Staff Picks what to read, watch, and listen to
Why Teach English? Example 3
There’s a brand new bottle of Buttermilk Ranch salad dressing in my fridge that hasn’t been opened since it was bought three months ago. I asked my dad, who has a limited understanding of English, if he knew who bought the salad dressing. “I did,” he said in Vietnamese. “I wanted mayonnaise to use with my hamburger, but didn’t see the salad picture. It’s not for hamburger.”
So. Volunteer to teach English, and save people like my dad an extra trip to the market for a bottle of mayonnaise.
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Returning OverDrive eBooks AND Audiobooks early. Updated for Audiobooks downloaded using Apps!
Returning OverDrive eBooks AND Audiobooks early.
Updated for Audiobooks downloaded using Apps!
Since you are limited to having 6 OverDrive items at a time this can be a very useful trick to know and it is also a neighborly thing to do to help others get items they are waiting for sooner. A classic win/win scenario!
One caveat, OverDrive does not allow you to change formats once an item is checked out. For instance, returning a Kindle book checked out by mistake won't enable you to re-download the title as an ePub book right away unless there is no waiting list for that title.
For Kindle:
It's all done on Amazon's Manage Your Kindle page.
For Nook, Sony Reader, and other devices that use Adobe Digital Editions:
- Open the Adobe Digital Editions program on your computer.
- In the upper left corner, select the Library View icon which looks like three books.
- Below, under the Bookshelves heading, select Borrowed.
- Click the eBook you want to return.
- Click the Item Options arrow (in the upper left corner of the selected eBook).
- Select Return Borrowed Item. Selecting Delete Item will not return the item, but selecting Return Borrowed Item will both delete and return the item.
- Click Return to verify that you want to return the title.
That's all it takes! The eBook is returned to the library collection for others to enjoy and you've opened up a download slot in your OverDrive account.
For Tablet & Smartphone Apps (now includes returning Audiobooks!):
OverDrive Media Console apps for tablets and smartphones have recently added this capability so if you read on an iPad, Android Tablet, or anything else that downloads eBooks or Audiobooks directly to the device, you will want to update your app to version 2.4 or higher to enable these features.
Device-specific instructions:
For Audiobooks downloaded to computers & Disney Online Books:
OverDrive hasn't yet provided a way to return these materials early, so unfortunately they stay on your account until their loan period is over and they are automatically returned. To keep from running into the 6 item limit, here are three suggestions:
- Select shorter loan periods. For Audiobooks you can choose 1, 2, or 3 weeks. For Disney Online Books the checkout periods can also be as short as 7 days and since they are always available, you know you'll be able to check it out again right away if it's one of those "Again! Again!" titles.
- Pick Downloadble Audiobooks more carefully by listening to the online previews that many titles feature. You'll quickly learn whether the title is engaging and if you like the narrator or he or she makes you grit your teeth every time they begin talking!
- Avoid getting Audiobooks by mistake if you want an eBook to read. Take careful note of the format of the book you've selected before checking it out. Otherwise you might end up with an unwanted and un-returnable Audiobook or an eBook with the wrong format on your account until its due date.
I hope you find these tips and learning how to "check in" eBooks useful. Please let me know in the comments below if you do or if you have additional questions!
Happy reading (and many happy returns!)
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Topics:
eBooks and eAudiobooks
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Search for a Mystery: Sookie Stackhouse Companion
If you are a follower and supporter of the Charlaine Harris series, AVOID THIS BOOK!!!! I was pleasantly surprised that I got the book so quickly when I requested it from the library. When I started the book I realized why. There is one short story in the beginning, followed by a cliff notes summary on all the previous True Blood book series. Then summary of menu at Merlotte's Bar, with recipes. There was then a Q&A with Author Harris.
Also there was a Q&A with the Butcher of the True Blood series on HBO. It was obvious that he had never read all of any book version. He missed the existence of Bubba, an integral protective aspect of Sookie (Thank you very much, uh huh). I was surprised that Ms. Harris allowed him in her book after he killed off many of the integral characters of the book series in his 3rd HBO season.
Obviously no one following the HBO version remembers the daytime drama of the 70's Another World. Jamie in the series was a Publisher, was off for three shows and returned as a Doctor. Jason (Sookie's Brother) expressed an interest in a career in the Police near the end of the 3rd series and by the beginning of the 4th he was Chief of Police.
Obviously my fault for not quick reading more of the book when I saw it at Barnes & Noble.
submitted by Jonathan Carroll
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Jane Austen Lives!
Jane Austen died at 41 and only published six major works, but she still has rabid fans today. Her novels have been adapted into films, and she has many established and informal fan clubs. She even has a museum dedicated to her life and works. I know several people who will read or watch anything by or about Jane Austen and her characters.
