Texas Talking Book Program Author Talk: Larry D. Sweazy

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Join the Talking Book Program for an author talk on Thursday, August 21 at 7:00 p.m. (Central) with author, Larry D. Sweazy.

Reader’s Advisory Librarian, Laura Jean, will discuss Mr. Sweazy’s career and his Josiah Wolfe Series starting with RATTLESNAKE SEASON (DBC 13590). Following the talk, there will be a Q&A session.

Our Author Talks are held via Zoom, but you can join using just a telephone!

Participating is easy:

  • Use your landline to dial in via phone.
  • Use the “one-tap” number on your smartphone.
  • Alternatively, join via computer using the Zoom invitation we’ll send a week prior to the event.

To ensure you receive the necessary details, please RSVP in advance.

We invite you to ask Larry D. Sweazy questions about his series. Please submit your questions by August 14. We will select questions based on the responses to this form, and they may be asked during the event! Fill out the form here: Author Questions

To RSVP, you can fill out our online registration form: Register Here.

Or if you prefer, reply to this email, or call the Talking Book Program at 1-800-252-9605.

Please indicate if you would like us to mail you a digital cartridge with his book or if you prefer to download it from BARD. Also, please let us know if you would like a reminder via email or phone-call (or both).

RATTLESNAKE SEASON: A JOSIAH WOLFE, TEXAS RANGER NOVEL (DBC 13590) by Larry D. Sweazy.

NLS Annotation: A character-rich western novel about a Texas Ranger, Josiah Wolfe, who is haunted by dark memories, on the hunt for a former friend turned killer. Some descriptions of sex. Some strong language. Violence.

We look forward to having you join us on Thursday, August 21!

Read With Jenna Jr. Summer Reading Recommendations

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Jenna Bush Hager’s “Read with Jenna Jr.” is an annual tradition that was started in 2023. It continues every summer, with Jenna releasing a kid-friendly reading list covering various age groups, including picture books, middle grade reads, and young adult books.

We’ve included all the books in the NLS collection starting from the first year of Jenna’s Jr. Summer Reading Recommendations. We’re hoping you can find something that will fill your summer with reading fun!

For more information check out the Read with Jenna Jr. website.

Picture Books

MAXINE GETS A JOB by Alexandra Garyn (DB 121796)
GAGA MISTAKE DAY by Emma Straub (DB 121991)
PERLA, THE MIGHTY DOG by Isabel Allende (DB 121789, en español DB 122285)
VERY GOOD HATS by Emma Straub (DB 115352)
BIG by Vashti Harrison (DB 123132)
GIVING TREE by Shel Silverstein (DBC 06031, BR 19020, BT 0000207, LB 0001793)
HOW TO WRITE A POEM by Kwame Alexander (DB 114707)

Middle Grade Books

ALONE by Megan Freeman (DB 104269, LB 14467)
SUMMER AT SQUEE by Andrea Wang (DB 120743)
MAGNOLIA WU UNFOLDS IT ALL by Chanel Miller (DB 121279)
BRIDGE TO BAT CITY by Ernest Cline (DB 123053)
MID-AIR by Alicia Williams (DB 127046)
ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET by Judy Blume (DB 37405, BR 07171, BRG 03180, BT 0000220, LB 03468, LB 06053)
ONE AND ONLY RUBY by Katherine Applegate (DB 115989, BT 0000113)
WAYS TO GROW LOVE by Renée Watson (DB 104005, BT 13463)
HUMAN KABOOM by Adam Rubin (DB 114731)
STARFISH by Lisa Fipps (DB 102975, BR 24096, en español DB 121063, LB 0000472)
SCHOOL TRIP by Jerry Craft (DB 115050)

Young Adult Books

RULES FOR RULE BREAKING by Talia Tucker (DB 120104)
SUMMER NIGHTS AND METEORITES by Hannah Reynolds (DB 121707)
POWERLESS by Lauren Roberts (DB 117629, en español DB 119901)
CHECK & MATE by Ali Hazelwood (DB 117989, LB 0001455)
ONE TRUE LOVES by Elise Bryant (DB 107017)
BLOOD AT THE ROOT by LaDarrion Williams (DB 121038)
NIGERIA JONES by Ibi Aanu Zoboi (DB 116574)
WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED by Angeline Boulley (DB 114761, BR 25116)
SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY by Jenny Han (DB 116483, LB 0000284)

New Large Print Books Added in May 2025

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Adult Fiction

Action and Adventure Fiction

LOST ISLAND: A GIDEON CREW NOVEL     Preston, Douglas J.; Child, Lincoln    
LB 0005331

