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, January 24, 2025.
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This week, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968), whose birthday we celebrate with a national holiday on Monday, we offer a civil rights playlist – enjoy!
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Blowin’ In The Wind by Bob Dylan
From The Album: The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1962)
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A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke
From The Album: A Change Is Gonna Come (1964)
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Eyes On The Prize by Sweet Honey and the Rock
From The Album: Freedom Song Soundtrack (2000)
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Freedom Highway by The Staple Singers
From The Album: Freedom Highway (1965)
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If I Had A Hammer by Pete Seeger
From The Album: If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope and Struggle (1998)
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Little Boxes by Malvina Reynolds
From The Album: Ear To The Ground (2000)
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Pastures of Plenty by Woody Guthrie
From The Album: The Complete Asch Recordings (1997)
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This Land Is Your Land by Peter Paul & Mary
From The Album: The Very Best of Peter, Paul & Mary (2004)
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We Are Americans Too by Nat King Cole
From The Album: From The Capitol Vaults (Vol. 4) (2023)
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We Shall Overcome by The Freedom Singers
From The Album: The Social Power of Music (2019) by Various Artists
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What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye
From The Album: What’s Going On (1971)
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Hoopla Album of the Week
Library of Congress Recordings (2015) by Woody Guthrie
And from the album the song:
Talking Dust Bowl Blues
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Have a great weekend,
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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Online Catalog Links:
StarCat
The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD, etc.
The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.
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The Libby App
Libby is the companion app to the Digital Catalog and may be found in the Apple & Google app.
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Hoopla
A catalog of instant check out items, including eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, TV shows and movies for patrons of the Southeast Steuben County Library.
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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.
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 22, 2025.
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Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire
Giant turtles, impossible ships, and tidal rivers ridden by a Drowned girl in search of a family in the latest in the bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire.
Nadya had three mothers: the one who bore her, the country that poisoned her, and the one who adopted her.
Nadya never considered herself less than whole, not until her adoptive parents fitted her with a prosthetic arm against her will, seeking to replace the one she’d been missing from birth.
It was cumbersome; it was uncomfortable; it was wrong.
It wasn’t her.
Frustrated and unable to express why, Nadya began to wander, until the day she fell through a door into Belyrreka, the Land Beneath the Lake—and found herself in a world of water, filled with child-eating amphibians, majestic giant turtles, and impossible ships that sailed as happily beneath the surface as on top. In Belyyreka, she found herself understood for who she was: a Drowned Girl, who had made her way to her real home, accepted by the river and its people.
But even in Belyyreka, there are dangers, and trials, and Nadya would soon find herself fighting to keep hold of everything she had come to treasure.
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Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman by Brooke Shields
From generational icon Brooke Shields comes an intimate and empowering exploration of aging that flips the script on the idea of what it means for a woman to grow older
Brooke Shields has spent a lifetime in the public eye. Growing up as a child actor and model, her every feature was scrutinized, her every decision judged. Today Brooke faces a different kind of scrutiny: that of being a “woman of a certain age.”
And yet, for Brooke, the passage of time has brought freedom. At fifty-nine, she feels more comfortable in her skin, more empowered and confident than she did decades ago in those famous Calvin Kleins. Now, in Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old, she’s changing the narrative about women and aging.
This is an era, insists Brooke, when women are reclaiming agency and power, not receding into the shadows. These are the years when we get to decide how we want to live—when we get to write our own stories.
With remarkable candor, Brooke bares all, painting a vibrant and optimistic picture of being a woman in the prime of her life, while dismantling the myths that have, for too long, dimmed that perception. Sharing her own life experiences with humor and humility, and weaving together research and reporting, Brooke takes aim at the systemic factors that contribute to age-related bias.
By turns inspiring, moving, and galvanizing, Brooke’s honesty and vulnerability will resonate with women everywhere, and spark a new conversation about the power and promise of midlife.
