Tag: Southern Tier Library System

Suggested Listening May 25, 2018

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five musical recommendations for the week; four streaming suggestions* and one recommended album on CD.

(Click on the photo to stream or request the album you’re interested in!)

Freegal Streaming Suggestions*

Beck, Bogert, Appice (1973) by Beck, Bogert, Appice (Genre: Rock, Classic Rock):

Guitarist Jeff Beck is joined on this LP by Vanilla Fudge alumni Tim Bogert on bass and Carmine Appice on drums. This album was released in 1973 and is an excellent example of early seventies rock that features loud power guitar style playing.

Songs on the LP Include: Black Cat Moan, Superstition, Sweet Sweet Surrender, Why Should I Care and Livin’ Alone.

Somewhere In The Middle (2009) by Jason Boland & The Stragglers (Genre: Country, Honky Tonk):

Jason Boland & the Stragglers, hail from Oklahoma, and play in what has been deemed the “Red Dirt” style. Red Dirt being defined as a combination of roots rock, classic country & Honky Tonk – to my ears the band simply sounds like great music!

Songs on the LP include: Hank, Somewhere in the Middle, Back to You, Stand up to the Man, Radio’s Misbehaving & Thunderbird Wine.

The Questions (2018) by Kurt Elling (Genre: Jazz, Vocal, Easy Listening):

Kurt Elling is a Chicago based jazz vocalist with a 4 octave range. He opens his brand new album with a neat rendition of Bob Dylan’s A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall. Another great cover song on the album is his version of Paul Simon’s An American Tune. Other songs in the collection include: A Happy Thought, Washing Of The Water, Lonely Town and Endless Lawns.

Between The Notes – Music For Violin and Piano by Daniel Kurganov & Constantine Finehouse (Classical, Violin, Piano, Easy Listening):

The new album by two very talented musicians: violinist Daniel Kurganove and pianist Constatine Firehouse.

Songs on the album include: Violin Sonata No. 2, 5 Melodies, Baal Shem II. Nigun, Valse Sentimentale, Op. 51. No 6, Porgy and Bess (Arr. J Heifetz): Act II, It Ain’t Necessarily So and more.

The Essential Carl Smith by Carl Smith (Genre: Country, Classic Country):

In his 1950s heyday, the honey voiced Carl Smith scored 31 hits and was nicknamed “Mr. Country.”

Smith continued to perform and record in the sixties and seventies, retired in the late seventies and died in 2010 at age 82. Today, Smith is perhaps best known as the first husband of June Carter (Cash) and the father of the country singer Carlene Carter.

If you’re not familiar with his music – give it a listen! His music conjures up a simpler, less complicated era than our own – and there is nothing like classic country music.

This greatest hits collection includes the songs: I Just Dropped In To Say Goodbye, Let’s Live A Little, There’s Nothing As Sweet As My Baby, Mr. Moon, If Teardrops Were Pennies and Me And My Broken heart

Recommended CD of the Week:

Stranger Things: Music from the Netflix Original Series by Various Artists:

This album is a combination score and soundtrack.

The very atmospheric instrumentals on the LP were composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein and harken back to the science fiction films of the 1980s (think E.T.)

Instrumental songs on the album include: Stranger Things, Kids, This Isn’t You, Lay-z-Boy, A Kiss, Castle Byers and more.

Vintage songs on the album are from the period and include: Should I Stay or Should I Go by the Clash, Africa by Toto, Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper, Hazy Shade of Winter by The Bangles, Every Breath You Take by the Police and Whip It by Devo

Videos of the Week:

Superstition by Beck, Bogert & Appice

Hank by Jason Boland with Nick Worley

A Hard Rains-A-Gonna Fall by Kurt Elling

It Ain’t Necessarily So (arr. Heifetz) by Daniel Kurganov & Constantine Finehouse – a preview of their new LP Between The Notes

Hey Joe! By Carl Smith

Sunglasses at Night by Corey Hart

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? by the Clash

Stranger Things, Season 1 Trailer (You can check out season 1 on DVD at the library!)

Have a great weekend!

Linda, SSCL

*A library card is required to use the Freegal Music Service. If you live in the service area of the Southern Tier Library System, which consists of the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Alleghany counties in New York State, you can get a library card for free at your nearest public library – including our own Southeast Steuben County Library in Corning, New York. The Freegal Music Service is free for all Southern Tier Library System member libraries library card holders to access.

References:

Artist Biography & Discography Information:

http://www.allmusic.com/

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

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

*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and includes our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York!

Library cards are free if you live in our service area. And you can obtain a card by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features your name and your current address.

Links to the desktop versions of the catalogs for the library system – apps for each are available in your app store:

Digital Library Catalogs:

Freegal offers streaming and downloadable music

OverDrive allows you to check out eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and handful of streaming videos

RB Digital is the place you go to check out magazines – on demand – and you never have to return them!

The Traditional Library Catalog:

You can search for and request books, DVDs, music CDs, audiobooks on CD and other physical format items through StarCat – it is the modern day card catalog!

Suggested Reading Week Of May 21, 2018

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week, five digital titles available through OverDrive and five print titles available through StarCat.

(Note: Click on the photo of the item you’d like to request or check out to access it)

Digital Suggestions Of The Week:

The Accidental Buddhist, Mindfulness, Enlightenment, and Sitting Still by Dinty W. Moore:

A journey through the diverse landscape of American Buddhism, written with “a blessedly down-to-earth sense of humor” (Rodger Kamenetz, author of The Jew in the Lotus).

In an era when many of us yearn for an escape from a culture of noise and narcissism, this book takes us into the physical and spiritual geography of Buddhism, American-style: from a weekend at a mountain retreat for corporate executives learning effective ways to cope with stress, to a visit with a Zen teacher holding classes in an old Quaker farmhouse, to a meeting with a Catholic priest who’s also a Zen master.

Both a lively introduction to this Eastern spiritual tradition and a colorful portrait of American society, The Accidental Buddhist “makes the oftentimes impenetrable concepts of Buddhism accessible to the reader and contains striking, and important, parallels and contrasts between [the author’s] own Catholic upbringing and ancient Buddhist traditions” (Library Journal).

“A travelogue detailing the tremendous diversity within American Buddhism. His anecdotes make it clear that the umbrella term ‘Buddhist’ encompasses strict Zen monks, laid-back Tibetan politicos, and beatnik holdover Allen Ginsberg. In his travels, Moore attends weekend retreats, chronicles the Dalai Lama’s 1996 visit to Indiana, and grooves to Change Your Mind Day, a meditative Buddha-fest in New York City’s Central Park. . . . He finds that his family is his sangha (monastery), and while he still feels he is ‘probably a fairly lousy Buddhist,’ he will eclectically combine his various forms of new knowledge to find a path that makes sense to him. Now that may be an authentic American Buddhism.” —Kirkus Reviews

Iron Princess, Savage Trilogy, Book 2 by Meghan March, read by Grace Grant & Joe Arden (unabridged downloadable audiobook):

His very identity is a secret buried beneath layers of deception.

He’s also an addiction I can’t shake. An attraction I can’t fight.

And then I found out exactly who he is-a man more dangerous than the devil himself.

Now I need him in order to save everything that matters to me.

I have to pull back. Protect myself from the danger that haunts his every step.

Which would be easy … if I could stop myself from falling in love with him.

Savage Trilogy Booklist:
1. Savage Prince
2. Iron Princess
3. Rogue Royalty (Publication Date: 5/22/2018)

The Reluctant Cowboy: Morgan Ranch Series, Book 1 by Kate Pearce: 

After a turbulent childhood, the Morgan brothers went their separate ways, leaving the family cattle ranch and their cowboy days far behind. But now, one by one, they’re being called back home to California. Have they been summoned to save the land—or to start a new legacy?

Chase Morgan high-tailed it away from ranching life as soon as possible. But running a successful technology company can’t erase the memories, or secrets, of his youth. Coming home to help his Grandma Ruth may finally put some ghosts to rest—if he can just get a certain smart, beautiful houseguest out of his business.

But getting her out of his head is proving even more difficult…

Determined to save the Morgan ranch, historian January Mitchell has pinned her hopes on the surprisingly rugged, surprisingly likable, and exasperatingly stubborn Chase. Surely his love of this breathtaking, mysterious land runs deep enough that he’ll once again embrace his inner cowboy. Or maybe, despite both of their skittish hearts, she’ll have to find a way to get him back in the saddle…any which way she can.

“If you love cowboys—and who doesn’t—you’ll love the Morgans!” –Cora Seton, New York Times bestselling author

Morgan Ranch Series Book List:
1. The Reluctant Cowboy
2. The Maverick Cowboy
3. The Last Good Cowboy
4. The Bad Boy Cowboy
5. The Billionaire Bull Rider (Publication Date: July 31, 2018)
6. The Rancher (Publication Date: November 27, 2018)

The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations (Downloadable Audiobook) by John McCain with Mark Salter, read by Beau Bridges:

In this candid new political memoir from Senator John McCain, an American hero reflects on his life—and what matters most.

“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here. Maybe I’ll have another five years. Maybe, with the advances in oncology, they’ll find new treatments for my cancer that will extend my life. Maybe I’ll be gone before you read this. My predicament is, well, rather unpredictable. But I’m prepared for either contingency, or at least I’m getting prepared. I have some things I’d like to take care of first, some work that needs finishing, and some people I need to see. And I want to talk to my fellow Americans a little more if I may.”

So writes John McCain in this inspiring, moving, frank, and deeply personal memoir. Written while confronting a mortal illness, McCain looks back with appreciation on his years in the Senate, his historic 2008 campaign for the presidency against Barack Obama, and his crusades on behalf of democracy and human rights in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Always the fighter, McCain attacks the “spurious nationalism” and political polarization afflicting American policy. He makes an impassioned case for democratic internationalism and bi-partisanship. He tells stories of his most satisfying moments of public service, including his work with another giant of the Senate, Edward M. Kennedy. Senator McCain recalls his disagreements with several presidents, and minces no words in his objections to some of President Trump’s statements and policies. At the same time, he offers a positive vision of America that looks beyond the Trump presidency.

