CT Library for Accessible Books Newsletters
Current Newsletter: November and December 2025
CT LAB News
Coming Soon: Annual Patron Survey
The Connecticut Library for Accessible Books (CT LAB) conducts a patron survey each year. Your responses provide CT LAB with valuable information about how CT LAB services are used and the quality of service as well as help us identify areas of improvement.
The 2025 CT LAB Patron Survey will open on Friday, November 14 and remain open through Friday, December 19.
CT LAB will provide several options for completing the survey, including completing the web-based version via Survey Monkey, completing the survey by phone with a CT LAB staff member, and requesting the survey in large print or braille format.
If you wish to participate in the survey, contact CT LAB any time between November 14 and December 19, 2025. CT LAB staff will be happy to provide you with additional information and arrange for you to receive the survey in the format of your choice.
CT LAB Book Club
The next CT LAB book club will meet virtually on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Our selection for January is a fiction book, titled The River is Waiting: A Novel by Wally Lamb. This title is available as a Talking Book cartridge and from BARD as DB 130332. It is also available as BR 26285. A summary of the book follows.
Corby Ledbetter is struggling. New fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a growing secret addiction have thrown his marriage to his beloved Emily into a tailspin. And that's before he causes the tragedy that tears the family apart. Sentenced to prison, Corby struggles to survive life on the inside, where he bears witness to frightful acts of brutality but also experiences small acts of kindness and elemental kinship with a prison librarian who sees his light and some of his fellow offenders. Buoyed by them and by his mother's enduring faith in him, Corby begins to transcend the boundaries of his confinement, sustained by his hope that mercy and reconciliation might still be possible.
Please register for the book club by calling Paula McLean at (860) 704-2216 or (800) 842-4516. Participants will receive the Zoom meeting link or dial in phone number approximately one week before the book club meeting.
Connecticut Talking Books Now Available
Read below for a selection of locally produced Talking Books now available on BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download service from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS). These books can also be sent to patrons on a Talking Book cartridge. Connecticut Talking Books are recorded by volunteers at the studios of Talking Books CT/CVSBH.
DBC 06315. Range of Motion. Written by Elizabeth Berg.
In this exquisite, emotionally rich novel, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Berg offers a deeply satisfying story about the bonds of love and the balm of friendship. A young man named Jay lies in a coma after suffering a freak accident, and his wife, Lainey, is the only one who believes he will recover. She sits at his bedside, bringing him reminders of the ordinary life they shared: fragrant flowers, his children s drawings, his own softly textured shirt. When Lainey’s faith in his recovery falters, she is sustained by two women, Alice and Evie, who teach her about the endurance of friendship and the genuine power of hope.
Download Range of Motion from BARD.
DBC 06169. Elvis and the Underdogs. Written by Jenny Lee. Illustrations by Kelly Light.
In the tradition of funny and heartwarming bestsellers like Wonder and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, this is the story of a sickly boy whose life is turned upside down when he gets a therapy dog who can talk! Benji Wendell Barnsworth is a small ten-year-old boy with a big personality. Concerned for Benji's health, the doctor offers him two options: wear the world's ugliest padded helmet or get a therapy dog. Benji chooses the dog, of course. His new canine companion, Elvis brings out the dog lover in the most surprising people and shows Benji that making new friends may not be as scary as he once thought. For grades 5-8.
Download Elvis and the Underdogs from BARD.
DBC 06168. Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom. Written by John O'Donohue.
Discover the Celtic Circle of Belonging John O'Donohue, poet, philosopher, and scholar, guides you through the spiritual landscape of the Irish imagination. In Anam Cara, Gaelic for soul friend, the ancient teachings, stories, and blessings of Celtic wisdom provide such profound insights on the universal themes of friendship, solitude, love, and death as: Light is generous. The human heart is never completely born. Love as ancient recognition. The body is the angel of the soul. Solitude is luminous. Beauty likes neglected places. The passionate heart never ages. To be natural is to be holy. Silence is the sister of the divine. Death as an invitation to freedom.
