Category Archives: Uncategorized

New Large Print Books Added in April 2022

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ADULT FICTION

LB           13624    VORTEX: AN FBI THRILLER             COULTER, CATHERINE   

Investigative journalist Mia Briscoe discovers photos from a frat party that ended in a fire–and the disappearance of her best friend. With FBI agent Sherlock, she works to uncover the truth. Meanwhile, Sherlock’s husband and fellow FBI agent Savich deals with the case of an attacked CIA agent. Unrated. 2021.      

LB           13625    MAN OF HONOR              BRADFORD, BARBARA TAYLOR, 1933-     

Opening five years before the start of A Woman of Substance [DB 13727], A Man of Honor begins with 13-year-old Blackie O’Neill facing an uncertain future in rural County Kerry. Orphaned and alone, he has just buried his sister, Bronagh, and must leave his home to set sail for England, in search of a better life with his mother’s brother in Leeds. There, he learns his trade as a navvy, amid the grand buildings and engineering triumphs of one of England’s most prosperous cities, and starts to dream of greater things… Unrated. 2021.               

LB           13629    DARLING DAHLIAS AND THE UNLUCKY CLOVER      ALBERT, SUSAN WITTIG 1934.

The town of Darling, Alabama, is hosting the Dixie Regional Barbershop Quartet Competition. But a member of Darling’s very own Lucky Four Clovers quartet meets with an unlucky accident right before its start. The Dahlias plan on uncovering the truth as Sheriff Buddy Norris investigates moonshine bootleggers. Some violence, some strong language, and some descriptions of sex. 2017.    

LB           13630    HER HIDDEN GENIUS      BENEDICT, MARIE           

Rosalind Franklin has always been an outsider–brilliant, but different. She knows if she just takes one more X-ray picture, she can unlock the building blocks of life. When the double helix structure of DNA reveals itself to her, Rosalind never could have predicted what would happen next. Unrated. 2022.    

LB           13632 WILLING MURDER              DEVERAUX, JUDE            

Retired romance author Sara Medlar, her previously estranged niece Kate, and irritating Jackson Wyatt make unlikely roommates in Sara’s newly acquired mansion in Lachlan, Florida. When two skeletons are accidentally uncovered in the quiet town, the trio decides to work together to solve the mystery. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. 2018.

LB           13635    RED RIVER VENGEANCE JOHNSTONE, WILLIAM W.           

Incurring the wrath of three outlaws after killing their leader in a daring rescue attempt, Perley Gates and waitress Becky Morris must get safely across the Red River before the three vengeful devils make it flow with their blood. Unrated. 2022. Related names: Johnstone, J.A., author.

LB           13638    ANOTHER KIND OF EDEN: A NOVEL          BURKE, JAMES LEE, 1936-             

1962. Aspiring novelist Aaron Holland Broussard travels the American West via boxcar in search of inspiration and odd jobs. In Denver, he meets Jo Anne McDuffy. Their connection is immediate, but their romance is complicated by Jo Anne’s involvement with a shady professor involved with a drug-addicted cult. Unrated. 2021.

LB           13631    DEPARTMENT OF RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS: A NOVEL       JURCZYK, EVA   

Liesl Weiss enjoys her work in the rare books department of a large university. But after her boss has a stroke and she’s put in charge, she discovers one of the collection’s most prized manuscripts is missing. Liesl tries to sound the alarm, but is told to keep quiet. When another colleague goes missing, Liesl must dig for the truth. Unrated. 2022.

LB           13633    WHEN THE SUMMER WAS OURS               VELETZOS, ROXANNE    

Hungary, 1943: As war encroaches on the country’s borders, willful young Eva Cesar arrives in the idyllic town of Sopron to spend her last summer as a single woman on her aristocratic family’s estate. Longing for freedom from her domineering father, she counts the days to her upcoming nuptials to a kind and dedicated Red Cross doctor whom she greatly admires. But Eva’s life changes when she meets Aleandro, a charming and passionate Romani fiddler with a love for painting. Unrated. 2021.

LB           13636    MOON, THE STARS, AND MADAME BUROVA        HOGAN, RUTH, 1961-     

Madame Burova–beloved Tarot reader, palmist, and clairvoyant–is retiring and leaving her booth on the Brighton seafront. After inheriting her mother’s fortune-telling business as a young woman, Imelda Burova has spent her life on the Brighton pier practicing her trade. She and her trusty pack of Tarot cards have seen the lovers and the liars, the angels and the devils, the dreamers and the fools. Now, after a lifetime of keeping other people’s secrets, Madam Burova is ready to have a little piece of life for herself. Unrated. 2022.    

LB           13637    MATCH                 COBEN, HARLAN, 1962- 

Wilde has returned to the Ramapo Mountains, feeling more secure in the wilderness. But after an online ancestry database returns a DNA match, Wilde hopes to track down his father. He reaches out to his apparent cousin, but the man’s disappearance leads to more questions than answers. Violence and strong language. 2022.              

LB           13640    LAST COMANCHE WARRIOR        CROWNOVER, JAMES D.

Three times, Adam Bain and his twin sister, Eve, escape capture by attacking Indians; once by Adam and his brother, Noah, jumping off a hundred-foot-high bluff into the Llano River. But the day comes when their luck runs out, and Adam and Eve are captured by Mescalero Apaches. Because of Adam’s flaming red hair, the Indians name him Rojo Pelo. Eve is named Castaäno Rojizo because of her auburn hair. They are carried to the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico Territory where Adam is adopted by the chief, Elkhorn, and enters training to become an Apache warrior with five Apache boys. Unrated. 2022.

LB           13641    EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM WILL SOMEDAY BE DEAD          AUSTIN, EMILY R.            

Gilda, a twenty-something animal-loving lesbian atheist, cannot stop ruminating about death. Desperate for relief from her panicky mind, she responds to a flyer for free therapy at a local Catholic church, and finds herself being greeted by Father Jeff, who assumes she’s there for a job interview. Unrated. 2021.         

LB           13647    AND THE DEVIL MAKES FIVE        RICHARDS, DUSTY           

It begins with a spectacular train robbery–a brilliantly planned, brutally executed heist masterminded by a shadowy gang of conspirators with far deadlier motives than money or gold. Their mission: to steal the train’s shipment of powerful explosives. Their goal: to assassinate Mexico’s legendary resistance leader Benito Juarez. As a lifelong patriot himself, Joe O’Malley understands the struggle for freedom. As a proud Texan, he knows the importance of fighting for your land and your liberty. But as patriarch of the O’Malley clan, he also believes that his family comes first–and any outsider who brings their war to his turf will have to face another deadly force of resistance…named the O’Malleys. Unrated. 2022.           

