Tag: Libby App

Read More Books

About a week ago, my wife told me she wanted to read more books this year. She sent me a text with a book and asked me to get it from the library for her. She didn’t have a library card at the time, believe it or not.

I told her I read 66 books last year and she couldn’t believe it. She asked me how I did it. I told her than most of the books I read were actually audio books that I listened to on the way to and from work. I explained how much I really enjoyed that and how it made the drive go by faster. 

Well, she got herself a library card and downloaded the Libby app from our library. She began listening to a book by her favorite author and almost finished it at work in one night. She let it play while she worked. She then realized she could connect it to the car and started listening to it there, too.

I had mentioned that I use Goodreads to find books that interest me. She created a Goodreads account and it’s been fun to see her adding many books to her “want to read” list. Some of the books she added are ones I have already read. 

On Goodreads, because it is the start of the new year, they have a yearly reading challenge. 

My wife thought I was crazy to put my reading goal at 100 books. I figure I read 66 last year, I may as well try for more this year. 

Last night while I was at work, Sam texted me from work and asked if I had read a specific book. I told her I hadn’t and asked what it was about. She sent me the synopsis and I added it to my “want to read” list. Somehow, I think she may very well be the one to read 100+ books this year.

I am close to finishing book #2 for the year and it is a good one. 98 more to go!

Are you on Goodreads? How do you find the books you want to read?

Loving Libby!

If you were to look at my Goodreads account, you would see that I am currently reading 3 books. A friend asked me how I could do that. I’m not sure why this seems odd to folks, but I am.

The first book I am reading, is my slowest read. That one usually sits on the night stand next to my bed. It is usually a book that is a “compilation” type book with many short stories or bits of information that I can read a page or two before bed. It is my “don’t have to think much” book. I usually fall asleep while reading it.

The second book is a true book, usually from the library, that I bring with me to work or two the doctor. If the book is good enough, then I will usually read a chapter or two once the kids are in bed.

The last book I am “reading” is an audio book that I play in the car on my way to and from work. With an hour drive both ways, it helps to pass the time and is a good way to get through my “to read” stack!

I have been keeping the library fairly busy lately with my book requests. They have been equally books and books on tape. Recently, I thought my reading was going to slow down because of my new car.

This is the first car that I have ever owned that does not have a CD player in it. Because of this, my usually stack of music CDs will now have to be transferred to a digital format and I’ll have to keep a thumb drive or external drive with my tunes on it in the car. This isn’t too big of a deal, as much of my music is already digital from when I was DJing.

However, the audio books I was getting from the library were all on CD. I walked into the library a day or two after I got my new car and returned three audio books. The librarian, who knows me from always being in there, commented that I must have listened to them all in one day. I explained that the new vehicle has no CD player. That’s when she told me about Libby.

Libby is an app that allows you to listen to audio books, ebooks, magazines and even videos! I can “borrow” an audio book for up to 21 days. My car connects with my Android Auto on my phone and the audio books play through the car radio. I had no idea this app even existed. My librarian told me that if there was ever something I couldn’t find on Libby, there was another app I could try called Hoopla.

What Libby doesn’t have – Hoopla probably does! All you need is your library card.

I have never liked to read digital books on a Kindle or a Nook. I love the feel of a book in my hand and I love turning actual pages. Listening to an audio book can be just as nice and I love that I can listen to them even when I am not in the car.