Category Archives: Special Days/Times

March 6 is the Battle of the Alamo Anniversary

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An aged photo of the Alamo with a person standing in the background.

The Alamo reminds us that stories live on when they’re shared. The Texas Talking Book Program ensures every Texan can access stories in audio, braille, and large print. #RememberTheAlamo with one of these titles from our collection!

From the library:

ALAMO REMEMBERED: TEJANO ACCOUNTS AND PERSPECTIVES (DBC 26407)

SAM HOUSTON AND THE ALAMO AVENGERS: THE TEXAS VICTORY THAT CHANGED AMERICAN HISTORY (DB 97726) (LB 12663)

THREE ROADS TO THE ALAMO: THE LIVES AND FORTUNES OF DAVID CROCKETT, JAMES BOWIE, AND WILLIAM BARRET TRAVIS (DBC 25531)

March 2 Is Read Across America Day

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Literacy starts young. For most children, an interest in reading starts with picture books at home or in the classroom. Dr. Seuss is a beloved author who has become synonymous with Read Across America, so celebrate his birthday today with some green eggs and ham!

From the library:

CAT IN THE HAT (DB 33062) (BT 13466)

GREEN EGGS AND HAM (DB 34056) (BR 16721)

ONE FISH, TWO FISH, RED FISH, BLUE FISH (DB 22796) (BR 16379)

March 2 is Texas Independence Day

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Discover Texas history with accessible books through the Talking Book Program!

From the library:

BIG WONDERFUL THING (DBC 18807)

LONE STAR: A HISTORY OF TEXAS AND TEXANS (DBC 12012)

TEXAS: A BICENTENNIAL HISTORY (DB 14220)

2026 Libby Award Finalists

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Celebrating the best in digital reading, the Libby Awards recognize outstanding ebooks and audiobooks across a variety of genres, highlighting the most compelling, thought-provoking, and widely loved titles of the year. The finalists were announced by OverDrive on February 4. Winners will be announced at the first ever live Libby Book Awards ceremony on March 3.

For more information, check out the Overdrive website.

Book of the Year – Adult Fiction

ATMOSPHERE: A LOVE STORY by Taylor Jenkins Reid and narrated by Julia Whelan and Kristen DiMercurio (DB 129909, BR 26357 IN PROCESS, en español DB 132477 EN PROCESO)
BUCKEYE by Patrick Ryan (DB 132250, LB 0007624)

Book of the Year – Adult Nonfiction

FLOWER TRAVELED IN MY BLOOD: THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF THE GRANDMOTHERS WHO FOUGHT TO FIND A STOLEN GENERATION OF CHILDREN by Haley Cohen Gilliland (DB 132040)
MARRIAGE AT SEA: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, OBSESSION, AND SHIPWRECK by Sophie Elmhirst (DB 131217)

Book of the Year – YA Fiction

SISTERS IN THE WIND by Angeline Boulley (DB 132294, BR 26561 IN PROCESS)
SUNRISE ON THE REAPING by Suzanne Collins and narrated by Jefferson White (DB 127954, BR 26205)

Audiobook of the Year

KATABASIS by R. F. Kuang (DB 132323, BR 26579 IN PROCESS)
MY FRIENDS by Fredrik Backman (DB 129483, BR 26313)

Debut Author of the Year

ALCHEMISED by SenLinYu (DB 133250)
CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans (DB 129105, en español DB 132482 EN PROCESO)

Best Book Club Book

BOG QUEEN by Anna North (DB 133593 IN PROCESS)
WRECK by Catherine Newman (DB 133592 IN PROCESS)

Best Fantasy

ALCHEMISED by SenLinYu (DB 133250)
BURY OUR BONES IN THE MIDNIGHT SOIL by V. E. Schwab (DB 130243, BR 26386 IN PROCESS, LB 0005773)

Best Historical Fiction

ANTIDOTE by Karen Russell (DB 128240, BR 26309 IN PROCESS)
ISOLA by Allegra Goodman (DB 127226, BR 26597 IN PROCESS, LB 0002549)

Best Horror

BEWITCHING by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (DB 131290, LB 0005631)
BUFFALO HUNTER HUNTER by Stephen Graham Jones (DB 128581, BR 26200 IN PROCESS)

