TBP Book Club Title Announced for January 2025!

Please join us on Tuesday, January 28 at 7:00 p.m. central time for our book blub discussion of FROZEN RIVER: A NOVEL by Ariel Lawhon.

We host our Book Club discussions via Zoom. However, all you need to participate is a telephone!

If you have a land line, we will provide a telephone number for accessing the Book Club.

If you have a smart phone, we will email an easy “one click” number you can use to join the discussion.

We will also email a Zoom invitation to those who prefer to use a computer.

Patrons who register for the discussion will receive this information a week before the Book Club meeting.

To register for our January 2025 Book Club discussion, contact the Texas Talking Book Program at 1-800-252-9605 or tbp.ral@tsl.texas.gov.

If you prefer, you can also self-register via this Zoom registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85393198029

FROZEN RIVER is available by mail as a digital cartridge and is also available to download on BARD.

FROZEN RIVER: A NOVEL by Ariel Lawhon

DB 117781

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen-one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own. Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

We’re looking forward to having you join us on Tuesday, January 28.

TBP Book Club Title Announced for November 2024!

Please join us on Thursday, November 21 at 7 pm (Central) for our Book Club discussion of UNRAVELING: WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT LIFE WHILE SHEARING SHEEP, DYEING WOOL, AND MAKING THE WORLD’S UGLIEST SWEATER by Peggy Orenstein.

We host our Book Club discussions via Zoom. However, all you need to participate is a telephone! If you have a land line, we will provide a telephone number for accessing the Book Club. If you have a smart phone, we will email an easy “one click” number you can use to join the discussion. We will also email a Zoom invitation to those who prefer to use a computer.

Patrons who register for the discussion will receive this information a week before the book club meeting.

To RSVP please call 1-800-252-09605 or email us at tbpRAL@tsl.texas.gov

UNRAVELING is available by mail as a digital cartridge and is also available to download on BARD.

UNRAVELING: WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT LIFE WHILE SHEARING SHEEP, DYEING WOOL, AND MAKING THE WORLD’S UGLIEST SWEATER by Peggy Orenstein

DB 113482

The COVID pandemic propelled many people to change their lives in ways large and small. Some adopted puppies. Others stress-baked. Peggy Orenstein, a lifelong knitter, went just a little further. To keep herself engaged and cope with a series of seismic shifts in family life, she set out to make a garment from the ground up: learning to shear sheep, spin and dye yarn, then knitting herself a sweater. Orenstein hoped the project would help her process not just wool but her grief over the recent death of her mother and the decline of her dad, the impending departure of her college-bound daughter, and other thorny issues of aging as a woman in a culture that by turns ignores and disdains them. What she didn’t expect was a journey into some of the major issues of our time: climate anxiety, racial justice, women’s rights, the impact of technology, sustainability, and, ultimately, the meaning of home. With her wry voice, sharp intelligence, and exuberant honesty, Orenstein shares her year-long journey as daughter, wife, mother, writer, and maker–and teaches us all something about creativity and connection. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

We look forward to having you join us on November 21.

20 New Texas Titles Now on BARD!

Moonshining, a legendary honky-tonk, cowboy romance, and cowboy folk humor highlight the reading adventures that await in these Texas titles newly available on BARD.

ABUSO VERBAL EN LAS RELACIONES: CÓMO RECONOCERLO Y CÓMO RESPONDER by Patricia Evans
DBC 18448

Adult Non-Fiction (Spanish)

ANSON JONES: THE LAST PRESIDENT OF TEXAS by Herbert Pickens Gambrell
DBC 28945

Adult Non-Fiction

BLACK CHAMELEON: MEMORY, WOMANHOOD, AND MYTH by Deborah D. E. E. P. Mouton
DBC 29030

Adult Non-Fiction

BREAK FOR THE BORDER by Frank Bonham
DBC 25549

Adult Fiction

BROKEN SPOKE: AUSTIN’S LEGENDARY HONKY-TONK by Donna Marie Miller
DBC 18774

Adult Non-Fiction

CHRISTMAS WITH A COWBOY (“Longhorn Canyon” series #5) by Carolyn Brown
DBC 29035

Adult Fiction

COWBOY BOLD (“Longhorn Canyon” series #1) by Carolyn Brown
DBC 29031

Adult Fiction

COWBOY BRAVE (“Longhorn Canyon” series #3) by Carolyn Brown
DBC 29033

Adult Fiction

COWBOY COURAGE (“Longhorn Canyon” series #6) by Carolyn Brown
DBC 29036

Adult Fiction

COWBOY FOLK HUMOR: LIFE AND LAUGHTER IN THE AMERICAN WEST by John O. West
DBC 28977

Adult Non-Fiction

COWBOY HONOR (“Longhorn Canyon” series #2) by Carolyn Brown
DBC 29032

Adult Fiction

COWBOY REBEL (“Longhorn Canyon” series #4) by Carolyn Brown
DBC 29034

Adult Fiction

COWBOY STRONG (“Longhorn Canyon” series #7) by Carolyn Brown
DBC 29037

Adult Fiction

DAYBREAK ON RAVEN ISLAND by Fleur Bradley
DBC 29028

Juvenile Fiction

ENTANGLEMENT by Catherine Fellows
DBC 28941

Adult Fiction

HOMBRE DEL OESTE by M. L. Estefanía
DBC 28938

Adult Fiction (Spanish)

