Talking Books Talk - Website at State Library of Kansas

Kansas Talking Books staff share what they've been reading recently and recommend as your next read.

Michael Lang, Director

DB 50842 Alice's adventures in Wonderland; and, Through the looking glass, and what Alice found there by Lewis Carroll
Extraordinary things happen when a little girl falls down a rabbit hole and encounters the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, and other unusual characters. Alice's second adventure takes her to a land with a peculiar back-to-front order in which everything is reversed. For grades 3-6 and older readers. 1865.

DB 127916 The lamb by Lucy Rose
"Margot and Mama have lived by the forest ever since Margot can remember. When Margot is not at school, they spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. Strays, Mama calls them. People who have strayed too far from the road. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she satisfies her burning appetite by picking apart their bodies. But Mama's want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a beautiful, white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires, and make her bid for freedom."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 94129 We are legion (we are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
A century after his death, Bob Johansson wakes up to find that his consciousness has been uploaded into computer hardware on an interstellar probe. His job is now to seek habitable planets for humanity, but he will face foreign probes with the same goal. Contains strong language and violence. Commercial audiobook. 2016.

DB 128442 The unworthy by Augustina Maria Bazterrica
"From her cell in a mysterious convent, a woman writes the story of her life in whatever she can find--discarded ink, dirt, and even her own blood. A lower member of the Sacred Sisterhood, deemed an unworthy, she dreams of ascending to the ranks of the Enlightened at the center of the convent and of pleasing the foreboding Superior Sister. Outside, the world is plagued by catastrophe--cities are submerged underwater, electricity and the internet are nonexistent, and bands of survivors fight and forage in a cruel, barren landscape. Inside, the narrator is controlled, punished, but safe. But when a stranger makes her way past the convent walls, joining the ranks of the unworthy, she forces the narrator to consider her long-buried past--and what she may be overlooking about the Enlightened. As the two women grow closer, the narrator is increasingly haunted by questions about her own past, the environmental future, and her present life inside the convent. How did she get to the Sacred Sisterhood? Why can't she remember her life before? And what really happens when a woman is chosen as one of the Enlightened?"-- From publisher. -- Translated from the Spanish edition. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Nataly Renfro, Machine Clerk

DB 125976 Southern beauty: race, ritual, and memory in the modern South by Elizabeth Bronwyn Boyd
"Southern Beauty explains a curiosity: why a feminine ideal rooted in the nineteenth century continues to enjoy currency well into the twenty-first. Elizabeth Bronwyn Boyd examines how the continuation of certain gender rituals in the American South has served to perpetuate racism, sexism, and classism. In a trio of popular gender rituals-sorority rush, beauty pageants, and the Confederate Pageant of the Natchez (Mississippi) Pilgrimage-young white southern women have readily ditched contemporary modes of dress and comportment for performances of purity, gentility, and deference. Clearly, the ability to "do" white southern womanhood, convincingly and on cue, has remained a valued performance. But why? Based on ethnographic research and more than sixty taped interviews, Southern Beauty goes behind the scenes of the three rituals to explore the motivations and rewards associated with participation. The picture that Boyd paints is not pretty: it is one of southern beauties securing status and sustaining segregation by making nostalgic gestures to the southern past. Boyd also maintains that the audiences for these rituals and pageants have been complicit, unwilling to acknowledge the beauties' racial work or their investment in it. With its focus on performance, Southern Beauty moves beyond representations to show how femininity in motion-stylized and predictable but ephemeral-has succeeded as an enduring emblem, where other symbols faltered, by failing to draw scrutiny. Continuing to make the moves of region and race even as many Confederate symbols have been retired, the southern beauty has persisted, maintaining power and privilege through consistent performance."-- Provided by publisher. -- Commercial audiobook.

Miguel Delgado, Library Assistant

DB 82848 A knight of the seven kingdoms: the tales of Dunk and Egg by George R. R. Martin
Sir Duncan the Tall (Dunk) and his squire Egg (one day to be King Aegon Targaryen) go on adventures. Three novellas explore the history of the Seven Kingdoms, many years before the events told in the epic series A Song of Ice and Fire. Some violence. Commercial audiobook. 2015.

Maggie Witte, Outreach Librarian

DB 72629 A discovery of witches: All Souls trilogy, book 1 by Deborah Harkness
After scholar and witch Diana Bishop requests an alchemical manuscript from the depths of Oxford's Bodleian Library, she finds the magical power within the leather cover disturbing and hastily sends it back. But the book's reemergence causes a chain reaction through the paranormal community. Descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2011.

DB 75214 Shadow of night: All Souls trilogy, book 2 by Deborah Harkness
Diana and Matthew, from A Discovery of Witches (DB 72629), find themselves in Elizabethan England. Court intrigues demand their attention as they search for the enchanted Ashmole manuscript and Diana struggles to understand her powers. Descriptions of sex and some violence. Bestseller. 2012.

DB 79442 The book of life: All Souls trilogy, book 3 by Deborah Harkness
After the events of Shadow of Night (DB 75214), Diana and Matthew return to modern-day Sept-Tours. The Congregation hunts them to demand answers regarding Diana's change in powers. They race against time to find the final pages of the Book of Life. Explicit descriptions of sex and some violence. Bestseller. 2014.