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Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
Following the mysterious disappearance of his wife, a struggling London novelist journeys to a remote Scottish island to try to get his mojo back–but all, of course, is not what it seems. Grady Green hits the pinnacle of his publishing career on the same night that his life goes off the rails–first his book lands on the New York Times bestseller list, and then his wife, Abby, goes missing on her way home. A year later, Grady is a mere shadow of his former self: out of money and out of ideas. So, when his agent, Abby’s godmother, suggests that he spend some time on the Isle of Amberly, in a log cabin left to her by one of her writers, it seems as good a plan as any. With free housing for himself and his dog and a beautiful, distraction-free environment, maybe he can finally complete the next novel. But from the very beginning, Grady’s experiences with Amberly seem weird, if not downright ominous: As a visitor, he’s not allowed to bring his car onto the island; the local businesses are only open for a few hours at a time; and there are no birds. At all. Not to mention the skeletal hand he finds buried under the floorboards of the cabin, the creepy harmonica music in the woods, and the occasional sighting of a woman in a red coat who’s a dead ringer for Abby. As Grady falls deeper and deeper into insomnia and alcoholism, he begins to realize his being on the island is no accident–and that should make him very afraid. Through occasional chapters from before Abby’s disappearance, told from her point of view, we learn that Grady is not necessarily a reliable narrator, and the book’s slow unfolding of dread, mystery, and then truth is both creative and well-paced. Every chapter heading is an oxymoron, like the title, reminding us of the contradictions at the heart of every story. “Nasty little fellows…always get their comeuppance,” a movie character once said. Deeply satisfying. – Kirkus Review
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The Big Empty by Robert Crais
Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, race to find a terrifying, unidentified killer in this twisting, unpredictable thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais.
Traci Beller was thirteen when her father disappeared in the sleepy town of Rancha, not far from Los Angeles. The evidence says Tommy Beller abandoned his family, but Traci never believed it. Now, ten years later, Traci is a high-profile influencer with millions of followers and the money to hire the best detective she can find: Elvis Cole.
Elvis heads to Rancha where an ex-con named Sadie Givens and her daughter, Anya, might have a line on the missing man. But when Elvis finds himself shadowed by a gang of vicious criminals, the missing persons cold case becomes far more sinister.
Elvis calls his ex-Marine friend, Joe Pike, for help, and they follow Tommy Beller’s trail into the depths of a monstrous, hidden evil. The case flips on its head, victims become predators, predators become prey, and the question becomes: Can Elvis Cole save them all from this nightmare?
Reader’s Note: The Big Empty is the twentieth book in the Elvis Cole & Joe Pike series. If you’d like to start reading from the beginning, check out book one: The Monkey’s Raincoat.
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Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow
Turow’s latest wraps up the story of Rusty Sabich, Sandy Stern’s unjustly accused client in Presumed Guilty, Turow’s first novel, published in 1987, and in Innocent (2010). Here he transports readers to retired judge Rusty’s quiet life in Mirror Lake with his fiancée, Bea. Rusty and Bea have agreed to supervise her adopted son Aaron’s probation and are proud that he’s maturing into a responsible young man. Unfortunately, Aaron can’t kick his volatile relationship with Mae Potter, the magnetic but self-destructive daughter of a prominent local family. Both families are alarmed when Aaron and Mae drop off the radar; then Aaron finally returns alone. He claims they had a fight while camping and that he hitchhiked home and doesn’t know where Mae is. Mae’s body is soon found, and her autopsy reveals that she was strangled. When Aaron is arrested, Rusty agrees to defend him even though it places his future with Bea on the line. He’ll be fighting uphill. Aaron is Black, has a record, and the population in that section of the state is overwhelmingly white. The trial that follows is a master class in legal suspense as Turow weaves together the devastation of Aaron and Mae’s families, simmering racial prejudice, and the impact of small-town politics within a framework of deliciously tense courtroom dynamics. This is manna for legal-thriller fans.
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Given the hit Apple TV+ adaptation of Presumed Innocent, readers will be avid for this conclusion to the trilogy. – Starred Booklist Review
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Happy reading!
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
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.
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.
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.
The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.
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The Libby App
Libby is the companion app to the Digital Catalog and may be found in the Apple & Google app.
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Hoopla
A catalog of instant check out items, including eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, TV shows and movies for patrons of the Southeast Steuben County Library.
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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.
Video recordings of each weekly book talk will be available on the library’s YouTube page shortly after the Wednesday afternoon programs, and I will also share the links each week via blog post.
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 15, 2025.
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Holmes Is Missing by James Patterson
The second in bestselling Patterson and frequent collaborator Sitts’s “Holmes, Margaret & Poe” series (starring Auguste Poe, Margaret Marple, and Brendan Holmes) sees the three detectives involved in an abduction case: not only have six children gone missing but so has Holmes and a number of A-listers. It will be up to Poe and Marple to put together the clues. – Library Journal Review
Reader’s Note: As noted, this is the second book in the Holmes, Margaret & Poe series, if you’d like to start reading the series from the beginning check out book one: Holmes, Marple & Poe.