LB           13644    NOTHING MAN       HOWARD, CATHERINE RYAN

At the age of twelve, Eve Black was the only member of her family to survive an encounter with serial attacker the Nothing Man. Now an adult, she is obsessed with identifying the man who destroyed her life. Supermarket security guard Jim Doyle has just started reading The Nothing Man–the true-crime memoir Eve has written about her efforts to track down her family’s killer. As he turns each page, his rage grows. Because Jim’s not just interested in reading about the Nothing Man. He is the Nothing Man… Unrated. 2020.

LB           13655    DREAM TOWN                  BALDACCI, DAVID           

Private Investigator and ex-World War II veteran Aloysius Archer heads to Los Angeles, the city where dreams are made and shattered, and is ensnared in a lethal case. Unrated. 2022.       

LB           13657    WHEN ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE                   JOHNSTONE, WILLIAM W.           

It’s one of the great mysteries of the Old West. The unexplained disappearance of a hunting party of Prussian nobles who entered the American wilderness and never returned. Now, years later, the Prussian government demands an explanation. In response, the U.S. Army hires Preacher and Jamie MacCallister to join their search party along with a band of Prussian soldiers led by the sinister Baron Adalwolf von Kuhner. Unrated. 2022. Related names: Johnstone, J.A., author.

LB           13654    OLGA DIES DREAMING                   GONZALEZ, XOCHITL, 1977-         

In 2017, Olga is wedding planner for Manhattan’s power brokers, while her brother Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn. Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy–especially as their radical mother comes barreling back into their lives. Unrated. 2022.

LB           13651    BOOK OF FORM AND EMPTINESS              OZEKI, RUTH, 1956-        

One year after the death of his beloved musician father, thirteen-year-old Benny Oh’s mother has become a hoarder, and Benny begins to hear voices from the things around him. The voices drive him to seek refuge in the silence of the public library, where he meets his own Book. Unrated. 2021.       

LB           13652    VIRAL    COOK, ROBIN, 1940-       

While searching for normalcy during the Covid-19 pandemic, Brian Murphy and his family vacation on Cape Cod. When his wife Emma develops flu-like symptoms, they hurry home to New York City. But Emma has contracted eastern equine encephalitis–and their young daughter is also showing symptoms. 2021.

LB           13653    WISH YOU WERE HERE: A NOVEL              PICOULT, JODI, 1966-     

Diana believes her boyfriend Finn is planning to propose on a romantic getaway to the Galápagos. When a virus hits New York, Finn has to stay behind but urges Diana to go on the trip alone. She arrives just as the borders close, and her isolation gives her time to think. Strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2021.

LB           13497    BURNING            KELLERMAN, JONATHAN             

Deputy Coroner Clay Edison is called to a murder scene. As he investigates, he is horrified to discover a link to his brother Luke. Luke is fresh out of prison and has disappeared. Clay must find his brother before anyone else does. Unrated. 2021. Related names:  Kellerman, Jesse, author.

LB           13491    BETTER OFF DEAD: A JACK REACHER NOVEL          CHILD, LEE          

While walking in the desert headed west, Jack Reacher comes across a Jeep crashed into the only tree for miles around. The driver–army veteran-turned-FBI agent Michaela Fenton–has been searching for her twin brother. Reacher agrees to help her despite knowing she has secrets of her own. Violence and strong language. Bestseller. 2021. Related names:  Child, Andrew, 1968- author.

LB           13494    AWAKENING: THE DRAGON HEART LEGACY, BOOK 1         ROBERTS, NORA              

Breen Kelly is debt-ridden and working a job she hates when she discovers her mother has been hiding money left to her by her long-lost father. She treats herself to a trip to Ireland and falls through a portal to a magical land where she has a dangerous destiny. Unrated. Bestseller. 2020.

LB           13496    BUTLER                 STEEL, DANIELLE              

Joachim von Hartmann and his identical twin were raised by their German mother in Buenos Aires. When Joachim moves to Paris with his mother, his twin stays behind and enters a dark world. Joachim trains as a butler, taking a job helping Olivia open her Parisian apartment. Unrated. Bestseller. 2021.

LB           13495    ACTUAL STAR     BYRNE, MONICA, 1981-

Through the epic saga of three reincarnated souls, this book takes readers on a journey over thousands of years and six continents where it demonstrates the entanglements of tradition and progress, sister and stranger, love and hate. Unrated. 2021.

LB           13660    MITFORD VANISHING    FELLOWES, JESSICA        

Louisa Cannon, former lady’s maid and now a private detective, is enjoying life with her policeman husband, Guy Sullivan. They are surprised when they receive a call from Louisa’s former employer, Nancy Mitford, asking for help in finding her missing sister Jessica in civil war-ravaged Spain. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2021. Unrated. 2021.

LB           13659    UMBRELLA LADY               ANDREWS, V.C. (VIRGINIA C.)    

Left on the train platform of some strange village, eight-year-old Saffron Faith Anders is certain her father will return shortly, just like he promised. She holds out hope as the hour grows late and the station sets to close. She clings to her suitcase like a life raft. When a peculiar old woman carrying a large umbrella approaches and inquires about her situation, Saffron doesn’t immediately trust the imposing do-gooder, but eventually does agree to rest at her house while they wait for her father together. Saffron’s stay was supposed to be for a few minutes, hours at most. But confined to a house not unlike one Hansel and Gretel might have encountered, Saffron will undergo months-and then years-of transformation at the hands of the Umbrella Lady. Unrated. 2021.

LB           13502    DARK SKY: A JOE PICKETT NOVEL               BOX, C.J.             

Game warden Joe Pickett is coerced by Wyoming’s governor to take a tech baron into the wilderness on an elk hunting trip. But as they venture further away from society, Joe realizes they are the ones being hunted. Nate Romanowski and his daughter Sheridan follow Joe to help. Violence and strong language. Bestseller. 2021.

LB           13501    FEAR NO EVIL     PATTERSON, JAMES, 1947-          

Dr. Alex Cross and Detective John Sampson are preparing for a trip out west when Alex is called in to consult when the body of a CIA agent is found. They do continue on the trip, but know they will be prey. Teams of assassins hunt them. Unrated. Bestseller. 2021.

