Skip to content

Bookshare Blog Posts

Get the Most Out of Study Time with Textbooks From Bookshare

This very informative article written by Deborah Armstrong, Alternate Media Specialist at De Anza College in Cupertino, CA,  provides some great tips and ideas to get the most out of your study time reading textbooks from Bookshare. She is a lifelong learner who is addicted to reading and says that she’s downloaded over 1,075 books and has read over 900 of them.  While this post is a bit longer than others, it’s really good. ****************** If you are new to electronic books, or don’t read much, you’ll find study skills training intended for print readers might not work well for you. Worry…

5 Comments

What We’re Reading {August 27 2010}

The Bookshare team reads avidly. And we read a lot of books every week. And so do our children, friends and families. Among those, there are always a handful of standouts — the shortlist, the books with buzz–perfect for children, tweens, teens, college students, and young adults. “What We’re Reading” brings you picks of the most interesting recent reads, along with short descriptions; sometimes we’ll even include candid comments and notes from the team. We’ll be bringing you “What We’re Reading” every Friday, be sure to look for it and download some great books! Mockingjay (The Hunger Games Trilogy #3) by Suzanne Collins – Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has…

Leave a Comment

Collaborative Philanthropy: Deepen Your Commitment to Bring Social Change to Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods and Rural Communities

By Marcy Guttman, Summer Associate for Corporate Philanthropy Wisdom can often come from unexpected places.  I remember a message that I read when traveling in the New York City subways: “kindness is contagious, and it begins with you.”  Huddled in the crowded masses of people, holding on to bars and handles touched by thousands of other travelers, I generally tried to avoid “catching” anything.  However, reading those seven words made me realize that kindness is something that I not only wanted to “catch” but also desired to pass on to others. The gratification of doing something kind for another consistently…

1 Comment

Inside Higher Education…Suggested Books College Freshman Should Read

Inside Higher Ed, an online ezine I faithfully read, recently published an article on “What College Freshman Will Read.”  If you are a college freshman or have students just starting college, like I do, you’ll want to read this article which suggests several books that will help first-year students bond through a common reading experience and jumpstart their ability to discuss intellectual content. A “Study by the National Association of Scholars,” a group that advocates for a more rigorous and traditional college curriculum, released a comprehensive analysis of what freshmen are being asked to read during college orientation programs.  The…

1 Comment

What We’re Reading {August 20, 2010}

The Bookshare team reads avidly. In fact, we read a lot of books every week. And so do our children, friends and families. Among those, there are always a handful of standouts — the shortlist, the books with buzz–perfect for children, tweens, teens, college students, and young adults. “What We’re Reading” brings you picks of the most interesting recent reads, along with short descriptions, sometimes we’ll even include candid comments and notes from the team. We’ll be bringing you “What We’re Reading” every Friday, be sure to look for it and download some great books! The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot  – Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists…

Leave a Comment

What You’re Reading {August 2010}

Bookshare Members have a lot to say about the books they read. And you share your thoughts, comments and recommendations with us on a regular basis. So, we thought that you might like to hear what other Members have to say about the books they are reading. With this post, we are introducing a new monthly post called “What You’re Reading.” This month we’re featuring some of our high school Members’ recommendations. Dead in the Family (Southern Vampire Mysteries #10) by Charlaine Harris – The #1 New York Times bestselling Sookie Stackhouse series – the basis for HBO’s True Blood –…

Leave a Comment

Calling all parents!

Parents, we want to know what you’re reading to or with your kids. Please comment and let us know who your kids favorite authors and characters are, what their favorite series is, and the books you think every kid should read. Below we’ve shared some of our favorites. Amelia Bedelia’s First Day of School by Herman Parish A literal-minded young girl’s first day of school is filled with confusing adventures, much to her delight. Meet AMELIA BEDELIA! She’s shorter and she’s younger than the one you know. And her only job is having fun. But she’ll make you laugh all the same! If You Take…

Leave a Comment

Summer Volunteers Make Exceptional Contributions

This post was contributed by Geneva Vander Poel in the Bookshare operations team. Bookshare is proud of its strong community of dedicated volunteers. Since 2002, we have depended on volunteers to keep the library stocked with relevant titles — books that our members are eager to read. Year round, a dedicated group of people work diligently to grow the collection. Without their efforts, Bookshare would not have as many accessible titles today (more than 80,000) to serve over 100,000 members. Summertime presents a unique opportunity for volunteering in our Palo Alto offices. Since schools are out of session and student…

Leave a Comment

End of Summer Reading for Tweens and Teens!

Summer is the perfect opportunity to catch up on reading, plus maintain and strengthen reading comprehension and fluency skills. And with just a few weeks left before school starts, now is the time to do some end of summer reading! Once the school year begins, most students will be too busy keeping up with their class assignments to read merely for pleasure. Over the summer Bookshare has added thousands of books, including many popular titles tweens and teens will love to read. In fact, did you know that Bookshare has the entire Twilight series, the Pretty Little Liars series, and the complete collection of Percy Jackson and the Olympians? Download…

2 Comments

A Few Weeks Left This Summer to Read and Move

From legislation to lunchtime reading, the U.S. Department of Education and the Office of Special Education Programs care about literacy in this country. Picture the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, holding a book, and Kareem Dale, the Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy, reading If I Ran for President in braille to about 100 attentively listening young kids, ages 4-8, and their parents. Soon Congressman Jim Langevin from Rhode Island joined the group and read House Mouse, Senate Mouse. The event was the Department of Education’s “Let’s Read. Let’s Move” summer enrichment program on July 30 in…

Leave a Comment