thewashingtonpost.
friday,april3,2020eZ10 11
eZthewashingtonpost.
friday,april3,
2020BY ANGELA HAUPTI
f there’s a silver lining to the
sudden need to hunker
down as the novel coronavi-
rus upends normal life, it’s
that maybe — finally —
you’ll have time to read. Provided
you have enough books.
Fortunately, there are plenty of
ways to access new reading mate-
rial without leaving the house,
and to stay engaged with the
bookish community even as li-
braries and bookstores shut their
doors. Here’s a guide.Take advantage of free library
resources, such as OverDrive.Many libraries are closed until
further notice, but you can still
tap into their tools — even if you
don’t have a library card. Over-
Drive, a company that works with
thousands of libraries around the
country, offers an “instant digital
card.” Sign up and start browsing
an impressive collection of e-
books and audiobooks.
OverDrive’s L ibby app makes it
easy to download your picks to
whatever device you prefer:
Stream an audiobook on your
Google Home, for example, or
send a book to your tablet or
Kindle. Beware that there aren’t
unlimited digital copies, so
there’s often a wait list for popu-
lar titles. Once your request
comes in, you’ll typically have
access for seven to 21 days.
Ramiro Salazar, president of
the Public Library Association
and director of the San Antonio
Public Library, said libraries have
a “history of rising to the occa-
sion, and that’s what we’re doing
right now.” He asked his staff to
look into expanding the books-
by-mail program, for example, a
longtime service that providesbooks to those who are home-
bound. And he said libraries
nation wide are working to short-
en wait times by increasing the
number of digital books available
to patrons.Order from your favorite
indie bookstore.
In mid-March, Literati Book-
store in Ann Arbor, Mich., report-
ed that in the span of a few days,
customers had placed more than
800 online orders — compared to
a typical five to 10 a day. Like
many independent bookstores, it
had turned exclusively to online
sales. The small staff was working
to process Web orders as quickly
as possible and thanked custom-
ers for giving them a “fighting
chance” t o weather the unexpect-
ed circumstances.
Around the country, many in-
dies are offering local shipping
free or for a nominal fee in hopes
of luring extra business. In the
District, Politics and Prose imple-
mented free shipping through
April 15, and Kramerbooks &
Afterwords Cafe will deliver
o rders — and surprises — via
Postmates. East City Bookshop
created a hotline that readers can
call or text for recommendations.
Another option is book-
shop.org, a recently launched
website that shares proceeds with
independent bookstores.Trade physical books for
audiobooks.
Even if you don’t prefer listen-
ing to reading, you’re probably
familiar with Audible: The Ama-
zon-owned audiobook company
has a catalogue of nearly 500,000
easy-to-download options, from
Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club
picks to classics. You can listen on
a wide array of devices, or even in
a Web browser. A $14.95 monthlymembership includes any title,
plus two Audible Originals. (Am-
azon CEO Jeff Bezos owns The
Washington Post.)
Another option is Libro.fm,
which offers more than 150,000
digital audiobooks of all genres.
Membership costs about $15 a
month. When you sign up, you’ll
select the independent bookstore
you want your purchases to sup-
port, and the company typically
splits the profits with that shop.
Right now, all proceeds are going
to the bookstores.
Both Audible and Libro.fm
supply ample instructions, and
getting started requires little
more than a working device and
an eager reader.Click over to websites that
provide free books.
For decades, Project Guten-
berg has made copyright-free
e -books available on the Internet.
Don’t expect to find any current
bestsellers, but there’s a rich se-
lection of more than 60,000 older
titles that you can download to
your device or read in your Web
browser. The site’s “top 100 ” list
includes “A Tale of Two Cities” by
Charles Dickens, “Little Women”
by Louisa May Alcott and “The
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson.
The Library of Congress also
offers a selection of free classics
you can read online. Many of the
choices are kid- and adventure-
oriented, like “Jack and the Bean-
stalk” and “Treasure Island.” And
the Internet Archive announced
it was opening the National
Emergency Library, making
1.4 million e-books available free.Attend a virtual book talk.
In-person events are on hold,
but bookstores are still finding
creative ways for authors to en-gage with readers. Hilary Leich-
ter was scheduled to talk about
her new novel “Temporary” at
Brooklyn-based Books Are Magic
the same day the shop canceled
all March events, for example, so
staffers pivoted to a virtual ver-
sion. The shop uploaded a fun,
chatty conversation with Leichter
(and her ukulele) to its Instagram
page (@booksaremagicbk). Up-
coming virtual talks will feature
C Pam Zhang, among others.
Similarly, Politics and Prose
announced it was launching P&P
Live, a series of author events
streamed online. Those who tune
in can submit questions for the
speakers, including Richard J.
Lazarus and David Shannon. And
you won’t have to deal with D.C.
traffic to get there.
Another example of making
the best of disrupted plans: Anne
Bogel, the popular blogger be-
hind Modern Mrs. Darcy, had to
cancel her tour to promote her
latest book. So she launched the
Stay at Home Book To ur, which
kicked off March 23 at modern-
mrsdarcy.com and includes talks
by authors such as Mary Laura
Philpott (Monday at noon) and
Susan Meissner (Tuesday at
7 p.m.). No selfies or signing, she
says, but the events are free and
open to the first 500 people who
log on via the video conferencing
platform Zoom.Participate in an online book
club.
What to do if half the fun of
reading a book is talking about it?
Ta lk from afar. The D.C. Public
Library is putting a virtual spin on
its book club: Elizabeth Acevedo’s
“With the Fire on High” is up first,
and on Saturday, the library is
hosting its third and final Twitter
chat on the book. There are also
niche daily discussions on Twitter:Chat a bout audiobooks at n oon on
Mondays, or join the New Yorker
story review at 3 p.m. on Fridays.
Of course, no commute is too
long in virtual book-club land.
Aside from checking what your
local library and bookstores are
offering, consider more global
options. The Quarantine Book
Club, for example, popped up to
host online discussions with au-
thors. And the writer Yiyun Li is
hosting a virtual club to discuss
Leo To lstoy’s “War and Peace” —
follow along at apublicspace.org.Live-stream story time.
There are many options for
children, too. Penguin Kids is
hosting authors and illustrators
who will read their stories on
Instagram each weekday at
11 a.m., and the Brooklyn Public
Library is live-streaming its story
time in the afternoon and again
before bedtime. Join on the
l ibrary’s Facebook page or web-
site (bklynlibrary.org).
Locally, Montgomery County
Public Libraries is hosting virtual
story time at various times on
weekdays. And the D.C. Public
Library is doing the same at
10:30 a.m. Monday through Fri-
day.
It’s a lso a chance for A-listers to
read you a story: Actresses Amy
Adams and Jennifer Garner
launched #SaveWithStories, a
charity-driven initiative in which
celebrities read children’s books
on Instagram (@savewithsto-
ries). Brie Larson, for example,
read “Giraffes Can’t D ance,” while
Witherspoon delivered a spirited
rendition of “Uni the Unicorn.”
Donations will help the non profit
groups Save the Children and No
Kid Hungry to ensure that chil-
dren have access to meals during
school closures.
[email protected]Every trick in the book for
accessing new reading material
Readers stuck at home need books — and community. Here’s how to acquire them.
From the Cover
guillem Casasús for the Washington Post