What’s All the Hoopla?

July 5, 2016August 9, 2024 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

What is Hoopla?

For those that have never explored our digital offerings, Hoopla is a free service that is available to Cheshire library card holders (just like Overdrive)! All you need to register is your library card number, and then you create your own user name and password, which you will use to sign in from your computer or mobile device. (If you are a cardholder from another library, you may have access to the service through your own library. If you are unsure check with your home library.)

Hoopla offers users digital access to videos (movies & TV), full music albums, audiobooks, e-books & comics and more twenty-four hours a day. While there is a limit to how many items you can borrow per month with this service (six per user per month) as long as you are not binge watching a television series, this should not cause much frustration. Many people use this service to watch movies without having to wait their turn on a holds list. I tend to use it to watch the harder to find titles like Anime or Foreign Films that are less likely to be found in our physical collection.

The varied genres and search categories Hoopla offers can make it easy to find the documentary that was recommended but you somehow never got to see, or that weird children’s movie that your kids keep asking for but your old VHS or DVD is no longer working. My husband, who is not a big reader, has caved to the influence of myself, a coworker, and some of his favorite shows, and started reading graphic novels. What we do not hand him, he reads via Hoopla. I have since used the service for the same thing.

Want to take a moment and browse the huge collections available via Hoopla? Well, no time like the present! Take a quick gander at all the Audiobooks, Movies, Music, Comics, Ebooks, and Television Shows at your fingertips!

Want to know some of the curious and simply interesting things I have found via Hoopla just to get you started? How about the non-fiction mythology guide Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes, or a book with instructions and patterns for Quick & Easy Crochet Cowls. Perhaps the very first episode of the original Lone Ranger television show or the Audiobook of The Scarlet Pimpernel is more your speed? Do you want to help you children learn french with the help of cartoon dinosaurs, or maybe try a new work out from Jillian Michaels? Personally, I am currently reading the first graphic novel of Lucifer, while my husband is pursuing a variety of titles after having finished up all the published volumes of The Walking Dead.

The variety is huge! Frankly, I am sometimes overwhelmed by the the choices and have to pace myself so that I do not hit my limit of materials before the end of any given month- simply because there are so many choices and I am too excited to read or watch something right now to hold back from clicking that borrow button.

Need some technical help with Hoopla or still have some questions? Please comment below and I will answer any questions I can, and if I do not know the answer I will get the information for you. If you do not want to wait for me to get back to a computer to answer, you can also try our information page, the official hoopla support page, or give us a call at 203-272-2245 and choose the reference desk option.

Front Row Seating

February 9, 2016February 5, 2016 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

“The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” – Hamlet, Act 2, scene 2

Back in the 80’s, when we still had a Shakespeare Theater down in Stratford, CT, there was a performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth that was put on for all the high schools to come and see. Of all the plays, Macbeth seemed like it would be the most interesting, with witches and murder and blood, and big velvety Elizabethan costumes. I was excited – anything for a field trip and a day out of class. Until we got there. Some idiot had decided the best way for 1,500 rowdy high school kids to understand Shakespeare was to imagine it, with a play that had no scenery and no costumes – the entire set was draped in billowing soft blue nylon fabric, like the green-screens of modern movie-making, and the actors all wore tight-fitting outfits of the same blue, as if they’d just escaped from some monochromatic ballet. That was it. It was a total disaster. The audience was so bored and riled you couldn’t hear the dialogue for the catcalls. That is NOT the way to introduce children to Shakespeare.

The good thing is, you don’t have to be a Shakespeare scholar to enjoy a good play. Whether you’ve had to suffer through drudging high school productions of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town or been dazzled on Broadway by Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan performing Waiting for Godot, a play is not a bad thing. Perhaps your only exposure to waiting-for-godot-ian-mckellen-patrick-stewart theater has been dragging yourself through Oedipus or Antigone in school, not caring a flying duck about the role of the Chorus in Greek tragedy, just glad you scraped by and passed the test. The real tragedy of teaching plays as literature is that they are meant to be performed, not just read in a monotone like a stumbling seventh-grader who has no idea how to pronounce 15th century British comedies, let alone understand them. When performed, they come alive, like listening to a good movie on the television from the next room over. Even my five year old, with occasional explanations, could follow the movie version of Romeo and Juliet.