The Restless Wave is John McCain at his best.

Legendary–A Caraval Novel, Caraval Series, Book 2 by Stephanie Garber (Publication Date: May 29, 2018 – request it now!):

New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Garber’s limitless imagination takes flight once more in the colorful, mesmerizing, and immersive sequel to the bestselling breakout debut Caraval

A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.

The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister’s. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice. But now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life.

But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…the games have only just begun.

Caraval Book List:
1. Caraval
2. Legendary: A Caraval Novel

Print Suggestions Of The Week:

Charmed Bones: A Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery by Carolyn Haines:

USA Today bestselling author Carolyn Haines will once again delight readers with Charmed Bones, the next sparkling Sarah Booth Delaney mystery.

Zinnia, Mississippi is rife with quirky characters, but the arrival of three sister witches―and their intention to open a Wiccan boarding school―sets the small town on its ear. And bodies begin to accumulate as a result. Faith, Hope, and Charity Harrington are sexy and smart. They’re setting up their boarding school in an old dairy―a piece of property with tremendous development potential. And they’re standing in the way of “progress,” according to some in the town.

When young Corey Fontana goes missing, Delaney Detective Agency is hired to find the youth―who’s well known as a local hooligan. His mother, Kitten Fontana, who is married to the kind of land development, believes the witches have abducted her son and makes no bones about it. She’s willing to pay hard cash to find her son, especially if she can implicate the witches in his disappearance.

When Sarah Booth Delaney and her partner, Tinkie Richmond, find Corey, unharmed, it is only the beginning of a series of events that include midnight dances under a full moon, love potions, and murder. Are the sister witches criminals… or victims? Do they truly have magical powers, as they claim? Sarah Booth and Tinkie must find the answer before more people are harmed.

If you enjoy cozies – there are seventeen more of them in this light-hearted series!

Here is book list of Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries:

1. Them Bones
2. Buried Bones
3. Splintered Bones
4. Crossed Bones
5. Hallowed Bones
6. Bones To Pick
7. Ham Bones
8. Wishbones
9. Greedy bones
10. Bone Appetit
11. Bones Of A Feather
12. Bonefire of the vanities
13. Smarty Bones
14. Booty Bones
15. Bone To Be Wild
16. Rock-A-Bye Bones
17. Sticks And Bones
18. Charmed Bones

The Ensemble: A Novel by Aja Gabel:

The addictive novel about four young friends navigating the cutthroat world of classical music and their complex relationships with each other, as ambition, passion, and love intertwine over the course of their lives.
Jana. Brit. Daniel. Henry. They would never have been friends if they hadn’t needed each other. They would never have found each other except for the art which drew them together. They would never have become family without their love for the music, for each other.

Brit is the second violinist, a beautiful and quiet orphan; on the viola is Henry, a prodigy who’s always had it easy; the cellist is Daniel, the oldest and an angry skeptic who sleeps around; and on first violin is Jana, their flinty, resilient leader. Together, they are the Van Ness Quartet. After the group’s youthful, rocky start, they experience devastating failure and wild success, heartbreak and marriage, triumph and loss, betrayal and enduring loyalty. They are always tied to each other – by career, by the intensity of their art, by the secrets they carry, by choosing each other over and over again.

Following these four unforgettable characters, Aja Gabel’s debut novel gives a riveting look into the high-stakes, cutthroat world of musicians, and of lives made in concert. The story of Brit and Henry and Daniel and Jana, The Ensemble is a heart-skipping portrait of ambition, friendship, and the tenderness of youth.

How To Walk Away: A Novel by Katherine Center:

From the author of Happiness for Beginners comes an unforgettable love story about finding joy even in the darkest of circumstances.

Margaret Jacobsen is just about to step into the bright future she’s worked for so hard and so long: a new dream job, a fiancé she adores, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in a brief, tumultuous moment.

In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Maggie must confront the unthinkable. First there is her fiancé, Chip, who wallows in self-pity while simultaneously expecting to be forgiven. Then, there’s her sister Kit, who shows up after pulling a three-year vanishing act. Finally, there’s Ian, her physical therapist, the one the nurses said was too tough for her. Ian, who won’t let her give in to her pity, and who sees her like no one has seen her before. Sometimes the last thing you want is the one thing you need. Sometimes we all need someone to catch us when we fall. And sometimes love can find us in the least likely place we would ever expect.

How to Walk Away is Katherine Center at her very best―a masterpiece of a novel that is both hopeful and hilarious; truthful and wise; tender and brave.

Let Me Die In His Footsteps by Lori Roy:

In the spellbinding and suspenseful Let Me Die in His Footsteps, an Edgar Award nominee for Best Novel, author Lori Roy wrests from a Southern town the secrets of two families touched by an evil that has passed between generations.

On a dark Kentucky night in 1952, exactly halfway between her fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays, Annie Holleran crosses into forbidden territory. Everyone knows Hollerans don’t go near Baines, not since Joseph Carl was buried two decades before, but Annie runs through her family’s lavender fields toward the well on the Baines’ place, hoping to see her future in the water. Instead, she finds a body, and Annie’s future becomes inextricably tied with her family’s dark past.

In 1936, the year Annie’s aunt, Juna Crowley, came of age, there were seven Baine boys. Before Juna, Joseph Carl had been the best of all the Baine brothers. But then he looked into Juna’s black eyes and they made him do things that cost innocent people their lives. With the pall of a young child’s death and the dark appetites of men working the sleepy town into a frenzy, Sheriff Irlene Fulkerson saw justice served—or did she?

As the investigation continues and she comes of age as Aunt Juna did in her own time, Annie’s dread mounts. Juna will come home now, to finish what she started. If Annie is to save herself, her family, and this small Kentucky town, she must prepare for Juna’s return, and the revelation of what really happened all those years ago.

Mr. Flood’s Last Resort: A Novel by Jess Kidd:

Maud Drennan is a dedicated caregiver whose sunny disposition masks a deep sadness. A tragic childhood event left her haunted, in the company of a cast of prattling saints who pop in and out of her life like tourists. Cathal Flood is a menace by all accounts. The lone occupant of a Gothic mansion crawling with feral cats, he has been waging war against his son’s attempts to put him into an old-age home and sent his last caretaker running for the madhouse. But Maud is this impossible man’s last chance: if she can help him get the house in order, he just might be able to stay. Still, shadows are growing in the cluttered corners of the mansion, hinting at buried family secrets, and reminding Maud that she doesn’t really know this man at all. When the forgotten case of a missing schoolgirl comes to light, she starts poking around, and a full-steam search for answers begin

Have a great week!

Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc.

The Digital Catalog (OverDrive)

The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.

Freegal Music Service

This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day:

RBDigital

Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available.

About Library Apps:

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

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Suggested Listening May 18, 2018

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five musical recommendations for the week; four streaming suggestions* and one recommended album on CD.

(Click on the photo to stream or request the album you want to check out)

Freegal Streaming Suggestions*

High Cumberland Jubilee (1972) by Jimmy Buffett (Genre: Country, Rock, Folk):

High Cumberland Jubliee is festive Key West singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett’s second album, and his second for the Barnaby Label. Interestingly, Barnaby “lost” the album and only found it and released it after Buffett’s music became popular.

The LP features some great songs including: Rockefeller Square, Bend A Little, High Cumberland Jubliee/Comin’ Down Slow, Dilemma, Livingston’ Gone To Texas, God Down’t Own A Card and The Hangout Gang.

The Essential Babyface by Babyface (Genre: R&B, Pop):

Singer-songwriter & producer Kenneth Edmonds was born in 1959, in Indianapolis and began playing music in his teens. Edmonds gained his stage name, Babyface, while playing with Bootsy Collin’s band. He went on to play with the groups Manchild and Deele and along the way began writing and producing hit songs with his Deele writing partner – L.A. Reed. Some of the many artists that recorded songs co-written and produced by Babyface include: Johnny Gill, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, En Vogue and Bobby Brown.

And in the midst of a very successful career as a song-writer and producer, Babyface even had time to record a few albums of his own! This collection features a number of his best known solo hits including: Every Time I Close My Eyes, When Can I See You, For The Cool in You, My Kinda Girl, Well Alright and The Day.

Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives by Various Artists:

Clive Davis graduated from law school in 1960 and was first employed by Columbia Records as a contract lawyer – so he didn’t start out with a music career in mind. Davis worked his way up through the music business ranks, eventually working as a producer and, subsequently, taking over as president of CBS Records in 1967. Davis realized how successful CBS Records could become by signing rock groups since this was the era where rock albums were beginning to sell in increasingly large numbers. To that end, Davis signed Santana, The Electric Flag, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Chicago, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and many others before he was dramatically fired for fraud.

Despite being fired by CBS, Davis’s talent for finding and launching new musical talent was too good to be ignored. So Davis went on to work for the music division of Columbia Pictures and was responsible for re-naming it Arista Records. At Arista he continued to sign artists that went on to become internationally famous including Patti Smith, Kenny G, Sarah McLachlan and Whitney Houston.

So perhaps needless to say, Davis is now considered one of the most notable record producers of the recording era.

This collection features a slice of popular songs produced by Davis from the sixties through the nineties. Songs/artists featured in the set include: Piece Of My Heart by Big Brother & The Holding Company, 25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago, Bridge Over Troubled Waters by Simon & Garfunkel, Blinded By The Light by Bruce Springsteen, Don’t Cry Out Loud by Melissa Manchester, September by Earth, Wind & Fire, Because The Night by Patti Smith, Freeway of Love by Aretha Franklin, Touch of Grey by the Grateful Dead and more.

