Talking Book Topics January–February 2019 Volume 85, Number 1 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 109 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 Communications and Outreach 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 January–February 2019 Contents In Brief Books for Adults Adult Fiction Adventure Family Fantasy General Historical Fiction Human Relationships Humor Literature Mystery and Detective Occult and Horror Page 2 of 109 Psychological Themes Religious Themes Romance Science Fiction Short Stories Spies and Espionage Sports Stories Suspense War Stories Westerns Adult Nonfiction Animals and Wildlife Arts Biography Business and Economics Consumerism Cooking Crime Drama and Theater Education Folk and Fairy Tales Gardening Government and Politics Home Management Journalism and the Media Legal Issues Literature Medicine and Health Music Nature and the Environment Page 3 of 109 Poetry Psychology and Self-Help Religion Science and Technology Social Sciences Sports and Recreation Stage and Screen Travel U.S. History Women's Concerns World History Books for Children Children’s Fiction Adventure Animals and Wildlife Family Fantasy Friendship Growing Up Historical Fiction Humor Mystery and Detective Scary Stories Science Fiction Sports Stories Children's Nonfiction Animals and Wildlife Biography Gardening Government and Politics Page 4 of 109 History Nature and the Environment Poetry General History Nature and the Environment You and Your Body Foreign Language Books Español Audio Magazines In Brief Patrons can enjoy even more titles through BARD NLS is pleased to offer readers an even greater selection of new audiobooks through our Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) site and on your Android or iOS mobile device with the BARD Mobile app. Thousands more titles are now being distributed exclusively through BARD. As our relationship with various major publishers grows, more audiobooks will become available. Though Talking Book Topics will continue to list the latest titles available on cartridge for delivery to your home, we encourage patrons to explore these BARD-exclusive titles by signing up for BARD or by contacting a reader advisor at your local braille and talking-book library. To learn more about BARD or BARD Mobile, go to https://www.loc.gov/nls/enrollment-equipment/register-for-bard-get-bard-mobile. To contact your library, please call 1-888-657-7323 or visit www.loc.gov/nls/braille-audio-reading-materials/find-a-local-library. You can Page 5 of 109 also find the list of network library telephone numbers at the end of this publication. Print/braille books now on BARD The transcribed braille text of print/braille books produced by NLS since November 2018 now can be downloaded from the NLS Braille and Audio reading Download (BARD) site as BRF files. The images and printed text are not included in the downloadable versions. Physical copies of the complete colored version of print/braille books will continue to be available through your network library. NLS planning survey for 2019 NLS has been working with Gallup, the well-known polling and research company, to develop a nationwide survey—which would begin in spring of 2019. Data collected from this survey will guide us as we move forward on a variety of projects to enhance and expand the braille and talking-book program. Stay tuned for more details! NLS on the Move: The latest on our new initiatives In July 2017, NLS launched a newsletter called NLS on the Move to keep the staff in our national network of 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 are reprinted in Talking Book Topics and Braille Book Review. From NLS on the Move, originally published October 25, 2018 More projects on the drawing board for FY19 The new federal fiscal year began October 1, and it’s going to be a busy one here at NLS. You’ve been hearing a lot in On the Move about several projects that are well under way, such as Duplication on Demand and the braille eReader. We’ve also outlined more than a dozen projects aimed at determining the best approach to enhancing NLS products and services. Here’s a look at what we’re working on. We are studying the feasibility of using a modified smartphone as the next- generation talking-book player. This includes evaluating smartphones currently on the market, what modifications they would need before they could search the NLS catalog and play talking books, and how difficult they would be for patrons to set up and use. We are creating a prototype voice user interface (voice UI) for searching the NLS catalog and playing talking books. From this we hope to learn more about the technical requirements of voice UI and what patrons would expect it to do. Page 6 of 109 In the year ahead, we also will be exploring self-service tools such as a virtual agent on the NLS website or BARD Mobile that would interact with patrons. We will be testing a streaming service that would enable patrons to receive the data from files contained in an NLS book as they listen to it instead of having to download the entire book. “We’re excited about the potential of each of these ideas,” Director Karen Keninger said. “But first we need to determine if they really will improve our service, assess how patrons will react to them, and, of course, figure out how much they will cost. That’s what we’ll be doing in the year ahead.” Not all of these ideas may become reality. But we’re always looking for new ways to keep NLS on the move. 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. Prices and details about listed items were correct at the time of compilation but are subject to change. 2019 Medicare and You handbook available in accessible formats Patrons interested in receiving a free Medicare and You handbook, which describes Medicare rights and benefits and provides details about health and drug plans, may request it in audio CD, braille, or large print from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. To receive your handbook, call 1-800-633-4227 toll-free or visit https://www.medicare.gov/forms-help-resources/medicare-you- handbook/download-medicare-you-in-different-formats for downloadable versions. Accessible PDFs of 2018 tax documents now available The IRS has released accessible PDF versions of 2018 tax documents on its website at https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/irs-section-508-compliant-pdf-forms. Downloadable braille and large-print documents are still being developed. Please watch the main NLS website, at www.loc.gov/nls, for updates on when other accessible-format tax documents become available from the IRS. Aira app now free to use in Walgreens Aira, an app that connects blind and low-vision users with remote sighted assistance to help them navigate and interpret their environment, is now free to Page 7 of 109 use in all Walgreens pharmacy stores. Patrons interested in using it may download the app from aira.io/app and sign up as a Guest. For more information, visit aira.io/faq. 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.