Heard Any Good Books Lately? December 2021 transcript 0:09 The content of this program is intended for people who are blind and print impaired. Hello and welcome to our December 2021 edition of Heard Any Good Books Lately?, a program from the North Carolina Reading Service. I'm George Douglas. This program is brought to you by the friends of the North Carolina Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, an organization of citizens, volunteers and patrons, all interested in supporting the library and the services it provides. The Friends Group was founded in 1989, and now has more than 300 members across North Carolina. If you would like to join the friends group yourself, we'll have information on how to do that later in the program. This program is all about books with special emphasis on those available from the North Carolina Library for the Blind. The library has more than 86,000 titles in its collection, books and magazines are available in large print Braille and Talking books as well. The library has more than 11,000 patrons across the state and if you're not a patron, but are interested in becoming one, I'll have more information at the end of this program. 1:26 This month we'll take a look at some of the most popular books checked out in the month of November at the North Carolina Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. We begin with a book entitled Autumns Promise by Shelley Shepard gray. Here's the plot. Until Robert Miller met Lily Allen, his world had been dark. A widower after only two years of marriage, he'd been living in a haze, feeling that at 24 His life was already over. But thanks to his friendship with Lily, he now has new reasons to wake up each day. He knows his connection to her doesn't make sense. She's only 19 with a pass the whole town talks about even more. She's not Amish, like Robert, a marriage between the two of them could never happen. Lily's heart is drawn to Robert, not to his faith, no matter how much she admires his quiet strength and dependability. She doesn't think she could ever give up her independence and reliance on the modern world. Is there love doomed before it even ends? Find out and read or listen to autumns promise by Shelley Shepard Gray. 2:51 Our next book today is nonfiction and about a great singer that we all remember. Well. It's entitled Sinatra and me in the wee hours by Tony Oppedisano. In his roles as both Frank Sinatra's road manager and friend, Tony Oppedisano enjoyed unrivaled access to the man many consider America's greatest 20th century entertainer. The two met in 1974 at the New York City Club Chili's when Oppedisano was 21 years old Sinatra was 56. Little did the author of Sinatra and me in the wee small hours know that he had not just met his vocalist hero, but someone who would spend many nights and early mornings with until Sinatra's death in 1998. There was so much already having been written about the chairman of the board, Oppedisano wisely avoids trying to compose a little needed second hand chronological biography. Instead, he briefly recounts his own experiences growing up, and then gaining Sinatra's respect and confidence. The heart of the book then contains the magic chapters of reminiscences Sinatra shared about his loves, family artistry, political and charitable work, and supposed mafia ties. Finally, Oppedisano recounts the singer's passing and the machinations needed to keep the paparazzi from being invasive, and various family members from open openly squabbling. So is Sinatra and me a juicy tell hardly. While Oppedisano shares an insider's perspective. He does so largely in service of maintaining Sinatra's positive image, while not glossing over Sinatra's legendary temper, nor is demanding nature and fickle romantic current Oppedisano largely wants readers to see the best of his subject. The rumors about Sinatra's ties to the mob on true and unfounded his devotion to his children and family, absolute. His hush hush monetary and personal supportive friends and charitable causes, outrageously generous. So is Sinatra and me a mere puff piece. Also know, having the author recount reminiscences shared with him by Sinatra might seem like a recipe for bland retellings, but Oppedisano, aided by writer Mary Jane Ross, shares the tales with punch and panache. readers get the benefit of Sinatra having shared these stories after considering them over decades. Later in life, wisdom seeps through as Sinatra recounts regrets about leaving his first marriage, take stock of who his true friends are, and tries to keep his music career flourishing. As executives and producers quietly imply or exist, he is washed up. Tales of feuds between Sinatra his last wife Barbara, his first wife, Nancy, and his children rather than tawdry come off as compellingly tragic. Perhaps the most surprisingly interesting portion of the book may be Oppedisano, sharing his own life story and details of first entering Sinatra's orbit. Despite their age difference, the two men found much to bond over from their proud Italian heritage to their close families to their musicianship. Oppedisano, having worked his way up the New York City club scene in his teens and early 20s. As a singer and a jazz musician, opened his auto discovers and ability to direct, inspire and comfort people that leads to a career producing projects managing artists, and acting as Sinatra's sounding board, confidant and protector that ultimately ends in the difficult work of