Detective and Mystery Fiction and Thrillers

INNOCENT     Baldacci, David    
LB 0005328

LOW PRESSURE     Brown, Sandra    
LB 0004392

SEEING RED     Brown, Sandra    
LB 0005333

STING     Brown, Sandra    
LB 0004545

NIGHTSHADE     Connelly, Michael    
LB 0005038

BURIAL HOUR     Deaver, Jeffery    
LB 0004366

KILL ROOM      Deaver, Jeffery    
LB 0005039

OCTOBER LIST     Deaver, Jeffery    
LB 0005005

SKIN COLLECTOR     Deaver, Jeffery    
LB 0004500

DEATH AMONG THE STITCHES     Hechtman, Betty    
LB 0003822

MARBLE HALL MURDERS     Horowitz, Anthony    
LB 0004553

OVERKILL     Jance, Judith A.  
LB 0004900

HEAD CASES: A NOVEL     McMahon, John    
LB 0003599

DEEP BENEATH US     McPherson, Catriona    
LB 0004552

FIGHT OR FLIGHT     Michaels, Fern    
LB 0003720

2 SISTERS MURDER INVESTIGATIONS     Patterson, James; Fox, Candice    
LB 0003623

25 ALIVE     Patterson, James; Paetro, Maxine    
LB 0003635

COLD VENGEANCE     Preston, Douglas J.; Child, Lincoln    
LB 0005017

CROOKED RIVER     Preston, Douglas J.; Child, Lincoln    
LB 0004544

INTO THE GRAY ZONE     Taylor, Brad    
LB 0003847

GUILTY UNTIL INNOCENT     Whitlow, Robert    
LB 0003710

Fantasy Fiction

ANIMA RISING     Moore, Christopher    
LB 0004776

General Fiction and Novels

LANTERN OF LOST MEMORIES     Hiiragi, Sanaka    
LB 0003722

WHERE THE RIVERS MERGE: A NOVEL     Monroe, Mary Alice    
LB 0004769

HOW TO SEAL YOUR OWN FATE: A NOVEL     Perrin, Kristen    
LB 0003828

Historical Fiction

PARIS EXPRESS     Donoghue, Emma    
LB 0003686

QUIET LIBRARIAN: A NOVEL     Eskens, Allen    
LB 0003650

KING’S MESSENGER     Kearsley, Susanna    
LB 0003602

AS SURE AS THE SEA     Ogle, Jamie    
LB 0004550

MIND OF HER OWN     Steel, Danielle    
LB 0003627

Humorous Fiction

KILLING MONICA     Bushnell, Candace    
LB 0004536

Psychological Fiction

CROSS MY HEART: A NOVEL     Collins, Megan    
LB 0003699

HOUSEMAID IS WATCHING     McFadden, Freida    
LB 0005002

HOUSEMAID’S SECRET     McFadden, Freida    
LB 0005003

Religious Fiction

BETWEEN THE SOUND AND SEA: A NOVEL     Cox, Amanda    
LB 0003663

MISSING HER AMISH BOYFRIEND     Good, Rachel J.  
LB 0005001

Romance Fiction

GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE     Henry, Emily    
LB 0003604

AMISH COUNTRY REUNION     Johns, Patricia    
LB 0003706

CITY OF NIGHT BIRDS: A NOVEL     Kim, Juhea    
LB 0004737

Science Fiction

WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE     Scalzi, John    
LB 0003605

Short Stories

BANDIT AND OTHER BEST WESTERN STORIES     Estleman, Loren D.  
LB 0004849

Spy Fiction

ROBERT LUDLUM’S THE BOURNE ENIGMA     Lustbader, Eric    
LB 0004529

ROBERT LUDLUM’S THE BOURNE INITIATIVE     Lustbader, Eric    
LB 0005019

TOM CLANCY LINE OF DEMARCATION     Woodward, M. P.    
LB 0004741

Western Fiction

TOOTH AND CLAW: A LONGMIRE STORY     Johnson, Craig    
LB 0004852

HANGING PARTY     Johnstone, William W.; Johnstone, J. A.    
LB 0004814

RECKONING DAY     Vaughan, Robert    
LB 0003649

Adult Non-Fiction

Autobiographies and Biographies

JOHN LEWIS: A LIFE     Greenberg, David    
LB 0003598

MATRIARCH: A MEMOIR     Knowles, Tina    
LB 0003863

HILTONS: THE TRUE STORY OF AN AMERICAN DYNASTY     Taraborrelli, J. Randy    
LB 0004372

WRITING ABOUT THE AMISH     Wiseman, Beth    
LB 0003875

Religion

BRAVE WOMAN, MIGHTY GOD: 30 THINGS YOU CAN DO     Smith, Laura L.  
LB 0003714

Science and Technology

RESILIENCE: TWO SISTERS AND A STORY OF MENTAL ILLNESS     Close, Jessie; Earley, Pete    
LB 0005004

