Welcome
Welcome to Braille Books Acquired. This quarterly newsletter contains a list of Braille books recently acquired by the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA).
In this issue:
Announcements
Although the majority of these books have been published within the last 5 years, there may be some books listed here which are older, but which were only recently added to our collection. To make this clearer for you, we include the date of the print version of each book at the end of its annotation.
Introducing CELA’s new Executive Director
We are pleased to announce that Laurie Davidson has joined the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) as our new Executive Director, effective September 21, 2020.
Laurie brings more than 20 years of experience working as a librarian and technologist to the Executive Director position. In addition to working as a librarian in public and academic libraries, she spent over a decade working for a library ILS vendor and most recently with the BC Libraries Cooperative where she nurtured the development of the accessible publishing summit, and developed programs and services for people with print disabilities through her position as the Project Manager for the National Network for Equitable Library Services. Laurie will replace Rina Hadziev, who is returning to her position with Greater Victoria Public Library.
“We believe that Laurie is uniquely qualified to lead CELA going forward. For the past 10 years, she has worked to foster collaborative relationships between libraries and with publishers,” said Catherine Biss, Chair of the CELA Board. “Laurie is joining CELA with our full support and with every confidence that, thanks to her experience and her passion for accessible library services, she will be able to fulfill the vision of the Board. We also want to extend our thanks to Rina for her excellent leadership over the past year. We are grateful to the Greater Victor Public Library for allowing Rina to share this year with us and we wish her every success. Between Rina’s hard work over this past year and Laurie’s skills and collaborative style, CELA is well positioned to meet the needs of our patrons, and to thrive and grow.”
Laurie is excited to join CELA. “I believe strongly in CELA’s commitment to offering patrons choices which support the diversity of their reading needs. I am honoured to take on the role of the Executive Director to help continue and grow this essential and valuable work. I look forward to partnering with CELA patrons and the community organizations that support them, with CELA’s member libraries, and with all publishers, authors and vendors who contribute to the accessible reading landscape.”
To reach Laurie please email Laurie.Davidson@celalibrary.ca beginning September 21.
Letter from CELA’s outgoing Executive Director, Rina Hadziev
Dear patrons,
I have enjoyed my time at CELA more than I can express. It has been a pleasure to get to know many of you, as well as the staff at member libraries across the country who are working to provide equitable library service. The year went by faster than I expected, and COVID-19 was an unexpected challenge, but I'm proud of the work the CELA team has done during my time here.
My goals for my time at CELA were to improve our website, strengthen existing partnerships and develop new relationships.
We've made significant progress on the website, and additional features are coming. As I've said before, the work on the platform will never really be done because it should be in a constant state of improvement, and your feedback has helped us identify future enhancements.
We've worked more closely with the GTT, Dolphin, eBOUND, AERO, and NNELS.
We've formed new relationships: working with Dyslexia Canada and their sponsor Rakuten Kobo; forming partnerships with the Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards, Writer's Trust Awards, and BC and Yukon Book Prizes; and working to establishing content agreements including most recently, NLS, the US National Library Service.
I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to do this work, and am grateful to the Greater Victoria Public Library and the CELA Board for allowing me to spend this year contributing to CELA's mission. I'm also thankful for the CELA staff, who welcomed me immediately and never fail to amaze me with their knowledge and dedication. Most importantly, thank you to all of you, our users, who have been generous in sharing your feedback, ideas and experiences to help make CELA better, and patient with us while we do the necessary work.
It is hard to say good-bye, but I'm happy to be leaving you in excellent hands. Laurie Davidson, CELA's new Executive Director, is a passionate advocate for accessibility, a knowledgeable librarian, and a thoughtful and genuine person. I am confident in her ability to lead CELA into the future, supported by the CELA team and with the governance of the Board. I will continue to be an advocate for accessibility and a CELA supporter, and look forward to the exciting future of equitable library service.
Stay safe and happy reading.
Rina Hadziev
Recent Award Winners
Former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin won the 20th Anniversary Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing for her memoir "Truth be told". The award was announced on Wednesday, September 23. "Truth be told" traces McLachlin’s path from small town girl in Alberta through law school and her early days as a lawyer to her experiences as the first woman chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Top five books last month
Most popular with our readers last month:
- All the Devils Are Here: A Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache #16) by Louise Penny Mysteries and crime stories
- American Dirt: A Novel by Jeanine Cummins Family stories
- Where the Crawdads sing by Delia Owens Bestsellers (Fiction)
- From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way by Jesse Thistle Journals and memoirs
- Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump Biography
Prinbraille returns
We are pleased to now be circulating our full collection of printbraille books, including more than 50 recently added titles. As we all work together to combat the spread of COVID-19, we want to inform you about the measures we are taking to ensure your safety.
Our safety measures:
- Based on medical and scientific advice and the best practices being implemented in public libraries, we have taken a number of measures to ensure safety for you and for the staff handling printbraille books. Staff are equipped with personal protective equipment, are not permitted to work if sick, are trained in and practicing proper hygiene, and their workspaces and processes have been re-arranged to ensure physical distancing.
- In addition, printbraille books will be quarantined in our facility for a minimum of 96 hours before being recirculated.
What you can do to help:
- Please do not try to wash, wipe or disinfect the books. Disinfection is not necessary and you may damage the books permanently.
- If you are concerned about any possible contamination via the postal system, as an added safety measure you may wish to quarantine these materials in your home for 24 hours before handling them.
To find and place holds on printbraille books, you can use the search function on our website and filter to select only printbraille titles. For those who don’t use our website, our Contact Centre will be able to help.
CELA’s Braille magazine service offers over 20 magazines covering computers, health, sports, puzzles, music and other topics, with publications specifically for young adults and also men and women’s magazines. Please get in touch with Contact Centre staff if you would like to add, change or cancel a subscription.
