Heard Any Good Books Lately - April 2023

The content of this program is intended for people who are blind and print impaired.

Hello and welcome to our April 2023 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 State Library of North Carolina - Accessible Books and Library 
Services, 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 available from the State Library of North Carolina – Accessible Books and Library Services. 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 also has more than 11-thousand patrons across the state. If you are not a patron but are interested in becoming one, I’ll have more information at the end of this program.

This month we will take a look at some of the most popular books checked out in the month of March at the State Library of North Carolina - Accessible Books and Library Services.


A Concise History of Spain by William D. Phillips and Carla Rahn Phillips

The rich cultural and political life of Spain has emerged from its complex history, from the diversity of its peoples, and from continual contact with outside influences. This book traces that history from prehistoric times to the present, focusing particularly on culture, society, politics, and personalities. 

Written in an engaging style, it introduces readers to the key themes that have shaped Spain's history and culture. These include its varied landscapes and climates; the impact of waves of diverse human migrations; the importance of its location as a bridge between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and Europe and Africa; and religion, particularly militant Catholic Christianity and its centuries of conflict with Islam and Protestantism, as well as debates over the place of the Church in modern Spain. Illustrations, maps, and a guide to further reading, major cultural figures, and places to see, make the history of this fascinating country come alive.



The Business of Lovers by Eric Jerome Dickey

An out-of-work project manager and his two brothers are broke and brokenhearted in Los Angeles—until a trio of sex workers offers him a way to help his whole family.
A “pace of asses” is what Brick jokingly calls them. But the three women he works with—Penny, Christiana, and Mocha Latte—are sophisticated, well educated, and down on their luck thanks to bad jobs and worse relationships. He’s initially hired to serve as their chauffeur, but soon their high-end female clients invite him inside for more. 
These high-powered women have deep pockets and deep emotional issues to match, but Brick seems to enjoy giving them the boyfriend experience. He’s out of work after a bout with cancer, and he’d also like to help out his brother Dwayne, whose kid and ex-girlfriend are struggling too. Dwayne is a fairly successful stage actor, but after hitting a rough patch he’s behind on his child support payments, and his ex-girlfriend won’t let him forget it. Their other brother, André, meanwhile, has managed to turn his unfortunate run-ins with the cops (and other hazards of being black in America) into a popular comedy routine. 
The brothers see LA from all angles, from its high-end hotels to its neglected homeless population. An education alone can’t guarantee survival in California’s unforgiving real estate market, especially not for people of color. But love can help (or hurt) their chances, and when it goes wrong, as Dwayne’s ex observes, “Love spares no one. We all pay.” Brick’s neighborhood is also home to fictional bill collector Ken Swift, and here Dickey (Before We Were Wicked, 2019, etc.) has left an Easter egg for readers to find.
In this sensual road trip across LA there are deep conversations, adult situations, and a sweet love story at every turn.



Murder She Wrote: Debonair in Death a novel by Jessica Fletcher

Cabot Cove takes another step toward becoming the murder capital of the world.
Jessica Fletcher is back in her lovely Maine coastal town after solving a murder in South Carolina. Geographically speaking, she has become something of an equal opportunity sleuth, and when lothario Nelson Penzell, a newcomer to her hometown, is found battered to death in the art shop he'd bought a partnership in, she wastes no time setting out to prove that meek young manicurist Coreen Wilson is innocent despite having been found hysterical and covered in blood in front of the shop. 
With the help of Doc Hazlitt, Jessica prevents Sheriff Mort Metzger from questioning Coreen until Jessica can find her a lawyer. In the meantime, Jessica, with the aid of many of the Cabot Cove regulars, digs into the mystery herself. When her old acquaintance Michael Haggerty of MI6, caught trying to break into Penzell’s house, explains that he’s looking into an international smuggling ring, Jessica has to acknowledge that the case may be more complicated than she thought. 
Michael’s later admission that there may be more than simple jewel smuggling involved and that he’s after the kingpin Penzell was working for makes Jessica wonder whether Penzell was murdered by a castoff lover, a jealous husband, his unhappy business partner, or a deadly spymaster. Naturally, she won’t give up until the truth is revealed.
Despite her long record of triumphs, the queen of cozy always finds an interesting new twist.


Beyond All Dreams by Elizabeth Camden

Anna O'Brien leads a predictable and quiet life as a map librarian at the illustrious Library of Congress until she stumbles across the baffling mystery of a ship disappeared at sea. Thwarted in her attempts to uncover information, her determination outweighs her shyness and she turns to a dashing congressman for help.

Luke Callahan was one of the nation's most powerful congressmen before his promising career was shadowed in scandal. Eager to share in a new cause and intrigued by the winsome librarian, he joins forces with Anna to solve the mystery of the lost ship. Opposites in every way, Anna and Luke are unexpectedly drawn to each other despite the strict rules forbidding Anna from any romantic entanglements with members of Congress. 

