Free Legal Music Downloads

Have you discovered Noisetrade yet?  It's a great site for discovering new artists and new music.  There are thousands of albums available from artists who would love to meet you, and love for you to give them a listen.  And all of the content is FREE.

When you find something that sounds interesting - you can listen to the music on the page and get some information about the artist - just enter your email address, country, and postal code, and they'll email you a link to download the music.  That's all you have to do.  Then simply unzip the file you download and enjoy your new music.  If you enjoy it, consider leaving a tip to support the artist and spreading the word through twitter and/or facebook.

 You can even embed some music on your website or blog to share with your friends.


I've downloaded several albums, but I don't really listen to music that much, so I haven't even listened all the way through some of them.  Unfortunately the option to listen to or sample the music before downloading has stopped working in my browser, probably some plug-in that needs updated.  So, I've downloaded some based on the embedded video on the page.  Thankfully that still works, and if I like the sound of the song in the video, I'll download the whole thing just so I can hear the rest.  And then I don't always do it, but  I know there are people who listen to music all the time, so this is a great site for getting some new music - and then being able to support the artists as you choose.  You'll also get emails from them once in a while, so you can keep up with the artists you discover, know when they're releasing new music, performing in your area, etc. 

Also available on Noisetrade - free ebooks.

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SYNC returns May 30th!

Two FREE audiobook downloads each week.

Teens and other readers of Young Adult Literature will again have the opportunity to listen to bestselling titles and required reading classics this summer. Each week from May 30 - August 15, 2013, SYNC will offer two free audiobook downloads. The audiobook pairings will include a popular young adult (YA) title and a classic that connects with the YA title's theme and is likely to show up on a student's summer reading list.

For example, Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys (Scholastic Audiobooks), the first book in a bestselling series about a group of teenagers searching for the supernatural ley lines, will be paired with the Latino classic of magical realism, Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima (Recorded Books).

I love this!  We were just talking about how many of the 'classics' are either hard to read or not interesting to high school students.   Or, they're just plain not cool.  For the kids who already love to read, it's not such a big deal, but for those who don't think they like reading - this kind of required reading does not inspire in them a love of reading.  If anything, it reinforces the idea that reading is boring and no fun.  Audiobooks are a good way to get non-readers 'reading' by introducing them to the treasures to be found within books.  This pairing of a current popular book with a classic is brilliant.  Listen to the current book, and then 'if you like this, then you'll like that' - it opens them up to trying the classic with an open mind.

At least I think that's how it's supposed to work.  And did I mention the audiobooks are free?

SYNC Titles Summer 2013 

• May 30 - June 5, 2013
  Of Poseidon by Anna Banks, read by Rebecca Gibel (AudioGO)
  The Tempest by William Shakespeare, read by a Full Cast (AudioGO) 
• June 6 - June 12, 2013
  The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 1: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood, read by Katherine Kellgren (HarperAudio)
  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, read by Wanda McCaddon (Tantor Audio) 
• June 13 - June 19, 2013
  The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, read by Will Patton (Scholastic Audiobooks)
  Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, read by Robert Ramirez (Recorded Books) 
• June 20 - June 26, 2013
  Once by Morris Gleitzman, read by Morris Gleitzman (Bolinda Audio)
  Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr., read by Dion Graham (christianaudio)
• June 27 - July 3, 2013
  Rotters by Daniel Kraus, read by Kirby Heyborne (Listening Library)
  Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, read by Jim Weiss (Listening Library) 
• July 4 - July 10, 2013
  Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford, read by Nick Podehl (Brilliance Audio)
  She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith, read by a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works) 
•  July 11 - July 17, 2013
  The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann, read by Peter Altschuler (HarperAudio)
  Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, read by Simon Vance (Tantor Audio) 
• July 18 - July 24, 2013
  Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, read by Erin Moon (Recorded Books)
  Hamlet by William Shakespeare, read by a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works) 
• July 25 - July 31, 2013
  The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen, read by Charlie McWade (Scholastic Audiobooks)
  The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, read by Steve West (Blackstone Audio) 
• Aug 1 - Aug 7, 2013
  Death Cloud by Andrew Lane, read by Dan Weyman (Macmillan Audio)
  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, read by Ralph Cosham (Blackstone Audio) 
• Aug 8 - Aug 14, 2013
  Enchanted by Alethea Kontis, read by Katherine Kellgren (Brilliance Audio)
  Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, read by Miriam Margolyes (Bolinda Audio) 
• Aug 15 - Aug 21, 2013
  Sold by Patricia McCormick, read by Justine Eyre (Tantor Audio)
  Let Me Stand Alone by Rachel Corrie, read by Tavia Gilbert (Blackstone Audio) 