LOBLOLLY BOOK II: MOONSHINING, BASKET MAKING, HOG KILLING, CATFISHING, AND OTHER AFFAIRS OF PLAIN TEXAS LIVING
DBC 28969

Adult Non-Fiction

MAN OFFSIDE by A. W. Gray
DBC 28948

Adult Fiction

PRESIDENT AND THE ASSASSIN: MCKINLEY, TERROR, AND EMPIRE AT THE DAWN OF THE AMERICAN CENTURY by Scott Miller
DBC 25480

Adult Non-Fiction

SHOOT THE MOON by Billie Letts
DBC 17054

Adult Fiction

35 New Texas Titles Now on BARD!

Panhandle megafires, Texas Christmas legends, the lighter side of Texas history, and health resorts highlight these newly available Texas titles.

There are now more than 2,200 locally produced Texas titles on BARD. Check out the Texas Talking Book Program’s stellar Volunteer Recording Studio!

ALAMO HOUSE: WOMEN WITHOUT MEN, MEN WITHOUT BRAINS by Sarah Bird
DBC 28927

Adult Fiction

ALEX SWEET’S TEXAS: THE LIGHTER SIDE OF LONE STAR HISTORY by Alexander Edwin Sweet
DBC 28971

Adult Non-fiction

BAD SMOKE, GOOD SMOKE: A TEXAS RANCHER’S VIEW OF WILDFIRE by John R. Erickson
DBC 18356

Adult Non-Fiction

BLANCO by Allen Wier
DBC 28978

Adult Fiction

CRAZY WATER: THE STORY OF MINERAL WELLS AND OTHER TEXAS HEALTH RESORTS by Gene Fowler
DBC 28943

Adult Non-Fiction

CUANDO LAS COSAS MALAS LE PASAN A LA GENTE BUENA by Harold S. Kushner
DBC 28953

Adult Non-fiction (Spanish)

EDGE OF THE WEST AND OTHER TEXAS STORIES by Bryan Woolley
DBC 28982

Adult Non-Fiction

FELICE AND THE WAILING WOMAN by Diana López
DBC 28997

Juvenile Fiction

GALLOWS WAITING: CODY’S LAW BOOK 10 by Matthew S. Hart
DBC 26289

Adult Fiction

GREAT TEXAS CHRISTMAS LEGENDS by Zeno Zeplin
DBC 24940

Juvenile Non-Fiction

LAST DANCE ON THE STARLIGHT PIER by Sarah Bird
DBC 29000

Adult Fiction

LATE BLOOMERS: A NOVEL by Deepa Varadarajan
DBC 29005

Adult Fiction

LONE STAR by Barbara Barrie
DBC 28923

Juvenile Fiction

LOOP by Joe Coomer
DBC 28932

Adult Fiction

MAGGIE AND DEVILDUST-RIDIN’ HIGH! by Judy Alter
DBC 28900

Juvenile Fiction

MOTHER SCORPION COUNTRY: A LEGEND FROM THE MISKITO INDIANS OF NICARAGUA = LA TIERRA DE LA MADRE ESCORPIÓN: UNA LEYENDA DE LOS INDIOS MISKITOS DE NICARAGUA by Harriet Rohmer
DBC 28964

Juvenile Non-Fiction (English/Spanish)

MR. TEXAS: A NOVEL by Lawrence Wright
DBC 28999

Adult Fiction

MY DEAR MOLLIE: LOVE LETTERS OF A TEXAS SHEEP RANCHER by John Barclay McGill
DBC 28956

Juvenile Non-Fiction

MY SUMMER DARLINGS by May K. Cobb
DBC 29002

Adult Fiction

MYSTERY OF Y’BARBO’S TUNNEL by Martha Tannery Jones
DBC 28951

Juvenile Fiction

NIGHT WILL FIND YOU by Julia Heaberlin
DBC 29004

Adult Fiction

OLEANDER CITY: A NOVEL BASED ON A TRUE STORY by Matt Bondurant
DBC 29003

Adult Fiction

OLEANDER ODYSSEY: THE KEMPNERS OF GALVESTON, TEXAS, 1854-1980S by Harold Melvin Hyman
DBC 28894

Adult Non-Fiction

PARADISE VALLEY by Jack Curtis
DBC 28933

Adult Fiction

PICKING PEAS FOR A PENNY by Angela Shelf Medearis
DBC 28958

Juvenile Non-Fiction

PIONEER JEWISH TEXANS: THEIR IMPACT ON TEXAS AND AMERICAN HISTORY FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS, 1590-1990 by Natalie Ornish
DBC 28893

