Episode Transcript
[00:00:16] Speaker A: Greetings readers. Welcome to the first February edition of Library News. Love is in the air this month as we discuss The Braille Challenge, top 10 nonfiction Enbard and much more.
The library is excited for the Braille Challenge this month. The 2026 Iowa Regional Braille Challenge will be held at the Iowa Department for the blind on Saturday, February 14, with a snow date of Saturday, February 21. The theme for this year is Love Braille. We are excited to offer lodging at no cost to families again this year, as well as a Travel reimbursement of $50 for families who live more than 50 miles from Des Moines. There will be free parking during the event and lunch for participants and their families.
And following the Braille Challenge, there will be a Valentine's party filled with fun activities. During the Braille Challenge there will be parent sessions learning about the FMDG Music School, time for IMC questions and IDB's youth programs. For the most up to date information about the Braille Challenge, visit the Braille Challenge page on the library blog at IowaLibrary block Picabox has made its return.
[00:01:16] Speaker B: For 2026 and it's not too late to get signed up this year we are visiting Olympic host cities.
The first stop in January was Athens, Greece. As the birthplace of the modern Olympic Games in 1896 and a city deeply connected to the ancient Olympics, Athens represents the spirit of competition, culture and community that continues to unite the world. Don't miss out on the opportunity to read all about Athens and books set in Athens and Greece. Call the library to get signed up today or go to IowaLibrary blog.
[00:01:51] Speaker C: And don't forget about our virtual coffee hour every Tuesday at 10:00am and Friday at 2:00pm While this program is held on Zoom, you can call in from your telephone, shake off those winter blues, and brighten your day by chatting with library staff and other library patrons. Contact the library to get the Zoom link or dial in phone number.
[00:02:09] Speaker A: Now for the top 10 nonfiction books downloaded from Bard Bird Talk hilariously accurate ways to identify birds by the sounds they make. DB130368 by Becca Rowland Birds are singing all around us and author and illustrator Becca Rowland, AKA Girl in White Glasses, connects the dots between their songs and the birds who make them, helping you to easily identify and remember their calls. Combining illustrations of common and rare birds with fascinating facts and whimsical descriptions of their calls, this book is full of humor and charm.
Softly as I Leave Life after a memoir DB132785 by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley Priscilla Presley's divorce from Elvis left his fans incredulous. How could she leave the man every woman wanted? From the outside, life in Elvis's mansion looked glamorous and enviable, and in many respects it was. But inside the mansion, her husband was constantly surrounded by a male entourage, while at the gates, lines of beautiful women waited hopefully for an audience with the King. From the time she was 17 years old, that life was all Priscilla had known. During her 10 years with Elvis, it became painfully apparent that she had no idea who she was outside Elvis's world. The only way to find herself was to leave that world and seek a new life of her own, because leaving was the only way to survive for herself and for her daughter.
Softly As I Leave you is the deeply personal story of what Priscilla lost and what she found when she walked away from the man she loved. Despite the legal separation, their love for one another transformed into a touching and tender dynamic that endured until Elvis's untimely death four years later.
Shattered by Elvis's passing, she had to reinvent herself a second time as the single mother of a talented, often headstrong daughter who never really recovered from her father's death. Priscilla's dedication to motherhood was enriched by the birth of her second child, and she gradually found her footing as a businesswoman, actress, designer and legislative advocate. She transformed Graceland into an international destination and helped guide the development of Elvis Presley enterprises. But the unexpected, shattering loss of three immediate family members years later brought Priscilla to her knees. Blood Harmony the everly Brothers story DB132190 by Barry Mazur in between the Elvis years and the rise of the Beatles, there was no bigger act than the everly brothers. From 1957 to 1962, they were among the highest selling pop acts in the US in that time they developed their own brand of rock and roll and gentle pop balladry that leaned heavily on older close harmony sty styles of country music. Singing Wake Up Little Susie, All I have to Do Is Dream, Kathy's Clown Let It Be Me Their hits were legion and their sweet and sour Appalachian style harmonies influenced everyone from the Beatles to Simon and Garfunkel to the Beach Boys to Crosby, Stills and Nash. Everly brothers Don and Phil are inducted members of both the Rock and Roll hall of Fame and the Country Music hall of Fame, the progenitors of hybrid Americana roots music format.
