Tag: audiobooks

Digital Catalog Weekend Suggested Reading, Viewing & Listening May 31 – June 2, 2013

Linda Reimer

Here is a list of select Digital Catalog e-books, audio books, albums  and videos  you might enjoy reading, viewing or listening to over the weekend!

Have a great weekend! Linda R.

E-Books:

Fiction:

Dark & Dangerous: A Collection of Paranormal Treats by various authors: In the world of the paranormal, the imagination reigns supreme. Populated by mysterious supernatural beings, mythic creatures and mortals possessing extraordinary powers, the ten enthralling fantasies in this spellbinding collection will transport you to the dark and dazzling realm of ghosts and shapeshifters, werewolves and witches, vampires and demons. Prepare to be mesmerized and beguiled by the seductive power of these dark and sensual immortals as they do battle against evil and long for love and redemption.

Bundle includes: Wild Thing by Julie Kenner, Touch Me by Susan Kearney, Surrender by Julie Leto, Kiss of the Wolf by Susan Krinard, Shadow Kissing by Tanith Lee, by Evelyn Vaughn, Soul of the Wolf by Karen Whiddon, Forever Mine by Linda Winstead Jones, Her Best Enemy by Maggie Shayne and Dancers in the Dark by Charlaine Harris.

Endless Summer by Julie Kenner: Summer has never been sexier! Making Waves by Julie Kenner: Laci Montgomery is determined to be pro surfing’s Golden Girl. Does she need help from her ex–hottie sports promoter Taylor Dutton? No way! Well, not unless she’s on top…

Surf’s Up by Karen Anders: After a crash meeting in the waves, surfer J. C. Wilcox and entrepreneur Zack Fanning practice daring moves that would make fish blush. But is it just sexy fun in the sun–or are they ready to risk their hearts?

Wet and Wild by Jill Monroe: Daredevil Rookie of the Year Andrea “Drea” Powell needs a sponsor. Superstar pro Kirk Murray needs a flashy new surfer to back. The explosive results heat up the competition…and the bedroom!

The Rabbi in the Attic: and Other Stories by Eileen Pollack: In an age of minimalists, Eileen Pollack is a writer of rare generosity. The women and men in The Rabbi in the Attic are complex, vivid people to whom something happens. Their stories take place in small towns in the Catskills, a laboratory of mutant mice in nowhere Tennessee, the backwoods of New Hampshire, the “City of Five Smells” in America’s heartland—worlds rendered with such love and intensity that the simplest objects seem magical. Many of the narrators look back on their pasts. But don’t expect to be lulled by nostalgia. Expect to laugh. To be jolted. And to be moved.

Like most of us, these characters are struggling to understand what they have gained and lost by abandoning the passions and moral certainties of youth. As the narrator of the first story discovers when “barbarian” rock fans invade her town, it can be terrifying to be knocked from the “tiny fixed orbit” of conventional life. But if a person can stretch her imagination far enough, she might also be able to glimpse an “elsewhere” beyond the boundaries of ordinary human limitations.

This battle between the real and ideal is taken to mythic heights in the title novella, in which a novice rabbi must try to evict her Orthodox predecessor from the house provided by her prickly congregation. Only when she tempers her enthusiasm for the new ways with compassion for those who follow the old ways can Rabbi Bloomgarten begin to care for their souls.

Eileen Pollack writes from a Jewish point of view, but her subject is the search for principles that we must all undertake in a world in which religious truths are no longer handed down from parent to child.

Just as one of her characters decides to become a “value assessor,” the author herself helps us to sort through the jumble of objects, ideas, and memories in our own attics. In doing so, she appeals to our minds and our hearts. Her characters teach us that imagination and empathy are our best hope if we are to understand—and perhaps transcend—the pain in our world. Her language is lyrical, rhythmic, and lush. The images in her stories—a chef’s severed hand, a plummeting air conditioner, a village sunk beneath a reservoir—will stay in your mind long after you have finished her book.

