BARD annotation

West with giraffes DB102687

Author: Rutledge, Lynda

Reading Time: 10 hours, 0 minutes

Read by: Jack Fox

Subject: Historical Fiction

As the Great Depression lingers, Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. In a twelve-day road trip, Woodrow Wilson Nickel drives a custom truck to deliver the giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Some violence and some strong language. 2021.

Seattle : Lake Union Publishing, 2021.

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BARD annotation

The dry DB86906

Federal agent Aaron Falk returns to his Australian rural hometown for the funeral of an old friend who allegedly killed himself, his wife, and their young son. Facing a town still suspicious of his role in a long-ago death, Aaron reluctantly agrees to investigate. Violence and strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2016.

[New York] : Macmillan Audio, [2017]

https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/2818771?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPVRoZSUyQmRyeQ

Life, loss, and puffins: a novel DB125028

“Freakishly smart. That’s the unwelcome box Ru Evans is put into for life. After all, she taught herself euclidean geometry at age seven, has an eidetic memory, and is about to enter college at thirteen years old. Boarding at a house near campus 150 miles from home, Ru meets seventeen-year-old Gabriel, an outsider himself who, like Ru, has trouble making friends–until they form a fast sibling-like bond. Finding a relatable someone in the world to talk to is a first for both of them. But when Ru’s mother dies and the threat of living with her miserable aunt looms, Ru hatches an escape. It’s an impulsive road trip that takes Ru and Gabriel from California to Canada, where Ru can fulfill her ultimate dream: to see Atlantic puffins in the glorious wild. Mile by mile, Ru discovers the joy of friendship, found family, dark night skies, and the aurora borealis, and she basks in going from being a smart person to just a person. Though she knows they’ll be in trouble when they’re caught, for the short time they are navigating twist by twist of an unknown road, the freedom is liberating, and she is living for what feels like the first time.” — Provided by publisher. Some strong language.

Seattle : Lake Union Publishing, [2024]

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The lost for words bookshop DB91357

Author: Butland, Stephanie

Reading Time: 9 hours, 0 minutes

Read by: Imogen Church

Subject: General Fiction

Loveday Cardew prefers books to people, and her refuge is the bookstore where she works. Into that safe haven come a poet, a lover, and three suspicious deliveries. Someone has found out about her mysterious past. Will Loveday survive her own heartbreaking secrets? Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2018.

New York : Macmillan Audio, 2018.

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Every last fear DB102224

Author: Finlay, Alex

Reading Time: 10 hours, 59 minutes

Read by: Jon Lindstrom, Cady McClain

Subjects: Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction

College student Matt Pine receives a devastating call. His parents and younger brother and sister have died in Mexico of an apparent gas leak. But appearances may be deceiving. The family’s deaths may be connected to Matt’s older brother Danny–in jail for the murder of his girlfriend. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

[New York] : Macmillan Audio, 2021.

You can find this book on Bookshare at the following website:

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The BARD annotation follows:

My friends DB129483

Author: Backman, Fredrik

Reading Time: 13 hours, 9 minutes

Read by: Ireland, Marin

Subjects: General Fiction, Friendship Fiction

“Most people don’t even notice them–three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures. Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love. Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.”– From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

New York : Simon & Schuster Audio, 2025.

You can find this book on Bookshare at the following website:

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The BARD annotation follows:

My friends DB129483

Author: Backman, Fredrik

Reading Time: 13 hours, 9 minutes

Read by: Ireland, Marin

Subjects: General Fiction, Friendship Fiction

“Most people don’t even notice them–three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures. Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love. Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.”– From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

New York : Simon & Schuster Audio, 2025.

You can find this book on Bookshare at the following website:

https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6545673?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPU15JTJCRnJpZW5kcyUyQg

The NLS annotation follows:

Strangers in time: a World War II novel DB128900

Author: Baldacci, David

Reading Time: 13 hours, 49 minutes

Read by: Crank, Stewart, Boulton, Alexandra, Lee, John, Delgado, Nicola F., Davies, Matthew Lloyd, Pitts, Joe

Subjects: Historical Fiction, Suspense Fiction, War Stories

“Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters is up to no good, but for a very good reason. Without parents, peerage, or merit, ducking school but barred from actual work, he steals what he needs, living day-to-day until he’s old enough to enlist to fight the Germans. After barely surviving the Blitz, Charlie knows there’s no telling when a falling bomb might end his life. Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London. One of millions of people to have been evacuated to the countryside via “Operation Pied Piper,” Molly has been away from her parents–from her home–for nearly five years. Her return, however, is not the homecoming she’d hoped for as she’s confronted by a devastating reality: neither of her parents are there, only her old nanny, Mrs. Pride. Without guardians and stability, Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver, and solace at his book shop, The Book Keep, where A book a day keeps the bombs away. Mourning the recent loss of his wife, Ignatius forms a kinship with both children, and in each other–over the course of the greatest armed conflict the world had ever seen–they rediscover the spirit of family each has lost. But Charlie’s escapades in the city have not gone unnoticed, and someone’s been following Molly since she returned to London. And Ignatius is reeling from a secret Imogen long kept from him while she was alive–something so shocking it resulted in her death, and his life being turned upside down. As bombs continue to bear down on the city, Charlie, Molly, and Ignatius learn that while the perils of war rage on, their coming together and trusting one another may be the only way for them to survive.”– Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

New York : Hachette Book Group, 2025.

You can find this book on Bookshare at the following website:

https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6518975?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPVN0cmFuZ2VycyUyQmluJTJCdGltZSUyNTNB

The NLS annotation follows:

The bright side of disaster: a novel DBC04849

Author: Center, Katherine

Reading Time: 8 hours, 28 minutes

Read by: Nancy VanHemert

Subjects: General Fiction, Humor and Humorous Fiction

Very pregnant and not quite married, Jenny Harris doesn’t mind that she and her live-in fiancé, Dean, accidentally started their family a little earlier than planned. But Dean is acting distant, and the night he runs out for cigarettes and doesn’t come back, he demotes himself from future husband to sperm donor. And the very next day, Jenny goes into labor. Contains some descriptions of sex and strong language.

New York : Ballantine Books, 2008.

You can find this book on Bookshare at the following website:

https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/4236758?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPVRoZSUyQmJyaWdodCUyQnNpZGUlMkJvZiUyQmRpc2FzdGVyJTI1M0ElMkJhJTJCbm92ZWw

The NLS annotation follows:

Legacy of lies: a legal thriller DB125584

“Small-town lawyer Bocephus Haynes comes home late one night to find District Attorney General Helen Lewis waiting for him. Her ex-husband has just been killed. She’s about to be arrested for his murder. And she wants Bo to represent her. There’s a lot working against them. Just before his death, Helen’s ex-husband threatened to reveal a dark secret from her past. Bo has been in a tailspin since his wife’s death. What’s more, his whole life has been defined by a crime committed against his family, and he continues to face prejudice as the only African American litigator in Pulaski, Tennessee. Bo’s back is against the wall, and Helen resigns herself to a dismal fate – but a stunning discovery throws everything into chaos. There’s a chance for justice, but to achieve it, the cost might be too much for Bo to bear.” — Provided by publisher. Strong language and some violence.

Seattle : Thomas & Mercer, 2020.

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