discreetly trying to control the chaos swirling around Sinatra's death. The writers own grief having to be put aside for weeks, as he Wades through the practical work of such terrible times. In his source notes, the author expresses his frustration that Sinatra himself became resigned to the idea of writers sharing their own versions of his life, no matter how far off base, open de Senado remember saying to his friend and boss, but Frank, the truth is the truth. Sinatra's response if you feel that passionately about it, then you fix it. Sinatra and me may not set the record straight about every misconception of his title subject but not for lack of open design. Oh trying that the results of such a quest prove so readable human and sympathetic testifies to the writers, powerful memory and the singular life experiences. And that was a review by John Young, who is a teacher of seventh grade art students and plays in the rock band The Optimist. That book was first published in June of 17th of 2021. That is the review for the book was first published at that time again. It was a popular one this past month at the Library for the Blind. Sinatra and me in the wee hours by Tony Oppedisano. 8:59 Now back to some fiction a next book that was very popular last month at the Library for the Blind is entitled Bookshop by the sea by Denise Hunter. Sophie Lawson should be enjoying her sister's wedding, but nothing could have prepared her to see the best man again. Here's the plot. After her mother became bedridden and her father bailed on the family. The Sophie found herself serving as a second mother to her twin brothers Seth and younger sister Jenna. Sophie supported her siblings through their college years putting aside her own dream of opening a bookshop in Piper's Cove, the quaint North Carolina beach town they frequented as children. Now it's time for Sophie to follow her own pursuits. Seth has a new job and Jenna is set to marry her college bow in Piper's Cove. But the destination Wedding reunites Sophie with Best Man Aiden Maddix, her high school sweetheart, who left her without a backward glance. When an advancing hurricane strands Aiden and Piper's Cove after the wedding, he finds the hotels booked to capacity and has to ask Sophie to put him up until the storm passes as the to write out the weather, cold feelings rise to the surface. The delay also leaves Sophie with mere days to get her bookshop up and running. Can she trust Aiden to stick around? And will he find the courage to risk his heart? Find out by reading or listening to Bookshop by the sea by Denise Hunter. 10:48 Next, let's talk about a book called Sugar Town Queens by Malla Nunn. A South African teen unravels the mysteries of her own and her mother's pasts. A Mandela's life is filled with the unknown. Not only are her mother and Elise's episodes unpredictable, Amanda law also knows next to nothing about either of their personal histories. mixed race Amandla does know that her father was black, which is rather scandalous even in her post Mandela nation, given that Annalisa is white. When Annalisa returns from Durban on a Mandela's 15th birthday, badly shaken and without her usual practical gifts, Amandla finds and address and lots of cash in Anna Lisa's purse, she decides to investigate in hopes of finally getting answers to her many questions. What she discovers could have led to a basic rags to riches story. But none avoids that trope, choosing instead to focus on the amazing community of their township sugartown Indeed, the setting is one of the strongest aspects of the story, a community of strong women who support a manleigh is juxtaposed with one she later encounters that lacks the same cohesiveness. What follows are many highly dramatic turns of events and a narrative that shows a young woman reckoning with possible paths lying ahead and harsh judgments of women's behavior. The novel ultimately acknowledges that different people behave in different ways, each given similar circumstances. The origin story mystery features a cast that reflects the diversity of its setting. It's engrossing to the very end. Again, the name of this book is Sugar Town Queens and it's by Malla Nunn. 13:02 Another nonfiction book was on the top 10 List last month at the North Carolina Library for the Blind, a book by the very popular journalist and author Bob Woodward. And this is the book entitled Peril. The book covers the end of the Trump presidency and the early months of the Biden presidency. The transition from President Donald J. Trump to President Joseph R Biden Jr. stands as one of the most dangerous periods in American history. But as number one internationally Best Selling Author Bob Woodward and acclaimed reporter Robert Costa reveal for the first time it was far more than just a domestic political crisis. Woodward and Costa interviewed more than 200 people at the center of the turmoil, resulting in more than 6000 pages of transcripts and the spellbinding and definitive portrait of a nation on the brink. This classic study of Washington takes readers deep inside the Trump White House, the Biden White House, the 2020 campaign and the Pentagon and Congress with vivid eyewitness accounts of what really happened. peril is supplemented throughout with never before seen material from secret orders, transcripts of confidential calls, diaries, emails, meeting notes, and other personal and government records making for an unparalleled history. It is also the first inside