Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Ethan Frome chatcast tonight

From academic librarian Tom Peters--whom you can contact for further details:

The Meting of the Minds Online Book Discussion Group at 7 p.m. CST today will discuss the classic 1911 novel Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton. This is a tale of retribution about a discouraged New England farmer and his hypochondriac wife. Their empty lives are suddenly changed when her cousin, a young girl who still finds joy in life, comes to live with them.

Because Ethan Frome is in the public domain, numerous online versions can be downloaded free of charge. There also are numerous study guides and group discussion questions available online. For example, a guide in the Spark Notes series contains information about the characters, plot, action, symbols, themes, etc.

Click on the "Meting" link above to reach Tom's virtual auditorium. The chat software will install automatically. It does not contain any spyware.

The sponsor of Meting is the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center. While the discussions are for the blind visually imparied, anyone is welcome to join the chatcast. The more particpants, the better, so don't feel you're imposing. Also, you can just listen and enjoy the program without asking questions.

Sunday, January 09, 2005

Books I want to read in 2005

Click here for David F's list of books to read in 2005. It starts with Midge Decter's An Old Wife's Tale: My Seven Decades in Love and War.

Thursday, January 06, 2005

Unabridged: Digital audio books for the blind

From Tom Peters, coordinator of Unabridged, an audio e-book service for the blind:

Today libraries serving blind, visually impaired, and physically handicapped readers in Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, New Hampshire, and Oregon, as well as the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), part of the Library of Congress, announce a new service, Unabridged, that provides digital audio books for print-impaired readers. A full press release is available.