From the gilded halls of the Capitol where powerful men shape the future of the nation, to the scholarly archives of the nation's finest library, Anna and Luke are soon embroiled in secrets much bigger and more perilous than they ever imagined. Is bringing the truth to light worth risking all they've ever dreamed for their futures?


The Zen of Therapy: Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life by Mark Epstein

A remarkable exploration of the therapeutic relationship, Dr. Mark Epstein reflects on one year's worth of therapy sessions with his patients to observe how his training in Western psychotherapy and his equally long investigation into Buddhism, in tandem, led to greater awareness - for his patients, and for himself. 

For years, Dr. Mark Epstein kept his beliefs as a Buddhist separate from his work as a psychiatrist. Content to use his training in mindfulness as a private resource, he trusted that the Buddhist influence could, and should, remain invisible. But as he became more forthcoming with his patients about his personal spiritual leanings, he was surprised to learn how many were eager to learn more. The divisions between the psychological, emotional, and the spiritual, he soon realized, were not as distinct as one might think.

In The Zen of Therapy, Dr. Epstein reflects on a year's worth of selected sessions with his patients and observes how, in the incidental details of a given hour, his Buddhist background influences the way he works. Meditation and psychotherapy each encourage a willingness to face life's difficulties with courage that can be hard to otherwise muster, and in this cross-section of life in his office, he emphasizes how therapy, an element of Western medicine, can in fact be considered a two-person meditation. Mindfulness, too, much like a good therapist, can "hold" our awareness for us--and allow us to come to our senses and find inner peace.

Throughout this deeply personal inquiry, one which weaves together the wisdom of two worlds, Dr. Epstein illuminates the therapy relationship as spiritual friendship, and reveals how a therapist can help patients cultivate the sense that there is something magical, something wonderful, and something to trust running through our lives, no matter how fraught they have been or might become. For when we realize how readily we have misinterpreted our selves, when we stop clinging to our falsely conceived constructs, when we touch the ground of being, we come home.







The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

National Book Award Finalist * William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist * Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year * Walter Honor Award Winner * Pura Belpré Honor Book
A sharply funny and moving debut novel about a queer Mexican American girl navigating Catholic school, while falling in love and learning to celebrate her true self. Perfect for fans of Erika L. Sánchez, Leah Johnson, and Gabby Rivera.
Sixteen-year-old Yamilet Flores prefers to be known for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new, mostly white, very rich Catholic school. But at least here no one knows she’s gay, and Yami intends to keep it that way. 
After being outed by her crush and ex-best friend before transferring to Slayton Catholic, Yami has new priorities: keep her brother out of trouble, make her mom proud, and, most importantly, don’t fall in love. Granted, she’s never been great at any of those things, but that’s a problem for Future Yami. 
The thing is, it’s hard to fake being straight when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so annoyingly perfect. And smart. And talented. And cute. So cute. Either way, Yami isn’t going to make the same mistake again. If word got back to her mom, she could face a lot worse than rejection. So she’ll have to start asking, WWSGD: What would a straight girl do? 
Told in a captivating voice that is by turns hilarious, vulnerable, and searingly honest, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School explores the joys and heartaches of living your full truth out loud.





The American River by Gary McCarthy

John Augustus Sutter came to the wide and wild California country to build an empire. At his side was Morgan Beck, out to stake his own claim at the confluence of two powerful rivers, the Sacramento and the American. 
While the two adventurers follow new fortunes westward, the ill-fated Donner Party is mired in the grip of frozen death high in the Sierra Nevadas. 
Suddenly, Sutter and Beck are torn between the hot winds of revolution, and the desperate pleas of the trapped immigrant party. Little do they know of the icy horrors under the snows of the mountain pass. At stake is the greatest agricultural empire in California - Sutter's Fort - on the banks of the wide American River.



G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverly Gage
The first major biography of the F.B.I. director in nearly 30 years, the book by Beverly Gage revises our conception of a man often remembered as little more than a cartoon villain.
J. Edgar Hoover, who served as director of the F.B.I. for an astonishing 48 years, has long been remembered as the stuff of liberal nightmares: a redbaiter, a wiretapper, a sower of discord through covert manipulations.
As the Yale historian Beverly Gage makes abundantly clear in “G-Man,” her revelatory new biography of Hoover, all of this is true. But by casting him as a “rogue actor,” Gage argues, we neglect to see Hoover for who he really was — less an outsider to the so-called postwar consensus than an integral part of it. He served eight presidents, four Democrats and four Republicans. For all the sunniness projected by the American century, Hoover was its shadow, ever-present and inextricable. This book doesn’t rescue Hoover’s reputation but instead complicates it, deepening our understanding of him and, by extension, the country he served.
The myth of American exceptionalism relegated him to caricature, a supervillain who managed to cling to power only through devious means. But as “G-Man” vividly shows, Hoover was an exceedingly popular figure for much of his career. In the 1960s, while leading a surveillance and harassment campaign against Martin Luther King Jr., Hoover — irked by King’s criticisms of the F.B.I. — told a group of reporters that King was “the most notorious liar in the country.” Today, when even right-wing Republicans heap praise on King, Gage reminds us that it was Hoover — not King — who enjoyed a public approval rating of nearly 80 percent.
But there were already signs that this consensus was cracking. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson exempted the 69-year-old Hoover from mandatory federal retirement at 70. Despite what both men may have believed at the time, Gage says that this reprieve wouldn’t end up doing Hoover many favors. He was already being derided behind his back by some of the younger agents at the bureau. Within a few years he was showing his age, stumbling down stairs and taking long naps after lunch. He would become, in the words of The New York Times, “The Man Who Stayed Too Long.”

