Tech Tuesdays: Library Apps

You got a library card but can’t make it to the library?

There’s an app for that, depending on your library and what app they have partnered with.

The two apps that I will tell you about work the same, but depending on your library determines which you can use.

rb digital

RB digital is the app my library switched to, for whatever reason. Within the app you can check out current magazine issues, ebooks, and audiobooks. For things that are checked out (such as new and popular books), you can place a hold on the book/magazine or add it to your wishlist. New and Popular books seem to always be checked out.

 

 

 

Screenshot of RB Digital Side Menu

 

 

The Menu in the RB Digital app will appear on the left hand side like as it is here. There is the home screen, books (to search audiobooks or ebooks), Magazines (to search magazines), Checked out (where all your books/magazines on loan will be located), My account (where your wish list & holds are locaHelp and logout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RB Digital My Account Side Menu

 

 

 

Under My Account, There is a set of lists you can look through such as your wishlist, holds, history, and recommendations – based on what you check out. Currently I have 27 items on my holds.

Under Settings, you can pick you genre preferences for audiobooks and ebooks, which will help the app recommend you books.

 

 

 

 

When you place a book on hold, the app will tell you where you are in the line of the holds. Currently, I am 4th in line for Americanah. I really want to read this book soon since it is one of the books The Great American Read has chosen on its list.

 

 

 

 

Libby

 

Libby was the first app my library had partnered with and I loved it. I could download books, magazines, and audio. There was also a book of the month that you could read and a discussion board for the book via Big Library Read – which I loved. I don’t know why the Library switched, but I wish the RB Digital App had the book of the month.

 

Screenshot of Libby Library App

 

 

Since my library switched apps, none of library books show up now that my account is invalid.

 

 

Shelf, on the lower right hand side of the app, is where your checked out books would appear.

 

 

 

 

Screenshot of Libby’s Activity Timeline.

 

 

 

Libby is set up similar to RB Digital in that you have loans and holds.

 

 

The Activity Timeline shows all the actions you’ve done in the app so far such as check out books, return books, place a hold on books, etc.

 

 

 

Big Library Read partnered with Libby to be the first global ebook club through the library. By library, they mean Libby – which is leaving out hundreds if not thousands of other library patrons. Plus, they don’t have a separate app. If they truly wanted to be the first global ebook club, shouldn’t they have their own app?

 

Screenshot of Big Library Read’s Past Titles.

 

Also, the discussion board on Big Library Read Discussion board is closed – which makes no sense as people like to read posts and respond to other posts.

According to their website, the next book that they chose will not be available until July 9. Which means users of Libby will have to wait TWO months for a book.  I’ll check the website to see what the book is in two months and see if I can get it from my rb digital app. I dont know if I can still log in the discussion board and I can’t find out until July. So, I’ll wait.

 

 

 

 

What about my personal book library?

There’s a free app for that tooo!

 

Libib is a free home library cataloging system. All you got to do is make an account, name your library and start scanning the book! It helps me keep track of what books I own so that way I do not pick up extra copies of things. At one point I had 3 copies of The Diary of A Young Girl.

 

 

 

 The best thing about the app is that you can add different libraries such as your movie collection, video games, and music.

 

 

 

 

 

Screenshot of Libib Library

Screenshot of sorting options in the Libib library

 

Above you’ll see how the library looks if you choose to sort the library by Title, it goes in alphabetical order.

 

Screenshot of book selected in Libib

Screenshot of book options in Libib

 

Above on the left, this is how the book looks if you click on the Title in the app. I added this book by scanning the bar code and all the information auto-populated in the app.

Above on the right is all the options that Libib gives you to edit the book in the catalog. Status, rating, tags, notes, groups, copies, review, move, and edit are all things you can do to each book (or movie..etc).

 

Screenshot of Status of book.

For example, the Status of the book includes: not begun, in progress, abandoned, and completed. The app makes it easy to keep track of where you are in a book.

