Talking Book News Bulletin, Spring 2014
Español
TBP Home
Back to Newsletters
Internal Links
More Books to Enjoy
Holiday Closings
Spotlight on Texas
Upcoming Book Club Meeting
(TXT), (PDF), (MP3)
Related Links
Loan Policy
Magazines
Spotlight on Texas Books
Bibliographies
Disability Information & Referral Center
National Library Service for the Blind & Physically Handicapped
More New Books to Enjoy
This newsletter features some new NLS titles that have not yet been included in Talking Book Topics. To order any of the titles listed, call Reader Services at 1-800-252-9605.
Best of Me BR 18752, DB 73766, LB 06955 by Nicholas Sparks. Oriental, North Carolina. As high school seniors from different sides of the tracks, Dawson and Amanda had a doomed romance. Twenty-five years later they return home when Tuck, an old man important to both of them, dies—and leaves behind a letter describing his own life's magical love. Violence, strong language, and some descriptions of sex.
Harm’s Way DB 76167 by Stephen White. Psychologist Alan Gregory is shocked to learn his friend and neighbor, carpenter Peter Arvin, was ritually murdered—possibly by a serial killer. Police detective Sam Purdy asks Gregory to study the crime scene, a theater where Arvin was building sets. Strong language, some violence, and some descriptions of sex.
Lethal (DB 73782, LB 06904 by Sandra Brown. A man suspected of mass murder takes young widow Honor and her four-year-old daughter hostage. After shooting a cop, the suspect tells Honor that he's an undercover agent trying to expose a web of corruption that included Honor's late husband. Violence, strong language and explicit descriptions of sex.
Making Spirits Bright (DB 74037, LB 07019. Four Christmas novellas filled with romance. In the title story, single Melanie McLaughlin applies to an adoption agency to fulfill her wish for children. Meanwhile, her friend's brother, professor Bryce Landry, falls in love with Melanie and comes through for her when two orphaned siblings need a home. In "Runaway Christmas," Heidi Bogue's young niece makes a surprise visit, and a snowstorm turns Heidi's café into a community refuge. Strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some violence.
Mercy DB 73777, LB 06962 by Beverly Lewis. Lancaster County. After breaking her engagement to Silas, Rose wonders if she will ever find love again and struggles with lingering feelings for Nick, the bishop's rebellious foster son. Her sister Hen cares for Englischer husband Brandon, who returned to their Amish family when he temporarily became blind.
Only His DB 73761, LB 06968 by Susan Mallery. Fool's Gold, California. Nevada Hendrix takes a construction job working for Tucker Janack, who broke Nevada's heart ten years ago after a one-night stand. The couple are developing a relationship whenTucker's former girlfriend returns. Some strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex.
Only Yours DB 73659, LB 06916 by Susal Mallery. Fool's Gold, California. Pediatric surgeon Simon Bradley was scarred physically and emotionally in childhood and resists personal relationships. But after a chance encounter at the hospital with Montana, a therapy-dog trainer, he finds himself falling in love. Some strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex.
Perfect Hope DB 75718, LB 07233 by Nora Roberts. Hope Beaumont runs the Montgomery family's Boonsboro, Maryland, inn. When Hope's cheating former lover—who's now married—tries to woo her back, Hope pretends that Ryder Montgomery is her boyfriend. Sequel to The Last Boyfriend DB 74761. Strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex.
Sleep No More DB 75584, LB 07227 by Iris Johansen. Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan is shocked when her mother reveals that Eve has an older sister, Beth, who has fled from a mental hospital. Eve and her lover, detective Joe Quinn, enlist profiler Kendra Michaels to help search for Beth. Violence, strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex.
Split Second DB 73391 by Catherine Coulter. FBI agents Lucy Carlyle, Cooper McKnight, and husband-and-wife team Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich chase after a serial killer whose DNA links him to the late murderer Ted Bundy. Lucy also uncovers family secrets that put her in mortal danger. Violence and strong language.
Within My Heart: Timber Ridge Reflections DB 72944 by Tamera Alexander. Timber Ridge, Colorado; 1877. Widowed midwife Rachel Boyd struggles to raise two sons and keep the family ranch afloat. Rachel, the daughter of a physician, assists Dr. Rand Brookston with his patients—especially when a typhoid epidemic hits the town—and she gradually falls in love.
Texas Talking Books will be closed for these holidays.
Monday, May 26, 2014 – Memorial Day
Of course, you can leave a voicemail message or send e-mail on a holiday.