Jack Teagarden & His Orchestra: The 1939 Recordings (Genre: Jazz, Classic Jazz):

This collection features a variety of pre-World War II recordings by the great Jazz trombonist and singer Jack Teagarden and his orchestra. Some of the other players featured in this collection include vocalist Jeanie Arnold and musicians Charlie Spivak, Cubby Teagarden, Ernie Caceres and Sid Feller.

This is a solid collection of swinging Jazz music featuring the songs The Sheik of Araby, Red Wing, United We Swing and If It’s Good (I Want It).

Recommended CD of the Week:

Nathaniel Rateliffe & The Night Sweats (2015) by Nathaniel Rateliffe & The Night Sweats (Genre: R&B, Folk, Rock, Classic Rock):

Nathaniel Rateliff & his band the Night Sweats hail from Denver, Colorado and play a great blend of roots rock, traditional R&B and folk music. This is the groups second album from 2015 and it is a super fun one for fans of early classic rock and sixties R&B – check it out!

Songs on the LP include: I Need Never Get Old, Howling At Nothing, Trying So Hard Not To Know, S.O.B., Wasting Time & Thank You.

Videos of the Week:

Rockefeller Square by Jimmy Buffett:

When Can I See You by Babyface:

Piece of My Heart by Big Brother And The Holding Company:

Blinded by the Light by Bruce Springsteen:

Because The Night by Patti Smith: 

Touch of Grey by The Grateful Dead:

Yankee Doodle by Jack Teagarden & His Orchestra featuring Jean Arnold:

*A library card is required to use the Freegal Music Service. If you live in the service area of the Southern Tier Library System, which consists of the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Alleghany counties in New York State, you can get a library card for free at your nearest public library – including our own Southeast Steuben County Library in Corning, New York. The Freegal Music Service is free for all Southern Tier Library System member libraries library card holders to access.

Have a great weekend!

Linda, SSCL

References:

Artist Biography & Discography Information:

http://www.allmusic.com/

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

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

*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and includes our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York!

Library cards are free if you live in our service area. And you can obtain a card by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features your name and your current address.

Links to the desktop versions of the catalogs for the library system – apps for each are available in your app store:

Digital Library Catalogs:

Freegal offers streaming and downloadable music

OverDrive allows you to check out eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and handful of streaming videos

RB Digital is the place you go to check out magazines – on demand – and you never have to return them!

The Traditional Library Catalog:

You can search for and request books, DVDs, music CDs, audiobooks on CD and other physical format items through StarCat – it is the modern day card catalog!

Suggested Reading Week of May 14, 2018

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week, five digital titles available through OverDrive and five print titles available through StarCat.

(Note: Click on the photo of the item you’d like to request or check out)

Digital Suggestions Of The Week:

Almost Paradise: A Novel by Debbie Macomber:

Debbie Macomber dazzles in a contemporary update of Snow White.

Despite the picturesque view, it’s a kiss that turns an unlikely pair into a fairy-tale romance.

A mountain cabin. A moonlit night. And not a stepmother around to spoil the moment. For a burnt-out grad student looking for a little fun, this camp is paradise . . . well, almost. With seven mischievous girls in her cabin, Sherry White barely has time to whistle while she works. Then there’s the camp director, who may be the most gorgeous man Sherry’s ever met—and the most serious too. Even after they share a perfect kiss under the stars, Sherry wonders whether they’ll ever see eye to eye.

When Jeff Roarke founded his camp for gifted children, he had a vision of rigorous education and self-improvement. Now Sherry is about to ruin everything with her insistence that kids need to let loose and play. Sherry’s minions are driving him crazy, but the worst part is, Jeff’s beginning to think that resistance is futile. Because Sherry is messing with his agenda, his head . . . and his heart.

God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State (unabridged downloadable audiobook) written and read by Lawrence Wright:

With humor and the biting insight of a native, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower explores the history, culture, and politics of Texas, while holding the stereotypes up for rigorous scrutiny.

God Save Texas is a journey through the most controversial state in America. It is a red state in the heart of Trumpland that hasn’t elected a Democrat to a statewide office in more than twenty years; but it is also a state in which minorities already form a majority (including the largest number of Muslims). The cities are blue and among the most diverse in the nation. Oil is still king but Texas now leads California in technology exports. The Texas economic model of low taxes and minimal regulation has produced extraordinary growth but also striking income disparities. Texas looks a lot like the America that Donald Trump wants to create. And Wright’s profound portrait of the state not only reflects our country back as it is, but as it was and as it might be.

One Last Breath by Lisa Jackson:

EVERY FAMILY HAS ITS SECRETS
Rory Abernathy’s wedding to Liam Bastian turned into a bloodbath. She fled after stabbing a masked intruder, just before a gunman opened fire on the wedding party. Five years on, Rory still has no idea who was behind the attacks. Fearful she and her daughter remain targets, she’s made a new life far from Liam and the wealthy, powerful Bastians.

BUT SOME
But even in remote Point Roberts, Washington, she can’t hide from the past. Liam tracks Rory down, stunned to learn they have a child. Did someone in Rory’s family try to kill him for his portion of the Bastian estate? As they gradually overcome distrust in search of the truth, Rory knows one thing for certain: someone is watching her…

ARE WORTH KILLING FOR
Time has passed, but the killer’s need for vengeance hasn’t. And as a nightmare stirs to life again, Rory will find that this time, there’s nowhere left to run…

Queen Victoria’s Children by John Van der Kiste:

Queen Victoria and Albert, the Prince Consort, had nine children who, despite their very different characters remained a close-knit family. Inevitably, as they married into European royal families their loyalties were divided and their lives dominated by political controversy. This is not only the story of their lives in terms of world impact, but also of personal achievements in their own right, individual contributions to public life in Britain and overseas, and as the children of Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort. John van der Kiste weaves together the lives of each of these children and shows how their mother was the thread that kept the family together. It is a refreshing insight into one of history’s most popular royal families.

To Die but Once: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear:

Maisie Dobbs—one of the most complex and admirable characters in contemporary fiction (Richmond Times Dispatch)—faces danger and intrigue on the home front during World War II.

During the months following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany, Maisie Dobbs investigates the disappearance of a young apprentice working on a hush-hush government contract. As news of the plight of thousands of soldiers stranded on the beaches of France is gradually revealed to the general public, and the threat of invasion rises, another young man beloved by Maisie makes a terrible decision that will change his life forever.

Maisie’s investigation leads her from the countryside of rural Hampshire to the web of wartime opportunism exploited by one of the London underworld’s most powerful men, in a case that serves as a reminder of the inextricable link between money and war. Yet when a final confrontation approaches, she must acknowledge the potential cost to her future—and the risk of destroying a dream she wants very much to become reality.

Print Suggestions Of The Week:

The Abbot’s Tale: A Novel by Conn Iggulden:

In the year 937, the new king of England, a grandson of Alfred the Great, readies himself to go to war in the north. His dream of a united kingdom of all England will stand or fall on one field on the passage of a single day. At his side is the priest Dunstan of Glastonbury, full of ambition and wit. His talents will take him from the villages of Wessex to the royal court, to the hills of Rome from exile to exaltation. Through Dunstan’s vision, by his guiding hand, England will either come together as one great country or fall back into anarchy and misrule.

All The Castles Burned: A Novel by Michael Nye:

When Owen Webb, the son of working-class parents, receives a scholarship to the prestigious Rockcastle Preparatory Academy, the mysterious and enigmatic Carson Bly, an upperclassman from a wealthy and powerful family, befriends him. Their friendship, deepened through a love of basketball, becomes an obsession for Owen who is desperate to avoid the growing trouble at home between his parents. When Owen’s father is arrested for a shocking and unexpected crime, his family is torn apart, and Owen’s anger and fear are carefully manipulated by Carson’s mercurial and increasingly dangerous personality. Owen, who has fallen in love with Carson’s beautiful but troubled sister, quickly finds himself caught up in a complex web of lies that threatens his once promising future.

The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz:

Jane Hawk—who dazzled readers in The Silent Corner and The Whispering Room—faces the fight of her life, against the threat of a lifetime, in this electrifying new thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling suspense master Dean Koontz.

“I could be dead tomorrow. Or something worse than dead.”

Jane Hawk knows she may be living on borrowed time. But as long as she’s breathing, she’ll never cease her one-woman war against the terrifying conspiracy that threatens the freedom—and free will—of millions. Battling the strange epidemic of murder-suicides that claimed Jane’s husband, and is escalating across the country, has made the rogue FBI agent a wanted fugitive, relentlessly hunted not only by the government but by the secret cabal behind the plot. Deploying every resource their malign nexus of power and technology commands, Jane’s enemies are determined to see her dead . . . or make her wish she was.

Jane’s ruthless pursuers can’t stop her from drawing a bead on her prey: a cunning man with connections in high places, a twisted soul of unspeakable depths with an army of professional killers on call. Propelled by her righteous fury and implacable insistence on justice, Jane will make her way from southern Southern California to the snow-swept slopes of Lake Tahoe to confront head-on the lethal forces arrayed against her. But nothing can prepare her for the chilling truth that awaits when she descends the crooked staircase to the dark and dreadful place where her long nightmare was born.

I Am Justice by Diana Munoz Stewart:

This bad-ass band of sisters plays for keeps.

She’s ready to start a war

Justice Parish takes down bad guys. Rescued from the streets by the world renowned Parish family, she joined their covert sisterhood of vigilante assassins. Her next target: a sex-trafficking ring in the war-torn Middle East. She just needs to get close enough to take them down…

He just wants peace

Sandesh Ross left Special Forces to found a humanitarian group to aid war-torn countries. But saving the world isn’t cheap. Enter Parish Industries and limitless funding, with one catch―their hot, prickly ‘PR specialist’, Justice Parish.