A Wanted Man: A Stone Creek Novel by Linda Lael Miller: #1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller returns to Stone Creek with a classic tale of two strangers running from dangerous secrets

The past has a way of catching up with folks in Stone Creek, Arizona. But schoolmarm Lark Morgan and Marshal Rowdy Rhodes are determined to hide their secrets–and deny their instant attraction. That should be easy, since each suspects the other of living a lie….

Yet Rowdy and Lark share one truth: both face real dangers. Such as the gang of train robbers heading their way, men Ranger Sam O’Ballivan expects Rowdy to nab. As past and current troubles collide, Rowdy and Lark must surrender their pride to the greatest power of all–undying love.

Non-Fiction

Landscaping For Privacy by Marty Wingate: The area around your home is your haven, your sanctuary, your refuge from the noise and irritation of traffic, eyesores, and nosy neighbors. Or at least it could be if there was some sort of barrier between your front yard and the sidewalk, or if you didn’t have to stare at the back of the neighbors’ garage when you want to relax on your patio.

Landscaping for Privacy brims with creative ideas for minimizing or even eliminating the nuisances that intrude on your personal outdoor space. Scores of real-world examples show you how to keep the outside world at bay by strategically placing buffers (such as berms or groups of small trees), barriers (such as fences), and screens (arbors or hedges, for example) around your property. And the helpful plant lists tell you precisely which varieties to choose in order to enhance your sense of seclusion.

If you’ve ever felt frustrated by the lack of privacy whenever you step outside your home, this inspiring book will steer you toward an achievable solution.

The Next Century by David Halberstam: A stirring examination of global competition and power in the twentieth century What can we learn from the events of twentieth century? With the effects of the Cold War still evident in the global economy and the lives of everyday Americans, master journalist and historian David Halberstam sets out to answer this question. Halberstam’s perceptive The Next Century looks to the future by examining the past. From the rise of the Japanese economy to the startling changes that reshaped the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, Halberstam argues that the American economy’s survival depends on the rededication and continued education of the American worker. As pertinent in today’s economy as it was when first published in 1991, The Next Century is a timeless call to arms, reminding us that we must continually better ourselves in order to compete on the world stage. This ebook features an extended biography of David Halberstam.

Children’s Books:

Alexander, Spy Catcher by Diane Stormer: A seemingly normal October turns into an exciting and terrifying adventure for Alexander and his brother, Ben, when they discover that their uncle Charlie may be in danger because of a secret government project he is working on.

The boys notice strange happenings around their family’s home; for example, why is there a clandestine protected Wi-Fi network on their forest covered property? When Alexander and Ben suspect that their uncle is being spied upon, they agree to warn him about what they’ve discovered. But on the same night that they tell him about their ?ndings, he disappears without a trace.

Now, it’s up to Alexander, Ben, and their family to solve the mystery about what happened to their uncle and bring him home safely. But although they are determined to rescue Charlie, they don’t realize the dangers that lie ahead for them on their journey.

CatBoy by Eric Walters: The wild cat colony Taylor has been caring for is at risk of being destroyed, and in order to save them, Taylor will need the help of all his friends.

Once Upon A Time: A Collection of Classic Fairy Tales by The Brothers Grimm:

This beautifully illustrated collection of 30 tales from far and wide includes:

Snow White

Hansel and Grethel

Cinderella

The Frog Prince

Rumpelstiltskin

The Bremen Town Musicians

The Elves

Little Red Cap

The Fisherman and His Wife

The Sleeping Beauty

Tom Thumb

Rapunzel

. . . and many more.