CONQUERING CRISIS: TEN LESSONS TO LEARN BEFORE YOU NEED THEM     McRaven, William H.   
LB 0003724

Juvenile Non-Fiction

Autobiographies and Biographies

SALTYPIE: A CHOCTAW JOURNEY FROM DARKNESS INTO LIGHT     Tingle, Tim    
LB 0003901

2025 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction Longlist

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Founded in 2009, The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction celebrates quality, innovation, and ambition of writing for books published in the last year in the UK, Ireland, or the Commonwealth. In order to qualify, the majority of the storyline must have taken place at least 60 years ago. The winner was announced at the Borders Book Festival on Thursday, June 12.

For more information check out the Prize’s website.

Longlisted titles in the NLS Collection are:

HEART IN WINTER by Kevin Barry (DB 122515)
GLORIOUS EXPLOITS by Ferdia Lennon (DB 125459)
SIGN OF HER OWN by Sarah Marsh (LB 0000111)

In His Own Words: Brian Wilson

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Brian Wilson passed away on June 11. He was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. NLS has two of his memoirs in our collection.

WOULDN’T IT BE NICE: MY OWN STORY (DB 34660)
I AM BRIAN WILSON: A MEMOIR (DB 86546)

Marfield Prize for Outstanding Writing about the Arts

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Since 2006, the Marfield Prize, also known as the National Award for Arts Writing, is announced annually by the Arts Club of Washington. The award recognizes the author of an outstanding nonfiction book about the visual, literary, media, or performing arts. This $10,000 prize is designed to recognize excellence in arts writing for a broad audience. The winner was announced in mid-April, and the prize was awarded on June 4.  

For more information check out the Marfield Prize website.

Titles in the NLS collection are:

Winner

CHASING BEAUTY: THE LIFE OF ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER by Natalie Dykstra (DBC 11759)

Nominees

3 SHADES OF BLUE: MILES DAVIS, JOHN COLTRANE, BILL EVANS, AND THE LOST EMPIRE OF COOL by James Kaplan (DB 119773)
COCKTAILS WITH GEORGE AND MARTHA: MOVIES, MARRIAGE, AND THE MAKING OF WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? by Philip Gefter (DB 121300)
GET THE PICTURE: A MIND-BENDING JOURNEY AMONG THE INSPIRED ARTISTS AND OBSESSIVE ART FIENDS WHO TAUGHT ME HOW TO SEE by Bianca Bosker (DB 119366)
DRAWN TESTIMONY: MY FOUR DECADES AS A COURTROOM SKETCH ARTIST by Jane Rosenberg (DB 126498)

Past Award Recipients in the TBP collection:

2023: ALL THE BEAUTY IN THE WORLD: THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART AND ME by Patrick Bringley (DB 113368, en español DB 126480)
2022: MR. B: GEORGE BALANCHINE’S 20TH CENTURY by Jennifer Homans (DB 111898)
2018: LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean (DB 92869, BRC 01820, LB 11432)
2016: YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR LIFE: THE STORY OF RAINER MARIA RILKE AND AUGUSTE RODIN by Rachel Corbett (DB 86724)
2015: RAZZLE DAZZLE: THE BATTLE FOR BROADWAY by Michael Riedel (DB 88018)
2013: INSIDETHE DREAM PALACE: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF NEW YORK’S LEGENDARY CHELSEA HOTEL by Sherill Tippins (DBC 27079)
2012: LADY IN GOLD: THE EXTRAORDINARY TALE OF GUSTAV KLIMT’S MASTERPIECE, PORTRAIT OF ADELE BLOCH-BAUER by Anne-Marie O’Connor (DB 75392)
2008: WHITE HEAT: THE FRIENDSHIP OF EMILY DICKINSON AND THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON by Brenda Wineapple (DB 69087)
2006: STEEL DRIVIN’ MAN: JOHN HENRY, THE UNTOLD STORY OF AN AMERICAN LEGEND by Scott Reynolds Nelson (DB 67453)

Agatha Awards Nominees 2025

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Since 1988, The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, have been awarded by Malice Domestic Ltd. in six categories: Best Novel; Best First Mystery; Best Historical Novel; Best Short Story; Best Non-Fiction; Best Children’s/Young Adult Mystery.

These are the literary awards for “cozy mysteries” also defined as mystery and crime books in the traditional mystery subgenre: “books typified by the works of Agatha Christie…loosely defined as mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore or gratuitous violence.” The 2025 Agatha Awards were announced on April 26.

For more information, check out the Agatha Awards’ website.