Their chemistry is instant and off-the-charts. But when Justice is injured and her cover blown, Sandesh has to figure out if he can reconcile their missions. With danger dogging their every move, their white-hot passion can change the world―if it doesn’t destroy them first.

Band of Sisters Series:
I Am Justice (Book 1)
I Am Grace (Book 2)
I Am Honor (Book 3)

On Fahrenheit 451:

In anticipation of the forthcoming HBO movie Fahrenheit 451, based upon the 1953 novel by Ray Bradbury, The New York Times features an essay written by the director of the new film – Ramin Bahrani. Bahrani offers fascinating insight on what intrigues him about the Bradbury story and how, despite the fact that it was published more than sixty years ago, both the film and the book are very relevant today.

To access Bahrani’s essay in the times click the following photo:

And here are links to the different versions of Fahrenheit 451 available for checkout:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Print Book)

Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future.

Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.

Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.

When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.

Fahrenheit 451 audiobook on CD, written by Ray Bradbury and read by Christopher Hurt:

Fahrenheit 451 (1966) DVD

Starring Oskar Werner & Julie Christie, Directed by François Truffaut

In the future, an oppressive government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers known as “firemen” to perform the necessary book burnings. This is the premise of Ray Bradbury’s acclaimed science-fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, which became the source material for French director François Truffaut’s English-language debut. While some liberties are taken with the description of the world, the narrative remains the same, as fireman Montag (Oskar Werner) begins to question the morality of his vocation. Curious about the world of books, he soon falls in love with a beautiful young member of a pro-literature underground — and with literature itself. Critics were divided on the effectiveness of the result; some praised the unique design and eerie color cinematography by Nicolas Roeg, while others found the film’s stylized approach overly distancing and attacked the central performances as unnatural. In any case, however, the film inarguably succeeds in making Truffaut’s reverence for the written word abundantly clear, especially during the film’s justifiably famous finale. —Judd Blaise, AllMovies.com

And available in the Digital Catalog:

Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury and read by Stephen Hoye (downloadable audiobook):

And the eBook version of Fahrenheit 451 will be available in the Digital Catalog later this week!

Have a great week!

Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc.

The Digital Catalog (OverDrive)

The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.

Freegal Music Service

This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day:

RBDigital

Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available.

About Library Apps:

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

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Suggested Listening May 11, 2018

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five musical recommendations for the week; four streaming suggestions* and one recommended album on CD.

(Click on the photo to stream or request the album you want to listen to!)

Freegal Streaming Suggestions*

Ramblin’ (1963) by New Christy Minstrels (Genre: Folk, Sixties Folk, Pop):

This popular folk group, founded in the early sixties and still touring, has included many members over the years; the line-up for this album includes Dolan Ellis, Jackie Miller, Gayle Caldwell and Barry McGuire later of “Eve of Destruction” fame.

This album is widely considered to be their best and includes their biggest hit the McGuire penned “Green, Green.”

Songs on the light hearted, up-tempo album include: Mighty Mississippi, Hi Jolly, A Travelin’ Man, Down the Ohio, The Drinkin’ Gourd, Green, Green, Ride, Ride, Ride and My Dear Mary Anne.

Eclipse (2018) by Joey Alexander (Genre: Jazz):

Joey Alexander is a 15-year-old jazz pianist from Indonesia and to say he is a natural is an understatement! I saw him performed a concert as part of this past season’s Civic Music series – and boy, can he play! Eclipse is his new album and features the songs: Bali, Faithful, Draw me Nearer, Moment’s Notice, Eclipse, Blackbird and The Very Thought of You.

Short Days, Long Nights (2016) by Various Artists (Genre: Rock, Classic Rock, Pop):

This thirty song compilation was released in 2016 and I can’t find much information online about it – but it is a great collection of songs! The set includes great classic pop/rock songs and some newer ones. Artists featured range from the Jefferson Airplane to Bob Weir, Fiona Apple and the Kings of Leon!

Songs in the set include: Everybody Here Wants You by Jeff Buckley, Free Fallin’ by John Mayer, Waves by Miguel with Kacey Musgraves, Collide by Howie Day, Manhattan by Sara Bareilles, Satellite by Dave Matthews Band, Sweet Jane by Cowboy Junkies, Fair Play by Van Morrison, Man of the Hour by Pearl Jam and Independence Day by Bruce Springsteen.

Last Man Standing (2018) by Willie Nelson (Genre: Country):

Last Man Standing is the brand new album by country legend Willie Nelson. This collection features eleven songs written by Willie and his long-time songwriting partner Buddy Cannon.

Songs on the LP include: Last Man Standing, Don’t Tell Noah, Bad Breath, Me And You, Something To Get Through and Ready to Roar.

Bonus Streaming Album:

Recorded Live At Tweed Recording (2012) by Luke Winslow King (Genre: Blues, Traditional Blues):

Luke Winslow-King is originally from Cadillac, Michigan and now hails from New Orleans. He is a versatile singer-songwriter and guitarist who plays vintage blues and this LP sounds like it was recorded decades ago – so if you enjoy vintage blues – check it out!

Songs on this 5 song LP include: Mississippi Slow Drag, Miss The Mississippi And You, Ragtime Millionaire, I Know She’ll Do Right and April To May.

Recommended CD of the Week:

The Complete Johnny Mercer Songbook by Various Artists:

This three disc set features 48 songs written by the legendary songwriter Johnny Mercer and recorded by great jazz artists.

Songs/Artists in the set include: Blues In the Night by Louis Armstrong, Hit The Road To Dreamland by Mel Torme, Skylark by Ella Fitzgerald, Early Autumn by Woody Herman, That Old Black Magic by Shirley Horn, Jeepers Creepers by Bing Crosby with Buddy Bregman’s Orchestra, Dream by Dinah Washington, On The Atchison, Topeka, And the Santa Fe by jack Teagarden, Moon River by Sarah Vaughan and many more.

Videos of the Week:

Green Green by New Christy Minstrels

The Drinkin’ Gourd (The Muddy Road To Freedom) by the New Christy Minstrels featuring Gene Clark:

Note: this sound on this video clip shows its age – but it is a cool video of the group recorded in the sixties at Fordham University and well worth watching!

Eclipse album trailer by Joey Alexander:

Epistrophy by Joey Alexander – Live at Jazz Standard with Charnett Moffett & Ulysses Owens Jr.:

Everybody Here Wants You by Jeff Buckley: 

Sweet Jane by Cowboy Junkies:

Independence Day by Bruce Springsteen:

Last Man Standing by Willie Nelson:

Ragtime Millionaires by Luke Winslow-King:

Early Autumn by Woody Herman & His Orchestra:

Jeepers Creepers by Bing Crosby:

Moon River by Sarah Vaughn:

Have a great weekend!

Linda, SSCL

References:

Artist Biography & Discography Information:

http://www.allmusic.com/

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

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

*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and includes our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York!

Library cards are free if you live in our service area. And you can obtain a card by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features your name and your current address.

Links to the desktop versions of the catalogs for the library system – apps for each are available in your app store:

Digital Library Catalogs:

Freegal offers streaming and downloadable music

OverDrive allows you to check out eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and handful of streaming videos

RB Digital is the place you go to check out magazines – on demand – and you never have to return them!

The Traditional Library Catalog:

You can search for and request books, DVDs, music CDs, audiobooks on CD and other physical format items through StarCat – it is the modern day card catalog!

Suggested Reading Week of May 7, 2018

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week, five digital titles available through OverDrive and five print titles available through StarCat.

(Note: Click on the photo of the item you’d like to request or check out)

Digital Suggestions Of The Week:

The Female Persuasion: A Novel (unabridged audiobook) written by Meg Wolitzer and read by Rebecca Lowman:

To be admired by someone we admire – we all yearn for this: the private, electrifying pleasure of being singled out by someone of esteem. But sometimes it can also mean entry to a new kind of life, a bigger world.

Greer Kadetsky is a shy college freshman when she meets the woman she hopes will change her life. Faith Frank, dazzlingly persuasive and elegant at sixty-three, has been a central pillar of the women’s movement for decades, a figure who inspires others to influence the world. Upon hearing Faith speak for the first time, Greer- madly in love with her boyfriend, Cory, but still full of longing for an ambition that she can’t quite place- feels her inner world light up. And then, astonishingly, Faith invites Greer to make something out of that sense of purpose, leading Greer down the most exciting path of her life as it winds toward and away from her meant-to-be love story with Cory and the future she’d always imagined.

Charming and wise, knowing and witty, Meg Wolitzer delivers a novel about power and influence, ego and loyalty, womanhood and ambition. At its heart, The Female Persuasion is about the flame we all believe is flickering inside of us, waiting to be seen and fanned by the right person at the right time. It’s a story about the people who guide and the people who follow (and how those roles evolve over time), and the desire within all of us to be pulled into the light.

Cave of Bones by Anne Hillerman:

New York Times bestselling author Anne Hillerman brings together modern mystery, Navajo traditions, and the evocative landscape of the desert Southwest in this intriguing entry in the Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito series.

When Tribal Police Officer Bernadette Manuelito arrives to speak at an outdoor character-building program for at-risk teens, she discovers chaos. Annie, a young participant on a solo experience due back hours before, has just returned and is traumatized. Gently questioning the girl, Bernie learns that Annie stumbled upon a human skeleton on her trek. While everyone is relieved that Annie is back, they’re concerned about a beloved instructor who went out into the wilds of the rugged lava wilderness bordering Ramah Navajo Reservation to find the missing girl. The instructor vanished somewhere in the volcanic landscape known as El Malpais. In Navajo lore, the lava caves and tubes are believed to be the solidified blood of a terrible monster killed by superhuman twin warriors.