DB 122854 The black bird oracle: All Souls trilogy, book 5 by Deborah Harkness
"Diana Bishop journeys to the darkest places within herself--and her family history--in the highly anticipated fifth novel of the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling All Souls series. Deborah Harkness first introduced the world to Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and witch, and vampire geneticist Matthew de Clairmont in A Discovery of Witches. Drawn to each other despite long-standing taboos, these two other-worldly beings found themselves at the center of a battle for a lost, enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782. Since then, they have fallen in love, traveled to Elizabethan England, dissolved the Covenant between the three species, and awoken the dark powers within Diana's family line. Now, Diana and Matthew receive a formal demand from the Congregation: They must test the magic of their seven-year-old twins, Pip and Rebecca. Concerned with their safety and desperate to avoid the same fate that led her parents to spellbind her, Diana decides to forge a different path for her family's future and answers a message from a great-aunt she never knew existed, Gwyneth Proctor, whose invitation simply reads: It's time you came home, Diana. On the hallowed ground of Ravenswood, the Proctor family home, and under the tutelage of Gwyneth, a talented witch grounded in higher magic, a new era begins for Diana: a confrontation with her family's dark past, and a reckoning for her own desire for even greater power-if she can let go, finally, of her fear of wielding it"-- Provided by publisher. -- Explicit descriptions of sex, some strong language, some violence. Commercial audiobook.

DB 118427 Argylle by Elly Conway
"A luxury train speeding towards Moscow and a date with destiny. A CIA plane downed in the jungles of the Golden Triangle. A Nazi hoard entombed in the remote mountains of South-West Poland. A missing treasure, the eighth wonder of the world, lost for seven decades. One Russian magnate's dream of restoring a nation to greatness has set in motion a chain of events which will take the world to the brink of chaos. Only Frances Coffey, the CIA's most legendary spymaster, can prevent it. But to do so, she needs someone special. Enter Argylle, a troubled agent with a tarnished past who may just have the skills to take on one of the most powerful men in the world. If only he can save himself first..." -- Provided by publisher. -- Some descriptions of sex, strong language, violence. Commercial audiobook.

DB 111034 Witch queens, voodoo spirits & hoodoo saints: a guide to magical New Orleans by Denise Alvarado
"A magical mystery tour of the extraordinary historical characters that have defined the unique spiritual landscape of New Orleans. New Orleans has long been America's most magical city, inhabited by a fascinating visible and invisible world, full of mysteries, known for its decadence and haunted by its spirits. If Salem, Massachusetts, is famous for its persecution of witches, New Orleans is celebrated for its embrace of the magical, mystical, and paranormal. New Orleans is acclaimed for its witches, ghosts, and vampires. Because of its unique history, New Orleans is the historical stronghold of traditional African religions and spirituality in the US. No other city worldwide is as associated with Vodou as New Orleans. In her new book, author and scholar Denise Alvarado takes us on a magical tour of New Orleans. There is a mysterious spiritual underbelly hiding in plain sight in New Orleans, and in this book Alvarado shows us where it is and who the characters are. She tells where they come from and how they persist and manifest today. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints shines a light on notable spirits and folk saints such as Papa Legba, Annie Christmas, Black Hawk, African-American culture hero Jean St. Malo, St. Expedite, plague saint Roch, and, of course, the mother and father of New Orleans Voudou, Marie Laveau and Doctor John Montenée. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints serves as a secret history of New Orleans, revealing details even locals may not know." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 58255 Again the magic by Lisa Kleypas
1844. Twelve years ago, Lady Aline Marsden fell in love with John McKenna, one of her father's servants, who was sent away when their infatuation was discovered. Now, having made his fortune in America, McKenna returns to seduce and abandon Aline to avenge his heartbreak. Explicit descriptions of sex. 2004.

DB 129757 Immortal unchained: Argeneau, book 25 by Lynsay Sands
"Ever since Domitian Argenis recognized Sarita as his life mate, he's been waiting for the perfect moment to claim her. Those fantasies did not include him being chained to a table in a secret lab or both of them being held hostage by a mad scientist. Somehow, they have to escape... Sarita has seen some crazy things as a cop, but nothing to rival Domitian. A vampire? Seriously? But his healing ability, incredible powers, and their mind-blowing physical connection? None of it should be possible, yet her body knows differently. Now, not only do they have to save each other, but other innocent lives are at stake. Failure is not an option, for Sarita intends that Domitian show her exactly what an eternity of pleasure feels like..."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

