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From the studio: Perkins’ Recommended Reads
The latest from the Clive W. Lacy recording studio. The recording studio at the Perkins Library produces a great number of books each year for our patrons. Almost all of these books are by local authors or have subject matter of local interest.
The latest from the Clive W. Lacy recording studio.
The recording studio at the Perkins Library produces a great number of books each year for our patrons. Almost all of these books are by local authors or have subject matter of local interest. We want to make sure that there is something for everyone, so we try to do a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction books for all ages.
The following is a list of some of the titles we have completed over the last several months. It includes novels, memoirs, health related topics, business, the law, options for our younger readers – and a little Disney magic thrown in! We hope you’ll find something to enjoy.
Digital book (DB), braille (BR), large print (LT), and audio described videos (DVD) copies of these titles are available from the Perkins Library or the Worcester Talking Book Library. Please contact the library to order any of these books.
Prepared by Nancy Gahagan
Recording Studio Manager
Perkins Library
A Change of Heart: Unraveling the Mysteries of Cardiovascular Disease
Daniel Levy and Susan Brink
The current director of the Framingham Heart Study and an acclaimed journalist join forces in this highly readable and engaging account of the landmark program. Begun in 1948, the longitudinal study of more 5,000 citizens of the Massachusetts town has transformed the field of cardiology. 2005.
Download A Change of Heart, DBC 11407
The Curse: Big Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town
Robert Steele
A 17th century curse plays out four centuries later when a quaint Connecticut village is chosen as the site of a lavish new Indian gambling casino. 2012.
The Curve Ahead: Discovering the Path to Unlimited Growth
Dave Power
Business executive, educator, and current CEO of Perkins describes how businesses and organizations can stay “ahead of the curve,” using “design thinking” and other innovative methods to not only survive, but keep moving forward, discovering new opportunities for growth. 2014.
Download The Curve Ahead, DBC 714
Devoted: The Story of a Father’s Love for His Son
Dick Hoyt with Don Yaeger
Inspiring countless runners and race fans with his tenacity and dedication, Dick Hoyt has competed in more than a thousand events, including dozens of Boston marathons, while pushing his wheelchair-bound son, Rick. 2010.
Don’t Just Say It: A News Director’s Guide to Public Speaking
Matt Ellis
Written by an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist and founder of a strategic communications firm, this pocket guide contains simple tools and proven techniques that can help everyone succeed as a public speaker. 2017.
Download Don’t Just Say It, DBC 11575
Drake’s Coffin: A Zach Colt Adventure
Michael D. Urban
This thrilling adventure tells the story of a group of men who reunite to find Sir Francis Drake’s lost treasure, which they had stumbled upon many years before as teenagers with tragic circumstances. Explicit descriptions of sex, strong language and violence. 2012.
Download Drake’s Coffin, DBC 3871
Enchanted Objects: Design, Human Desire and the Internet of Things
David Rose
An MIT Media Lab scientist prognosticates about a future where, more and more, people will be connected with ordinary objects through new, advanced technologies. 2014.
Download Enchanted Objects, DBC 4001
Halloweena
Miriam Glassman
A cunning little sorceress finds a way to delight both the human kids in the neighborhood, who are easily spooked, and her guardian, an old-school witch named Hepzibah. For preschool-grade 2. 2002.
Download Halloweena, DBC 11564
A Handful of Spells
Kimberley A. Shaw
Thrilled to be accepted by the venerable Witches Academy of Salem, hard-of-hearing Caitlin Leo has trouble fitting in with the other budding sorcerers, until she finds her true community. For junior and senior high. 2014.
Download A Handful of Spells, DBC 3896
The Harbormaster’s Daughter: A Novel
Heidi Jon Schmidt
Long shielded from the shocking details of her mother’s murder in a quaint Cape Cod village, 16-year-old Vita Gray discovers the truth, and feels utterly betrayed by the woman who raised her. As it explores the complexity of maternal love, this heartrending novel also traces the cultural differences that divide the Cape’s Portuguese fishing families from its newly arrived “washashores.” Some strong language. 2012.
