

–

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

–

Information on the four library catalogs

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

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!

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

–

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

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

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

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

–

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

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

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

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

–

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

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

–

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

–

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

Suggested Listening April 11, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

Suggested Listening postings are published on Fridays; and our next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, April 18, 2025.

–

Last week we listened to a collection of songs by the great bluesman Muddy Waters, who was born April 4, 1915 (or 1913 – there is some question about the year); and this week we will listen to a collection of songs by a variety of other artists who were born during the month of April.  

 

The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena) by Jan & Dean (Jan Barry was born April 3, 1941) 

 

Found on the LP: Jan and Dean’s Greatest Hits (1991) 

 

– 

 

Ramrod by Duane Eddy (Duane Eddy was born in Corning, on April 26, 1938) 

 

Found on the Album: Have Twangy Guitar Will Travel (1958) 

  

– 

 

I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye (Born April 2, 1939) 

 

Found On The Album: In The groove (1968) 

 

– 

 

Let’s Stay Together by Al Green (Born April 13, 1946) 

 

Found on the Album: Let’s Stay Together (1972) 

  

– 

  

Flying Home by Lionel Hampton (Born April 20, 1908) 

 

Found On The Album: Flying Home (1965) 

  

–  

 

Cantaloupe Island by Herbie Handcock (Born April 12, 1940) 

  

Found On The Album: Empyrean Isles (1964) 

  

– 

  

What A Little Moonlight Can Do by Billie Holiday (Born April 7, 1915) 

 

Found On The Album: The Essential Billie Holiday  (2010) 

 

– 

 

Dedicated To You by Freddie Hubbard (Born April 7, 1938) 

 

Found On The Album: The Body And The Soul (1964) 

 

– 

 

Oh, Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison (Born April 23, 1936) 

 

Found On The Album: The Essential Roy Orbison (2006) 

 

– 

  

St. Louis Blues by Bessie Smith (Born April 15, 1894) 

 

Found On The Album: The Essential Bessie Smith (2013) 

 

– 

Have a great weekend,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

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.

–

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

Read In At Library Tomorrow Friday, April 11 – Join Us!

Linda Reimer

For additional information visit the Read In program description on our website

https://ssclibrary.org/event/library-read-in-in-support-of-libraries/

Have a great day,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

Suggested Reading Five: January 29, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

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

And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, February 5, 2024.

–

Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Imani Perry  

National Book Award-winner Perry (South to America, 2022) offers an impressionistic cultural history of the African diaspora through its connections to the color blue, from the Congo to Haiti, Jamaica, and the American South, in music, dance, folklore, art, and literature. As enslaved Black people in the U.S. fought to affirm their humanity, the color blue was key: “Blue porches, planted blue flowers, written blue scriptures, blue attire, trees festooned with blue bottles: these became the cultivated habits and rituals of people denied civil society and legal recognition.” In Black bodies, blue evoked “two distinct forms of power,” for “the least degraded among Black people were the ones who had the bluest veins beneath the palest skin,” while a “blue-gummed woman . . . held the power of conjure and deep ways of knowing.” Enslaved Blacks were freed by the Union “boys in blue,” yet those uniforms would morph into the blue of “‘Blue Lives Matter,” the police clapback to “Black Lives Matter.” Perry suggests an implied choice “between Black life and police survival . . . And that is a blues song indeed.” Packed with cultural references to Nina Simone, Zora Neale Hurston, Miles Davis, and Picasso’s African-inspired Blue Period, this is a fascinating and creative work of popular anthropology. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: With each trailblazing book, Perry extends her readership, and this original and affecting improvisation has tremendous appeal. – Starred Booklist Review  

– 

Good Dirt: A Novel by Charmaine Wilkerson  

The daughter of an affluent Black family pieces together the connection between a childhood tragedy and a beloved heirloom in this moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake, a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick 

When ten-year-old Ebby Freeman heard the gunshot, time stopped. And when she saw her brother, Baz, lying on the floor surrounded by the shattered pieces of a centuries-old jar, life as Ebby knew it shattered as well. 
The crime was never solved—and because the Freemans were one of the only Black families in a particularly well-to-do enclave of New England—the case has had an enduring, voyeuristic pull for the public. The last thing the Freemans want is another media frenzy splashing their family across the papers, but when Ebby’s high profile romance falls apart without any explanation, that’s exactly what they get. 

