Kate’s 2¢: “The Almost Moon: a Novel” by Alice Sebold  a

“The Almost Moon: a Novel” by Alice Sebold  a

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…

   Joan Allen did a good job of narrating this story, but some where in the book, the author should have included the national mental health hotline.

      A few take-aways:

–The thing about dementia is that sometimes you feel like the afflicted person has a tripwire to the truth.

–Morality was just a security blanket that didn’t exist.

–The moon is whole all of the time, but we can’t always see it. What we see is an almost moon.

–I was raised by a solitary woman to become a solitary child.

–I was a shadow girl, trying to be what they wanted me to be.

–With each leave taking, those left behind were safe from me.

–Mental illness has the unique ability to metastasize across generations

From: World Biography / 2005 Pu-Z /  Alice Sebold Biography

Alice Sebold Biography

Born c. 1963, in Madison, WI; daughter of a Spanish professor and a journalist; married Glen David Gold (an author), November, 2001. Education: Earned degree from Syracuse University, 1984; attended the University of Houston, c. 1984-85; University of California—Irvine, M.F.A., 1998.

Addresses: Office —c/o Author Mail, Little, Brown & Company/Warner Books, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

Career

Adjunct instructor in English at Hunter College, and research analyst in New York City, c. 1985-93; published a memoir, Lucky, 1999; debut novel The Lovely Bones published, 2002; film rights to The Lovely Bones sold for a film project set to be released in 2007.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The almost moon: a novel DB66820

Sebold, Alice. Reading time: 8 hours, 51 minutes.

Read by Joan Allen. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Psychological Fiction

While attempting to bathe her mentally ill elderly mother, Helen suddenly smothers her with a towel. As Helen spends the following hours awaiting her fate, she ponders her troubled youth and her own stint at motherhood. Commercial audiobook. Explicit descriptions of sex, strong language, and some violence. 2007.

Download The almost moon: a novel

Kate’s 2¢: “All That Glitters” by Virginia C. Andrews

“All That Glitters ” by Virginia C. Andrews

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…

   Being a romance novel, you know who the heroine will end up with, but the psychological trauma of identical twins switching spouses is fascinating and runs the gamut of emotions.   

   I enjoyed listening to Mary Woods read this story.

   Afew take-aways:

–Money and riches won’t buy you happiness if you don’t have love.

–Dependability is the soil   in which a long and lasting love is planted.

–When there is a real live infant, you can’t live in a fantasy world.

–Deceit was a garden in which only the blackest weeds grew. And those who sow their seeds in it, reap disaster.

–The only real antidote for grief and sadness was busy hands.

From: FAMOUS AUTHORS

V. C. Andrews (Cleo Virginia Andrews) was a twentieth century American novelist. Her forte was gothic horror fiction blended with family saga. She is famous for her notoriously bestselling work Flowers in the Attic (1979).

   Andrews was born on June 6, 1923 in Portsmouth, Virginia. She was the only daughter and youngest child in the Andrews household. As a child she had a falling accident and she suffered from crippling arthritis in the aftermath of her surgery. However, she had not lost hope as she completed her studies from home. She then started her career as an illustrator and an artist. She made an attempt at writing with a science fiction novel, named Gods of Green Mountain but failed to have it published. Then she penned a novel, titled The Obsessed for which the publishers suggested her to develop the plot and make it more electrifying. Overnight she edited her work and resubmitted it with the title Flowers in the Attic. Its publication in 1979 brought her huge praise and success as a fiction writer as it instantly became bestselling debut novel of hers.

Subsequently, Flowers in the Attic became the Dollanganger Series owing to its raging success. The first book is a psychodrama centers on the Dollanger family whose head of the family dies in an accident which leaves the mother and her four children financially helpless. The mother, Corrine, ask her mother to provide them shelter which she does only on the condition that her children were to stay hidden in an attic away from their grandfather who did not approve her marriage with her distant uncle. The story revolves around the four children who spend year after year stuck in attic waiting for their mother to free them but only to meet deceit and tragic fate in the end. The book was adapted into a film in 1987.

The book was adapted into a film in 1987.