Braille Books Acquired is now available by e-mail. If you would like to receive it in this format, or if you have any questions or wish to make changes to your account, please get in touch with the CELA Contact Centre at 1-855-655-2273, or by e-mail at help@celalibrary.ca.
Thank you.
Uncontracted braille
3556250 Tommy wants a guide dog by Christopher Warner
1 volume of Braille. Tommy is a young boy with sight loss and a big imagination. When he's told he's too young to get a guide dog, he imagines what it would be like to have other animals as a guide, but soon learns the pitfalls that come with each one. Grades K-3. 2020.
Fiction for adults
Fantasy
3157870 Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi
5 vols. Perdita Lee may appear to be your average British schoolgirl; Harriet Lee may seem just a working mother trying to penetrate the school social hierarchy; but there are signs that they might not be as normal as they think they are. For one thing, they share a gold-painted, seventh-floor walk-up apartment with some surprisingly verbal vegetation. And then there's the gingerbread they make. Londoners may find themselves able to take or leave it, but it's very popular in Druhástrana, the far-away (or, according to many sources, non-existent) land of Harriet Lee's early youth. The world's truest lover of the Lee family gingerbread, however, is Harriet's charismatic childhood friend Gretel Kercheval - a figure who seems to have had a hand in everything (good or bad) that has happened to Harriet since they met. Decades later, when teenaged Perdita sets out to find her mother's long-lost friend, it prompts a new telling of Harriet's story. As the book follows the Lees through encounters with jealousy, ambition, family grudges, work, wealth, and real estate, gingerbread seems to be the one thing that reliably holds a constant value. 2019.
General fiction
2560060 Jake's thing by Kingsley Amis
12 v. of Braille. Jake Richardson, an Oxford don nearing sixty with a lifetime's lechery behind him, has lost his libido. He seeks the advice of a miniature sex therapist from the Emerald Isle. So on doctor's orders he decks himself with cunning gadgetry, dreams up a weekly fantasy, pets diligently with his overweight wife Brenda and browses listlessly through porno magazines behind locked doors. Then wonders if sex is really worth it. 1979.
3032987 Proof I was here by Becky Blake
4 vols. Hailing from Toronto, where she has an assault charge waiting, Niki is outside of Canada for the first time. The pickpockets, squatters and graffiti artists she meets challenge her to reassess her ideas about luck and art. With the help of a passionate Catalan separatist who dreams of building a new country from the ground up, Niki realizes that starting her life over from scratch could be an opportunity - if she can just find a way to clear her name. 2019.
2450484 Cartes postales from Greece by Victoria Hislop
10 v. of Braille. Week after week, the postcards arrive, addressed to someone Ellie does not know, each signed with an initial: A. These alluring cartes postales of Greece brighten her life and cast a spell on her. She decides she must see this country for herself. On the morning Ellie leaves for Athens, a notebook arrives. Its pages tell the story of a man's odyssey through Greece. A's tale unfolds with the discovery not only of a culture, but also of a desire to live life to the full once more. 2017.
3033525 Every little piece of me by Amy Jones
8 vols. Ava Hart is the most reluctant cast member of a reality TV show based on her big city family's (mostly staged) efforts to run a B&B in small-town Nova Scotia. Every family has its problems, but Ava has grown up seeing her family's every up and down broadcast on national television, after the show becomes an unexpected success for reasons that will take a heavy toll on the Harts. Mags Kovach is the charismatic lead singer of a struggling Halifax rock band hoping to be the Next Big Thing. For years she's managed to contain her demons and navigate the uglier aspects of being a woman in the music world, but after a devastating loss, she turns her anger on the only person she can: herself. As their private tragedies continue to set social media and tabloid headlines on fire, their every move subjected to an endless stream of public commentary, it will be their unexpected friendship that will save them. They will push back against the roles they've been forced to play, and take back control of something they thought they'd lost forever - the right to their own stories. 2019.
3032679 This little light by Lori Lansens
6 vols. Taking place over 48 hours in the year 2023, this is the story of Rory Ann Miller, on the run with her best friend because they are accused of bombing their posh Californian high school during an American Virtue Ball. There's a bounty on their heads, and a social media storm of trolls flying around them, not to mention a posse of law enforcement, attack helicopters and drones trying to track them down. Rory's mom, a social activist and lawyer, has been arrested and implicated in her daughter's crimes whereas her dad (who betrayed his wife and daughter in a nasty divorce) is cooperating with the authorities. The story exists in a universe of gated communities, born-again Christians, Probationary Citizens (once known as Dreamers), re-criminalized abortion and birth control, teenage virginity oaths and something called the Red Market, which is either a Conservative bogey-man created to further polarize the base or a criminal network making money from selling unwanted babies to whomever wants them and fetal tissue to cosmetics and drug companies. Rory is cynical and scared, furious and scathing, betrayed and looking for something or someone to trust. What she has to say about the dads and bosses and politicians lining up to keep women in their place, and about the ways women collaborate in their own undermining, is fierce, and funny, and sad, and true. 2019.
2451422 The many by Wyl Menmuir
3 v. of Braille. His move to the isolated village on the coast becomes an increasingly unsettling experience for Timothy Buchanan. A dead man no one will discuss. Wasted fish hauled from a contaminated sea. The dream of faceless men. What truth are the villagers withholding? As Timothy forges on despite the villagers' animosity and the code of silence around Perran, he starts to question what has brought him to this place and is forced to confront a painful truth. 2016.
2450608 City of friends by Joanna Trollope
10 v. of Braille. The day Stacey Grant loses her job feels like the last day of her life. For who was she if not a City high-flyer, Senior Partner at one of the top private equity firms in London? Her new life is one without professional achievements or meetings, but instead, long days at home with her dog and ailing mother, waiting for her successful husband to come home. And her long-cherished friendships with career women Beth, Melissa and Gaby will be pushed to their limits. 2017.