So if you’re a theater lover, or just a student struggling to understand Ibsen, Cheshire Library is ready to help! Our newest precious addition is a 25-volume audiobook collection of 250 plays and dramatic adaptions by L.A. Theaterworks. You won’t just hear the play, you’ll feel it, as you were meant to. The plays aren’t just read to you, but fully performed by an all-star cast of more than 1,000 actors you are probably familiar with – George Clooney, Calista Flockhart, Dan Castellaneta, Mark Ruffalo, Richard Dreyfus, Jean Stapleton, John de Lancie (who also wrote one of the Doyle adaptions), and so many, many more. Leonard Nimoy performing War of the Worlds with fellow Star Trek actors? Yeah, that’s in there too. Neil Simon, Chekhov, O’Neill, Miller, Shakespeare, Sophocles – they’re all here, ready to keep you entertained for a solid year of performances. Listen to one or listen to them all – you’ll be glad you did.

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8 Reasons to Love Audiobooks (Or Give Them a Try)

August 19, 2015August 4, 2015 / Lauren / 1 Comment

Ever notice how your list of books to read never seems to get any shorter? For every title I cross off my list, three more appear, and at this rate it’ll take me at least 20 years to completely finish (I know because I’ve calculated it). I lose precious reading time to obligations like commuting, feeding myself, and keeping my living space somewhat clean. But I recently started listening to audiobooks, and I was able to turn those obligations into perfect opportunities to whittle down my list. I can now go through a book in one day and still get the laundry done!

We have a bunch of books on CD here at the library, but I prefer downloading audiobooks with the OverDrive app on my smartphone. I hook up my phone to my car stereo and don’t have to fumble with CDs while I’m on the highway, and I can keep listening indoors without having to drag a pile of discs with me. Another upside to downloading: no fees! Digital items disappear automatically when the loan period expires so you’ll never get hit with late charges, plus you can’t scratch them up or lose them under a car seat.

Here are some more reasons to love audio:

1) Multitask like a boss. Start up an audiobook and chores will suddenly become much more enjoyable. You can spend an afternoon reorganizing your closets while also tackling titles on your to-read list, like Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair read by Colin Firth. You may even find yourself actually seeking out more chores so you can continue listening!

2) Cut your screen time. After a long workday in front of a computer screen, do you really want to veg out in front of another glowing blue screen? Light mysteries like the books in Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone series (A is for Alibi, B is for Body, etc.) offer nice background noise without disrupting your sleep.

3) A good narrator enhances your experience of the book. Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? is a funny book, but it’s even better when you hear her narration. An adept narrator enhances humor, drama, and other emotions in ways that you can’t replicate when your eyes are zooming across the page. Augusten Burroughs’ memoir Dry had me laughing hysterically one minute, then weeping the next.

4) Long drives seem shorter. It’s tough to stay alert when you’re driving alone, at night, on a really boring road (I’m thinking of you, New Jersey interstate). Picking up something long like The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak will keep your brain engaged and will make any long drive more endurable. Similarly, long workouts on the treadmill are less arduous when you have a plot to engage your mind.

5) Audiobooks are interactive. Have you been on the waitlist for the print copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo? You can download it right now through Hoopla and experience the magic by listening to the audio – while simultaneously tidying up! I’ve also found myself talking out loud to characters in suspenseful audiobooks like Tana French’s The Secret Place.

6) Long, difficult books can be less daunting in audio. Everyone has those “I’d like to read it, but I probably will never get around to it” books. I would never realistically have finished the 917-page behemoth of Roots, but it only took me a couple weeks to reach the end of disc 24.

7) You might actually retain more. There’s a theory that you retain more information when listening because your brain doesn’t have to work as hard at creating imagery. I used to think I would have a problem remembering what happened in audiobooks, but then I remembered all the times I’d looked up from reading a printed book and realized I didn’t remember any of the last six pages. It’s just bound to happen, I think (no pun intended).

8) You’ll realize you’ve been pronouncing a word wrong your entire life. Interminable. Prerogative. Indefatigable. Cache. Aluminum has five syllables?! Oh wait, nevermind, the narrator is British.

Now here’s how to get the audiobooks mentioned:

A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton is available through OverDrive.
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak is available on CD and through OverDrive.
Dry by Augusten Burroughs is available on CD and through OverDrive.
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene is available on CD.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling is available through OverDrive.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo is available on CD, through OverDrive, and through Hoopla.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is available on CD and through OverDrive.
Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley is available on CD and through OverDrive.
The Secret Place by Tana French is available on CD.

Do you currently listen to audio books? If not, do you think you’ll give them a try?

Top Audiobook Picks Around the World

February 8, 2014February 8, 2014 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

Do they even HAVE audiobooks in other countries? They most certainly do! Here are the number-one audiobook requests from iTunes around the world, so grab your earphones and go global with these best sellers. Can’t find it? Request it! We’d be happy to get it for you!