The sequels, Petals on the Wind (1980) in the Dollanger series, continue the story subsequent to the escape of the children. The third book, If There Be Thorns (1981) centers on Cathy’s life and her married life and children become focus of Seeds of Yesterday (1984). The last novel in the series, Garden of Shadows (1986), is a prequel which explores lives of Cathy’s grandparents. The Dollanger series, although successful, earned the status of highly controversial books for its disturbing sexual themes. The theme of consensual incest had it banned from many libraries.

   Andrews’ idea of a good novel was that it be fast-paced. She was of the view that she only finishes those books that hold her interesting long enough and kept her guessing till the end. Therefore, while writing a book she minded the fact that her readers do not felt lost in the details but it incited the urge in them to find out what was about to happen.

   V. C. Andrews’s other famous works include, The Casteel series (1985), The Cutler series (1990), The Landry series (1994), The Logan series (1996), The Orphans series (1998), The Wildflowers series (1999) and many more. Her works have been translated into many other languages. She suffered from breast cancer in her last days and died on December 19, 1986 at the age of 63. The success of her career had her estate hire a ghost writer after her death. Andrew Neiderman ghostwritten numerous stories under her name.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

All that glitters DB43328

Andrews, V. C, (Virginia C.). Reading time: 10 hours, 6 minutes.

Read by Mary Woods. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Psychological Fiction

In the sequel to Pearl in the Mist (DB 39864), Ruby is living in her late grandmother’s bayou shack with her baby, Pearl. Wealthy Paul Tate wants to marry Ruby even though they now know they are half-siblings. She agrees to a celibate marriage for Pearl’s sake, but cannot forget her love for Pearl’s father, Beau. Meanwhile, Ruby’s twin, Gisselle, continues to be a thorn in her side. Some strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex.

Download All that glitters

Kate’s 2¢:” All that’s left to tell: a novel” by Daniel Lowe  

”All that’s left to tell: a novel” by Daniel Lowe  

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…

    I’m stunned. I’m still thinking of this story. It is a story nested within other stories. I’m not sure what the timeline is, nor which story is fact and which fiction. I wish I could remember which early character was described as having huge, grey eyes.

   George Newbern did a good job of narrating this book. It is short enough, maybe I’ll listen to it again to get things straight.

   A few take-aways:

–It’s strange, isn’t it? The mundane things that wrack your heart when you’re away from everything you’ve known?

–It’s like waking to a life someone dreamed for you.

–I’m in that space between sleeping and waking where images of a dream collide with the coming demands of the day, and I want to go on dreaming.

Daniel Lowe author information – BookBrowse

Daniel Lowe lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he has taught writing at the Community College of Allegheny County for twenty-five years. For more than that, he has been writing in relative obscurity, though his poetry and fiction have appeared in literary magazines, including West Branch, The Bridge, The Paterson Literary Review, Ellipsis, Blue Stem, Midway Journal, and The Madison Review. He enjoys hours spent with his children, days spent with his wife, extended afternoons, and watching birds at feeders outside the window while he idly sits at his computer waiting for another sentence to take shape. He runs slowly in the park.

DANIEL@DANIELLOWE.COM

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

All that’s left to tell: a novel DB87044

Lowe, Daniel. Reading time: 6 hours, 51 minutes.

Read by George Newbern. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Psychological Fiction

While in Pakistan on business, Marc Laurent is kidnapped by terrorists and held for ransom. Every night, a woman called Josephine comes to Marc’s cell and asks him to tell her a story about his daughter, who was murdered a month before his capture. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2017.

Download All that’s left to tell: a novel

Kate’s 2¢: “The amateur marriage: a novel” by Anne Tyler

“The amateur marriage: a novel” by Anne Tyler

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…

   Many of these events and issues resonated with me. They brought back a lot of memories from my own experiences of raising children.  The big differences in my marriage were that we never were violent nor out-and-out yelled at each other and we are still married.

   I agree with Michael, who said: Show some charity here. We did the best we could. We did our darndest. We were just unskilled…It wasn’t from lack of trying.

From www.annetyler.com

   ANNE TYLER was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1941 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is the author of more than twenty novels. Her twentieth novel, A Spool of Blue Thread, was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2015. Her eleventh novel, Breathing Lessons, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1989. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

From NLS/BARD/LOCC:

The amateur marriage: a novel DB57373

Tyler, Anne. Reading time: 12 hours, 47 minutes.