Solving the twin mysteries will expose Bernie to the chilling face of human evil. The instructor’s disappearance mirrors a long-ago search that may be connected to a case in which the legendary Joe Leaphorn played a crucial role. But before Bernie can find the truth, an unexpected blizzard, a suspicious accidental drowning, and the arrival of a new FBI agent complicate the investigation.
While Bernie searches for answers in her case, her husband, Sergeant Jim Chee juggles trouble closer to home. A vengeful man he sent to prison for domestic violence is back—and involved with Bernie’s sister Darleen. Their relationship creates a dilemma that puts Chee in uncomfortable emotional territory that challenges him as family man, a police officer, and as a one-time medicine man in training.

Anne Hillerman takes us deep into the heart of the deserts, mountains, and forests of New Mexico and once again explores the lore and rituals of Navajo culture in this gripping entry in her atmospheric crime series.

Classified as Murder: Cat in the Stacks Mystery Series, Book 2 by Miranda James

Librarian Charlie Harris and his cat Diesel must catalog a killer in this mystery in the New York Times bestselling Cat in the Stacks series.

Suspecting that someone is stealing from him, the aging and eccentric James Delacorte wants Charlie to do an inventory on his rare book collection. Soon after they begin, Delacorte is found dead at his desk, leaving Charlie with the bigger task of solving his murder.

Immediately Charlie is suspicious of Delacorte’s own family, and relies on the help of Diesel to paw around for clues. The cat and mouse game heats up after a highly valued copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s Tamerlane goes missing and a second murder occurs. Now Charlie and Diesel must solve the case before the killer strikes a third time—and hope curiosity doesn’t kill the cat…

Midnight Sons and Daughters by Debbie Macomber:

Scott O’Halloran and Chrissie Harris are all grown up now. After years away from Alaska, Scott’s back in town, and everybody’s wondering if he’s here to stay. Especially Chrissie, the girl he left behind…This novella is perfect for reading in one sitting.

Varina by Charles Frazier:

Sooner or later, history asks, which side were you on?

In his powerful new novel, Charles Frazier returns to the time and place of Cold Mountain, vividly bringing to life the chaos and devastation of the Civil War

Her marriage prospects limited, teenage Varina Howell agrees to wed the much-older widower Jefferson Davis, with whom she expects the secure life of a Mississippi landowner. Davis instead pursues a career in politics and is eventually appointed president of the Confederacy, placing Varina at the white-hot center of one of the darkest moments in American history—culpable regardless of her intentions.

The Confederacy falling, her marriage in tatters, and the country divided, Varina and her children escape Richmond and travel south on their own, now fugitives with “bounties on their heads, an entire nation in pursuit.”

Intimate in its detailed observations of one woman’s tragic life and epic in its scope and power, Varina is a novel of an American war and its aftermath. Ultimately, the book is a portrait of a woman who comes to realize that complicity carries consequences.

Print Suggestions Of The Week:

Blackfish City: A Novel by Sam J Miller:

After the climate wars, a floating city is constructed in the Arctic Circle, a remarkable feat of mechanical and social engineering, complete with geothermal heating and sustainable energy. The city’s denizens have become accustomed to a roughshod new way of living, however, the city is starting to fray along the edges—crime and corruption have set in, the contradictions of incredible wealth alongside direst poverty are spawning unrest, and a new disease called “the breaks” is ravaging the population.

When a strange new visitor arrives—a woman riding an orca, with a polar bear at her side—the city is entranced. The “orcamancer,” as she’s known, very subtly brings together four people—each living on the periphery—to stage unprecedented acts of resistance. By banding together to save their city before it crumbles under the weight of its own decay, they will learn shocking truths about themselves.

Blackfish City is a remarkably urgent—and ultimately very hopeful—novel about political corruption, organized crime, technology run amok, the consequences of climate change, gender identity, and the unifying power of human connection.

He: A Novel by John Connolly: 

John Connolly recreates the Golden Age of Hollywood in this moving, literary portrait of two men who found their true selves in a comedic partnership. When Stan Laurel was paired with Oliver Hardy, affectionately known as Babe, the history of comedy–not to mention their personal and professional lives–would be altered forever.

Laurel followed in the wake of Charlie Chaplin, who blazed a trail from the vaudeville stages of England to the dynamic, if often seedy and highly volatile, movie studios of Los Angeles in the early 20th century. Awed like everyone else by Chaplin’s genius (and ambition and cruelty), Laurel despaired of ever finding his own path to success–or happiness.

But success and happiness did find Laurel, following the inspired decision by impresario Hal Roach to put him and Oliver Hardy together on screen. Initially a calculated marriage of opposites in an era of highly disposable short films, the partnership bloomed into a professional and personal relationship of lifelong depth.

Eventually, Laurel became one of the greatest screen comedians the world has ever known: a man who knew both adoration and humiliation; who loved, and was loved in turn; who betrayed, and was betrayed; who never sought to cause pain to anyone else, yet left a trail of affairs and broken marriages in his wake.

And whose life was ultimately defined by one relationship of such astonishing tenderness and devotion that only death could sever their profound connection.

Murder on Union Square by Victoria Thompson:

When a murder hits close to home, Frank finds himself in an unusual position–the prime suspect in the latest installment of the national bestselling Gaslight Mystery series…

Sarah and Frank Malloy are enjoying married life and looking to make their family official by adopting Catherine, the child whom Sarah rescued and has been raising as her daughter. The process seems fairly straightforward, but at the last minute, the newlyweds discover that Parnell Vaughn, Catherine’s legal father, has a claim on the child, and his grasping fiancée is demanding a financial settlement to relinquish parental rights. Even though exchanging money for a child is illegal, Frank and Sarah’s love for Catherine drives them to comply.

When Frank returns with the money and finds Vaughn beaten to death, all evidence points to Frank as the culprit. A not-quite-famous actor with modest means, Vaughn seems an unlikely candidate for murder, particularly such a violent crime of passion. But Frank soon uncovers real-life intrigue as dramatic as any that appears on stage.

Sarah and Frank enlist those closest to them to help hunt for Vaughn’s killer as Frank’s own life–and the future of their family–hang in the balance.

The Shadow of Death: A Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery (Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mysteries) by Jane Willan:

The sisters of Gwenafwy Abbey have cherished their contemplative life―days spent in prayer, reflection, tending the Convent’s vegetable gardens and making their award-winning organic cheese, Heavenly Gouda. Life seems perfect, except for Sister Agatha, a die-hard mystery fan who despairs of ever finding any real life inspiration for her own novel. That is, until the Abbey’s sexton is found dead under an avalanche of gouda. Despite the reservations of the local constable, Sister Agatha is convinced it’s murder and the game is afoot.

Armed only with the notes she’s scribbled during her favorite podcast, How to Write a Mystery Novel, as well as a lessons learned from crime heroes ranging from Hercule Poirot to Stephanie Plum, Sister Agatha leads the nuns of Gwenafwy Abbey (and her unwitting sidekick, Father Selwyn) as they begin a race against time to resolve the death of Jacob, save the Abbey, exonerate a beloved postulant, and restore the good name of their cheese.

The Wolf (Under the Northern Sky) by Leo Carew:

In Leo Carew’s thrilling and savagely visceral debut epic fantasy, The Wolf, violence and death come to the land under the Northern Sky when two fierce races break their age-old fragile peace and begin an all-out war.

Beyond the Black River, among the forests and mountains of the north, lives an ancient race of people. Their lives are measured in centuries, not decades; they revel in wilderness and resilience, and they scorn wealth and comfort.

By contrast, those in the south live in the moment, their lives more fleeting. They crave wealth and power; their ambition is limitless, and their cunning unmatched.

When the armies of the south flood across the Black river, the fragile peace between the two races is shattered. On a lightning-struck battlefield, the two sides will fight – for their people, for their land, for their very survival.

Have a great week!

Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc.

The Digital Catalog (OverDrive)

The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.

Freegal Music Service

This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day:

RBDigital

Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available.

About Library Apps:

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

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Suggested Listening May 4, 2018

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five musical recommendations for the week; four streaming suggestions* and one recommended album on CD.

(Click on the photo to stream or request the album you want to listen to!)

Freegal Streaming Suggestions*

Peaks And Valleys by Chris Richards And The Subtractions (2018) (Genre: Rock):

Singer-songwriter & guitarist Chris Richards and his band create great, bright and guitar based music. Richards hails from Michigan and is well known to mid-west music fans – this is his third LP with his new band the Subtractions. And I’d classify this album as a rock album and not a classic rock album; however, you can certainly hear in the music that Chris Richards is a big fan of classic rock in general and the British Invasion bands of the sixties in particular.

This is fun album perfect for listening to while on a long drive or just hanging out on a Saturday!

Songs on the LP include: Half Asleep, The Coast is Clear, Wrapped in a Riddle, Call Me Out, Just Another Season and Maybe That Is All.

Bluegrass Delivers: Theme from Deliverance (1998) by Various Artists (Genre: Bluegrass, Country, Classic Country):

This is a terrific bluegrass collection – perfect to play if you’re in a dancing mood on a Saturday night, or any other night of the week!

Songs/Artists on the LP include: I’m a Stranger Here by Mac Wiseman & The Osborne Brothers, Black Eyed Suzy by Lester Flatt’s Nashville Grass, The River by The Nashville Superpickers, Down the Old Plank Road by Grandpa Jones and Feudin’ Banjos by Charlie Cushman & Bobby Clark.

Jazztet Big City Sounds (1961) by Art Farmer and Benny Golson (Genre: Jazz, Classic Jazz):

Art Farmer started out playing with a variety of groups in Los Angeles in the mid nineteen forties including bands led by Johnny Otis, Benny Carter, Addison Farmer and Lionel Hampton. Farmer moved to New York in the early fifties and continued working with many groups into the sixties including the Horace Silver Quintet, the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and the Jazztet which he co-led with Benny Golson. In 1968 he moved to Vienna to work with the Austrian Radio Orchestra and he continued to live in Austria for the rest of life.

