Talking Book Topics January–February 2018 Volume 84, 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 151 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 January–February 2018 Contents In Brief Books for Adults Adult Fiction Adventure Blindness and Physical Disabilities Family Fantasy General Gothics Historical Fiction Holidays Human Relationships Page 2 of 151 Legal Themes Mystery and Detective Occult and Horror Political Themes Psychological Themes Religious Themes Romance Science Fiction Short Stories Spies and Espionage Sports Suspense War Stories Westerns Adult Nonfiction Adventure Animals and Wildlife Arts Astronomy Biography Blindness and Physical Disabilities Business and Economics Consumerism Cooking Crime Folktales Gardening Geography Government and Politics Humor Page 3 of 151 Language Legal Issues Literature Medicine and Health Music Nature and the Environment 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 Animals Family Fantasy Folk and Fairy Tales Friendship Growing Up Historical Fiction Humor Mystery Page 4 of 151 Scary Stories School Science Fiction Tall Tales Children's Nonfiction Adventure Animals Astronomy Biography Computers History Poetry Religion Science and Technology Sports and Recreation You and Your Body Foreign Language Books Español Audio Magazines Page 5 of 151 In Brief The Magazine of the Month The NLS Magazine of the Month program offers readers samples of magazines not otherwise available through network libraries. Subscribers receive a different audio magazine each month. For a free subscription, contact your local cooperating talking-book library. Subscribers may expect to receive some of the following selections: • American Scientist • Bookmarks • Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street • Dogster • Fast Company • Martha Stewart Living • Mojo • Mother Jones • Outside • Prevention • Time • Writer’s Digest Alternates: Dwell, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Field and Stream, Poetry, Utne Reader 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. BARD nears a milestone—and keeps getting better November 30, 2017 On November 25, 2017, NLS posted the 100,000th book to BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download service—another milestone in our ongoing efforts to leverage the latest technology to help patrons access books quickly and conveniently. Page 6 of 151 The pilot test began in October 2006 for what was then called the NLS Download, which had 1,200 talking-book titles and 10 magazines. The NLS Download was renamed BARD a year later, and in April 2009—after NLS introduced the digital talking-book machine—the full site launched. “I had the privilege of taking part in the initial pilot test for BARD, when I was working in Iowa,” NLS Director Karen Keninger says. “It was clear from the first day that this was a giant leap ahead for the program. I’m amazed at how far we’ve come since then—and I bet the 58,000 patrons who downloaded more than four million items from BARD in the past year are too. And we’re not done yet!” BARD wasn’t our first foray into the online delivery of books. Seven years before the BARD pilot began, NLS developed an online service called Web-Braille from which patrons could download books and magazines in ebraille (electronic braille). Web-Braille merged with BARD in 2012. With the introduction of the BARD Mobile app for iOS devices in 2013, followed two years later by an app for Android devices, we’ve made it easy for patrons to take a book along wherever they go. This past year, as in 2016, the majority of BARD downloads were done with the BARD Mobile app. NLS also has expanded the variety of books available on BARD, adding 4,000 titles of regional interest—such as The Madison Regatta: Hydroplane Racing in Small-Town Indiana (DBC11014) and Travis (DBC11955), a biography of the Alamo’s commander—produced by our network libraries. And last winter, NLS made its collection even more convenient and accessible. "Our regional librarians told us that more of their patrons would download books from BARD if there were fewer steps involved,” Consumer Relations Officer Judith Dixon says. “BARD isn’t hard at all with a little practice. But we want to make it as easy as possible for everyone.” The result: BARD Express, a Windows-based app that simplifies transferring talking books and magazines from BARD to a cartridge or USB drive. 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 Page 7 of 151 not part of the NLS program, and their listings do not imply endorsement or support. Seedlings 2018 catalog available Patrons looking to purchase braille books for children may wish to review the Seedlings Braille Books for Children 2018 catalog, now available. View the catalog online at www.seedlings.org/order.php or call 1-800-777-8552 or email [email protected] to request a print or braille catalog be sent to you by mail. Seedlings also provides three free braille books per year to visually impaired children and young adults under the age of 21, on request. To order free books, visit www.seedlings.org/bkangel2009.php. NFB 2018 Scholarship Program accepting applications Legally blind students from high school seniors through graduate school may be eligible to receive a merit-based academic scholarship from the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). The NFB scholarship program accepts applications until March 31, 2018, and awards 30 scholarships, ranging from $3,000 to $12,000. For more information, visit www.nfb.org/scholarships or contact the NFB at [email protected] or (410) 659-9314, ext. 2415. New audio description app available Blind moviegoers may find useful Actiview, a free iOS app that provides audio description, amplified audio, and other accessibility features. The app synchs itself to a movie’s audio track and works both in theaters and at home. Currently supported movies include Wonderstruck (based on the Brian Selznick novel, available from NLS as DB74157), Breathe, Coco, The Man Who Invented Christmas, and Dealt. For more information, visit www.activiewapp.com. Page 8 of 151 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.