Read by Margaret Strom. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Family

Psychological Fiction

Bestsellers

Baltimore residents Michael Anton and Pauline Barclay fall in love at first sight at the start of World War II and marry impulsively. Remaining completely incompatible despite increasing prosperity, they spend the next five decades making themselves, and their three children, miserable. Bestseller. 2004.

Download The amateur marriage: a novel

Kate’s 2¢: “Observations by gaslight: stories from the world of Sherlock Holmes” by Lyndsay Faye

“Observations by gaslight: stories from the world of Sherlock Holmes” by Lyndsay Faye

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…

   This was a book included on the 7-book cartridge the NLS sent to me. I enjoyed reading one or two stories each evening. In-depth personalities of Holmes and Watson emerged that I’d not known of before.

 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lyndsay Faye is an American author. Her first novel was the Sherlockian pastiche Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson[1] and she has been nominated for the Edgar Award for The Gods of Gotham[2] and Jane Steele.[3] The Gods of Gotham was named “the year’s best mystery novel” by the American Library Association.[4]

Life[edit]

Having discovered Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation Sherlock Holmes when she was 10,[5] her interest in the famous sleuth continues to be part of her life as a member of both The Baker Street Irregulars and Baker Street Babes.[5] Faye described the debt all mystery authors owe to Conan Doyle saying “You can’t escape Sherlock Holmes as a mystery writer. You simply cannot. It would be like trying to deal with astrophysics without Newton or modern art without Picasso.”[6]

Faye attended R. A. Long High School[2] as did her future spouse, Gabriel Lehner.[2]

Career[edit]

2016 brought Faye’s re-imagining of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre titled Jane Steele.[7]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Observations by gaslight: stories from the world of Sherlock Holmes DB114521

Faye, Lyndsay Reading time: 10 hours, 34 minutes.

Polly Lee; Dan Calley

Short Stories

Mystery and Detective Stories

“Lyndsay Faye-international bestseller, translated into fifteen languages, and a two-time Edgar Award nominee-first appeared on the literary scene with Dust and Shadow, her now-classic novel pitting Sherlock Holmes against Jack the Ripper, and later produced The Whole Art of Detection, her widely acclaimed collection of traditional Watsonian tales. Now Faye is back with Observations by Gaslight, a thrilling volume of both new and previously published short stories and novellas narrated by those who knew the Great Detective. Beloved adventuress Irene Adler teams up with her former adversary in a near-deadly inquiry into a room full of eerily stopped grandfather clocks. Learn of the case that cemented the lasting friendship between Holmes and Inspector Lestrade, and of the tragic crime which haunted the Yarder into joining the police force. And witness Stanley Hopkins’s first meeting with the remote logician he idolizes, who will one day become his devoted mentor. From familiar faces like landlady Mrs. Hudson to minor characters like Lomax the sub-librarian, Observations by Gaslight-entirely epistolary, told through diaries, telegrams, and even grocery lists-paints a masterful portrait of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as you have never seen them before.” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Kate’s 2¢: “Tahoe Moon” by  Todd Borg

“Tahoe Moon” by  Todd Borg

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…

   This story dispels some of the stereotypes people have about deaf children as Owen strives to solve the mystery of who wants to kill her. A tale well woven with twists and turns as the separate threads eventually come together.

From the web:

As an accomplished author Borg has ma total of 13 mystery novels, which feature the San Francisco ex-homicide inspector, Owen McKenna who practices his investigative trade in Tahoe. Apart from being an accomplished author, many of Todd’s Borg books have received multiple accolades with several outstanding magazine and newspaper reviews.

As an author Borg is not only funny but erudite and has an excellent observation of both art and life.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Tahoe moon DBC13399

Borg, Todd. Reading time: 10 hours, 57 minutes.

Read by Shawn Anderson. A production of Nevada Talking Book Services, Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records,.

Suspense Fiction

Mystery and Detective Stories

When Tahoe Detective Owen McKenna finds a lost girl, 8-year-old Camille Dexter, he does not realize that her grandfather and only guardian has been murdered and a killer hired to dump Camille’s body in the lake. McKenna also does not know that Camille has no relatives or friends. Complicating the situation is that Camille is deaf. Brilliant but deaf. Violence.