LB           13511    HOW HIGH WE GO IN THE DARK                NAGAMATSU, SEQUOIA

In 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika Crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus. Once unleashed, the Arctic plague will reshape life on Earth for generations to come… Unrated. 2022.               

LB           13507    HAMNET              O’FARRELL, MAGGIE, 1972-        

In 1580s England, the plague is sweeping across the land. Young Hamnet goes in search of his mother and older sister when his twin, Judith, falls ill. But as Hamnet begins to fight against the illness, his parents’ strained marriage is revealed–and he will become Hamlet. Unrated. 2020.

LB           13505    HARLEM SHUFFLE            WHITEHEAD, COLSON, 1969-      

Ray Carney has worked hard to build a life for himself and his family. But it’s a life in which the cracks of his family’s criminal past are widening. When his cousin Freddie falls in with a vicious crew, he volunteers Ray as a fence, drawing Ray in even deeper. Unrated. Bestseller. 2021.

LB           13504    HER HEART FOR A COMPASS       FERGUSON, SARAH        

Expected to make an advantageous marriage, Lady Margaret Montagu Scott rebels shortly before her betrothal is announced and flees, throwing herself into charitable work and befriending a group of similarly-minded, independent women. Unrated. 2021.

LB           13512    HIDEAWAY          ROBERTS, NORA              

Nine-year-old child star Caitlyn Sullivan was abducted from her family’s estate during a game of hide-and-seek. She escapes, and is found by teenage neighbor Dillon Cooper. As an adult, Cate still lives with the trauma and betrayal of that event, even as she gets close to Dillon once again. Some strong language. Bestseller. 2020.

LB           13489    DEAR SANTA      MACOMBER, DEBBIE     

Feeling low after her boyfriend cheated on her, Lindy Carmichael heads home to Wenatchee, Washington, for Christmas. Her mother encourages her to write a grown-up letter to Santa, which ultimately brings her hope and joy, not to mention a chance at love with a handsome former classmate. 2021.

LB           13503    COMPLICATIONS: A NOVEL          STEEL, DANIELLE              

After four years of renovations and the death of its beloved manager, Paris’s Hotel Louis XVI is set to reopen its doors. New manager Olivier and his assistant Yvonne strive to continue the hotel’s tradition of excellence, but the reopening will have some unexpected surprises. Some violence and some descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2021.         

LB           13500    FLYING ANGELS: A NOVEL             STEEL, DANIELLE              

Audrey Parker’s life changes forever when Pearl Harbor is attacked on December 7, 1941. Fresh out of nursing school with a passion and gift for helping others, Audrey and her friend Lizzie enlist in the Army and embark on a new adventure as flight nurses. Some violence and some strong language. 2021.          

LB           13508    FRIENDS LIKE THESE: A NOVEL       MCCREIGHT, KIMBERLY             

Ten years after their college graduation, a group of five friends gathers in the Catskills. They lost one member of the group years before and fear losing anyone else. But the longer they’re together, the more secrets are revealed. Shared love soon turns dangerous. Unrated. 2021.

ADULT NON-FICTION

LB           13492    AUTHORITARIAN MOMENT: HOW THE LEFT WEAPONIZED AMERICA’s INSTITUTIONS AGAINST DISSENT                SHAPIRO, BEN  

Author of How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps (DB 100573) argues that the rise in authoritarianism in the U. S. has come from the political left, not the political right. He considers examples from pop culture, social media, and history to demonstrate that the left’s authoritarian actors are threatening American ideology. Unrated. Bestseller. 2021.

LB           13623    DESPERATE: AN EPIC BATTLE FOR CLEAN WATER AND JUSTICE IN APPALACHIA     MAHER, KRIS

For two decades, the water in the taps and wells of Mingo County didn’t look, smell, or taste right. Could it be the root of the health problems–from kidney stones to cancer–in this Appalachian community? Environmental lawyer Kevin Thompson certainly thought so. For seven years, he waged an epic legal battle against Massey Energy, West Virginia’s most powerful coal company, helmed by CEO Don Blankenship. Working with fellow lawyers and a crew of young activists, Thompson would eventually uncover the ruthless shortcuts that put the community’s drinking water at risk. Unrated. 2021.

LB           13634    MADE IN CHINA: A MEMOIR OF LOVE AND LABOR             QU, ANNA          

As a teen, Anna Qu is sent by her mother to work in her family’s garment factory in Queens. At home, she is treated as a maid and suffers punishment for doing her homework at night. Her mother wants to teach her a lesson: she is Chinese, not American, and such is their tough path in their new country. But instead of acquiescing, Qu alerts the Office of Children and Family Services, an act with consequences that impact the rest of her life. Nearly twenty years later, estranged from her mother and working at a Manhattan start-up, Qu requests her OCFS report. Unrated. 2021.

LB           13639    BOOK OF HOPE: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR TRYING TIMES                  GOODALL, JANE

A renowned naturalist, in conversation with co-author Abrams, talks about the need for hope in dark times. She outlines her own four reasons she continues to have hope: the amazing human intellect, the resilience of nature, the power of young people, and the indomitable human spirit. Includes supplemental material. Unrated. Bestseller. 2021. Related names:  Abrams, Douglas Carlton, author. Hudson, Gail, author.

LB           13642    CUBA: AN AMERICAN HISTORY      FERRER, ADA 

In Cuba, the passing of Fidel Castro from this world and of Raúl Castro from power have raised urgent questions about the island’s political future. In the United States, Barack Obama’s opening to Cuba, the reversal of that policy during Donald Trump’s administration, and Joseph Biden’s apparent willingness to reinitiate open relations have made the nature of the historic relationship between the two nations a subject of debate once more. In both countries, the time is ripe for a new reckoning with Cuba’s history and its relationship to the United States. Unrated. 2021.   

LB           13643    GIRLS WHO STEPPED OUT OF LINE: UNTOLD STORIES OF THE WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE COURSE OF WORLD WAR II              EDER, MARI K.

The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line takes you inside the lives and experiences of 15 unknown women heroes from the Greatest Generation, the women who served, fought, struggled, and made things happen during WWII-in and out of uniform, for theirs is a legacy destined to embolden generations of women to come. Unrated. 2021.

LB           13645    THOSE WE THROW AWAY: A REFUGEE’S SEARCH FOR HOME                        DOGON, MONDIANT     

The author, a Bagogwe Tutsi born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, recounts his experiences after being forced to flee his home for Rwanda when he was a child. He details life in the UN tent cities, his time as a child soldier, and his struggle to forge a better life. Unrated. 2021. Related names: Krajeski, Jenna, author.