So Ebby flees to France, only for her past to follow her there. And as she tries to process what’s happened, she begins to think about the other loss her family suffered on that day eighteen years ago—the stoneware jar that had been in their family for generations, brought North by an enslaved ancestor. But little does she know that the handcrafted piece of pottery held more than just her family’s history—it might also hold the key to unlocking her own future. 
In this sweeping, evocative novel, Charmaine Wilkerson brings to life a multi-generational epic that examines how the past informs our present. 

– 

The Oligarch’s Daughter by Joseph Finder 

Nobody does man-on-the-run, excruciatingly suspenseful thrillers better than Joseph Finder, author of many stand-alone thrillers and the Boston private eye Nick Heller series. Finder’s latest is a combination spy story, financial mystery, and survival-evasion tale, with the propulsive plot set in motion by one man’s costly mistake. The narrative shuttles between the present, with small-town boat builder Grant Anderson hiding for his life in the New Hampshire woods as Russian agents and the FBI try to track him down, and the past, when Anderson, then an on-the-rise New York financial analyst, got himself into a world of trouble falling in love with a Russian oligarch’s daughter. Finder’s granular details about what it takes for the hunted Anderson to survive and evade his pursuers (using the dimly remembered precepts of his survivalist father), along with the added complications of hunger, thirst, and injury, are fascinating, as are the details from his earlier life in cutthroat finance. Finder adds another layer of suspense with Anderson’s false identity, reminiscent of Cary Grant’s imperiled character in North by Northwest. Deep characterization, cliffhanger suspense, and a wealth of information ranging from Russian spies to survival in the woods and in public spaces make this one of Finder’s best. – Booklist 

– 

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros  

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty. 
Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust. 

Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him. 

 
Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything. 
They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth. 
But a storm is coming…and not everyone can survive its wrath.  

The Empyrean series is best enjoyed in order. 
Reading Order: 
Book #1 Fourth Wing 
Book #2 Iron Flame 
Book #3 Onyx Storm 

– 

We Do Not Part by Han Kang  

 Nobel laureate Kang’s latest protagonist–also an author, perhaps Kang’s stand-in–recalls her 2014 title “about the massacre in G–,” which is exactly when Kang’s Human Acts, about the 1980s Gwangju Uprising, debuted in Korea. Plagued now by nightmares, Kyungha, as her name is revealed, berates herself. “Having decided to write about mass killings and torture, how could I have so naively–brazenly–hoped to soon shirk off the agony of it?” The nightmares’ intensifying vividity inspires her to contact a close friend, photographer and documentary filmmaker Inseon, about the possibility of the two women collaborating on a film adaptation of these indelible images. Four years pass, until Inseon summons her to a Seoul hospital after a horrific accident, imploring Kyungha to go to Jeju Island to care for her precious budgie. Despite severely dangerous winter conditions, Kyungha finally arrives. Then what seems impossible happens. Inseon’s spirit joins Kyungha to reveal horrific historical truths about the Jeju Massacre (1948-49), which Inseon’s mother miraculously survived while “upward of thirty thousand civilians were slaughtered” by the U.S.-backed Korean military. Once more, Kang brilliantly examines the breadth of human relationships–from unconditional mother-child bonds to timeless friendship to heinous inhumanity. e.yaewon, who cotranslated Kang’s Greek Lessons (2023) as Emily Yae Won, returns here with Morris to gift English-reading audiences with tragic terror, luminous insight, and ethereal glimmers of hope.

HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: With Kang receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature this fall, interest in her work will skyrocket, with special interest in this forthcoming novel. – Starred Booklist Review  

–

Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

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

–

Information on the three library catalogs

The Digital Catalog: 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.

–

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: January 22, 2025

Linda Reimer

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

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

And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, January 29, 2025.

–

Boudicca by P. C. Cast  

After the death of her husband, Boudicca is crowned queen of the Iceni tribe. In Roman-occupied Britannia, the idea of a woman ruler is one of weakness, and the Roman tax collector Catus Decianus leads an attack on the tribe’s stronghold, to deadly and personally damaging results. However, instead of folding, Boudicca calls a war council, determined to strike back at the Romans. With the help of childhood friend and Druid seer Rhan and horse master Maldwyn, Boudicca finds strength, her goddess’s support, and love. With success in brutal attacks against wealthy Roman-held cities, the Iceni prepare to wait out the icy winter and plan their final attacks. When traitors emerge and destiny is bleak, Boudicca must place her faith in the powers beyond to ensure the survival of her people.