Download Tahoe moon

Kate’s 2¢: “Give Fudge A Chance” by Nancy Coco

“Give Fudge A Chance” by Nancy Coco

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…

   I enjoyed this chicklet mystery and wish I could eat all the candy recipes she includes after each chapter. I especially liked learning more about the mysterious Mackinac tunnels. Laura Hatch did a good job of narrating this tory. 

From her website:

USA Today Bestselling Author, Nancy Coco AKA Nell Hampton AKA Nancy Parra is the author of over 35 published novels which include five mystery series: The Oregon Honey-comb Mystery Series (Kensington), The Candy-Coated Mysteries (Kensington), The Kensington Palace Mystery Series (Crooked Lane), The Wine Country Tours Mystery Series (Crooked Lane) The Gluten-free Baker’s Treat Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime), and The Perfect Proposal Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime).  Her writing has been called witty and her protagonists plucky by reviewers around the world.  Nancy is a member of Sisters in Crime, and loves to hear from readers. 

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Give fudge a chance DB116623

Coco, Nancy. Reading time: 7 hours, 55 minutes.

Read by Laura Hatch.

Mystery and Detective Stories

“The Mackinac County fair is in full swing, and the air is rich with the scent of funnel cakes and the sound of carnival rides. Allie is focused on the fudge competition—another win would really put her hotel and fudge shop on the map. But she’s willing to take a little break and walk through the haunted house attraction with her friend Jenn. When they come across a body, though, it turns out not to be a prop. Soon Allie’s cop boyfriend is on the scene, and the sleuthing confectioner is hunting for clues. Danger strikes too close to home when the hotel becomes the scene of a suspicious fatal accident, and Allie suspects the two deaths are connected. The case is turning into a real rollercoaster. Allie will need to hold on tight . . .” — Provided by publisher. Some violence.

Download Give fudge a chance

Kate’s 2¢: “From Warsaw with love Polish spies the CIA and the forging of an unlikely alliance” by John Pomfret

“From Warsaw with love Polish spies the CIA and the forging of an unlikely alliance” by John Pomfret

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…

   Oh, Dear Gussie.  How can we ever trust anyone is really who they say they are? The real-life intrigue that goes on behind close doors and, even, right out in the open, is shocking and distressing. I’m not sure we are any closer to being safe then we were years ago.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Pomfret (born 1959) is an American journalist and writer.

Biography[edit]

Pomfret was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1959,[1] and raised in New York City. He attended Stanford University, receiving his B.A. and M.A. in East Asian Studies. In 1980, he was one of the first American students to go to China and study at Nanjing University. Between 1983 and 1984 he attended Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies as a Fulbright Scholar, researching the Cambodian conflict.

He started his journalistic career at the Stanford Daily as a photographer. After that he worked at a newspaper in Riverside County, California, and after a year was hired by the Associated Press to work in New York City, covering the graveyard shift.

After two years with the AP in New York, in 1988, he was sent to China as a foreign correspondent, thanks to his knowledge of Mandarin and his Asian studies background. There he covered the 1989 student protests in Beijing, after which he was expelled from China because of alleged links with student ringleaders.[2]: 237  He then worked in Bosnia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey and Iran. Hired by the Washington Post in 1992, for more than 15 years Pomfret covered the armed conflicts in these countries and the politics of the post-Cold War era. He later served as the editor of The Washington Post′s weekend opinion section, Outlook.

During his career, he received several awards, including 2003’s Osborne Elliot Prize for the best coverage of Asia by the Asia Society and 2007’s Shorenstein Prize for coverage of Asia. In 1996, he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in International Reporting for his work in Congo.

The experiences he had when he attended Nanjing University, and his perspective of the Chinese opening, are narrated in his 2006 book Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China.

Pomfret won an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship[3] in 2004 writing about education in China. In 2011, he was awarded the Edward Weintal Award for Diplomatic Reporting from Georgetown University for his work covering America’s relations with China. He was a Fulbright senior scholar in China in 2013, where he researched a book on the interactions between Americans and Chinese. That book, The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom, was published in November 2016. It won the 2017 Arthur Ross Book Award given by the Council on Foreign Relations.[4] Pomfret’s third book, From Warsaw with Love: Polish Spies, the CIA, and the Forging an Unlikely Alliance, was published in October 2021 to critical acclaim.[5]

He speaks, reads and writes Mandarin, and speaks French, Japanese, and Serbo-Croatian.[citation needed] He lives near Berkeley, California with his wife Zhang Mei and family.[6]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

From Warsaw with love: Polish spies, the CIA, and the forging of an unlikely alliance DB112237

Pomfret, John Reading time: 8 hours, 58 minutes.

