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Books provide a welcome alternative to the onslaught of negative news and hot takes. Read on for some free sites and apps I recommend for finding and enjoying books this summer, whether you prefer paper or digital.
Use a digital library
Libby is the most useful library app. It’s an update of the old OverDrive, now used by libraries in 78 countries and 90% of those in the U.S. I rely on the app to check out free e-books for my Kindle and the Kindle app on my phone. The Libby app also offers its own e-reader, so you can check out digital books and read them within the same app.
- Features: As with a Kindle, you can click on a word in Libby’s e-reader to get its definition, or to see where else in the book a name or phrase appears. You can highlight passages you want to return to or share. Libby also has a built-in audiobook player. My family uses it to listen to audiobooks on car trips, though we’ve mostly been listening to podcasts lately, like the great Business Wars podcast series about the Haagen-Dazs vs. Ben and Jerry’s battle.
- Bonus feature: If you’re fortunate enough to have cards for multiple libraries, you can use them all with the Libby app without having to log out or create multiple accounts. That makes it easy to find out which library has the book you want.
- Limitation: It doesn’t let you check out physical books. For that, you’ll have to use a separate app or your local library’s site.
World Cat tells you which libraries near you have a particular book. It works in multiple languages and connects to more than 10,000 libraries globally. It lets you search for any format or language, whether you need a book in print, ebook, braille, audio, or other format.
Kanopy, also owned by OverDrive, provides free access to feature films and documentaries, accessed by logging in with your library card. I love that once you have an account set up, you can watch on the Web or on an iOS or Android device, or on your SmartTV app (Roku, Samsung, Amazon, etc). There’s a great kids section that has Sesame Street episodes; video versions of books by Eric Carle, Mo Willems and other great children’s authors; math and science lessons for kids; and a variety of age-appropriate short films.
- Limitation: libraries set limits on the number of things you can watch in a month, so don’t expect unlimited viewing with Kanopy.
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