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Headquarters:
Bay County Public Library
850-522-2100
Panama City Beach
850-233-5055
Parker Public Library
850-871-3092
Corinne Costin Gibson Memorial Library
Port St. Joe
850-229-8879
Charles Whitehead Public Library
Wewahitchka
850-639-2419
Harrell Memorial Public Library
Bristol
850-643-2247
Jimmy Weaver Memorial Library
Hosford
850-379-3300
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The Singularity is Nearer: When We Merge with AI
by Ray Kurzweil
In this entirely new book Ray Kurzweil brings a fresh perspective to advances toward the Singularity --assessing his 1999 prediction that AI will reach human level intelligence by 2029 and examining the exponential growth of technology. Among the topics he discusses are rebuilding the world, atom by atom with devices like nanobots; radical life extension; reinventing intelligence by connecting our brains to the cloud; and the growth of renewable energy and 3-D printing. He also considers the potential perils of biotechnology, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence, including such topics of current controversy as how AI will impact employment and the safety of autonomous cars, and "After Life" technology, which aims to virtually revive deceased individuals through a combination of their data and DNA.
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The Summer Pact
by Emily Giffin
Four freshmen arrive at college from completely different worlds: Lainey, a California party girl; Tyson, a brilliant scholar and aspiring lawyer; Summer, an ambitious, recruited athlete from the Midwest; and Hannah, a mild-mannered southerner who is content to quietly round out the circle of big personalities. Soon after arriving on campus, they strike up a conversation, and the seeds of friendship are planted. As their college years fly by, the four become inseparable. But as graduation nears, their lives are forever changed after a desperate act leads to tragic consequences. They make a pact, promising to always be there for one another. Ten years later, Hannah is anticipating what should be one of the happiest moments of her life when everything is suddenly turned upside down. Calling on her closest friends, it soon becomes clear that they are all facing their own crossroads.
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A Death in Cornwall
by Daniel Silva
Art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon has slipped quietly into London to attend a reception at the Courtauld Gallery celebrating the return of a stolen self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh. But when an old friend from the Devon and Cornwall Police seeks his help with a baffling murder investigation, he finds himself pursuing a powerful and dangerous new adversary. The victim is Charlotte Blake, a celebrated professor of art history from Oxford who spends her weekends in the same seaside village where Gabriel once lived under an assumed identity. Her murder appears to be the work of a diabolical serial killer who has been terrorizing the Cornish countryside. But there are a number of telltale inconsistencies, including a missing mobile phone. And then there is the mysterious three-letter cypher she left behind on a notepad in her study.
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The Briar Club
by Kate Quinn
Washington, DC, 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, an all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation's capital where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss; policeman's daughter Nora, who finds herself entangled with a shadowy gangster; frustrated baseball star Beatrice, whose career has come to an end after WWII; and Arlene, who has thrown herself into McCarthy's Red Scare. Grace's weekly attic-room dinner parties become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears the house apart, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: who is the true enemy in their midst?
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How to Age Disgracefully
by Clare Pooley
When Lydia takes a job running the Senior Citizens' Social Club three afternoons a week, she assumes she'll be spending her time drinking tea and playing gentle games of cards. The members of the Social Club, however, are not at all what Lydia was expecting. From Art, a failed actor turned kleptomaniac to Daphne, who has been hiding from her dark past for decades to Ruby, a Banksy-style knitter who gets revenge in yarn, these seniors look deceptively benign--but when age makes you invisible, secrets are so much easier to hide. When the city council threatens to sell the doomed community center building, the members of the Social Club join forces with their tiny friends in the daycare next door -- as well as the teenaged father of one of the toddlers and a geriatric dog -- to save the building. Together, this group's unorthodox methods may actually work, as long as the police don't catch up with them first.
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Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health
by Casey Means
What if depression, anxiety, infertility, insomnia, heart disease, erectile dysfunction, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's, dementia, cancer and many other health conditions that torture and shorten our lives actually have the same root cause? Our ability to prevent and reverse these conditions - and feel incredible today - is under our control and simpler than we think. The key is our metabolic function - the most important and least understood factor in our overall health. As Dr. Casey Means explains in this groundbreaking book, nearly every health problem we face can be explained by how well the cells in our body create and use energy. To live free from frustrating symptoms and life-threatening disease, we need our cells to be optimally powered so that they can create "good energy," the essential fuel that impacts every aspect of our physical and mental wellbeing.