TEXT syncya to 25827 for alerts on the SYNC title releases or visit Sync to sign up for email alerts so you won't miss any of these great books.

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Fill Your MP3 Player with Free Audio Books this Summer

SYNC is offering 2 Free Audiobook Downloads Each Week  June 14 - August 22, 2012 

Each week from June 14 - August 22, 2012, SYNC will offer two free audiobook downloads. The audiobook pairings will include a popular YA title and a classic that connects with the YA title's theme and is likely to show up on a student's summer reading lists. For example, Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone, the first book in a new series about a girl who opens a door to two otherworldly cities at war, will be paired with Charles Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities.

To find out when you can download titles to listen to on the run this summer, visit www.AudiobookSync.com or text syncya to 25827. 

This week's books are The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.  Be sure to grab them by Wednesday June 20, because they'll only be available for one week.  Once you've downloaded them, you can listen to them any time - they do not expire.

Here's a list of the upcoming titles:

• 06/21/12-06/27/12
  Irises by Francisco X. Stork, Read by Carrington MacDuffie (Listening Library)
  Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Read by Wanda McCaddon (Tantor Media) 
•  06/28/12-07/04/12
  The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud, Read by Simon Jones (Listening Library)
  Tales from the Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang, Read by Toby Stephens (Naxos AudioBooks) 
• 07/05/12-07/11/12
  Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Read by August Ross (AudioGO)
  The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, Read by Ian Holm (AudioGO) 
•  07/12/12-07/18/12
  Guys Read: Funny Business by Jon Scieszka [Ed.] et al., Read by Michael Boatman, Kate DiCamillo, John Keating, Jon Scieszka, Bronson Pinchot (Harper Audio)
  The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Stories by Mark Twain, Read by Norman Dietz (Recorded Books) 
• 07/19/12-07/25/12
  Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter, Read by Kirsten Potter (Oasis Audio)
  Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare, Read by a Full Cast (AudioGO) 
• 07/26/12-08/01/12
  Pinned by Alfred C. Martino, Read by Mark Shanahan (Listen & Live Audio)
  Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson (Brilliance Audio) 
• 08/02/12-08/08/12
  Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Read by Khristine Hvam (Hachette Audio)
  A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Read by Simon Prebble (Blackstone Audio) 
• 08/09/12-08/15/12
  Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy, Read by Rupert Degas (Harper Audio)
  Dead Men Kill by L. Ron Hubbard, Read by Jennifer Aspen and a Full Cast (Galaxy Press) 
• 08/16/12-08/22/12
  The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera, Read by Jay Laga'aia (Bolinda Audio)
  The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Read by William Roberts (Naxos AudioBooks) 

What a great way to keep young people 'reading' over the summer!

I may be all grown up, but I enjoy reading/listening to YA literature, too.  I'm actually looking forward to listening to several of the classics on this list, because I've never read them.  They were not on my school reading lists, and I never read them on my own.  I guess it's about time....  Which ones are you looking forward to?

I would strongly suggest you sign up to get the alerts, via text message or email, so you don't miss any of these downloads.  I did, because I just know I'll forget if somebody doesn't remind me.  All downloads are in MP3 format and you'll need the FREE Overdrive Media Console to download them.  They'll only be available for that one week, but once you've downloaded them, you can listen any time.