Historical fiction
2450481 And only to deceive by Tasha Alexander
6 v. of Braille. For Emily, accepting the proposal of Philip, Viscount Ashton, was an easy way to escape her stifling home life so when her new husband dies on safari, she feels little grief for she barely knew the man. Now, two years on, Emily immerses herself in his intellectual pursuits, studying Greek and spending time in the quiet corridors of the British Museum. But there, amid priceless ancient statues, she uncovers a secret involving stolen artifacts from the Greco-Roman galleries, and as she sets out to solve the crime she discovers even more surprises about her dead husband. 2014.
2450486 Liverpool sisters by Lyn Andrews
10 v. of Braille. Liverpool in 1907 is a bustling and busy city. Sisters Livvie and Amy Goodwin are just sixteen and thirteen years old when their adored mother dies in childbirth. They are still missing their mum every day when their father Thomas announces that he is going to marry again. His new bride is Mary Fitzgerald, a girl just a few years older than Livvie, and only time will tell whether Mary will be the kind of step-mother a motherless girl could love. 2016.
2445156 The empty throne by Bernard Cornwell
12 v. of Braille. England is fractured, torn apart more by internal fighting than the threat of Viking invasion. The ruler of Mercia is dying, leaving no legitimate heir. His wife is a formidable fighter and great leader, but no woman has ever ruled over an English kingdom. And she is without her strongest warrior and champion, Uhtred of Bebbanburg. So the scene is set for an explosive battle between elders and warriors for an empty throne. The vacant throne leaves a dangerous opportunity for the rival West Saxons to seize Mercia. But Edward of Wessex is distracted by the succession of his own throne, with two heirs claiming the right to be West Saxon king. Sequel to "The pagan lord", followed by "Warriors of the storm". 2014.
2445250 Warriors of the storm by Bernard Cornwell
12 v. of Braille. A fragile peace reigns in Wessex, Mercia and East Anglia. King Alfred’s son Edward and formidable daughter, Aethelflaed, rule the kingdoms. But all around the restless Northmen, eyeing the rich lands and wealthy churches, are mounting raids. Uhtred of Bebbanburg, the kingdoms’ greatest warrior, controls northern Mercia from the strongly fortified city of Chester. But forces are gathering against him. Northmen allied to the Irish, led by the fierce warrior Ragnall Ivarson, are soon joined by the Northumbrians, and their strength could prove overwhelming. Despite the gathering threat, both Edward and Aethelflaed are reluctant to move out of the safety of their fortifications. But with Uhtred’s own daughter married to Ivarson’s brother, who can be trusted? Sequel to "The empty throne", followed by "The flame bearer". 2015.
2445157 The flame bearer by Bernard Cornwell
12 v. of Braille. Britain is at an uneasy peace. After their bloody defeat of Danish-held East Anglia, the West Saxons stand victorious while the Mercians have taken back their land on the border of Northumbria, the last kingdom of Britain still ruled by the pagan northmen. A precarious truce exists between Aethelflaed’s Mercia and Northumbria, now ruled by Uhtred of Bebbanburg’s son-in-law, Sigtryggr. Under the cover of this fragile calm, Uhtred must begin his campaign that will end with the assault on Bebbanburg, the great fortress that is rightly his and was stolen from him in childhood. Sequel to "Warriors of the storm", followed by "War of the wolf". 2016.
2450371 A column of fire by Ken Follett
35 v. of Braille. In 1558 the ancient stones of Kingsbridge Cathedral look down on a city torn by religious hatred. High principles clash bloodily with friendship, loyalty and love. Young Ned Willard finds himself on the opposite side from the girl he longs to marry, Margery Fitzgerald. Over a turbulent half-century, the love between Ned and Margery seems doomed, as extremism sparks violence from Edinburgh to Geneva. Sequel to "World without end". 2017.
2450079 Ravenspur: rise of the Tudors by Conn Iggulden
15 v. of Braille. England, 1470. The Yorkist king Edward IV is driven out of England, his wife and children forced to seek sanctuary from the House of Lancaster. Desperate to reclaim his throne, Edward lands at Ravenspur with a half-drowned army and his brother Richard at his side. Every hand is against them, every city gate is shut, yet the brothers York go on the attack. But neither sees that their true enemy is Henry Tudor, now grown into a man. Sequel to "Bloodline". 2017.
2448173 Dunstan by Conn Iggulden
16 v. of Braille. In the year 937, King Æthelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, readies himself to throw a great spear into the north. His dream of a kingdom of all England will stand or fall on one field and the passage of a single day. At his side is Dunstan of Glastonbury, full of ambition and wit, perhaps enough to damn his soul. His talents will take him from the villages of Wessex to the royal court, to the hills of Rome and from exile to exaltation. 2017.
3228874 Lost roses: a novel by Martha Hall Kelly
8 vols. It is 1914 and the world has been on the brink of war so many times, many New Yorkers treat the subject with only passing interest. Eliza Ferriday is thrilled to be traveling to St. Petersburg with Sofya Streshnayva, a cousin of the Romanovs. The two met years ago one summer in Paris and became close confidantes. Now Eliza embarks on the trip of a lifetime, home with Sofya to see the splendors of Russia. But when Austria declares war on Serbia and Russia's Imperial dynasty begins to fall, Eliza escapes back to America, while Sofya and her family flee to their country estate. In need of domestic help, they hire the local fortuneteller's daughter, Varinka, unknowingly bringing intense danger into their household. On the other side of the Atlantic, Eliza is doing her part to help the White Russian families find safety as they escape the revolution. But when Sofya's letters suddenly stop coming she fears the worst for her best friend. Bestseller. 2019.
3033860 Work like any other by Virginia Reeves
5 vols. Roscoe T. Martin has set his sights on a new type of power spreading at the start of the 20th century: electricity. When his wife Marie inherits her father's failing farm Roscoe uses his skills as an electrician to siphon energy from the state, ushering in a period of bounty and happiness on a farm recently falling to ruin. Even the love of Marie and their son seems back within Roscoe's grasp. Then a young man is electrocuted on their land. Roscoe is arrested for manslaughter and, no longer an electrician or even a farmer, he must now carve out a place in a violent new world. 2016.
