Category Archives: Special Days/Times

TBP Book Club Title Announced for January 2026!

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Join the Talking Book Program for a book club discussion on Tuesday, January 27 at 7:00 p.m. (Central). We’ll be discussing the book SIPSWORTH by Simon Van Booy (DB 127199).

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 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).

SIPSWORTH by Simon Van Booy (DB 127199)

NLS Annotation: “Over the course of a single week, a woman who is ready to die discovers an unexpected reason to live. Following the deaths of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the English village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss. Helen retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit. Then, one cold autumn night, a chance encounter with an abandoned pet mouse on the street outside her house sets Helen on a surprising journey of friendship.”– From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2024.

We look forward to having you join us on Tuesday, January 27!

Texas Talking Book Program Author Talk: James Wade

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Join the Talking Book Program for an author talk on Thursday, December 11 at 7:00 p.m. (Central) with author, James Wade.

Reader’s Advisory Librarian, Laura Jean, will discuss Mr. Wade’s career and his Spur Winning novel ALL THINGS LEFT WILD (DB 101305). 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 James Wade questions about his book. Please submit your questions by December 3. 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).

ALL THINGS LEFT WILD (DB 101305) by James Wade.

NLS Annotation: Caleb and his older brother Shelby commit a horse theft gone wrong and flee. As they wander the American Southwest, they are being tracked by bookish and inexperienced-despite-his-age Randall. He meets Charlotte who guides him in the ways of vigilante justice. Strong language including racial epithets, violence, some descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. 2020.

We look forward to having you join us on Thursday, December 11!

2025 Longlist for the National Book Awards

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The National Book Awards were established in 1950 to celebrate the best writing in America. Since 1989, they have been overseen by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate the best literature in America, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in American culture. Although other categories have been recognized in the past, the Awards currently honor the best Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature published each year. For more information on the National Book Awards, check out their website.

The longlist for the 2025 National Book Awards was announced on September 10-12. The Finalists in all five categories were announced on Tuesday, October 7 with the New York Times. Winners will be announced live at the 76th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner on Wednesday, November 19, 2025.

For more information, check out the National Book Award’s website.

The nominees for this year’s National Book Awards in the TBP Collection (finalists are bolded):

Fiction

FLASHLIGHT by Susan Choi (DB 129795)
ANTIDOTE by Karen Russell (DB 128240, BR 26309 IN PROCESS)

Nonfiction

ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS by Omar El Akkad (DB 127850, LB 0001346)
BLACK MOSES: A SAGA OF AMBITION AND THE FIGHT FOR A BLACK STATE by Caleb Gayle (DB 132241 IN PROCESS)
THINGS IN NATURE MERELY GROW by Yiyun Li (DB 130140)

TBP Book Club Title Announced for November 2025!

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Join the Talking Book Program for a book club discussion on Tuesday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m. (Central). We’ll be discussing the book STARTER VILLAIN by John Scalzi (DB 118263).

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 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).

STARTER VILLAIN by John Scalzi (DB 118263)

NLS Annotation: “Inheriting your uncle’s supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who’s running the place. Charlie’s life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn’t all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they’re coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital. It’s up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good. In a dog-eat-dog world…be a cat.” — Provided by publisher. Strong langauge. Commercial audiobook. 2023.

We look forward to having you join us on Tuesday, November 18!

2025 Business Book of the Year Longlist Revealed

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The Business Book of the Year Award, inaugurated in 2005 and continuously evolving in prestige and scope, recognizes the most insightful and influential works in the genre. This globally esteemed award was conceived by the Financial Times and is supported by various prestigious partners celebrating excellence in business writing. The longlist was announced on August 18. The shortlist for this year’s prize will be revealed on September 24, with the winner announced on December 3.

For more information check out the Business Book of the Year’s website.

HOUSE OF HUAWEI: THE SECRET HISTORY OF CHINA’S MOST POWERFUL COMPANY by Eva Dou (DB 126340)
CHOKEPOINTS: AMERICAN POWER IN THE AGE OF ECONOMIC WARFARE by Edward Fishman (DB 128110)
ABUNDANCE by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson (DB 128624)
GENIUS MYTH: A CURIOUS HISTORY OF A DANGEROUS IDEA by Helen Lewis (IN PROCESS)
EMPIRE OF AI: DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES IN SAM ALTMAN’S OPENAI by Karen Hao (DB 129721)
NO MORE TEARS: THE DARK STORY OF JOHNSON & JOHNSON by Gardiner Harris (DB 128599)
THINKING MACHINE: JENSEN HUANG, NVIDIA, AND THE WORLD’S MOST COVETED MICROCHIP by Stephen Witt (DB 128472)

Texas Talking Book Program Author Talk: Mark Pryor

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Join the Talking Book Program for an author talk on Thursday, October 30 at 7:00 p.m. (Central) with author, Mark Pryor.

Reader’s Advisory Librarian, Laura Jean, will discuss Mr. Pryor’s career and his Hugo Marston Series starting with BOOKSELLER: THE FIRST HUGO MARSTON NOVEL (DBC 04825). 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 Mark Pryor questions about his series. Please submit your questions by October 23. 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).

BOOKSELLER: THE FIRST HUGO MARSTON NOVEL (DBC 04825) by Mark Pryor.

NLS Annotation: Hugo Marston, head of security at the US embassy in Paris, watches helplessly as his friend, Max–an elderly bookstall owner–is abducted at gunpoint. In a race against time, Hugo enlists a beautiful and mysterious journalist, a semiretired CIA agent, and a reluctant police detective to help him negotiate political intrigue, police corruption, an escalating drug war, and the ghosts of Nazi collaboration that haunt some of Paris’s most prominent citizens. Violence, strong language, and descriptions of sex. 2012.

We look forward to having you join us on Thursday, October 30!

Kirkus Prize Finalists 2025

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Since 2014, the Kirkus Prize has been given annually by Kirkus Reviews to books of exceptional merit. The finalists were announced on August 27, and the winners will be announced during a ceremony at the TriBeca Rooftop in New York on October 8. It will also be livestreamed on Kirkus’s YouTube channel at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern). Here are some of the finalists for 2025 in the TBP collection.

For more information check out the Kirkus Prize website.

Fiction

ISOLA by Allegra Goodman (DB 127226, LB 0002549)
FLESH by David Szalay (DB 130331)

Nonfiction

MARRIAGE AT SEA: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, OBSESSION, AND SHIPWRECK by Sophie Elmhirst (DB 131217 IN PROCESS)
KING OF KINGS: THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION: A STORY OF HUBRIS, DELUSION AND CATASTROPHIC MISCALCULATION by Scott Anderson (IN PROCESS)
BALDWIN: A LOVE STORY by Nicholas Boggs (IN PROCESS)
AMERICAN, AMÉRICA: A NEW HISTORY OF THE NEW WORLD by Greg Grandin (DB 129520)
BLACK IN BLUES: HOW A COLOR TELLS THE STORY OF MY PEOPLE by Imani Perry (DB 130763)

Teen and Young Adult

DEATH IN THE JUNGLE by Candace Fleming (DB 129360)

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!

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!

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!