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Recommended Reads: Fresh from the Perkins Library Recording Studio
Wondering what the Perkins Library Recording Studio has been up to lately? Check out these newly recorded releases, many from Massachusetts or New England authors.
Please enjoy these recently produced titles from the Recording Studio at Perkins Library!
Digital book (DBC), braille (BR), and large print (LT), copies of these titles are available from Perkins Library or the Worcester Talking Book Library. Please contact Perkins Library to order any of these books.
Prepared by Nancy Gahagan, Recording Studio Manager, Perkins Library
The Bee Balm Murders
by Cynthia Riggs
DBC 11706, BR 24343, available as BARD download
The one-of-a-kind sleuth Victoria Trumbull must solve another puzzling mystery on Martha’s Vineyard, her Island home. Victoria takes in a new boarder, Orion Nanopoulos, who is leading a project to lay a fiber-optic cable across the island. When a body is found in the trench where they are laying the cable, Orion tells Victoria he recognizes the dead man as someone who was a potential investor. Victoria, renowned for her skill at solving crimes and for her knowledge about the Island’s residents, is hired by the dead man’s sons to investigate the murder. Unrated. Some strong language. Some violence. 2012.
Boston Made: From Revolution to Robotics – Innovations that Changed the World
by Robert M. Krim and Alan R. Earls
DBC 11728, available as BARD download
Since the 1600s, Boston has been at the forefront of world-changing innovation from starting the country’s first public school to becoming the first state to end slavery and giving birth to the telephone. In total, Boston-area inventors have contributed more than four hundred stand-out social, scientific, and commercial innovations and uncounted numbers that are less well known. Boston Made tells the absorbing stories of 50 of these – and why they are no accident. Unrated. 2021.
Broken Irish: A Novel
by Edward J. Delaney
DBC 11687, available as BARD download
This engrossing novel about corruption and redemption gives sympathetic voice to the voiceless and offers an unflinching look at the workings of a community in the throes of change in late 1990’s Boston. Unrated. Some explicit descriptions of sex. Some strong language. Some violence. 2011.
Chasing Shadows: My Life Tracking the Great White Shark
by Greg Skomal
DBC 11721, available as BARD download
Dr. Greg Skomal, one of the leading great white shark experts in the country, reveals the true nature of these mysterious apex predators, as well as the fascinating story behind their history and startling resurgence. Unrated. Commercial Audiobook. 2023.
Dogwood Blossom: Growing Up Native American
by DeAnna Quietwater Noriega
DBC 11736, available as BARD download
In Dogwood Blossom, the author invokes a simpler time and how it was growing up in a Native American home while navigating a world that didn’t always accept her. Poverty and oppression are no match for the strong bonds among the members of this hardworking and loving family. The life lessons here will resonate with readers young and old. Adult. Unrated. 2023.
Fiesta Cane: A Blind Mama’s Gift
by Natalie Watkins
DBC 11727, available as BARD download
Fiesta time in San Antonio is filled with fun for the whole family. But Adriana and Alex are worried. Will people make fun of Adriana’s mama because she’s blind and uses a cane? Will Alex be bullied because he looks different from the other children? Together, they decide to be braver and make something new for themselves and the other kids in the class: fiesta canes! For Grades K-3. Commercial Audiobook. 2023.
The Good Fight: The Feuds of the Founding Fathers (and How They Shaped the Nation)
by Anne Quirk
DBC 11745, available as BARD download
George Washington vs. King George. Benjamin Franklin vs. his son William. John Adams vs. Thomas Jefferson. Alexander Hamilton vs. everyone! A look at fascinating historical throw-downs between the founding fathers that prove the United States of America is a place worth fighting for. For Grades 2-4. 2017.
The Great Boston Fire: The Inferno that Nearly Incinerated the City
by Stephanie Schorow
DBC 11737, available as BARD download
The 1872 Great Boston Fire was barely contained after two days of spreading rapidly across the city, becoming one of the most expensive fire disasters in America. Stephanie Schorow, a seasoned Boston veteran, masterfully recounts the stories and heroics surrounding the fire, those which have all been slowly forgotten by the public. Collaborating with the Boston Fire Historical Society and featuring artwork from the time period, a dramatic narrative retold for a modern audience. 2022.