Donald Corren

War and the Military

History, Juvenile

U.S. History

World History and Affairs

“The epic story of how Polish intelligence officers forged an alliance with the CIA in the twilight of the Cold War, told by the award-winning author John Pomfret. Spanning decades and continents, from the battlefields of the Balkans to secret nuclear research labs in Iran and embassy grounds in North Korea, this saga begins in 1990. As the United States cobbles together a coalition to undo Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, six US officers are trapped in Iraq with intelligence that could ruin Operation Desert Storm if it is obtained by the brutal Iraqi dictator. Desperate, the CIA asks Poland, a longtime Cold War foe famed for its excellent spies, for help. Just months after the Polish people voted in their first democratic election since the 1930s, the young Solidarity government in Warsaw sends a veteran ex-Communist spy who’d battled the West for decades to rescue the six Americans. John Pomfret’s gripping account of the 1990 cliffhanger in Iraq is just the beginning of the tale about intelligence cooperation between Poland and the United States, cooperation that one CIA director would later describe as “one of the two foremost intelligence relationships that the United States has ever had.” Pomfret uncovers new details about the CIA’s black site program that held suspected terrorists in Poland after 9/11 as well as the role of Polish spies in the hunt for Osama bin Laden. In the tradition of the most memorable works on espionage, Pomfret’s book tells a disquieting tale of moral ambiguity in which right and wrong, black and white, are not conveniently distinguishable. As the United States teeters on the edge of a new cold war with Russia and China, Pomfret explores how these little-known events serve as a reminder of the importance of alliances in a dangerous world.” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Download From Warsaw with love: Polish spies, the CIA, and the forging of an unlikely alliance DB112237

Kate’s 2¢: “Starry messenger: cosmic perspectives on civilization” by Neil deGrasse Tyson

“Starry messenger: cosmic perspectives on civilization” by Neil deGrasse Tyson

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…

   I agree life is precious and we don’t appreciate it as much as we should.

From www.NeildeGrasseTyson.com:

Neil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia.

In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President Bush to serve on a twelve-member commission that studied the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. The final report was published in 2002 and contained recommendations (for Congress and for the major agencies of the government) that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration, and national security.

In addition to dozens of professional publications, Dr. Tyson has written, and continues to write for the public. From 1995 to 2005, Tyson was a monthly essayist for Natural History magazine under the title Universe. And among Tyson’s fifteen books is his memoir The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist; and Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution, co-written with Donald Goldsmith. Origins is the companion book to the PBS NOVA four-part mini-series Origins, in which Tyson served as on-camera host. The program premiered in September 2004.

Two of Tyson’s other books are the playful and informative Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, which was a New York Times bestseller, and The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet, chronicling his experience at the center of the controversy over Pluto’s planetary status. The PBS NOVA documentary The Pluto Files, based on the book, premiered in March 2010.

In February 2012, Tyson released his tenth book, containing every thought he has ever had on the past, present, and future of space exploration: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier.

For five seasons, beginning in the fall of 2006, Tyson appeared as the on-camera host of PBS NOVA’s spinoff program NOVA ScienceNOW, which is an accessible look at the frontier of all the science that shapes the understanding of our place in the universe.

During the summer of 2009 Tyson identified a cadre of professional standup comedians to assist his effort in bringing science to commercial radio with the NSF-funded pilot program StarTalk. Now also a popular Podcast, for three years it enjoyed a limited-run Television Series on the National Geographic Channel. StarTalk combines celebrity guests with informative yet playful banter. The target audience is all those people who never thought they would, or could, like science. In its first year on television and in three successive seasons, it was nominated for a Best Informational Programming Emmy.

