Summer Vacations Bibliography

Vacation, all we ever wanted. Vacation, time to get away. But sometimes we can’t get away for a vacation. Yet you can always escape by reading. Here is a list of books where the characters go on vacation. They span all genres: romance, horror, historical fiction, fantasy.

Fantasy

DEATH’S EXCELLENT VACATION edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner (DB 71580)
SHARKS IN THE TIME OF SAVIORS by Kawai Strong Washburn (DB 9895)

Historical Fiction

FRENCH BRAID by Anne Tyler (DB 107336)
FRENCH FOR MURDER by Verity Bright (DB 111302)
LIONESS by Chris Bohjalian (DB 107943)

Horror Fiction

CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Paul Tremblay (DB 92126)
GETAWAY by Lamar Giles (DB 111267)
NEVERLAND by Douglas Clegg (DB 72089)
THIRTEEN DAYS BY SUNSET BEACH by Ramsey Campbell (DB 94701)

Romance

HOW TO KEEP A SECRET by Sarah Morgan (DB 93429)
MUCH ADO ABOUT YOU by Samantha Young (DB 102516)
PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION by Emily Henry (DB 103191)
UNHONEYMOONERS by Christina Lauren (DB 95304)

Thrillers

GIRL OVERBOARD by Sandra Block (DB 108649)
HOUSE ON FRIPP ISLAND by Rebecca Kauffman (DB 105164)
ISLAND by Adrian McKinty (DB 108002)
RECKLESS GIRLS by Rachel Hawkins (DB 106455)
TAKE ME HIGHER by Pamela Clare (DB 109192)
VACATION by T. M. Logan (DB 100556)

Science Fiction

TROUBLE ON PARADISE by Doug Tisdale, Jr. (DB 105971)

Women’s Fiction

ENCHANTED AUGUST by Brenda Bowen (DB 81867)
SUMMER RENTAL by Mary Kay Andrews (DB 74258)

TBP Book Club Title Announced for July 2023!

TBP Book Club Logo

Please join us on Tuesday, July 18 at 7 pm (Central Time) for our Book Club discussion of DIAL A FOR AUNTIES by Jessie Q. Sutanto (DB 103081).

We host our Book Club meetings via Zoom, however all you need to participate is a telephone! If you have a land line, we will provide a telephone number for you to dial. If you have a smart phone we will email you 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. This information will be sent to all patrons who RSVP a week prior to the book club meeting.

To register, please call the Talking Book Program at 1-800-252-9605; or email us at tbp.ral@tsl.texas.gov.

DIAL A FOR AUNTIES is available by mail as a digital cartridge. It is also available to download on BARD.

We ask that everyone remember the following:

  • Be courteous and respectful of differing opinions.
  • Keep discussion points concise and relevant to the book.
  • Keep external distractions to a minimum.

DIAL A FOR AUNTIES by Jessie Q. Sutanto: When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her mother calls for her meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, the dead body is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to a wedding being planned by Meddy and her family. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

We look forward to having you join us on July 18!

Reimagining Pride and Prejudice

Do you love reading PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen (BR 01583, BR 11521, DB 50549, LB 00263, LB 05326)? Are you sad every time you finish re-reading it because it’s over? Others have felt the same way. Here below are nine re-imaginings of the classic regency era novel by modern authors in a variety of genres: from psychological suspense, to paranormal romance, to contemporary romance.

MR. DARCY’S DAUGHTERS by Elizabeth Aston (DB 81252)

The five daughters of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, from Pride and Prejudice (DB 50549), are left in London while their parents perform a diplomatic mission. Eldest Letty deals with the reappearance of her fiance, who was presumed dead; and Camilla discovers love for her cousin’s fiance. Commercial audiobook. 2003.

LONGBOURN by Jo Baker (BR 20385; DB 77776)

Regency England. In this re-imagined tale of the Bennet family, from Pride and Prejudice (DB 50549), the joys and crises of the servants take center stage. The world of orphaned housemaid Sarah changes when a new footman is hired. 2013.

