As a lot of people of my generation I have iTunes installed on my phone and on my computer to listen to music, watch movies, and listen to podcasts. There is something about listening to an author talk about their book or to hear another person reviewing a list of books that creates a feeling of talking with a friend. An added bonus to podcasts are there are no commercials interrupting the discussion. What can make or break a podcast is a person’s reading voice. As someone who reads a lot of book reviews the words can sometimes start to swim in front of your eyes.
Creating podcasts for your library its a great way to broadcast a book for a book group discussion or a book vs. movie discussion in conjunction with YouTube for the movie trailer. The Seattle Public Library has a great selection of podcasts that consist of authors talking about a certain book. One I listened to was Hild by Nicola Griffith. The book first caught my attention when I was cataloging it for our collection because of the rich turquoise and purple shades of the foreground of the cover. (Yes I do know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but if a book has a pretty cover I will stop to read the jacket.) Nicola Griffith has the type of voice which is perfect for reading aloud. It draws you in and welcomes you to sit and listen. After listening to the podcast I will be adding her book to my never ending list of books.
If you are new to podcasts and are interested in listening to an author talk about their books, I would suggest checking out the Seattle Public Library’s website. Here is the link: http://www.spl.org/library-collection/podcasts In exploring available podcasts I was able to find one for Ted Talks for free on iTunes. Before this I will admit, I had only thought to look for Ted Talks on YouTube. Ted Talks are great to listen to if you are busy cooking dinner or if you simply need a moment of inspiration or encouragement if you are having a bad day.
If you have any suggestions of podcasts or books I should add to my never ending list please leave a comment!
Lesson #4
The many adventures of a small town librarian 