If none of these titles spark your interest, be sure to visit your local library to find out if they offer the Overdrive service where you can browse and downloads hundreds (thousands?  probably thousands) of audio books and ebooks from the comfort of your own home.  Those are free, too.  However, they do come with an expiration date, just like all library checkouts.

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• Free YA Audiobooks from SYNC - Summer listening schedule

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• YA Audiobook Giveaway

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• Audiobooks That'll Make The Family Road Trip Fly By

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More Free Kindle Books

I'm never going to find the time to read them all, but I certainly do love collecting free kindle books!  There are a couple sites I visit - and Like on facebook so I know what they're posting - to find them.  Today I got an email about a site I hadn't visited before, and I'm really liking it.  It's a nice, visual site with just the covers and titles of the books.  I know they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but I do tend to pick books with interesting covers, so this page is kind of like browsing the shelves in the library or bookstore - and being able to grab the ones that look good.  All you have to do is click on the ones that look interesting, and the site takes you directly to Amazon to 'purchase' them. 

Of course, since I haven't read any of them yet, I don't know if the insides of the books are as interesting as their covers.  The ones I grabbed all had pretty good reviews, though.  And since they're free kindle books, they'll be worth at least as much as I paid for them - and they won't take up any room on my shelves.  I'm not sure how often the site is updated with free books, but I'll be checking back to see what's listed.

As always, be sure to double-check the price before you buy - because prices can change.  Don't have a Kindle?  You can get your Kindle here.

How Fast Do You Read?

This is fun.  Take a quick test to see how fast you read and how your speed compares to other people.  Then you'll get to see how long it would take you to read popular and classic books at that speed.

Click the image to start your test.  You can use the little Options Cog to pick the book you'd like to read from and the length of the sample.  The say a longer sample is more accurate.

Be sure to come back and let me know how you did!  I got 367 words per minute - 47% faster than the national average.  My son got 900 and some words per minute.  I'm jealous.  I wish I could read as fast as he does!  (of course, he was reading at a 7th grade level at the end of 2nd grade, and he's been reading voraciously ever since)

Source: Staples eReader Department

Free Francis Chan eBooks - 48 Hours Only

Cover via Amazon

I just got this email:

Crazy Love eBook: FREE.
Forgotten God eBook: FREE.
Erasing Hell eBook: FREE.
Every once in a while, we hear about an offer so incredible that we just have to tell you about it, even if it doesn't happen to be for audiobooks. This is definitely one of those offers!
Thanks to the generosity of the ministry of David C. Cook, these three Francis Chan eBooks are absolutely FREE on our partner site eChristian, for 48 hours only: Crazy Love, Forgotten God, and Erasing Hell.

To get your free eBooks, visit the eChristian special offer page, login (your christianaudio username and password work at eChristian!) and download your free eBooks.

HURRY! This offer WILL end tomorrow (Saturday, April 7, 2012) at 11:59pm PT.
Blessings,
christianaudio.com

I've read Crazy Love but not the other two, so I grabbed them.  If you don't already have a christianaudio or eChristian account, you can sign up for FREE.  Christianaudio gives away a free audio book every month, so it's a good account to have.

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Be a Book Giver

I love books and reading, and I love anything that encourages reading and love of books.  That's why I love this idea - World Book Night.

On April 23, 2012 a million free paperback books will be given away all across America - and you can help.  They need 50,000 book-loving volunteers to fan out across America and give away 20 free copies of a book in their communities.  The goal is to give books to new readers, to encourage reading, and to share your passion for a great book.

Sounds great, doesn't it?  To learn more about World Book Night - the books being given away, the sponsors, and how you can get involved, be sure to visit the World Book Night site.  

Volunteer to be a book giver, and you just might change someone's life.