SEDUCING MR. DARCY by Gwyn Cready (DB 71238)

Philippa, a.k.a. Flip, gets transported into Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice by a magical masseuse. Returning, Flip is horrified to learn that her dalliance with Mr. Darcy has changed the novel’s plot. She needs attractive Austen scholar Magnus to fix things. Strong language and explicit descriptions of sex. 2008.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES: THE CLASSIC REGENCY ROMANCE–NOW WITH ULTRAVIOLENT ZOMBIE MAYHEM! by Seth Grahame-Smith (DB 69090)

Elizabeth captures Mr. Darcy’s attention as she decapitates a throng of the undead during a country ball. Smitten with her warrior abilities, Mr. Darcy verbally spars with Elizabeth and fights his growing attraction and admiration for her as they attempt to eliminate the rotting corpses infesting England. Violence. Bestseller. 2009.

MR. DARCY, VAMPYRE by Amanda Grange (DB 70631)

Newlyweds Darcy and Elizabeth set off on their honeymoon, but Elizabeth doubts Darcy’s love for her when he fails to consummate the marriage. His nightly disappearances and other strange behaviors raise more questions in her mind. Commercial audiobook. 2009.

AYESHA AT LAST by Uzma Jalaluddin (DB 95458)

In this twenty-first-century Muslim retelling of “Pride and Prejudice,” Ayesha is lonely but does not want an arranged marriage. She meets Khalid, who is smart and handsome, but also conservative and judgmental. Ayesha is torn when Khalid becomes engaged to her flighty young cousin.

DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY by P. D. James (BR 19476; DB 74076, LB 07034)

Derbyshire, England; 1803. Fitzwilliam Darcy and his wife Elizabeth (nee Bennet), who have been married six years and have two sons, are relaxing on the night before their annual autumn ball. Elizabeth’s wayward sister Lydia arrives unexpectedly, declaring that her husband Wickham has been murdered on Darcy’s estate. Bestseller. 2011.

INDEPENDENCE OF MISS MARY BENNET by Colleen McCullough (DB 68680)

Colleen McCullough penned this sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Liberated from caretaking duties after her mother’s death, unmarried Bennet sister Mary decides to investigate England’s ills. While Mary finds unexpected danger and romance, Elizabeth, Darcy, and others face their own difficulties. Some descriptions of sex. 2008.

ELIGIBLE by Curtis Sittenfeld (DB 84222)

Contemporary retelling of Pride and Prejudice (DB 50549) that moves the action to Cincinnati. Sisters Liz and Jane return from New York to help with their ill father. Liz has been having an affair with married man John Wick, when she meets handsome neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2016.

Podcasts on BARD and the NLS Music Section

Many of our patrons ask us if we have music in our collection. Although we don’t have albums by individual musicians or bands in our collection, all Texans eligible for our service also have access to the NLS Music collection.

The NLS music collection, authorized by Congress in 1962, includes braille and large-print musical scores, recorded instructional materials, and recorded materials about music and musicians. We even have some podcasts! All materials are circulated postage free, and some digital audio and ebraille materials are available for download over the Internet.

You can listen to the following podcasts either by downloading them via BARD or by contacting the NLS Music Section. For more information on the NLS Music Section: https://www.loc.gov/nls/braille-audio-reading-materials/music-materials/.

The Folkways collection hosted by Cathy Ennis DBM 04111-DBM 04134

The opening program in the series paints a broad canvas, presenting outstanding musical samples that reflect the strength and diversity of the Folkways collection. Included is a sampling of original and archival interviews with the many personalities featured throughout the series, including Pete Seeger, Mickey Hart, and more. This program also introduces the key themes explored over the 24 programs, such as the role of music in social activism.

Journey through braille music. Episodes 1-6 presented by Sandra Gayer DBM 04274

Six episodes of the podcast series “Journey through Braille Music” hosted by Sandra Gayer. Episode 1 : History and background of braille music – Episode 2 : Music for single line instruments – Episode 3 : Vocal music – Episode 4 : Keyboard music – Episode 5 : Advanced topics – Episode 6 : Series summary and available resources.