This 1961 album features Art Farmer, saxophonist Benny Golson and pianist McCoy Tyner. This is a fun classic jazz album which does sort of sound as if it might have been the perfect soundtrack to a day and night in a big city in 1961 – or the perfect soundtrack for a great noir film.

Songs on the LP include: Five Spot After Dark, The Cool One, Hi-Fly, Blues On Down, Wonder Why & Bean Bag

Presidential Inaugural Addresses by Various Presidents (Genre: Spoken, Audiobook):

This album doesn’t feature music at all! Instead, it allows you to access the presidential addresses of U.S. Presidents from Franklin Roosevelt’s first address in 1933 through Jimmy Carter’s 1977 address.

The addresses are interesting as they reflect both the times in which they were given and the style of the presidents giving each address. For example, President Roosevelt’s famous 1933 address, given in the midst of The Great Depression is at heart a pep talk for the discouraged American people in the midst of The Great Depression; it was his first inaugural address and the one during which he spoke words that have been remembered ever since: “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself”. Also included in the set is Roosevelt’s 1945 address, which reflects the fact that the world was moving towards the end of World War II and, President Kennedy’s inspirational 1961 address during which he said the famous words: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.”

And if you’re thinking to yourself “Hmm, I bet she was a history major!” You’d be right!

Recommended CD of the Week:

Eight Classic Albums by Bud Powell (Genre: Jazz):

In his AllMusic biography of Powell, writer Scott Yanow described Powell’s playing this way: “One of the giants of the jazz piano, Bud Powell changed the way that virtually all post-swing pianists play their instruments. He did away with the left-hand striding that had been considered essential earlier and used his left hand to state chords on an irregular basis. His right often played speedy single-note lines, essentially transforming Charlie Parker’s vocabulary to the piano (although he developed parallel to “Bird”).”

This multi-disc collection features the following Powell albums:

Bud Powell Trio (1947)

The Amazing Bud Powell (1951): Also known as The Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 1

The Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 2 (1953)

Bud Powell Trio Vol. 2 (1953)

The Amazing Bud Powell Vol 3: Also known as Bud! The Amazing Bud Powell

TIME WAITS (1958): Also known as the Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 4

Blues In The Closet (1958)

The Scene Changes (1958): Also known as the Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 5

Songs in the collection include: Bouncing with Bud, Wail, Dance of the Infidels, 52nd Street Theme, You Go To My Head, Ornithology, Un Poco Loco and Over the Rainbow.

Videos of the Week:

The Coast Is Clear – Chris Richards & The Subtractions

White Room – The Cache Valley Drifters

Five Spot After Dark by The Jazztet featuring Art Farmer & Benny Golson

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Inaugural Address (1933)

President Harry S. Truman’s Inaugural Address (1949)

President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address (1961)

Un Poco Loco by Bud Powell

Have a great weekend!

Linda, SSCL

*A library card is required to use the Freegal Music Service. If you live in the service area of the Southern Tier Library System, which consists of the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Alleghany counties in New York State, you can get a library card for free at your nearest public library – including our own Southeast Steuben County Library in Corning, New York. The Freegal Music Service is free for all Southern Tier Library System member libraries library card holders to access.

Have a great weekend!

Linda, SSCL

References:

Artist Biography & Discography Information:

http://www.allmusic.com/

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

Inaugural Address of President John F. Kennedy, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library And Museum. Online. Accessed May 4, 2018.
https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations/Inaugural-Address.aspx

The Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents. Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library – The Avalon Project Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Yale Law School. Online. Accessed May 4, 2018. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/inaug.asp

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

*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and includes our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York!

Library cards are free if you live in our service area. And you can obtain a card by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features your name and your current address.

Links to the desktop versions of the catalogs for the library system – apps for each are available in your app store:

Digital Library Catalogs:

Freegal offers streaming and downloadable music

OverDrive allows you to check out eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and handful of streaming videos

RB Digital is the place you go to check out magazines – on demand – and you never have to return them!

The Traditional Library Catalog:

You can search for and request books, DVDs, music CDs, audiobooks on CD and other physical format items through StarCat – it is the modern day card catalog!

Did You Know…Victoria!

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here is our Did You Know… posting for May 2018!

Did you know…

Victoria!

So you’ve enjoyed the first two seasons of the PBS series Victoria, which chronicles the early life and reign of Queen Victoria and her dashing Prince Consort, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

But did you know…

The TV series is based upon a book, Victoria: A Novel, written by Daisy Goodwin?

It is!

Daisy Goodwin began doing research for the novel while she was a student at Cambridge University. Goodwin read Victoria’s personal diaries to gain a greater understanding of what life was like for the teenage Princess Victoria, who became queen just a month after her eighteenth birthday.

Interestingly, the novel Victoria actually ends at the time the two cousins, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, became engaged.

So the Goodwin book really is a bildungsroman!

And I love that word, bildungsroman!

Although the first time I read it, in a review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, I had to look it up in the dictionary!

But that is cool as learning is a wonderful thing!

The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines bildungsroman as meaning “a novel dealing with a person’s formative years” , so the term does indeed apply to the story of the young Queen Victoria we see in seasons 1 & 2 of the PBS series.

And having now shown my library geekiness – I’ll get back to the subject at hand – the fact that the Goodwin novel Victoria, which admittedly is only her first book on Queen Victoria*, covers a relatively short period of Queen Victoria’s life beginning just as she becomes queen in 1837 and ending just before her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840. The TV series has already gone past that point in history. And the real life story of Queen Victoria went on for another 61 years! In fact, Queen Victoria held the record for the longest reigning monarch in British history for more than one hundred years until the record was broken by Queen Elizabeth in 2015.

Did you know…

That there are several book available that will allow you, like Daisy Goodwin, to read entries from Queen Victoria’s private diaries?

There are!

The library owns two of them —

Life at the Court of Queen Victoria: 1861-1901 written by Queen Victoria and edited by Barry St-John Nevill:

And

Dearest Mama: Private Correspondence of Queen Victoria and the Crown Princess of Prussia, 1861-64:

Did you know…

That the scientist Ada Lovelace, seen in Season 2, Episode 2 of the Victoria TV series, is considered to be the first computer programmer?

She is!

Disclaimer! I am not a math person! I’d rather write essays all day long then work on advanced math problems! So to properly illustrate Ada Lovelace’s importance, I’m going to quote from her New York Times obituary* the information that relays just why, today, she is considered the first computer programmer:

“A century before the dawn of the computer age, Ada Lovelace imagined the modern-day, general-purpose computer. It could be programmed to follow instructions, she wrote in 1843. It could not just calculate but also create, as it “weaves algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves.”

The computer she was writing about, the British inventor Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, was never built. But her writings about computing have earned Lovelace — who died of uterine cancer in 1852 at 36 — recognition as the first computer programmer.

The program she wrote for the Analytical Engine was to calculate the seventh Bernoulli number. (Bernoulli numbers, named after the Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli, are used in many different areas of mathematics.) But her deeper influence was to see the potential of computing. The machines could go beyond calculating numbers, she said, to understand symbols and be used to create music or art.

“This insight would become the core concept of the digital age,” Walter Isaacson wrote in his book “The Innovators.” “Any piece of content, data or information — music, text, pictures, numbers, symbols, sounds, video — could be expressed in digital form and manipulated by machines.” (Claire Cain Miller, the New York Times, Online)

So you see, all of us who use technology, from casual cell phone users to tech geeks who eagerly await the next new and exciting personal technology news, should celebrate the work of Ada Lovelace, as without her work we might not have the technology we have today!

Did you know…

That author Walter Isaacson makes prominent mention of Ada Lovelace and her contributions to computer science in his book The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution?

He does!

Not surprisingly, considering how patriarchal an era the 19th Century was, female scientists and inventors of that era have largely been forgotten by those writing the history books. Walter Isaacson does his bit to set the record straight in his book by highlighting the important work done by female scientists.

And as a fun little aside, Isaacson was inspired to research the work done by female scientists and innovators and emphasize that work in his book by, of all things, his daughter’s school work! It seems when Isaacson’s daughter, Betsy, was in college she spent a long time procrastinating and putting off writing her obligatory college essay, much to the chagrin of her parents. And when she finally completed the two-page essay her father asked her what subject she had chosen to write about and she replied “Ada Lovelace”, and noted that historically, women who have made contributions to the sciences have been forgotten. And Betsy planted a seed that eventually inspired Isaacson to emphasize the work done by female scientists and inventors as a major thread in his book.

If you haven’t read the Isaacson book it is fascinating and it discusses a number of scientists and inventors including: Ada Lovelace, Admiral and Computer Scientist Grace Hopper, Vannevar Bush head of the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II, Robert Noyce of Intel, Bill Gates & Paul Alan of Microsoft, Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak of Apple, Larry Page of Google, Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia and many others.

And should you wish to read Walter Isaacson’s excellent book on technological innovators – click on the photo to request it!

Getting back to the subject of Queen Victoria…

Did you know…

That Prince Albert really did break through the ice while skating and that Queen Victoria really did save him, as seen in the last episode of the second season of Victoria?

He did and she did!

We all know that TV adaptations of books, based on historical fact, are fictionalized a bit when adapted for television or the big screen. So I wondered when I saw that scene if it happened in real life or if it was just created to give more pizzazz to the storyline so I looked it up!

And I discovered that Prince Albert was an enthusiastic ice skater, and that in early 1841 Queen Victoria had a new pair of skates made especially for him. Subsequently, the royal couple went for a walk in Buckingham Palace’s Kensington Gardens with only one Maid of Honour, the Hon Miss Murray, in tow. Prince Albert put on his new skates and was zipping across the ice when he fell through the ice and into the frigid water. Queen Victoria directed Miss Murray to take one of her hands while she reached for Prince Albert with her other hand, and together they pulled Prince Albert out of the water!