Adult Non-Fiction

SEX, MURDER & THE UNWRITTEN LAW: GENDER AND JUDICIAL MAYHEM, TEXAS STYLE by Bill Neal
DBC 18391

Adult Non-Fiction

SIETE HISTORIAS DE AMOR DE NAVIDAD by Leo F. Buscaglia
DBC 28930

Adult Non-Fiction (Spanish)

TEXAS ALPHABET by James Rice
DBC 28963

Juvenile Non-Fiction

TEXAS NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by James Rice
DBC 28962

Juvenile Fiction

THIS DOG’LL HUNT by Wallace O. Chariton
DBC 28931

Adult Non-Fiction

TRAIN TO ESTELLINE: A NOVEL by Jane Roberts Wood
DBC 28981

Adult Fiction

UNSETTLED LAND: FROM REVOLUTION TO REPUBLIC, THE STRUGGLE FOR TEXAS by Sam W. Haynes
DBC 290

Adult Non-Fiction

VANQUISHERS by Kalynn Bayron
DBC 28998

Juvenile Fiction

WHAT I AM by Divya Srinivasan
DBC 28996

Juvenile Fiction

May 2024 TBP Book Club Title Announced!

Please join us on Tuesday, May 21 at 7:00 p.m. (Central) for our Book Club discussion of MERCURY RISING: JOHN GLENN, JOHN KENNEDY, AND THE NEW BATTLEGROUND OF THE COLD WAR by Jeff Shesol.

We host our Book Club discussions via Zoom. However, all you need to participate is a telephone!

If you have a land line, we will provide a telephone number for accessing the Book Club. If you have a smart phone, we will email an easy “one click ” number you can use to join the discussion. We will also email a Zoom invitation to those who prefer to use a computer.

Patrons who register for the discussion will receive this information a week before the book club meeting.

To RSVP call us at 1-800-252-9605 or email tbp.ral@tsl.texas.gov

MERCURY RISING is available by mail as a digital cartridge and is also available to download on BARD.

MERCURY RISING: JOHN GLENN, JOHN KENNEDY, AND THE NEW BATTLEGROUND OF THE COLD WAR by Jeff Shesol (DB 110864)

A riveting history of the epic orbital flight that put America back into the space race. If the United States couldn’t catch up to the Soviets in space, how could it compete with them on Earth? That was the question facing John F. Kennedy at the height of the Cold War–a perilous time when the Soviet Union built the wall in Berlin, tested nuclear bombs more destructive than any in history, and beat the United States to every major milestone in space. The race to the heavens seemed a race for survival—and America was losing. On February 20, 1962, when John Glenn blasted into orbit aboard Friendship 7, his mission was not only to circle the planet; it was to calm the fears of the free world and renew America’s sense of self-belief. Mercury Rising re-creates the tension and excitement of a flight that shifted the momentum of the space race and put the United States on the path to the moon. Drawing on new archival sources, personal interviews, and previously unpublished notes by Glenn himself, Mercury Rising reveals how the astronaut’s heroics lifted the nation’s hopes in what Kennedy called the “hour of maximum danger.” Commercial audiobook.

We’re looking forward to having you join us on Tuesday, May 21!

12 New Texas Titles Now on BARD!

Texas true crime, Kiowa legends, the world’s biggest rodeo, and a satire by the incomparable Dan Jenkins highlight this offering of Texas titles newly available on BARD.

BLOOD LINES by Kathryn Casey
DBC 18698
Adult Fiction
BLUEBONNET OF THE HILL COUNTRY by Mary Brooke Casad
DBC 28895
Juvenile Fiction
BURIED SECRETS: A TRUE STORY OF SERIAL MURDER, BLACK MAGIC, AND DRUG-RUNNING ON THE U.S. BORDER by Edward Humes
DBC 28837
Adult Non-Fiction
CÓMO ALCANZAR SUS OBJETIVOS CON ÉXITO by Joyce Brothers
DBC 27008
Adult Non-Fiction (Spanish)
FANTASMAS AZTECAS: UN PRE-TEXTO by Gustavo Sáinz
DBC 28850
Adult Fiction (Spanish)
GHOST STORIES FROM THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST
DBC 28860
Juvenile Non-Fiction
GLASS SLIPPERS by Nancy Berland
DBC 27000
Adult Fiction
HAND ME ANOTHER BRICK by Charles R. Swindoll
DBC 28972
Adult Non-Fiction
LIMO by Dan Jenkins
DBC 28950
Adult Fiction
MATRIMONIO DE CONVENIENCIAS by Georgette Heyer
DBC 28836
Adult Fiction (Spanish)
SIX YEARS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS, 1875 TO 1881 by James B Gillett
DBC 28862
Adult Non-Fiction
TEN GRANDMOTHERS: EPIC OF THE KIOWAS by Alice Lee Marriott
DBC 28841
Adult Non-Fiction