Books listed in this issue of Braille Book Review were recently sent to cooperating libraries. The complete collection contains books by many authors on fiction and nonfiction subjects, including biographies, classics, gothics, mysteries, romances, and others. Contact your cooperating library to learn more about the wide range of books available in the collection.
To order books, contact your cooperating library.
This page includes Web-Braille links to full-text braille versions of books. Eligible patrons may sign up for Web-Braille through the library that handles their braille magazine subscriptions.
Note: For the information of the reader, a notice may appear immediately following the book description to indicate occurrences of strong language, explicit descriptions of sex, or violence. The word "some" before any of these terms indicates an occasional or infrequent occurrence, as in "some strong language."
Fiction
Weird Women, Wired Women BR 12334
by Kit Reed
2 volumes
Nineteen short stories about women's problems at various stages
of life. In "The Wait," a mother and daughter lose their way and
are stranded in an odd place made even stranger by the customs
for virgin daughters. In "The Mothers of Shark Island," elderly,
unwanted mothers are incarcerated on an island. Some strong
language. 1998.
City of Light BR 12355
by Lauren Belfer
5 volumes
Buffalo, New York; 1901. Niagara Falls is harnessed for
electricity, and environmentalists and union agitators fight the
power company for control. Louisa Barrett, the progressive
headmistress of a girls' school, becomes involved when the head
engineer is murdered, and she suspects the adoptive father of her
illegitimate daughter. 1999.
When Wallflowers Die: A Phoebe Siegel Mystery BR
12435
by Sandra West Prowell
3 volumes
Montana private investigator Phoebe Siegel is hired by
gubernatorial candidate Bob Maitland to look into the murder of
his wife that has remained unsolved for twenty-seven years. Soon
disgusted by Maitland's political motives, Siegel drops him as a
client but continues the search on her own. Strong language and
violence. 1996.
Wings of Fire: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery BR
12443
by Charles Todd
3 volumes
Inspector Ian Rutledge from Scotland Yard is sent to Cornwall to
investigate three recent deaths in a prominent family. He
discovers one victim was a famous poet whose works involved the
Great War. Although still suffering from shell shock, Rutledge
discovers more ghastly murders in the family's past. Some
violence. 1998.
The Torrents of Spring: A Romantic Novel in Honor of the
Passing of a Great Race BR 12450
by Ernest Hemingway
1 volume (Reissue)
Satirical view of American writers and their literary pursuits,
presented as author's inserts and commentary within a portrayal
of the lives of two men who work in a Michigan pump factory.
1926.
Watermelon Nights BR 12461
by Greg Sarris
4 volumes
Multigenerational tale about a Native American family in
California trying to reclaim their heritage. Three members take
turns telling their life story: Johnny; his grandmother Elba, who
maintains her people's traditions; and Iris, Johnny's mother and
Elba's daughter. Some strong language and some descriptions of
sex. 1998.
If I Were Boss: The Early Business Stories of Sinclair Lewis
BR 12463
by Sinclair Lewis
4 volumes
Fifteen short stories originally published in magazines in the
early part of the twentieth century. In the title piece, a young
salesman learns about office politics and getting ahead. In
"Number Seven to Sagapoose," a longtime shoe peddler has more
influence on people than he thinks. 1997.
Blue Genes: A Kate Brannigan Mystery BR 12472
by Val McDermid
2 volumes
Manchester private investigator Kate Brannigan is hired to rescue
a punk rock band from saboteurs. But things become more
complicated when her friends Alexis and Chris, who are involved
in an illegal fertility experiment, become frightened after their
gynecologist is murdered. Some strong language and some violence.
1996.
Sanctuary BR 12478
by William Faulkner
2 volumes
Mississippi lawyer Horace Benbow becomes involved with young coed
Temple Drake, who is then brutally raped. The investigation
reveals human evil amidst poor white moonshiners, half-wits, and
prostitutes. First published in 1931; contains 1985 changes made
by Noel Polk based on the author's notes. Strong language and
some explicit descriptions of sex. 1931.
Spinners BR 12479
by Anthony McCarten
2 volumes
Sixteen-year-old Delia Chapman is a virgin until she is visited
by a spaceman who impregnates her. The rest of Delia's New
Zealand townspeople are incredulous, but Delia is insistent.
Philip Sullivan, the town's new young librarian, is intrigued by
Delia and her story. Strong language and some descriptions of
sex. 1999.
The Dinosaur Club BR 12482
by William Heffernan
3 volumes
Jack Fallon's life suddenly goes downhill--his wife is leaving
him, his spoiled kids demand money, and his company is
deliberately laying off older workers. Fallon teams up with a
beautiful and sympathetic company lawyer and his work buddies to
sabotage the evil machinations of the CEO. Some strong language.
1997.
Marry Me: A Romance BR 12484
by John Updike
2 volumes
Lighthearted novel of well-to-do suburbia and adultery in the
1960s. Jerry and Sally are in love, though married to others.
Jerry's nice wife, Ruth, is having an affair with Sally's quirky
husband, Richard. Strong language. 1976.
