Book Links "Quick Tips" email newsletter

I write the "Voices in My Head" audiobook column in each issue of Book Links magazine - the American Library Association's bi-monthly publication for teachers, librarians, library media specialists, booksellers, parents, and other adults interested in connecting children with high-quality literature. Each issue is a "keeper," with a core curriculum focus - for example, I just submitted my column for the Multicultural theme. You can subscribe to the magazine here.

But did you know that there is a free email newsletter, Book Links Quick Tips? This month's Quick Tips has my list of audiobooks that integrate music into the production, created as a resource for the more complete column titled "Audiobooks Alive with the Sound of Music" that appears in the September Book Links' "Exploring the Arts" issue. You can subscribe to the free newsletter here.

Be sure to check out both the magazine & newsletter for more audiobook resources!

Image from www.ala.org

The 40 best audiobooks - as voted by UK listeners

British newspaper The Guardian sponsored a contest where readers chose their favorite audiobook from a list of 40 top titles. If you are looking for some new titles to add to your listening list, visit this website: http://www.40bestaudiobooks.co.uk/ .

You'll be able to listen to samples of all 40 titles, some that will be familiar and some that are only from UK suppliers - but thanks to the wonders of digital downloads, available worldwide through Audible.UK. Curious about the top titles? Here's a quote from the press release:

The top 5 audiobooks, as voted for by the public, in winning order:

1. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Primary Phase, by Douglas Adams, read by a full cast (BBC)
2. Attention All Shipping, by Charlie Connolly, read by Andrew Jennings (Little, Brown)
3. Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, read by Joan Walker and cast (SmartPass)
4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon, read by Ben Tibber (RandomHouse)
5. I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue – Anniversary Special, read by a full cast (BBC)

Image from http://www.40bestaudiobooks.co.uk/

The Delivery - an audiobook film!

Wow - what a cast! Find out more here: http://www.skyboatroad.com/film.html

iTunes 8 - now audiobooks are easy!

Thanks, Aldoblog! Michael Alderete's blog is a great resource for all things audiobook. Today's post convinced me to download Apple's new iTunes 8 software version. I really wasn't excited about the Genius playlist, updated visualizer, or HD TV viewing - the features on Apple's iTunes "What's New" page. But hidden on the iTunes A to Z page, there's news that will interest audiobook fans:

Set Media Kind

iTunes 8 includes a new feature that lets you properly categorize tracks you import from a CD. Say you’re importing a set of language learning discs. If you want iTunes to categorize tracks on those discs as audiobooks, just select the tracks and choose Audiobooks from the Media Kind pop-up menu in the Options pane of Get Info. Now, instead of appearing in your music library, your imported tracks appear in your audiobooks library.

What that means is that your position will be saved automatically when turned off, the audiobook will be skipped in shuffle play, and the audiobook speed control will be available from the Settings menu for ANY CD audiobook imported via iTunes 8! No more changing multiple drop-down menus while ripping CDs, or only having speed control with audiobooks purchased from the iTunes store. Changing the speed of audiobooks is a definite plus for me - and probably for many other iPod, iTouch & iPhone users. Thanks, Apple!

Image from www.apple.com

FREE workshop for teachers & librarians on using audiobooks in the classroom.

Looking for ways to include audiobooks in your classroom?
Want to start off the school year with some great how-to tips on
leading kids to literature through listening?
Sign up for this great FREE online workshop today!
I'll be one of the presenters, and am looking forward to meeting you online!

Learn how three educators use audio support to capture students’ attention and keep them engaged at our free webinar on teen literacy, Be Quiet! I’m Listening, presented by School Library Journal and Recorded Books on Tuesday, September 23, 2008, at 2:00 PM EDT. Presenters include Mary Burkey, Olentangy Liberty Middle School teacher-librarian and Book Links columnist; Shonda Brisco, Oklahoma State University Curriculum Materials Library; and Hillary Wolfe, intervention coordinator, Camino Nuevo Academy.

To register for this free web event, click here.

Can’t make it on September 23? No problem.
Registrants retain access to the event on-demand for—12 months!

Cell phones as digital readers - Romance readers lead the way

Mp3 players, Kindles, Playways, Sony Readers, iPods, CD players - are they all traveling the same path as the good old cassette player to that great big graveyard of archaic technology? Will the smart cell phone become the default digital reader? I'm placing my bet that we'll have made the transformation to one tech gadget to rule them all in three years or less. And it's not just the young net-gen audiobook & eBook users fueling the transformation.

Ask any public librarian what genre group is among the top eBook & audiobook download, and you'll hear "Romance readers." Check the statistics and you'll learn that women ages 40-59 are the top digital download patrons. Canadian Romance publisher Harlequin has embraced their digital customers with an innovative website offering occasional free downloads, web-only miniseries featuring Forbidden Fantasies to NASCAR to Texas-Hold'em, multiple imprints from mild to wild, reader blogs, and even manga romance for your cell phone. Harlequin now releases every print title as an eBook. And check out the iPhone promotion "Romancing the Phone" featured in Publishers Weekly - which seems to have a few glitches. But glitches aside, it looks like romance is leading the way in innovative digital reading.