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October 2025 Staff Picks

Kansas Talking Books staff share what they've been reading recently and recommend as your next read.Michael Lang, DirectorDB 50842 Alice's adventures in Wonderland; and, Through the looking glass, and what Alice found there by Lewis Carroll Extraordinary things happen when a little girl falls down a rabbit hole and encounters the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, and other unusual characters. Alice's second adventure takes her to a land with a peculiar back-to-front order in which everything is reversed. For grades 3-6 and older readers. 1865.DB 127916 The lamb by Lucy Rose "Margot and Mama have lived by the forest ever since Margot can remember. When Margot is not at school, they spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. Strays, Mama calls them. People who have strayed too far from the road. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she satisfies her burning appetite by picking apart their bodies. But Mama's want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a beautiful, white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires, and make her bid for freedom."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.DB 94129 We are legion (we are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor A century after his death, Bob Johansson wakes up to find that his consciousness has been uploaded into computer hardware on an interstellar probe. His job is now to seek habitable planets for humanity, but he will face foreign probes with the same goal. Contains strong language and violence. Commercial audiobook. 2016.DB 128442 The unworthy by Augustina Maria Bazterrica "From her cell in a mysterious convent, a woman writes the story of her life in whatever she can find--discarded ink, dirt, and even her own blood. A lower member of the Sacred Sisterhood, deemed an unworthy, she dreams of ascending to the ranks of the Enlightened at the center of the convent and of pleasing the foreboding Superior Sister. Outside, the world is plagued by catastrophe--cities are submerged underwater, electricity and the internet are nonexistent, and bands of survivors fight and forage in a cruel, barren landscape. Inside, the narrator is controlled, punished, but safe. But when a stranger makes her way past the convent walls, joining the ranks of the unworthy, she forces the narrator to consider her long-buried past--and what she may be overlooking about the Enlightened. As the two women grow closer, the narrator is increasingly haunted by questions about her own past, the environmental future, and her present life inside the convent. How did she get to the Sacred Sisterhood? Why can't she remember her life before? And what really happens when a woman is chosen as one of the Enlightened?"-- From publisher. -- Translated from the Spanish edition. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.Nataly Renfro, Machine ClerkDB 125976 Southern beauty: race, ritual, and memory in the modern South by Elizabeth Bronwyn Boyd "Southern Beauty explains a curiosity: why a feminine ideal rooted in the nineteenth century continues to enjoy currency well into the twenty-first. Elizabeth Bronwyn Boyd examines how the continuation of certain gender rituals in the American South has served to perpetuate racism, sexism, and classism. In a trio of popular gender rituals-sorority rush, beauty pageants, and the Confederate Pageant of the Natchez (Mississippi) Pilgrimage-young white southern women have readily ditched contemporary modes of dress and comportment for performances of purity, gentility, and deference. Clearly, the ability to "do" white southern womanhood, convincingly and on cue, has remained a valued performance. But why? Based on ethnographic research and more than sixty taped interviews, Southern Beauty goes behind the scenes of the three rituals to explore the motivations and rewards associated with participation. The picture that Boyd paints is not pretty: it is one of southern beauties securing status and sustaining segregation by making nostalgic gestures to the southern past. Boyd also maintains that the audiences for these rituals and pageants have been complicit, unwilling to acknowledge the beauties' racial work or their investment in it. With its focus on performance, Southern Beauty moves beyond representations to show how femininity in motion-stylized and predictable but ephemeral-has succeeded as an enduring emblem, where other symbols faltered, by failing to draw scrutiny. Continuing to make the moves of region and race even as many Confederate symbols have been retired, the southern beauty has persisted, maintaining power and privilege through consistent performance."-- Provided by publisher. -- Commercial audiobook.Miguel Delgado, Library AssistantDB 82848 A knight of the seven kingdoms: the tales of Dunk and Egg by George R. R. Martin Sir Duncan the Tall (Dunk) and his squire Egg (one day to be King Aegon Targaryen) go on adventures. Three novellas explore the history of the Seven Kingdoms, many years before the events told in the epic series A Song of Ice and Fire. Some violence. Commercial audiobook. 2015.Maggie Witte, Outreach LibrarianDB 72629 A discovery of witches: All Souls trilogy, book 1 by Deborah Harkness After scholar and witch Diana Bishop requests an alchemical manuscript from the depths of Oxford's Bodleian Library, she finds the magical power within the leather cover disturbing and hastily sends it back. But the book's reemergence causes a chain reaction through the paranormal community. Descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2011.DB 75214 Shadow of night: All Souls trilogy, book 2 by Deborah Harkness Diana and Matthew, from A Discovery of Witches (DB 72629), find themselves in Elizabethan England. Court intrigues demand their attention as they search for the enchanted Ashmole manuscript and Diana struggles to understand her powers. Descriptions of sex and some violence. Bestseller. 