LB           13646    THREE GIRLS FROM BRONZEVILLE: A UNIQUELY AMERICAN MEMOIR OF RACE, FATE, AND SISTERHOOD                TURNER, DAWN               

A memoir of three Black girls who grew up in the historic Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, the destination of hundreds of thousands fleeing the Jim Crow South. The author explores the role of race, opportunity, friendship, sisterhood, and overwhelming societal forces in these girls’ lives. 2021.  

LB           13648    AMERICAN EXPERIMENT: DIALOGUES ON A DREAM          RUBENSTEIN, DAVID M.

The author of The American Story: Conversations with Master Historians (DB 97695) returns with another set of conversations with prominent figures on the ever-evolving American experiment. Topics include immigration, reconstruction, civil rights, innovation, and more. Unrated. Bestseller. 2021.

LB           13649    FACE THE MUSIC: A MEMOIR      DUCHIN, PETER

Peter Duchin is among the great American bandleaders. His six decades of performing have taken him to the world’s most exclusive dance floors and concert halls. He has played for presidents, kings, and queens, as well as for civil rights and cultural organizations. But in 2013, Duchin suffered a stroke that left him with limited use of his left hand, severely impacting his career. Days of recuperating from his stroke-and later from a critical case of COVID-19-inspired Duchin to consider his complicated past. Unrated. 2021.               

LB           13650    THIS WILL ALL BE OVER SOON: A MEMOIR            STRONG, CECILY, 1984- 

A memoir from the Saturday Night Live cast member Cecily Strong about grieving the death of her cousin-and embracing the life-affirming lessons he taught her-amid the coronavirus pandemic. Unrated. 2021.

LB           13656    FUZZ: WHEN NATURE BREAKS THE LAW                 ROACH, MARY  

Author of Grunt (DB 86098) analyzes the investigation and crafting of policy around human-wildlife interactions and conflicts. Roach highlights the work of animal-attack forensics investigators, human-elephant conflict specialists, bear managers, and “danger tree” faller blasters. She discusses the ways conservation efforts are influenced by human impact. Strong language and some violence. 2021. Variant title: When nature breaks the law.

LB           13658    BRIGHTER BY THE DAY: WAKING UP TO NEW HOPES AND DREAMS            ROBERTS, ROBIN, 1960-

Drawing on advice and knowledge she gleaned from conversations with loved ones, spiritual practices, and life experiences, Robin offers a window into how she feeds her own mind, spirit, and soul and invites readers to do the same. Unrated. 2022.

LB           13498    BOYS: A MEMOIR OF HOLLYWOOD AND FAMILY                 HOWARD, RON, 1954-   

In a joint memoir, brothers Ron and Clint Howard share their experiences coming of age in Hollywood. With two supportive actors for parents, the brothers both found early success on TV shows as children–Ron on The Andy Griffith Show and Clint on Gentle Ben. Strong language and some violence. Bestseller. 2021.        

LB           13499    BOURDAIN: THE DEFINITIVE ORAL BIOGRAPHY                    WOOLEVER, LAURIE       

Former assistant of chef and travel writer Anthony Bourdain (1956-2018) presents an examination of his life gathered through interviews with his closest friends and colleagues. Explores his life, including childhood experiences, his early career as a chef, and his later career as a writer and television personality. Unrated. 2021. Variant title: Definitive oral biography.

LB           13493    ALL IN: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY                      KING, BILLIE JEAN            

Autobiography from a tennis legend who won more than thirty-nine grand-slam titles in the 1960s and 1970s. She describes the myriad challenges she’s hurdled–entrenched sexism, an eating disorder, near financial peril after being outed–on her path to publicly acknowledging her sexual identity at the age of fifty-one. Includes supplemental material. Unrated. 2021. Related names:  Howard, Johnette, author. Vollers, Maryanne, author.

LB           13510    HOW TO MAKE AN APPLE PIE FROM SCRATCH: IN SEARCH OF THE RECIPE FOR OUR UNIVERSE, FROM THE ORIGINS OF ATOMS TO THE BIG BANG           CLIFF, HARRY (HARRY VICTOR)   

Particle physicist draws on his research with the Large Hadron Collider to explain the basic building blocks of the universe and the research into their origins. Topics include operations at the CERN facility that houses the LHC and neutrinos. Unrated. 2021.

LB           13513    HERE, RIGHT MATTERS: AN AMERICAN STORY                     VINDMAN, ALEXANDER S.           

Retired U. S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the former National Security Council staffer who testified against President Trump before Congress, presents an account of his childhood, family, and career, all leading to this moment of truth before the nation. Presents how this decision affected his life and reinforced his commitment to integrity. Unrated. 2021.              

LB           13506    E.R. NURSES: TRUE STORIES FROM AMERICA’s GREATEST UNSUNG HEROES           PATTERSON, JAMES, 1947-    

Collection of profiles of nurses specializing in emergency medicine. Stories are divided into the day, night, and flight shifts. Nurses share stories of moments that are humorous, saddening, and empathetic. Unrated. Bestseller. 2021. Variant title: ER nurses. Emergency room nurses. True stories from America’s greatest unsung heroes. Related names:  Eversmann, Matt, author.

JUVENILE FICTION

LB           13626    FRONT DESK       YANG, KELLY      

Recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money, Mia Tang’s parents take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California. Even though the owner, Mr. Yao, is mean and exploits their family, Mia plans on following her dreams. For grades 4-7. 2018.

LB           13628    DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE DEEP END                  KINNEY, JEFF     

In the family’s cross-country camping trip, Greg Heffley and his family find themselves stranded at a sad RV park. When the rain starts to fall, the Heffleys wonder if they can save their vacation. For grades 3-6 and older readers. 2020. Variant title: Deep end.

LB           13534    DRAGONET PROPHECY: WINGS OF FIRE     SUTHERLAND, TUI, 1978-          

Determined to end a generations-long war among the seven dragon tribes, a secret movement called the Talons of Peace draws on a prophecy that calls for a great sacrifice, compelling five appointed dragonets to fulfill a painful destiny against their will. For grades 4-7. 2012.

YOUNG ADULT FICTION

LB           13627    SCYTHE                 SHUSTERMAN, NEAL     

In a future world where natural death has been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed or gleaned by professional reapers known as scythes. Teens Citra and Rowan are chosen for a scythe apprenticeship–a position neither of them wants. For senior high and older readers. 2016.  Texas Lone Star Reading List 2018.           