DBC 05565. The Mystery at Seymour Lake Lodge. Written by Susan Winters Smith.
Jan Whitlock, an investigative reporter from Connecticut, arrives in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom for a few days of relaxation after her husband Sid demands a divorce. The innkeepers, her friends Ida and Philippe Renault ask for her help in solving a mystery plaguing the lodge and its guests. As events become scarier and more complicated by a cold case murder, Jan realizes she can’t solve this alone and she seeks help from an attractive wildlife photographer, an Abenaki Shaman, and Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Questions arise regarding spirituality, danger to the environment in the Nulhegan Basin, and Jan's ability to listen to her own inner voice and maintain her courage.
Download The Mystery at Seymour Lake Lodge from BARD.
DBC 05472. A Hundred Summers. Written by Beatriz Williams.
Memorial Day, 1938: New York socialite Lily Dane has just returned with her family to the idyllic oceanfront community of Seaview, Rhode Island, expecting another placid summer season among the familiar traditions and friendships that sustained her after heartbreak. That is, until the Greenwalds decide to take up residence in Seaview. Nick and Budgie Greenwald are an unwelcome specter from Lily's past: her former best friend and her former fiancé, now recently married. Under the scorching summer sun, the unexpected truth of Budgie and Nick's marriage bubbles to the surface, and as a cataclysmic hurricane barrels unseen up the Atlantic, Lily and Nick must confront an emotional cyclone of their own, which will change their worlds forever.
Download A Hundred Summers from BARD.
Most Popular Fiction Books on BARD
Note: The books listed below are the most popular fiction books on BARD within the last thirty days. All titles are available on BARD and can be sent on a Talking Book Cartridge.
- The Argument: a gripping psychological thriller with an incredible twist by Victoria Jenkins. DB 128800
- Nightshade by Michael Connelly. DB 130298
- Husband missing by Lisa Regan. DB 129830
- Savage justice: a novel by Ron Handberg. DBC 32221
- Don't let him in by Lisa Jewell. DB 131308
Most Popular Nonfiction Books on BARD
Note: The books listed below are the most popular nonfiction books on BARD within the last thirty days. All titles are available on BARD and can be sent on a Talking Book Cartridge.
- A marriage at sea: a true story of love, obsession, and shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst. DB 131217
- JFK: public, private, secret by Randy J. Taraborrelli. DB 131487
- Kika & me: how one extraordinary guide dog changed my world by Amit Patel. DB 131133
- 365 Zen: daily readings. DBC 32688
- Code name: Pale Horse : how I went undercover to expose America's Nazis by Scott Payne. DB 131185
National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) Updates
Advisory: Federal Government Shutdown
Due to the temporary shutdown of the federal government beginning October 1, 2025, all Library of Congress (LOC) buildings are closed, all public events are canceled, and all inquiries and requests to the Library of Congress web-based services will not be received or responded to until the shutdown ends.
As part of LOC, NLS is impacted by the current federal government shutdown. During the shutdown NLS services, like the online catalog and BARD remain available to patrons. In addition, select NLS resources that support NLS network libraries are being supported by limited NLS staff.
All other NLS operations, including NLS patron programs, are suspended during the federal government shutdown.
CT LAB continues to operate as usual.
Read the full Library of Congress Notice.
Connect with CT LAB
Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Phone: 860-704-2220 or 800-842-4516 (toll free in state only)
Email: csl.AccessibleBooks@ct.gov
Mailing Address: 786 South Main St., Middletown, CT 06457
Upcoming CT LAB Holiday Closings
November 11, 2025 – Veterans Day
November 27, 2025 - Thanksgiving Day
December 25, 2025 - Christmas Day
January 1, 2026 - New Year's Day
January 19, 2026 – Martin Luther King Day
