Talking Book Topics March–April 2018 Volume 84, Number 2 Need help? Your local cooperating library is always the place to start. For general information and to order books, call 1-888-NLS-READ (1-888-657-7323) to be connected to your local cooperating library. To find your library, visit www.loc.gov/nls and select “Find Your Library.” To change your Talking Book Topics subscription, contact your local cooperating library. Get books fast from BARD Most books and magazines listed in Talking Book Topics are available to eligible readers for download on the NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) site. To use BARD, contact your local cooperating library or visit nlsbard.loc.gov for more information. The free BARD Mobile app is available from the App Store, Google Play, and Amazon’s Appstore. About Talking Book Topics Talking Book Topics, published in audio, large print, and online, is distributed free to people unable to read regular print and is available in an abridged form in braille. Talking Book Topics lists titles recently added to the NLS collection. The entire collection, with hundreds of thousands of titles, is available at www.loc.gov/nls. Select “Catalog Search” to view the collection. Talking Book Topics is also online at www.loc.gov/nls/tbt and in downloadable audio files from BARD. Overseas Service American citizens living abroad may enroll and request delivery to foreign addresses by contacting the NLS Overseas Librarian by phone at (202) 707-9261 or by email at [email protected]. Page 1 of 88 Music scores and instructional materials NLS music patrons can receive braille and large-print music scores and instructional recordings through the NLS Music Section. To learn more, email [email protected], call 1-800-424-8567 ext. 2, or visit www.loc.gov/nls/music/index.html. Publication feedback? Share your thoughts about this publication by writing us at: NLS Publications and Media Section Library of Congress Washington, DC 20542 or email us at [email protected]. Library of Congress, Washington 2018 Catalog Card Number 60-46157 ISSN 0039-9183 Contents Talking Book Topics March–April 2018 Contents In Brief Books for Adults Adult Fiction Adventure Family Fantasy General Gothics Historical Fiction Human Relationships Mystery and Detective Occult and Horror Page 2 of 88 Political Themes Psychological Themes Religious Themes Romance Science Fiction Short Stories Spies and Espionage Suspense War Stories Adult Nonfiction Animals and Wildlife Arts Astronomy Biography Business and Economics Career and Job Training Consumerism Cooking Crime Diet and Nutrition Drama and Theater Gardening General Government and Politics Hobbies and Crafts Journalism and the Media Language Legal Issues Literature Medicine and Health Page 3 of 88 Music Nature and the Environment Occult and Astrology Philosophy Poetry Psychology and Self-Help Religion Science and Technology Social Sciences Sports and Recreation Stage and Screen Travel U.S. History War World History Books for Children Children’s Fiction Adventure Family Fantasy Growing Up Historical Fiction Mystery and Detective Children's Nonfiction Animals and Wildlife Biography History Nature and the Environment Science and Technology Page 4 of 88 Foreign Language Books Español Audio Magazines In Brief NLS on the Move: The latest on our new initiatives In July 2017, NLS launched a newsletter called “NLS on the Move” to keep local cooperating libraries updated on the progress of pilot projects and other new initiatives. Selections from this newsletter that may be of interest to NLS patrons began appearing in Talking Book Topics and Braille Book Review with the November–December 2017 issues and will continue to appear when relevant. January 25, 2018 NLS begins new year with a newly remodeled headquarters It’s a new year—and it sure feels like it here at 1291 Taylor St. in Northwest Washington, D.C. The extensive remodeling of the NLS headquarters that began last April is all-but- complete, and the last of the 40-some staff members who had relocated to the main Library of Congress campus on Capitol Hill returned on January 10. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say they barely recognized the former warehouse that NLS has called home since the mid-1960s. “We wanted our Taylor Street staff to Page 5 of 88 have as safe and modern a workplace as their Library colleagues on Capitol Hill,” Director Karen Keninger said. “We also wanted our facility to make a better impression on the librarians, teachers, and other professionals who come to NLS from all over the world to learn about our program—and to the network staffers who come for orientation three times a year. The remodeling achieved both goals. In addition, we reconfigured the floorplan to improve workflow and efficiency— and we’re already seeing positive results from that.” Newsstand The following announcements may be of interest to readers. The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped reserves the right to publish announcements selectively, as space permits. The items mentioned, however, are not part of the NLS program, and their listings do not imply endorsement or support. Free braille conversion software Easy Converter Express, a software released by the World Blind Union and International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment, lets teachers and others who work with blind children and adults to produce braille text from digital files with little or no training. The software is free of charge to all, and it can be downloaded from https://yourdolphin.com/easyconverter or call 1-866-797-5921. Scholarships for college students with low vision The Council of Citizens with Low Vision International (CCLVI), an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind, annually awards three scholarships in the amount of $3,000 each to fulltime college students—an incoming freshman, an undergraduate and a graduate student—all of whom must have low vision, maintain a strong GPA and be involved in school/local community activities. Find out more at: http://acb.org/cclvi-2018-scholarships or call 844-460-0625. National parks in California to provide brochures accessible to people with visual disabilities In their continuing efforts to “audio describe the world,” researchers at the University of Hawaii will collaborate with Google, the American Council of the Blind, and the U.S. National Park Service to audio-describe print brochures at 15 park sites throughout the state of California. This latest phase of the UniDescription project will focus on description of the primary print brochures available in California’s national parks, distinguishing it as the first state in the Page 6 of 88 country to feature such widespread accessibility for people who are visually impaired or blind. For more information or to learn about the latest audio description projects, visit www.unidescription.org or call (509) 339-6088 between 9 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday. Books for Adults Books listed in this issue of Talking Book Topics were recently sent to cooperating libraries. The complete collection contains a wide range of fiction and nonfiction books, including biographies, classics, westerns, mysteries, romances, and others. Registered users may also immediately download all titles and magazines from the NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) service at https://nlsbard.loc.gov. The free BARD Mobile app is available from the App Store, Google Play, and Amazon’s Appstore for reading talking books on your personal smart phone or tablet. To learn more about the collection or to sign up for BARD, contact your local cooperating library. Regional library telephone numbers and email addresses are listed on the last pages of this magazine. Books within the headings Adult Fiction and Adult Nonfiction are listed alphabetically by subject category, author last name, and title. For example the title War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy would be listed in Adult Fiction under the Classics subject category and by the last name Tolstoy. Note: A notice may appear immediately following the book description to indicate occurrences of violence, strong language, or descriptions of sex. The Page 7 of 88 word “some” before any of these terms indicates an occasional or infrequent occurrence, as in “some strong language.” Commercial audiobooks for which NLS does not have access to the print book may display the notice “unrated,” which means that the book may or may not contain violence, strong language, or descriptions of sex. Adult Fiction Adventure A Hard, Cruel Shore: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure DB87366 12 hours 2 minutes by Dewey Lambdin read by Jack Fox After the events of Kings and Emperors (DB82132), Lewrie takes the HMS Sapphire in for repairs. He is given command of a small squadron and ordered to patrol the northwestern Spanish coast, which is known as Costa de Morte—the Coast of Death. Some violence and some strong language. 2016. Black Widow Series, Books 1–2 DB88649 21 hours 10 minutes by Margaret Stohl read by Emily Ellet Books one and two, written between 2015 and 2016, featuring the adventures of former lethal assassin Natasha Romanoff (also known as Black Widow). Working with S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha works to stop the Moscow spy school that created her in Forever Red. Also includes Red Vengeance. Some violence. For senior high and older readers. 2016. Thick as Thieves: A Queen's Thief Novel DB88681 9 hours 47 minutes by Megan Whalen Turner read by Jon Huffman Kamet, a secretary and slave to his Mede master, has the ambition and the means to become one of the most powerful people in the Empire, but the future he envisioned is wrenched away. Sequel to A Conspiracy of Kings ( DB72136). For junior and senior high readers.