You might have already heard the news that Kindle books are now available to library users. Amazon has partnered with Overdrive, the supplier of Chandler Library's ebooks, to offer most of the Overdrive library selections in Kindle format.
Watch this video to see how easy it is to check out and download library ebooks to the Kindle.
(Please be aware that the demonstration is done on a different library's website, so there are some cosmetic differences. Their "Add to Cart" is "Add to Bookbag" on our site, for example, and we require a PIN with the library card number to log in.)
To get started, go to our Digital Library page. For more information, visit the Help/FAQ page on the Digital Library site or on Amazon.com.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Staff Picks
Looking for a book that's new - or new to you? Enjoy these favorites recommended by our Downtown library staff!Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam
Betty read this book and said it is one of the best books she's read in several years; in fact, she has put a hold on the sequel. The movie October Sky is based on this man's life. It's the story of Homer and several of friends, going to high school in the 50s in a poor mining town and building rockets by trial and error for their science fair project. They had no books on how to do this and no money. In the age before internet, how they got the townspeople to help them was heartwarming - a Cinderella story where they went all the way to the National competition and won it all. Three of the four friends went on to be engineers and Homer went on to work for NASA. Betty started the book Saturday morning and finished it Sunday morning, she said it is that good!
Battlefield Angels by Scott McGaugh
Linda found this book very well written. She couldn't say she loved it due to it being somewhat graphic, but she said it gave her a profound appreciation for the people who served as battlefield medics. Corpsmen started in the Revolutionary War, blood typing was discovered in WWI, and antibiotics came about during WWII, among other medical technology advancements. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific war. You don't need a medical background to read this book, just an interest in history.
Leonardo's Legacy by Stefan Klein
Chris would have rated this higher; however, there were copious footnotes and there were cases where the footnote had information too good to ignore. The book begins with Da Vinci's death and the some 10,000 notes left to his personal assistant. The author talks about many of his ideas and the people he worked for, how he was a contradiction in what he believed and what he proposed to build for his employers. The author also talks about the Mona Lisa in great detail, analyzing why it is so unforgettable. Did you know that when people are asked to name a famous piece of art, 85% name the Mona Lisa? This book is for anyone who is curious to know more about Da Vinci. Chris was absolutely fascinated.
Betty read this book and said it is one of the best books she's read in several years; in fact, she has put a hold on the sequel. The movie October Sky is based on this man's life. It's the story of Homer and several of friends, going to high school in the 50s in a poor mining town and building rockets by trial and error for their science fair project. They had no books on how to do this and no money. In the age before internet, how they got the townspeople to help them was heartwarming - a Cinderella story where they went all the way to the National competition and won it all. Three of the four friends went on to be engineers and Homer went on to work for NASA. Betty started the book Saturday morning and finished it Sunday morning, she said it is that good!
Battlefield Angels by Scott McGaugh
Linda found this book very well written. She couldn't say she loved it due to it being somewhat graphic, but she said it gave her a profound appreciation for the people who served as battlefield medics. Corpsmen started in the Revolutionary War, blood typing was discovered in WWI, and antibiotics came about during WWII, among other medical technology advancements. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific war. You don't need a medical background to read this book, just an interest in history.
Leonardo's Legacy by Stefan Klein
Chris would have rated this higher; however, there were copious footnotes and there were cases where the footnote had information too good to ignore. The book begins with Da Vinci's death and the some 10,000 notes left to his personal assistant. The author talks about many of his ideas and the people he worked for, how he was a contradiction in what he believed and what he proposed to build for his employers. The author also talks about the Mona Lisa in great detail, analyzing why it is so unforgettable. Did you know that when people are asked to name a famous piece of art, 85% name the Mona Lisa? This book is for anyone who is curious to know more about Da Vinci. Chris was absolutely fascinated.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Audiobook Review: Back of Beyond
Welcome to Hell-o-Stone. Back of Beyond, a thriller by C.J. Box, read by Holter Graham and reviewed by Star Lawrence. (Available as book, audiobook, or large type.)
First, I look for a character to follow or empathize with, then try to figure out what trouble he or she is in.
This book starts out with an ex-alkie, nicotine-jonesing cop named Cody Hoyt banging around the backwoods in Montana, plowing into an elk, and then getting to a rain-soaked, burned up cabin containing the crisped remains of his AA sponsor. Naturally, Hoyt sits in his car and slurps some booze he stole from a witness, which irks his partner Larry no end.
