Tip of the Week, Saturday, September 26, 2020: Libby

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Good morning!

It’s really easy to access audio books these days. 

I don’t want to do the whole “when I was a kid” thing… but, here goes.

When I was a kid audiobooks were only available in cassette form.   I remember listening to The Hunchback of Notre Dame in college.  The book was available on 15, or 16 cassettes, as I recall.

These days, you can listen to books on your phone.  Thousands of books.  It really is incredible. 

I am sure you are familiar with Audible.  If you have been following my blog, then you probably know about Scribd, too.   With both Audible and Scribd you can subscribe and download books.  I use both every week.

But, before I check to see what’s available on Audible and Scribd, I always check Libby first. 

Libby is an app you can put on your phone that gives you access to probably more books than you could ever read… for free.  Libby is connected to public libraries.  All you need is a library card to gain access.

I used to prefer Audible and Scribd.  But, Audible can be a bit pricey, and lately, Scribd has been acting up.  The app keeps crashing.  In the middle of the book I am reading.  Grrr. 

So, these days, when I want to listen to an audiobook, I always check first with Libby. 

Right now, I am listening to two books.  I have been listening to The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language.  I am listening to it on Audible.  On Libby, I am listening to what could be called the sequel: Globish: How English Became the World’s language.  Globish is available for free on Libby.   

(By the way, I haven’t finished either book yet, so, I am not exactly recommending them.  But, so far, so good.) 

 


What I recommend.
Not long ago, I redeveloped the resource pages on my site.   I redesigned them to answer the question, “Which books do I order?”

Just keep in mind, some of these pages are still in development. 

To find these pages, just go to my site, www.dwanethomas.com. 

Find the resources tab, and find the language (or topic) you are looking for in the dropdown menu. 

For example, if you are looking for the books I recommend for learning Latin, click on the Latin tab: https://dwanethomas.com/resources-latin/

Same for Greek.  Same for Spanish.  And, so on. 

Down at the bottom, underneath the languages, you will see three more tabs, Healthy, Wealthy and Wise. 

I have used these three categories to organize my goals for years.

They are based on Benjamin Franklin’s maxim: “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

Anyway, in these tabs, I will be including books and links that are helping me achieve these goals.  I included these tabs mostly for myself.   But, I figured, some of you may find them useful as well. 

I’ll make it easy for you.  Here they all are:

 

Live Q&A/Orientation classes.
I have actually killed the live Q&A classes for now.  Not many people at all were showing up.  Like, not many at all.  For several weeks, no one showed up.

Maybe I am doing such a good job no one has any questions.  I hope so.

For now, just email me and I will answer your questions individually.  Or, ask questions during any of the classes you attend. 

Speaking of answering email questions, I am doing my best to keep up, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult.  I don’t really have a solution right now, so just keep emailing.  But, know that I am looking for a solution. 

And now…
the same thing I say every week…  Subscribers sometimes use my weekly emails as reminders to unsubscribe from my site.

Just keep in mind… I offer something no one else in academia (as far as I know) offers.  Stick with me for 3 uninterrupted years and you will have a lifetime subscription.

I now know this is a dumb business decision on my part, but I have heard from many of you that it is a huge help, so, for now, the offer stands.

Of course, if you are just starting out in Latin, you may be happier with Visual Latin.   

Visual Latin is a full-blown Latin course.  It is rigorous, just not as rigorous as the classes on my site.  The classes on my site are more “next level” classes, really.

By the way, if you are into etymology (the history of words), and if you would like to see me make a fool of myself, you might enjoy Word Up.   

Five years ago, or so, we launched this series just to see if it would work.  It did.  And, after years of listening to many of you beg for more, I finally gave in and agreed to make a fool of myself once more.  So now, Volumes 2 and 3 of Word Up are available.

And… if you aren’t a member of my site and would like to join, click here: https://dwanethomas.com/join/.

Happy Saturday!
Dwane

P.S.
If someone forwarded you this email and you would like to hear from me every week, just go to this page: https://dwanethomas.com/
Scroll down a bit until you see my book, Via.  Enter your name and email and you will hear from me weekly.  You will also get a free copy of my book, Via!