3033870 Dangerous crossing by Rachel Rhys
7 v. of Braille. England, September 1939. Lily Shepherd boards a cruise liner for a new life in Australia and is plunged into a world of cocktails, jazz and glamorous friends. But as the sun beats down, poisonous secrets begin to surface. Australia, six-weeks later. The world is at war, the cruise liner docks, and a beautiful young woman is escorted onto dry land in handcuffs. What has she done? 2017.
Humorous fiction
2447293 The secret dreamworld of a shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
12 v. of Braille. Meet Rebecca Bloomwood. She's a journalist. She spends her working life telling others how to manage their money. She spends her leisure time shopping. Retail therapy is the answer to all her problems. She knows she should stop, but she can't. The stories she concocts become more and more fantastic as she tries to untangle her increasingly dire financial difficulties. Followed by "Shopaholic takes Manhattan". 2007.
2447280 Shopaholic & baby by Sophie Kinsella
10 v. of Braille. Becky's life is blooming! She's working at London's newest fashion store The Look, house-hunting with husband Luke (her secret wish is a Shoe Room) and she's pregnant! She couldn't be more overjoyed - especially since discovering that shopping cures morning sickness. Everything has got to be perfect for her baby: from the designer nursery to the latest, coolest pram to the celebrity, must-have obstetrician. But when the celebrity obstetrician turns out to be her husband Luke's glamorous, intellectual ex-girlfriend, Becky's perfect world starts to crumble. She's shopping for two but are there three in her marriage? Sequel to "Shopaholic & sister", followed by "Mini shopaholic". 2007.
Mysteries and crime stories
2451515 The betrayer by Kimberley Chambers
14 v. of Braille. Based in Stepney, this book is set on a rough and ready council estate, in the heart of London's East End. A story that starts in 1975 and ends in 2005, it tells the trials and tribulations of the Hutton family. Maureen is the gutsy mum. Separated from her alcoholic husband, she scrimps and saves for years to bring up her children and instil life's good values in them. She tries her utmost, but with only moderate success. 2010.
2451520 The feud by Kimberley Chambers
14 v. of Braille. For more than a decade two families have been locked in a bitter war. On one side are the Mitchells, an underworld mob from East London's Canning Town. They have an iron in every fire and will resort to intimidation and violence to get what they want. On the other side are the O'Haras, a travelling family who live in nearby Stratford. Followed by "The traitor". 2010.
2451522 The victim by Kimberley Chambers
14 v. of Braille. Life is looking bleak for Frankie Mitchell. Not only has she lost custody of her children to their sadistic father, she is also pregnant and banged up in Holloway awaiting trial for attempted murder. In Frankie's absence, her father, underworld boss Eddie, is determined to get his own back. Sequel to "The traitor". 2011.
2447298 The affair by Lee Child
13 v. of Braille. March 1997. A woman has her throat cut behind a bar in Carter Crossing, Mississippi. Just down the road is a big army base. Is the murderer a local guy - or is he a soldier? Jack Reacher, still a major in the military police, is sent in undercover. Bestseller. Sequel to "Worth dying for", followed by "A wanted man". 2011.
2450586 I've got my eyes on you: a novel by Mary Higgins Clark
1 v. of Braille (365 pages). After throwing a party when her parents were away, 18-year-old Kerry Dowling is discovered lifeless at the bottom of the family pool. The police immediately question Kerry's boyfriend, who - despite proclaiming his love for her - was seen arguing with Kerry that night. As neighbors and classmates grieve the loss of their friend, Kerry's 28-year-old sister Aline, a guidance counselor, searches for answers. She'll do anything to help the Detective Mike Wilson learn what really happened the night Kerry was killed. Bestseller. 2018.
2445696 Thin air by Ann Cleeves
10 v. of Braille. A group of old university friends leave the bright lights of London and travel to Unst, Shetland's most northerly island, to celebrate the marriage of one of their friends to a Shetlander. But late on the night of the wedding party, one of them, Eleanor, disappears - apparently into thin air. It's mid-summer, a time of light nights and unexpected mists. The following day, Eleanor's friend Polly receives an email. It appears to be a suicide note, saying she'll never be found alive. And then Eleanor's body is discovered, lying in a small loch close to the cliff edge. Detectives Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves are dispatched to Unst to investigate. Sequel to "Dead water", followed by "Cold earth". 2014.
2450370 Cold earth by Ann Cleeves
12 v. of Braille. In the dark days of a Shetland winter, torrential rain triggers a landslide that crosses the main Lerwick-Sumburgh road and sweeps down to the sea. Jimmy Perez watches the flood of mud and peaty water smash through a croft house in its path and in the wreckage he finds the body of a dark-haired woman wearing a red silk dress. Soon he becomes obsessed with tracing her identity. Then it emerges that she was already dead before the landslide hit the house. Perez knows he must find out who she was, and how she died. Sequel to "Thin air", followed by "Wild fire". 2016.
2449185 The crow trap by Ann Cleeves
16 v. of Braille. At the isolated Baikie's Cottage, three very different women come together to complete an environmental survey. The three women each know the meaning of betrayal. Rachael is the first to arrive at the cottage, where she discovers the body of her friend, Bella Furness. Bella, it appears, has committed suicide, a verdict Rachael refuses to accept. When another death occurs, a fourth woman enters the picture: the unconventional Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope. Followed by "Telling tales". 2010.
2450343 Enemies at home by Lindsey Davis
12 v. of Braille. Young, widowed and fiercely independent, Flavia Albia lives alone on the Aventine Hill in Rome and makes a good living as a hired investigator. Two mysterious deaths at a local villa may be murder and, as the household slaves are implicated, Albia is once again forced to involve herself. Her fight is not just for truth and justice, however; this time, she's also battling for the very lives of people who can't fight for themselves. Sequel to "The ides of April", followed by "Deadly election". 2014.