Screenshot of ways to add books to Libib.

Screenshot of Blank Manual Entry page

Screenshot of Filled Manual Entry page

 

 

There are two ways to add books to the library. You can either scan the barcode in or you can type in the information manually. Above is what Libib looks like when you fill out the information manually, before and after. Obviously, scanning in the book is easier.

 

What library apps do you use? Let me know in the comments below.

The Great American Read

I am so excited that PBS is hosting an 8 episode series of finding America’s best loved novel. That’s right, NOVEL. Watchers of the show get to vote for their favorite book. The official list for The Great American Read is below:

How does the voting work, you ask?

Voting will open online and on social media with the launch of the two-hour premiere episode and continue throughout the summer, leading up to the finale in October 2018. Over the summer, viewers can vote online and through hashtag voting via Facebook and Twitter. In the fall, viewers will also be able to cast their votes by using SMS and toll-free voting.

Let’s Talk about the List

I am both pleased and appalled at this list. I had to show my Shakespeare-loving friend this list. Her face was full of confusion and wonder, like mine had been upon reading the list. The list is filled with books I love and could re-read for the rest of my life. The list is also full of Authors I love, but I did not LOVE the books of the authors that were picked.

Honestly, why wasn’t Slaughterhouse 5 picked?

Some of the books and Authors I have never heard of. Some of these books have been on my “to-read” list for years. Some of the books I have started reading and could not finish due to whatever reason. Some of the books are already movies, have recently became, or will become movies. Some of the books have a huge fan following: Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and Hunger Games . . . just to name a few.

Who do I think is going to win?

While I love a vast majority of these books and their movie adaptations, I’m going to go with Harry Potter. No book series in existence has captured the heart and soul of growing up and how challenging that is. Then J.K. Rowling puts teenagers in charge of basically overthrowing the Wizarding World’s Government. Harry Potter is available in almost every language both the books and movies, has a Broadway show, has 4 theme parks ( two in US, one in Japan, one in Australia), a traveling museum, and let us not forget the textbooks Harry used such as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them which also turned into a bestseller and a movie.

When is the Great American Read happening?

May 22, 8 pm c/t (9pm eastern time) on your local PBS station. Don’t have cable? Not a problem! PBS can be found on a variety of devices and streaming services.

Happy World Book Day 2018!

April 23 of every year is known as Wold Book Day, unless you live in the UK, then it’s in March.

What happens on World Book Day, you ask?

Answer: Appreciate all things book related!

While that seems simplistic, it is not.

Making books involve A LOT of work. From writing the actual book, to finding an Agent, a Publisher, Illustrators, and Editors.

That’s not including all the work that Accessibility Experts need to do so people with disabilities can enjoy reading as well.

My plan for Wold Book Day is to try to read as much as possible in my free time today. Currently, I am reading “Women who Run with the Wolves”. It’s somewhat triggering, which is why it has taken me a long time to read it.

What are your plans for Wold Book Day? Let me know in the comments below!

 

 

 

Purple Hibiscus: Book Review

 

I honestly don’t know where to start in my process of review the book. I finished the novel on September 25 and I still feel feelings from the book. You know, those feelings that you get once a book touches your soul in a way that you will never be the same? It’s like that. I hoped to post this review that same week, but it couldn’t be done. This book is so amazing I had to perfect this review.

Pure raw emotion. That’s what you get from this novel. Kambili’s fear of everything. The way she copes is heartbreaking. The entire novel is heartbreaking. That is what real life is like – overall heartbreaking with moments and times of joy.

There is so much going on in this novel. Kambili and her family are Catholic and her dad rules the house with an iron fist. Kambili and her brother, Jaja, are terrified of not being perfect in their father’s eyes. Kambili often admits “I wish I thought to say/do that” so she can be praised by her father.