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What Have You Done?
by Shari Lapena
Nothing ever happens in sleepy little Fairhill, Vermont. But this morning that will change. And one innocent question could be deadly. What have you done? The teenagers get their kicks telling ghost stories in the old graveyard. The parents trust their kids will arrive home safe from school. Everyone knows everyone. Curtains rarely twitch. Front doors are left unlocked. But Diana Brewer isn't lying safely in her bed where she belongs. Instead she lies in a hayfield, circled by vultures, discovered by a local farmer. How quickly a girl becomes a ghost. How quickly a town of friendly, familiar faces becomes a town of suspects, a place of fear and paranoia. Someone in Fairhill did this. Everyone wants answers.
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Rivers of London (Book 1, also known as Midnight Riot for US audiences)
by Ben Aaronovitch
Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London's Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he'll face is a paper cut. But Peter's prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter's ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.
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The Black Bird Oracle
by Deborah Harkness
Deborah Harkness first introduced the world to Diana Bishop, an Oxford scholar and witch, and vampire geneticist Matthew de Clermont in A Discovery of Witches. Drawn to each other, these two otherworldly 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 whose invitation simply reads: It's time you came home, Diana.
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September is Library Card Sign Up Month! |  | |
September is Library Card Sign-up Month, a time when the Northwest Regional Library System (NWRLS) joins libraries nationwide to remind everyone about the valuable resources available with a library card. This year, Optimus Prime from the TRANSFORMERS is Library Card Sign-up Month’s special ambassador, highlighting that there's more than just books at NWRLS. Whether you’re upgrading your skills, scouting for knowledge and information, or connecting with other heroic readers, a library card is your key to an arsenal of resources. Spark your creativity by tinkering in your library’s craft or LEGO programs. Mine the library’s stacks for new stories and adventures! Fuel your mind borrowing up to 20 items at a time including books, e-books, audiobooks, cake pans, ukuleles, telescopes and more, all with your library card!
NWRLS Library cards are free to residents of Bay, Gulf, and Liberty counties and are valid at any library in the system. A non-resident card may be purchased for $20 per year. Bring a Photo ID and address verification to the library front desk to begin the process. A parent or guardian must sponsor their child’s card up to the age of 16.
BAY COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Little Library Readers Campaign
Starting on September 16th
Library patrons ages 0 - 5 can take home a Little Library Readers tote bag, board book, and early literacy tips for parents. This is limited to 1 per child, while supplies last. All you need is a NWRLS library card. This would be the child's library card, or the parent's card if the child doesn't have their own card yet. The participating locations are the Bay County Public Library, Panama City Beach Public Library and Parker Public Library. This early literacy initiative is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Bay County Public Libraries and the Bay County Public Library Foundation. Additional resources included from Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida.
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LIBERTY COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES
National Library Card Sign-up Month Drawing
The Harrell Memorial Public Library is Bristol and the Jimmy Weaver Memorial Public Library in Hosford are celebrating National Library Card Sign-up Month with a Liberty County Heritage Book Drawing. For the month of September, new library card sign-ups will receive one ticket to be entered into the drawing. Drawing date will be September 28, 2024.
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New play area in Youth Services department of Bay County Public Library with sensory stations designed for early learning! These were funded by a grant from the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida.
Bay County Public Library
Bouncin’ Babies & Toddlin’ 2s (Ages 0 - 2 with Caregiver)
Tuesdays at 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. CT (Same Class, limited to 40 people)
Read & Rhyme Storytime (Ages 3 - 5 with Caregiver)
Thursdays at 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. CT (Same Class, limited to 50 people)
Trading Card Game Day (Ages 6 +)
Friday, September 6 at 3:30 p.m. CT
Fall Craft Camp (Ages 8 - 12) Registration Required.
Monday, September 9 at 4 p.m. CT
**Dress to mess! Call 850-522-2118 to register.
LEGO CLUB (Ages 6 – 12) Registration Required
September 18 and 19 at 4 p.m. CT
**Call 850-522-2118 to register.
“Among Us” (Ages 8 – 12)
Monday, September 23 at 3:30 p.m. CT
**Play “Among Us” in-person. First come, first served.
Japanese Language Club (Ages 6 - 12) Registration Required.