Albums:

Live at the Circle Room by Nat King Cole Trio

Digital Audio Download Includes:

1. F.S.T. (Opening Theme) (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

2. Oh, But I Do (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

3. I’m Thru With Love (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

4. C Jam Blues (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

5. My Sugar Is So Refined (1st Version) (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

6. I’m in The Mood for Love (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

7. I Found a New Baby (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

8. I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do) (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

9. If You Can’t Smile and Say Yes (Please Don’t Cry and Say No) (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

10. Sweet Georgia Brown (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

11. Sweet Lorraine (Live) (1999 Digital Remaster) (The King Cole Trio)

12. It’s Only a Paper Moon (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

13. One O’Clock Jump (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

14. Everyone Is Saying Hello Again (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

15. Oh, But I Do (2nd Version) (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

16. My Sugar Is So Refined (Live) (2nd Version) (The King Cole Trio)

17. F.S.T. (Closing Theme) (Live) (The King Cole Trio)

Today Is the Highway by Eric Andersen

Digital Audio Download Includes:

1. Today Is the Highway (Eric Andersen)

2. Dusty Box Car Wall (Eric Andersen)

3. Time for My Returning (Eric Andersen)

4. Plains of Nebrasky-o (Eric Andersen)

5. Looking Glass (Eric Andersen)

6. Never Coming Home (Eric Andersen)

7. Come To My Bedside (Eric Andersen)

8. Baby Please Don’t Go (Eric Andersen)

9. Everything Ain’t Been Said (Eric Andersen)

10. Bay of Mexico (Eric Andersen)

11. Song to J.C.B. (Eric Andersen)

12. Bumblebee (Eric Andersen)

Audio Books:

Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom: Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom Series, Book 1 by Julie Kenner, Laura Hicks: Lots of women put their careers aside once the kids come along. Kate Connor, for instance, hasn’t hunted a demon in ages. That must be why she missed the one wandering through the San Diablo Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, he managed to catch her attention an hour later — when he crashed into the Connor house, intent on killing her. Now Kate has to dispose of a dead demon and pull together a dinner party — all without arousing her family’s suspicion. Worse yet, it seems the dead demon didn’t come alone. It’s time for Kate Connor to go back to work.

The Stranger by Camilla Läckberg, Simon Vance: A string of suspicious deaths points to a potential serial killer who has turned his eye toward Fjällbacka and her dark forests, where two children vanished decades before

A local woman is killed in a tragic car crash, but it isn’t a clear-cut drunk driving case. The victim’s blood contains high alcohol levels, yet she rarely drank a drop. Meanwhile, a new television series begins shooting in Fjällbacka, and as cameras shadow the stars’ every move, tempers start to flare. When a drunken party ends with an unpopular contestant’s murder, all eyes turn to the cast and crew. Could there be a murderer among them? The ratings spike as the country tunes in to a real life murder mystery.

Detective Patrik Hedstrom finds himself increasingly unable to focus on the strange circumstances of the first case, but what if that holds the key to a series of other unsolved cases across Sweden? Under the unforgiving media spotlight, Patrik tackles his most challenging investigation yet.

Videos:

Families of Mexico: In Families of Mexico eight-year-old Brizia lives with her parents on her grandparents’ farm. We visit her school and follow her and her friend as they visit the surrounding farms owned by her aunts and uncles, who are making tamales, harvesting cactus for salad, and sorting sesame seeds. Hermaina lives with her family in the port city of Veracruz. Hermaina’s father and mother own an advertising agency, which her father manages. We see her mother teach a dance class at the city’s cultural center, go food shopping, visit Hermaina’s school, and follow her to her swimming lesson. The Families of the World Series takes you on a fantastic journey to another country where you view the unique lives of two children and their families. Each program focuses on a different culture, their way of life, family interaction, foods and even celebrations. Join us in our visit to the countryside, cities, communities, schools and homes of two families—from breakfast to bedtime and all the fun-filled activities in between. This highly acclaimed series has been broadcast on Public Television.

Welcome Home Elvis: In 1957 Timex sponsored a series of TV variety show specials starring Frank Sinatra broadcast on The ABC Television Network. The last in the series taped on 12th of May 1960 in Miami, was perhaps the best of all, featuring Elvis Presley, upon completion of his National Service. This video, remastered from the archive tape of the broadcast, is the original show in it’s entirety including the sponsors promotional segments. While the quality of reproduction may not meet modern technological standards, it is a rare record of two of the most popular performers of the Twentieth Century performing together.

