Reading with My Ears

 

This post is part of a series dedicated to mobile devices. The BIG idea is learning new ways to make the most out of the phones we carry. All the recommendations will be free.

Scenario

I want to read more books but I am always on the run. By the time I get home, I am exhausted. Is there a way I can read more with my ears?

Solution

The public library! All you need is a library card and your pin

Getting Started

I opened the St. Louis County Library page to double-check what apps I needed to download to my phone. All the libraries have a similar button, some say eMedia and others say something like Digital Content.

I downloaded Libby and hoopla to my phone. I did skip OverDrive for now, I feel this is an older version of Libby.

Next Steps

You will need to add your library card number and your pin when setting up the apps. For this example, I am using Libbry.

I searched for the author Vince Flynn and found a bunch of books. The key is to click on the little link that says 19 audiobooks to see what they have ready to loan.

You will have three options when the book is available.

• Borrow - this will start downloading the book to your device.
• Play Sample - it will play a small snippet. I always listen to the sample to make sure I like the sound of the person's voice.
• Tag - I think of this as a bookmark, saving it to look at later on.

Once you hit borrow you can click Open Audiobook to start listening.

The controls are similar to most audio players. 

There are two buttons I want to call out at the top of the screen.

Click the Moon.

You can set up a few different timers. This is super handy for nighttime listening.

If you click the button to the left of the moon, the one that looks like a speedometer in a car, will open this screen. You can adjust the speed at which the book is read to you. Super handy when your two weeks are almost up and the book is about to be automatically removed from your phone. 1.25 isn't too bad, for me 1.75 is a bit too fast.

Do Now

I would recommend creating a folder on your phone and download the apps mentioned. It might be a good idea to set up a shortcut to the library webpage and add it to your audio folder. I created a folder called Ears, all things that I can listen to go in there.