While her father owns his own factories and newspaper, he also donates a large amount of money to the community, gaining the title of  “Omelora”. No one ever knows of the things that he does in his personal life. They don’t know that he caused his wife to have a total of 3 miscarriages. They don’t know that the children are afraid to get of their specified schedule that he made because they never knew how their father would punish them. The fear that he instilled in his children made them to be robots and not their actual self.

That is what the novel is about. It’s about a 15 year old girl finding her voice and her personal sense of freedom in a hostile living environment, both inside and outside the home. While the domestic violence and child abuse is going on in the home, outside in country  where they live, Nigeria, a military coup starts to run the country. People are dying. Conspiracy theories start to form.

Despite all of this, Kambili finds her voice at her Aunts house, where she goes to stay for a bit due to certain circumstances. She finds her smile with Father Amadi. They form a friendship and affection towards one another.

This novel is about choices and how even one choice is good it can still have dire consequences. It is also about having faith and accepting differences. Just because someone else have a different view of something, does not mean that they are going to hell, as Kambili learns.

The interaction between Kambili and her brother, Jaja, is what makes this book. They don’t speak with words often, they speak to each other with their eyes. They know how to read each other’s thoughts in the stillness of the silence. They automatically know things about each other this way.

The indirect main character of the novel is Kambili’s paternal grandfather, Papa Nnukwu. Everything seems to be centered around him and the consequences of what happens to Kambili and Jaja after they spent time with him.

This novel is shockingly breathtaking and will make you want to read it all in one sitting. I’d like to thank the Goodreads group, Readers with a Cause for picking this novel for our book discussion.

This novel is being added to my favorites list.

Is it one of your favorites? Let me know!

Hostage: Book Review

I almost forgot how much I love Mr. Wiesel’s writing until I saw this book on display at my local library. Night has always been one of my favorite books of all time so I figured his other books would be just as good. I was not disappointed, even though the novel started out slow. The novel takes place in 1975 Brooklyn.

While the main plot of Hostage is about being a hostage, it is so much more than that. It’s about inner mental strength, perseverance, and sticking to your beliefs even when you feel like you are in Hell. Throughout the entire novel, Shaltiel Feignberg focuses on the memories of his past to distract himself from the present situation. He goes through his major life events from childhood and on.

He, a storyteller, tells us of how chess saved him from WWII and Auschwitz  when he was a child. He speaks lovingly of his father. He tells us stories of his family, his adventures abroad, and his wife. He often wondered if his family was worried about him and if they were looking for him. Little to his knowledge, the U.S. and other countries published articles about his disappearance, abduction, and hostage situation.

You’re probably wondering who took him hostage and why.  You want to know if he lives or dies. Unfortunately, I am not going to give you that information. I will tell you that the book taught me something about myself that I never knew and that is one of the greatest gifts you can receive from literature.

Books vs Electronic Devices: The Case of Books

Which is better? Which do you prefer? Let’s list the pros and cons of books! In no particular order of course.

 

BOOK Pros:

 
1. The Smell!

 

2. The excitement you get after you read the back of the cover, the inside of the cover, and a random page and still wanting to buy the book
3. Soft covers are cheaper than hard covers
4. People will stop and ask you about the book if they’ve read it before

5. The realization of progress being made once you move the book mark.
6. No Special cords/ chargers needed
7. Get to add something new to your ever expanding book case

8. The joy of going to the book store just to find a new read
9. Visiting the Library
10. Knowing you’re supporting an author, an artist (for the book cover), a publicist, the company selling the book, and the place you bought the book from

 

BOOK Cons:
1. PAPER CUTS!
2. Books can get heavy, quickly 
3. Can’t read in the dark
4. If any damage happens to the book, you feel like you lost a friend
5. The possibility of accidentally losing the spot, or the book mark falling out
6. Hands get tired after a while
7. Takes away space
8. Forever lost if “borrowed” to a “friend”
9. Spending gas or delivery fee to purchase the book
10. Constantly readjusting to find the perfect reading position

 

Did the pros outweigh the cons? Did cons triumph over the pros?