Wednesday, September 25 at 4 p.m. CT
**Call 850-522-2118 to register.
Family Game Day (Families with Children Ages 6+)
Saturday, September 28 from 12:30 - 4 p.m.
**Parents must stay with their children. Program in the Meeting Room.
All programs on the Bay County Public Library Facebook page and the library website.
Panama City Beach Public Library
Book Babies (Ages 0 - 2)
Tuesdays, September 10, 17 and 24 at 10 and 10:30 a.m. CT
**Same Class/Limited to 24 People.
LEGO Club: Football Field (Ages 7 - 11) Registration Required.
Tuesday, September 10 at 4 p.m. CT
*Call the library at 850-233-5055 to register.
Sail into School (Ages 3 - 5, Class limited to 24 people)
Thursdays, September 12, 19 and 26 at 9:30 a.m. CT
All programs on the Panama City Beach Public Library Facebook page and the library website.
Parker Public Library
LEGO Club (Ages 6 - 11)
Saturday, September 14 at 11 a.m. CT
Dog Storytime and Craft (Ages 3-6)
Saturday, September 21 at 11 a.m. CT
Doodle Dog Art (Ages 6 - 11)
Saturday, September 21 at 12:30 p.m. CT
All programs on the Parker Public Library Facebook page and the library website.
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Corinne Costin Gibson Memorial Public Library in Port St. Joe
LEGO Club
Thursday, September 5 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Preschool Storytime (18 months - 5 years with caregiver)
Fridays, September 6, 13, and 20 at 11 a.m. ET
Crafternoons with Ms. Marilyn
(All Ages, those under 12 must have caregiver with them)
Tuesdays, September 10 at 4 p.m. ET
Nintendo Switch (Ages 6 and up)
Thursday, September 19 at 4 p.m. ET
Pokémon Collectors Club (Ages 6 and up)
Thursday, September 26 at 4 p.m. ET
STEAMRoom (Ages 6+)
Friday, September 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET
Chess Club (All Ages, school kids can arrive after school gets out)
Mondays at 2:30 p.m. ET
All programs on the Port St Joe - Corrinne Costin Gibson Memorial Public Library Facebook page and the library website.
Charles Whitehead Public Library in Wewahitchka
Budding Bookworms
Tuesdays at 10 a.m. CT
Grandparent’s Day Tea Party
Friday, September 6 at 3:30 p.m. CT
Grandparents or guardians are invited to bring your little ones to a tea party to celebrate Grandparent's Day!
Saturday Stories + Craft (Children with caregiver)
Saturdays, September 7 at 10 a.m. CT
Cooking Matters Chefs and Kids with UF/IFAS Extension Office
Tuesday, September 10 at 3:30 p.m. CT
Pokémon Exchange
Friday, September 13 at 3:30 p.m. CT
Chess Club (All Ages and Abilities)
Saturday, September 21 at 10 a.m. CT
Freshwater Turtles with Florida Coastal Conservancy
Saturday, September 21 at 10:30 a.m. CT
Pet Rock Adoption Event (Families)
Friday, September 27 at 3:30 p.m. CT
LEGO Club
Thursdays at 3:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, September 28 at 10 a.m. CT
All programs on the Wewahitchka - Charles Whitehead Public Library Facebook page and the library website.
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Harrell Memorial Public Library in Bristol
Preschool Playtime (Ages 1 - 5)
Wednesdays from 10:30 - 11 a.m. ET
LEGO Club (Ages 6 - 12)
Thursday, September 19 at 4 p.m. ET
All programs on the Liberty County Public Libraries Facebook page and the library website.
Jimmy Weaver Memorial Library in Hosford
Saturday Storytime (Ages 4 - 8 recommended)
Saturday, September 7 at 11 a.m. ET
Paper Pumpkin Pin Wheels craft and Fall Scavenger Hunt
LEGO Club (Ages 6 - 12)
Tuesday, September 10 at 3 p.m. ET
Saturday Storytime (Ages 4 - 8 recommended)
September 21 at 11 a.m. ET
Apple Stamp Craft and Apple Bowling
All programs on the Jimmy Weaver Memorial Library Facebook page and the library website.
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Bay County Public Library
Teen Advisory Board (Ages 14 - 17) Registration Required.
Tuesday, September 10 at 4 p.m. CT
Call 850-522-2118 to register.