2450338 The trespasser by Tana French
19 v. of Braille. Working on the Dublin Murder squad, Detective Antoinette Conway's life is a stream of thankless cases and harassment. Her new case looks like a regular lovers' quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty and lying dead next to a table set for a romantic dinner. There's nothing unusual about her, except that Antoinette has seen her somewhere before. Is this the case that will make Antoinette's career or break it? Sequel to "The secret place". 2017.
3032906 Heat wave: a Paradise Café mystery by Maureen Jennings
5 vols. July 1936 and Toronto is under a record-breaking heat wave. Charlotte Frayne is the junior associate in a two-person private investigation firm, owned by T. Gilmore. Two events set the book's plot in motion: an anti-Semitic hate letter is delivered to Gilmore, who up to now has not acknowledged his religion, and Hilliard Taylor, a veteran of the First World War, requests the firm's assistance in uncovering what he believes is systematic embezzlement of the Paradise Café, which he owns and operates with three other men, all of whom were prisoners of war. The two events, although seemingly completely unrelated, come together in this story. 2019.
3033522 Hideaway by Nicole Lundrigan
7 vols. Gloria Janes appears to be a doting suburban mother and loving wife. But beyond her canary-yellow door, Gloria controls her husband, Telly, as well as seven-year-old Maisy and her older brother Rowan, through a disorienting cycle of adoration and banishment. When Telly leaves, Gloria turns on Rowan. He runs away, finding unlikely refuge with a homeless man named Carl, with whom he forms the kind of bond he has never found with his parents. After they are menaced by strangers, Rowan follows Carl to an isolated cottage, where he accidentally sets off a burst of heightened paranoia in Carl, and their adventure takes a dark turn. Gloria is publicly desperate for the safe return of her son while privately plotting ever wilder ways to lure Telly home for good. Her behaviour grows more erratic and her manipulation of Maisy begins to seem dedicated toward an outcome that only she can see. 2019.
3033539 Your life is mine: a novel by Nathan Ripley
5 vols. Blanche Potter never expected to face her past again - but she can't escape it. In 1996, Chuck Varner went on a shooting spree in Stilford, California, then shot himself. To his wife, Crissy, and six-year-old daughter, Blanche, Chuck was more than a crazed killer: he was a true leader, a man whose belief in chaos could affect changes needed in the world. For years, they work to honour his memory. But after Crissy tells all in a true-crime writer's book and carries on Chuck's violent gospel through her own actions, teenager Blanche finally snaps out of the cult of Chuck and flees. Now a filmmaker, Blanche has distanced herself in every way she can from her parents. But when she learns her mother has been murdered, she returns to her childhood home and soon discovers that there's more to the death than police are willing to reveal. The detective handling the case knew her mother before she died, and so did a journalist who's nosing around the investigation. Blanche begins to suspect that these men - and others who may be following her every move - are new disciples in the cult that Chuck Varner started. Then another killing occurs. 2019.
2450062 Sovereign by C.J. Sansom
16 v. of Braille. It was autumn, 1541. Following the uncovering of a plot against his throne in Yorkshire, King Henry VIII has set out on a spectacular Progress to the North to overawe his rebellious subjects. Accompanied by a thousand soldiers, the cream of the nobility, and his fifth wife Catherine Howard, the King is to attend an extravagant submission of the local gentry at York. Already in the city are lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak. As well as assisting with legal work processing petitions to the King, Shardlake has reluctantly undertaken a special mission - to ensure the welfare of an important but dangerous conspirator being returned to London for interrogation. But the murder of a local glazier involves Shardlake in a deeper mystery, connected not only to the prisoner in York Castle but to the royal family itself. And when Shardlake and Barak stumble upon a cache of secret documents which could threaten the Tudor throne, a chain of events unfolds that will lead to Shardlake facing the most terrifying fate of the age. Sequel to "Dark fire", followed by "Revelation". 2006.
2450066 Heartstone by C. J. Sansom
22 v. of Braille. Summer, 1545. England is at war. Henry VIII's invasion of France has gone badly wrong, and a massive French fleet is preparing to sail across the Channel. Meanwhile, Matthew Shardlake is given an intriguing legal case by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr. Asked to investigate claims of 'monstrous wrongs' committed against his young ward, Hugh Curteys, by Sir Nicholas Hobbey, Shardlake and his assistant Barak journey to Portsmouth. There, Shardlake also intends to investigate the mysterious past of Ellen Fettiplace, a young woman incarcerated in the Bedlam. Sequel to "Revelation", followed by "Lamentation". 2010.
2445689 Lamentation by C.J. Sansom
23 v. of Braille. Summer, 1546. King Henry VIII is slowly, painfully dying. His Protestant and Catholic councillors are engaged in a final and decisive power struggle; whoever wins will control the government of Henry's successor, eight-year-old Prince Edward. As heretics are hunted across London, and the radical Protestant Anne Askew is burned at the stake, the Catholic party focus their attack on Henry's sixth wife, Matthew Shardlake's old mentor, Queen Catherine Parr. Shardlake, still haunted by events aboard the warship Mary Rose the year before, is working on the Cotterstoke Will case, a savage dispute between rival siblings. Then, unexpectedly, he is summoned to Whitehall Palace and asked for help by his old patron, the now beleaguered and desperate Queen. Sequel to "Heartstone", followed by "Tombland". 2014.
2445695 Vicious circle by Wilbur Smith
16 v. of Braille. When Hector Cross' new life is overturned, he immediately recognizes the ruthless hand of an enemy he has faced many times before: a terrorist group has re-emerged like a deadly scorpion from beneath its rock. Determined to fight back, he draws together a team of his most loyal friends and together they travel to the remotest parts of the Middle East and the heart of Africa to hunt down those who pursue him and his loved ones. Sequel to "Those in peril", followed by "Predator". 2013.