2012.DB 79442 The book of life: All Souls trilogy, book 3 by Deborah Harkness After the events of Shadow of Night (DB 75214), Diana and Matthew return to modern-day Sept-Tours. The Congregation hunts them to demand answers regarding Diana's change in powers. They race against time to find the final pages of the Book of Life. Explicit descriptions of sex and some violence. Bestseller. 2014.DB 122854 The black bird oracle: All Souls trilogy, book 5 by Deborah Harkness "Diana Bishop journeys to the darkest places within herself--and her family history--in the highly anticipated fifth novel of the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling All Souls series. Deborah Harkness first introduced the world to Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and witch, and vampire geneticist Matthew de Clairmont in A Discovery of Witches. Drawn to each other despite long-standing taboos, these two other-worldly beings found themselves at the center of a battle for a lost, enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782. Since then, they have fallen in love, traveled to Elizabethan England, dissolved the Covenant between the three species, and awoken the dark powers within Diana's family line. Now, Diana and Matthew receive a formal demand from the Congregation: They must test the magic of their seven-year-old twins, Pip and Rebecca. Concerned with their safety and desperate to avoid the same fate that led her parents to spellbind her, Diana decides to forge a different path for her family's future and answers a message from a great-aunt she never knew existed, Gwyneth Proctor, whose invitation simply reads: It's time you came home, Diana. On the hallowed ground of Ravenswood, the Proctor family home, and under the tutelage of Gwyneth, a talented witch grounded in higher magic, a new era begins for Diana: a confrontation with her family's dark past, and a reckoning for her own desire for even greater power-if she can let go, finally, of her fear of wielding it"-- Provided by publisher. -- Explicit descriptions of sex, some strong language, some violence. Commercial audiobook.DB 118427 Argylle by Elly Conway "A luxury train speeding towards Moscow and a date with destiny. A CIA plane downed in the jungles of the Golden Triangle. A Nazi hoard entombed in the remote mountains of South-West Poland. A missing treasure, the eighth wonder of the world, lost for seven decades. One Russian magnate's dream of restoring a nation to greatness has set in motion a chain of events which will take the world to the brink of chaos. Only Frances Coffey, the CIA's most legendary spymaster, can prevent it. But to do so, she needs someone special. Enter Argylle, a troubled agent with a tarnished past who may just have the skills to take on one of the most powerful men in the world. If only he can save himself first..." -- Provided by publisher. -- Some descriptions of sex, strong language, violence. Commercial audiobook.DB 111034 Witch queens, voodoo spirits & hoodoo saints: a guide to magical New Orleans by Denise Alvarado "A magical mystery tour of the extraordinary historical characters that have defined the unique spiritual landscape of New Orleans. New Orleans has long been America's most magical city, inhabited by a fascinating visible and invisible world, full of mysteries, known for its decadence and haunted by its spirits. If Salem, Massachusetts, is famous for its persecution of witches, New Orleans is celebrated for its embrace of the magical, mystical, and paranormal. New Orleans is acclaimed for its witches, ghosts, and vampires. Because of its unique history, New Orleans is the historical stronghold of traditional African religions and spirituality in the US. No other city worldwide is as associated with Vodou as New Orleans. In her new book, author and scholar Denise Alvarado takes us on a magical tour of New Orleans. There is a mysterious spiritual underbelly hiding in plain sight in New Orleans, and in this book Alvarado shows us where it is and who the characters are. She tells where they come from and how they persist and manifest today. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints shines a light on notable spirits and folk saints such as Papa Legba, Annie Christmas, Black Hawk, African-American culture hero Jean St. Malo, St. Expedite, plague saint Roch, and, of course, the mother and father of New Orleans Voudou, Marie Laveau and Doctor John Montenée. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints serves as a secret history of New Orleans, revealing details even locals may not know." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.DB 58255 Again the magic by Lisa Kleypas 1844. Twelve years ago, Lady Aline Marsden fell in love with John McKenna, one of her father's servants, who was sent away when their infatuation was discovered. Now, having made his fortune in America, McKenna returns to seduce and abandon Aline to avenge his heartbreak. Explicit descriptions of sex. 2004.DB 129757 Immortal unchained: Argeneau, book 25 by Lynsay Sands "Ever since Domitian Argenis recognized Sarita as his life mate, he's been waiting for the perfect moment to claim her. Those fantasies did not include him being chained to a table in a secret lab or both of them being held hostage by a mad scientist. Somehow, they have to escape... Sarita has seen some crazy things as a cop, but nothing to rival Domitian. A vampire? Seriously? But his healing ability, incredible powers, and their mind-blowing physical connection? None of it should be possible, yet her body knows differently. Now, not only do they have to save each other, but other innocent lives are at stake. Failure is not an option, for Sarita intends that Domitian show her exactly what an eternity of pleasure feels like..."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook....