Spotlight on Texas Books – Digital cartridge only
American Rodeo, From Buffalo Bill to Big Business DT 3863 by Kristine Fredriksson. Tracing rodeo from its roots in the range-cattle industry to its present form, the author analyzes the forces within and without that have allowed the sport to develop into the multimillion-dollar industry it is today. She explores the influence of the humane movement on rodeo, the effects of commercial sponsorship on its growth, and the tendency of the media to make the cowboy an exotic, romantic figure.
Buddy Holly: A Biography DT 7070 by Ellis Amburn. Buddy Holly's music is important and Amburn's serious and thorough research solidifies this position while offering a comprehensive view of the singer's life. From his wild days as a juvenile delinquent, to his first romances, to his early associations with then virtually unknown singers like Elvis Presley and Waylon Jennings, Holly emerges as a deeply tortured, driven individual and brilliantly talented young man in a hurry to make it as a star. Some descriptions of sex, some violence and some strong language.
The Fall of Eagles DT 3351 by C. L. Sulzberger. A history of Europe from 1848 to 1918 and the roles played by the Houses of Habsburg, Hohenzollern and Romanov.
Isle of Misfortune DT 6933 by Geoffrey Leavenworth. When Gordo O'Connor answers the doorbell one night while he is home alone with his sons, he encounters an angry man who shoots him in the chest. Fortunately, he escapes serious injury, but the gunshot begins a chain of events that alters the course of his life forever. A novel of suspense based on the author's personal experience. Some strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some violence.
My Mother’s Keeper: A Daughter’s Memoir of Growing Up In the Shadow of Schizophrenia DT 6318 by Tara Elgin Holley with Joe Holley. Dawn Elgin, the author's mother, was suddenly struck down by schizophrenia in her early twenties at the threshold of a professional music career. This dramatic memoir of a tormented but unbreakable bond between mother and daughter traces the ravages of mental illness on both the sufferer and her family.
Texas Rhythm, Texas Rhyme: A Pictorial History of Texas Music DT 3981 by Larry Willoughby. A history of Texas music from its origins in the culture of Mexico, from the country folk tradition. Scott Joplin, Bob Wills, Ornette Coleman, Flaco Jimenez and hundreds of Texas musicians, past and present, are recalled in this comprehensive study.
A Thousand Voices DT 7073 by Lisa Wingate. Adopted at thirteen, Dell Jordan was loved, and encouraged to pursue her passion for music. Now, after a year abroad with a traveling symphony, a scholarship to Julliard is within reach. But beneath Dell's polished surface lurk mysteries from the past. Why did her mother abandon her? Who was her father? Are there faces somewhere that look like hers? Blood relatives she's never met? Determined to find answers, Dell sets off on a secret journey into Oklahoma's Kiamichi Mountains, propelled only by a father's Native American name on her birth certificate.
War of the Wolf DT 7133 by Stephen L. Moore. Seawolf is the famous SS-197 submarine, which was lost in October 1944. Under such famous skippers as "Fearless Freddie" Warder and Roy Gross, the Wolf's crew boldly entered shallow enemy harbors, rescued downed aviators, landed commandos in the Philippines, and pioneered periscope photography. Her war started the day Pearl Harbor was attacked and ended under tragic circumstances. Relive Seawolf's exciting war patrols through the words of many of those who served aboard her, including the diary of a crewman lost with the Wolf. Some strong language and some violence.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough DT 7098 by Ruth Pennebaker. As a result of a divorce and the recession, Joanie, her teenage daughter, Caroline, and her elderly mother, Ivy, try to live under the same roof without going completely crazy and learn that the past can sometimes be undone. Strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some violence.
Call the Disability Information and Referral Center toll-free at
1-800-252-9605 for information about disabilities and health conditions
Upcoming Book Club Meeting
All you need to participate in Book Club is a telephone. Please call 1-800-252-9605 or email tbp.ral@tsl.texas.gov to RSVP. Dates are subject to change. You can find the 2014 Book Club titles listed in one of the inserts of this newsletter.
Thursday, May 22, 2014, 7:00 p.m. Central (RSVP by May 1, 2014)
Let The Great World Spin DB 70450 by Colum McCann. New York City, 1974. Disparate residents--including Philippe Petit, who performs an illegal high-wire walk between the Twin Towers; the judge who hears Petit's case; and a grieving mother--encounter death, love, and salvation. Strong language, some violence, and some descriptions of sex. National Book Award. 2009.
Talking Book Program
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
PO Box 12927
Austin TX 78711-2927
1-800-252-9605 (in Texas)
512-463-5458 (in Austin)
512-936-0685 (fax)
tbp.services@tsl.texas.gov
For PDF documents - obtain free Adobe PDF reader here.