And if I didn’t know that story was true I’d say it couldn’t possibly be – but it really did happen!

And here is a description of the accident given by Prince Albert himself in a letter he sent to his stepmother: “I managed, in skating, three days ago, to break through the ice in Buckingham Palace Gardens. I was making my way to Victoria, who was standing on the bank with one of her ladies, and when within some few yards of the bank I fell plump into the water, and had to swim for two or three minutes in order to get out.

“Victoria was the only person who had the presence of mind to lend me assistance, her lady being more occupied in screaming for help. The shock from the cold was extremely painful, and I cannot thank Heaven enough, that I escaped with nothing more than a severe cold.”

So the skating accident may sound like fiction but it is fact!

And for our final did you know of the month…

Did you know…

That Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had nine children?

They did!

And here is a list of Queen Victoria & Prince Albert’s children:

Vicky (Princess Victoria, later German Empress, 1840-1901):

Bertie (Albert Edward Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, 1841-1910)

Alice (Princess Alice, later Grand Duchess of Hesse, 1843-1878)
Note: Princess Alice’s great-grandson is the current Prince Consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Alfred (Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, later Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 1844-1900)

Helena (Princess Helena, later Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, 1846-1923)

Louise (Princess Louise, later Duchess of Argyll, 1848-1939)

Arthur (Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, 1850-1942)

Leopold (Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany 1853-1884)

Beatrice (Princess Beatrice, later Princess Henry of Battenberg, 1857-1944)

Victoria Books & DVDs To Enjoy:

Books:

Queen Victoria’s Children by John Van der Kiste

Victoria: A Novel by Daisy Goodwin

Victoria and Albert: A Royal Love Affair by Goodwin and Sarah Sheridan:

Note: This is the companion book to the second season of the Victoria TV series!

Victoria’s Daughters by Jerrold Packard:

DVDs

Edward The King (TV Mini Series from 1975):

And yes, the series is about Queen Victoria’s son Bertie, known to history as King Edward VII. However, as Queen Victoria lived a long time and King Edward survived her by less than ten years — there is a quite a bit of Victoria seen in this dramatized series.

Queen Victoria’s Children:

Queen Victoria’s Empire:

Victoria & Abdul (2017):

Victoria: the Complete First Season:

Victoria: The Complete Second Season:

The Young Victoria (2008) (A stand alone movie not related to the current PBS TV series):

* Season 2 of the PBS series Victoria is based upon the book Victoria and Albert: A Royal Love Affair which was co-authored by Daisy Goodwin and Sarah Sheridan

*Overlooked: Ada Lovelace – Overlooked is a new obituary series the New York has created that highlights the lives of women whose contributions to society were previously overlooked due to their gender.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

References (Because libraries love to cite their sources!)

Bilton, Nick. The Women Tech Forgot ‘The Innovators’ by Walter Isaacson: How Women Shaped Technology. 14 October 2014. The New York Times. Accessed April 30, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/fashion/the-innovators-by-walter-isaacson-how-women-shaped-technology.html

Dearest Mama: Letters Between Queen Victoria and the Crown Princess of Prussia 1861-1864. New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1969.

Gilbert, Deborah. Daisy Goodwin on Writing and Creating Victoria on MASTERPIECE. 12 January, 2018.Thirteen (PBS). Online. Accessed April 30, 2018.
https://www.thirteen.org/blog-post/daisy-goodwin-on-writing-and-creating-victoria-on-masterpiece/

Isaacson, Walter, The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution. New York. Simon & Schuster. 2014.

Miller, Claire Cain. Overlooked: Ada Lovelace: A Gifted mathematician who is now recognized as the first computer programmer. The New York Times. Online. Accessed April 30, 2018.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked-ada-lovelace.html

Life at the Court of Queen Victoria: 1861-1901. Edited by Barry St-John Nevill, Illustration from the collection of Lord Edward Pelham-Clinton, Master of the Household. Exeter. Webb & Bower, 1984.

Goodwin, Daisy. Victoria. St. Martin’s Press. New York. 2016.

Prince Albert. The Home of the Royal Family. Online. Accessed April 30, 2018.
https://www.royal.uk/prince-albert

The true story of Prince Albert’s ice-skating accident – and how Queen Victoria saved his life. Radio Times. Online. Accessed. April 30, 2018.
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-04-27/the-true-story-of-prince-alberts-ice-skating-accident-and-how-queen-victoria-saved-his-life/

Victoria (r. 1837-1901). The Home of the Royal Family. Online. Accessed April 30, 2018.
https://www.royal.uk/victoria-r-1837-1901

StarCat (The catalog of physical materials, i.e. books, DVDs, music CDs etc.):

OverDrive (The catalog of digital materials including eBooks, downloadable audio books and a handful of streaming videos):

Freegal Music Service (The streaming catalog of music available for free to library card holders):

RB Digital (Free magazines – on demand!):

And apps for OverDrive, Freegal & RB Digital can be found in your app store – so you can access digital library content on a laptop/desktop computer or on a mobile device.

Suggested Reading Week of April 23, 2018

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week.

This list includes five digital titles available through OverDrive and five print titles available through StarCat.

(Note: Click on the photo of the item you’re interested in to request it or check it out)

Digital Suggestions Of The Week:

50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants: The Prettiest Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs, and Shrubs That Deer Don’t Eat by Ruth Rogers Clausen & Alan L. Detrick:

Keeping your beautiful garden safe from deer is as simple as choosing the right plants.

Are deer destroying your garden? There is a solution, and it doesn’t involve fencing, barriers, or chemicals. In 50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants perennial expert Ruth Rogers Clausen highlights the best, most versatile plants that deer simply don’t eat. The plant choices include annuals and perennials, shrubs, ferns, bulbs, grasses, and herbs; for each Clausen shares helpful growing and design tips. This practical, authoritative, full-color guide is a must-have solution to a must-stop problem.

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian (release date April 24, 2018):

For fans of Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen and Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes, Ash Princess is an epic new fantasy about a throne cruelly stolen and a girl who must fight to take it back for her people.

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia’s family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess—a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.

For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She’s endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside.

Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. And power isn’t always won on the battlefield.

For ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.

“Tense and imaginative, this story of a diminished yet vengeful princess inciting a rebellion to recapture her rightful place of power strikes a timely chord. Ash Princess is a smart, feminist twist on a traditional tale of a fallen heroine, with plenty of court intrigue, love, and lies to sweeten the deal. Good luck putting this one down.”-Virginia Boecker, author of The Witch Hunter series

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng:

Winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize, an “elegant and haunting novel of war, art and memory” (The Independent) from the critically acclaimed author of The Gift of Rain.

Malaya, 1951. Yun Ling Teoh, the scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace among the jungle-fringed tea plantations of Cameron Highlands. There she discovers Yugiri, the only Japanese garden in Malaya, and its owner and creator, the enigmatic Aritomo, exiled former gardener of the emperor of Japan. Despite her hatred of the Japanese, Yun Ling seeks to engage Aritomo to create a garden in memory of her sister, who died in the camp. Aritomo refuses but agrees to accept Yun Ling as his apprentice “until the monsoon comes.” Then she can design a garden for herself.

As the months pass, Yun Ling finds herself intimately drawn to the gardener and his art, while all around them a communist guerilla war rages. But the Garden of Evening Mists remains a place of mystery.

Who is Aritomo and how did he come to leave Japan?

And is the real story of how Yun Ling managed to survive the war perhaps the darkest secret of all?

The Inn at Rose Harbor, Rose Harbor Series, Book 1 by Debbie Macomber:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber comes the first book in a new series set in the beloved Pacific Northwest town of Cedar Cove.

Jo Marie Rose first arrives in Cedar Cove seeking a fresh start. A young widow coping with the death of her husband, she purchases a local bed-and-breakfast—the newly christened Rose Harbor Inn—ready to begin her life anew. Her first guest is Joshua Weaver, who has come home to care for his ailing stepfather. The two have never seen eye to eye, and Joshua has little hope that they can reconcile their differences. Jo Marie’s other guest is Abby Kincaid, who has returned to Cedar Cove to attend her brother’s wedding. Back for the first time in twenty years, she almost wishes she hadn’t come, the picturesque town harboring painful memories. And as Abby and Joshua try to heal from their pasts, and Jo Marie dreams of the possibilities before her, they all realize that life moves in only one direction—forward.

Seconds Away, Mickey Bolitar Series, Book 2 by Harlan Coben:

When tragedy strikes close to home, Mickey and his loyal new friends—sharp-witted Ema and the adorkably charming Spoon—find themselves at the center of a terrifying mystery involving the shooting of their classmate Rachel. Now, not only does Mickey need to keep himself and his friends safe from the Butcher of Lodz, but he needs to figure out who shot Rachel—no matter what it takes.

Mickey Bolitar is as quick-witted and clever as his uncle Myron, but with danger just seconds away, it is going to take all of his determination and help from his friends to protect the people he loves, even if he does not know who—or what—he is protecting them from.

From Kirkus Reviews: “Coben deftly weaves…multiple plot threads into a compelling whole. An involving thriller that moves like lightning.”

Print Suggestions Of The Week:

Wade in the Water: Poems by Tracy K. Smith:

The extraordinary new poetry collection by Tracy K. Smith, the Poet Laureate of the United States

Even the men in black armor, the ones
Jangling handcuffs and keys, what else

Are they so buffered against, if not love’s blade
Sizing up the heart’s familiar meat?

We watch and grieve. We sleep, stir, eat.
Love: the heart sliced open, gutted, clean.

Love: naked almost in the everlasting street,
Skirt lifted by a different kind of breeze.