Best Memoir & Autobiography

ONE DAY EVERYONE WILL HAVE BEEN AGAINST THIS by Omar El-Akkad (DB 127850, LB 0001346)
RAISING HARE by Chloe Dalton (DB 128243)

Best Middle Grade Book

ALL THE BLUES IN THE SKY by Renée Watson (DB 129740)

Best Mystery

LIBRARIANS by Sherry Thomas (DB 132690)
MURDER TAKES A VACATION by Laura Lippman (DB 131701)

Best Personal Improvement

SHIFT: MANAGING YOUR EMOTIONS – SO THEY DON’T MANAGE YOU by Ethan Kross (DB 131630, LB 0001314)
WE CAN DO HARD THINGS: ANSWERS TO LIFE’S 20 QUESTIONS by Glennon Doyle (IN PROCESS)

Best Picture Book

DON’T TRUST FISH by Neil Sharpson (DB 130282)

Best Romance

THESE SUMMER STORMS by Sarah MacLean (DB 131056, BR 26501 IN PROCESS)
IT HAD TO BE HIM by Adib Khorram (DB 133198)

Best Romantasy

KNIGHT AND THE MOTH by Rachel Gillig (DB 130050, BR 26391 IN PROCESS)
ONYX STORM by Rebecca Yarros (DB 127035, BR 25749 IN PROCESS, en español DB 127448)

Best Science Fiction

DEATH OF THE AUTHOR by Nnedi Okorafor (DB 127592, BR 26389 IN PROCESS)
WHAT WE CAN KNOW by Ian McEwan (DB 133247 IN PROCESS, LB 0005874)

Best Thriller

JULIE CHAN IS DEAD by Liann Zhang (DB 129576, LB 0008599)
GHOSTWRITER by Julie Clark (DB 133889 IN PROCESS)

Readers’ Choice

ONYX STORM by Rebecca Yarros (DB 127035, BR 25749 IN PROCESS, en español DB 127448)
GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE by Emily Henry (DB 129103, BR 26246, LB 0003604, en español DB 132355)

Nominees for the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay 2026

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The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, musicals, short stories, TV series, and even other films and film characters.

The 98th Academy Awards will announce the winner on Sunday March 15.

The original novels in the TBP collection are:

Hamnet
HAMNET by Maggie O’Farrell (DB 100166, LB 13507, en español DB 104982)
Frankenstein
FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley (DB 25835, BT 03719, BT 0000225, LB 06283, en español DB 25706)
One Battle After Another
VINELAND by Thomas Pynchon (DB 30742)
Train Dreams
TRAIN DREAMS by Denis Johnson (DB 76608, BR 19564)

March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day

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Just your luck—new titles are being added to the Talking Book Program’s collection every day! Enjoy a good read with TBP this St. Patrick’s Day.

From the library:

SHAMROCKS, HARPS, AND SHILLELAGHS: THE STORY OF THE ST. PATRICK’S DAY SYMBOLS (DB 53577) (BR 14115)

ST. PATRICK’S DAY (DB 39405)

February 14 Is Valentine’s Day

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We love our patrons! Today, share the joy of stories with someone you love. Check out books available to patrons of the Talking Book Program!

From the library:

HEARTS, CUPIDS, AND RED ROSES: THE STORY OF THE VALENTINE SYMBOLS (DB 53400) (BR 13938) 

VALENTINE POEMS (BR 07340)

VALENTINE’S DAY (DB 13282) (BR 01818)

National Book Critics Circle Award Finalists 2025

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The National Book Critics Circle honors outstanding writing and fosters a national conversation about reading, criticism, and literature. Each March, the National Book Critics Circle presents awards for the finest books published in English the previous calendar year. These are the only national literary awards chosen by critics themselves. The finalists were announced January 20, and the winners will be announced on March 26.  

For more information, check out the National Book Critics Circle Awards.

Here are the NBCC Award Finalists for the 2025 publishing year that are in the TBP collection.

