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Talking Books Talk

Talking Books Talk provides news and updates about the Kansas Talking Books Service (KTBS). Talking Books staff will highlight relevant announcements from KTBS and the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

Questions: KTB@ks.gov or 800-362-0699

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Jul 25

July Staff Picks

Posted on July 25, 2022 at 9:17 AM by Michael Lang

Get some new ideas for reading by finding out what the KTB staff has been reading.

Michael Lang, Director

Illustration of a snake with its mouth open, wrapped around an upside down white wooden cross.

DB 76817 A serpent’s tooth by Craig Johnson

Wyoming sheriff Longmire and his deputy Victoria Moretti try to help teenager Cord Lynear, who has come into town looking for his mother. Cord was thrown out of a Mormon polygamous compound run by his stepfather. Some violence and some strong language. 2013.

Illustration of two people standing next to large robotic machine in a barren field.

DB 95246 Waste tide by Qiufan Chen

Thousands toil at electronic waste recycling on Silicon Isle near China s southeastern coast, which is ruled by three clans. Luo Jincheng rules his clan with ruthlessness. Scott Brandle has come to the island to work on modernizing the island s recycling processes. Chen Kaizong travels with Scott as his interpreter. Violence and some strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2019.

Dylan Calhoon, Patron Services Manager

Illustration of a folding chair covered in red liquid on a black background.

DB 104247 The final girl support group by Grady Hendrix

For years Lynnette, a survivor of the Silent Night Slayings, meets with five other final girls and a therapist in a support group for those who lived through the unthinkable. Then one woman misses a meeting, and their worst fears come true. Strong language, violence, and some descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

Illustration of profiles of two heads looking at each other and an invisible energy field between.

DB 35690 Valis: VALIS trilogy, book 1 by Philip K. Dick

In the first of a trio of novels inspired by a "mystical experience" Dick had, the protagonist is a science fiction author named Philip. When his suicidal alter ego, Horselover Fat, encounters a higher being and the event is eerily duplicated in a science fiction film entitled Valis (Vast Active Living Intelligence System), Philip visits the film's creators to investigate. Strong language. 1981.

Tiffany Fay, Machine Clerk

Black silhouette of a woman with ornate gold headdress, hair jewelry, earrings, and nose ring.

DB 108004 Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

A reimagining of the life of the infamous queen from the Indian epic the Ramayana. Desperate for some measure of independence from her family, Kaikeyi turns to the texts she once read with her mother and discovers a magic that is hers alone. With this power, Kaikeyi transforms herself from an overlooked princess into a warrior. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2022.

Illustrated art deco inspired cover with a Mayan temple at bottom and head looking at stars at top.

DB 96115 Gods of jade and shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

In 1920s Mexico, Casiopea Tun is cleaning her wealthy grandfather's house when she finds a curious wooden box. She opens it, accidentally freeing the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2019.

Amanda Diggs, Production Manager

Line drawings of a black cat, skull, poison, spider, cross, moon, cauldron, hand, and vines.

DB 92465 Toil and trouble: 15 tales of women & witchcraft by Nova Ren Suma

Compilation of fifteen feminist tales of women embracing their magical powers and witchcraft. In Tehlor Kay Mejia's "Starsong," sixteen-year-old Esperanza, a bruja, surprises herself when she connects on social media with a skeptic, a NASA-loving girl. Strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2018.

A woman shaking sauce into a pot on the stove with a Dachsund looking over her shoulder.

DB 103534 Arsenic and adobo: Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery, book 1 by Mia P. Manansala

Lila Macapagal feels as though her life's a romantic comedy when she goes home after a bad breakup and is tasked with saving her Tita Rosie's failing restaurant. But when a nasty food critic--and her ex-boyfriend--drops dead, the rom-com turns into an Agatha Christie case. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

Maggie Witte, Outreach Librarian

Gold line illustration of an open book with an all-seeing eye coming out surrounded by moon cycle.

DB 100898 A deadly education: Scholomance, book 1 by Naomi Novik

Galadriel is a dark sorceress in training at the Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted. An outcast among the students, El must survive the dangerous institution, face hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts, and deal with the insufferably heroic Orion Lake. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020.

Golden lines creating image of a key with a keyhole in the middle with sunburst lines surrounding.

DB 105283 The last graduate: Scholomance, book 2 by Naomi Novik

The final year at Scholomance begins with the looming specter of matriculation--a deadly and savage ritual that leaves few students alive after. Worried about her group's chances of survival, El soon realizes that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

A woman wearing a sari and veil, walking through building with columns and arches in red and gold.

DB 100063 The henna artist by Alka Joshi

1955. As a seventeen-year-old, Lakshmi Shastri escaped an abusive marriage and built a life in Jaipur. Thirteen years later, she is confronted by her husband who has brought her orphaned sister, born after Lakshmi left. Lakshmi's independent life built on keeping the secrets of the wealthy is threatened. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020.