The Spirited Librarian: August 2011

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Audio Books: Lists for the Free, the Paid, and if You Can Find it at Your Library

With people leading busy lives and driving further to go to work, the rise for audio books has increased. There are classics, new fiction dramas that have several people reading like a radio drama, educational lectures, and even children's books. Since I had a positive response for my blog about Podcasts, I decided to create one for Audio Books.

I listened to Eragon by Christopher Paolini when I drove from Baton Rouge to my hometown in Michigan, which made me feel like I had a someone with me as I drove. For many people audio books help them past the time or learn something new. With the use of children stories, some people who are ESL (learning English as a Second language) are able to hear the words as they read along.

But it can be confusing to find free sources and those that require people to pay for audio books. I have created two lists below that allow you to choose free or paid sources, however, both may require you to create an account. Please read any instructions about joining and which devices the audio book can be downloaded onto or listened on. Sometimes a special software will need to be downloaded.

Many local libraries have OverDrive, a distributor, which allows them to lend audio books to patrons. Those that do lend audio books will explain in detail how to set up an account with the library online, which devices that you can use, formats available, lending policies, and further assistance. If your library does use OverDrive, there is a guide you can watch (that requires Flash) on your computer called, “Download Digital Media- Guided Tour” from OverDrive’s website. Remember to speak with your local library to see if they have audio books available, or use this link to search libraries in your area that use OverDrive.

For those of you that do not have a public library that allows you to download free audio books and ebook, check to see if the Digital Bookmobile will be in your area sometime this year. The Digital Bookmobile travels around the US and, “is a community outreach vehicle for public libraries to promote downloadable eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video. Developed inside a 74-foot, 18-wheel tractor-trailer, the nationally touring vehicle is a high-tech update of the traditional bookmobile that has served communities for decades.” Click here to see a calendar for current and future appearances.

This is by no means a complete list of websites, please feel free to search for your own. And don’t forget publishers, such as those listed on LearnOutLoud.com’s Publisher Pages, “This is the full list of audio & video learning publishers & retailers that we currently have pages for. These pages range from covering the audio book section of many major publishers to the small publishers of content in specific learning categories. You'll also find rental and digital download services that you can subscribe to or purchase from.”

Free Audio Book Links

A long list for free Audio books and ebooks for Children can be found here.

Ambling Books

“The AmblingBooks.com site is brought to you by the creators of the Ambling BookPlayer: iBookTreasures. As avid audiobook fans, we are dedicated to making audiobook listening easier and more enjoyable for everyone.”

Books Should Be Free.com

“All audio books on BooksShouldBeFree.com are in the public domain. This means that no one holds a copy right on these books and therefore anyone including BooksShouldBeFree.com is free to distribute them.”

Learn Out Loud

“Browse the Net's largest Catalog of educational audio books,podcasts, downloads, & free audio & video. Over 25,000 titles from hundreds of authors and publishers.”

Free Audio Books for LearnOutLoud's Members book list.

LibriVox

“LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain and release the audio files back onto the net. Our goal is to make all public domain books available as free audio books.”

Librophile

“Our Philosophy: If there's a free audiobook or eBook out there we hope to be able to point you to it. Our philosophy is to try and find you a free version over any pay versions on the market. Our ultimate aim is to provide a one stop shop for all the audio and electronic books out there and make browsing, searching, and downloading those books as easy as possible.”

New Fiction.com

“NewFiction offers a library of audio books that are performed by multiple actors. We call them iSoaps. Consider them modern-day radio dramas.”

Open Culture.com

“Open Culture editor Dan Colman scours the web for the best educational media. He finds the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & movies you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.”

225 Free eBooks: Download Great Classics for Free.

Podiobooks.com

“The term podiobook was coined by Evo Terra to describe serialized audiobooks which are distributed via RSS, much like a podcast. Listeners to Podiobooks.com can choose to receive the episodes of their books via an RSS feed or by listening to episodes by directly downloading episodes from this site. Some listeners keep the audio files on their computers, some transfer the book to CD, but most transfer the file on to their MP3 player so they can listen no matter where they are,” (from their FAQ page) includes modern genres as well as classics.