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The Life of Herod the Great by Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston aficionados are in for a surprise, a historical novel inspired by Herod the Great. Though widely known as the evil king who ordered the Massacre of the Innocents at the time of Jesus’ birth, Hurston explains in her lengthy preface that Herod was actually a popular and extremely capable ruler. Having fictionalized the Exodus story in Moses, Man of the Mountain, Hurston planned her Herod novel as a sequel. But it was rejected by her publishers, and her original manuscript was badly damaged in a fire. Recovered and edited by scholar Plant, Hurston’s tale of the Judean king emphasizes the conflict between East and West, “palace and priesthood,” modernity and resistance to change, conflicts she believed had risen anew in the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Her villains are not the conquering Romans and the westernized, assimilated Judeans, but the sly, devious Hasmoneans, descendants of the Maccabees, who are determined to remain in power. Herod, his noble father Antipater, and his brother Phasaelus are continually beset and threatened by the cravenly high priest Hyrcanus and his scheming relatives; even after Herod marries into the family, he is not safe from their schemes. Full of adventure, glamour, and historical figures, including Herod’s close friends Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, this is a fascinating addition to the Hurston canon.
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Another resurrected Hurston work, this portrait reframing a ruler of old is sure to inspire requests and discussion. – Starred Booklist Review
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The Note by Alafair Burke
In the latest stand-alone from Burke (Find Me), a girls’ weekend in the Hamptons, a stolen parking space, and a note left on a windshield put into motion a series of events that leave one man dead and a trio of friends embroiled in a murder investigation. When the three friends learn of the disappearance of the man who took their parking spot, May, the nosy do-gooder of the group, wants to call the police, but Lauren and Kelsey convince her not to get involved. Hoping to determine whether she made the right decision, May takes it upon herself to make sure the parking-spot thief and the missing man were one and the same. It’s a decision that lands her and her friends on a detective’s radar. Then the missing-person case becomes a murder investigation, and Kelsey’s relationship with the deceased comes to light. The novel gets off to a slow start but builds gradually, gaining momentum in the second half. Multiple perspectives and timeline shifts dribble out details that add context to the friendship as well as offering clues about the killer. VERDICT Burke’s trademark style creates tension and suspense, but the deeply flawed protagonists might turn off some readers. – Publishers Weekly Review
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A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young
Bestselling Young’s (The Unmaking of June Farrow) newest features a set of twins. James has always been deeply connected to her brother Johnny, to the point that she can feel what he feels. Upon his death, she travels to California to settle his estate; there she meets again the only man she has ever loved and dives into a web of secrets. – Library Journal Review
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See How They Hide by Allison Brennan
No matter how far you run, some pasts never let you go…
Two people were murdered—at the exact same time, in the same gruesome manner, bodies covered in the same red poppies…but on opposite sides of the country.
With Detective Kara Quinn investigating in Oregon and Special Agent Matt Costa in Virginia, the Mobile Response Team digs deep to uncover more about each victim. What is the link between the two, and why were they targeted?
Yet their search unearths more questions than answers—until they meet Riley Pierce, the only person still alive who might be able to help them find the killers.
Soon, it becomes clear this case is nothing like they’ve seen before as their investigation leads them to the hallowed grounds of Havenwood—an eerily beautiful place rooted in a terrifying past.
As more bodies turn up, all tied to the same community, Kara and Matt are desperate to piece the puzzle together before Havenwood’s leader sacrifices everything to keep her secrets buried.
A Quinn & Costa Thriller
Book 1: The Third to Die
Book 2: Tell No Lies
Book 3: The Wrong Victim
Book 4: Seven Girls Gone
Book 5: The Missing Witness
Book 6: See How They Hide
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Happy reading!
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
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.
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.
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.
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
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New York Times Bestseller lists are shared via blog post on Sundays. And the next NYT blog post will be posted on Sunday, January 12, 2025.
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THE BESTSELLERS
FICTION
1. JAMES by Percival Everett: A reimagining of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” shines a different light on Mark Twain’s classic, revealing new facets of the character of Jim.
2. FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros: Violet Sorrengail is urged by the commanding general, who also is her mother, to become a candidate for the elite dragon riders.
3. THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah: In 1965, a nursing student follows her brother to serve during the Vietnam War and returns to a divided America.
4. WICKED by Gregory Maguire: A misunderstood girl named Elphaba is declared a witch; the basis of the musical and the film.
5. THE HOUSEMAID by Freida McFadden: Troubles surface when a woman looking to make a fresh start takes a job in the home of the Winchesters.
6. A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES by Sarah J. Maas: After killing a wolf in the woods, Feyre is taken from her home and placed inside the world of the Fae.
7. THE GOD OF THE WOODS by Liz Moore: When a 13-year-old girl disappears from an Adirondack summer camp in 1975, secrets kept by the Van Laar family emerge.
8. WIND AND TRUTH by Brandon Sanderson: The fifth book in the Stormlight Archive series. The fate of the Cosmere is imperiled as the fighting and chaos reach an apex.
9. IT STARTS WITH US by Colleen Hoover: In the sequel to “It Ends With Us,” Lily deals with her jealous ex-husband as she reconnects with her first boyfriend.
10. IT ENDS WITH US by Colleen Hoover: A battered wife raised in a violent home attempts to halt the cycle of abuse; the basis of the film.
11. 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.
12. VERITY by Colleen Hoover: Lowen Ashleigh is hired by the husband of an injured writer to complete her popular series and uncovers a horrifying truth.
13. QUICKSILVER by Callie Hart: Saeris is transported to a dangerous land of ice and snow, where she must contend with a Fae warrior who has suspect agendas.
14. THE FROZEN RIVER by Ariel Lawhon: In Maine, 1789, a midwife seeks to uncover the true cause of the death of a man discovered entombed in the Kennebec River.
15. COUNTING MIRACLES by Nicholas Sparks: A man in search of the father he never knew encounters a single mom and rumors circulate of the nearby appearance of a white deer.
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NON-FICTION
1. THE BACKYARD BIRD CHRONICLES by Amy Tan: Essays and drawings by the author of “The Joy Luck Club” and “The Bonesetter’s Daughter,” which depict a search for peace through birding.
2. CHER: THE MEMOIR, PART ONE by Cher: In the first part of her memoir, the multiple award-winning pop culture icon traces her childhood and forays into the world of entertainment.
3. FRAMED by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey: Our criminal justice system viewed through the struggles of 10 wrongfully convicted people to achieve exoneration.
4. BE READY WHEN THE LUCK HAPPENS by Ina Garten: A memoir by the cookbook author and Food Network host known as the Barefoot Contessa.
5. MELANIA by Melania Trump: The former and future first lady describes her work as a fashion model, marriage to Donald Trump and time in the White House.
6. THE SERVICEBERRY by Robin Wall Kimmerer: The author of “Braiding Sweetgrass” illuminates how the gift economy in the natural world works and draws lessons for our economy; with illustrations by John Burgoyne.
7. REVENGE OF THE TIPPING POINT by Malcolm Gladwell: Through a series of stories, Gladwell explicates the causes of various kinds of epidemics.
8. 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.
9. THE SMALL AND THE MIGHTY by Sharon McMahon: A former high school government and law teacher profiles lesser-known Americans who made an impact.
10. GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey: The Academy Award-winning actor shares snippets from the diaries he kept over the last 35 years.
11. THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk: How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.
12. FROM HERE TO THE GREAT UNKNOWN by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough: Presley’s memoir, completed by her daughter, explores her relationships and challenges.
13. CONFRONTING THE PRESIDENTS by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard: The conservative commentator evaluates the legacies of American presidents.
14. THE DEMON OF UNREST by Erik Larson: The author of “The Splendid and the Vile” portrays the months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the beginning of the Civil War.
15. NEXUS by Yuval Noah Harari: The author of “Sapiens” delves into how societies and political systems have used information and gives a warning about artificial intelligence.
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Have a great day!
Linda
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THE CATALOGS:
Catalog 1: StarCat
StarCat is the catalog of physical materials including print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. StarCat is available to all patrons of all public libraries in the Southern Tier Library System*
The Digital Catalog (and its companion app Libby) offers all Southern Tier Library System member library patrons access to eBooks, eAudiobooks & eMagazines via a lending model known in Library-ese as “one copy/one user;” that library speak means that eBooks & eAudiobooks found in The Digital Catalog/Libby are like print books found on library shelves, only one patron can check out a copy of a title at a time.