Tyson is the recipient of twenty-three honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest award given by NASA to a non-government citizen. His contributions to the public appreciation of the cosmos have been recognized by the International Astronomical Union in their official naming of asteroid “13123 Tyson.” And by zoologists, with the naming of Indirani Tysoni, a native species of leaping frog in India. On the lighter side, Tyson was voted “Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive” by People Magazine in 2000.

In 2017, Tyson published Astrophysics for People In A Hurry, which was a domestic and international bestseller. This adorably readable book is an introduction to all that you’ve read and heard about that’s making news in the universe—consummated, in one place, succinctly presented, for people in a hurry.

That was followed in 2018 by Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military, coauthored with Avis Lang, in 2019 by Letters from an Astrophysicist, both New York Times Bestsellers, and in 2021 by Cosmic Queries: StarTalk’s Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We are Going, coauthored with James Trefil.

Tyson served as Executive Science Editor and on-camera Host & Narrator for Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey, the 21stcentury continuation of Carl Sagan’s landmark television series. The show began in March 2014 and ran thirteen episodes in primetime on the FOX network, and appeared in 181 countries in 45 languages around the world on the National Geographic Channels. Cosmos won four Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, two Critics Choice awards, as well as a dozen other industry recognitions. Tyson reprised his role as on-camera host for the next season of Cosmos—Cosmos: Possible Worlds, which premiered on the National Geographic Channel in March 2020 and on the FOX network in September 2020.

Tyson’s latest books are Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization and To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery, coauthored with Lindsey Nyx Walker, both New York Times bestsellers.

Tyson is the fifth head of the world-renowned Hayden Planetarium in New York City and the first occupant of its Frederick P. Rose Directorship. He is also a research associate of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History.

Neil deGrasse Tyson lives in New York City with his wife, a former IT project manager with Bloomberg Financial Markets.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Starry messenger: cosmic perspectives on civilization DB110636

Tyson, Neil deGrasse Reading time: 7 hours, 20 minutes.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Science and Technology

Bestsellers

“In a time when our political and cultural views feel more polarized than ever, Tyson provides a much-needed antidote to so much of what divides us, while making a passionate case for the twin chariots of enlightenment—a cosmic perspective and the rationality of science. After thinking deeply about how science sees the world and about Earth as a planet, the human brain has the capacity to reset and recalibrates life’s priorities, shaping the actions we might take in response. No outlook on culture, society, or civilization remains untouched. With crystalline prose, Starry Messenger walks us through the scientific palette that sees and paints the world differently. From insights on resolving global conflict to reminders of how precious it is to be alive, Tyson reveals, with warmth and eloquence, an array of brilliant and beautiful truths that apply to us all, informed and enlightened by knowledge of our place in the universe.” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller.

Download Starry messenger: cosmic perspectives on civilization DB110636

Kate’s 2¢: “Flipping boxcars: a novel” by Cedric Kyles

“Flipping boxcars: a novel” by Cedric Kyles

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…

   Cedric the Entertainer has the perfect culturally appropriate voice for reading this novel, which he wrote with co-author Alan Eisenstock.

   I like the title’s reference to both gambling double sixes and the rail car caper. I enjoyed this story.

From PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter 

Better known by his stage name Cedric ‘The Entertainer,’ comedian Cedric Kyles has added a new professional role to his resume: fiction writer. For Kyles, 59, who previously authored 2002’s Grown-A$$ Man, a collection of comedic essays, embarking on a novel was a big step he nearly didn’t take. Initially, Kyles says, he hoped to write a television script about his grandfather, nicknamed Babe, who died before he was born. That morphed into a book project, one he undertook with co-author Alan Eisenstock. The result is Flipping Boxcars, a crime caper coming out September 12. 

The book is set in the years after World War II when Babe — named for and based on Kyles’ grandfather, who served in France during the war — has returned home to a world in which the only arena for his talents is the criminal underworld. The title refers to both dice — “flipping boxcars” means rolling double sixes — and the railroad-related scheme Babe is drawn into as he looks for one last big payoff. 

Tell me more about Babe. Did you grow up hearing stories about your grandfather? 