The STLS Digital Catalog may be found on the library’s homepage of SSCLIBRARY.ORG

Or via the following link:

http://stls.lib.overdrive.com/FE5904CF-8A91-4688-A592-7A046C7988D3/10/536/en/Default.htm

And if you have an app device look for the OverDrive Media Console app in your app store – it is the app that will allow you to check out free library e-books and audio books and download them to your tablet or smartphone.

Digital Catalog music and video titles must currently be downloaded to a Windows computer to enjoy.

Have a great weekend!

Linda R.

Weekend Digital Catalog Suggested Reading, Viewing & Listening Titles April 27-28, 2013

Linda Reimer

Here is a list of select Digital Catalog e-books, audios and videos s you might enjoy reading, viewing or listening to over the weekend!

Suggested E-Books:

Congo Dawn by Jeanette Windle: While former Marine lieutenant Robin Duncan is no stranger to corruption or conspiracy, she has always been able to tell the good guys from the bad, and the Congo jungle at first seems no different. But as her security team tries to track down an insurgent killer, Robin has to face a man who broke her trust years ago, and she discovers the gray areas extend farther in this jungle wilderness than she anticipated.

A ruthless global conspiracy begins to surface, run by powerful men who can’t afford to leave any witnesses. Her life at stake, Robin doesn’t know who to trust and wonders how she can help protect innocent people. Why is God silent amid all the pain and injustice? And how do these people of faith continue to rejoice in their suffering?

Let the Dead Sleep by Heather Graham: An object of desire? Or of fear? It was stolen from a New Orleans grave–the centuries-old bust of an evil man, a demonic man. It’s an object desired by collectors–and by those with wickedness in their hearts.

One day, its current owner shows up at Danni Cafferty’s antiques shop on Royal Street, the shop she inherited from her father. But before Danni can buy the statue, it disappears, the owner is found dead…and Danni discovers that she’s inherited much more than she realized. In the store is a book filled with secret writing: instructions for defeating evil entities. She’d dismissed it as a curiosity…until the arrival of this statue, with its long history of evil and even longer trail of death.

Michael Quinn, former cop and now private investigator, is a man with an unusual past. He believes that doing the right thing isn’t a job–it’s a way of life. And the right thing to do is find and destroy this object weighted with malevolent powers. He and Danni are drawn together in their search for the missing statue, following it through sultry New Orleans nights to hidden places in the French Quarter and secret ceremonies on abandoned plantations.

Cafferty and Quinn already know that trust in others can be misplaced, that love can be temporary. And yet their connection is primal. Mesmerizing. They also know that their story won’t end when this case is closed and the dead rest in peace once again.

Return of the Gypsy by Philippa Carr: In early-nineteenth-century England, a woman risks scandal, disgrace, even her own life for a forbidden passion From the moment the handsome, raffish stranger with the gold earring throws her a kiss, Jessica Frenshaw is enchanted. Rumored to be a half-Spanish wanderer who can predict the future, Romany Jake is unjustly put on trial for murder. After the verdict banishes him from England, Jessica despairs of ever seeing him again. But one fateful day, Jake Cadorson returns to reclaim what he has lost—including the woman who saved him from the gallows. From the ballrooms and lavish estates of Regency England through the bitter bloodshed of the Napoleonic Wars, Return of the Gypsy weaves a spellbinding tale of blackmail, murder, and illicit passion as a woman risks everything for the man she loves—a man who isn’t what he seems. 

E-Books For Kids:

The Berenstain Bears and the Wild, Wild Honey by Stan Berenstain & Jan Berenstain: When Papa Bear goes honey-hunting, trouble is sure to follow

There are chores to be done around the house, but all Papa Bear can think about is honey. There is no finer honey than the kind made by the bees that live in the gnarled old tree in the depths of the dark forest. Papa would be the happiest bear in the land if he could get his paws on some of that honey, but there’s one big problem—the bees won’t share!

Papa Bear has tried everything—asking, sneaking, hiding—and all he’s gotten for his trouble is a pawful of bee-stingers. But today he’s come up with a foolproof plan to get the wild, wild honey, and he’s determined to carry it out. Papa Bear is either going to have honey for dinner—or stingers for dessert!