Sounds to grow on by Michael Asch DBM 04064-DBM 04088

Program host Michael Asch is the only child of Moses and Frances Asch and was a professor of Anthropology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton until retirement. However, as he says in this first program, “The show is not about me. It is about my father, and more specifically about the record company my father founded and ran for 38 years.” This episode features music from Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly, as well as a sampling of sounds of everyday life and music from around the world. Total of 25 programs.

Tapestry of the times presented by Aaron Henkin DBM 04014-DBM 04049

A sampler of music from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings: Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, Mary Lou Williams, Elizabeth Cotten, blues from Warner Williams and Robert Jr. Lockwood, gospel music old and new, and international folk songs from Colombia, Cuba, Iran, and Puerto Rico. Total of 36 episodes.

Welcome to Nightvale by Joseph Fink DB 88270

A collection of episodes from the first season of the Welcome to Night Vale podcast. Based on Night Vale, a fictional town in the American Southwest where every conspiracy theory is true, and the strange but friendly people who live there. Collected by the authors of Welcome to Night Vale (DB 83488) and of the podcast itself. Also includes behind-the-scenes commentary. 2016.

17 New Texas Titles Now on BARD!

Start 2023 by resolving to read more Texas titles on BARD!

This assortment of Texas titles features notorious outlaws, a free thinking preacher, and Texas League baseball. A dash of mystery, train robbing, and Beatlemania guarantees a rousing start to your New Reading Year.

Read Up!

ABOVE US ONLY SKY by Michele Young-Stone
DBC 26717

Prudence Eleanor Vilkas was born with heart-shaped wings on her back. Although they were removed, the adult Prudence searches for a greater connection to her past. When she reunited with her long-estranged Lithuanian grandfather, they set off on a journey to discover a lineage of miraculous bird-women who traversed continents and fought wars to unearth their extraordinary place in the world. Commercial audiobook. Some violence. 2015.

BURROWS: A RED RIVER MYSTERY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 25008

Lyndon B. Johnson is President, Beatlemania is in overdrive and gasoline costs 30 cents a gallon when Ned Parker retires as constable in Center Springs, Texas. But his plan to live a quiet life as a cotton farmer is torpedoed. A phone call leads Ned to a body in the Red River and into the urgent investigation headed by his nephew, the newly elected constable Cody Parker. Together they work to head off a multi-state killing spree that sets northeast Texas on fire. As the weeks pass, Ned’s grandchildren, ten-year-old Top and his tomboy cousin Pepper, struggle with personal issues resulting from their traumatic experiences at the Rock Hole only months before. They now find themselves in the middle of a nightmare for which no one can prepare. Cody and Deputy John Washington, the law south of the tracks, follow a lead from their small community to the long abandoned Cotton Exchange warehouse in Chisum. Stunned, they find the Exchange packed full of the town’s cast off garbage and riddled with booby-trapped passageways and dark burrows. Despite Ned’s warnings, Cody enters the building and finds himself relying on his recent military experiences to save both himself and Big John. Unfortunately, the trail doesn’t end there and the killing spree continues. Commercial audiobook. Strong language and some violence. 2012.

COLD ANGER: A STORY OF FAITH AND POWER POLITICS by Mary Beth Rogers
DBC 26859

This is the story of Ernesto Cortes, a community organizer determined to change the structure of Texas. It is also about a new kind of intervention in politics by working poor people who incorporate their religious values into a struggle for power and visibility. Cortes and his groups have transformed the politics of San Antonio, ninth largest city in the country, and are part of a new American grass-roots politics for the 1990s.

DARK PLACES: A RED RIVER MYSTERY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 26734

At the tail end of 1967, the Parker family once again finds it impossible to hide from a world spinning out of control. Fourteen-year-old Top still can’t fit in with their Center Springs, Texas, community or forget recent, vicious crimes. His near-twin cousin Pepper, desperate to escape her own demons, rashly joins the Flower Children flocking to California—just as two businessmen are kidnapped and murdered in the Red River bottoms on the same night a deadly hit and run kills a farmer. Constable Ned Parker wonders if these crimes are connected, but he goes after Pepper, leaving the investigation in the hands of Sheriff Cody Parker. Parker hires Deputy Anna Sloan, an investigator with an eye toward detail as everyone is eyeing her. Yet it is instinct that propels her after killers through a world nearly forgotten. What of Pepper? Out on Route 66, the Mother Road to California, a man named Crow isn’t what he seems. Lies, deceptions, and a band of outlaw motorcyclists proves to the Parkers that no matter where you turn, no matter what you do, the world is full of such darkness that even grandmothers are capable of unspeakable deeds. Commercial audiobook. Strong language and some violence. 2015.

