Free audiobooks this summer!

I hope you recall SYNC from last summer.  If it is new to you, here is a great opportunity to catch up on classics and current titles. I'd love to hear your experiences from the last two summers in the comments below.

As you may have experienced while downloading audiobooks from the library, you usually have only two weeks to listen to it.  The SYNC summer titles are different.  The publishers are giving away open copies.  The hitch is: you can only download that week's title during that week.

Luckily, you can receive a text message (SMS) reminder on your phone to know when each new title becomes available.  Last year I programmed reminders in my email calendar.  This year, I may try the texts.

Last year, I really enjoyed The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud, read by Simon Jones, and Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone, read by Khristine Hvam.

Here's the schedule for this summer, beginning May 30 [which means you still have a day or two to catch the first titles!].

You will need the Overdrive software or app to play the audiobooks.  You may want to download them on a computer in case you want to listen to several of them (again!) later.

Remember, ebooks count for summer reading at Ruidoso Public Library.  Comment below or on this blog's Summer Reading Program page to tell Cheryl and Kari Dawn which books you downloaded to read or listen to.  If you are under 13, ask your parent or guardian to help with an email address.

Books under discussion

Back in October, a local book group met and discussed these books.  Check with us to see when they will meet again.  Titles available in the library are hyperlinked to see if currently available or request your copy.

The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall

Ecology of a Cracker Childhood by Janisse Ray

Wild Card Quilt: The Ecology of Home by Janisse Ray

Dr Orloff's Guide to Intuitive Healing 5 Steps to Physical, Emotional, and Sexual Wellness by Judith Orloff, MD

In the Water They Can't See You Cry by Amanda Beard

True Stories of Censorship--Battles in America's Libraries edited by Nye/Borco

Hearts and Hands: Creating Community in Violent Times by Luis Rodriguez

Always Running by Luis Rodriguez

War Brides

Silver like Dust--One Family's Story of America's Japanese Internment by Kimi Cunningham

#7 Be loud at the library; meet a new book

One of a library's better known activities might be book discussion groups.  Ruidoso Public Library hosts one on the first Wednesday of each month (except in July, when the federal holiday pushes it to the second), at noon.  You are welcome to bring a brown bag lunch (one of the few exceptions to the no eating or drinking in the library rule).  Our library director, Corey Bard, and librarian, Sharon Stewart, join Sherry York and anyone interested in sharing a book or learning about novel novels (pun intended).

Book club meeting aboard GTMO Queen, by By Army Staff Sgt. Blair Heusdens [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

I have heard of book clubs that meet at pubs, private homes, and through church groups.  If you are interested in creating a group, or need any help finding discussion guides or title suggestions, please ask us.  Book clubs have gone online, too.  Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ hangouts can bring together people who cannot leave their homes or have crazy schedules that only let you socialize asynchronously (i.e. 2 o'clock in the morning).  If you have not read a book in a while, maybe because you felt the stories were all the same, a book club can help you jump out of that rut.

The books discussed at the June meeting follow (click on the links to check local availability):
Seasons of grief and grace: A sister story of AIDS, triumph, and family by Susan Ford Wiltshire
Same sweet girls by Cassandra King
The tooth of time by Sue Henry
Images of America: Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs by Lyn Kidder
Delay, deny, hope they die by Bill Dement
My life as a Cambodian refugee: Escape to America by Tony M SaVaun
Erotic resolution: a Flint Rock novel by Glenn Smith
Texas Tango, same author
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
El Sicario by Molly Molloy, Charles Bowden, and El Sicario
The Rope by Nevada Barr
Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly
Dead end in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Hole in my life, same author
One second after by William R Fortschen

Ruidoso Public Library is closed Wednesday, July 4, for the federal holiday.  We are open Tuesday and Thursday, regular hours.

World Book Night!

April 23rd was World Book Night.  Keep an ear out for it next year for your chance to spread a love for reading.  It's simple idea is giving a book to a non-reader (or reluctant reader).  The title is one that lights up your eyes and fills you with such infectious enthusiasm that the recipient gives reading another try.

If bookclubs are more to your liking, there are a slew of new ways to experience the sharing online.  Whether you are ready for Twitter or Skype, love to bake what you read, or just need fresh ideas to re-invigorate your current club, this blogpost is your ticket.

Correction:  I was wrong.  Our contract with One Click Digital ended at midnight.  We are waiting to see if we can offer e-audiobooks through another vendor in the next few months.  Until then, please try www.librivox.org, where volunteers self-record books in the public domain.  My apologies for the confusion.
And this afternoon you have a chance to meet the new and improved One-Click Digital--your gateway to audiobooks on your mp3 player, smartphone, or iPod.   

Tue, May 1, 2012 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EDT

Apple/Mac updates to One-Click Digital e-audiobooks, virtual book clubs, local author Events, and Downton Abbey reads

At last, One Click Digital has released instructions for Apple/Macintosh users. If you use an Apple or Mac to access the internet, please email me at jenniferstubbs at ruidoso hyphen nm dot gov, and I will reply with the directions as a pdf attachment.  If you are looking for the instructions to begin using One Click Digital, they can be found in the column to the right under "e Audiobook How to."  Just last week I tried downloading two books on my machine at home, without luck. But when I tried again the next day, both were just fine.  Que sera sera, no?

If audiobooks aren't your thing, how about an online book club?  Huffington Post has set up a site, along with a Twitter #tag if you prefer, for HuffPo editors and readers to share reactions to The Tiger's Wife.  The site discussion has only covered the first 4 chapters, though the second part, chapters 5-8, should be up this week--or take the initiative and begin filling the comments yourself.

Online or virtual book clubs allow you to participate when it fits your schedule.  My favorite aspect is how I can skip over comments that feel repetitive or non-productive, while focusing on those with insight from perspectives I missed. (Can you tell I have a patience problem?)  If you have any comments on virtual book clubs (Have you tried one?  Would you give it a try?), please add them to this post's comments.

If local, live events are your interest Ruidoso Public Library offers two this week. Wednesday, 2pm, Jamie Slack (a local author) will talk about the memoir process, especially from a drawing/visual perspective.  She will also sign her book, Now Here's a Thought: A Playful Journal About Life.

Saturday at 11 am, Steven H. Havill (formerly a local English teacher) will discuss and sign his newest book in the Posadas County Mysteries, One Perfect Shot. (Portions of both sales benefit the Friends of the Library.)

Finally, if one hour of Downton Abbey leaves you craving more history and drama, the library has several title suggestions to help fill the six days between (just ask for Jennifer and let me know if you prefer fiction or fact).