Fiction

ANTIDOTE by Karen Russell (DB 128240, BR 26309 IN PROCESS)
AUDITION by Katie Kitamura (DB 128873)
ON THE CALCULATION OF VOLUME, BOOK III by Solvej Balle and translated from the Danish by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell (DB 133345 IN PROCESS)
WE DO NOT PART by Kang Han and translated from the Korean by E. Yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris (DB 126775)
WILDERNESS by Angela Flournoy (DB 132815 IN PROCESS)

Autobiography

MEMORIAL DAYS by Geraldine Brooks (DB 127658, BR 26364 IN PROCESS, LB 0001491)
MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME by Arundhati Roy (DB 132952 IN PROCESS)
PAPER GIRL: A MEMOIR OF HOME AND FAMILY IN A FRACTURED AMERICA by Beth Macy (DB 133313)

Biography

LOVE, QUEENIE: MERLE OBERON, HOLLYWOOD’S FIRST SOUTH ASIAN STAR by Mayukh Sen (DB 128319)
PRIDE AND PLEASURE: THE SCHUYLER SISTERS IN AN AGE OF REVOLUTION by Amanda Vaill (DB 133023 IN PROCESS)
TROUBLEMAKER: THE FIERCE, UNRULY LIFE OF JESSICA MITFORD by Carla Kaplan (IN PROCESS)

Nonfiction

AMERICA, AMÉRICA: A NEW HISTORY OF THE NEW WORLD by Greg Grandin (DB 129520)
DAUGHTERS OF THE BAMBOO GROVE: FROM CHINA TO AMERICA, A TRUE STORY OF ABDUCTION, ADOPTION, AND SEPARATED TWINS by Barbara Demick (DB 131346)
EMPIRE OF AI: DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES IN SAM ALTMAN’S OPENAI by Karen Hao (DB 129721)
KING OF KINGS: THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION: A STORY OF HUBRIS, DELUSION AND CATASTRIOPHIC MISCALCULATION by Scott Anderson (DB 131982)
NO MORE TEARS: THE DARK STORY OF JOHNSON & JOHNSON by Gardiner Harris (DB 128599)

Poems

NIGHT WATCH: POEMS by Kevin Young (DB 132834 IN PROCESS)

Criticism

ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS by Omar El Akkad (DB 127850, LB 0001346)
TO SAVE AND TO DESTROY: WRITING AS AN OTHER by Viet Thanh Nguyen (DB 132412 IN PROCESS)

Gregg Barrios Book in Translation

SAD TIGER by Neige Sinno and translated from the French by Natasha Lehrer (DB 129828)

John Leonard Prize for Best First Book

BALDWIN: A LOVE STORY by Nicholas Boggs (DB 131983 IN PROCESS)
HUNCHBACK by Saō Ichikawa and translated from the Japanese by Polly Barton (DB 129296)
MOOD MACHINE: THE RISE OF SPOTIFY AND THE COSTS OF THE PERFECT PLAYLIST by Liz Pelly (DB 127671)
SLIP by Lucas Schaefer (DB 130508)

March 6 is the Battle of the Alamo Anniversary

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The Alamo reminds us that stories live on when they’re shared. The Texas Talking Book Program ensures every Texan can access stories in audio, braille, and large print. #RememberTheAlamo with one of these titles from our collection!

From the library:

ALAMO REMEMBERED: TEJANO ACCOUNTS AND PERSPECTIVES (DBC 26407)

SAM HOUSTON AND THE ALAMO AVENGERS: THE TEXAS VICTORY THAT CHANGED AMERICAN HISTORY (DB 97726) (LB 12663)

THREE ROADS TO THE ALAMO: THE LIVES AND FORTUNES OF DAVID CROCKETT, JAMES BOWIE, AND WILLIAM BARRET TRAVIS (DBC 25531)

In His Own Words: Dick Van Dyke

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On Saturday December 13, Dick Van Dyke turned 100! Known for his work on both screen and stage, his big break was the role of Albert F. Peterson in the original Broadway production of Bye Bye Birdie. Later, he went on to play many memorable characters on both television and film including Bert, the chimney sweep in Mary Poppins, and Rob Petrie on the Dick Van Dyke Show. For more information, visit his official website.

Here are the books he’s written that are in the TBP collection:

MY LUCKY LIFE IN AND OUT OF SHOW BUSINESS: A MEMOIR (DB 74349, BRG 02937, LB 06804)
KEEP MOVING: AND OTHER TIPS AND TRUTHS ABOUT AGING (DB 83701, LB 08985)