Free audiobooks through July at FM library

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BY SARAH CLENDENING
Fort Madison Public Library Director

FORT MADISON - SYNC Audiobooks for Teens returns for a 12th season of free audiobook downloads to keep for individuals ages 13 and up! AudioFile Magazine has hosted this program all these years to encourage the development of new listeners during middle- and high-school summer vacation periods. Listening to audiobooks has been demonstrated to increase literacy capacity in highly skilled bookworms as well as those who don’t identify themselves as readers, to provide opportunities to deepen capacity for empathy, and to offer exposure to a wide variety of genres, voices, and expressive styles.

That said, while the program is geared toward teens, most of these titles will appeal to adult readers as well and anyone can take advantage of these free audiobooks.  This year, the SYNC season runs for 14 weeks, from April 29 through August 4, for a total of 28 titles, all available to participants worldwide.

SYNC titles will be delivered via OverDrive’s Sora app, compatible with all types of computers, tablets, and smartphones.  While audiobooks must be downloaded within one week from being made available, once the files have been downloaded, they remain yours until you delete them, with no due date.

Visit the SYNC website, https://audiofilemagazine.com/sync-season/, for a complete list of titles and more information about the program.  This year’s SYNC title collection includes dramas, autobiographies, fantasies, thrillers, romances, and much more. Participants will be offered many #OwnVoices audiobooks, a classic tale from China, an artist’s tour their professional career, some often-requested humor, and collections of short stories. Performance styles include single narration, author narration, full-cast performances, and dual performer deliveries. Some of the audiobooks have a run time under two hours, of particular appeal to brand-new listeners, and others run as long as 12 hours.

If you are interested in this, you may want to sign-up for e-mail reminders since books can only be download during the week that they are featured.  Once the next week’s books come up, older books can no longer be downloaded.

April and May Sync Titles
Week 1, April 29: After Crossing the Border
Come On In: 15 Stories about Immigration and Finding Home by Adi Alsaid [Ed.] | Read by Amielynn Abellera, Jonathan Todd Ross, Katherine Littrell, Leila Buck, Maria Liatis, Sneha Mathan and Ilegal: Disappeared #2 by Francisco X. Stork | Read by Roxana Ortega, Christian Barillas
Week 2 , May 6: Confronting Injustice
They Went Left by Monica Hesse, Read by Caitlin Davies and Trell by Dick Lehr | Read by Bahni Turpin
Week 3 , May 13 - 19, 2021: Rooted in China
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He | Read by Nancy Wu and Monkey by Wu Ch'êng-ên, Arthur Waley [Trans.] | Read by Kenneth Williams
Week 4 , May 20: How to Be Human
Alive by Scott Sigler | Read by Colleen Delaney and a Full Cast and What Makes Us by Rafi Mittlefehldt | Read by Graham Halstead
Week 5 , May 27: Making a New Life
Magic Barrel by Bernard Malamud | Read by Sheldon "Shelley" Berman, David Cromer, Marge Kotlisky, Naana Potok, Malcolm Rothman, Jensen Wheeler and Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asgedom | Read by Mawi Asgedom

Upcoming Events at the Fort Madison Public Library –
Masks are required to be worn in the library and at all in-person library programs.
1st Thursday @ the Library – May 6 1– Make the 1st Thursday of the month library day with no fines on overdue books returned that day, our book discussion group meeting at 1:30 and the launch of our monthly Take and Make craft. May’s craft is a decorated magnetic clothespin to help you keep track of important papers or pictures. This might also make a cute mother’s day gift if combined with a picture of yourself or a thoughtful note.
Pre-School/Toddler Story Hour –Wednesday morning at 10:30.
Thursday Crafternoon –Thursday, 3:30-5:00, for ages 14 and older (adults, this means you, too) - This program is an opportunity to spend some time working on an in-depth project for the whole month.
Hang Teen – Tuesday, 3:30-5:00 (except for May 4) for ages 12-19.
Minecraft –4:00-5:30, ages 9-18 on Mondays. Space is limited by the number of computers we have and we are not taking registrations this year. Please arrive promptly.
Wacky Wednesday – On May 12, Lee County Extension will have a STEAM program “Touch & Feel Textures” beginning at 2pm. Join us for craft days between 2pm and 4pm on May 5 and 19. May 5th will be a chance to make a mother’s day craft and May 19 will be a dreamcatcher craft.
All Booked Up! - The library's book discussion group meets on the first Thursday of the month at 1:30 p.m. On Thursday, May 6, we will be discussing "Not a Sound” by Heather Gudenkaur. June 3 will be the book “The Bright Uknown” by Elizabeth Butler Younts. Copies of the book are available at the library for check out. Join us for a lively discussion.

audiobooks, books, Column, editorial, Fort Madison Public Library, happenings, Pen City Current, sarah clendineng

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