―from “Unrest in Baton Rouge”

In Wade in the Water, Tracy K. Smith boldly ties America’s contemporary moment both to our nation’s fraught founding history and to a sense of the spirit, the everlasting. These are poems of sliding scale: some capture a flicker of song or memory; some collage an array of documents and voices; and some push past the known world into the haunted, the holy. Smith’s signature voice―inquisitive, lyrical, and wry―turns over what it means to be a citizen, a mother, and an artist in a culture arbitrated by wealth, men, and violence. Here, private utterance becomes part of a larger choral arrangement as the collection widens to include erasures of The Declaration of Independence and the correspondence between slave owners, a found poem comprised of evidence of corporate pollution and accounts of near-death experiences, a sequence of letters written by African Americans enlisted in the Civil War, and the survivors’ reports of recent immigrants and refugees. Wade in the Water is a potent and luminous book by one of America’s essential poets.

The Fallen by David Baldacci: 

The closer Amos Decker comes to the truth, the deadlier it gets in #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci’s latest Memory Man thriller.

Something sinister is going on in Baronville. The rust belt town has seen four bizarre murders in the space of two weeks. Cryptic clues left at the scenes–obscure bible verses, odd symbols–have the police stumped.

Amos Decker and his FBI colleague Alex Jamison are in Baronville visiting Alex’s sister and her family. It’s a bleak place: a former mill and mining town with a crumbling economy and rampant opioid addiction. Decker has only been there a few hours when he stumbles on a horrific double murder scene.

Then the next killing hits sickeningly close to home. And with the lives of people he cares about suddenly hanging in the balance, Decker begins to realize that the recent string of deaths may be only one small piece of a much larger scheme–with consequences that will reach far beyond Baronville.

Decker, with his singular talents, may be the only one who can crack this bizarre case. Only this time–when one mistake could cost him everything–Decker finds that his previously infallible memory may not be so trustworthy after all.

Too Scot To Handle (Large Print) by Grace Burrowes:

A MAN WITH MANY TALENTS

As a captain in the army, Colin MacHugh led men, fixed what was broken, and fought hard. Now that he’s a titled gentleman, he’s still fighting-this time to keep his bachelorhood safe from all the marriage-minded debutantes. Then he meets the intriguing Miss Anwen Windham, whose demure nature masks a bonfire waiting to roar to life. When she asks for his help to raise money for the local orphanage, he’s happy to oblige.

Anwen is amazed at how quickly Lord Colin takes in hand a pack of rambunctious orphan boys. Amazed at how he actually listens to her ideas. Amazed at the thrill she gets from the rumble of his Scottish burr and the heat of his touch. But not everyone enjoys the success of an upstart. And Colin has enemies who will stop at nothing to ruin him and anybody he holds dear.

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente:

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy meets the joy and glamour of Eurovision in bestselling author Catherynne M. Valente’s science fiction spectacle, where sentient races compete for glory in a galactic musical contest…and the stakes are as high as the fate of planet Earth.

A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented—something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding.

Once every cycle, the great galactic civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix—part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Species far and wide compete in feats of song, dance and/or whatever facsimile of these can be performed by various creatures who may or may not possess, in the traditional sense, feet, mouths, larynxes, or faces. And if a new species should wish to be counted among the high and the mighty, if a new planet has produced some savage group of animals, machines, or algae that claim to be, against all odds, sentient? Well, then they will have to compete. And if they fail? Sudden extermination for their entire species.

This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick, and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny—they must sing.

Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes have been chosen to represent their planet on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of Earth lies in their ability to rock.

Jackie, Janet & Lee: The Secret Lives of Janet Auchincloss and Her Daughters, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill by J. Randy Taraborrelli:

A dazzling biography of three of the most glamorous women of the 20th Century: Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, her mother Janet Lee Auchincloss, and her sister, Princess Lee Radziwill.

“Do you know what the secret to happily-ever-after is?” Janet Bouvier Auchincloss would ask her daughters Jackie and Lee during their tea time. “Money and Power,” she would say. It was a lesson neither would ever forget. They followed in their mother’s footsteps after her marriages to the philandering socialite “Black Jack” Bouvier and the fabulously rich Standard Oil heir Hugh D. Auchincloss.

Jacqueline Bouvier would marry John F. Kennedy and the story of their marriage is legendary, as is the story of her second marriage to Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. Less well known is the story of her love affair with a world renowned architect and a British peer. Her sister, Lee, had liaisons with one and possibly both of Jackie’s husbands, in addition to her own three marriages—to an illegitimate royal, a Polish prince and a Hollywood director.

If the Bouvier women personified beauty, style and fashion, it was their lust for money and status that drove them to seek out powerful men, no matter what the cost to themselves or to those they stepped on in their ruthless climb to the top. Based on hundreds of new interviews with friends and family of the Bouviers, among them their own half-brother, as well as letters and journals, J. Randy Taraborrelli paints an extraordinary psychological portrait of two famous sisters and their ferociously ambitious mother.

Have a great week!

Linda, SSCL

You can request physical items, i.e. print books, DVDs & CDs, online via StarCat:

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

Have a great day!

Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat

The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc.

The Digital Catalog (OverDrive)

The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.

Freegal Music Service

This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day:

RBDigital

Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available.

About Library Apps:

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

Tech Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Suggested Listening April 21, 2018

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five musical recommendations for the week; four streaming suggestions* and one recommended album on CD.

(Click on the photo to stream or request the album you want to listen to!)

Freegal Streaming Suggestions*

Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John (2018) by Juliana Hatfield (Genre: Pop, Rock):

This just released album by Hatfield, who has been a huge Olivia Newton-John fan since she was kid, is aptly described in the AllMusic Review of the LP as a “love letter” by a huge fan of Olivia Newton-John.

Songs on the LP include: I Honestly Love You, Suspended in Time, A Little More Love, Magic, Physical, Please Mr. Please and Hopelessly Devoted To You.

The Complete Beethoven Quartets (2018) by Budapest String Quartet (Genre: Classical):

About the Budapest String Quartet & The Beethoven Quartets: The modern standard of performance in the Beethoven quartets was set by the Budapest String Quartet, wrote The New York Times. One of the 20th century’s very finest chamber ensembles, the Budapest String Quartet recorded the complete Beethoven cycle three times first on 78s in the 1940s, then between 1951 and 1952 in mono, and later in stereo. The 1951-52 cycle, which has acquired legendary status, is now reissued as a complete set, the first time that Sony Classical has published it in its entirety since the first issue. The Budapest Quartet was the quartet in residence at the Library of Congress from 1938 until 1962, a position created so that they could make regular use of the Library’s collection of Stradivarius instruments. Their regular performances at the Library all made use of these remarkable instruments, and the quartet also used them on these recordings, made in the Library itself. This Beethoven cycle has acquired legendary status. Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times wrote that his favorite performances of the six early Opus 18 quartets are the ones included here, supple, luminous and insightful. NPR critic Lloyd Schwartz calls the entire cycle my touchstone for Beethoven quartet recordings. Founded 100 years ago in 1917, the Budapest Quartet was at the height of its success in the early 1950s, under the leadership of first violinist Joseph Roisman. They had settled in the United States in 1938 at the same time as taking up their position at the Library of Congress, and they disbanded after 50 years in 1967.

The Complete Beethoven Quartet collection is available through Freegal as a five album streaming set.

Oriental Jazz (50’s & 60’s Authentic Recordings) by Various Artists (Genre: Jazz):

A great collection of 50’s and 60’s Jazz featuring both western and non-western instruments, including the oud – neat stuff!

In the fifties and sixties they would have called this type of music “Oriental”, today we call it World Music — but it is great music by whatever designation one give it – check it out!

Songs on the LP include: Jazz Araby by Fuad Hassan, Swingin’ The Blues by Chick Ganimian, Caravan by Fred Elias, St. James Infirmary by Gus Vali and Oglan Oglan by Cris Vardakis

Conundrum – Thirteen Down by Bert Jansch (Genre: Folk, Guitar, Pop, Rock):

Bert Jansch was a masterful British guitarist and pillar member of the contemporary British folk music scene. Jansch was not nearly as well known in the U.S. as in the U.K.; however he was a guitar virtuoso and a master of writing accessible folks songs and if you’re not familiar with his music I urge you to check it out!

Songs in this collection include: In My Mind, Sovay, Where Did My Life Go, Time and Love, Nightfall and Sweet Mother Earth.

Recommended CD of the Week:

Starfire (2018) by Caitlyn Smith (Genre: Pop, Rock, Country):

Caitlyn Smith is a talent singer-songwriter whose first album was released in 2001 when she was just 15. Starfire is her brand new album and it features the songs: Before You Called Me Baby, Starfire, East Side Restaurant, Don’t Give Up on My Love, Scenes from a Corner Booth at Closing Time on a Tuesday and House of Cards.

Videos of the Week:

A Little More Love by Juliana Hatfield:

Beethoven String Quartet – Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95: IV. Larghetto espressivo – Allegretto by the Budabest:

Oud in Blues by Lloyd Miller: 

The Night by Ahmed Abdul-Malik:

Let Me Sing by Bert Jansch:

60th Birthday Concert by Bert Jansch and friends:

Starfire by Caitlyn Smith:

Have a great weekend!

Linda, SSCL

*A library card is required to use the Freegal Music Service. If you live in the service area of the Southern Tier Library System, which consists of the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Alleghany counties in New York State, you can get a library card for free at your nearest public library – including our own Southeast Steuben County Library in Corning, New York. The Freegal Music Service is free for all Southern Tier Library System member libraries library card holders to access.

References:

Artist Biography & Discography Information:

http://www.allmusic.com/

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

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

*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and includes our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York!

Library cards are free if you live in our service area. And you can obtain a card by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features your name and your current address.