HANDS UP!: THE HISTORY OF A CRIME by Alfred Rasmus Sorenson
DBC 26852

This was the first account written about notorious outlaw Sam Bass and his gang, published in 1878, just months after the infamous train robbery at Big Springs, Nebraska. The story begins with the robbery of $60,000 in freshly minted gold pieces, covers the pursuit of the six gang members, and ends with the shooting of half the gang. Violence and strong language.

HAWKE’S PREY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 26810

It’s a stunning attack, lightning quick and chilling in its execution. A merciless gang of terrorists seizes the Presidio County Courthouse in the midst of the worst blizzard West Texas has seen in a century. Loaded down with enough firepower to outfit an army, the attackers slaughter dozens, take all survivors hostage, and assume complete control. The nation—and the US government—are at their mercy. Or so they think. They don’t know that a seasoned Texas Ranger is also inside the courthouse. Sonny Hawke has hauled in some of America’s most wanted. Now he’s up against his most dangerous adversary yet. Sonny likes his chances. The enemy is his to take down—one by one. Until he’s face-to-face with the ruthless mastermind gunning for our very freedom. Commercial audiobook. Unrated. 2017.

JUSTICE AT REDWILLOW by John D. Nesbitt
DBC 18619

Jim Fontaine wants to get a new start in life by settling on his own piece of land near the town of Redwillow. He isn’t there very long, though, when a saloon girl named Emma turns up dead and a friend of his, Charley Drake, gets thrown in jail for the murder. Nora Winterborne, who is new in town, confides to Fontaine that she is Emma’s sister, but has to keep quiet. After the disappearance of another woman and a trespasser on his homestead, Fontaine must follow a trail of twisted stories, old crimes, and new murders to help bring about justice in Redwillow. Some violence and some strong language.

PREDATOR’S WALTZ by Jay Brandon
DBC 26848

Suspenseful story of Vietnamese gangs in Houston and the innocent people who get caught in their crossfire. Also the story of one man’s metamorphosis from laid-back product of the sixties to fearless and clever warrior; his confrontations with the gangsters will have readers cheering at the climax. Strong language and violence.

ROCK HOLE: A RED RIVER MYSTERY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 25007

It’s a whole other country out there. In 1964, when Ned Parker, farmer and part-time constable, is summoned to a cornfield one hot morning to examine the remains of a tortured bird dog, he discovers that there is a dark presence in their quiet community of Center Springs, Texas. Ned is usually confident handling moonshiners, drunks, and instances of domestic dispute. But when it comes to animal atrocities—which then turn to murder—the investigation spins beyond his abilities. Ned combines forces with John Washington, a well-known black deputy sheriff from nearby Paris, Texas, to track down a disturbed individual who has become a threat to their small community. As the case takes a dizzying series of twists and brings forth eccentric characters as well as several dead ends, Ned’s cranky friend, Judge O. C. Rains, is forced to contact the FBI. Then, sinister warnings that his family has been targeted by the killer lead Ned to the startling discovery that he knows the murderer very well. After the failed abduction of his precocious grandchildren, Top and Pepper, the old lawman becomes judge and jury to end what has become a murder spree in the Red River bottomlands. And it signals the end of an era in Center Springs. In bald-headed, pot-bellied Ned Parker, Wortham has created an authentic American hero reminiscent of the best heroes and antiheroes in a story that blends country humor with heart-pounding suspense and ends with a stunning climax that may well shock our civilized sensibilities. Commercial audiobook. Violence and strong language. 2011.