Horror in October: Scary Stories and Romantic Tensions

Horror is more than just ghost stories, scary monsters, and twisted killers. It blends well with many different genres such as science fiction, fantasy, and yes, even romance. Of course we all know the horror of romance gone awry; obsessive lovers killing all would-be suitors, psycho stalkers, etc., but there is also the love between partners facing the terror together. Horror romance combines romantic passion and heart-pounding fear to create unique stories highlighting the survival of a couple's love against the horrors faced together, or the meeting of two people who fall in love while trying to survive or defeat the horrors of the book.For this last week of our Horror in October blog series, we bring to you a selection of romantic horror books to get your heart-racing and bones-chilling perfect for reading on your own or with your loved one in this lead up to the ultimate night of terror, Halloween. Take your reads with you wherever you go with BARD, Braille and Audio Reading Download, provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled to all patrons making almost all of the books available at all times with BARD Mobile, the app for mobile devices. To learn more, visit the Kansas Talking Books BARD Resources webpage or contact the office at 1-800-362-0699 or KTB@ks.gov.DB 127069 A dowry of blood by S. T. Gibson "A Dowry of Blood is a saga of obsession, desire and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love. Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things. Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband's dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death."-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.DB 116478 Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas "As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters-her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead. Something that once attacked Nena nine years ago. Believing Nena dead, Néstor has been on the run from his grief ever since, moving from ranch to ranch working as a vaquero. But no amount of drink can dispel the night terrors of sharp teeth; no woman can erase his childhood sweetheart from his mind. When the United States invades Mexico in 1846, the two are brought abruptly together on the road to war: Nena as a curandera, a healer striving to prove her worth to her father so that he does not marry her off to a stranger, and Néstor as a member of the auxiliary cavalry of ranchers and vaqueros. But the shock of their reunion-and Nena's rage at Néstor for seemingly abandoning her long ago-is quickly overshadowed by the appearance of a nightmare made flesh. And unless Nena and Néstor work through their past and face the future together, neither will survive to see the dawn." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.DB 110539 Such sharp teeth by Rachel Harrison "Rory Morris isn't thrilled to be moving back to her hometown, even if it is temporary. There are bad memories there. But her twin sister, Scarlett, is pregnant, estranged from the baby's father, and needs support, so Rory returns to the place she thought she'd put in her rearview. After a night out at a bar where she runs into an old almost-flame, she hits a large animal with her car. And when she gets out to investigate, she's attacked. Rory survives, miraculously, but life begins to look and feel different. She's unnaturally strong, with an aversion to silver--and suddenly the moon has her in its thrall. She's changing into someone else--something else, maybe even a monster. But does that mean she's putting those close to her in danger? Or is embracing the wildness inside of her the key to acceptance? This darkly comedic love story is a brilliantly layered portrait of trauma, rage, and vulnerability." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.DB 99404 Mexican gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (also available in braille as BR 23483)Mexico City, 1950. After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, socialite Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. Both the home and its owners seem to have a dark past. Contains violence, strong language, and descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2020.DB 122244 Grim root by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam "On the set of the television show "The groom," a group of women compete for the heart of Midwestern bachelor Tristan by spending a week in a haunted house. But soon the game takes a sinister turn, with gruesome curses, oozing walls, and a competition for survival as well as love." -- Worldcat. -- Violence, strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex.DB 125380 Feast while you can by Mikaella Clements "For readers of Nightbitch and We Ride Upon Sticks, this strange and sexy novel of queer love in a small town is an unsettling reminder that the horrors of modern life are monsters ready to possess us all. In the valley at the intersection of three towering mountains sits Cadenze, an ugly, remote town with little to its name. It's filled with tourists in the summer and dead the rest of the year, when most of its residents surrender to a sleepier existence. Except, that is, for whatever is lurking in the caves... Angelina Sicco was born and raised in Cadenze, and for many generations, so was every member of her family. Determined to be content with her lot in life, she walks her mongrel dog, attends her brother's heavy metal concerts, holds court in the local dive bar, and does everything she can to bait hot, queer women to her sleepy, conservative hometown. But on the night of a family party much like every other, Angelina runs into Patrick's ex, the sternly handsome Jagvi, who's back in town for a spell. Perhaps enticed by Jagvi's arrival, an ancient evil lying dormant in those caves is awakened, and soon Angelina's small, contained world begins to shatter. As the monstrous force grows bolder, it infiltrates Angelina's life. It talks with her dog's mouth; it guzzles on her memories; it controls Angelina from the inside. Only Jagvi's touch repels it--the final trigger for a secret, passionate romance. But this monster feasts on all the passion, heartbreak, and mess that makes up a life, and Angelina Sicco's life has never looked tastier. What will Angelina do to protect her future? And what will it cost her?"-- Goodreads. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.DB 76132 Warm bodies by Isaac Marion After the zombie apocalypse, R lives in an airport with his fellow undead. During a search for fresh meat, R snacks on the brains of a teenage boy--and takes on his victim's memories and feelings, including his love for his girlfriend Julie. Violence and some strong language. Bestseller. Commercial audiobook. 2011.DB 48914 Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (also availabe in braille as BR 12354)Rebecca, the glamorous mistress of a great English estate, died eight months before Maxim de Winter brought a young and frightened second wife to live there. Mystery, intrigue, and violence eventually reveal the circumstances surrounding Rebecca's death.DB 99340 The widow of Rose House by Diana Biller New York City, 1875. Widow Alva Webster returns from Europe after the death of her abusive husband with a scandalous reputation. When the dilapidated mansion she purchased appears to have a ghost, she needs the help of inventor Samuel Moore. Some strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2019.DB 108393 The other side of midnight by Simone St. James "London, 1925. Glamorous medium Gloria Sutter made her fortune helping the bereaved contact loved ones killed during the Great War. Now she's been murdered at one of her own séances, after leaving a final message requesting the help of her former friend and sole rival, Ellie Winter. Ellie doesn't contact the dead--at least, not anymore. She specializes in miraculously finding lost items. Still, she can't refuse the final request of the only other true psychic she has known. Now Ellie must delve into Gloria's secrets and plunge back into the world of hucksters, lowlifes, and fakes. Worse, she cannot shake the attentions of handsome James Hawley, a damaged war veteran who has dedicated himself to debunking psychics. As Ellie and James uncover the sinister mysteries of Gloria's life and death, Ellie is tormented by nightmarish visions that herald the grisly murders of those in Gloria's circle. And as Ellie's uneasy partnership with James turns dangerously intimate, an insidious evil force begins to undermine their quest for clues, a force determined to bury the truth and whoever seeks to expose it." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2015.BRG03096 The wolf gift by Anne Rice Newspaper reporter Reuben Golding falls for Marchent Nideck while researching a story about her long-lost uncle's Northern California estate. But their tryst ends in tragedy and Reuben barely survives, saved by a mysterious creature whose bite leaves Reuben a changed man. Descriptions of violence and some explicit descriptions of sex. Bestseller. c2012. Marrakesh title....

