shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com January 22, 2019 • Page 9 The Bookworm Online Perils Hit Home Hard In ‘Talk To Me’ “Talk to Me” by John Kenney; © 2019, Putnam. 304 pages ——— BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER The view from above was stunning. The cliché says that people look like ants when you’re looking down from a ledge, and they do. Trees look like the lint you’d pick off a sweater, and it seems like you could reach out and grab a cloud. It’s humbling and powerful, but in the new novel “Talk to Me” by John Kenney, it’s a long way down from any height. Ted Grayson was falling. He’d hired the instructor just hours ago, gotten a quick lesson on skydiving, and he’d been pushed out of the plane, just like in the movies. The instructor assured Ted that he’d survive this experience. Thing was, Ted didn’t want to. It all started on his birthday, didn’t it? Or was it when his daughter, Frannie, was a teenager and had rebelled, as teenagers do? No, the beginning of the end was when Ted let his marriage slowly die, he’d stopped coming home after the last newscast, he lost interest in his wife and Claire met someone else. Someone, she so harshly pointed out, who was “happy.” But his birthday was the cherry on the sundae. Ted was in “a mood,” wrapping up the last story of the night when one thing led to another and another and he exploded, calling the temporary make-up girl something vile. It wasn’t on-camera — he was too professional for that — but on video and then, to his befuddled regret, online. Suddenly, Ted Grayson, news anchor to millions, was Ted Grayson, internet fool. And don’t think he didn’t apologize. He did, but the ridicule expanded upon itself when someone dug up an ancient clip of a battle-hardened soldier insulting Ted. The station was inundated with protesters and calls for Ted’s firing. Women’s groups were incensed. Then Frannie wrote a scathing story about her father and though it wasn’t her intention, the story went viral. And so, in more ways than one, Ted Grayson was falling … If ever there was a book plucked from real life, “Talk to Me” is it. Beginning with a miserable last-ditch aim at suicide, author John Kenney tells a blunt, hilariously nuanced but devastatingly emotional tale of the age of internet and instant news, when the past isn’t past and one dasn’t become outdated on what could happen online. It’s altogether too easy to see yourself in this novel, in other words, and that’s like a gut-punch. And yet, you’ll laugh because Kenney is profane, with a biting, spit-out-your-coffee kind of wit that underscores the pathos and irony of it all. Indeed, Ted is nasty, but so is what happened to him and Schadenfreude weeps from each page. You’ll see it, especially if you’ve ever snorted at someone else’s gaffe. But again, the reality sets in. We could be Ted. Ted is us. What a novel. Readers who relish a little snark with their story will love this one, as will those who enjoy tattletale videos and gossip mags. “Talk to Me” will make you think, and you won’t want to put it down. New At The Library Here’s what’s new at the Yankton Community Library this week: ADULT BOOKS • Bathroom Ideas That Work by David Schiff, nonfiction • Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World by Tom Wright, nonfiction • The Essential Plant-Based Pantry by Maggie Green, nonfiction • J.K. Lasser’s Your Income Tax 2019, nonfiction • Saving Mona Lisa : The Battle to Protect the Louvre and Its Treasures from the Nazis by Gerri Chanel, nonfiction • Secrets to Baking Your Best Bread Ever! by Loretta Sorensen, nonfiction • The Watch by Gene Stone, nonfiction • Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan, fiction • Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio, fiction • Daughter of War by Brad Taylor, fiction • A Gift of Bones by Carolyn Haines, fiction • Hazards of Time Travel by Joyce Carol Oates, fiction • Hounded by David Rosenfelt, fiction • If I Should Die by Allison Brennan, fiction • Laurentian Divide by Sarah Stonich, fiction • Love Me to Death by Allison Brennan, fiction • The Shadows We Hide by Allen Eskens, fiction • Tony’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani, fiction • The Unleashed by Brett Battles, fiction • Vampires Like It Hot by Lynsay Sands, fiction • Whatever It Takes by Christy Reece, fiction YOUNG ADULT BOOKS • Blacklisted!: Hollywood, the Cold War, and the First Amendment by Sibert Winner, nonfiction • Peterson’s Scholarships, Grants & Prizes 2019, nonfiction • Spinning by Tillie Walden, nonfiction graphic novel • The Fourth Closet by Scott Cawthon, fiction • The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson, fiction • Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd, fiction • Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Smith, fiction • Hidden Pieces by Paula Stokes, fiction • Love à la Mode by Stephanie Strohm, fiction • Sword Art Online, Volumes 1-3: by Reki Kawahara, fiction • Villain by Michael Grant, fiction • Orange: The Complete Collection 1 and 2 by Ichigo Takano, fiction graphic novel • Runaways: Find Your Way Home by Rainbow Rowell, fiction graphic novel JUNIOR BOOKS • Claude in the Country by Alex Smith, fiction • The Cloud Castle by Thea Stilton, fiction CD BOOKS • Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis, nonfiction • Ambush by James Patterson, fiction • The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton, fiction • Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly, fiction • Stuart Little by E.B. White, fiction • Walking on Water by Richard Evans, fiction ADULT DVD’S • Air Strike, fiction JUNIOR DVD’S • Love Like Sky by Leslie Youngblood, fiction ——— Visit library.cityofyankton.org to reserve materials. Staff will then notify you as soon as the item is available! Treasure Awaits! Shop Classifieds 319 Walnut St. • Yankton, SD 57078 605-665-5884 www.missourivalleyshopper.com 2019 autiful Be Baby Contest CENTURY 21® Professional Real Estate 511 10th St., Springfield $179,900 • The Darkdeep by Ally Condie, fiction • The Land of Flowers by Thea Stilton, fiction • Loki’s Wolves by K.L. Armstrong, fiction • Race the Night by Kirsten Hubbard, fiction • Sasquatch and the Muckleshoot by Adam Gidwitz, fiction • Squint by Chad Morris, fiction • Two Roads by Joseph Bruchac, fiction • The Water and the Wild by K.E. Ormsbee, fiction • A Well-Mannered Young Wolf by Jean Leroy, fiction • The Zombie Chasers by John Kloepfer, fiction • The Great Pet Escape by Victoria Jamieson, fiction graphic novel • Fake Blood by Whitney Gardner, fiction graphic novel EASY READING BOOKS • The Adventures of the Murphy Twins, Book 3: Adventures in South Africa by JJC Mueller, fiction • Dreamers by Yuyi Morales, nonfiction • Have You Heard About Lady Bird? by Marilyn Singer, nonfiction • How to Read a Story by Kate Messner, nonfiction • Inside Your Insides: A Guide to the Microbes That Call You Home by Claire Eamer, nonfiction • Soñadores by Yuyi Morales, nonfiction • The Stuff of Stars by Marion Bauer, nonfiction • Blue by Laura Seeger, fiction • Corduroy Makes a Cake by Alison Inches, fiction • Harold Loves His Woolly Hat by Vern Kousky, fiction • A House That Once Was by Julie Fogliano, fiction • Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle, fiction • Look Out! It’s a Dragon! by Jonny Lambert, fiction • Once Upon a Snowstorm by Richard Johnson, fiction • Sleepy, the Goodnight Buddy by Drew Daywalt, fiction • Sophie Johnson, Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood, fiction 1306 Bluff Dr., Springfield $145,900 We will be featuring our annual “Beautiful Baby Contest” in print and online on Wednesday, February 27th To enter, simply submit your photo and entry form with a $10 submission fee by 2611 W. 11th St., Yankton $789,000 Friday, February 15th 813 James Place, Yankton $277,900 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) newborn-6 months First place winners 7-12 Months in the following categories will 13-24 Months receive a framed 25 Months-36 Months winners print 37 Months-48 Months and prizes. “Fur Babies” (Pets of any species/age) 608 Douglas Ave., Yankton $164,000 1102 Bluff Dr., Springfield $94,900 Submit Entry To: Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan, 319 Walnut St., Yankton, SD 57078 Category#___________ 100 Cole Dr., Yankton $219,900 307 E. 23rd, Yankton $299,900 Beautiful Baby Contest Age:____________ Date of Birth_________________ Contestant’s Name___________________________________________________ Submitted by____________________________________________ Relation to Contestant___________________ Phone #_______________________ Winners will be selected by the staff of Yankton Media Inc. Employees and family members of Yankton Media Inc. are ineligible to win. *Submission of this form authorizes the publication of photo in this contest in print and online at www.yankton.net. Submission fee ($10) must accompany entry form to be valid. Only contestant’s name and name(s) of person submitting will be printed in paper. (Example: Jon Doe, submitted by parents Bob & Beth Doe) 30734 426th Ave. Tabor $192,500 5609 Main, Running Water $286,000 LICENSED IN SOUTH DAKOTA AND NEBRASKA 1701 Broadway, Yankton 605-665-8970 • yanktonrealestate.com Thank You To Our Sponsors... “Fur •Abe’s Coffee House •Culver’s Babies” •Dog Sense Training Too! •Linda’s Angel Crossing •Photography by Jerry & Assoc. •Veterinary Medical Clinic