PARSON HENRY RENFRO: FREE THINKING ON THE TEXAS FRONTIER by William Clark Griggs
DBC 26849

The period after Texas’ Revolution was turbulent as Texans contended with religious issues, family life on the frontier, and the Civil War. Migrating to Texas in 1851, Renfro enrolled in fledgling Baylor University and became a Baptist preacher. Later, inspired by the writings of such men as Thomas Paine and Spinoza, Renfro embraced the Free Thought Movement and was disenfranchised by the Church. This biography tells the reader much about the era’s social mores.

RIGHT SIDE OF WRONG: A RED RIVER MYSTERY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 26732

In 1965 Constable Cody Parker’s frightening dreams of gathering storm clouds for the tight-knit Parker family from Center Springs, Texas, proved accurate. Cody is ambushed and nearly killed on a lonely country road during an unusually heavy snowfall. With that attack, the locals fear that a disturbed murderer the Skinner has returned to their community. While his nephew recovers, Constable Ned Parker struggles to connect a seemingly unrelated series of murders. As the summer of 1966 approaches, rock and roll evolves to reflect the increasing unrest in the country, and the people of northeast Texas wonder why their once peaceful community has suddenly become a dangerous place to live. Ned’s preteen grandchildren, Top and Pepper, are underfoot at every turn. The two lawmen, along with the Deputy John Washington, cross paths with many colorful citizens, including cranky old Judge O. C. Rains, the jittery farmer Isaac Reader, and the Wilson boys, Ty Cobb and Jimmy Foxx. And then there’s the arrival in their small community of a mysterious old man named Tom Bell. Now recovered, Cody decides to follow his main suspect across the Rio Grande and into Mexico. Ned understands that to save his nephew, he will have to cross more than a river-he will have to cross over to the right side of wrong. Humor, suspense, horror, precognition, and life in the tumultuous 1960s all play a part in the solving of this mystery. Commercial audiobook. Violence and strong language. 2013.

TEXAS BAD BOY by Jean Brashear
DBC 18644

Everyone thinks Lacey DeMille is the next thing to royalty, a society girl with beauty, brains and money–but bad boy Devlin Marlowe knows better. Twenty years after being exiled in disgrace for daring to want her, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks has sweet revenge in his grasp…for only he knows that her whole life is built on a lie. And revenge may be more costly than either of them can imagine. Commercial audiobook. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. 2011.

TEXAS LEAGUE, 1888-1987: A CENTURY OF BASEBALL by Bill O’Neal
DBC 26844

A must for any baseball fan who wants to know who played where and when. Thirty-eight cities in eight states have held franchises in the Texas League. The author visited these ballparks, studied newspaper accounts and statistics from every season, and interviewed players, fans, and journalists.

TRAIN ROBBING BUNCH by Rick Miller
DBC 26853

A factual history of the life of outlaw Eugene Bunch based on primary research, including court and family records. Although Bunch is often mentioned as a shadowy outlaw figure, this is the first account of his life, allowing the reader a view of 19th century America for those who lived in violence. Violence.

UNRAVELED A RED RIVER MYSTERY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 26735

The small, rural Northeast Texas community of Center Springs has seen its share of troubles during the 1960s, everything from kidnapping, murder, and bank robbery. By 1968, the residents think life has finally quieted down, but they find their peaceful way of life is quickly spinning out of control as a decades-long family feud between the Clays and Mayfields once again flares to life. Fourteen-year-old Top Parker who lives with his grandparents Constable Ned Parker and Miss Becky in a little farmhouse near the Red River finds himself caught up in another adult situation sparked by a mysterious fatal single car accident involving the white mayor of Chisum and his black female assistant. Questions and accusations arise about their relationship as the families wreak vengeance on each other. But what is the significance of a man calling himself the Wraith, who moves through region at will, invading homes and watching the Parkers? What is Maggie Clay s secret? That she’s half white and married to a black man with a long criminal past? And was Mayor Frank Clay, the only bright spot in a dark and cruel family, really what everything thinks he is? It’s a busy time for Sheriff Cody Parker, who finds himself a possible suspect in the murder of several residents. He takes the advice from his Deputy John Washington and removes himself from the investigation, giving free reign to both John and Deputy Anna Sloan as they try and unravel the answers by following different paths. Commercial audiobook. Strong language and some violence. 2016.

