Prompt response eBooks and audiobooks

   When I thought about eBooks and audiobooks, I thought about what I like in a book and I checked out the selection at the Allen County Public Library.  I don't have any experience looking at eBooks, but I have read that they are getting more popular.  I really like to hold a book in my hand unless it is a really big book like Gone With the Wind.  When you check out an eBook or an audiobook, you don't have to go to the library which makes it very convenient.  I think if the reader can change the font it will help those who have a hard time seeing smaller print.  The large print books can be very bulky, so this is a great alternative.  By changing the spacing and the color of the text, it may also help the reader.  I have listened to books on tapes and really enjoyed them.  The narrator helps.  I have a audiobook by Steve Martin, Rosie O'Donnell and Michael J. Fox.  I would highly recommend Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox.
     Let's get back to what you can get at the Allen County Public Library.  This is my local library and I am sure your local library also many eBooks and audiobooks for the patrons to check out.  One thing that is unique to the Allen County Public Library is the fact that they have the one the largest collection of genealogy materials in the country.  They want to make it available to all so they joined archive.org with 149 other libraries in the United States and Canada to create an 80,000 lendable eBook library.  "Digital lending also offers wider access to one-of-a-kind or rare books on specific topics such as family histories- popular with genealogists.  This pooled collection will enable libraries like the Boston Public Library and the Allen County Public Library in Indiana to share their materials with genealogists around the country and the world." (Doctorow)  This is great for the library and those who need to do research who don't live in Allen County, Indiana.
     At the Allen County Public Library, we have a place to download eBooks and audiobooks called overdrive.  The number one downloaded eBook is Divergent.  It is probably because of the movie just released.  Other popular eBooks are The Book Thief, Gone Girl, Sycamore row, Allegient, Takedown Twenty and Insurgent.  Allegient and Insurgent come after Divergent and they are in the Veronica Roth's Series.  You can also download music on your mp3 and movies on your smart phone.  I read in the paper one time that more and more people borrow books this way, in fact it is up.  I great thing is that they never have to set their feet in the library.  This is great for people on the go or those who have a hard making it to the library because of work and family conflicts.  The Allen County Public Library has over 20,000 Fictional eBooks.  They have 6,813 nonfiction eBooks, 4,189 fictional audiobooks and 1,284 nonfictional audiobooks.  These are all on acpl.lib.overdrive.com/.  I am glad to see that they have Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin.  I have been meaning to read that book and others in the series.  I looked at a sample of the book and it is very readable.  One thing I don't like about eBooks and audiobooks is that they can't be renewed and I renew books all the time.  I don't have one of those devices for viewing the eBooks either except for the computer.  I get tired of looking at the computer screen for my studies now, so I am not sure if eBooks are for me right now, but is is a possibility in the future.

References:
     acpl.lib.overdrive.com/  

     Doctorow, Cory (Feb 23, 2011)  Archive.org and 150 libraries create 80,000 lendable ebook library, retrieved from:

http://boingboing.net/2011/02/23/archiveorg-and-150-l.html 

Classical Historical Fiction

Author:  Margaret Mitchell

Title:  Gone With the Wind

Genre:  Classical Historical Fiction

Publication Date:  1936

Number of Pages: 1037

Geographical Setting:  Atlanta and Tara Georgia, United States

Time Period:  Before, During and after the Civil War, 1861-1864

Plot Summary:  Scarlett O'Hara grew up in Georgia on a plantation called Tara.  She was crazy over a man by the name of Ashley Wilkes.  She tried to get him to marry her with a lovely green dress at a barbecue, but it didn't happen.  She was also noticed by a man named Rhett Butler, who was very handsome.  He made the story more interesting.  Ashley married a lady by the name of Melanie, while Scarlett married Melanie's brother Charles.  Charles and Ashley both went to the war, but Charles died before the war started.  Melanie and Scarlett became like sisters and she always wanted to know about Ashley.  After Charles died, she went to live with Charles mother in Atlanta, Georgia and Melanie came along.  They helped the soldiers who came to the hospital from the war.  Scarlett made a lovely nurse.  She loved Atlanta, but missed home.  Rhett Butler helped her back to her home in Tara when the troops where getting close to Atlanta.  She took Prissy, her negro maid, her child, Melanie and her child.  She helped Melanie delivery her baby before she left.  When she went back to Tara, she found all the other plantations burned except for hers.  She also found that her mother, Ellen died a couple of days ago.  Her dad Gerald was very upset.  He never got over her death.  She had to take care of Melanie and her two sisters.  Melanie was sick from the pregnancy and the sisters from Typhoid fever.  When the war was over Ashley came back and worked on the farm.  Scarlett also had to work in the fields because the negro slaves ran away.  They had house slaves and they didn't do field work.  Scarlett also managed the fiances and had to pay the taxes.  She was charged another 300 dollars for taxes, which she didn't have.  Ashley told her about Rhett Butler, who was in Atlanta and had lots of money.  She didn't have a nice dress, so she took the curtain down and made a dress.  She went back to Atlanta and found Rhett was in jail.  She tried to get him to marry her, but he wouldn't do it.  When she left the jail, she got a ride with a Mr. Hamilton who had a store.  She married him, so could get the money for the taxes.  Rhett Butler did help her buy some sawmills because Frank Hamilton, her husband wanted sawmills to make money.  Scarlett ended up running the sawmills even though the women in town spoke about it.  Frank and Ashley joined the Klan and one night they were shot at and Frank died, but Ashley was only wounded.  Scarlett had feeling for Ashley even though he married another woman, but Rhett loved her.  Scarlett married Rhett after her second husband died.  A lot of people didn't like Mr. Butler because of the way he got his money and he had Yankee friends.  Rhett told Scarlett she would have a good time with her and she did.  She loved him because of his money, but was also falling in love with him.  Scarlett didn't tell Rhett that she loved him until the end when Melanie died and she found out that Ashley didn't love her and never will.  Her left her and she went back to her home in Tara.