Horror in October: Cursed Objects

Possessed dolls, haunted paintings, magic relics, and other cursed objects are terrifying in that 1) they're inanimate objects with killer souls, demons, or curses/hexes causing death, injury, and mayhem, and 2) it's hard to believe and to prove they're causing all the misfortune you're experiencing.Whatever the cursed object may be, there are many books written about them, including those moderately scary to outright nightmare-inducing. We've gathered a list of some of the cursed object horror books in the Kansas Talking Books collection. You'll find there may be some well-known titles or authors and some lesser-known titles for you to enjoy this horror season.Don't be scared of your computer, mobile device, or smart speaker and use one (or all) to access and download (or stream) any of these books and more at anytime with BARD, Braille and Audio Reading download. BARD is a download service provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled making almost the entire collection available for download in just a few seconds with the click of a mouse or tap of the finger. To learn more, visit the Kansas Talking Books BARD Resources webpage or contact the Kansas Talking Books office at 1-800-362-0699 or KTB@ks.gov.DB 18670 Christine by Stephen King Chilling, macabre love tragedy set in 1978 in Pittsburgh centers on teenage misfit Arnie Cunningham and his devotion to and ultimate possession by his '58 Plymouth Fury, 'Christine.' Eerie things happen from the day that Arnie buys it for $250 from creepy old Roland D. LeBay. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. Bestseller 1983.DB 58397 The Good House by Tananarive Due African American talent agent Angela Toussaint returns to her late grandmother's house in Washington state where Angela's son committed suicide two years earlier. With her high school sweetheart, Angela investigates the tragedy and battles ancient supernatural forces that possessed her family. Violence, strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2003.DB 46641 The Monkey's Paw and Other Tales of Mystery and the Macabre by W. W. Jacobs Collection of eighteen supernatural tales set in England in the early 1900s. Some stories feature seamen and dockhands from the South Devon Wharf, where Jacobs's father worked. Others reflect ordinary English homes where strange events unfold. For junior and senior high and older readers.DB 87453 The Ring, books 1-3 by Koji Suzuki Three works of Japanese horror, written between 1991 and 1998, revolving around a cursed video that can infect those who watch it. In Ring, a journalist investigates the death of four teens. Also includes Spiral and Loop. Translated from the Japanese. Some strong language. 2006.DB 124555 Evil in Me by Brom "Evil in Me is bestselling author Brom's newest novel of possession, damnation, and rock 'n' roll where one woman must get the world singing in order to save her soul. This devilish tale includes nearly two dozen of Brom's immersive paintings and brilliant endpapers. Aspiring musician Ruby Tucker has had enough of her small rural town and dysfunctional family. But a falling out with her best friend and bandmate has killed her dreams of escaping and making it big in the Atlanta punk scene. While helping her eccentric neighbor organize his religious artifacts, an ancient ring clamps down on her finger--possessing her with the spirit of a blood-thirsty demon. There's no exorcizing it unless hundreds of people chant a spell to set Ruby free. And what's worse, the ring is a beacon for evil, drawing an unimaginably wicked mob straight to Ruby, hungry for her flesh. If Ruby can get her band back together, she has a shot at salvation. It's time for her to face the music and put her whole soul into a song--one powerful enough to raise some Hell"-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.DB 114076 The Heirloom by Graham Masterton "A mysterious antique that can summon the devil. An antique chair comes into a family's possession. But they soon discover that this is no ordinary heirloom. Strange things begin to occur, including shifts in the fabric of time itself. And then Satan himself is summoned." -- Provided by publisher. -- Violence, strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex.DB 86712 Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt The town of Black Spring, New York, has been dealing with a curse for centuries. Residents have high-tech ways to cope, including an app to log sightings of the town's ghost, Katherine. Now a group of bored teens could ruin everything. Strong language and some violence. Commercial audiobook. 2016.DB 116720 Burn the Negative by Josh Winning "Arriving in L.A. to visit the set of a new streaming horror series, journalist Laura Warren witnesses a man jumping from a bridge, landing right behind her car. Here we go, she thinks. It's started. Because the series she's reporting on is a remake of a '90s horror flick. A cursed '90s horror flick, which she starred in as a child-and has been running from her whole life. In The Guesthouse, Laura played the little girl with the terrifying gift to tell people how the Needle Man would kill them. When eight of the cast and crew died in ways that eerily mirrored the movie's on-screen deaths, the film became a cult classic-and ruined her life. Leaving it behind, Laura changed her name and her accent, dyed her hair, and moved across the Atlantic. But some scripts don't want to stay buried. Now, as the body count rises again, Laura finds herself on the run with her aspiring actress sister and a jaded psychic, hoping to end the curse once and for all-and to stay out of the Needle Man's lethal reach." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.DB 111028 White Horse by Erika T. Wurth "Some people are haunted in more ways than one. Old denim jackets, ripped jeans, Stephen King novels, and the occasional beer at the White Horse Lounge have defined urban Indian Kari James's life so far. But when her cousin Debby finds an old family bracelet that once belonged to Kari's mother, it inadvertently calls up both her mother's ghost and a monstrous entity, and her willful ignorance about her past is no longer sustainable. Haunted by visions of her mother and hunted by this mysterious creature, Kari must search for what happened to her mother all those years ago. Her father, permanently disabled from a car crash, can't help her. Her Auntie Squeaker seems to know something, but isn't eager to give it all up at once. Debby's anxious to help, but her controlling husband keeps getting in the way. Kari's journey towards a truth long-denied by both her family and law enforcement forces her to confront her dysfunctional relationships, her spiritual beliefs, and her desire for the one thing she's always wanted but could never have." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.DB 122454 How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie "Max Maury should be on top of the world. He's a famous horror director. Actors love him. Hollywood needs him. He's making money hand over fist. But it's the 80s, and he's directing cheap slashers for audiences who only crave more blood, not real art. Not real horror. And Max's slimy producer refuses to fund any of his new ideas. Sally Priest dreams of being the Final Girl. She knows she's got what it takes to score the lead role, even if she's only been cast in small parts so far. When Sally meets Max at his latest wrap party, she sets out to impress him and prove her scream queen prowess. But when Max discovers an old camera that filmed a very real Hollywood horror, he knows that he has to use this camera for his next movie. The only problem is that it came with a cryptic warning and sometimes wails. By the time Max discovers the true evil lying within, he's already dead set on finishing the scariest movie ever put to film, and like it or not, it's Sally's time to shine as the Final Girl"-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.BR 08752 Needful Things by Stephen King Leland Gaunt, a new resident in Castle Rock, sets up a curio shop, Needful Things, where a person can have anything his or her heart desires-but for a price! Customers must play a prank on a designated person, and sometimes the jokes have serious consequences. Perhaps the residents are paying too high a price for happiness, for Castle Rock has become a battleground. Some violence and strong language. Bestseller.BR 17064 Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill Middle-aged rock star Judas Coyne collects morbid curios. He buys a haunted suit online and discovers that it belonged to Craddock McDermott, the deceased stepfather of one of Coyne's groupies. Over time, both Coyne's own motives and those of McDermott's ghost are revealed. Violence and strong language. Bestseller. 2007.BR 21765 The Motion of Puppets by Keith Donohue While visiting Quebec City with her husband, Theo, Kay Harper is entranced by a puppet shop in the oldest part of town. Walking alone one night, she fears she is being followed and ducks into the shop, only to find herself trapped. Some violence. 2016.BRG01990 The Tommyknockers by Stephen King Bobbi Anderson, 37, out with her aging dog, Peter, is looking for trees to cull on her father's farm in Haven, Maine, when she stumbles over a piece of metal sticking out of the earth. Curious, she scrapes away the soil...The deceptively ordinary beginning of a tale of nightmarish horror that is to destroy a community. 1987. Unrated. Marrakesh title....