Emergency Preparedness Webinar

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The Texas Governor’s Committee for People with Disabilities (GCPD) will be presenting a free webinar about emergency preparedness on Wednesday, April 27, from 10 – 11:30 a.m. (CST)

The webinar will cover emergency solutions for powering durable medical equipment and assistive technology during a variety of weather and environmental hazards.

To register, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wLAp3TpxRsGupfnwrzIUkQ

Winter Storm 2021 Research Opportunity

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If you are a person with a disability or health condition who lives in Texas and experienced power, heat, and/or water outages during the winter storm of February 2021, a researcher at the University of Texas El Paso would like to interview you. Interviews are being conducted remotely by phone or Zoom. Caregivers and professionals who assist people with disabilities are also welcome to participate. Contact Angela Frederick at ahfrederick2@utep.edu for more information and to set up an interview.

Survey for Siblings of People with Disabilities

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Texas AgriLife Extension is partnering with the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities to identify needed future planning supports for siblings of people with disabilities. A survey has been created to help identify these needs.

If you are over 18, have at least one sibling with a disability, and you both live in Texas, you are encouraged to complete this survey. This will take about thirty minutes of your time, and your identity will be kept confidential. The survey will be available until February 28th.

Click on this link to access the survey:

https://agrilife.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3atvNJcA42e7a2a

You may also contact Dr. Shelby Vaughn at shelby.vaughn@ag.tamu.edu if you have any questions.

Books About Books

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As a book lover, there is something special about reading books that convey an even deeper love of books. Here you will find a collection of books about books, libraries, and book shops. Fun fact: we have every title I had in mind for this list, further proving our love of books here at TBP!

Please call us if you’d like any of these titles added to your request list or made into a special cartridge.

FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury

DB 34963

Social satire set in the future, when owning or reading books is a crime. Guy Montag, the fireman-hero, becomes a fugitive when he succumbs to temptation. Some strong language.

EYRE AFFAIR by Jasper Fforde

DB 54764

In an alternate 1985 England, literature is a mass obsession, time travel is commonplace, and literary characters can be killed. When Jane Eyre is kidnapped, literary detective Thursday Next vows to rescue her. But Thursday may find herself trapped forever inside the pages of the classic novel from which Jane has been abducted. 2001.

READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN by Azar Nafisi

DB 56459

Former professor of English literature in Iran relates her experiences, after resigning her university post in 1995, in continuing to teach seven female students who met secretly at her home each week to discuss literary classics. Nafisi describes how the women, reacting to the Islamic republic’s intolerance, resisted oppression and embraced free thought. 2003.

DIARY OF A BOOKSELLER by Shaun Bythell

DBC16580

A funny and fascinating memoir of a year in the life at the helm of The Bookshop, in the small village of Wigtown, Scotland and of the delightfully odd locals, unusual staff, eccentric customers, and surreal buying trips that make up his life there as he struggles to build his business . . . and be polite. Unrated.

THE LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean

DB 92869

The author re-opens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in US history. On April 29, 1986, fire broke out at the Los Angeles Public Library and destroyed or damaged more than a million books. Examines the evolution of public libraries while celebrating their value in society. Commercial audiobook. 2018.

THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK by Kim Michele Richardson

DB 95243

Kentucky, 1936. Nineteen-year-old Cussy Mary Carter has been working as part of the Pack Horse Library Project, but her father hopes she’ll marry–despite the family trait of blue skin. In addition to her father’s hopes, Cussy must also face the prejudice of the community she serves. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2019.

WHEN BOOKS WENT TO WAR Molly Guptill Manning

DB 80928

Attorney describes the Victory Book Campaign during World War II, which provided American soldiers with selected literature of note in the face of Nazi censorship and destruction of books. Discusses the impact the program had on the titles chosen and on the publishing industry. 2014

MR. PENUMBRA’S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE by Robin Sloan

DB 75599

While hunting for a new job, Web designer Clay Jannon wanders across Mr. Penumbra’s Twenty-Four-Hour Bookstore, which sits next to a strip joint. Hired for the night shift, Clay is soon drawn into a world of mystery, intrigue, and kooky customers. 2012.

STORIED LIFE OF AJ FIKRY by Gabrielle Zevin

DB 78978

When his most prized possession, a rare volume of poetry by Edgar Allan Poe, is stolen, bookstore owner A.J. Fikry begins isolating himself from his friends, family, and associates. Then he receives a mysterious package that compels him to remake his life. Strong language. Bestseller. 2014.

GOODNIGHT JUNE by Sarah Jio

DB 79544

2005. June Andersen discovers she has inherited her great-aunt Ruby’s bookstore in Seattle. As June settles the estate, she unearths letters between Ruby and children’s author Margaret Wise Brown. Reading the correspondence, June realizes how she needs to change her own life. Some strong language. 2014.

MAN WHO LOVED BOOKS TOO MUCH by Allison Hoover Bartlett

DB 72385

Journalist investigates famed rare-book thief John Gilkey to uncover his motivation for stealing exquisite literature. Retraces the cat-and-mouse game Gilkey played with Ken Sanders, security chair of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, in the late 1990s and early 2000s. 2009.

GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Shaffer

DB 67526

London, 1946. Writer Juliet Ashton corresponds with Dawsey Adams and other members of a literary society created as a front during the Nazi occupation of the British channel island Guernsey. Through letters, Juliet learns about their wartime experiences. Intrigued, Juliet sails to Guernsey, where she finds new inspiration. Bestseller. 2008.

LIBRARY AT MOUNT CHAR by Scott Hawkins

DB 82679

Carolyn and a few others were brought as children to an unusual library that exists outside of time. There, they acquired various special abilities. When the god-like figure they call Father disappears from the library, Carolyn and her siblings search for him. Violence and some strong language. 2015.

LAST BOOKANEER by Matthew Pearl

          DB 81454

In 1890, the implementation of an international copyright law is looming, and competing bookaneers Pen Davenport and his nemesis, Belial, travel to Samoa to steal the final manuscript by Robert Louis Stevenson. On arriving, however, they find the environment to be more dangerous than they expected. Violence and some strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2015.

INVISIBLE LIBRARY (1st in Series) by Genevive Cogman

DB 86252

Irene works as an agent for the Invisible Library, tracking down rare manuscripts from alternate realities. She and her assistant travel to a version of Victorian London only to find that the book they seek has already been stolen. Some violence. 2016.