Project Gutenberg

“Project Gutenberg makes audio eBooks available for some of the same great literature available in plain text. Our listings are divided into two categories: Human-read and computer-generated audio books. These files can be very large, so are not well suited for people using a modem or other low-speed connection.”

For for ebooks from Project Gutenberg, click here or read my blog about free ebooks.
Browse By Category: Audio Book, human-read.
Browse By Category: Audio Book, computer-generated.

Storynorty

Free audio stories for children. From classics to original, fairy tales to education, or young children (junior) to those learning ESL- this website had a large variety to please children as well as adults. “Our latest audio stories including totally original stories and tales that we have adapted from around the world”. A new story is available every week.

Thought Audio

“Our journey has always been one of making classic literature available to anyone willing to listen, and now in this next phase, to expand our scope to include more thinkers, writers and essayists.”

Paid Audio Books

Ambling Books

Audible- (owned by Amazon.com) with more than 85,000 audio programs.

“Come join the millions of listeners who've discovered a new way to receive the entertainment, information, and knowledge they seek. In addition to audiobooks, we're home to magazines, radio shows, podcasts, stand-up comedy, and speeches from icons who shape our culture, politics, and business world. We feature the best narrators interpreting books by top authors.”

Learn Out Loud

“Browse the Net's largest Catalog of educational audio books, podcasts, downloads, & free audio & video. Over 25,000 titles from hundreds of authors and publishers.”

Monday, August 22, 2011

The Hunger Games- Book Review and Entertaining Links

Borrowed from GoodReads.com

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Published 2008 (384 pages)

Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Game Trilogy has made an impact on young adults and adults alike. From a devoted following, a movie currently in production due to release next year (the second movie promised in 2013), and now as of June 6^th of this year- Collins’s book The Hunger Games makes her the 6^th person to sell over 1 million kindle books. This last achievement has Collins join the Kindle Million Club.

The first book in the Trilogy is entitled The Hunger Games which turns out to be a televised reality version of The Most Dangerous Game (the short story is available free from Manybooks.net). Although some might not like this Survivors tv show perspective, before the games begin the audience is drawn in by Collins’s rich characters and vivid imagery.

Katniss Everdeen is the main character and though she is only 16, she is a real survivor and avid hunter. Through an unfortunate chance of fate she finds herself taken from all that she has ever known to go to the Capital. Collins allows Katniss to act as narrator and provide an anthropologist point of view of Panem, explaining the culture, history, and animal and plant life from the eyes of a teenager. These detailed explanations of a new world and society allows the reader to become connected emotionally to the main character.

The plot is mixed with a struggle against the unjust government in what is left of the world (formerly known as America now known as Panem) after natural disasters and man made destruction. What’s left is 12 districts, with the first district acting as controlling government known as the Capital. In a classic move to control by fear, every year the capital holds a “Hunger Game” in which one girl and one boy (called Tributes) from each district will fight to survive. Which is in a gladiator style, where only one person will survive. Similar to the Romans, if the Tributes do not provide enough entertainment, the game will suddenly change. No one, but the makers of the game, know where or what the Tributes will face: snow, desert, jungle, or maybe wetlands. And most likely deadly animals.

Warning: This book will have you reading late into the night and the ending of the first book will make you want to run out to get the second book, Catching Fire. This book is not meant for young children, as the details during the hunger games can be graphic. Worth the time to read, as the plot allows the reader to step back and wonder what they would do in a similar situation. Which is Collins at her best, pulling the reader in by wondering “what’s next?”

Links:

Author’s Official Website.

Publisher’s website: Scholastic.

The Hunger Games’s Official website.

The Hunger Games on Facebook.

The author on Facebook.

The Hunger Games Trilogy Fansite: “Comprehensive Fansite Dedicated to The Hunger Games Trilogy Fans”

Mockingjay.net

“Welcome to Mockingjay.net, the most visited source on the web dedicated to the Hunger Games! We were founded in July of 2009, before the title of the third book had been announced. We're here to have fun with other Hunger Games fans with discussion, contests, the Jabberjays podcast, and an up to date news blog that covers anything related to the books or the upcoming film that is being made by Lionsgate.”

The Hunger Games Wiki.

Official Movie website.