look at Biden's presidency as he faces the challenges of a lifetime. The continuing deadly pandemic and millions of Americans facing soul crushing economic pain, all the while navigating a bitter and disabling partisan divide a world rife with threats and The hovering dark shadow of the former president. We have much to do in this winter of peril Biden declared at his inauguration and event marked by a nerve racking security alert and the threat of domestic terrorism. peril is the extraordinary story of the end of one presidency and the beginning of another and represents the culmination of Bob Woodward's newsmaking trilogy on the Trump presidency along with fear and rage. And it is the beginning of a collaboration with fellow Washington Post reporter Robert Costa, that will remind readers of Woodward's coverage with Carl Bernstein of President Richard M. Nixon's final days. And once again, the book is called peril by Robert Woodward. 16:01 And you're listening to heard any good books lately, an exclusive production of the North Carolina Reading Service. I'm George Douglas. Thanks for joining me on the program today. Well, especially after that last nonfiction book, we need another book. 16:18 This one's a love story. However, this one is also nonfiction. And it sounds like a good one. Let me read you the story about it right now. The book is entitled Nora, a love story of Nora and James Joyce by Nuala O'Connor. Nora Barnacle lifelong partner to James Joyce and model for Molly bloom in Ulysses moves center stage and a story of loyal love tested over years of poverty and effort. Young Nora a bold, free thinking uneducated girl from a poor Galway background narrates this biographical saga in evocative Irish tones, offering a more or less conventional account of the role of the supportive wife to a genius. The novel opens in Dublin on June 16 19. Oh for her first date with Jim Joyce, later to be commemorated as Bloomsday the day during which you lyses takes place. The attraction between the couple is explicitly sexual. And within months they leave Ireland together for Switzerland where Joyce has been promised a teaching job. So begins their peripatetic life moving from Zurich to tree asked to Rome back to tree asked and eventually to Paris, unmarried for decades since Joyce wouldn't be bound by any church. The pair struggles with the culture shock of Europe, the food, the weather, and their own poverty. But Nora suffers more. She's lonely. Living in the wake of a charismatic mercurial husband who drinks too much abandons her often hates his work, and loses himself in his writing. This is a woman's story of craving female friendship, tending children, and supporting a wayward wanderer while always loving and being loved by him. Slowly, Joyce begins to win the fight for publication and acknowledgement. But literature is largely the background to this domestic portrait of mutual dependency, sometimes overwhelmed by its emphasis on family dramas. O'Connor's Joyce, is a man the same as any other with all a man's frauds and faults. According to Nora, she emerges as his rock, the prose to his poetry. O'Connor's lengthy indulgent portrait of a marriage forefronts, the robust, devoted woman who kept the show on the road. Again, the book is called Nora, a love story of Nora and James Joyce, and it was written by Nuala O'Connor. 19:15 Next, another book of the nonfiction genre we're going to read about Until Proven Safe The History and Future of Quarantine and is by Geoff Manaugh. Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley have been researching quarantine since long before the COVID 19 pandemic. With Until Proven Safe , they bring us a book as compelling as it is definitive not only urgent reading for social distance times, but also an up to the minute investigation of the interplay of forces, biological, political, technological, that shape our modern world. Quarantine is our most powerful response to uncertainty it means waiting to see if something hidden inside us will be revealed. It is also one of our most dangerous operating through an assumption of guilt and quarantine we are considered infectious until proven safe until proven safe tracks the history and future of quarantine around the globe, chasing the story of emergency isolation through time and space. From the crumbling, Lazarus ghettos of the Mediterranean, built to contain the Black Death to an experimental Ebola unit in London. And from the hallways of the CDC to close door simulations where pharmaceutical execs and epidemiologists prepare for the outbreak of a novel Coronavirus. But the story of quarantine ranges far beyond the history of medical isolation. And until proven safe, the authors tour a nuclear waste isolation facility beneath a new Mexican desert. They see plants stricken with a disease that threatens the world's we'd supply and meet NASA's Planetary protection officer tasked with saving Earth from Extra Terrestrial terrestrial infections. And they also introduce us to the corporate tech giants hoping to revolutionize quarantine through surveillance and algorithmic prediction. We live in a disorienting historical moment that can feel both unprecedented and inevitable, until proven safe helps us make sense of our new reality through a thrillingly reported thought provoking exploration of the meaning of freedom, governance, and mutual responsibility. It sounds like a very interesting and intriguing book it's called Until Proven Safe The History and Future of Quarantine by Geoff Manaugh, and that spelled by the way, Manaugh. 