Let me know what you think.

 

First Interview

Just thought I would share my first interview I had as a blogger. It was a great experience.

Please click here for the interview.

Thanks!

An Abundance of Katherines Book Review

 

 

 

 

Nineteen Katherines to be exact. That’s how many girlfriends named Katherine, child prodigy Colin Singleton has had. The last one, referred to as K XIX, is the one that broke him. He has a piece missing and doesn’t know how to fix it. He speaks multiple languages and can make an anagram out of any word, but cannot heal/find/replace this missing piece.

Colin having just graduated from High School in Chicago decides to go on a road trip with his best friend and religious-ish Muslim, Hassan.

They talk, the fight, they say “Dingleberry” and love Hardees’s Thickburgers.

They also get a job in the middle of nowhere and make $500 a week. Also, Colin makes his second friend ever, Lindsey.

Colin tries to prove to prove a theoretical math equation in his spare time. I did say he is a child prodigy which apparently equals nerd/geek.

Drama is a given. You will not be disappointed.

Themes include the unknown future, confronting insecurities, and being true to yourself. All three main characters go though all three of these themes.

John Green, how I love thee. This book was one of the most interesting and mind stimulating reads I’ve experienced in a long time. Not only does it go in depth into math with graphs. It also has multiple languages – including my favorite, German.

If you’re not into finding out the answer to if you can predict wither or not a relationship will last, or have an appreciation for other languages, this may not be the book for you.

Don’t worry; it had an appendix and footnotes. You won’t get lost.  This was a witty, funny, and an entertaining read. It only took this avid reader a few hours to devour all of its contents.

The Korean Word For Butterfly

 

What an interesting book.

There’s multiple levels to this book and as soon as you’re enthralled in it, it ends.

Poof!

I felt so cheated. I have so many questions left unanswered. I hate when authors do this.

The book is written in multiple point of views of three different characters: Moon, Billie, and Yun-JI. Billie and her boyfriend Joe take a teaching job in Korea. Moon, a worker at the school, is the first person that interacts with the couple. The character of Yun-Ji came out of no where. She also works at the school, but never seemed like an important character to follow. It was confusing.

The novel takes place in 2002-2003 in Korea, while Bush was president of the U.S. Things were not easy for Billie and Joe to be in Korea at a time like this. Two Korean girls got ran over by an American Tank. Some Koreans hated Americans. It was a difficult journey for them from beginning to end, and it did end abruptly.

Moon. Poor Moon. My heart aches for Moon. He’s my favorite character of the novel. He’s the only character that is open about his past and has admitted to making mistakes. He is a strong character and has had his share of defeats.

Yun-Ji is a young Korean woman that is just finding her voice. She lives at home with her traditional mother and always working father. Yun-Ji is what is suppose to be the traditional Korean in this novel to show the cultural differences between Americans and Koreans – especially between her and Billie. The same thing happens to both of them and they handle that differently, of course.

It was a good, short, and deep book. I feel more educated about Korean culture and values now.

I also recieved it for free on Amazon’s Daily Kindle Deals. The book is currently listed for $2.99 on the Kindle store – which is a good price.

 

Lean In: Graduates

 

 

Seems like someone has been reading my blog!

Sheryl Sandburg announced back in January that she is making an edition of Lean in for Graduates. That’s right. My feedback may or may not have been heard (or seen, in this case) but I’d like to think it did. While we got to wait to see what is actually included in the new six extra chapters, I am excited to see how this book is going to change the process of finding that first real job for Grads among other things.

I’m hoping she included more diversity as companies are expanding, there’s the equal opportunity employment act (EOE), and laws against discrimination in the workplace.

I cannot wait to review the new six chapters. I am excited for the release date April 8, 2014 (according to amazon.com).