Exception: Magazines found in the digital catalog are available via a different lending model known as simultaneous access. And that fancy library speak means that magazines are available for all patrons to check out at the same time, i.e. if you and all your family and friends wish to read the latest digital edition of Newsweek, all of you can check out the e version of the magazine and read it at the same time.
The Digital Catalog/Libby checkout limit is 5 titles a time.
The Hoopla Digital Catalog (and its companion app, also called Hoopla) offers Southeast Steuben County Library patrons access to a second digital catalog with an on-demand lending model. In library speak, this lending model, like The Digital Catalog/Libby’s magazine lending model, is known as “simultaneous access.” The difference is, the Hoopla catalog offers access to more formats: eBooks, eAudiobooks, eComics, digital albums, TV shows & movies – and all items, in all those formats, are available for patrons to checkout immediately. The Hoopla check out limit is ten titles per month.
Hoopla Formats: All Hoopla content can be accessed on a computer or mobile device, and TV shows and movies can be accessed on computers, mobile devices, smart TVs and media streaming players, i.e. Roku or Apple TV.
And 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 8, 2025.
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The Champagne Letters by Kate Macintosh
Goaded by the insulting presumptions of her unfaithful ex-husband, Natalie leaves the final details of the sale of their house to him and hops a plane to Paris. Last-minute plans leave her in a posh boutique hotel, with a verbal misstep giving the impression that she’s a widow, not divorced. At a bouquiniste along the Seine, she finds a copy of a book with letters in both French and English from the widowed Barbe-Nicole Clicquot (of Veuve Clicquot champagne fame) to her great-granddaughter. Though their lives are not parallel, the widow inspires Natalie to expand her conservative life, accepting the flirtatious companionship of a handsome wine merchant and the friendship of one of the hotel employees. The letters tell the story of a woman defying convention during the Napoleonic era, coping and plotting to ensure the success of her champagne venture. Readers will see danger for Natalie long before she does, but both women succeed in the end. The combination of history and contemporary narrative makes for a compelling read worthy of relationship-fiction collections. – Booklist Review
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How to Steal a Galaxy by Beth Revis
Picking up where Full Speed to a Crash Landing left off, this rollicking second installment of Revis’s intergalactic trilogy will keep readers glued to the page. Space looter Ada Lamarr infiltrates a Met Gala–esque fundraising event on a secret mission assigned to her by a mysterious rebel group—while also pursuing a hidden agenda of her own. There to intercept her is handsome bureaucrat Rian White, who readers will be delighted to see return. As before, Ada and Rian disagree over effective methods of enacting change while Rian works to stop Ada from putting into motion her secret plot, the details of which remain hidden from both Rian and the reader for much of the novel. The result is an un-put-downable page-turner helmed by a lovable heroine who is clever and passionate beneath her armor of sarcastic quips. Readers will need to come back for the concluding volume to fully understand all of Ada’s behind-the-scenes machinations—and to witness the culmination of Ada and Rian’s roller-coaster, cat-and-mouse romance. Revis makes the anticipation delicious. – Publishers Weekly Review
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Inheriting Magic: My Journey Through Grief, Joy, Celebration, and Making Every Day Magical by Jennifer Love Hewitt
When she lost her mother to cancer, everything changed for Jennifer Love Hewitt.
In the pages of Inheriting Magic, she recounts her journey, sharing memories, photographs, recipes, and the magic-making ethos of a self-proclaimed “Holiday Junkie.”
A heartfelt, candid chronicle that charts a course from sorrow to celebration, this unique memoir includes:
• Never-seen-before family photos and vintage snapshots
• Jennifer’s favorite recipes, from her grandmother’s chicken and dumplings to her husband’s holiday cocktail
• An explosion of festive plans, including images, sure to inspire your decorating plans for Halloween, Christmas, Easter, birthdays, and a whole year’s worth of holidays
• Foolproof strategies for adding magic to your family’s everyday routine, such as moon water, baskets of joy, glowing dinners, and more
Inheriting Magic is about how grief, being a mom of three, having a deep love for party planning, and being passionate about the holidays turned what could have been an ordinary life into something enchanting. Through it, Jennifer inspires all readers to add more love, light, and the making of core memories into their everyday lives.