Amazon Announces the $79 Kindle

If you've been thinking about getting a Kindle but just haven't done it, it looks like procrastination is a good thing in this case.  Amazon has just announced a whole new family of Kindle readers - new, improved, and cheaper too.  You can now get the Kindle with Special Offers for only $79. ($109 without the special offers)

Also available, the Kindle Touch, Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display - includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers for $99. Never having used a Kindle, I didn't realize they didn't already have touch screens - but now they do, and they're cheaper than before.

For about $200, you can get the new Kindle Fire, Full Color 7" Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi that takes you beyond reading to movies, apps, games, web browsing, email and more - all with a gorgeous full-color touchscreen.

The new Kindles will be available in November, but you can pre-order yours now to reserve your place in line - orders are prioritized on a first come, first serve basis.  Which one will you order?  I added that Kindle Fire to my wishlist, just in case you're thinking of getting me something....

*affiliate links

I Keep "Buying" Free Kindle Books

image via AmazonNow that I've got my Android tablet with the free Kindle for Android app, I've been loading it up with free Kindle books.  There are plenty of  them available.

I found a couple sites that are really helpful for finding lots of them:

• Week in Rewind
• Kindle Nation Daily

Every day they list several free and bargain Kindle books, and I find myself grabbing a lot of them.  It's kind of addicting!  Now, if I can just find time to read them all...

I Got a New Toy

The problem with 'Liking' Buy.com on Facebook?  I can get into trouble!  A couple days ago, they posted this 7" Tablet PC for $129.99, and I just couldn't resist.  I ordered one.

It came today, and I just had to play with it for a while.  So far I'm loving it.  I like the size and  how easy it is to use.  I've never used a touch screen device before, but it is very intuitive.  I'm not sure I'm going to like the whole fingerprints on the screen thing, but I'm just going to have to clean it more often, I guess!

I'm particularly excited to find that Kindle and Nook - and several other e-readers - are already installed.  I've already connected it with my Amazon account and downloaded some Kindle books, and reading them on this tablet is going to be so nice.  I've tried the Kindle for PC app, but it's just not convenient to sit at my computer to read a book - probably because I'm always busy doing other stuff, but also because it just doesn't feel like reading a book.  I think this will be different.  Also, why choose one reader when you can have them all on this one device?

I think it's going to be the perfect thing for browsing the internet, playing games, checking email, and reading books - in a size perfect for travel or taking anywhere.  Now I just need to find a case, order at least an 8GB micro SD card, and probably get a screen protector, too.

The day Buy.com promoted this tablet, it was sold out by the end of the day.  It's available again today, though at a slightly higher price.

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Free e-Book

My son Cory was trying to find a good deal on this book.  He checked the library, and they didn't have it.  So he checked Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Amazon and was trying to find the best price and figure out shipping.  I suggested maybe getting the Kindle version on Amazon for $9.99 - and no shipping cost.  He doesn't have a Kindle, but there's the free Kindle for PC app so he cold read it on his computer.

Then, he found out that they're offering free downloads of pdf versions of the book, so he can do that for now.  I'd never heard of the book, but it sounds kind of interesting, so I downloaded it, too.  It's called Machine of Death, a collection of stories about people who know how they're going to die.

The machine had been invented a few years ago: a machine that could tell, from just a sample of your blood, how you were going to die. It didn’t give you the date and it didn’t give you specifics. It just spat out a sliver of paper upon which were printed, in careful block letters, the words DROWNED or CANCER or OLD AGE or CHOKED ON A HANDFUL OF POPCORN. It let people know how they were going to die.

The problem with the machine is that nobody really knew how it worked, which wouldn’t actually have been that much of a problem if the machine worked as well as we wished it would. But the machine was frustratingly vague in its predictions: dark, and seemingly delighting in the ambiguities of language. OLD AGE, it had already turned out, could mean either dying of natural causes, or shot by a bedridden man in a botched home invasion. The machine captured that old-world sense of irony in death — you can know how it’s going to happen, but you’ll still be surprised when it does.  (read more)

For the price I can try it out and see if I like it.  Knowing Cory he will love it and want to get his own 'hard copy' later on, but at least for now he can read it.

