Thursday, September 25, 2008

What's an mp3 Audiobook?







Audiobooks come in many forms: first, Cassettes (all Warren Libraries still have some!), Compact Discs, and most recently, the self-contained Playaway. The newest addition to our collections is an mp3 Audiobook, which allows you to have the entire book on one disc, instead of several!

mp3 files are small sound files, most recognized for being widely-accessible music files. Each one ranges from 1 megabytes to 5 megabytes, depending on the length of the song. Regular audiobooks on CD are in wav or wma files, which are much larger - usually 40 megabytes or more - which means that one CD can only fit 17 tracks. On an mp3 audiobook, the files are smaller, so you can fit more tracks on one CD!

mp3 audiobooks are playable on some CD players and car stereos (most new Ford models), and your computer (or any library computer).


Available mp3 audiobooks include:
Casanegra by Blair Underwood
Death Angel by Linda Howard
Killer View by Ridley Pearson
Tailspin by Catherine Coulter
No Choice But Seduction by Johanna Lindsey
Dirty Secrets Club by Meg Gardiner

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Outside of a Dog, # 22

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

Sometimes you’re just in the mood for a good old fashioned love story. The following are some our favorites.

Close Relations by Susan Isaac
Marcia Green is a witty, talented, and very sophisticated New York political speech writer. She is currently involved with her boss’ chief of staff. The last thing she needs is a blind date engineered by her mother. Or does she?

WCV WMB WDB Fiction


‘Til the Real Thing Comes Along by Iris Rainer Dart
A widow at 37, RJ Misner finds herself disillusioned with men and the world of dating. Then she meets David Malcom. She discounts him immediately as too charming, too rich, too handsome, and most of all too young. Boy, how those first impressions can be deceiving!

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Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer
Parker, an ex-convict with no family, no home, and no chance for love, drifts into Whitney, Georgia and meets the town’s crazy widow Dismore. Eventually these lost souls change each other’s lives.

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Mirror Image by Sandra Brown
After a terrible plane crash and extensive plastic surgery, a young woman is mistakenly identified as the wife of a handsome senatorial candidate. Before the truth can be uncovered, she finds herself falling in love.

FRA TPL Fiction

Thursday, September 18, 2008

A Queenly Title

Today’s Book: First Queen of England: The Myth of “Bloody Mary” by Linda Porter

The Plot: The book begins with King Henry VIII’s struggles to provide England with a male heir. The birth of his daughter Mary was a severe disappointment. Mary’s childhood, her struggles with her stepmother Anne Boleyn, her isolation from her own mother, and the struggle to govern England after her father’s death make for a compelling and well researched story.

Why you’ll love it: Although we all know the basic tale of King Henry VIII and his many wives, Porter writes with an engaging and entertaining style that makes the well known historical events seem suspenseful and certainly intriguing to the reader.

Who Will/Should Read it?: Anyone who is interested in English history or lives of kings and queens will find this book easy to read as well as entertaining. Fans of Showtime’s episodic series “The Tudors” will find much to enjoy here also.

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Thanks to MH for this review!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Outside of a Dog, #21

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

Back to school often means back to those required reading lists for many students. But you don’t have to stick with one list. The following books offer a wealth of suggestions as well as explanations why the classics are still important.

A Month by Month Guide to the Classics and Crowd Pleasers for You and Your Book Group, Elisabeth Ellington
An entertaining and detailed list of past and present classics to discover.
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Required Reading: Why Our American Classics Matter Now, Andrew Delbanco
A somewhat scholarly view as to why reading the classical literature is even more important than ever and what we can learn from them.
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Recommended Reading: 500 Classics Reviewed, the editors of Salem Press
A quality and comprehensive listing of a wide range of classic books.
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If you're overwhelmed by required reading, listed below are classic novels at or near 200 pages.
*Most of these will be shelved under the author's last name in the fiction section.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Call of the Wild by Jack London
Shane by Jack Schaefer
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Woodn't you like to read this book?

Today’s Book: In the Woods, Tana French

The plot: This mystery is a compelling mixture of 'whodunit' and psychological thriller. A 12-year-old girl is found murdered at a local archaeological dig in a suburb of Dublin. The case has some intriguing similarities to an unsolved case of over 20 years ago in which two of three children who were playing in the woods went missing one summer day and were never recovered. Two detectives are assigned to the current case: Detective Rob Ryan and his best friend, Cassie Maddox. Ryan and Maddox have personal problems of their own that get in the way of solving the current crime.

Why You’ll Love It: As a child, Ryan was the one that returned home in the unsolved case, and he continues to be traumatized by that event. Maddox helps him cover up his involvement for reasons of her own.

Who Will/Should Read It: Mystery lovers, fiction readers, and anyone who enjoys a gripping story.


Tana French has just written another book focusing on Detective Cassie Maddox called The Likeness.


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Mys French WDB


Thanks to KF for this review!

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Outside of a Dog, #20

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

We all know we should be eating healthier but just what does that really mean? The following authors offer their own individual and unique views of how to improve our diets.

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto - Michael Pollan

The author himself has summed up his book in three simple directives – “Eat Food, Not too Much, Mostly Plants”. He explains how to achieve those simply stated goals with wit and enthusiasm.

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Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All American Meal - Eric Schlosser

A best seller several years ago, this book still hasn’t lost its impact for first time readers. Not only a searing indictment of the way the majority of fast food is manufactured, the author includes defining and definitive evidence how it is damaging our health as well as our society.

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What to Eat - Marion Nestle

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Real Food: What to Eat and Why - Nina Planck

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Both of the above titles by Nestle and Planck offer factual and realistic advice on how to improve our increasing processed and ultimately unhealthy American diet. Much of their background information of the food industry as a whole is shocking as well as discouraging; still they both present viable options for consumers interested in fighting back with their pocketbooks and improving their diets.