Every so often, other authors use Austen's characters or life as a starting point for their own books. One of the latest of these is a novel set in Austin, Texas, called Austentatious by Alyssa Goodnight. Nicola buys a journal as a gift for a friend, but when she spills coffee on the book, she keeps the book since it is damaged. When Nicola writes in the journal, she is amazed that the journal seems to be writing replies to her. As a lark, she continues writing in the journal and she begins to follow the advice that she receives. Nicola wonders if the advice will be a help or a hindrance to her career and love life, but she is game to find out. Check out this entertaining Jane Austen inspired book.
And, don't forget about other films and books in the same vein.
books
movies
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Why Teach English? Example Two
In one English class, I went over what to do when you don’t feel well. I asked my ESL students what they do when they have a headache. “Go to the doctor!” Then I asked what they do when they have a stomachache. “Go to the hospital!” Or if they sprain an ankle. “Go to the hospital!” I thought it was cute because they were using phrases they had just learned. Until...
My parents speak limited English, so I usually speak to them in Vietnamese. That weekend, my dad got a bad stomachache. My mom asked me to call the ambulance for my dad. I asked her what’s wrong with him.
“He said his stomach hurts,” she told me.
“Did he take any medicine yet?”
“We don’t have medicine.”
“You can get some at CVS or something.”
“You can buy stomachache medicine there?”
“Yeah.”
“Can you go get some? I don’t know how to buy them.”
And a trip to the hospital was saved.
But then it hit me. My students didn’t keep saying “Go to the hospital” or “Go to the doctor” because they just learned those phrases. They did it because they don’t know enough English to go to a store and buy the medicine they need. Medicine’s confusing enough for native English speakers. I can’t imagine how intimidating it is for a non-English speaker.
So. Volunteer to teach English to adults so that one day they can help themselves at the drug store instead of calling an ambulance.
~Ann L.
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Resource Spotlight: ReferenceUSA
On Tuesday, March 6, a representative from ReferenceUSA will come to our library and will provide you tools to use this invaluable resource. ReferenceUSA has eight databases that can help you:
- locate sources of funding
- find new business opportunities.
- research executives & companies worldwide.
- track down addresses and phone numbers.
- find new articles for research.
- locate out-of-town companies.
- profile a neighborhood, city or state.
- search for jobs, by location and industry
U.S. Businesses
Use this module to search for comprehensive, accurate and up to date information on more than 13.5 million U.S. Businesses. Data is telephone verified and updated monthly. Use the more than 3 dozen search selections to create custom queries. Results link to individual profiles for each business containing essential information.
U.S. Standard White Pages
With more than 89 million U.S.listings, this module gives you access to people all over the United States. Records are continuously updated against the USPS National Change of Address and Delivery Sequence File (DSF) to be the most current source for residential listings available. Records include maps and key demographic data.
U.S. Consumers / Lifestyle
Searchers use the Consumer / Lifestyle data to understand the buying habits of groups of consumers. Drawn from a variety of sources the results are a blend of purchase preference information with household and census type data.
U.S. New Businesses
Updated on a weekly basis with information from a variety of sources, the U.S. New Business module is the ideal resource for anyone wanting to connect with businesses in their start up and early phases of development.
U.S. HealthCare
Profiling more than 1 million physicians and dentists, the U.S. HealthCare database gives researchers a unique look at a doctor’s practice. Essential information includes the doctor’s specialty, age, medical school attended, year of graduation and hospital affiliation.
U.S. New Movers /Homeowners
Each year 15% of the country’s population moves to a new location. Each week ReferenceUSA adds more than 300,000 New Movers/ Homeowners to this module. Search using key data elements including Residential Details, Mortgage Details, Confirmed Homeowner status and Move Distance.
Canadian Business
The Canadian Business data module is one the most robust information sources of Canadian business information available. Researches create custom searches using criteria from a list of search options and results link to profiles of more than 1.5 million businesses.
Canadian White Pages
Records are 100% publicly sourced to comply with Canadian privacy laws and contain information on more than 12 million Canadian households.
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Why teach English? Example One
I was recently shopping at a 99 cents store, when a Vietnamese lady walked up to me and showed me a birthday card. She pointed to a phrase and asked “What does this mean?” in Vietnamese.
I took a look at the card and told her “It means, ‘to my wife.’”
She looked surprised. “I sent a card that says ‘to my wife’ to my friend?” she said.
“I hope it was a close friend.”
“Well, that’s awkward.”
So. Volunteer to teach English as a Second Language, and save a woman from that awkward moment when she realizes she called her friend her wife.
~Ann L.
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