LITTLE PARIS BOOKSHOP by Nina George

DB 81928

Parisian bookseller Jean Perdu prescribes particular books to cure emotional ills, but he himself is haunted by his lost love, Manon. New neighbor Catherine convinces him to read a letter Manon left behind twenty years ago, setting him on a journey to make peace with his past. Some strong language and explicit descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. 2015.

SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

DB 58940

Barcelona, 1945. Young Daniel Sempere selects Julián Carax’s The Shadow of the Wind when his father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Daniel loves the novel, investigates the author’s life and death, and meets a cast of characters hiding deadly secrets. Some descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2001.

INK AND BONE (THE GREAT LIBRARY SERIES) by Rachel Caine

DB 85432

In a world where the personal ownership of a physical book is illegal, the Great Library controls content by using alchemy to deliver books via tablets. Black market smuggler Jess Brightwell is sent to the Great Library as a trainee and as a spy. Violence. For senior high and older readers. 2015.

END OF YOUR LIFE BOOK CLUB by Will Schwalbe

DB 75762

Journalist and publishing professional chronicles the conversations he had with his mother as he accompanied her on treatments for advanced pancreatic cancer. Discusses books such as Crossing to Safety (DB 49441), The Hobbit (DB 48978), The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (DB 67759), and others. Bestseller. 2012.

THIRTEENTH TALE by Diane Setterfield

DB 63418

Cambridge antiquarian bookseller Margaret Lea is hired by legendary author Vida Winter to pen her life story before she dies. At Vida’s decrepit estate out on the Yorkshire moors, Margaret listens to a family history of ghosts, incest, abandoned babies, and other secrets, but wonders, is it true? Bestseller. 2006.

AN UNNECESSARY WOMAN by Rabih Alameddine

          DB 78325

Beirut. Seventy-two-year-old Aaliya spends her days translating books from English and French into Arabic for her private amusement. Divorced, childless, and godless in the eyes of society, she is shunned. She reflects on the literature that has touched her life and helped her survive the Lebanese Civil War. 2013.

BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak

DB 62431

Death narrates the tale of nine-year-old Liesel from 1939 to 1943 in Nazi Germany. Liesel copes with a foster family, air raids, her friend Rudy, and a hidden Jew, sustained by the books she steals. Some strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2006.

LAST BOOKSHOP IN LONDON by Madeline Martin

          DB 103176

In August 1939, London prepares for war. Grace Bennett has always dreamed of moving to the city, and finds a job working at Primrose Hill, a dusty book shop in the heart of London. As Grace rediscovers her love of reading, the store unites a community suffering under the Blitz. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020

LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE by Fiona Davis

DB 99608

1913. Laura Lyons has made a home for her family within the august walls of the New York Public Library thanks to her husband’s job. But her world is opened when she’s accepted to journalism school. Eighty years later, her granddaughter Sadie reckons with choices made. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020.

MY LIFE WITH BOB by Pamela Paul

DB 88868

Since high school, the editor of the New York Times Book Review has kept a journal of every book she reads. She calls the journal Bob, her “Book of Books.” The author muses on the books that she read at pivotal moments in her life. 2017.

PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks

DB 66059

Australian book conservator Hanna Heath analyzes a Hebrew manuscript created in medieval Spain and saved from destruction in 1990s Sarajevo. Hanna’s discoveries–an insect wing, salt crystals, and wine and blood stains–reveal the codex’s past and the lives of its guardians. Some descriptions of sex and some violence. Bestseller. 2008.

2021 National Book Awards

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A little about the National Book Awards taken from their website: https://www.nationalbook.org/national-book-awards/how-works/

“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 honors the best fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people’s literature published each year.

A panel of judges selects a longlist of ten titles per category, which is then narrowed to five Finalists, and a Winner is announced at the Awards Ceremony in the fall. Each Finalist receives a prize of $1,000, a medal, and a judge’s citation. Winners receive $10,000 and a bronze sculpture. The Awards Ceremony is one of the most anticipated events for writers, publishers, and readers eager to celebrate the best books of the year.”

Below you will find lists of the five finalists in each category. If we have the audio book in our catalog, the book numbers are listed. If we do not have it, you’ll find a note that the book is commercially available in either audio or print format. If you want to read any of these contact us and we will get you what we have, or you can find them on BARD.

WINNERS ANNOUNCED NOVEMBER 17TH, 2021

The 72nd National Book Awards Ceremony will be broadcast live on November 17, 2021, at 7:00pm ET/ 6:00pm CENTRAL

Link to sign up to watch the ceremony online: https://www.nationalbook.org/awards2021/

Fiction Finalists:

MATRIX by Lauren Groff (DB 104843)

Cast out of the royal court by Eleanor of Aquitaine and deemed too coarse for marriage or courtly life, seventeen-year-old Marie de France is sent to England in 1158 to an impoverished abbey. She grows to love her new life and, as abbess, transforms the community. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

ZORRIE by Laird Hunt (DB 102689)

As a girl, Zorrie Underwood’s hardscrabble home county was the only constant in her young life. After losing both her parents, Zorrie moved in with her aunt, whose own death orphaned Zorrie all over again, casting her off into the perilous realities of rural, Depression-era Indiana. Some strong language. 2021.

THE PROPHETS by Robert Jones, Jr. (DB 101843)

Isaiah and Samuel are two enslaved men on a plantation. They work in the barn, caring for the animals. They find comfort and more in each other’s arms. When another enslaved man begins preaching the master’s gospel, tensions build as they try to just love each other. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

HELL OF A BOOK by Jason Mott (DB 104515)

A Black author sets out on a cross-country publicity tour to promote his bestselling novel. His story is intertwined with Soot, a young Black boy living in a rural town in the recent past, and The Kid, a possibly imaginary child who appears to the author on his tour. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

CLOUD CUCKOO LAND by Anthony Doerr (commercially available AUDIO through booksellers or local libraries)

Set in Constantinople in the fifteenth century, in a small town in present-day Idaho, and on an interstellar ship decades from now, Anthony Doerr’s gorgeous third novel is a triumph of imagination and compassion, a soaring story about children on the cusp of adulthood in worlds in peril, who find resilience, hope—and a book. In Cloud Cuckoo Land, Doerr has created a magnificent tapestry of times and places that reflects our vast interconnectedness—with other species, with each other, with those who lived before us, and with those who will be here after we’re gone.

