Book Rescue

In the midst of the Corona Virus pandemic most libraries and bookstores are closed. 
If you are like me, you have been reading much more and the material is running a little short. 
This article will be dedicated to helping you find more options for reading and enjoying the
enforced quiet time.  

Physical Books -- Unfortunately with shut downs and social distancing, it will be more difficult
to get new books unless you want to order them from Amazon which may strain your budget. 
Here’s an idea, email or message your friends and set up a book exchange. Use your porch
or other open place to exchange books. Follow CDC guidelines to ensure you don’t bring germs i
nto your house. CDC Website and cleaning protocols.

Even Better Idea…

Digital Books -- There are many books available digitally.  Amazon has a gigantic selection of
books of all kinds to download.  They also have many books that can be downloaded for free.
Below, I will list a group of sites that have free book newsletters.  To take advantage of these,
you will need a computer, tablet or cell phone. The tablet is the easiest to use as it holds just
ike a book.  You will need an app such as the Kindle app in order to read the book. If you have
an Apple device, Kindle is the best app to download and is also available for the other formats. 
For an Android, you need the Google Play app on your device.Finding a free book involves
searching Amazon and Google Play with the key word FREE.  You will have to set up your account
and specify the device the book download will go to.

How to Set Up the Kindle App on an Apple Device

How to Set Up and Use the Kindle App on an Android Device

Once you have your reading device set up you are ready to download a book.  

Free Book Newsletters

There are many email newsletters that will send you daily or weekly notification of books
that are free or inexpensive.  Many of these are written by new authors anxious to get their
books out there, established authors promoting a series, or self publishers.  Many of these
newsletters will allow you to select the genres you prefer. If you sign up for the newsletters
and they aren’t for you, you can always unsubscribe.  

Book Bub -- One of the longest running book newsletter with free and inexpensive books to download.

Book Cave --Book Cave Direct is a free service you can sign up for that will send weekly notices to your email inbox about free ebooks offered directly from Authors and Publishers.  NEW 6-2020

EBook Daily --You can select multiple genres to download.

Kindle Buffet -- Free and inexpensive books.  Do check the price if you decide to download as not all books are free.

EReader IQ --  You set up your preferences from many different genres.  They often have non-fiction and
how-to books.

The Fussy Librarian -- The Fussy Librarian is the first website to match readers not only with the genre of books they like but also their preferences about content.  NEW 6-2020

FreeBooksy --Lots of different available here.

Centsless Books -- Another very good list.  

Public Domain Books

Project Gutenberg --Project Gutenberg is a library of over 60,000 free eBooks. Choose among free EPUB and Kindle
eBooks, download them or read them online. You will find the world's great literature here, with focus on older works for which U.S. copyright has expired. 

Hathi Trust preserves and provides lawful access to the 17 million digitized items. It is similar to Project Gutenberg with more emphasis on the academic and scholarly books.

LIbrivox has a collection of public domain audio books.  Worth the look.

Google Books has a nice selection of public domain e-books mostly in the classical literature genre.

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an amazing resource for public domain books, with sub-collections such as American Libraries, Children's Library, and the Biodiversity Heritage Library. This is a wonderful collection.  

Children

International Children’s Digital Library Browse through a wide selection of high-quality free books for children at International Children's Digital Library (ICDL). 

Scholastic Learn at Home  This seems to only be open for the recent coronavirus scare for parents and
children to work together.  The video books are excellent for beginning readers.  

Your Public Library

Your public library may be closed but you can still check out digital books.
Each library has a different protocol for its digital material but you can find books,
audiobooks, videos and music to borrow.  Be sure you have your library card handy
and the pin that you were given and check it out.  

Midland County Library E-Resources 

Midland County Library Digital Resources

Find your libraries website and see what they have and enjoy e-books.  

Go,   Go,    Go     Gadgets!

Do you love using your computer and are you always looking for wonderful "gadgets" to extend its functions?  This post is for you.  

This was a presentation given for the Rincon Country West Computer Club.  To access this presentation, click on the link below.  You will be able to access the material and live links.

Go...Go...Go...Gadgets

Triple the Tools

Triple the Tools

Print Friendly  https://www.printfriendly.com/

Converters 

PDF to Documents https://www.freefileconvert.com/file/lMpDkb34qrB7

PDF to PNG  https://pdf2png.com/

Free Downloader and Converter software for YouTube 

Royalty Free Music Sites for Your Travel and Family Video Projects

New From Kim Komando  If you like to create and share your travel videos you want to be sure that you don't run afoul of the copyright laws and that can happen.  Check out these five sites to find music that is royalty free.  

5 royalty-free music sites to use for your projects

Video technology has advanced to the point where almost anyone can make professional-quality films at home. You just need a little time and know-how. Once your masterpiece video is complete you’re going to want to add some cool music. But, where can you find royalty-free tunes without violating copyright laws? Check this article out and we’ll tell you about five sites that let you download free music for your projects.

Click or tap here to find the best sites for royalty-free music.

The Coolest Museums in Each State

Traveling for me means stopping at all museums I can...big and small.  I really love the community museums that have preserved Grandma's attic.  They have many unusual things , some of which can't be identified or are misidentified.  The list at the site below has a stupendous museum listed for each state.  Just don't forget the small ones.

Coolest Museums in Each State

My two favorites in the western US are 

The Bullock Texas State Museum in Austin

Wyoming - Buffalo Bill Center of the West  in Cody, Wyoming  (Hint:  Plan to spend lots of time even days.)

Credit: Steve Cukrov/Shutterstock

Boasting five museums for the price of one, Cody’s Buffalo Bill Center is sure to satisfy your thirst for the Old West. From learning about Western legends like Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley in the Buffalo Bill Museum to the extraordinary pieces of art in the Whitney Western Art Museum, the museum's depth and attention to detail demonstrate the true essence of Yellowstone country.

Secrets of the Internet

Secrets of  the Internet

This is an excellent video on how the Internet works. 

Sick Computer -- Simple Trick to Try

I'm often ask about fixing a computer or to diagnose a problem over the phone which is usually impossible.  I found this article that I would refer everyone to as a first attempt to fix a problem.  Many times it is all you need.

Why does rebooting your computer almost always fix it?
 Kim Komando

People and computers can be very similar; in some senses. After a long day of going to the gym, working, running errands and taking care of your family, energy runs low and completing certain tasks become more difficult.

At the end of the day, sometimes the best thing to do is to shut down and rest. Think about it, computers are the same way. When a computer is in use, applications are starting and shutting down all the time. After a while it can really overload your computer's memory.

That's why giving your computer a rest by rebooting it can help fix system problems you are experiencing. Let's talk about why this simple solution really works.Why restarting your computer works...most the time. Click here to read the rest of the article.
https://www.komando.com/tips/563442/why-does-rebooting-your-computer-almost-always-fix-it?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=totd&utm_content=2019-05-04

Under the Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials for Education, I have limited the amount that is used for educational materials.  You are referred to the owner's site to read the rest of it.