Horror in October: Classic Tales of Horror

We all know some of the early classic horror stories that came after Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (DB 25835/BR 12173): Dracula (DB 31689/BR 08277) by Bram Stoker; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (DB 26427/BR 11092) by Robert Louis Stevenson; The complete stories (DB 44929) by Edgar Allan Poe; and The invisible man (DB 47064) by H. G. Wells. But there are many others that were published before and after that have influenced the horror genre over the years. To honor the genre in this week's Horror in October blog post, we look back at early writings that have come to truly define the horror genre as it is today. There may be stories and authors that are well-known and others you've maybe never heard of before. Celebrate the horror genre and the month of horror with the following books available in our collection to send in the mail or for immediate download using BARD, Braille and Audio Reading Download, provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. To order any of these or learn more information about BARD, please contact the Kansas Talking Books office at 1-800-362-0699 or KTB@ks.gov.DB 20577 The woman in white by Wilkie Collins (also available in braille as BR 09083) A Victorian melodrama concerning a mysterious woman in white who bears an uncanny resemblance to the fiancee of Count Fosco, a sophisticated fortune hunter. First published as a serial between 1859 and 1860, this chronicle of evil, suspense, and villainy is believed to be the first English novel to deal with crime detection. 1859.DB 31356 Melmoth the wanderer by Grant Douglas (also available in braille as BR 08339) This classic gothic novel by an eccentric Anglican curate in Dublin was originally published in 1820 and tells of a Faust-like hero. John Melmoth has sold his soul to the devil in return for a long life. He can redeem himself if he can find someone to take his place in hell. His search takes him from London's Bedlam mental institution to Spain during the Inquisition, and from Ireland to a mysterious uninhabited island.DB 50339 The collected tales of Nikolai Gogol by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol (contains the short story Viy)Thirteen stories newly translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. Four from Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka (1831-32): "St. John's Eve," "The Night before Christmas," "The Terrible Vengeance," and "Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka and His Aunt." From the Petersburg tales: "Nevsky Prospect," "The Diary of a Madman," "The Nose," and "The Overcoat" among others. 1998. 1998.DB 56794 The picture of Dorian Gray (also available in braille as BR 17780) / DB 12606 El retrato de Dorian Gray por Oscar Wilde First published in the late nineteenth century. A beautiful youth has his portrait painted by an artist with a flair for the morbid. The portrait becomes the mirror of its innocent-appearing subject's inner life. Introduction by Edmund White. 1999.DB 103861 In the shadow of Edgar Allan Poe: classic tales of horror, 1816-1914 edited by Leslie S. Klinger A collection of twenty short horror stories, published between 1816 and 1914, that have been overshadowed by the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Includes Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Bram Stoker's "The Squaw." Violence. Commercial audiobook. 2015.DB 16603 Three Gothic novels edited by E. F. Bleiler Three examples of nineteenth-century Gothic literature--Walpole's 'Castle of Otranto', Beckford's 'Vathek', and Polidori's 'Vampyre'--plus a fragment of a novel by Lord Byron.DB 108772 The complete supernatural stories by Algernon Blackwood "Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951) was an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T. Joshi has stated that "his work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer's except Dunsany's." Though Blackwood wrote a number of horror stories, his most typical work seeks less to frighten than to induce a sense of awe." -- Provided by publisher. -- Violence and strong language. 2020.DB 74738 The house on the borderland by William Hope Hodgson Ireland. Two gentleman on a fishing trip discover a mysterious diary. It documents an elderly man's exploration of the cave beneath his home, which brought him through time and space to find a simulacrum of his house elsewhere. 1908.DB 91586 Tales by H. P. Lovecraft; edited by Peter Straub Collection of twenty-two stories representing the best of Howard Phillips Lovecraft's fiction, much of it originally published in pulp magazines such as Weird Tales and Astounding Stories. Includes a popular work, "The Outsider" (1926), and the nightmarish science fiction tale "The Colour Out of Space" (1927). Some strong language. 