[00:05:15] Speaker B: Silence no Surviving My Journey to hell and back DB132774 By Sarah Ransom Sarah Ransom was recruited into Jeffrey Epstein's network when she was 22 during her first months in Manhattan and in America. Her desire to network in hopes of getting into the Fashion Institute of Technology were destroyed overnight, and Sarah found herself imprisoned by a web of co conspiracy conspirators on an island. Though my own story is centered on sexual abuse, all trauma lives in the body. It changes the shape of one's soul. By sharing my testimony, by using my book as a platform to start an evocative conversation among all readers, and particularly among women, I hope to see both minds and laws changed. More than anything, I want to encourage a culture in which women, even if they haven't led the perfect lives, even if they're not proud of every one of their choices, still feel the right to stand in their truth. That, in these years, is what I'm still learning to do. After enduring unimaginable trauma, Sarah bravely pulls back the curtain on a hell that only those who entered it can truly testify to. Her eloquent, inspiring and detailed testimony completely changes our understanding of the depths and depravity of this complex and morally bankrupt sex trafficking ring and gives us hope for how the power of words can heal and transform that time of year. A Minnesota Life DB 132393 by Garrison Keillor in that time of year, Garrison Keillor looks back on his life and recounts how a Brethren boy with writerly ambitions grew up in a small town on the Mississippi in the 1950s and, seeing three good friends die young, turned to comedy and radio. Through a series of unreasonable lucky breaks, he founded A Prairie Home Companion and put himself in line for a good life, including mistakes, regrets and a few medical adventures.
Phz lasted 40 years, 750 shows and enjoyed the freedom to do as it pleased for 3 or 4 million listeners every Saturday at 5pm Central.
He got to sing with Emmylou Harris and Renee Fleming and once sang two songs to the US Supreme Court. He played a private eye and a cowboy, gave the news from his hometown, Lake Wobegon, and met Somalia cab drivers who learned English from listening to the show. He wrote best selling novels, won a Grammy and a National Humanities Medal, and made a movie with Robert Altman with an alarming amount of improvisation.
Guilty Sex, God and murder in Tallahassee, Florida DB132929 by Makeda Brotman Mike and Denise Williams had a tight knit, seemingly unbreakable bond with childhood friends Brian and Kathy Winchester.
The two couples were devout, hard working Baptists who lived perfect, quintessentially Southern lives. Their friendship seemed ironclad, that is, until December 16, 2000, when Denise's husband, Mike, disappeared while duck hunting on Lake Seminole. After no body was found, everyone assumed that Mike had drowned in a tragic accident, his body eaten by alligators. But things took an unexpected turn when, within five years of Mike's disappearance, Brian Winchester divorced his wife and married Denise. Their surprising romance sent tongues talking.
People began wondering how long they had been a couple and whether they had anything to do with Mike's death. It took another 12 years for the truth to come out, and when it did, it was unimaginable.
[00:09:02] Speaker C: The Boys and the Light an Extraordinary World War II Story of Survival, Faith, and Brotherhood DB 132324 by Nina Wilmer the extraordinary and inspiring true story of a band of young U.S. soldiers who fought together in World War II and, in the throes of combat rescued two survivors, one of them the author's father, from Hitler's plot to exterminate the Jews from Europe. The Boys and the Light follows the parallel journeys of Company D and Eddie Wilner, the author's father, as they experienced two sides of World War II.
This is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the strength of the bonds forged during war. A must read for fans of Unbroken, by Laura Hillebrand and Erik Larson's The Splendid and the Vile.
At 16, Eddie Wilner was among the millions of European Jews rounded up by Hitler's Nazis.
He was forced into slave labor alongside his father and his best friend, Mike, and spent the next three years of his life surviving the death camps, including Auschwitz. Meanwhile, in the United States, boys only a few years older than Eddie were joining the army and heading toward their own precarious futures.
