What we're listening to: Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

Dead and Gone is book 9 in the Southern Vampire series (also called the Sookie Stackhouse novels). This series, set in Bon Temps, Louisiana, follows main character Sookie Stackhouse, a barmaid at Merlotte's Bar. Sookie is also a telepath, which means she is able to hear the thoughts of everyone around her (with the exception of vampires). Vampires have come out of the coffin to the world and have been living openly among humans for several years. After becoming friends with some vampires Sookie also comes to learn about the werewolf and shifter community. At the beginning of Dead and Gone the werewolves and shifters reveal their secret to the world on news programs and in various public areas. Sookie's boss Sam Merlotte, a shifter, changes into a collie right in front of his bar patrons; the reaction at the bar is mixed but most people appear okay with the revelation that he is a shifter.

When Sam must return home to deal with an emergency Sookie is put in charge of Merlotte's. During her time in charge she receives a call about a woman who was crucified behind Merlotte's in the parking lot. In addition to the mystery of the murder, Sookie has other worries on her mind. A couple of FBI agents hope to take advantage of her telepathic ability. Niall, Sookie's great-grandfather, also warns her about trouble. And, probably to the delight of many fans, Sookie becomes closer to Eric, partly through his own manipulations.

I am addicted to these books and think that Harris does a great job of writing characters, especially Sookie, who is a very independent-minded, funny, and down-to-earth woman.

Find it in the catalog!

Finding eBooks and eAudiobooks

If an audiobook is checked out at the library, your only option is to place it on hold and wait for another library to send it to Dundee, right? Not necessarily. We also have a collection of digital (or electronic) books, audiobooks, and videos that you can download to your home computer. You will need your library card number, personal computer, and free reader software (Adobe or Mobipocket Reader for eBooks, OverDrive Media Console for AV downloads) in order to download the titles. Loan periods vary for the titles, and at the end of the load period the file automatically expires on your computer. For help and frequently asked questions click here.

Browsing and Searching for eBooks
Just to give you an idea of what's available, if you do a search for electronic books you'll retrieve over 4,500 results because the search will return both books and audiobooks. If you only want to browse the digital collection of audiobooks (eAudiobooks), search electronic books and audiobooks. In order to browse the digital collection of videos (eVideos), search electronic videos. By the way, you only want to search Dundee's holdings. Do not select "All libraries" from the drop-down menu next to the search box.

To see which books by a particular author are available to download, search the author's name and electronic books. Ex: Charles Dickens and electronic books

Checking out eBooks

Click on Details to view the record for the eBook or eAudiobook you want to download. In this case I picked the eAudiobook of Bleak House. Click to download the audiobook; you will be taken to the North Suburban Digial Consortium - Digital Catalog and Download Center page.

As long as the item is not already checked out, you can add it to your BookBag:

The item record will also tell you what formats the audiobook will play on:

The BookBag is similar to your shopping cart. You are able to checkout up to 15 eBooks at a time. After you click on Proceed to Checkout you will select Dundee Township Public Library District from the drop-down menu and then enter your library card number.

Have fun! More to come soon on eVideos!

November audiobook releases

• The Humbling by Phillip Roth
• Ford Country by John Grisham
• Rainwater by Sandra Brown
• Under the Dome by Stephen King
• I, Alex Cross by James Patterson
• Wrecker by Clive Cussler

Listen to Haruki Murakami

Gazing at the rain, I consider what it means to belong, to become part of something.  To have someone cry for me.  From someplace distant, so very distant.  From, ultimately, a dream.  No matter how far I reach out, no matter how fast I run, I'll never make it.

Why would anyone want to cry for me?

--Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami

Japanese writer Haruki Murakami is a very unique author to read.  I never know what to expect while reading his books or short stories, and that's a good thing.  Murakami's method of combining interesting characters, metaphysical elements, memorable dialogue, music, food, and pop culture references first got me hooked two years ago.   I started out by reading After Dark and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.  Here is a brief description of the Murakami titles we have in audio format:

After the Quake

The earthquake referred to in the title is the 1995 earthquake that occurred in Kobe, Japan.  The stories in this collection are Murakami's interpretation of the earthquake's effects on people in Japan.  Shorter than his other collections like  Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman or The Elephant Vanishes, After the Quake includes six stories.

Find it in the catalog! (on CD)

Dance Dance Dance

This book details the search for the main character's onetime girlfriend Kiki, who suddenly vanishes.

Find it in the catalog! (on CD)

Kafka on the Shore

This book follows two characters, Kafka and Nakata.  Kafka is a teenager who runs away from home and sets up to live in a library.  Nakata is an old man looking for an entrance stone. Their stories are eventually weaved together by the end after following different paths and meeting some colorful people (and animals).  

Find it in the catalog! (on CD)

Find it in the catalog! (downloadable eAudiobook)

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

The first time I read this book I couldn't put it down because of how completely absorbed in the plot I became.  The story starts out with a married man, unemployed at home, and a lost cat.  His wife leaves and he explores the city looking for the cat.  I know, it sounds really simple, but Murakami always lures you in with a simple beginning and then catapults you off from there toward deeper questions.  

Find it in the catalog! (downloadable eAudiobook)

New Audiobooks Coming this summer

June brings us:
Brimstone by Robert Parker
Fugitive by Phillips Margolin
Apostle by Brad Thor
Swimsuit by James Patterson

July brings us:
Burn by Linda Howard
Guardian of Lies by Steve Martini
Hot Pursuit by Suzanne Brockman

August brings us:
Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson
206 Bones by Kathy Reich
Vanished by Joseph Finder

Find Twilight audiobooks

The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer continues to grow in popularity as new and old fans of the series watch the movie on DVD and await the movie release of the second installment, New Moon, in November. Are you interested in listening to Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, or Breaking Dawn on CD? Here are some tips on searching the online catalog that will help you easily locate those titles in audiobook format.

One method is to type the title of the specific book followed by “and cd” and click on the title button. Instead of searching just Dundee’s holdings, click on the dropdown menu to select ALL to search all the libraries in our computer system.

To find a copy of Breaking Dawn on CD, type in breaking dawn and cd (limit to title):

A second way is to search for all four books in the Twilight series at once. To do this we combine several terms to narrow down the search. Just searching twilight and cd brings up way too many results to look through. If we search stephenie meyer and cd, that brings up the Twilight books plus anything else Meyer has available on CD. By combining author, series name, and the CD format, we narrow our results to just what we were looking for. Search stephenie meyer and twilight and cd (hit enter or search words or phrase):

Try out these search strategies the next time you want to find audiobooks by your favorite authors.