Non-Fiction Finalists:

A LITTLE DEVIL IN AMERICA: NOTES IN PRAISE OF BLACK PERFORMANCE by Hanif Abdurraqib (DB 103276)

The author of Go Ahead in the Rain (DB98408) presents a collection of essays connected by the topic of black performance in America. Combining personal stories with history, he explores how African Americans have

contributed to American culture while facing racism and stereotyping. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

RUNNING OUT: IN SEARCH OF WATER IN THE HIGH PLAINS by Lucas Bessire (commercially available AUDIO through booksellers or local libraries)

The Ogallala aquifer has nourished life on the American Great Plains for millennia. But less than a century of unsustainable irrigation farming has taxed much of the aquifer beyond repair. The imminent depletion of the Ogallala and other aquifers around the world is a defining planetary crisis of our times. Running Out offers a uniquely personal account of aquifer depletion and the deeper layers through which it gains meaning and force.

TASTES LIKE WAR: A MEMOIR by Grace M. Cho (commercially available AUDIO through booksellers or local libraries)

Grace M. Cho grew up as the daughter of a white American merchant marine and the Korean bar hostess he met abroad. They were one of few immigrants in a xenophobic small town during the Cold War, where identity was politicized by everyday details—language, cultural references, memories, and food. When Grace was fifteen, her dynamic mother experienced the onset of schizophrenia, a condition that would continue and evolve for the rest of her life. Part food memoir, part sociological investigation, Tastes Like War is a hybrid text about a daughter’s search through intimate and global history for the roots of her mother’s schizophrenia.

COVERED WITH NIGHT: A STORY OF MURDER AND INDIGENOUS JUSTICE IN EARLY AMERICA by Nicole Eustace (commercially available AUDIO through booksellers or local libraries)

On the eve of a major treaty conference between Iroquois leaders and European colonists in the distant summer of 1722, two White fur traders attacked an Indigenous hunter and left him for dead near Conestoga, Pennsylvania. Though virtually forgotten today, this act of brutality set into motion a remarkable series of criminal investigations and cross-cultural negotiations that challenged the definition of justice in early America

ALL THAT SHE CARRIED: THE JOURNEY OF ASHLEY’S SACK, A BLACK FAMILY KEEPSAKE by Tiya Miles (commercially available AUDIO through booksellers or local libraries)

A renowned historian traces the life of a single object handed down through three generations of Black women to craft an extraordinary testament to people who are left out of the archives.

Translated Literature Finalists:

THE TWILIGHT ZONE by Nona Fernández and Natasha Wimmer (DB 103591)

A preoccupied man arrives at an opposition magazine office, introducing himself as a member of the dictator’s secret police force who is ready to talk. A journalist grabs a tape recorder and must confront her own past as she listens to his disturbing revelations. Translated from the 2016 Spanish edition. Violence and strong language. 2021.

WINTER IN SOKCHO by Elisa Shua Dusapin and Aneesa Abbas Higgins (commercially available PRINT through booksellers or local libraries)

It’s winter in Sokcho, a tourist town on the border between South and North Korea. The cold slows everything down. Bodies are red and raw, the fish turn venomous, beyond the beach guns point out from the North’s watchtowers. A young French Korean woman works as a receptionist in a tired guesthouse. One evening, an unexpected guest arrives: a French cartoonist determined to find inspiration in this desolate landscape.

PEACH BLOSSOM PARADISE by Ge Fei and Canaan Morse (commercially available PRINT through booksellers or local libraries)

In 1898 reformist intellectuals in China persuaded the young emperor that it was time to transform his sclerotic empire into a prosperous modern state. The Hundred Days’ Reform that followed was a moment of unprecedented change and extraordinary hope—brought to an abrupt end by a bloody military coup. Dashed expectations would contribute to the revolutionary turn that Chinese history would soon take, leading in time to the deaths of millions.

WHEN WE CEASE TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD by Benjamín Labatut and Adrian Nathan West (commercially available AUDIO through booksellers or local libraries)

When We Cease to Understand the World is a book about the complicated links between scientific and mathematical discovery, madness, and destruction. Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger – these are some of the luminaries into whose troubled lives Benjamín Labatut thrusts the listener, showing us how they grappled with

the most profound questions of existence. They have strokes of unparalleled genius, alienate friends and lovers, descend into isolation and insanity. Some of their discoveries reshape human life for the better; others pave the way to chaos and unimaginable suffering. The lines are never clear. At a breakneck pace and with a wealth of disturbing detail, Labatut uses the imaginative resources of fiction to tell the stories of the scientists and mathematicians who expanded our notions of the possible

PLANET OF CLAY by Samar Yazbek and Leri Price (commercially available PRINT through booksellers or local libraries)

Rima, a young girl from Damascus, longs to walk, to be free to follow the will of her feet, but instead is perpetually constrained. Rima finds refuge in a fantasy world full of colored crayons, secret planets, and The Little Prince, reciting passages of the Qur’an like a mantra as everything and everyone around her is blown to bits. Since Rima hardly ever speaks, people think she’s crazy, but she is no fool―the madness is in the battered city around her. One day while taking a bus through Damascus, a soldier opens fire, and her mother is killed. Rima, wounded, is taken to a military hospital before her brother leads her to the besieged area of Ghouta―where, between bombings, she writes her story.

Young People’s Literature Finalists:

LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB by Malinda Lo (DB 104015)

1954. McCarthyism and the Red Scare are genuine threats to Lily’s family; her father is already at risk of deportation despite his valid citizenship. Lily, who is Chinese American, could lose everything just for dating anyone white–let alone another girl–but she could lose herself if she isn’t true to her feelings. Includes supplemental material. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. For senior high and older readers. 2021.

THE LEGEND OF AUNTIE PO by Shing Yin Khor (commercially available PRINT through booksellers or local libraries)

Aware of the racial tumult in the years after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Mei tries to remain blissfully focused on her job, her close friendship with the camp foreman’s daughter, and telling stories about Paul Bunyan–reinvented as Po Pan Yin (Auntie Po), an elderly Chinese matriarch.

TOO BRIGHT TO SEE by Kyle Lukoff (commercially available AUDIO through booksellers or local libraries)

It’s the summer before middle school and eleven-year-old Bug’s best friend Moira has decided the two of them need to use the next few months to prepare. For Moira, this means figuring out the right clothes to wear, learning how to put on makeup, and deciding which boys are cuter in their yearbook photos than in real life. But none of this is all that appealing to Bug, who doesn’t particularly want to spend more time trying to understand how to be a girl. Besides, there’s something more important to worry about: A ghost is haunting Bug’s eerie old house in rural Vermont…and maybe haunting Bug in particular. As Bug begins to untangle the mystery of who this ghost is and what they’re trying to say, an altogether different truth comes to light–Bug is transgender.