That article appeared in 1971, when a burglary at an F.B.I. office revealed the existence of COINTELPRO, the F.B.I.’s (that is to say, Hoover’s) counterintelligence program, which was initially designed to “manipulate, misinform and disrupt” the Communist Party in the United States, but eventually expanded beyond that. Tactics would include spreading rumors, sending anonymous letters and throwing sand in the gears by wasting people’s time. Hoover did all of this for 15 years in secret, seemingly accountable to no one. The centrist liberals who had long admired him were aghast, seeing themselves as innocents duped by a conniving schemer who had run amok.

This, Gage says, is the story about Hoover that stuck, especially after the Church Committee was formed in 1975 and exposed such secrets as the F.B.I.’s “black bag jobs,” or illegal break-ins. But part of what makes “G-Man” such a fascinating book is how much attention Gage pays to Hoover’s other side — that of the consummate bureaucrat who was determined to modernize and professionalize the F.B.I. As such, despite his obsession with secrecy, he left behind an enormous paper trail. “G-Man” is the first major biography of Hoover in nearly three decades, and the first to make ample use of records that have become available in the intervening years, including documents from a Cold War decryption project known as Venona.
Gage tells us about Hoover’s early years in Washington, D.C., where he was born on New Year’s Day in 1895 to a “loving if troubled household.” There were any number of family secrets to keep hidden — a murdered aunt, his grandfather’s suicide, his father’s mental breakdown. Washington was also a Southern city, and Hoover came of age in segregated schools and institutions. As a freshman at George Washington University, he joined Kappa Alpha, a fraternity that championed the myth of the Lost Cause.
Hoover’s racism, Gage says, isn’t in doubt. But it sometimes ran up against his duties as a federal lawman. Hoover, who started at the F.B.I.’s precursor, the Bureau of Investigation, in 1919, imposed “a culture of technical skill, professionalism and nonpartisan administration,” she writes, while never entirely abandoning the prejudices that were familiar to him. He was often caught in the teeth of such contradictions, though the varying amounts of energy he expended on his projects often suggested which impulse went deeper. He pulled out all the stops when chasing Communists; he pleaded limited jurisdiction when it came to protecting the civil rights of Black people in the South.

Even as the F.B.I. went after the Ku Klux Klan, which the conservative Hoover saw as a threat to law and order, he would keep referring to “both sides of the racial issue.” According to him, nonviolent civil rights activists were provocateurs who could actually generate violence by stirring up unnecessary trouble.
Additional contradictions emerged from Hoover’s blending of the personal and professional. His steadfast deputy at the F.B.I., Clyde Tolson, was also his “steadfast life partner,” Gage writes — though that didn’t stop Hoover from participating in the Lavender Scare of the 1950s, establishing a program to monitor “sex deviates.” But again, he reserved his zeal for tracking down Communists.
When his friend Richard Nixon ascended to the White House with the 1968 election, Hoover held on to his job, but barely. Despite Nixon’s lavish tributes to Hoover upon his death from a heart attack in 1972, Nixon wanted Hoover to do more of his political bidding and had been trying to find a way to get him to step down without the spectacle of a firing. As a fellow law-and-order conservative, Hoover may have been Nixon’s ideological soul mate, but Nixon had no use for Hoover’s bureaucratic professionalism — or, to put it another way, his self-protection. Hoover demanded that nebulous, potentially illegal, requests be put in writing. After all, the grand old man of domestic law enforcement had hung on for as long as he did because he was extremely shrewd. “Hoover had no intention of being the fall guy,” Gage writes.
This is a humanizing biography, but I wouldn’t call it a sympathetic one — as Gage shows, Hoover accrued too much power and racked up too many abuses for him to be worthy of that. What she provides instead is an acknowledgment of the complexities that made Hoover who he was, while also charting the turbulent currents that eventually swept him aside. Today, the once mightiest of G-men “has few admirers and almost nobody willing to claim his legacy,” she writes, “even within the F.B.I.”


Closing

That’s all for this month’s edition of “Heard Any Good Books Lately? I’m George Douglas. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would like more information about how to become a patron of the State Library of North Carolina - Accessible Books and Library Services, simply Google or search for Accessible Books – North Carolina Library – or call toll free -888-388-2460. That’s 888-388-2460.

You can also use the same numbers and website to join the Friends of the State Library of North Carolina - Accessible Books and Library Services. It is that wonderful organization that sponsors this monthly feature on books. 

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 NCReadingService.Org. So long until next time.