Yeah, my mother was the youngest of her siblings, and I use her as a muse in the book. She would tell me stories about him. He passed before I was born, so as I started to grow up, I would just have these [ideas about] him and things he would say and do based on these little stories that my mother and my uncles would talk about him. I really love the Walter Mosley kind of writing — those stories of characters in the 1940s and men trying to figure out and find their way through all these little hustles, that they can just figure out how to be an entrepreneur. That’s how much mother described Babe to me. He had a restaurant and he was a gambler and he was also a businessman. He had a liquor store with the sheriff. They also moved black market liquor at times. He was a de facto mayor for the Black side of the town. He would get things done for people. 

Where was he from?

Caruthersville, Missouri. Their family all kind of grew up in Arkansas and Tennessee, but I only knew him from Caruthersville. 

And then he fought in World War II.

Yeah. So the only image that I have [of him] is in his military uniform. We used to have another image of him in a suit, but the house that we all grew up in, where my grandmother used to live, that house caught on fire a few years back and so a lot of things got lost. My mother knew very little about him as a young man. My uncle, her older brother, knew a little bit more about his military life, so we did some research and then figured out the time that he served and then told that story.

How did you take what little you knew and create a full-blown flesh-and-blood character?

It started because I love the idea of who I believed Babe to be and so I started out trying to write a TV show. The idea was to create a Boardwalk Empire-type show. This idea of these characters and these men who wore suits and did all the dirty deeds of the town and at the same time were the good guys in this very weird way. That was the space where I always saw him existing. And then the opportunity came to write a book, I was like, ‘Well, this is what I would want to write. This world.’ 

You mentioned Walter Mosley. Who are some other authors that you like? 

James McBride is another one who has that same energy that I love. John Grisham, the early stuff, I used to love all those books. Crime stories. You go on a journey inside the story. I love those. I read a lot of biographies, too. I’m reading one on Barry White right now.

Cedric the entertainer

Performing standup as Cedric ‘The Entertainer’. PHOTO: PARAS GRIFFIN/GETTY

Back to Babe. The picture I get from the book is this was a man who was really smart, really hard working, but living in a world where he didn’t have access to a lot of ways to make a living. He was stuck in a box. Would you be that man if you had been born then?

You nailed it. I really feel like at the deepest core, the reason I wrote the book was that I felt like the things that were similar, the things that make me parallel to him — he just didn’t have the opportunities. And [now] his grandson has the ability to be a star, to try things and do things, and literally just live his dreams. And even though we show that he’s in the underworld and he does some things that are risky, all of these things were in a lot of ways the choices that he had to make. 

Sometimes the underworld is the only world you have access to.

Exactly. His idea of how he saw himself, how he believed, and how he used his cunningness and his craftiness to his gifted gab, his sense of style, his sense of decorum. He didn’t do everything with a gun and a knife. He would try to figure out a way, the slick way, the smart way to get out of a situation. 

Tell me a little bit about the dice. I had no idea that shooting dice was such a big deal!

My grandfather was indeed a famous dice player, and back then, gamblers, dice shooters were famous. He knew how to play cards and do card tricks and sleight of hand stuff, but he was all about the dice. 

Do you gamble?

No. I didn’t get that part from him. I’ll do it for fun, and I’ll jump out with the boys every now and then, but I’m never one to put up a lot of money in there. If I lose a hundred bucks, I’m pretty much going to wrap it up.

After writing this book, do you feel like you understand your grandfather better?

A bit. We definitely had to do some research. But I wish, of course, the character that I created, I wish I had the opportunity to sit and talk with him and let him just tell me about days that he’s had in his life, because I believe that I would be right on point. I think that I’m nailing exactly who I believe he is.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Flipping boxcars: a novel DB117797

Kyles, Cedric. Reading time: 8 hours, 26 minutes.

Read by Cedric the Entertainer.

Suspense Fiction

Mystery and Detective Stories

“Babe is a charismatic and widely loved man, a gambler with a gift for gab that often gets him out of tricky situations. He’s also a dreamer, something he shares with his patient and loving wife, Rosie. They both yearn for financial stability and see the land they own as insurance for future generations. But when Babe and a few comrades enlist in a scheme that improbably falls apart, he endangers the little security the family has. On the verge of losing everything, what’s a family man to do? If you’re a gambler like Babe, you double down and risk it all for one big score—this time, a plan involving railroad boxcars. Will Babe succeed? Will Rosie continue to support her husband? Are the Feds on to his make-or-break scheme?” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Download Flipping boxcars: a novel