Paddywack by Stephanie Spinner & Daniel Howarth: Paddywack is a petite nine hands high, and every pony inch is packed full of spunk. It hasn’t been easy, but he now has his rider, Jane, well trained. He’ll trot. He’ll canter. He’ll jump the jumps. He’s a perfect pony . . . when she gives him treats. But on the day of the big horse show, Jane is so nervous she forgets his treats. Will Paddywack dig in his hooves? Or can he rise to the occasion?

This sweet story is sure to capture young horse-lovers’ hearts.

Secret of the Time Capsule, Casebusters Series, Book 6 by Joan Lowery Nixon: Inside a time capsule, Brian and Sean discover a decades-old mystery

In 1918, the people of Redoaks buried a time capsule full of messages for the future. Besides all the grown-up stuff, the fourth-graders of 1918 included a packet of letters to the fourth-graders of today—which means Sean Quinn is about to get a letter straight from the past! But when it comes time to crack the capsule’s seal, Sean and his brother Brian learn that its contents could change the town’s future forever.

Boris Vlado, the only surviving member of the fourth-graders of 1918, warns the boys that the time capsule holds a dangerous secret. But when they open the capsule, there’s nothing inside! To find out why, Brian and Sean will have to solve a historic mystery that involves bank robbery, corruption, and the most valuable stamp collection Redoaks has ever seen.

Suggested Albums:

Now That’s What I Call Classic Rock by Various Artists:

Digital Audio Download Includes:

1. We Will Rock You (2001 Digital Remaster) (Queen)

2. Barracuda (Album Version) (Heart)

3. Bad To The Bone (George Thorogood And The Destroyers)

4. The Spirit Of Radio (Rush)

5. My Generation (The Who)

6. Fire (Jimi Hendrix Experience)

7. More Than A Feeling (Album Version) (Boston)

8. Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas)

9. Renegade (Styx)

10. Cold As Ice (Foreigner)

11. Smoke On The Water (Deep Purple)

12. We’re An American Band (Grand Funk)

13. Mississippi Queen (Album Version) (Mountain)

14. Bad Moon Rising (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

15. Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

16. The Joker (Steve Miller Band)

17. Rebel Rebel (1990 Digital Remaster) (David Bowie)

18. Surrender (Album Version) (Cheap Trick)

19. Show Me The Way (Live/Single Version) (Peter Frampton)

20. Rock And Roll All Nite (“Alive” Version) (Kiss)

 

The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself                                                                                                                                    Digital Audio Download Includes:

1. Dancing With Myself (EP Version) (2001 Digital Remaster) (Generation X)

2. Hot In The City (2001 Digital Remaster) (Billy Idol)

3. White Wedding – Part 1 (2001- Remaster) (Billy Idol)

4. Rebel Yell (1999 Digital Remaster) (Billy Idol)

5. Eyes Without A Face (1999 – Remaster) (Billy Idol)

6. Flesh For Fantasy (1999 Digital Remaster) (Billy Idol)

7. Catch My Fall (Edit) (Billy Idol)

8. To Be A Lover (2001 Digital Remaster) (Billy Idol)

9. Don’t Need A Gun (2001 Digital Remaster) (Billy Idol)

10. Sweet Sixteen (2001 Digital Remaster) (Billy Idol)

11. Mony Mony (2001 – Remaster) (Billy Idol)

12. Cradle of Love (2001 – Remaster) (Billy Idol)

13. L.A. Woman (Single Edit) (2001 Digital Remaster) (Billy Idol)

14. Shock To The System (2001 – Remaster) (Billy Idol)

15. Speed (Album Version) (Billy Idol)

16. World Comin’ Down (Billy Idol)

17. John Wayne (Billy Idol)

18. New Future Weapon (Billy Idol)by Billy Idol 

Suggested Audio Books:

Cries & Whiskers, Theda Krakow Mystery Series, Book 3 by Clea Simon & Tavia Gilbert: Music-journalist Theda Krakow is caught up in investigating the rise of a dangerous new designer drug that threatens the musicians and fans of her beloved club scene. But she puts her story on hold when she learns of an animal-rights activist who was killed in a hit-and-run accident while trying to rescue feral cats from a ferocious winter storm.