Image from http://ebooks.eharlequin.com/

Looking for audiobooks available at the library? Search WorldCat!

Thanks to ricklibrarian for a great post reminding us that WorldCat Is the Place to Identify Audiobooks If you are ever trying to track down the availability of a title in audiobook format, don't waste time on store sites such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble. You'll miss titles published by Recorded Books, BBC Audio, or other major audiobook companies. Or you might find only the mass-market abridged version, and never realize that the unabridged audio is at the public library down the block! Plus, Rick reminds us that WorldCat even catalogs some Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic titles - another tremendous resource.

Don't know what WorldCat is? Take time to explore! WorldCat is a great FREE resource from OCLC - basically, it is a worldwide online library catalog showing you EVERY library that owns a particular title. But the awesome trick is that you can narrow the search to libraries near your zip code, and see the closest place to pick up a title - or request an interlibrary loan, if it is at the near-by university library. WorldCat links you to the library's website, allowing you to check to see if the title is on the shelf - and then to reserve online. You can create WorldCat lists, or - my favorite trick - get citations in five common styles, and export them to a variety of formats including EndNote and RefWorks. Instant Works Cited - even if you don't have the title in hand!

If you like to add your audiobooks to LibraryThing, GoodReads, or Shelfari and you find only the print title's info, pop over to WorldCat to grab the audiobook edition information!

Image from www5.oclc.org/

Audiobooks & Social Networks

Social Networks that connect book lovers - Shelfari, LibraryThing, Facebook's iRead (soon to be WeRead), & GoodReads - have been in the news recently. Tim O'Reilly had a great post on the topic this week: Social Networking for Books: One Ring, or Loosely Joined? I completely agree with his remarks that we all tend to stick to the network that we first use. But I had to leave a comment on his post about the fact that all of the book social networks have very active audiobook aficionados posting their recommendations. Just search for the tag "audiobook" and see what other listeners are recommending! Wouldn't it be great if audiobook publishers would add their titles to the networks, so that we wouldn't have to use & edit the print title covers & information? And the ability to add or link to a sample clip of the audiobook would be awesome!

I try to keep my LibraryThing audiobook list current - and am usually way behind, especially at the start of the school year! And although I've set up accounts at the other networks, I can't say I've been back more than a handful of times. Sort of like me & the whole Twitter thing. I did once look at FriendFeed, and was boggled by the possibilities. I'd be able to keep up with all the great Web 2.0 connections, if only I didn't have to sleep & work ;-) Any audiobook social network libraries out there that you'd like to recommend?

Image from www.librarything.com

Audiobooks a chapter at a time for cell phones

I'd love to see this type of marketing here in the U.S.! This title from Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) is the perfect match for tweens who shop at Claire's. Interesting comments in this article from the U.K.'s theBookseller.com - especially the view that current phone technology is great for audiobooks, but not quite ready for eBooks. Here's the whole article:

Mobile services provider ICUE has launched a marketing campaign to offer Claire's Accessories customers a free chapter download of a Macmillan title: Ugenia Lavender and the Lovely Illness by Geri Halliwell.

The campaign marks a change in strategy for the company, away from downloading whole books on mobile phones in favour of chapter sample downloads. ICUE is now working with both adult and children's publishers to develop marketing campaigns including chapter downloads, mobile web advertising and tagging for outdoor marketing.

Managing director Jane Tappuni said: "We found that the English-speaking market was not ready to read books on mobile phones and that the mobile phone technology also needs to develop, so we have put book downloads on ice for now."

For the latest campaign, ICUE has partnered with mobile phone provider ROK. A "mobile magazine" is sent to opted-in Claire's Accessories customers, who are asked if they want a chapter download of Halliwell's book. This is offered in 16 Claire's Accessories branches and is expected to go nationwide to all 320.

Image from http://www.amazon.co.uk

Britain's Booker Prize on your phone

More on audiobooks in England from theBookseller.com:

For the first time, UK mobile phone users will be able to download free extracts from titles selected for this year’s Man Booker prize when the shortlist is announced on 9th September.

The Man Booker Prize has exclusively partnered with mobile site GoSpoken.com; it is the first time that any book prize has used mobile technology to promote its shortlist. Jonathan Taylor, chairman of the Booker Prize Foundation, said: "After 40 years making the headlines in the literary world, it is good that the Man Booker Prize is now taking a lead in the world of new technology."

As soon as the shortlist is revealed, the public will immediately be able to text MBP to 60300 to download a free extract of their chosen title to read as text or listen to as audio. They can then order a hard copy of the book to be delivered directly to their door, or download the full audio version. The cost will be added to their mobile phone bill.

Here's a link to the original article by Katie Allen.

Image from http://www.themanbookerprize.com/