Using Libby for ebooks and audiobooks

Escape AI slop by reading more books. 📚 That’s my plan for making the most of leisure time this year. One book a week. Some short. Others mostly visual — I love graphic novels. Plus a new AI & tech book group I’m starting.

Books get my eyes off screens, and my brain welcomes that break from news, vitriol, and ads. Read on for my updated guide to finding great read this year.

📖 Find your next read

* Most Recommended Books Pick the name of an expert to see what books they recommend and why.

* Goodbooks.io and Read This Twice Explore interesting expert picks.

* En.app Describe the kind of book you’re looking for and get suggestions.

* Whichbook’s World Map 🗺️ Find books set anywhere in the world. Select a country to see a collection of books that take place there. See how it works👇

* Where to find book recs is a nice evergreen list from Writing About Reading. I also like the eclectic recs in the NYTimes’s Read Like the Wind newsletter and its intriguing list: Top 100 books of the 21st century.

* The most mentioned books in podcasts is a neat list from Snipd. In Snipd’s podcast app you can see which books any podcast has mentioned most.

* BookClubs lets you find a book group near you or organize your own.

* Fable hosts book clubs & communities for nearly any genre.

Find free and cheap books 🔦

* Project Gutenberg offers more than 75,000 free ebooks and audiobooks. No registration required. The Top 100 list is a nice source for free reading.

* The Internet Archive has searchable e-books and a free library collection.

* Bookbub spotlights discounted ebooks on its site and email newsletter.

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📚 Announcing the NEW Wonder Tools Book Group 🌟

I’m excited to launch a new Wonder Tools book group 📚 exploring the most fascinating recent AI and tech books. Each month we’ll have a live online session with a lively discussion, and you’ll also get a book guide with quotes, highlights and insights. Occasional surprise guests will join. 💫

This new series, starting in March, is sponsored by Shortform, which publishes high-quality, in-depth guides to non-fiction books. All paid subscribers are invited! Join now for this, and free AI tool access, live monthly online workshops introducing new tools, + other inner circle benefits.

Libby has free ebooks and audiobooks from libraries in 78 countries. It works for 90% of U.S. libraries. Check out nearly anything instantly, for free, on any device. You can read your free ebooks in the app or on a Kindle.

* Audio or text Check out and listen to free audiobooks or ebooks.

* Multiple cards Libby lets you add cards for multiple libraries. That’s useful if a book you want has a waiting list. You can check which library has the shortest waiting list. See where you can get non-resident library cards.

Limitation: Libby is digital-only — you can’t use it for physical books. That requires a separate app or site, like the NYPL app in New York.

Kanopy provides free access to top-notch feature films and documentaries. I log in with my library card. Watch on the web, iOS or Android, or on a smart TV app like Google TV, Roku, or Amazon Fire TV. Libraries cap the number of videos you can watch monthly.

Hoopla is a free app for accessing 3 million audiobooks, ebooks, comics, magazines, and music from 11,500 libraries in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Read, watch or listen in 120 languages from the web or on a mobile device. Bingepasses let you access movies, TV shows, & video courses.

World Cat tells you which library near you has a book you want. It works in multiple languages and covers 10,000 global libraries. Search for books in print, ebook, braille, or audio.

📕 Support Independent booksellers

* Find the cheapest places online to buy any book: Bookfinder

* Find a nearby independent bookstore: Indiebound

* Get cheap used books: Abebooks. Check its bargain books + collections.

* Support your local bookstore with an online purchase. Bookshop.org has raised more than $40 million for indie bookstores.

* Buy audiobooks from local bookstores: Libro.fm

* Shop at an online co-op bookshop owned by readers: Tertulia

Bonus Tip: Prompt AI for personalized reading recommendations 📚

Create your own taste atlas. Make a list of books you’ve liked or learned from. Add movies and music you love too, or other interests. Share the list with Claude, Gemini, or ChatGPT. Ask for recommendations based on your tastes.

🧒 Find great children’s books

* Sora, the library app, not the AI video tool, is a digital library for kids. Schools make ebooks and audiobooks available on the app. It works well with graphic novels, picture books, as well as comic books and textbooks. (My family also uses Libby to check out kids books).

* Epic is another popular kids ebook app. It’s fun to use, but it leans into gamification and extrinsic motivation. It entices kids with points and streaks to keep them opening the app.

* Kanopy has a great kids section with video versions of books by Eric Carle, Mo Willems and other greats. It also has math and science lessons.

* How to Raise a Reader is a wonderful guide to children’s books.

* Common Sense Media has helpful info for parents about sensitive content in children’s books to help with finding age-appropriate books and movies.

Bonus tools: Check out a well-curated list of 55 apps for book lovers from Bookscouter, where you can buy and sell books.

📚 Your Comment? What’s an underrated way to find great books?

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