VENGEANCE IS MINE: A RED RIVER MYSTERY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 26733

In October of 1967, the Summer of Love is history, rock and roll is dark and revolutionary, and people in the small east Texas community of Center Springs simply want to live their lives as quietly as possible. But a handsome darkness in the form of Las Vegas gangster Anthony Agrioli has left the business to hide out in their tiny backwater settlement with his blond bombshell girlfriend. Two years earlier, Agrioli met newlyweds Cody and Norma Faye Parker in a Vegas casino and heard their enthusiastic descriptions of the perfect place to settle down and raise a family. At least it was perfect, before their peaceful world found itself in the crosshairs of a coming confrontation. Back in Center Springs, thirteen-year-old Top Parker has what his grandmother, Miss Becky, calls a poisoned gift: his dreams, though random and disconnected, always seem to come true. This time Top dreams he’s a wagon hub with spokes converging from all directions. To him, the spokes symbolize that something is coming. He doesn’t know their quiet community will soon be a combat zone when the gangsters arrive. But they’re after something else, not Agrioli…yet. A sheriff crooked as a dog’s hind leg, an unsolved murder in the river bottoms, counterfeit money, and a bank robbery all wrapped in a country Shakespearean comedy once again bring together Constables Ned and Cody Parker, Deputy John Washington, Judge O. C. Rains, and the rest of Wortham’s real and sometimes wacky cast of characters. Commercial audiobook. Violence and strong language. 2014.

WALLS RISE UP by George Sessions Perry
DBC 24929

A hilarious novel combining dead-pan humor with shrewd observation as three Texas vagabonds Jimmy, Eddie and Mike, philosophical wayfarers, follow their destinies along the banks of the Brazos River.

The Many Faces of BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download)

The National Library Service’s (NLS) Patron Engagement Section will be offering a monthly program called “The Many Faces of BARD”. The program will take place the second Thursday each month at 6 p.m. (CDT). Each hour long session will begin with a brief presentation and cover one aspect of BARD use. The program will end with a question-and-answer portion.

Sessions are open to all patrons. Join by visiting https://loc.zoomgov.com/j/1611161911?pwd=bVh5ejFsWFBlL21KY0VqaHlRMUlSQT09 on a computer or by calling 1-669-245-5252. Full Zoom invitation information follows. To call into a session, participants must use the telephone numbers provided here for Zoom.gov.

Upon connecting, you will be placed in a virtual waiting room until the program begins. Upon enter the room, you will be on mute, and should remain on mute unless the host calls you to speak. At that time, you may unmute by using Alt-A from a computer or star 6 if dialing in by phone.

All Many Faces of BARD programs will be recorded. If you do not want to be on the recording, please refrain from speaking.

Join Zoom Meeting

One tap mobile:

US: +16692545252,,1611161911# or +16468287666,,1611161911#

Meeting URL:

https://loc.zoomgov.com/j/1611161911?pwd=bVh5ejFsWFBlL21KY0VqaHlRMUlSQT09

Meeting ID: 161 116 1911

Passcode:489758

Join by Telephone

For higher quality, dial a number based on your current location.

Dial: US: +1 669 254 5252 or +1 646 828 7666 or +1 669 216 1590 or +1 551 285 1373

Meeting ID: 161 116 1911

International numbers

Join from an H.323/SIP room system

H.323: 161.199.138.10 (US West)
161.199.136.10 (US East)

Meeting ID: 161 116 1911

Passcode: 489758

SIP: 1611161911@sip.zoomgov.com

Passcode: 489758

Skype for Business (Lync)

https://loc.zoomgov.com/skype/1611161911

BARD-Related Websites and Email Discussion Lists

Although our BARD support team is always happy to assist patrons with any BARD-related question or concern, TBP patrons who use the BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) service to download books and magazines may also find the following websites and email discussion lists useful.

BARD Support is an e-mail-based list to which all program participants have the option of subscribing. This is a closed, one-way list to which NLS will occasionally post information of interest to the BARD community.