VERDICT The real history of the red-haired warrior queen is given new life in Cast’s (Out of the Dawn) well-told reimagining and worldbuilding, with prose that allows readers to see both a battle-hardened leader and a mother fighting for those she loves. – Library Journal Review 

– 

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

“A stunning and accomplished debut, with hugely relatable characters and an addictive storyline that kept me turning the pages well into the night. Bravo!” —BA Paris, New York Times bestselling author 

“Wow, The Business Trip was nonstop twists and turns. I loved the unusual way that the story was told, and I kept reading all day long because I couldn’t wait to see how it ended!” — Freida McFadden, New York Times bestselling author 

THE BUSINESS TRIP is the gripping, page-turning debut from author Jessie Garcia. 

Stephanie and Jasmine have nothing and everything in common. The two women don’t know each other but are on the same plane. Stephanie is on a business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. After a few days, they text their friends the same exact messages about the same man—the messages becoming stranger and more erratic. 

And then the two women vanish. The texts go silent, the red flags go up, and the panic sets in. When Stephanie and Jasmine are each declared missing and in danger, it begs the questions: Who is Trent McCarthy? What did he do to these women— or what did they do to him? 

Twist upon twist, layer upon layer, where nothing is as it seems, The Business Trip takes you on a descent into the depths of a mastermind manipulator. But who is playing who? 

– 

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor  

Disabled, disinclined to marry, and more interested in writing than a lucrative career in medicine or law, Zelu has always felt like the outcast of her large Nigerian family. Then her life is upended when, in the middle of her sister’s lavish Caribbean wedding, she’s unceremoniously fired from her university job and, to add insult to injury, her novel is rejected by yet another publisher. With her career and dreams crushed in one fell swoop, she decides to write something just for herself. What comes out is nothing like the quiet, literary novels that have so far peppered her unremarkable career. It’s a far-future epic where androids and AI wage war in the grown-over ruins of human civilization. She calls it Rusted Robots. 

When Zelu finds the courage to share her strange novel, she does not realize she is about to embark on a life-altering journey—one that will catapult her into literary stardom, but also perhaps obliterate everything her book was meant to be. From Chicago to Lagos to the far reaches of space, Zelu’s novel will change the future not only for humanity, but for the robots who come next. 

A book-within-a-book that blends the line between writing and being written, Death of the Author is a masterpiece of metafiction that manages to combine the razor-sharp commentary of Yellowface with the heartfelt humanity of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Surprisingly funny, deeply poignant, and endlessly discussable, this is at once the tale of a woman on the margins risking everything to be heard and a testament to the power of storytelling to shape the world as we know it.  

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The Last Room on the Left by Leah Konen  

The latest from the author of Keep Your Friends Close (2024) is set at a remote motel that Kerry, a struggling author, has agreed to look after while she attempts to make progress on her latest novel. Kerry is also hiding from the break-up of her marriage to Frank; her split with her best friend, Siobhan; and the cause of both of those ruptures, her struggle with alcoholism. Kerry arrives at the Twilite Motel at the beginning of February and finds much more than she bargained for when she sees the hand of a dead woman sticking out of the snow. With no cell service, Kerry seeks the help of the two closest neighbors, only to learn they’re both in a land dispute with the motel’s owner. Once Kerry returns to the motel, she discovers not only that the body has been moved, but that, to her horror, the dead woman is someone she knows. Though Kerry’s reliability, particularly concerning the victim’s identity, stretches credulity at times, this is a fast-paced and engrossing read. – Booklist Review 

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Three Wild Dogs (and the Truth): A Memoir by Markus Zusak  

In this poignant, funny, and disarmingly honest memoir, one of the world’s most beloved storytellers, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book Thief, tells of his family’s adoption of three troublesome rescue dogs—a charming and courageous love story about making even the most incorrigible of animals family. 

There’s a madman dog beside me, and the hounds of memory ahead of us . . . It’s love and beasts and wild mistakes, and regret, but never to change things. 

What happens when the Zusak family opens their home to three big, wild, street-hardened dogs—Reuben, more wolf than hound; Archer, blond, beautiful, destructive; and the rancorously smiling Frosty, who walks like a rolling thunderstorm? 

The answer can only be chaos: There are street fights, park fights, public shamings, property damages, injuries, hospital visits, wellness checks, pure comedy, shocking tragedy, and carnage that must be read to be believed. 

There is a reckoning of shortcomings and failure, a strengthening of will, but most important of all, an explosion of love—and the joy and recognition of family. 

Three Wild Dogs (and the Truth) is a tender, motley, and exquisitely written memoir about the human need for both connection and disorder, a love letter to the animals who bring hilarity and beauty—but also the visceral truth of the natural world—straight to our doors and into our lives and change us forever. 

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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

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Information on the three library catalogs

The Digital Catalog: 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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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.