REVOLUTION IN OUR TIME: THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY’S PROMISE TO THE PEOPLE by Kekla Magoon (commercially available AUDIO through booksellers or local libraries)

In this comprehensive, inspiring, and all-too-relevant history of the Black Panther Party, Kekla Magoon introduces readers to the Panthers’ community activism, grounded in the concept of self-defense, which taught Black Americans how to protect and support themselves in a country that treated them like second-class citizens. For too long the Panthers’ story has been a footnote to the civil rights movement rather than what it was: a revolutionary socialist movement that drew thousands of members—mostly women—and became the target of one of the most sustained repression efforts ever made by the U.S. government against its own citizens.

ME (MOTH) by Amber McBride (commercially available AUDIO through booksellers or local libraries)

Moth has lost her family in an accident. Though she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted. Until she meets Sani, a boy who is also searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he’ll be able to understand his ongoing depression. And if Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she, too, will discover the history she carries in her bones.

Poetry is also a category for the awards, but unfortunately do not have any of the titles in our collection. You can explore that, and the full long lists here: https://www.nationalbook.org/awards-prizes/national-book-awards-2021/?cat=fiction

Talking Book Program 2020 Poetry Contest Winners

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2020 Texas Talking Book Program Poetry Contest Winners Announced!

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Talking Book Program Poetry Contest. Thank you to all that participated this year! We received a wide range of poems – some were inspiring, some were sentimental, and some were downright funny.

First Place

ONE HALLOWEEN NIGHT by Bennie Davis

Have you ever been in the woods on Halloween?
I have, and it’s the spookiest place I’ve ever seen!
There were witches and goblins behind every tree,
And I saw shiny eyes staring out at me.
The wind was blowing and all over the ground,
There was shadows and lights and ghosts dancing around.
And I heard a hoot owl away off somewhere hollering –who, who—
Who goes there?
Now, I wasn’t scared and that’s a fact,
But I thought Mom might be worried, so I hurried back.
I heard the frogs croak, and the crickets sing,
Or was that a witch or a goblin scream?
The limbs on the trees waved and reached for me,
But I didn’t look back, there was nothing to see!
Now I see something up by my house,
With lots of teeth and a great big mouth, with a triangle shaped nose and glaring eyes.
Oh! That’s the jack-o-lantern I made after Mom made her pies.
Now this is all good and I was really having fun,
But it was getting late and I thought I’d better run.
I ran through the door and up to my room,
And I locked out the shadows, the ghost and gloom.
I took off my clothes and jumped into bed.
I snuggled down close and I shook my head,
And all the witches and goblins were gone,
But heck, I wasn’t scared. I was just puttin’ on!

Second Place

LIFE CHANGES by Donna Wilson

My eyes are dim. I cannot see.
My specs are little use to me.

An accident from afar; suddenly a speeding car,
Left my body painfully bleeding and ajar!
My wheelchair became my best friend,
I thought my life was at an end.

My days were long and empty then,
My unread books stared at me from dusty bins.

Then the mail came with a new surprise,
The TALKING BOOK CLUB catalog arrived!
I anxiously scanned its pages,
Filled with adventure and mystery for all ages!

I quickly placed my audio tape,
Into the space I found agape

Now my days fly by with ease,
As I explore deep seas and mysteries.
I would be quite lost and bored,
Without my TALKING BOOK RECORD!


Honorable Mention

A TALKING BOOK READER’S HAIKU by Neva Fairchild

With limitless use
Of stories from my bookshelf,
I experience!

NLS Wants Your Input for Technology Products and Initiatives!

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The NLS Reading Technology Advisory Group (RTAG) needs new members! RTAG meets twice a year to provide feedback on new NLS products and initiatives. Currently, RTAG is focused on updates to BARD, the Braille eReader project, and a “smart speaker” voice-controlled device. Each of these initiatives will have its own working group within RTAG. Meetings—to be attended online—will resume in fall 2020. Although RTAG members can be network library staff, hardware repair volunteers, and other subject matter experts, NLS patrons are especially encouraged to apply to join RTAG. For questions, please contact your local network library or email questions directly to NLS-RTAG@loc.gov. Applications—a statement of your background and qualifications (no more than two pages)—should be submitted to NLS-RTAG@loc.gov by Wednesday, September 30.

Employment Study

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A research team comprising of blind and sighted scholars at the Envision Research Institute is investigating the experiences of blind and visually impaired individuals at different stages of the employment cycle as these relate to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The goal is to understand the hiring and retention policies that are effective for including blind and visually impaired people in the workforce.

Volunteers selected as study participants will be instructed to complete a questionnaire. The complete study might take about 45 minutes. A follow-up interview may be necessary to clarify some responses on the questionnaire. Upon completion of the study, the participant will receive a $25 gift card as a token of appreciation.

If you are interested in participating, or have a question about the study, please contact Marco Tarantino at marco.tarantino@envisionus.com; or call 316-440-1524). Please reference project title: “Experiences of Blind and Low Vision Individuals at Different Stages of the Employment Cycle as These Relate to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Regulations Implemented in 2014” in the subject line of the email

After a year of suspense, the Swedish Academy announces Olga Tokarczuk is the 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature

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Olga Tokarczuk, the 57-year-old Polish writer had already received the 2017 Man Booker International prize for her collection of short stories Flights, and in a surprise announcement, on October 10th, 2019, The Swedish Academy reported it was awarding her with the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature. The 2018 Nobel Prize announcement was postponed by a year due to jury-related scandals, and now they have ended the delay by selecting an awardee that was unexpected to some and pleasing to others. Olga Tokarczuk is a feminist, wears dreadlocks, and is an engaged political activist “who does not shy away from criticizing Poland’s right-wing government” says the BBC in their profile of the author. We have two of Olga’s books available for download on BARD:

FLIGHTS by Olga Tokarczuk          DB 92242

An award-winning collection of short stories. A Dutch anatomist dissects himself. A woman returns home in order to poison her dying high school sweetheart. A man goes mad after his family disappears and reappears. Translated from the 2017 Polish edition. Some strong language, some descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. Man Booker Prize. Bestseller. 2017.

DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD by Olga Tokarczuk    DB 96156

Living in a remote Polish village, Janina has developed a reputation as a crank and recluse. When a neighbor turns up dead and other bodies are discovered in strange circumstances, Janina inserts herself into the investigation. Translated from the 2009 Polish edition. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2018. Translated to English by Antonia Lloyd-Jones