Upcycled Origami with Kat: Cicada (YouTube)
Wednesday, September 11 at 2 p.m. CT
Sensory Friendly Hour (Ages 12-17) Registration Required.
Tuesday, September 24 at 4 p.m. CT
Sensory friendly hour for teens in our quiet program room. There will be soft music, coloring, and puzzles. Please bring any sensory tools needed and adult caregivers are welcome to attend. Small program size. Call 850-522-2118 to register.
All programs on the Bay County Public Library Facebook page and the library website.
| Adult Library Programming |  | |
Bloom Where You are Planted Artwork by Heddy Podnar, Kiara Jones and Wendi Jackson.
Bay County Public Library
Program in Meeting Room unless otherwise noted.
Writing Corner (Geared for Adults, Teen Welcome)
Saturday, September 7 from 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. CT
Bring your laptops and notebooks to a dedicated writing space filled with other writers. Light refreshment provided by the Friends of the Bay County Public Libraries.
BCPL Book Club
Thursday, September 12 at 10:30 a.m. CT
The September House by Carissa Orlando
**Email rfillingame@nwrls.com for a copy of the book to borrow thanks to the Bay County Public Library Foundation or if attending by Zoom.
Flippin’ Awesome Presentation: Meet a Marine Biologist
Tuesday, September 10 at 6 p.m. CT (All Ages Program)
Remake & Reuse with Karon Phillips
Tuesday, September 17 from 2 - 4 p.m. CT
This class is all about creativity in taking found items and transforming into something new! Bring your own creations to share with the group. Free decoupage kits available to take home.
11th Street Dulcimer Group
Friday, September 20 at 2 p.m. CT
**Email sburris@nwrls.com for music set list or if attending by Zoom.
Meet the Artists: Heddy Podnar, Kiara Jones and Wendi Jackson
Bloom Where You are Planted Art Exhibit (All Ages)
Saturday, September 21 at 2 p.m. CT
Computer and Internet Basics - Registration Requested
Tuesday, September 24 from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
Learn how to use a computer, build confidence using Windows 11, search information online and navigate websites. Registration Requested. Visit the Adult Services Information Desk or call 850-522-2107. Walk-ins are still welcome as long as there is room.
Crafternoon @ The Library (Adults + Teens)
Friday, September 27 from 2 - 4 p.m. CT
**Bring craft project. Beverages provided by the Friends of the Bay County Public Libraries.
All programs on the Bay County Public Library Facebook page and the library website.
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Panama City Beach Public Library
Sea Needles
Fridays from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. CT
**Bring your knitting or craft project.
Beach Book Club
Wednesday, September 4 at 10:30 a.m. CT
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
**Email shill@nwrls.com for Zoom invitation or meet at the library! Extra copies of the book have been provided by the Bay County Public Library Foundation. Check the front desk to see if there is a copy available!
Humana Health Education Class: Medicare 101
Wednesday, September 18 at 2 p.m. CT
**Light refreshments provided.
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WJHG Chapter Chat Book Club
Tuesday, September 24 at 2 p.m. CT
Jessica Foster and Mel Zosh from WJHG News Channel 7 lead Chapter Chat Book Club. Follow the news or our Facebook page for this month's book. Extra copies of the monthly title provided by the Bay County Public Library Foundation. Visit or call the front desk to see if a copy is available! Light refreshments provided.
All programs on the Panama City Beach Public Library Facebook page or the library website.
Parker Public Library
Pressed Flower Lanterns (Registration Required)
Saturday, September 28 at 12 p.m. CT
Registration required, limited to 10. Visit or call library at 850-871-3092.
All programs on the Parker Public Library Facebook page and the library website.
Corinne Costin Gibson Memorial Public Library in Port St. Joe
Seaside Stitchers
Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. ET
**Bring your current knitting or needlework project.
Chess Club (All Ages)
Mondays at 2:30 p.m. ET
Friends of the Gulf County Library at PSJ meeting
Mondays, September 9 at 10 a.m. ET
For the Children: The Florida Guardian Ad Litem program
Tuesday, September 10 at 10:30 a.m. ET
Crafternoons with Ms. Marilyn
(All Ages, caregiver with those under 12 years of age.)