Helltown: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod
by Casey Sherman
DBC 11700, available as BARD download
Immersive, unflinching, and shocking, Helltown is a landmark true crime narrative that transports us back to the turbulent late 1960s, reveals the secrets of a notorious serial killer, and unspools the threads connecting Costa, Vonnegut, and Mailer in the seaside city that played host to horrors unlike any ever seen before. Adult. Unrated. Some explicit descriptions of sex. Some strong language. Violence. Sexual Violence. 2022.
Life in Miniature
by Linda Schlossberg
DBC 11652, available as BARD download
When her older sister runs away from home, Adie and her increasingly erratic mother take a wild journey through northern California. Set in the 1980s, this debut novel is an affecting double portrait of a mother and daughter coming to terms with each other. Adult. Unrated. Some strong language. 2010.
The Lioness of Boston: A Novel
by Emily Franklin
DBC 11675, available as BARD download
By the time Isabella Stewart Gardner opened her Italian palazzo-style home as a museum in 1903 to showcase her collection of art, she was already well-known for scandalizing Boston’s polite society. But when Isabella first arrived in Boston in 1861, she was twenty years old, newly married to a wealthy trader, and unsure of herself, just wanting to fit in. After two devastating tragedies and rejection from upper-society, Isabella discovered her spirit and cast-off expectations. The Lioness of Boston is a portrait of what society expected a woman’s life to be, shattered by a courageous soul who rebelled and was determined to live on her own terms. Unrated. Commercial Audiobook. 2023.
Magic Eyes
by Lauren Fornes
DBC 11668, available as BARD download
A kite! A plane! A Whale! Discover the magic hidden in the clouds in this uplifting children’s book that teaches us that “seeing” can take all kinds of forms. This is a special story about a little boy’s ability to see pictures in the sky that others can’t and what the power of our imagination can do. The book was inspired by the author’s son, Brick, who has cortical visual impairment (CVI), the leading and fastest-growing form of childhood blindness. Although Brick’s eyes work, his brain doesn’t understand what his eyes see, creating pockets of vision. Like in the book, he uses his imagination to fill in those gaps and make connections to the people and places around him. The wonderfully vivid and colorful watercolor illustrations are brought to life through audio description so that all may enjoy their unique beauty. Juvenile. Unrated. 2023.
Monkeys
by Susan Minot
DBC 11725, available as BARD download
Minot’s bestselling debut: A moving novel of familial love and endurance in the face of shattering tragedy Monkeys is the remarkable story of a decade in the life of the Vincents, a colorful Irish Catholic family from the Boston suburbs. On the surface, they seem happy with their vivacious mother Rosie at the helm. But underneath, the Vincents struggle to maintain the appearance of wealth and stability while dealing with the effects of their father’s alcoholism. When a sudden accident strikes, their love for one another is tested like never before. Unrated. 2000.
Northeaster: A Story of Courage and Survival in the Blizzard of 1952
by Cathie Pelletier
DBC 11712, available as BARD download
Cathie Pelletier’s breathtaking account of the 1952 snowstorm that blanketed New England, offers a valuable reminder about nature’s capacity for destruction as well as insight into the human instinct for preservation. Northeaster weaves together a rich cast of characters whose lives were uprooted and endangered by the storm. Housewives and lobstermen, loggers and soldiers were all trapped as snow piled in drifts twenty feet high. The storm smothered hundreds of travelers in their cars, covered entire towns, and broke ships in half. In the midst of the blizzard’s chaos, there were remarkable acts of heroism and courageous generosities. Adult. Some strong language. 2023.
Paperwhite Narcissus
by Cynthia Riggs
DBC 11682, BR 16613, available as BARD download
A small town, even one detached from the mainland, has its share of unpleasant residents. When a developer with an unhappy wife, a bullish attitude toward women, and a much-frowned-upon plan is murdered, not many tears are shed. The case naturally falls to Victoria Trumbull, the 92-year-old, sharp-witted sheriff’s deputy. Served by her in-depth knowledge of the island and her indomitable drive, Victoria is on the trail again: bunions, lilac-bough cane, and all. Unrated. Commercial Audiobook. 2005.