Theda feels moved to help out with the effort. But as she and her buddy, Violet, race to save the half-wild felines from the freezing New England winter, they uncover simmering tensions among the extremist organization that make the activist’s death seem more than accidental. Theda tries to hang onto her journalistic objectivity, but when the threats become more personal and her beloved cat Musetta goes missing, she will risk her reputation, her career, and possibly her life to solve these mysteries once and for all.

Thirty-Three Teeth, Dr. Siri Paiboun Series, Book 2 by Colin Cotterill & Clive Chafer: Feisty Dr. Siri Paiboun is no respecter of persons or party; at his age he feels he can afford to be independent. In this, the second novel in the series, he travels to Luang Prabang, where he communes with the deposed king who is resigned to his fate: it was predicted long ago. And he attends a conference of shamans called by the Communist Party to deliver an ultimatum to the spirits: obey party orders or get out. But as a series of mutilated corpses arrives in Dr. Siri’s morgue, and Nurse Dtui is menaced, he must use all his powers—forensic and shamanic—to discover the creature—animal or spirit—that has been slaying the innocent.

Suggested Videos:

Aaron Bacon Troubled Youth Collection: Aaron Bacon Troubled Youth Collection presents four award-winning featurettes with stunning production values and star making performances. AARON BACON (starring Stephen Michael Kane) is inspired by the book “Help at Any Cost” by Maia Szalavitz, based on the true story of a 16 year-old kid who dies at the hands of malpractice and abuse in the tough-love, wilderness drug-treatment facility. BED RIDDEN (starring Joel Moore and Alan Tudyk) describes a day in the life of a drug addicted young man, as he escapes his parent induced entrapment at home and travels the length of Los Angeles, chained to his bedpost, to meet with his fixer. FLIGHT TO SINAI is a musical coming of age film, in the tradition of “GLEE” and “High School Musical,” describing the coming out of Jack Strong, a teen raised by religiously conservative parents, and the reactions of his friends, teachers, girlfriend and his religiously conservative parents. THE BABYDADDY, inspired by true events, is the coming of age story about a troubled sixteen-year-old girl (Kether Donohue) struggling to cope with her Vietnam-Veteran father’s illnesses. Official Selection of the HBO Sponsored G.I. Film Festival. Each describes in their own way, physical and mental pressures, abuse and ultimately violence, against youth, struggling to find their way in this world. These are more than shorts, as each film is 25-30 minute long, but what they all have in common are quality thought-provoking productions, by and about youth, together representing a true talent discovery

Cuba Today! by International Film and Video: Travel with award-winning filmmaker, Marlin Darrah, as he explores present-day Cuba. From the capital city of Havana to the beautiful seaport of Santiago de Cuba, you will marvel at the forbidden natural beauty of Cuba. Travel to Pinar del Rio and visit the lush tobacco fields that produce the most sought-after cigars in the world. See as sugar plantations and colorful towns unfold before your eyes, then walk the beaches of Matanzas and Cuba’s colorful coastline. Cuban people welcome visitors with open arms and their society, with its blend of races and cultures, overflows with a friendly and easy-going hospitality. Finally, after 50 years, visitors can experience the splendor of the Caribbean only 90 miles south of the United States. Soon, Cuba will compete with the Bahamas and Jamaica as the Caribbean vacation destination for Americans, so see it today!

The STLS Digital Catalog may be found on the library’s homepage of SSCLIBRARY.ORG

Or via the following link:

http://stls.lib.overdrive.com/FE5904CF-8A91-4688-A592-7A046C7988D3/10/536/en/Default.htm

And if you have an app device look for the OverDrive Media Console app in your app store – it is the app that will allow you to check out free library e-books and audio books and download them to your tablet or smartphone.

Digital Catalog music and video titles must currently be downloaded to a Windows computer to enjoy.