The Hunger Games, movie Information: IMDb.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Free eBooks and Lending from Libraries

In the battle of e-readers, Kindle (from Amazon.com) may have come out first for the general population but Nook (from Barnes and Noble) has become preferred due to their colored screen and ability to borrow books from libraries. Regardless if you have a Kindle, a Nook, or another e-reader, everyone is able to download ebooks. Including those of you that do not have e-readers. This can be done by downloading an application for smart phones or computers to read free books via Amazon and Barnes and Noble. More good news for Kindle owners- later this fall Kindle will allow books to be borrowed from libraries through OverDrive. The information about this news announcement can be found here from Amazon.com (from April). Use this link to see if there have been any further updates, or to read what Amazon is currently saying about their Kindle Library Lending.

Please ask your local libraries about their rules and policies, as it will vary by e-reader, library, and distributor (whether the library is going through OverDrive or another company). Below is a list of websites that can be used to download free ebooks. Remember to make sure:

The price is still at $0.00 because pricing may be free for a limited time only.
Some libraries are able to lend e-readers. Feel free to ask if your local library have this available or suggest that they consider this option.
When buying an e-reader make sure it is what’s best for you. Here are two reviews that can help before purchasing: From PC World, Top E-readers and from TopTen Reviews, eBook Reader Review.

Further tips can be found on Cnet.com here for "How to get books for your Kindle or Nook".

“2. Swap books with strangers. Some books are equipped with a "lending" feature. Amazon and B&N probably intended that lending would be used among friends, but clever Web sites like BookLending.com and eBookFling.com let users list their ebooks and swap inventory with anyone else.”

For information about lending Kindle books, click here.

And finally, if you do find a free ebook and wish to have it converted from one format to another, so you can read the book on your eReader, you can use converters such as Calibre. However, this will not work for all types and circumstances. For an understanding of the various formats of e-books please read Wikipedia's explanation, found in "Comparison of e-book formats". Warning: Wikipedia may not be a completely reliable source, please remember to use this link as a jumping point for research, as it is an open source that could change at any time).

-----------------

Free Kindle:

Amazon’s Free eBook Collections

Limited Time Offers: Limit search on the right by clicking: Kindle ebooks under Department -> Kindle Store -> Limited Time Offers.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

The Help- Book Review

Borrowed from GoodReads.com

The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Published 2009.

In 1962 everything is normal. The white ladies are house wives and the black women are the workers. The workers are maids that make sure the white households are organized and are nannies to the white children. And then the black women go home and raise their own family- regardless of how tired or how horrible her day went. Yes, it is normal for Jackson, Mississippi in 1962. But Skeeter Phelan, a single white woman, is brave enough to wonder…does it have to be this way? In time Skeeter is able to convince two black maids, Aibileen and Minny, to help her with an idea; a plan to write a book from the point of view of the black maids who work for white women, the good and the terrible truths.

Most books choose first person or a third person perspective, but this book features both. With a majority of the story in first person, this book continues to jump around not with a singular main character, but three. This could have made the book appear jumpy, like movies that have too much going on and switching scenes before the audience is ready. However, Ms. Stockett’s writing style flowed from one woman to another. Making the reader feel like they were sitting in a room with three women, each telling a part of the story. With Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter telling their stories together, the women cover gaps in time with updates about the time that had passed (the entire book covers about two years in 464 pages). The ending provides readers with closure, but as many books often do, a need for more information as the readers’ imagination must truly create the end for each woman.

Starting from August, 1962 until late 1964- Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter live their lives and though they knew of each other it wasn’t until a hardship that brought them together. From virtual strangers (minus Aibileen’s and Minny’s relationship) to fearsome friends, these three women struggle with all aspects of their lives. From the strain on their friendships, hardships of work, and the stress of their families- they must also deal with the separation of color.

Since the author wrote like someone is talking, this book is not easy to read for those who are grammar sticklers. Learning a new dialect can be difficult, such as that used in the book The Color Purple by Alice Walker. I found reading sentences that used “a” as opposed to “of” caused me to stumble and made me stop to think what the character was trying to say. Though this deep Southern dialect could trip me up at times, it was worth the effort when I found jewels of wisdom spoken by clever characters. One of the parts I bookmarked while reading on my kindle was on page 62 (location 1248 on Kindle), “Ugly live up on the inside. Ugly be a hurtful, mean person. Is you one a them peoples?” This was said by Constantine, Skeeter’s maid, when Skeeter was being bullied by the children at school who called her ugly. To personify “ugly” was very clever of Stockett, and is a good example of why her words will remain with her readers for years to come.

