Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreigners and welcome to the second episode of our August 2026 Library News the Iowa State Fair has arrived, which can only mean one thing. It's officially time for all things on a stick. It's one of the best times of the year in Iowa, so be sure to soak up these warm late summer days before cooler weather sneaks in.
In today's episode, we're featuring our D List mysteries for long summer nights. Leland is back with another helpful tech tip on using voiceover, and Jodi is in this month's Staff Spotlight, so get comfortable and let's get started.
[00:00:50] Speaker B: And now for this month's D List mysteries for long summer nights. The Thursday Murder Club By Richard Osman, DB100981 In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly to discuss unsolved crimes.
When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case and the bodies began to pile up.
The man who Died Twice By Richard Osman, DB105290 Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim from the Thursday Murder Club, DB100981 are hoping for peace in their posh retirement village. But an unexpected visitor, an old friend of Elizabeth, arrives, desperate for help.
Accused of stealing diamonds, he's on the run. Then a body is found.
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz, DB 88903 while reading the manuscript for the last entry in mystery writer Allen Conway's detective series, Susan Ryland, head of fiction at Cloverleaf Books, learns that Conway has died.
Suspicious, she begins investigating his death and looks to his books for clues.
[00:02:23] Speaker C: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie By Alan Bradley, DB 70410 England 195011 year old Aspiring chemist Flavia de Luce overhears her father in a heated argument with a stranger who turns up dead in the garden of the Luce decaying estate. When Flavia's father is charged with murder, she seeks clues in their village and his past to exonerate him.
The Number One Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, DB55503MA Precious Ramaswa opens a detective agency in Bonswana when she inherits her father's cattle. People consult her about straying husbands, fraudulent business associates and missing children.
Along the way she learns their life stories and tales of Africa.
The Maid By Nita Prose, DB 10629825 year old Molly Gray doesn't interact well with the world and misses her gran who codified it for her.
She has gotten a job as a hotel maid and revels in her orderly duties.
When she discovers a dead body in a room, Molly must unravel the real killer's identity.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware DB 85729 After a nightmarish break in British journalist Lowe Blacklock is exhausted but happy to board the exclusive cruise ship the Aurora on assignment. But when she awakens to the sounds of a woman being thrown overboard, Lowe's nightmare begins in earnest.
[00:04:40] Speaker A: And Then There Were None By Agatha Christie, DB11 077 Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to a lonely mansion on Indian island by a host who, surprisingly fails to appear on the island. They are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives.
One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked past, and one by one, they start to die. Nightshade By Michael Conley DB13 0298 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Stillwell has been exiled to a low key post policing rustic Catalina island after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the mainland.
But while following up the usual drunk and disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Detective Stilwell gets a report of a body found weighted down at the bottom of the harbor, a Jane Doe, identifiable at first only by a streak of purple dye in her hair.
At the same time, a report of poaching on a protected reserve turns into a case fraught with violence and danger as Stilwell digs into the shady past of an island bigwig crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction. Stilwell doggedly works both cases.
Though hampered by an old beef with an ex colleague determined to thwart him at every turn, he is convinced he is the only one who can bring justice to the woman known as Nightshade.
Soon his investigation uncovers closely guarded secrets and a dark heart to the serene island that was meant to be his escape from the evils of the big city.
Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston and Lincoln child, DB038 FBI agent Pendergast is summoned to Medicine Creek, Kansas, a sleepy farm town plagued by a gruesome serial killer. Somehow, the murders are connected to the community's outlaw past, and Pendergast has to discover how.
[00:06:58] Speaker B: Magazine OF THE Month this month's Magazine of the Month is vital Speeches of the Day Published monthly and available in audio, on cartridge, or as a download through Bard.
Each issue features speeches from recognized leaders of public opinion, offering thoughtful perspectives on current events, national issues, and Other topics
[00:07:21] Speaker C: shaping today's world Leland here with this month's Tech Tip. This month we are looking at Voiceover and tips on mastering some of its basic gestures.