Best Contemporary Novel

VERY WOODSY MURDER by Ellen Byron (DB 124223)
MIDNIGHT PUZZLE by Gigi Pandian (DB 119883)
FONDUE OR DIE by Korina Moss (DB 128179 IN PROCESS)
DARK WIVES by Ann Cleeves (DB 123656)

Best Historical Novel

LAST HOPE by Susan Elia MacNeal (DB 121458)

Best First Novel

YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID by K. T. Nguyen (DB 120643)

Best Non-Fiction

BOOKSHOP: A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN BOOKSTORE by Evan Friss (DB 124566)

Best Children’s/YA Mystery

SHERLOCK SOCIETY by James Ponti (DB 126810)

TBP Book Club Title Announced for July 2025!

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Join the Talking Book Program for a book club discussion on Thursday, July 25 at 7:00 p.m. (Central). We’ll be discussing the book ART THIEF: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, CRIME, AND A DANGEROUS OBSESSION by Michael Finkel (DB 115367, LB 14518).

Our book club discussions are held via Zoom, but you can join using just a telephone!

Participating is easy:

  • Use your landline to dial in via phone.
  • Use the “one-tap” number on your smartphone.
  • Alternatively, join via computer using the Zoom invitation we’ll send a week prior to the event.

To ensure you receive the necessary details, please RSVP in advance.

To RSVP, you can fill out our online registration form: Register Here.

Or if you prefer, reply to this email or call the Talking Book Program at 1-800-252-9605.

Please indicate if you would like us to mail you a digital cartridge, mail you a large print copy of the book, or if you prefer to download it from BARD. Also, please let us know if you would like a reminder via email or phone-call (or both).

ART THIEF: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, CRIME, AND A DANGEROUS OBSESSION by Michael Finkel (DB 115367, LB 14518)

NLS Annotation: For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years—in museums and cathedrals all over Europe—Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion. Strong language. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2023.

We look forward to having you join us on Thursday, July 25!

Hugo Award Finalists 2025

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Since 1953, the Hugo Awards, science fiction’s most prestigious awards, were established by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). The Hugo Awards are voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention (“Worldcon”), which is also responsible for administering them. The awards will be presented in Seattle on August 16, 2025.

For more information check the Awards’ Website.

Here are the finalists for 2025 that are in the TBP collection.

Best Novel

ALIEN CLAY by Adrian Tchaikovsky (DB 124970)
SERVICE MODEL by Adrian Tchaikovsky (DB 122092)
SORCERESS COMES TO CALL by T. Kingfisher (DB 123396, BR 26176 IN PROCESS)
TAINTED CUP by Robert Jackson Bennett (DB 118884, BR 25745 IN PROCESS)
MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley (DB 121556, BR 25559 IN PROCESS, en español DB 127955 en proceso)

Best Novella

PRACTICE, THE HORIZON, AND THE CHAIN by Sofia Samatar (DB 123094)

Lodestar Award for Best YA Book

MAID AND THE CROCODILE by Jordan Ifueko (DB 124172)

Texas Talking Book Program Author Talk: Georgina Kleege

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Join the Talking Book Program for an author talk on Tuesday, July 15 at 6:00 p.m. (Central) with author and educator, Georgina Kleege. Note that this time is a bit earlier than our usual author talks.

Reader’s Advisory Librarian, Laura Jean, will discuss Georgina’s career and her latest book, MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: WHAT BLINDNESS BRINGS TO ART. Following the talk, there will be a Q&A session.

Our Author Talks are held via Zoom, but you can join using just a telephone!

Participating is easy:

  • Use your landline to dial in via phone.
  • Use the “one-tap” number on your smartphone.
  • Alternatively, join via computer using the Zoom invitation we’ll send a week prior to the event.

To ensure you receive the necessary details, please RSVP in advance.

We invite you to ask Georgina Kleege questions about her book. Please submit your questions by July 8. We will select questions based on the responses to this form, and they may be asked during the event! Fill out the form here: Author Questions

To RSVP, you can fill out our online registration form: Register Here

Or if you prefer, reply to this email, or call the Talking Book Program at 1-800-252-9605.

Please indicate if you would like us to mail you a digital cartridge with her book or if you prefer to download it from BARD. Also, please let us know if you would like a reminder via email or phone-call (or both).

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: WHAT BLINDNESS BRINGS TO ART (DB 93533, BR 22550) by Georgina Kleege.

NLS Annotation: Author of Sight Unseen (DB 48328, BR 12149) critically examines the ways institutions make art accessible to blind people and the connection of visual arts with language. Uses personal experiences, scientific studies, and historical literary analysis to support her arguments. 2018.

We look forward to having you join us on Tuesday, July 15!