This is Stockett’s first book and hopefully not her last, as she has quite a following. And now with the movie coming out this weekend, more fans of her work. Though the book is long, it was worth the effort to allow the stories and emotions to marinate for the reader. To pull the reader in and become emotionally involved. To feel like crying when something horrible happens in the black community, to cheer on the women when they stood up for themselves, or smile when something special happened. Like when Aibileen took time to tell Mae Mobley, Aibileen’s 17th white child, that the little girl was kind, smart, and important.

The Help is a book that allows the reader to have empathy for the characters. Anyone who has suffered from bullying, or rejection for who they are, can sympathize with the characters in this book. And for those readers who sympathize, they find a new treasured friend.

For a synopsis of the book please click here.

---------------------

Kathryn Stockett’s website and useful links found on it:

Author’s Webpage

Q&A for The Help.

Kathryn Stockett, In Her Own Words (found at the end of the book and on Stockett’s website).

“In my book there is one line that I truly prize: Wasn’t that the point of the book? For women to realize, we are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought.”

Reading Group questions

Praise and Reviews

The Movie:

The Help, the official movie website.

The Help, the movie information: The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

The Help, reviews from RottenTomatoes.com

Monday, August 1, 2011

Learning Sign Language

Deaf culture is once again making itself known through television. The new ABC Family show Switched at Birth shows a deaf teenager (played by Katie Leclerc) who finds out she was switched at birth. Now she must interact with her biological parents who are not familiar with the deaf community or American Sign Language (ASL). I highly enjoy the show, because even when the actors sign fast with their hands, I am able to learn a new word or phrase in ASL during each episode. This is important to me as I have meet a couple of deaf individuals but could not sign more than a handful of words or sayings. Only what I had learned by working with an eight-year-old child who had Down Syndrome.

We were taught in school to find ways to included everyone who lived within the community where we work. Reaching out to those with disabilities or impairments is very important. I would like to be able to effectively communicate with the patrons I come into contact while working as a librarian. This means learning another language, and not just those of traditional languages (such as Spanish). I gathered some resources to share with you, as well as references for this article. I hope you find this blog very informative.

One last note, American Sign Language is used in the United States, parts of Canada, and some other limited locations. ASL is not a world wide language for all deaf and hard of hearing people. There is an International Sign Language that was organized at the World Congress by the World Federation of the Deaf. The International Sign Language is basically an accumulation of most (if not all) sign languages around the world. There are different sign languages for specific countries and sometimes for specific languages.

Learning to Sign- Free Websites

Video Dictionary by ASL Pro

“Mission Statement: Our mission is to serve the needs of the ASL Educational Community. We strive to provide free, easy-to-use reference and learning tools to enhance in-classroom learning for ASL Educators and their Students.”

Start American Sign Language

Very much like ASL Pro, however, this site has a lot of ads. Still a great source as it provides videos and information at several different levels: individuals, teachers, home school, and baby sign language.

A clear breakdown of what the site has to offer can be found here.

Lifeprint’s American Sign Language University

“A resource for ASL students and teachers.” Very through and organized website, excellent for information and encouragement.

And for those who are very visual oriented, here is a resource for learning ASL through children’s music videos. Watch Sign Time on YouTube or check out their Nick Jr. webpage here.

The Nick Jr. page is set to the video “Feelings”, it’s my personal favorite that was quick to learn.

Resources:

National Association of the Deaf

The Red Notebook by Friends of Libraries for Deaf Action

“The Red Notebook is a starting point for libraries to look up for information regarding the deaf community and library services….Public information on deaf culture, sign language, kinds of hearing loss, auxiliary aids and adaptive services is also available on the Internet and shelves at your library.”

Deaf Culture

For an enriched understanding of deaf people, their culture, and further sources for understand or research.

About.com’s International Sign Language resources

This is a great resource for other languages or countries. Though there is an International Sign Language that was created it is not used as much as the other sign languages used in individual countries.

References:

International Sign Language, explained by Handspeak

ABC Family's Switched at Birth

The Spirited Librarian