Tuesdays, September 10 at 4 p.m. ET
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Yes, You CAN Grow Orchids! with UF/IFAS Master Gardeners
Saturday, September 14 at 10:30 a.m. ET
Yoga for Every Body (Afterhours Class/Donation to Library)
Saturday, September 14 at 2 p.m. ET
Library Book Club
Monday, September 23 at 10:30 a.m. ET
**Call the library at 850-229-8879 for the book club title.
All programs on the Port St Joe - Corrinne Costin Gibson Memorial Public Library Facebook page or the library website.
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Charles Whitehead Public Library in Wewahitchka
Friends of the Wewahitchka Library Monthly Meeting
Thursday, September 12 at 10 a.m. CT
Scrabble (All Ages)
Monday, September 13 at 1 p.m. CT
Collage Creations
Monday, September 16 at 11 a.m. CT
Signs and Symptoms of Mental Health presented by PanCare
Thursday, Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. CT
Get to Know Your Camera with Mathew Tanner Photography
Friday, September 20 at 1 p.m. CT
Bring your own camera and learn the basics!
Chess Club (All Ages and Abilities)
Saturday, September 21 at 10 a.m. CT
Busy Bee Readers Book Club
Monday, September 30 at 11 a.m. CT
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
All programs on the Wewahitchka - Charles Whitehead Public Library Facebook page or the library website.
Harrell Memorial Public Library in Bristol
Legal Clinic with Legal Services of Northwest Florida
Thursday, September 19 from 1 – 3 p.m. ET
**Bring all documentation needed. First come, first-served.
Jimmy Weaver Memorial Library in Hosford
Creative Crafters (Adults and Teens 16+)
Thursday, September 12 at 1 p.m. ET
**Bring your current craft project.
The Book Buzz
Thursday, September 12 at 2 p.m. ET
All programs on the Jimmy Weaver Memorial Library Facebook page or the library website.
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Author Interview 62: Unwind with Ben Aaronovitch
Join the Unstacked library podcast for an interview with bestselling urban fantasy author, Ben Aaronovitch. We discuss his Rivers of London series and new novella, The Masquerades of Spring that will release in September. Unwind with Ben as he shares his writing process and his love of all things Science Fiction, collecting books for fascinating historical research that he uses in his writing, RPG rule books, libraries and more! Unstacked can be listened to through the link or anywhere you listen to podcasts!
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Pictured: Gulf County Seed Library at the Charles Whitehead Public Library in Wewahitchka.
GULF COUNTY LIBRARIES
Seed Library
Sow native wildflowers and prepare your fall garden with free seeds! Check out 5 seed packs a month with your library card at the Corrine Costin Gibson Memorial Public Library in Port St. Joe and the Charles Whitehead Public Library in Wewahitchka. Presented in partnership with the Port St. Joe Garden Club and the Florida Wildflower Foundation.
| New eBooks and eAudiobooks | |
The God of the Woods
by Liz Moore
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found. As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds.
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Sandwich
by Catherine Newman
For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family's yearly escape to Cape Cod. Their humble rental has been the site of sweet memories, sunny days, great meals, and messes of all kinds: emotional, marital, and—thanks to the cottage's ancient plumbing—septic too. This year's vacation, with Rocky sandwiched between her half-grown kids and fully aging parents, promises to be just as delightful as summers past—except, perhaps, for Rocky's hormonal bouts of rage and melancholy. (Hello, menopause!) Her body is changing—her life is, too. And then a chain of events sends Rocky into the past, reliving both the tenderness and sorrow of a handful of long-ago summers.
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Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV
by Emily Nussbaum
Who invented reality television, the world’s most dangerous pop-culture genre? And why can’t we look away? In this revelatory, deeply reported account of the rise of “dirty documentary” —Emily Nussbaum unearths the origin story of the genre that ate the world, as told through the lively voices of the people who built it. At once gimlet-eyed and empathetic, Cue the Sun! explores the morally charged, funny, and sometimes tragic consequences of the hunt for something real inside something fake.
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With the Libby app, you can check out five e-books and audiobooks at a time for free for 21 days. All you need is your library card number and PIN. Forgot your PIN? Just give us a call at 850-522-2100 and we'll set one up for you. And you can return items early!
To access e-books and downloadable audiobooks, click here or:
Go to www.nwrls.com
Click on Books & Research
Click on eBooks & eAudiobooks
Click on Libby to find eBooks, audiobooks and magazines
OR
Download the Libby App to your device.
Sign in by selecting Panhandle Library Access Network.
Select Northwest Regional Library System as your library,
and login with library card number and PIN.
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