Getting Started in Genealogy - Free Download

I've never really gotten into it, but I know a lot of people enjoy looking into their genealogy and family history.  The Internet makes it a lot easier than it used to be, but it's still hard to know where to start and where to look.  I got an email today offering this free e-book download - Getting Started in Genealogy Online - and thought others might be interested in it.

It's 67 pages of basic information to help you get started tracing your family tree online.

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Free Books

I came across a couple sites for free books today.  One is for audio books, and one is children's books.

You can download free audio books from BooksShouldBeFree.com. There are quite a few books available in different genres.  Most of them are older books, so you won't find any recent best-sellers, but definitely worth a look.  There are quite a few books I've never read and might enjoy listening to, as well as some old favorites I haven't read in years.  Books can be downloaded into iTunes or in MP3 format.

Free children's books can be downloaded at Children's Books Forever.  There are some really cute books here.  It looks like most, if not all, of them are written by Hans Wilhelm.  The books open with Adobe Reader, so you can read them online, save them to your computer, print them out, and even use them on Smartboard, PowerPoint or overhead projectors (non-commercial use only) - so it looks like a great resource for parents and teachers.

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Read Books Online

Image via Wikipedia

I recently found a site called OnRead.com.  There are all kinds of books available - best sellers, new releases, etc.  Each book is available in several versions: .rtf, .txt, .pdf, .epub, .PalmDOC, .FB2, .lrf, downloadable and  playable on various media devices.  From what I can tell, you can download books for 99¢, but you have to load your account with a minimum of $10 to get started.  It's a little confusing because I haven't actually added any money to my account, so I'm really just guessing about that.  That's a pretty good deal for books, but that's not what interested me.

What interested me was the option to read the book online for FREE.  I don't have any devices to read books on, except my computer, so I really have no need to download the books.  How much online reading will I actually do?  I don't know, but it's kind of fun to play with.  You can choose book or document format, choose your font and font size, and even add bookmarks to the books you're reading, so you can find  your place later.  It even keeps a list of the books you've looked at recently.  It might just be a good way to check out a book I'm thinking about reading, before I request it from the library.

I also want to check out Read Print. It doesn't have the new books, but there are a lot of books available - a lot of  classics, which I almost hate to admit that I've never read.  I guess I have no excuse now, except for the usual 'So many books, so little time' that I always use.

Free eBooks

Image by brungrrl via Flickr

So many books, so little time! I say that all the time, because there are so many books I would like to read, but I just have a hard time getting to them. I have books of my own, and I'm always bringing books home from the library. I don't really need any more books, but that doesn't stop me from getting excited about another book source. This one is Manybooks.net, and it's a site full of free eBooks. They're for PDA, iPhone, ebook reader, or you can just read them on your computer. There are plenty of formats to choose from.

There are 23,963 eBooks available, and they're all free. You can browse by title or author, or look at most popular titles and reccommendations from readers.

Like I said - so many books, so little time!

Cash for Used Books

I tend to think that there's no such thing as having too many books. I would love to have an entire room lined with filled bookshelves, organized of course. But I don't have such a room, and my books are far from organized. They are on shelves, in boxes, under the bed, wherever I can find to stash them, and truthfully, I don't really read my own books. There are too many great books at the local library, so I end up bringing home stacks of those. Of course, those are the ones I have to read because they have to be returned after a certain amount of time.

Still, what to do with all the books I own? I know there are several I must keep no matter what, like my collection of hardcover Stephen King books, but what about the rest of them? Usually, if we're going to get rid of some books, we just donate them to Goodwill. At least then, hopefully, someone will get to read them. I could never throw a book away. That would just be wrong.

Today I found Cash4Books. You enter the ISBNs of the books you want to get rid of, or can live without, and they tell you how much they will pay for that book. Go through the checkout, supply all the necessary information, ship the books to them, and get cash for your used books! They'll even pay the shipping. Now I'm really curious to see how much some of the books around here are worth.