2005.DB 07946 Gothic tales of terror: classic horror stories from Great Britain, Europe, and United States, 1765-1840 edited by Peter Haining (also available in braille as BR 02392; Stories of note: The Cremona violin by E. T. A. Hoffmann and Hugues the wer-wolf is a novel)A collection of 30 stories from Germany, France, The Netherlands, Italy and America. Each story is introduced with a short note showing its relationship to the author's work and the literature of the period.DB 23324 Victorian villainies selected by Graham Greene and Hugh Greene (containing The beetle by Richard Marsh)The authors have chosen four of their favorites from their personal collection of Victorian and Edwardian detective stories. The tales are about a classic murder, a mysterious Eastern sect, murder on a train, and a human lottery.DB 35421 Victorian ghost stories: an Oxford anthology selected and introduced by Michael Cox and R.A. Gilbert (Stories of note: The captain of the ‘Pole-star’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Canon Alberic's scrap-book by M.R. James)Thirty-five scary tales about interactions between the living and the dead, selected from the period when supernatural fiction, especially with the help of small magazines, flourished. Many stories are by well-known authors, such as Henry James, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, and R.L. Stevenson. Several are set in haunted houses, typically around Christmas.DB 108612 Ghost stories: classic tales of horror and suspense edited by Leslie S. Klinger and Lisa Morton (also available in braille as BR 24231) "The ghost story has long been a staple of world literature, but many of the genre's greatest tales have been forgotten, overshadowed in many cases by their authors' bestselling work in other genres. In this spine-tingling anthology, little known stories from literary titans like Charles Dickens and Edith Wharton are collected alongside overlooked works from masters of horror fiction like Edgar Allan Poe and M. R. James. Acclaimed anthologists Leslie S. Klinger The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes and Lisa Morton Ghosts: A Haunted History set these stories in historical context and trace the literary significance of ghosts in fiction over almost two hundred years--from a traditional English ballad first printed in 1724 up to the science fiction-tinged tales of the early twentieth century." -- Provided by publisher. -- Some violence. 2019.DB 18129 The turn of the screw by Henry James A somewhat neurotic new governess is convinced her two beautiful young pupils are subject to the evil influence of two ghosts, a former steward of the estate and a former governess. She pits her will against the ghosts and is determined to exorcise the demons from her young charges. 1898.DB 40864 Drácula: la novela original por Bram Stoker Una historia de vampiros ambientada a finales del siglo XIX. Jonathan Harker, un abogado inglés, visita al conde Drácula en su castillo de Transilvania para tramitar algunos negocios. No tarda en descubrir que Drácula no es el hombre normal que aparenta ser sino un monstruo. Su horror se acentúa cuanto Drácula se muda a Inglaterra.DB 25706 Frankenstein por Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, traduccion Manuel Serrat Crespo Classic horror story. A monster, endowed with life by a young scientist named Frankenstein, later turns on his creator. Spanish language.DB 22515 El extrano caso del Doctor Jekyll y de Mister Hyde por Robert Louis Stevenson In this psychological novel of the war waged between good and evil within the human personality, a kindly physician commits diabolical crimes when his suppressed personality is released. Spanish language.BRG04514 Terror by night: classic ghost and horror stories by Ambrose Bierce Of all the writers of ghost and horror stories, Ambrose Bierce is perhaps the most colourful. He was a dark, cynical and pessimistic soul who had a grim vision of fate and the unfairness of life, which he channeled into his fiction. There are more than 50 short stories in this excellent collection. Some are no more than a couple of pages long and few are longer than ten pages. Unrated. Marrakesh title.BR 13701 Gothic tales by Elizabeth Gaskell; edited by Laura Kranzler (contains Lois the Witch and The Grey Woman)Short stories and the novella Lois the Witch from a nineteenth-century feminist. In “The old nurse's story” a father casts out a daughter and her child to perish in the cold. In “The crooked branch” a son returns home to rob his parents. Introduction and notes by Laura Kranzler. 2000....