Wildside BR 12502
by Steven Gould
3 volumes
Charlie Newell, eighteen, inherits an unusual ranch. The back
door of the barn opens into an alternate world containing extinct
animals and mineral deposits. Charlie entrusts his secret to four
friends, and together they begin mining gold. All is well until
the government discovers their secret. For senior high and older
readers. 1996.
Act of Revenge BR 12505
by Robert K. Tanenbaum
4 volumes
Assistant district attorney Roger ("Butch") Karp and his private
investigator wife Marlene Ciampi both take on cases involving
Mafia family members, and they soon learn that the two crimes are
related. Butch and Marlene's twelve-year-old daughter, Lucy,
witnesses a murder in Chinatown that is also connected. Strong
language and violence. 1999.
Helm BR 12508
by Steven Gould
4 volumes
For colonists to survive on Agatsu, once each generation someone
must be imprinted with Earth's scientific knowledge contained in
the Glass Helm. Dulan de Laal selects his oldest son to be that
person. But his youngest son, Leland, climbs the needle and dons
the helmet--without knowing the consequences. For senior high and
older readers. 1998.
A Farewell to Arms BR 12510
by Ernest Hemingway
3 volumes (Reissue)
Romance between American lieutenant Frederic Henry in the
ambulance service in Italy during World War I and the English
nurse Catherine Barkley, who tends him when he is wounded. When
Catherine becomes pregnant, she refuses to marry Frederic. 1929.
Monster BR 12515
by Walter Dean Myers
1 volume
Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon sits in jail accused of being a
lookout in a deadly robbery. An aspiring filmmaker, Steve reviews
his time in jail as a movie script. He wonders if he has become
the monster that the prosecutor has made him out to be. For
senior high readers. 1999.
Syrup BR 12517
by Maxx Barry
3 volumes
Scat has a new marketing degree and a wonderful idea for a new
cola. Coke offers him three million, but Scat's roommate, Sneaky
Pete, beats him to the trademark office. Scat scrambles to come
up with another winning idea to impress an appealing Coke
marketing employee named 6. Strong language. 1999.
Kidnapped BR 12524
by Robert Louis Stevenson
2 volumes
Young David Balfour relates his adventures of 1751 when he was
kidnapped and marooned after a shipwreck, his journey through the
wild Highlands of Scotland, his friendship with the Jacobite Alan
Breck Stewart, and his suffering at the hands of his uncle
Ebenezer Balfour of Shaws. For senior high and older readers.
1886.
The Cat Who Robbed a Bank BR 12532
by Lilian Jackson Braun
2 volumes
Autumn in Pickax brings festivals, the Scottish Games, and the
return of estate jeweler Mr. Delacamp. But Mr. Delacamp is
murdered in the newly restored hotel, and his assistant and the
desk clerk are missing. Qwilleran takes clues from his cats, Koko
and Yum Yum, to solve the crime. Bestseller 1999.
Take It Easy BR 12541
by David Hill
1 volume
New Zealand. Rob Kennedy, still mourning his mother's passing,
joins five other teenagers for a week-long hike through rugged
mountains. But when they wake up one morning, their adult guide
is dead. For junior and senior high readers. 1995.
Catherwood BR 12548
by Marly Youmans
1 volume
In 1676 Catherwood and her husband, Gabriel, emigrate from
England to a settlement near Albany, New York. Catherwood,
herself an orphan, gives birth to a daughter, Elisabeth. One day,
as mother and child are returning home from a visit, they become
desperately lost and remain in the wilderness for months. 1996.
Murder at the Library of Congress BR 12564
by Margaret Truman
2 volumes
Annabel Reed-Smith is happily ensconced at the Library of
Congress's Hispanic Room researching an article on Christopher
Columbus and his aide Las Casas, whose lost diaries are rumored
to reveal hidden treasure. When she finds the expert librarian on
the subject murdered, Annabel and her husband, Mac, investigate.
Some violence. 1999.
The Pearl BR 12570
by John Steinbeck
1 volume (Reissue)
A folktale of lower California is the basis for this narrative
about Kino, a simple fisherman, who finds an enormous pearl that
promises to provide for all his family's needs. When it brings
nothing but misfortune, Kino throws it back to the sea and
resumes his difficult way of life. 1945.
Before I Say Good-Bye BR 12590
by Mary Higgins Clark
3 volumes
Just as Nell MacDermott has decided to run for her grandfather's
New York congressional seat, her architect husband's yacht blows
up with him on board. When a medium claims to be in touch with
the dead man, Nell, psychically gifted herself, is drawn into an
investigation of conspiracy and murder. Bestseller 2000.
The Bluest Eye BR 12618
by Toni Morrison
2 volumes
1941. Eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove--poor, ugly, and black--
desperately wants blue eyes, which she thinks would solve all her
problems. But instead she is subjected to rejection, violence,
and an unwanted pregnancy. Slowly, she begins to descend into
madness. Strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex.
Bestseller 1970.
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