Hmmm, this is my protag? (He also helps himself to phones and equipment from the property room as if it were Walmart in there.)
With some alcohol-infused detection, he develops the notion that his teenage son and his wife’s intended second husband are on a pack trip into Yellowstone with the killer. Whoa—quite a leap there.
We cut to two teenage girls who are on the trip with their dear old Dad. One is a cheerleader type and the other is a commonsense, observant youngster, who soon notes that Dad might just have known a single woman named Rachel, who is also on the trip. Hey, they didn’t just meet, she deduces. Very good, Gracie!
Back to the crime, remember that? There is a school of red herrings coursing through the park. Everyone did it! There, I solved it.
But no…pretty soon, the unhappy campers start falling—their remains immediately set upon by ravening wolves or grizzlies. The wildlife is wild in this!
I can’t say much more without spoilers. Let’s just say screenwriters are only allowed one coincidence per script and this book exceeded that quota.
I did like some of the writing quite a bit—phrases like “sudsy stars” appearing. I have been to Yellowstone and the stars are so visible they look like foam. I am leery of woods, personally, and descriptions of wolves as 175-lb dogs with red bloody teeth hunched over a corpse tended to stick with me. The reader Holter Graham also had a pleasant tenor voice and didn’t ham it up.
Some scenes went on too long (hint, the peeping Tom scene at the latrine). And would Cody really frisk every corpse he found for cigs? Well, on that one—yes. He is quite the protag. I bet he also kept the satellite phone he “found” in the evidence room.
First, I look for a character to follow or empathize with, then try to figure out what trouble he or she is in.
This book starts out with an ex-alkie, nicotine-jonesing cop named Cody Hoyt banging around the backwoods in Montana, plowing into an elk, and then getting to a rain-soaked, burned up cabin containing the crisped remains of his AA sponsor. Naturally, Hoyt sits in his car and slurps some booze he stole from a witness, which irks his partner Larry no end.
Hmmm, this is my protag? (He also helps himself to phones and equipment from the property room as if it were Walmart in there.)
With some alcohol-infused detection, he develops the notion that his teenage son and his wife’s intended second husband are on a pack trip into Yellowstone with the killer. Whoa—quite a leap there.
We cut to two teenage girls who are on the trip with their dear old Dad. One is a cheerleader type and the other is a commonsense, observant youngster, who soon notes that Dad might just have known a single woman named Rachel, who is also on the trip. Hey, they didn’t just meet, she deduces. Very good, Gracie!
Back to the crime, remember that? There is a school of red herrings coursing through the park. Everyone did it! There, I solved it.
But no…pretty soon, the unhappy campers start falling—their remains immediately set upon by ravening wolves or grizzlies. The wildlife is wild in this!
I can’t say much more without spoilers. Let’s just say screenwriters are only allowed one coincidence per script and this book exceeded that quota.
I did like some of the writing quite a bit—phrases like “sudsy stars” appearing. I have been to Yellowstone and the stars are so visible they look like foam. I am leery of woods, personally, and descriptions of wolves as 175-lb dogs with red bloody teeth hunched over a corpse tended to stick with me. The reader Holter Graham also had a pleasant tenor voice and didn’t ham it up.
Some scenes went on too long (hint, the peeping Tom scene at the latrine). And would Cody really frisk every corpse he found for cigs? Well, on that one—yes. He is quite the protag. I bet he also kept the satellite phone he “found” in the evidence room.
Star Lawrence owns two websites—one, HEALTHSass (http://healthsass.blogspot.com/), contains interesting health tidbits and the other, Do the Hopey Copey (http://hopeycopey.blogspot.com/) is for those seeking to stay afloat in this economy. She also offers tipsheets on concussion and on recovery from eye surgery at a nominal fee-- http://healthsasspresents.blogspot.com,/
Monday, September 5, 2011
Closed Labor Day - Read a free ebook!
All four branches of the Chandler Public Library will be closed Monday, September 5 for Labor Day. What can you do while the library's closed? How about downloading a free ebook from Project Gutenberg?