Download The Harbormaster’s Daughter, DBC 11405
The Hiding Game
Gwen Strauss
Hidden from the Nazis in a glamorous French villa, a young Jewish girl is surrounded by art, beauty, and hope. This story is based on the experience of the author’s great-grand father, the owner of that villa. For grades 3-6. 2017.
Download The Hiding Game, DBC 11565
Horses of the Dawn: The Escape
Kathryn Lasky
Born on a ship but meant to run free, a horse named Estrella leads her herd through jungles and deserts and over thousands of miles in this fast-paced adventure. For grades 4-7. 2014.
Download Horses of the Dawn, DBC 11420
Life Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes and Autism
Ron Suskind
A Pulitzer prize-winning journalist who is also the father of an autistic son, the author discovers that the only way to connect to his child is to dig deeply into the animated Disney movies that the boy loves. 2014.
Download Life Animated, DBC 4034
Masters of the Game: Inside the World’s Most Powerful Law Firm
Kim Eisler
Counsel to presidents and politicos, sports teams, business tycoons, and other movers and shakers, the D.C. firm of Williams & Connolly has long been the legal team that empowers the most powerful people on earth. In this engrossing book, a seasoned law journalist focuses on five of the firm’s most fascinating members. 2010.
Download Masters of the Game, DBC 11411
Moonglade: Book 2 of the Maine Shore Chronicles
Mary Fremont Schoenecker
When an emergency room nurse discovers a body floating in Saco Bay, she becomes entangled in a murder mystery—and a romance with the officer investigating the death. Sequel to Finding Fiona. 2010.
The Negotiator: Reflections on an American Life
George Mitchell
The former majority leader of the Senate reflects on his working class roots in Lewiston, Maine and his wide-ranging career as lawyer, prosecutor, politician, peace envoy to Northern Ireland and the Middle East, and adviser to Major League Baseball. 2015.
Download The Negotiator, DBC 4013
Of Sea and Cloud
Jon Keller
After their father drowns off the coast of Maine, Bill and Jonah Graves struggle to keep the family lobster business afloat as the market for lobster collapses and an old family friend, once their father’s partner, turns against them. 2015.
Download Of Sea and Cloud, DBC 3867
Polly and Her Duck Costume
Leanne Lauricella
Polly, a goat who is blind, feels happiest when she’s wrapped in something warm and fuzzy—like an adorable duck costume. But when she makes a new friend, she discovers another way to feel loved. For preschool to grade 2. 2017.
Download Polly and Her Duck Costume, DBC 11572
Rotten to the Core: An Orchard Mystery
Sheila Connolly
When the poisoned body of a young man is found in her small orchard, Meg Corey is amazed to discover that she’s the prime suspect. 2009.
Download Rotten to the Core, DBC 3911
Scribe: My Life in Sports
Bob Ryan
After forty-five years of covering sports in one of America’s most sports-loving cities, Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan recalls his journalism career. 2014.
Download Braille, Scribe, BR 20647
Sight Reading: A Novel
Daphne Kalotay
Three lives crisscross, diverge, and ultimately interlace in this sweeping, lyrical novel that follows a gifted violinist, a famous composer, and his fragile, beautiful first wife from 1987 to 2007, from Europe to America, through conservatory life and into the Boston Symphony Orchestra. 2014.
Download Sight Reading, DBC 11409
Stories from the Shadows: Reflections of a Street Doctor
James J. O’Connell
A physician who tends to the health care needs of Boston’s homeless writes about his work and his patients in this collection of short stories. 2015.
Download Stories from the Shadows, DBC 11429
A Time to Dance
Padma Venkatraman
When she loses part of her leg in an accident, a gifted young dancer learns a new way to perform in this inspirational novel written in free verse. For junior and senior high. 2015.