2445036 Predator by Wilbur Smith with Tom Cain
16 v. of Braille. Hector Cross is an ex-SAS officer, private security expert and widower. His wife was taken much too soon, by a cruel man with evil intentions. Johnny Congo is a psychopath, extortionist, terrorist, and the man who murdered Hector’s wife. Cross wants him dead. So does the US government. Congo is locked up on Death Row counting down the days until his execution. He wants out. He’s escaped before and knows he can again. Sequel to "Vicious circle". 2016.
Romance
2445034 Lyrebird by Cecelia Ahern
12 v. of Braille. Deep in the woods in the south-west of Ireland, a young woman lives alone. She possesses an extraordinary talent, the likes of which no-one has seen before: a gift that will earn her the nickname Lyrebird. When Solomon stumbles into Laura's solitary existence, she is pulled from her peaceful landscape into the cacophony of Dublin. But while Solomon knows the world will embrace Laura, will it free her to spread her wings or will it trap her in a gilded cage? Like all wild birds, she needs to fly free. 2016.
3033852 Bed of roses by Nora Roberts
5 v. of Braille. Emmaline Grant has always loved romance, so it's really no surprise that she has found her calling as a wedding florist. And she gets to work with her best friends Mackensie, Parker and Laurel - she couldn't ask for a better job. Yet while men swarm around her, she still hasn't found Mr. Right. Sequel to "Vision in white", followed by "Savor the moment". 2009.
Science fiction
2451777 A symphony of echoes by Jodi Taylor
10 v. of Braille. Despatched to Victorian London to seek out Jack the Ripper, things go badly wrong when he finds the St. Mary's historians first. Stalked through the fog-shrouded streets of Whitechapel, Max is soon running for her life again. And that's just the start. Max finds herself in a race against time when an old enemy is intent on destroying St. Mary's. An enemy willing, if necessary, to destroy History itself. Sequel to "Just one damned thing after another", followed by "A second chance". 2015.
Short stories
3032950 This wicked tongue: stories by Elise Levine
3 vols. A collection filled with complicated people longing for independence from the scripts of the past. From a sniping road-tripping couple in the desert to a cantankerous divinity-school candidate on the prairies to a frustrated cop in a cave in the south of France, "This wicked tongue" showcases the gritty and the sublime. 2019.
Westerns
2416278 Savidge by Sean Kennedy
6 v. of Braille. Joe Savidge has revenge in his heart. But having been beaten to within an inch of his life following some dirty dealings in a lawless small town, he ends up in Pioche, Nevada, with little more than the shirt on his back – to say nothing of the tools required to make revenge a reality. Then he meets a woman who is down on her luck – just like him, but with a lucrative connection to a mysterious Frenchman. For Savidge, playing along means the opportunity to purchase guns and horses: necessities for a man hell-bent on retribution. After that, all Savidge has to do is lie in wait for destiny to arrive. 2010.
Non-fiction for adults
Biography
2576957 Facts and fears: hard truths from a life in intelligence by James R. Clapper with Trey Brown
1 v. of Braille (1028 pages). When he stepped down in January 2017 as the fourth United States director of national intelligence, James Clapper had been President Obama's senior intelligence adviser for six and a half years, longer than his three predecessors combined. He led the U.S. intelligence community through a period that included the raid on Osama bin Laden, the Benghazi attack, the leaks of Edward Snowden, and Russia's influence operation during the 2016 U.S. election campaign. In this book Clapper traces his career through the growing threat of cyberattacks, his relationships with presidents and Congress, and the truth about Russia's role in the presidential election. He describes, in the wake of Snowden and WikiLeaks, his efforts to make intelligence more transparent and to push back against the suspicion that Americans' private lives are subject to surveillance. 2018.
2037905 A higher loyalty: truth, lies, and leadership by James Comey
1 v. of Braille (556 pages). Former FBI director James Comey shares his experiences from his two decades in government, exploring what good, ethical leadership looks like, and how it drives sound decisions. His journey provides an entry into the corridors of power and a lesson in what makes an effective leader. Mr. Comey served as director of the FBI from 2013 to 2017, appointed to the post by President Barack Obama. He previously served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and as the U.S. Deputy Attorney General in the administration of President George W. Bush. From prosecuting the Mafia and Martha Stewart to helping change the Bush administration's policies on torture and electronic surveillance, overseeing the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation as well as ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, Comey has been involved in some of the most consequential cases and policies of recent history. Bestseller. 2018.
2450031 The neuroscientist who lost her mind: my tale of madness and recovery by Barbara K. Lipska; with Elaine McArdle
1 v. of Braille (363 pages). In January 2015, Barbara Lipska - a leading expert on the neuroscience of mental illness - was diagnosed with melanoma that had spread to her brain. Within months, her frontal lobe, the seat of cognition, began shutting down. She descended into madness, exhibiting dementia- and schizophrenia-like symptoms that terrified her family and coworkers. But miraculously, just as her doctors figured out what was happening, the immunotherapy they had prescribed began to work. Just eight weeks after her nightmare began, Lipska returned to normal. With one difference: she remembered her brush with madness with exquisite clarity. Lipska describes her extraordinary ordeal and its lessons about the mind and brain. She explains how mental illness, brain injury, and age can change our behavior, personality, cognition, and memory. She tells what it is like to experience these changes firsthand. And she reveals what parts of us remain, even when so much else is gone. 2018.