Have a great weekend!

Linda R.

 

New E-Books, Albums, Videos & Audio Books Available In Digital Catalog Today!

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, just a quick FYI our new order of titles for the Digital Catalog has been placed and processed! So you’ll find new e-books, album, music and videos available in the Digital Catalog this afternoon.

Check them out!

Here’s a direct link to the catalog, which you can browse on your PC as well as via your tablet or smartphone (via the OverDrive Media Console app):

http://stls.lib.overdrive.com/EAD73E20-5D6B-4230-8638-C1FE4AAF3812/10/50/en/Default.htm

If aren’t familiar with the Digital Catalog let me know!

If you’re interested in reading e-books in languages other than English – please let me know that too and I’ll check into what titles are available for the Digital Catalog.

Have a great day!

Linda R. 

Siri & iBooks E-Books = Audio Books & Digital Buyers Rights Are Not Just About E-Books

Linda Reimer

Siri & iBooks E-Books = Audio Books: Public libraries (and their staffs!) are of course big proponents of the practice of life-long learning. After all public libraries are places you can go, either in the real world or online, to learn more about a subject whether that subject is how to write a better resume, how to cook a dish with exotic spices, how to fix a car or leaky faucet or to discover what were the causes of World War I.

And since I’m a public librarian working in a public library I am always pleased both to assist patrons in learning something new and to learn something new myself. With that in mind, I was thrilled last evening after owning three different iPad models since 2010 to discover something I didn’t know about the iPad! And what I discovered it that if you own a Siri equipped iPad (3rd of 4th generation models) and buy e-books through the iBooks app (that is Apple’s e-book store app); you can go into settings and turn on the Speak Selection option which will in turn allow you to highlight any text in the e-books in your iBooks library and have the Siri personal assistant voice read the highlighted text to you! So in essence you can turn all printed e-books purchased from Apple’s iBook store into audio books. And I thought that was cool! You can even slow down the Siri voice to suit your taste.

To do this, that is to turn this function on which incidentally you can do not just with the iPad but with Siri equipped iPhones and iPods too, you:

  1. Open the Settings app
  2. Select the General option
  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the General settings option and tap the word Accessibility to open the Accessibility options
  4. Under the Vision section that displays turn on the Speak Selection option
  5. Then open the iBooks app, open a book, select the text you wish to have read aloud and you’ll now see an option that says “Speak” (it is the option on the far right hand side of the highlighted text menu”; tap Speak and presto – the Siri voice will read the highlighted text!

Now granted Siri will only read a page at a time – so you might want to make the text really tiny before you select it and instruct Siri to read it – but still it is a cool that we have this option with our newer Apple devices.

And not surprisingly I found out about the Siri reading option by reading an article! The article, which also features an accompanying step-by-step instructional video, is titled Siri Trick Turns iBooks into Audio Books, here’s the link:

http://www.tuaw.com/2013/03/18/siri-trick-turns-ibooks-into-audiobooks/

Digital Buyers Rights Are Not Just About E-Books: Digital buyers rights might also be described as consumer’s “Digital Property Rights;” and I did know, as does anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis, that at the present time consumers don’t have the ability to actually buy and own e-books or digital music, audios or videos. We can purchase a license to access the content but we don’t own it and thus we can’t give it away, lend it to a friend or bequeath it to our heirs. And I did know that – however, I was astonished to read an article yesterday that illustrates how colossal an issue the lack of ownership of digital content is because in fact the term “digital ownership” doesn’t just apply to e-books, e-videos and e-audios it also applies to the propriety computer and software systems built into new high-tech cars and other vehicles.

And with that in mind, did you know that you can buy certain new high tech cars and other vehicles that require computer software and hardware to run properly but that even if you “buy” one of those cars or other vehicles you don’t own the proprietary software and/or hardware that runs that vehicle? So if your high tech car or other vehicle breaks down and needs to be fixed you don’t have the authority to fix it! Instead you have to pay the manufacturer more money for one of their technicians to come and fix it!