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Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History by Olivia Campbell
Campbell has crafted an enthralling narrative about four female scientists who managed to escape the Nazis but were never truly recognized for their work. Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer, and Hildegard Stücklen were all distinguished researchers in Germany, yet their sex often hindered their progress in a male-dominated field. Once the Nazis came to power, being Jewish or anti-Nazi posed even greater obstacles. Kohn, Sponer, and Stücklen managed to make their way to the United States, where they continued their academic careers and made significant contributions to the field of physics through research and teaching. Meitner moved to Sweden, where she played a crucial role in the discovery of nuclear fission, a discovery that eventually led to the development of the atomic bomb. Despite her groundbreaking work, the Nobel Prize was instead awarded to her male colleague. The gripping story of the women’s experiences in Germany and their escape from the Nazis is remarkable. It’s unfortunate that their significant role in science was not widely recognized, but through this book, they finally receive their deserved acclaim. – Booklist Review
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Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez
A young woman pursues a dangerous quest in late-1800s Egypt in this sequel to What the River Knows (2023). After Inez Olivera was nearly murdered while assisting with her uncle’s archaeological expedition in Egypt, Tío Ricardo is eager to ship her home to safety in Argentina. But Inez burns with the need to stay and make sure that those who committed crimes against her family are held responsible. Unfortunately, the law precludes Inez, as a young unmarried woman, from accessing her inheritance (needed to fund her quest for justice) without her guardian uncle’s permission. Whitford Hayes, a former British soldier and her tio’s aide-de-camp, proposes marriage, which could solve her problems. But can Inez trust the secretive Whit? More danger and intrigue lurk at every turn in this exciting duology closer, which fully addresses the first entry’s jaw-dropping cliffhanger. The well-paced plot encompasses many fresh, new adventures and betrayals in this reimagined historical setting in which ancient magic abounds and not everyone or everything is what it seems. Even more captivating, however, is the complicated, nuanced love story between Whit and Inez. Their chemistry sizzles, but their relationship is achingly layered with both profound loyalty and deep deception. As their journey unearths new enemies and priceless archaeological finds, the duo must try to trust each other enough to survive. A thrilling, beautifully written page-turner. – Starred Kirkus Review
Happy reading!
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
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.
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.
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.
The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.
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The Libby App
Libby is the companion app to the Digital Catalog and may be found in the Apple & Google app.
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Hoopla
A catalog of instant check out items, including eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, TV shows and movies for patrons of the Southeast Steuben County Library.
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Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.
The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.
–
The Libby App
Libby is the companion app to the Digital Catalog and may be found in the Apple & Google app.
–
Hoopla
A catalog of instant check out items, including eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, TV shows and movies for patrons of the Southeast Steuben County Library.
–
Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.
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
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New York Times Bestseller lists are shared via blog post on Sundays.
And due to the library being closed for the Thanksgiving holiday and rug cleaning from Thursday, November 28 – Saturday, November 30, the next NYT blog post will be posted on Sunday, December 8, 2024
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THE BESTSELLERS
FICTION
1. WICKED by Gregory Maguire: A misunderstood girl named Elphaba is declared a witch; the basis of the musical and the film.
2. THE HOUSE OF CROSS by James Patterson: The 33rd book in the Alex Cross series. Three candidates to the Supreme Court are violently attacked.
3. FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros: Violet Sorrengail is urged by the commanding general, who also is her mother, to become a candidate for the elite dragon riders.
4. THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah: In 1965, a nursing student follows her brother to serve during the Vietnam War and returns to a divided America.
5. JAMES by Percival Everett: A reimagining of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” shines a different light on Mark Twain’s classic, revealing new facets of the character of Jim.
6. A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES by Sarah J. Maas: After killing a wolf in the woods, Feyre is taken from her home and placed inside the world of the Fae.
7. NOW OR NEVER by Janet Evanovich: The 31st book in the Stephanie Plum series. Caught between two fiancés and not knowing what to do, Plum gets back to business as a bounty hunter.
8. THE HOUSEMAID by Freida McFadden: Troubles surface when a woman looking to make a fresh start takes a job in the home of the Winchesters.
9. TO DIE FOR by David Baldacci: The third book in the 6:20 Man series. Devine digs into the deaths of an orphan’s parents and uncovers a large conspiracy.
10. COUNTING MIRACLES by Nicholas Sparks: A man in search of the father he never knew encounters a single mom and rumors circulate of the nearby appearance of a white deer.