Subject Headings:  Rhett Butler, Civil War, Husband and wife, Married people, Scarlett O'Hara, Plantations, Reconstruction (United States history), Survival, Triangles (Interpersonal relations, War and Women.

Appeal:  Story-line: Character-driven;
Tone:  Dramatic;
Writing Style:  Engaging.

Fiction Read a-likes by Novelist:

 An interesting novel on the Civil War.
      




                       
 An interesting novel about Rhett Butler.

An interesting novel about women's relationships.




Non-fiction Read a-likes

The Civil War: a concise history (Feb 2011)
By Louis P. Moser
A year by year chronicle of the Civil War, highlighting major political, social, and military events, and looking at the causes and consequences of the conflict.

Civil Wars: women and the crises of Southern nationalism
(Jan 1989) by George C. Rable

The Civil War: an illustrated history
by Geoffrey C. Ward (Sept 1990)
Portrays the lives of politicians, soldiers and slaves during the Civil War.

Baker, Booktalks for midterm

Here is the videos of three books that I liked.  I read the books for the class because I haven't read a lot of fiction before.  I wrote a few things down about the books.  I wrote the most about the Ghost and the Dead Man's Library.  I was interested in this book because I am trying to be a librarian.  I hope I captured the essence of all the books without giving too much away.




I wrote down a few things about the books, but did not have a script.  The links for the booktalks are down below.


New Earth
The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library
Map of Bones      

100%

Prompt Response Week 7 What is the truth?

This week we are looking at fake memoirs.  There are many in wikipedia, but the one that really got me was James Frey's book.  It was called "A million Little Pieces", but according to the Smoking Gun it should have been called "A Million Little Lies."   While I read this six page article, I thought how can he print a book that mostly make up and call it non-fiction. The article shows from documents, like the police report that he didn't stay in jail and others like he told in the book.  He sensationalized his story so more people will buy the book and read his story.  When I read that he was running over a police officer and they were beating him up, I was appalled.  This part was made up and I was relieved.  I think it is one think to make yourself look bad, but to make the police look bad.  It is uncalled for.  I am glad he came clean about there being lies in the book, but this was after he made his millions.
  Oprah had this book in her book club, which really helped the sale of this book.  I really believe if Oprah knew that she was endorsing a fiction book as a non-fiction book she would have chose another book.  Oprah helped authors, that were unknown, like Frey become known and well read.  During her book club from 1996 to 2002 she endorsed 48 books and people still are reading the books today because they were in her book club.  I would not choose a book because Oprah or the President choose a book.  It would have to be something I am interested in.  I am glad her book club got people reading though.
  When I think about truth and sometimes it is stranger than fiction, it means that people can believe what they want to believe.  I really don't believe people should call memoirs real when they are not.  Some people don't believe the Bible because it reads like a work of fiction.  Most reality shows are not really reality, but scripted.  So, I ask, What is the truth?  Is Oprah always telling the truth.  Can we believe everything we see on TV?   Let's read more fiction and non-fiction and when you chose a book to read think about the characters and how it would make you feel.      

Sources:

Butler, R., Cowan, B., & Nilsson, S. (2005). From Obscurity to Bestseller:  Examining the Impact of Oprah's Book Club Selections.  Publishing research Quarterly, 20(4), 23-34. Retrieved from Academic search Premier database.  

Fake Memoirs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_memoirs 

Smoking Gun. (2006). A Million Little Lies:  Exposing James Frey's fiction addiction.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/celebrity/million-little-lies  

Annotation Science Fiction

Author:  Ben Bova

Title:  New Earth

Genre:  Science Fiction

Publication Date:  2013

Number of Pages:  384

Geographical Setting:  Beijing, Mars, Moon, U.S. New Earth

Time Period:  Sometime in the future

Series:  Grand tour of the Solar System, 20.

Plot Summary:  A group of 12 scientists left their loved ones on earth to travel to a earth like planet, Sirius C.  They were placed in cryonic suspension because the trip takes 80 earth years.  They aged 12 years when they got to Sirius C and woke up from their sleep.  They went exploring and found there were humans on this planet just like them.  They even spoke English.  Their technology was much advanced compared to that from earth.  Jordan Kell, the leader, fell in love with one of the aliens.  His brother, Brandon took over because the others didn't trust Jordan because they thought he was sleeping with the enemy.  The rest of the scientists had lots of questions and most were fearful.  Their questions are answered in the book.  It is great read.

Subject headings:  Aliens, life on other planets, space colonies, space exploration, and space flight. 

Appeal:

Storyline:  Action-packed, plot-driven.

Pace:  Fast-paced.

Tone:  Dramatic, Suspenseful.

Fiction Read-a-likes by Novelist

   A group of explorers escape a nightmarish planet and enters a new universe, where they have a secret that can change everything.

 The moon and Mars are settled 150 years from now, but there is new light on the moon.

Red Mars by Kim Stanley




Mars entices people from earth, so 100 scientists leave earth to colonize Mars and this is their story.

Non-fiction read-a-likes by Novelist

The making of Middle-Earth: a new look inside the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
by Christopher A. Snyder.  This book looks at source material for Middle-Earth, which is another Science Fiction work.

The life and death of planet Earth:  how the new science of astrobiology charts the ultimate fate of our world, by Peter Douglas Ward.  This book talks about the ending of the earth, which is what New Earth talked about.

The skull in the rock:  how a scientist, a boy, and Google Earth opened a new window on human origins, by Marc Aronson.  This book talks about evolution, which is also talked about in New Earth as the scientists explore the New Earth.