I came across an article in Wired on this subject yesterday titled Forget the Cellphone Fight – We Should Be Allowed to Unlock Everything We Own, and the author Kyle Weins gives two excellent examples of how manufacturers are in essence using outdated copyright laws to infringing on the property rights of consumers – essentially blocking us from actually owning things we buy and making more money in the process– in the case of his examples – the items are cars and farm vehicles.

In the first example, Weins discusses a small farmer in California named Kerry Adams who purchased two high tech transplanter machines at round $100,000 each for his farm. These high-tech computerized machines broke down shortly after he purchased them and he didn’t have the right to fix them because the software that runs them is proprietary– so the manufacturer required that he pay one of their approved technicians to fly out to his farm to fix the machines. And naturally the machines have subsequently broken down again and are now sitting idle on his farm because he cannot afford to keep paying the manufacturer’s technicians to keep traveling out to his farm to fix the equipment that he isn’t allowed to fix himself and he isn’t allowed to take the machines to a local business to be serviced.

And consider the second example, new high tech cars that break down. Now if my 2004 Ford broke down I’d take it to Kapral’s Auto & Tire over on Pulteney Street and have them fix it – which they could do because it isn’t a high tech car with a built in computer system.

However, with todays’ new high-tech cars – ones that have proprietary software built into them and for which the diagnostic tools are copyrighted by the manufacturers  – consumers are finding that independent auto repair shops either cannot fix those cars because the manufacturers won’t allow the independent auto repair shops to buy the copyrighted car manuals or the shops cannot fix them without charging their customers more money because they have to pay for the car manuals for these complex high tech cars which are too complex for auto mechanics to fix without accessing the manufacturer copyrighted car manuals.   

Unbelievable!

You buy a new high tech car or a pricey farm machine and you don’t really own it!

We better all hope that our cars and other high end vehicles we purchase don’t break down because otherwise we’ll have to pay the manufacturer more money to send one of their approved technicians out to fix our vehicles or we’ll have to pay more at our local auto repair shops – that is always assuming that the manufacturer will graciously allow our local independent auto repair shops to purchase the manuals for the model cars we “own” so they can fix them. I highly suspect the manufactures would rather force consumers who purchase new high tech cars into by-passing using their local repair shops. I am quite certain they’d rather we all drive our vehicles, or have them towed, to manufacturer approved regional service centers where approved technicians and mechanics will no doubt charge us even more money to fix our vehicles than we would have paid at our local repair shops – that is if we had been allowed to take our high tech cars that needed repair to those shops; but apparently that is yet another consumer property right that modern manufacturers would rather consumers not have – the choice of where to take your car to have it repaired.  

And I certainly hope that our government catches up with the rapidly-advancing-technology-copyright versus Consumer Property Rights issue soon. And further that Consumer Property Rights legislation or Supreme Court rulings, as the case may be,  should cover all physical and digital materials and all hybrid materials like cellphones and high end, high tech cars – and all the consumer rights we’ve always had previously in our democratic society – to actually own all the items we buy – and own them in their entirety – so if our high end car breaks down we should be able to access the tools we need to fix it ourselves or have our favorite local auto mechanic fix it for us without paying the car manufacturer more money or being told where to take the car for approved repairs. And of course, we should also be able to own our e-books too and read them on any device we wish, loan or give them to anyone we wish or even donated them to our public libraries for their next cyber book sale if we wish.

And in the meantime, while the manufacturers of high tech vehicles and appliances and producers of digital content (e-books etc.) are blocking the traditional consumer right to buy and own items and the government is sloooowly working to catch up copyright law wise – I’ll be keeping my 2004 Ford for as long as I can!

And here’s the link to the Wired article:

http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/03/you-dont-own-your-cellphones-or-your-cars

Have a great day!

Linda R.

 

References

Sande, Steven. (2013, March 18). Siri trick turns iBooks into audiobooks. TUAW. Online.  

Wiens, Kyle. (2013, March 18). Forget the Cellphone Fight – We Should Be Allowed to Unlock Everything We Own. Wired. Online.