11. VERITY by Colleen Hoover: Lowen Ashleigh is hired by the husband of an injured writer to complete her popular series and uncovers a horrifying truth.
12. THE MIRROR by Nora Roberts: The second book in the Lost Bride series. In a haunted mansion, Sonya receives a vision of a bride murdered on her wedding day.
13. THE BOYFRIEND by Freida McFadden: A series of recent deaths causes Sydney Shaw to become suspicious of the handsome doctor she started dating.
14. THE PERFECT MARRIAGE by Jeneva Rose: A criminal defense attorney vows to defend her husband after he is accused of murdering his mistress.
15. 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.
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NON-FICTION
1. CHER: THE MEMOIR, PART ONE by Cher: In the first part of her memoir, the multiple award-winning pop culture icon traces her childhood and forays into the world of entertainment.
2. FRAMED by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey: Our criminal justice system viewed through the struggles of 10 wrongfully convicted people to achieve exoneration.
3. MELANIA by Melania Trump: The former and future first lady describes her work as a fashion model, marriage to Donald Trump and time in the White House.
4. THE SERVICEBERRY by Robin Wall Kimmerer: The author of “Braiding Sweetgrass” illuminates how the gift economy in the natural world works and draws lessons for our economy; with illustrations by John Burgoyne.
5. BE READY WHEN THE LUCK HAPPENS by Ina Garten: A memoir by the cookbook author and Food Network host known as the Barefoot Contessa.
6. THE BACKYARD BIRD CHRONICLES by Amy Tan: Essays and drawings by the author of “The Joy Luck Club” and “The Bonesetter’s Daughter,” which depict a search for peace through birding.
7. CONFRONTING THE PRESIDENTS by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard: The conservative commentator evaluates the legacies of American presidents.
8. REVENGE OF THE TIPPING POINT by Malcolm Gladwell: Through a series of stories, Gladwell explicates the causes of various kinds of epidemics.
9. THE DEMON OF UNREST by Erik Larson: The author of “The Splendid and the Vile” portrays the months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the beginning of the Civil War.
10. FROM HERE TO THE GREAT UNKNOWN by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough: Presley’s memoir, completed by her daughter, explores her relationships and challenges.
11. 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.
12. ON TYRANNY by Timothy Snyder: Twenty lessons from the 20th century about the course of tyranny.
13. OUTLIVE by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford: A look at recent scientific research on aging and longevity.
14. THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk: How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.
15. HILLBILLY ELEGY by JD Vance: The vice president-elect, in a memoir written shortly after graduating from Yale Law School, looks at the struggles of the white working class through the story of his own childhood.
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Have a great Sunday!
Linda
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THE CATALOGS:
Catalog 1: StarCat
StarCat is the catalog of physical materials including print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. StarCat is available to all patrons of all public libraries in the Southern Tier Library System*
The Digital Catalog (and its companion app Libby) offers all Southern Tier Library System member library patrons access to eBooks, eAudiobooks & eMagazines via a lending model known in Library-ese as “one copy/one user;” that library speak means that eBooks & eAudiobooks found in The Digital Catalog/Libby are like print books found on library shelves, only one patron can check out a copy of a title at a time.
Exception: Magazines found in the digital catalog are available via a different lending model known as simultaneous access. And that fancy library speak means that magazines are available for all patrons to check out at the same time, i.e. if you and all your family and friends wish to read the latest digital edition of Newsweek, all of you can check out the e version of the magazine and read it at the same time.
The Digital Catalog/Libby checkout limit is 5 titles a time.
The Hoopla Digital Catalog (and its companion app, also called Hoopla) offers Southeast Steuben County Library patrons access to a second digital catalog with an on-demand lending model. In library speak, this lending model, like The Digital Catalog/Libby’s magazine lending model, is known as “simultaneous access.” The difference is, the Hoopla catalog offers access to more formats: eBooks, eAudiobooks, eComics, digital albums, TV shows & movies – and all items, in all those formats, are available for patrons to checkout immediately. The Hoopla check out limit is ten titles per month.
Hoopla Formats: All Hoopla content can be accessed on a computer or mobile device, and TV shows and movies can be accessed on computers, mobile devices, smart TVs and media streaming players, i.e. Roku or Apple TV.
Tech & Book Talk at SSCL 