3032631 Daughter of Family G: a memoir of cancer genes, love and fate by Ami McKay
7 vols. The story of Ami McKay's connection to a genetic disorder called Lynch syndrome begins over seventy years before she was born and long before scientists discovered DNA. In 1895 her great-great aunt, Pauline Gross, a seamstress in Ann Arbor, Michigan, confided to a pathology professor at the local university that she expected to die young, like so many others in her family. Rather than dismiss her fears, the pathologist chose to enlist Pauline in the careful tracking of those in her family tree who had died of cancer. Pauline's premonition proved true - she died at 46 - but because of her efforts, her family (who the pathologist dubbed 'Family G') would become the longest and most detailed cancer genealogy ever studied in the world. A century after Pauline's confession, researchers would identify the genetic mutation responsible for the family's woes. Now known as Lynch syndrome, the genetic condition predisposes its carriers to several types of cancer, including colorectal, endometrial, ovarian and pancreatic. In 2001, as a young mother with two sons and a keen interest in survival, Ami McKay was among the first to be tested for Lynch syndrome. She had a feeling she'd test positive: her mother's side of the family was riddled with early deaths and her own mother was being treated for the disease. When the test proved her fears true, she began living in "an unsettling state between wellness and cancer," and she's been there ever since. 2019.
3158174 The matriarch: Barbara Bush and the making of an American dynasty by Susan Page
12 vols. Former First Lady Barbara Pierce Bush was one of the country's most popular and powerful figures. Here Page tells the riveting tale of a woman who helped define two American presidencies - and an entire political era. As first the wife and then the mother of American presidents, Barbara Bush became an astute and trusted political campaign strategist, invested herself deeply in expanding literacy programs in America, played a critical role in the end of the Cold War, and led the way in demonstrating love and compassion to those with HIV/AIDS. With her cooperation, the book offers Barbara Bush's last words for history - on the evolution of her party, on the role of women, on Donald Trump, and on her family's legacy. 2019.
3033859 The last act of love: the story of my brother and his sister by Cathy Rentzenbrink
4 vols. In the summer of 1990, two weeks before his GCSE results, which turned out to be the best in his school, Cathy Rentzenbrink's brother Matty was knocked down by a car on the way home from a night out, suffering serious head injuries. He was left in a permanent vegetative state. Over the following years, Cathy and her parents took care of Matty but there came a point at which it seemed the best thing they could do for Matty, and for themselves, was let him go. Cathy describes the unimaginable pain of losing her brother and the decision that changed her family's lives forever. 2016.
3032659 Mistakes to run with: a memoir by Yasuko Thanh
5 vols. "Mistakes to run with" chronicles the turbulent early years of Yasuko Thanh's life, from a rough childhood to her teen years as a sex worker to her emergence as a writer. Growing up in a housing project in Victoria, BC, Thanh rebels against her extremely religious parents. She's an honours student, but also a nascent delinquent, cutting herself and getting arrested for shoplifting. By fifteen her parents have kicked her out. She runs away repeatedly from foster homes, acquiring a taste for drugs and alcohol and learning unlikely lessons about sex, power, and friendship. By the time she enters the world of sex work she feels completely abandoned - by her family, her friends, her school, and society. After a stint in jail at sixteen, she meets her pimp, Jesse, and falls in love. The next chapter of her life takes us from the motel rooms of Victoria to the streets of Vancouver, as Thanh endures further hardship: beatings, arrests, Jesse's crack cocaine addiction, and an unwanted pregnancy. It's the act of writing that ultimately becomes a solace from her suffering - but even as publication and awards bolster her, she remains haunted by her past. 2019.
3033558 Solitary: unbroken by four decades in solitary confinement : my story of transformation and hope by Albert Woodfox
11 vols. Arrested often as a teenager in New Orleans, Albert was behind bars in his early twenties when he was inspired to join the Black Panther Party because of its social commitment and code of living. He was serving a 50-year sentence in Angola prison in Louisiana for armed robbery when on April 17, 1972, a white guard was killed. Albert and another member of the Panthers were immediately accused of the crime and put in solitary confinement by the warden. Without a shred of actual evidence against them, their trial was a sham of justice that gave them life sentences in solitary. Decades passed before Albert gained a lawyer of consequence; even so, sixteen more years and multiple appeals were needed before he was finally released in February 2016. Remarkably self-aware that anger or bitterness would have destroyed him in solitary confinement, sustained by the shared solidarity of two fellow Panthers, Albert turned his anger into activism and resistance. The Angola 3, as they became known, resolved never to be broken by the grinding inhumanity and corruption that effectively held them for decades as political prisoners. 2019.
Family and relationships
3228891 What my mother and I don't talk about: fifteen writers break the silence by Michele Filgate
4 vols. As an undergraduate, Michele Filgate started writing an essay about being abused by her stepfather. It took her more than a decade to realize what she was actually trying to write: how this affected her relationship with her mother. When it was finally published, the essay went viral, shared on social media by Anne Lamott, Rebecca Solnit, and many others. The outpouring of responses gave Filgate an idea, and the resulting anthology offers a candid look at our relationships with our mothers. While some of the writers in this book are estranged from their mothers, others are extremely close. Leslie Jamison writes about trying to discover who her seemingly perfect mother was before ever becoming a mom. In Cathi Hanauer's hilarious piece, she finally gets a chance to have a conversation with her mother that isn't interrupted by her domineering (but lovable) father. André Aciman writes about what it was like to have a deaf mother. Melissa Febos uses mythology as a lens to look at her close-knit relationship with her psychotherapist mother. And Julianna Baggott talks about having a mom who tells her everything. As Filgate writes, 'Our mothers are our first homes, and that's why we're always trying to return to them.' There's relief in breaking the silence. Acknowledging what we couldn't say for so long is one way to heal our relationships with others and, perhaps most important, with ourselves. 2019.