Hundreds of classic titles are available through our Digital Library, convenient to download to your computer or transfer to an e-reader device. Project Gutenberg titles do not count toward your Digital Library checkout limit and there is no due date. To get started, go to chandlerlibrary.org, hover your mouse over the blue READ tab and choose Downloadable Books. Make sure you have downloaded and installed Adobe Digital Editions, then use the green Downloadable Books button to access the ebook collection.
1. Scroll to the bottom of the Digital Library homepage and look for the Additional eBooks Always Available graphic on the left. Click to view the Project Gutenberg collection.
2. When you find the book you want, click Download. You will not have to login or enter a library card number.
3. When prompted to Open or Save, choose Save. (This is different from a normal Digital Library download, where you choose Open.) Make sure to save the ebook somewhere you can easily find it.
4. Open Adobe Digital Editions on your computer. Click the LIBRARY pull-down menu and choose Add Item to Library. Browse for your ebook in the location where you saved it, then click Open. Your ebook will be added to your Adobe Digital Editions library, where you can easily view it or transfer it to an e-reader.
For more information about using Adobe EPUB books, including installing Adobe Digital Editions and transferring to various e-readers, see the Digital Library Help page.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Book Review: 2030
Film director and funnyman Albert Brooks takes a fictional look at the condition our country will be in 19 years into the future in the novel 2030. Brooks draws from the headlines of today and predicts some very startling outcomes if the United States’ current path remains unchanged. Written with numerous characters introduced throughout the novel, Brooks weaves the country’s desperate economic state through a myriad of personal stories concerning the nation’s aging population, extreme healthcare costs, and a massive earthquake that levels Los Angeles in the first few chapters. The premise is very interesting and held my attention, but the payoff in the end didn’t quite hit the mark. 2030 reads more like a mediocre B-movie than an enthralling futuristic novel. However, the story will make all ages stop and think about what is happening right now in our country, and the possible future we could face. - Kathy (Downtown)
Monday, August 22, 2011
New Virtual Library Books
Can't come into the library to do research? Do you need book and encyclopedia resources, or Google doesn't have the quality you're looking for? You can access reference and research books for free through the library's website, and we just added four new encyclopedias to our Virtual Library:
Human Diseases and Conditions - Detailed medical information written for ordinary people, including personal stories and full-color illustrations.
Experiment Central - Nearly 300 science experiments for students, with step-by-step instructions and scientific background information.
UXL Encyclopedia of Biomes - A perfect substitute for your child's school report when the books on rainforests and deserts are checked out.
Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life - Look up countries, regions, and cultural groups around the world, and learn about history, politics, customs, religion, education, human rights issues, teen life, and more.
You'll need your library card and PIN numbers to access these ebooks from home. Look for the eTable of Contents and eBook Index at the top of the page to search inside the ebook. Each of these four ebooks is copied directly from a print encyclopedia, and students can get citations for their Works Cited pages using the Citation Tools link on the right.
These encyclopedias are also listed in the library catalog, where you can search by title. Or, find them on their relevant research topic pages - visit chandlerlibrary.org, hover your mouse over the purple RESEARCH tab, and choose a topic. Our Virtual Library ebooks are listed along with our databases in a highlighted box at the top of each page, giving you at-home access to thousands of encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers, and more! Ask library staff for more information.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Book Review: This Won't Hurt a Bit
Michelle Au describes her first years in medical school as "like a chain gang of 150 convicts locked together at the ankles for four years. Every single class, every exam... we attended together." Her introduction to clinical practice is a Psychiatry rotation, where, on her first day, a patient asks if she thinks he's crazy. "What can you really say to a patient who asks you that? Especially after hearing him tell you the story he has... about strangers on the street plotting to kill him, because they can see the power that he wields and are jealous of his third eye? I mean, really, what am I supposed to say?"This Won't Hurt a Bit (And Other White Lies): My Education in Medicine & Motherhood is Au's memoir of her years in medical school and residency, a time of long hours, little money, overwhelming stress - and that's before she discovers she's pregnant with her first child. Au writes honestly about the ordeal of medical training, the self-doubt that afflicts young doctors, and the difficulties of balancing family and career, a problem for any working mother that is intensified when the career is as all-consuming as medicine. But she also describes the doctors, teachers, and especially the patients who have contributed to her learning and her life. Au's funny, irreverant tone makes even the most disturbing and heart-rending anecdotes readable, and lends a sense of humanity to an often idolized and misunderstood profession. - Michelle (Sunset)
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