22:19 Now certainly on the lighter side, our next book is entitled Amish Promises: Neighbors of Lancaster County and this is book number one by Leslie Gould. When Joel and Shawnee Beck arrive in their new home on juneberry Lane in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They're looking for peace. Joel's recently returned from Iraq and is recuperating and Shawnee is just happy to have her family back together. They can't imagine any trouble with their Amish neighbors the Laymen's, but things get off to a rocky start when their son accidentally hurts Simon, one of the layman boys. Timothy Layman, a widower is the family patriarch and demands the back boy work in Simon's place. Tensions escalate. But Shawnee can't help but be drawn to Eve Layman, Timothy's sister who runs the household. The two began to form a strong friendship forged on faith and family, and things seem like they've quieted down until Joel single and handsome army friend Charlie catches Eve's eye. Suddenly, life for both families becomes more complicated than any of them could have ever imagined. Again, the book is called Amish Promises: Neighbors of Lancaster County and it is book one in this series by Leslie Gould. 23:56 Next, a very serious nonfiction book entitled Reign of Terror, how the 911 era destabilized America and produced Trump by Spencer Ackerman. Spencer Ackerman's barnburner of a new book Reign of Terror reminded me, says the reviewer, of that moment in 2015 when Donald J Trump descended his golden escalator to announce his longshot candidacy for the highest office. Instead of starting with the usual heartwarming cliches about the country's better angels. Trump came out swinging declaring that the United States was in trouble. When was the last time the US won at anything? It certainly hadn't been winning any of its wars that had been fighting for more than a decade. Ackerman contends that the American response to 911 made President Trump possible. The evidence for this blunt force thesis is presented in Reign of Terror with an impressive competence of diligence and verve, deploying Ackerman's Deep Sky stores of knowledge as a national security journalist to full effect. The result is a narrative of the last 20 years that is upsetting, discerning, and brilliantly argued. Ackerman, who has been a correspondent for outlets like Wired and The Guardian, shows how Trump clearly understood something about the post 911 era that the professional political class did not. Waging endless war on Afghanistan, on Iraq, and terror yielded nothing so definitive as peace or victory, and instead simply fueled a grotesque subtext to which Trump proved to be remarkably attuned. He may have changed his positions on this or that conflict willy nilly, but Trump, Ackerman writes, never wavered on one key point, the perception of non-whites as marauders even as conquerors from hostile foreign civilizations. Reign of Terror begins with a prologue titled the worst terrorist attack in American history, a phrase that for years had referred not to the 911 attacks but to the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. In the immediate aftermath, Muslims were blamed, newspaper columnists started railing against foreigners and immigrants. The actual culprit, Timothy McVeigh had been an avowed white supremacist so you wouldn't have necessarily known it from the media reports at the time, which kept emphasizing McVeigh's survivalism. McVeigh was sentenced to death after being tried in an open court before a jury of his peers. Ackerman invites us to contrast this respect for due process with how the entire machinery of the government transformed itself in response to the 911 attacks with deadly wars, proliferating, proliferating immigration restrictions, and an elaborate apparatus dedicated to mass surveillance. When terrorism was white, Ackerman writes America's sympathized with principal objections against unleashing the coercive, punitive and violent powers of the state. He continues when terrorism was white, the prospect of criminalizing a large swath of Americans was unthinkable. Reign of Terror makes clear that what happened on September 11, 2001 can only be called an atrocity. This isn't one of those accounts that tries to play down the trauma. But Ackerman also suggests that instead of defining the enemy as the best specific terrorist, the network responsible for the attacks, the George W. Bush administration report resorted to deliberate indecision. White House lawyers press for maximum executive power, while Bush would insist that Muslims weren't the enemy in one moment, and then describe the war on terror as a crusade the next. The result, Ackerman writes was a vague definition of an enemy that consisted of 1000s of Muslims, perhaps millions, but not all Muslims, though definitively exclusively Muslims. Once again, the book is called The reign of terror, how the 911 era destabilized America and produced Trump by Spencer Ackerman. 28:36 And that's it for this month's edition of Heard Any Good Books Lately?, presented by the North Carolina Library for the Blind and the Friends of the North Carolina Library for the Blind. This program is intended for people who are blind or print impaired. Heard Any Good Books Lately? will be available right after the broadcast at our website NC Reading Service.org. So long for now. Transcribed by https://otter.ai