Food and drink
2397062 Kitchen: recipes from the heart of the home by Nigella Lawson
17 v. of Braille. Divided into two parts - Kitchen Quandaries and Kitchen Comforts - Nigella gives us the wherewithal to tackle any situation and satisfy all nourishment needs. But real cooking is often about leftovers, too, so here one recipe can lead to another... from ham hocks to pea soup and pasties, from chicken to Chinatown salad. As well as offering the reader a mouth-watering array of new recipes, both comforting and exciting - from clams with chorizo to Guinness gingerbread, from Asian braised beef to flourless chocolate lime cake, from Pasta alla Genovese to Venetian carrot cake - Nigella rounds up her kitchen kit must-haves (telling us, too, what equipment we don't need) and highlights individual ingredients - both basic essentials and modern-day life-savers. 2010.
General non-fiction
3033536 The tangled garden: a Canadian cultural manifesto for the digital age by Richard Stursberg
5 vols. The great institutions of Canadian culture are in peril and only a radical restructuring of cultural policy will avoid a collapse. The emergence of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (the FAANGs) has created an unprecedented challenge to Canada's news, television and film businesses. In this book Stursberg offers a brief account - often based on his insider's experience - of how Canada's cultural industries were built. And he explains that independent Canadian media and cultural industries are unlikely to survive due to the large share of ad dollars and audience attention captured by the big digital media companies. Faced with similar challenges, many governments around the world have responded by protecting and strengthening their national cultural life. Canada stands out for its passivity. Stursberg identifies the path that would assure a strong continued news media, and a reasonable share of audiences for Canadian creative work. He warns that time for action is short, and many more media outlets will soon disappear, like the thirty-six newspapers shut down by the Toronto Star-Postmedia deal in 2017. 2019.
History
3033839 The Holocaust: a new history by Laurence Rees
14 v. of Braille. This landmark work answers two of the most fundamental questions in history - how, and why, did the Holocaust happen? Laurence Rees has spent twenty-five years meeting survivors and perpetrators of the Holocaust. He combines their enthralling eyewitness testimony, a large amount of which has never been published before, with the latest academic research to create an accessible and authoritative account of the Holocaust. 2017.
Law and crime
3032748 Murdered Midas: a millionaire, his gold mine, and a strange death on an island paradise by Charlotte Gray
7 vols. On an island paradise in 1943, Sir Harry Oakes, gold mining tycoon, philanthropist and "richest man in the Empire," was murdered. The news of his death surged across the English-speaking world, from London, the Imperial centre, to the remote Canadian mining town of Kirkland Lake, in the Northern Ontario bush. The murder became celebrated as "the crime of the century." The layers of mystery deepened as the involvement of Oakes' son-in-law, Count Alfred de Marigny, came quickly to be questioned, as did the odd machinations of the Governor of the Bahamas, the former King Edward VIII. Despite a sensational trial, no murderer was ever convicted. Rumours were unrelenting about Oakes' missing fortune, and fascination with the Oakes story has persisted for decades. Award-winning biographer and popular historian Charlotte Gray explores, for the first time, the life of the man behind the scandal, a man who was both reviled and admired - from his early, hardscrabble days of mining exploration, to his explosion of wealth, to his grandiose gestures of philanthropy. And Gray brings fresh eyes to the bungled investigation and shocking trial in the remote colonial island streets, proposing an overlooked suspect in this long cold case. 2019.
Literature
3032632 Coventry: essays by Rachel Cusk
The author's first collection of essays about motherhood, marriage, feminism, and art both offers new insights on the themes at the heart of her fiction and forges a startling critical voice on some of our most urgent personal, social, and artistic questions. 2019.
2924790 Holy Wild by Gwen Benaway
2 vols. In her third collection of poetry, Benaway explores the complexities of being an Indigenous trans woman in expansive lyric poems. She holds up the Indigenous trans body as a site of struggle, liberation, and beauty. A confessional poet, Benaway narrates her sexual and romantic intimacies with partners as well as her work to navigate the daily burden of transphobia and violence. She examines the intersections of Indigenous and trans experience through autobiographical poems and continues to speak to the legacy of abuse, violence, and colonial erasure that defines Canada. Her sparse lines, interwoven with English and Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe), illustrate the wonder and power of Indigenous trans womanhood in motion. Winner of the 2019 Governor General’s Award for Poetry. 2019.
Native peoples
3033031 Indigenous relations: insights, tips & suggestions to make reconciliation a reality by Robert P. C. Joseph
4 vols. We are all treaty people. But what are the everyday impacts of treaties, and how can we effectively work toward reconciliation if we're worried our words and actions will unintentionally cause harm? Hereditary chief and leading Indigenous relations trainer Bob Joseph is your guide to respecting cultural differences and improving your personal relationships and business interactions with Indigenous Peoples. Practical and inclusive, Indigenous Relations interprets the difference between hereditary and elected leadership, and why it matters; explains the intricacies of Aboriginal Rights and Title, and the treaty process; and demonstrates the lasting impact of the Indian Act, including the barriers that Indigenous communities face and the truth behind common myths and stereotypes perpetuated since Confederation. "Indigenous relations" equips you with the necessary knowledge to respectfully avoid missteps in your work and daily life, and offers an eight-part process to help business and government work more effectively with Indigenous Peoples - benefiting workplace culture as well as the bottom line. 2019.
Nature
3157912 The uninhabitable earth: life after warming by David Wallace-Wells
It is worse, much worse, than you think. If your anxiety about global warming is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible. In California, wildfires now rage year-round, destroying thousands of homes. Across the US, "500-year" storms pummel communities month after month, and floods displace tens of millions annually. This is only a preview of the changes to come. And they are coming fast. Without a revolution in how billions of humans conduct their lives, parts of the Earth could become close to uninhabitable, and other parts horrifically inhospitable, as soon as the end of this century. In his travelogue of our near future, David Wallace-Wells brings into stark relief the climate troubles that await - food shortages, refugee emergencies, and other crises that will reshape the globe. But the world will be remade by warming in more profound ways as well, transforming our politics, our culture, our relationship to technology, and our sense of history. It will be all-encompassing, shaping and distorting nearly every aspect of human life as it is lived today. 2019.