UK – Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy – Helen Fielding Bridget Jones has hit middle age, facing the challenges of single parenthood and re-entering the dating world with all its technological traps in this funny and enjoyable sequel.

France – Inferno Brown takes on Dante Alighieri and his Divine Comedy as Robert Langdon races through Italy to solve the clues and save the world from a terrorist plot to infect the world in his latest mystery thriller.

Canada – Winners – Danielle Steele Steele weaves together a tale of loneliness and companionship as a surgeon and her patient’s father are faced with grief and tragedy, and learn to live again.

Ireland – The Garden Party and Other Stories – Maeve Binchy. A collection of short stories by best-selling author Maeve Binchy. Stories included are: The Garden Party read by Niamh Cusack; The Special Sale read by Dervla Kirwan; The Sensible Celebration read by Doreen Hepburn and Dollys Mother read by Stella McCusker.

Portugal – The Blood Crows – Simon Scarrow Two thousand years ago, Prefect Cato fights with native tribes to maintain Roman control over Londinium and England. Back in Rome, Emperor Claudius struggles to maintain his empire with or without England.

Sweden – The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho Santiago, a simple Andalusian shepherd boy, dreams of finding the greatest worldly treasure ever discovered. From Spain he travels to the markets of Tangiers, across the Egyptian desert, to a fateful encounter with the mysterious alchemist.

Netherlands – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon A moderately autistic boy witnesses a crime, and struggles to make understanding of what he saw.

Greece – Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Richard Bach The 197o best-seller about the spiritual journey of a seagull, who thinks soaring is a loftier goal in life than eating. A short book of few words, it packs a powerful punch as the seagull learns to realize that sometimes personal goals may not be popular with those around you, but the journey of self-discovery is sometimes the loftiest goal of all.

Germany – The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. In order to avoid his 100th birthday party, Allan Karlsson climbs out the window of his room at the nursing home, heads to the bus stop, steals a suitcase from a fellow passenger and winds up on a strange and sometimes dangerous adventure, which is nothing new to a man with a lot of history under his belt.

Denmark – The Preacher by Camilla Lackberg A child stumbles upon the body of a murdered woman. Soon two more bodies are discovered, and another girl disappears. Can the constable find the murderer and find the missing girl before it’s too late?

What’s an MP3-CD Audiobook?

November 1, 2013March 1, 2018 / Susan O. / 6 Comments

Many of our newer (and a few of our older) audiobooks are labeled “MP3-CD AUDIOBOOK – THIS WILL ONLY PLAY ON AN MP3-CD PLAYER”. This label often creates instant panic and confusion – “I want this audiobook, but I don’t think I have an MP3 player.”

Without getting into the deep technicalities of it, chances are, you probably do. As Blu-Ray is just a little different than a DVD (bandwidth, essentially), so MP3 (short for MPEG) discs are almost, but not quite, the same as a regular CD. It’s the same files, just squishedrealtight.

Anyone familiar with putting music on an iPod (or an MP3 player, which is any iPod-like music player that isn’t made by Apple) is familiar with MP3 files. When you listen to your iPod, you are generally listening to an MP3 file. An MP3 file is merely the same sound file found on an audio disk, squished tighter, so you can fit more into a small space. That’s why a regular audiobook may have 12 discs, but the MP3 audiobook only has one or two. Technically, the sound quality is a little poorer on the MP3 disc, but unless you have an extremely expensive, high-tech system, you will never notice the difference. Audiobooks aren’t listened to over subwoofers and boomboxes, cranked to the max.

Like the BluRay disc, not all players can handle this tight format. Your computer can. Any new CD player probably can. A new DVD player or Blu-Ray player can probably handle it. The biggest problem is with older CD players in older cars – if your car is more than 7-8 years old or so, its CD player may not be able to read the discs. Look carefully at the CD player – it will probably tell you right on the dashboard, as my 2007 Honda does. (note: WMA, or Windows Media Audio files are Microsoft’s attempt to create their own MP3 monopoly. Just know that if you used the Microsoft Windows Media Player, the built-in music system on your computer, to make discs, the player can handle them).

What can you do? If you have a computer, you can download the discs to the computer and listen to them there. You can load the discs onto an iPod or MP3 player (which is what they’re designed for). If you’re desperate, you can download them to the computer, download a program to change them back, and then burn them to many disks – just don’t expect the highest quality. The alternative is to buy a newer CD player that will handle them.

Give one a try. If it works, great! You’re all set. If it doesn’t, check the manual for your car or ask your mechanic if the player supports MP3’s. If not, then try a different player you may have.