Once farmers, factory workers, and coal miners, they were suddenly army officers and infantrymen thrust into the brutal conflicts of World War II. A company of 3rd Armored Division tankers led by Elmer Hovland quickly became battle hardened and weary, constantly questioning whether the war was worth it. Eight months in, they got their answer when two emaciated boys stepped out of the woods with their tattooed arms raised. Eddie and Mike Elmer and his soldiers could barely believe their eyes as they finally came face to face with the human cost of Hitler's evil. What Elmer did next would change everyone's lives.
Scout Camp, Sex, Death and secret Societies Inside the Boy Scouts of America DB 132773 by James Renner in the summer of 1995, the largest boy Scout camp in Ohio, a night of sexual violence ended with one counselor dead and another hospitalized.
The death was ruled accidental. It wouldn't be the last death associated with Seven Ranges Reservation. James Renner, too, was a counselor at Seven Ranges that year. He was always sure there must be more to the story of Mike Klinger's death, because Renner also knew firsthand that the 900 acre camp was not the safe getaway it was portrayed to be.
On Friday nights, the boys were ushered into the woods for a frightening ceremony in which they learned the rules for becoming good young men. And above all that keeping secrets was a Scout's duty, no matter how dark the secrets were. Determined to face his demons, Renner embarks on a journey back to the tumultuous summer and exposes the clandestine society that left indelible scars on the Scouts and their staff who were there. For Renner himself, it meant opening up about his twisted upbringing, his issues with trust and sexuality, and a lifetime of self medication.
English Grammar for Dummies DBG07909 by Geraldine Woods Fun and easy strategies that can help you when you're faced with such grammatical dilemmas as the choice between I and me and who and whom. Other topics include verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Oh my punctuation, the lowdown on periods, commas, colons, and all those other squiggly marks. Possession it's 910 of grammatical law and top 10 lists on improving your proofreading skills and ways to learn better Grammar.
The Idaho Four An American Tragedy DB 131699 by James Patterson and Vicki Ward the murders of four innocent college students attending the University of Idaho left us all with so many questions.
Now, after more than 300 interviews, James Patterson and prize winning journalist Vicki Ward finally have some answers. We know what it was like to live in Moscow, Idaho on November 13, 2022, the day of the cold blooded killings.
We know what the local police and FBI did right and what they did wrong. We've learned so much about the four heartbroken families, the Mogians, the Gonsalveses, Kernodles and Chepens. And we have the backstory for Brian Kohlberger, brilliant grad student, loner, para insulin. Now you are the jury. The evidence is in.
[00:13:47] Speaker A: Join us for Makerspace Monday on Monday, February 9th from 6 to 7:15pm you can join us in person or via Zoom. This month is a story Wire Sculpture Art Makerspace where art meets storytelling. Create a one of a kind wire sculpture using copper wire, colorful pipe cleaners and loopy paper, all anchored in a clay base and finished with buttons that represent the people who keep us connected.
Come for the craft and stay for the sweet Circuit Snack Bar. All ages are welcome. You can find the link to register on our blog at IowaLibrary blog or call the library and we can help get you registered. For any questions about Makerspace Mondays, contact Denise Bean at Denise Beanline State IA US or 515-452-1338.
[00:14:35] Speaker B: And don't forget about all of our wonderful youth programs after school programming beyond the Book, Teen Book Club and BrailleBabies. These can be a great resource during winter months when cold weather, snow and shorter days make it harder to leave the house. They offer flexibility, learning opportunities and social connection, all from the comfort of home. Contact Denise Bean, Youth Services Librarian or the library for more information on these programs.
[00:15:02] Speaker C: The National Library Services Many Faces a Bard program will be held Thursday, February 12th at 6pm NLS's Smart speaking to the Smart speaker will be held Thursday, February 19th at 6pm and all that may eread will be held on Tuesday, February 24th at 6:00pm all programs are held via Zoom and the topics have not been released yet. Check our blog, IWALibrary blog for updated information.
Contact the library to get more information or go to www.loc.govnlS.
please don't hesitate to contact the library with any questions or comments at 515-281-1323 or by email at librarylind state ia us.
The library is open Monday through Friday, 8am to 4:30pm Happy reading.
[00:16:00] Speaker A: It.
