book talk for august 14 2024

Book Talk

Book Talk for August 13 2024

The bone collector
by Jeffery Deaver

Retired forensic scientist and criminologist Lincoln Rhyme is enlisted to track down a serial murderer who is stalking victims in New York City. Injured on the job and now a quadriplegic, Rhyme can move one finger--enabling him to use his computer. Assisted by policewoman Amelia Sachs, Rhyme races against time to find the killer. Includes a glossary of forensic terms. Violence and strong language. 1997.
DB47078

Water for the Flowers
by Val`erie Perrin

Violette is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in France whose husband disappeared. Julien, a police detective, arrives one day to scatter the ashes of his recently deceased mother on the gravesite of a stranger. Translated from the 2018 French edition. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. 2020.
DB100248

The wind in the willows
by Kenneth Graham

The adventures of Mole, Water Rat, Badger, bumptious Mr. Toad, and other animals who live along the river and in the woods. For grades 4-7.
DB24592

MRS. Pargeter's Plot
By Simon Brett

Mrs. Pargeter decides to build the country dream home her late husband had envisioned for their old age. After a body is discovered in the foundation, Mrs. Pargeter's builder, Concrete Jacket, is accused of murder. She and some of her late husband's pals investigate, hoping to clear Concrete's name so he can finish her house. Some violence.
DB46897 BRG00174

Johnny Cash: Redemption of an American Icon
by Greg Laurie

"At the peak of his career, Cash had done it all--living the ultimate rags-to-riches story of growing up on a cotton farm in the Deep South to becoming a Nashville and Hollywood sensation, singing alongside heroes like Elvis Presley and performing for several American presidents. But through all of this, Cash was troubled. By the time he released the iconic Man in Black album in 1971, the middle-aged icon was broken down, hollow-eyed, and wrung out. In his search for peace, Cash became embroiled in controversy. He was arrested five times in seven years. His drug- and alcohol-induced escapades led to car accidents and a forest fire that devastated 508 acres. His time was divided between Jesus and jail, gospel tunes and the "Cocaine Blues." But by the end of his life, Cash was speaking openly about his "unshakeable faith." What caused the superstar to turn from his conflicting passions to embrace a life in Christ? Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon dives deep into the singer's inner demons, triumphs, and gradual return to faith. Laurie interviews Cash's family, friends, and business associates to reveal how the singer's true success came through finding the only Person whose star was bigger than his own." -- Provided by publisher.
DB113719

Scattershot: life, music, Elton, and me
by Bernie Taupin

"This is the memoir music fans have been waiting for. Half of one of the greatest creative partnerships in popular music, Bernie Taupin is the man who wrote the lyrics for Elton John, who conceived the ideas that spawned countless hits, and sold millions and millions of records. Together, they were a duo, a unit, an immovable object. Their extraordinary, half-century-and-counting creative relationship has been chronicled in biopics (like 2019's Rocketman) and even John's own autobiography, Me. But Taupin, a famously private person, has kept his own account of their adventures close to his chest, until now. Written with honesty and candor, Scattershot allows the reader to witness events unfolding from Taupin's singular perspective, sometimes front and center, sometimes from the edge, yet always described vibrantly, with an infectious energy that only a vivid songwriter's prose could offer. From his childhood in the East Midlands of England whose imagination was sparked and forever informed by the distinctly American mythopoetics of country music and cowboy culture, to the glittering, star-studded fishbowl of '70s and '80s Beverly Hills, Scattershot is simultaneously a Tom Jones­-like picaresque journey across a landscape of unforgettable characters, as well as a striking, first-hand account of a creative era like no other and one man's experience at the core of it. An exciting, multi-decade whirlwind told in a non-linear yet grounded narrative, Scattershot whizzes around the world as we ride shotgun with Bernie on his extraordinary life. We visit Los Angeles with him and Elton on the cusp of global fame. We spend time with him in Australia almost in residency at an infamous rock 'n' roll hotel in an endless blizzard of drugs. And we spend late, late night hours with John Lennon, with Bob Marley, and hanging with Frank Sinatra. And beyond the world of popular music, we witness memorable encounters with writers like Graham Greene, painters like Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali, and scores of notable misfits, miscreants, eccentrics, and geniuses, known and unknown. Even if they're not famous in their own right, they are stars on the page, and we discover how they inspired the indelible lyrics to songs such as "Tiny Dancer," "Candle in the Wind," "Bennie and The Jets," and so many more. Unique and utterly compelling, Scattershot will transport the reader across the decades and around the globe, along the way meeting some of the greatest creative minds of the 20th century, and into the vivid imaginings of one of music's most legendary lyricists." -- Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
DB116779

But will you love me tomorrow?: an oral history of the '60s girl groups

"Featuring over 300 hours of new interviews with 100+ subjects, an oral history of the girl groups (such as The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas) that redefined the early 1960s. The girl group sound, made famous and unforgettable by acts like The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas, took over the airwaves by capturing the mixture of innocence and rebellion emblematic of America in the 1960s. As songs like "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," "Then He Kissed Me," and "Be My Baby" rose to the top of the charts, girl groups cornered the burgeoning post-war market of teenage rock and roll fans, indelibly shaping the trajectory of pop music in the process. While the songs are essential to the American canon, many of the artists remain all but anonymous to most listeners. With more than 100 subjects that made the music, from the singers to the songwriters, to their agents, managers, and sound engineers—and even to the present-day celebrities inspired by their lasting influence–But Will You Love Me Tomorrow: An Oral History of 60s Girl Groups tells a national coming-of-age story that gives particular insight into the experiences of the female singers and songwriters who created the movement." -- Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
DB117052

Point Deception
by Marcia Muller

Writer Guy Newberry arrives in northern California to research a thirteen-year-old mass murder mystery for a new book. Deputy Rhoda Swift can't forgive herself for not solving the crime many years ago. So the two collaborate to catch the serial killer after more women are murdered. Some violence and some strong language. 2001.
DB52890

Longshot
by Dick Francis

John Kendall, a fledgling author of survival manuals, struggles to exist in a frigid attic. When the pipes break, he agrees to write a biography of champion racehorse trainer Tremayne Vickers--in return for room and board and a small fee. His research into Vickers's life turns up the recent murders of two young women. When John gets close to solving the crimes, the murderer forces him to use his own survival advice. Strong language. Bestseller.
DB31971

A Painted House
by John Grisham

Arkansas, 1952. Seven-year-old Luke Chandler, who liv...