Prohibition Wine: A True Story of One Woman’s Daring in Twentieth-Century America
by Marian Leah Knapp
DBC 11705, available as BARD download
In 1918, Rebecca Goldberg, a Jewish immigrant from the Russian Empire living in rural Wilmington, Massachusetts lost her husband, Nathan, to a railroad accident, a tragedy that left her alone with six children to raise. Desperate to feed her family and keep them together, and determined to make sure her kids would all graduate from high school, Rebecca became a wary participant in the illegal alcohol trade. After being caught in 1925, her case became headline news. Unrated. 2021.
Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People
by Tracy Kidder
DBC 11686, LT 033468, available as BARD download
In Rough Sleepers, Tracy Kidder shows how one person can make a difference, as he tells the story of Dr. Jim O’Connell, a gifted man who invented ways to create a community of care for a city’s unhoused population, including those who sleep on the streets the “rough sleepers.” Much as he did with Paul Farmer in Mountains Beyond Mountains, Kidder explores how a small but dedicated group of people have changed countless lives by facing one of American society’s difficult problems instead of looking away. Unrated. Commercial Audiobook. 2023.
The Special Gifts of Chocolate
by David Everett Dickman
DBC 11744, available as BARD download
Growing up with six siblings, Chocolate the puppy never thought of herself as special, until one day she went to school. This is the story of Chocolate the Labrador and how she learns to become a seeing-eye dog for a very special person. For preschool to grade 2. Unrated. 2023.
Stand Up or Sit Out: Memories and Musings of a Blind Wrestler, Runner and All-Around Regular Guy
by Anthony R. Candela
DBC 11704, available as BARD download
In this memoir, the author, a self-described “all-around regular guy,” traverses a lifetime of challenges. Some of these are accidents of birth, like his poor eyesight and slow trek to blindness, and some are of his own making, like choosing to compete as a scholar-athlete. Infused with lots of New Yorkana, a touch of California, and a few related historical references, this memoir conveys that in any environment, life does not always follow a prescribed course. Adult. Unrated. 2020.
Still as Death: A Sweeney St. George Mystery
by Sarah Stewart Taylor
DBC 11699, available as BARD download
While tracking down a missing artifact, a piece of Egyptian funerary jewelry that has vanished from the collection of a Harvard art museum, art history professor Sweeney St. George discovers that a student intern had died suspiciously while doing research on the gem shortly after it had been given to the museum. Unrated. Adult. 2007.
They Called Us Girls: Stories of Female Ambition from Suffrage to Mad Men
by Kathleen Courtenay Stone
DBC 11654, available as BARD download
In They Called Us Girls: Stories of Female Ambition from Suffrage to Mad Men, the author weaves 7 stories of female ambition, uncovering the families, teachers, mentors, and historical events that led to unexpected paths. What inspired these women, and what can they teach women and girls today? Adult. Unrated. 2022.
Widow’s Wreath
by Cynthia Riggs
DBC 11684, BR 24609, LT 025841, available as BARD download
A wedding on picturesque Martha’s Vineyard promises to be the affair of the season when Penny Arbuthnot asks her cousin, feisty 92-year-old poet Victoria Trumbull, if she can use her property for the reception. Victoria agrees – but she has no idea what’s in store for the hapless couple. Victoria has assumed the reception will be a modest lemonade-and-gingersnap affair – but when a body is found in her cellar, it may be a happily-never-after in Widow’s Wreath, the 14th engaging installment in Cynthia Riggs’ beloved Martha’s Vineyard mysteries. Unrated. Commercial Audiobook. 2018.
The World and Watertown: Tales of an American Hometown
by Greg Beach
DBC 11697, available as BARD Download
At just over four square miles, Watertown, Massachusetts, has been historically overshadowed, in size and influence, by its next-door neighbor, Boston. Briefly famous during the federal manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers, Watertown is more than the unassuming New England suburb it might appear to be. The World and Watertown explores Watertown’s fascinating history and lively culture. Adult. Unrated. 2017.
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