When it comes to using Voiceover the first time, there's really three gestures to learn to get started. After that, it's a matter of practice to become comfortable. Let's get started. The first thing to master is called Explore by Touch. This is where you use one finger to lightly touch the screen and slide around as your finger moves. Voiceover will announce things underneath your finger. If you lift your finger, Voiceover will keep the focus on the last thing you found.
This is great for getting an idea of how things are organized on your screen or to quickly move to different sections. The tricky part with this gesture is if you accidentally touch the screen when trying to use a different gesture, the focus will move and you will need to find your way back to where you were.
Best advice is to practice using a light touch.
The next gesture is the one finger swipe right or left. This will move the focus of one item at a time.
This is great if you don't want to miss anything as you can navigate through everything on screen.
The tricky part with this one comes from how fast you you need a swipe. My favorite explanation of how you should be moving your finger is pretending you have a coin on table and you're trying to send it flying off the other side. Short and quick swipes are what work best. The final gesture is the one finger double tap. This is how you take action. Most times this means opening an app, typing a letter, clicking a button, or toggling a switch. The tricky part of this comes from tapping the screen without sliding and making sure that there's not too much time between the first tap and the second. Imagine that annoying drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet or someone drumming their fingers quick and in the same place works best.
It doesn't matter where on the screen you double tap, but I find near the center the easiest. The last bit of advice I have that can be helpful when you're first learning is to practice these gestures off screen. You want these motions to become muscle memory where you don't have to really think about how to do them. I find turning off the device to practice can be helpful, or flipping over your device to use the backside.
That way you can get comfortable holding the device in one hand and using the gesture with the other without worry about doing something unintendedly.
And that's it. The three gestures to focus on when learning how to use voiceover.
I'll catch you in the next tech tip.
Happy reading.
[00:10:39] Speaker D: Hello Jodi here with this month's Staff Spotlight the book I would like to talk about this month is the Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meisner. This is a historical fiction novel set in San Francisco in the early 1900s. It follows Sophie Whelan, a young Irish immigrant who answers a mail order bride Advertisement in hopes of escaping poverty in New York.
After marrying widower Martin Hawking and becoming a mother figure to his young daughter, Sophie begins to realize that her new husband is hiding dangerous secrets. When the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake strikes, Sophie's life is upended, forcing her to confront deception, betrayal, and the strength she never knew she possessed as she forms unexpected bonds with other women caught in the same web of lies.
The novel explores themes of resilience, friendship, motherhood, and the power of rebuilding a life after tragedy. It's an emotional blend of historical fiction, mystery and suspense, with the 1906 earthquake serving as both a dramatic backdrop and a catalyst for the character's transformation.
Add this one to your reading list. It's definitely worth checking out.
[00:12:10] Speaker A: It's not too late to sign up for Picabox. You can sign up by calling the library at 515-281-1323 or online at IowaLibrary blog.
Each month, participating patrons will receive a cartridge of specially curated books set in that month's Olympic host city and a sticker to stamp the passport they will receive with their first box. Picabox is designed for patrons 18 years
[00:12:35] Speaker B: and older interested in joining a book club. We offer several options for all ages and reading styles, including the Tuesday Book Club, Thursday Book Club, no Book Book Club and Beyond the Book Teen Book Club.
Meeting times vary and all groups are accessible by conference call. For schedules and more details. Contact the library for more information.
No matter what your age or interest, there's a book club waiting for you.
[00:13:05] Speaker C: Smart speaking to the smart speaker by NLS will be held Thursday, August 20th at 6pm that all may eread the monthly NLS program that focuses on the NLS Braille E Reader will be held Tuesday, August 25th at 6pm via Zoom. Topics for these NLS programs have not been released yet.
Check our blog, IowaLibrary Blog, for updated information.
Contact the library if you need assistance getting registered for any of the NLS events.
The library will be closed Monday, September 7th in observance of Labor Day.
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.