To subscribe to the NLS BARD support list, open the subscription page at: https://updates.loc.gov/accounts/USLOC/subscriber/new?topic_id=USLOC_119&origin=http://www.loc.gov/rss/

Enter your e-mail address and select the Submit button. This will bring you to a confirmation page where you’ll be required to confirm your e-mail address and choose your delivery preferences. Finally, select the Submit button to subscribe to the list.

BARD Talk is an online resource and email community that provides BARD users a forum to discuss BARD. It has no official affiliation with NLS or TBP, but is owned and moderated by BARD users. To subscribe to the BARD Talk Yahoo Groups list or check out their FAQ or Quick Start Guide, go to: http://www.bardtalk.com/

DB Review is an email-based community that provides book reviews created by list members. Books reviewed are part of the digital talking book collection of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress. It has no official affiliation with NLS or TBP, but is owned and moderated by BARD users You can subscribe using the online form at this website: http://db-review.net/mailman/listinfo/db-review_db-review.net

More Texas Books Now Downloadable on BARD

We are excited to announce that more and more titles from the Texas Talking Book Program (as well as other network libraries around the country) are being uploaded to and made available on NLS’ Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) service. Registered BARD users across the United States can access these books.

In the coming days, weeks, and months we’ll be updating you on all the great new locally produced content produced by our tireless volunteers here in our Austin studio as well as our partners in Midland.

The title below is one of those produced by volunteers from the Recording Library of West Texas (located in Midland) which has proven to be very popular among our patrons.

 

Twelve Mighty Orphans by Jim Dent

Twelve Mighty Orphans by Jim Dent

DT 7025 – Twelve Mighty Orphans by Jim Dent.

Narrated by Jack Mangan. Monitored by Becky Smith.

(Subtitle reads: “The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football.”)

The Masonic Home, an orphanage outside Fort Worth, became a high-school football dynasty in Depression-era Texas.

Despite having virtually no equipment or uniforms, and despite their linemen often being outweighed by 50 pounds, the Mighty Mites, as they came to be known, reached the Texas state semifinals three times and the championship game once. Dent produces a riveting narrative from the saga of the Mites and their innovative coach, Rusty Russell, who compensated for his team’s physical shortcomings with imaginative formations and trick plays.

Violence and some profanity. 2007.

Download this talking book from BARD.

Want to read more about what’s going on in the TBP Volunteer Recording Studio? You can view the Studio’s newsletter here: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/tbp/vrs.html. Scroll down until you find this heading: *****VRS News!*****

Texas Books Now Downloadable on BARD

Some big news from the Texas Talking Book Program! One of our locally-recorded books is now available for download via BARD, and more will soon follow.

As of January 15, 2014, Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall, narrated by Staci Thompson and monitored by Kerry Pivonka, is available on NLS’ Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) service. Registered BARD users across the United States can access the book.

NLS Director Karen Keninger said, “The posting of your book to BARD marks an important milestone in our effort to increase the quantity of materials available on BARD. Congratulations.” According to Keninger, TBP is now certified to submit audiobooks that meet NLS requirements once open submission begins this spring.

NLS commented that the technical quality of the book is high.

“Sound quality is excellent. Brief audio samples from all sixty-seven chapters were examined and recording levels were found to be robust and consistent. Background noise is virtually non-existent. Edit points are unobtrusive with the narrative flow and audio continuity well maintained as corrected material is integrated.”

Narration also received praise.

“Narrator Staci Thompson does an excellent job with this book. She maintains steady projection energy and mic proximity, which helps to ensure consistent recording levels. Furthermore, she articulates clearly without sounding overly precise. All of this said, Thompson’s interpretive skills are the real asset here: She’s very well matched to this story and skillfully conveys the first-person “voices” of its two principal characters, who also happen to be the book’s co-authors. Character nuances and dialects are faithfully rendered with ease and authority at every turn, making for a compelling read…. Overall, this book’s narration is well above average in the world of locally produced books.”

Want to read more about what’s going on in the TBP Volunteer Recording Studio? You can view the Studio’s newsletter here: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/tbp/vrs.html. Scroll down until you find this heading: *****VRS News!*****