u/AeroNoob333

What are your favorite “low Sci-Fi” books? Books like The Martian and The Silo Series are examples of what I’m looking for. This seems to be the only overlap my husband and I have. My husband likes speculative fiction that is more grounded in reality. He doesn’t like to suspend his belief too much (so time travel is probably out) and he doesn’t like a universe that’s too big (so books like “The Expanse” and any space operas are probably out as well). Keeping this in mind, what are your recommendations? I think the most he’s willing to suspend his belief on is a rock alien (PHM) and that was only because he loved The Martian. He also likes dystopian and post apocalyptic EMP books. For example, he also liked The Hunger Games and One Second After. We are getting ready to read Dog Stars as a buddy read and the only reason I think I’ll like it is because of the dog.

Does anyone else here cycle through retention and “win-back” Kindle Unlimited offers? I do this in conjunction with Libby Holds and I never run out of books. I haven’t paid full price for a subscription in a long time.

Right now, I’m on a 3 months free and just extended to another 3 months for $9.99. During this time, I’m also maxing out the Holds on Libby (~50) of my TBR, many of which are not on KU anyway. I’m currently reading mostly books on KU to maximize its use. By the time my 6 months KU subscription is nearing to an end, the majority of my Holds will be “1st in line”. I’ll attempt to cancel my KU subscription. If I get another offer, I will extend the subscription; otherwise, I just cancel it. During this time, I’ll have so many books on Libby to read that I don’t run out of books until the next “win back” offer, usually weeks to months later. TBH, I don’t even really need to renew KU. As long as I’m always putting another book on Hold as I borrow, I won’t run out of books to read.

Really, the only thing I’m missing out from not have a KU subscription are Indie authors, but they are often a lot cheaper than best sellers anyway so if I REALLY wanted to read it before my next KU subscription, I’ll just buy it.

If you’ve listened to Andy Serkis Animal Farm audiobook released this year, how was it? He’s one of my favorite voice actors and wanted to hear other’s thoughts. It’s for $2.99 on Chirp right now.

Has anyone else been getting issues since the partner libraries update? Prior to the update, I already added all the partner libraries manually anyway so it’s not like the update added any additional libraries for me.

But, I’m starting to notice the Spin Wheel of Death more often than not. It doesn’t only happen when borrowing a book, but even when just browsing for Holds. It used to be that it didn’t matter which library I had active. Clicking on the “card” next to the title and clicking on a different library to check the queue used to quickly just show the status and lets me put a Hold on as many libraries as I want, but now, I just get a Spin Wheel unless it’s the active library. I know I can just switch to that library, but it’s really annoying.

Well, looks like they finally patched the airplane mode hack and we can no longer read books past the due date on our Kindle devices. Do you think this will push slower readers to get non-resident cards in order to have multiple holds rather than waiting weeks/months between loans on a single card? I can’t imagine waiting weeks/months to read the same book…

For those not familiar with the hack: it used to be that you could send an eBook from Libby to your Kindle, download it, then turn on airplane mode. When your due date came up, your loan would be returned to the library available for the next person, but a copy of the book stayed on your Kindle since airplane mode prevented it from syncing with your Amazon account, allowing you to read it past the due date.

Now that we can’t keep a copy of the eBook past the due date, my husband is struggling with reading. I normally finish a book within the 2-3 week loan, but he can take up to two months with a book. Is the only work around now just having multiple library cards and having multiple holds on the same book?

I have a Kindle and can’t send eBooks from Hoopla. For those that in the same position, do you typically just use Hoopla for audiobooks or do you also use it for the other offerings (movies, TV shows?)?

For those that are not W-2 employees (and therefore do not get a paystub), what do you show as proof of work to sign up for a library card?

I am self-employed and work as a contractor. I can provide the contract with the company I’m contracting for. My company invoices aren’t the most “professional” looking. They’re just QuickBooks generated, but I could also provide those. I do not have a 1099 yet from this company since that’s not provided until January and I will start working in September.

Edit: I don’t live in MA, but contract for a company there. I am splitting time there and my home state and required by IRS to pay taxes in both states. I would like to get a card in MA if I’m paying taxes.

I debated posting this, but decided a tips guide wouldn’t be harmful unlike flat out naming the libraries. The problem with naming a handful of libraries is the hive will tend to swarm those libraries and overwhelm them.

It is a lot of work. But you don’t need to do this if your local library has a good digital library, but that wasn’t the case for me (rural with crappy eLibrary), so I had to look elsewhere and glad that I did.

I currently have 6 library systems and 3 of which are paid for a total of $60/year. Between all 6 of these, a system will have a book either available or have a decent waiting list. This is what I did:

1. Research the digital library consortiums in your state. If you live on the border of other states, those may be worth checking as well. If you have property in other counties/states, see what their local libraries are.
2. On Libby, stress test each of these

library systems for books in your TBR. I divided this into 3 categories: always-waited listed blockbusters (test worst case) like Fourth Wing and Red Rising, newer moderately wait-listed (ex. Sunrise on the Reaping), and older backlist (test collection depth) like Scythe and Ember in the Ashes. Take note of the number copies and the number of people waiting. In Excel, I calculated the copies-per-capita (# people waiting divided by # copies). This is the most important metric. Decide which of these systems are worth your time based on results. For example, a library system with 40 copies, but has 200 people waiting is far worse than one that only has 10 copies with 7 people waiting. Once you’ve decided which systems to pursue, then it’s time to put in the leg work.

3. Start off by checking ReciproCard to see if your local library and the library systems you’re interested in have reciprocal agreements with other library systems. NOTE: That reciprocal libraries may not offer access to their eLibrary or impose restrictions. For your local library, go ahead and add those libraries on Libby or sign up for a separate card. Take special note of it for the other systems.

4. If you have property in other states/counties, pursue those first. If you are legitimately paying taxes, they will most likely give you a library card. A lot of times, they’ll just mail the card (our experience). If they don’t, it’s worth the phone call.

5. There will be two different kinds of library consortiums: 1) A single system and sign up for all libraries; and 2) Individual libraries with their own library card sign up and policies. The former will be easier: they either allow non-resident cards (for an annual fee most likely) or they don’t. The latter is where real work happens and where you could get free or cheap non-resident cards. I suggest targeting rural and mid-sized libraries. They are often really cheap ($5-15/year) or free. Some allow free library cards if you live in the state rather than the county. They are much more lenient about signing up online or on the phone since signing up truly helps funding for their library. This is how I found 2 free library cards.

6. Once you have your non-resident library cards, it’s worth a quick check on ReciproCard to see if they have any reciprocal agreements with other library systems.

7. Finally, once you’ve found the hidden gems, do not advertise those individual libraries here. That is how you end up overwhelming a library system. They start with worsening wait times and eventually a library may end up increasing the price or flat out cancelling all non-resident cards as we’ve seen with New Orleans and OCLA. Don’t do that to yourself and the locals.

I saw a post on here recently about immersive reading where you read and listen to the audiobook at the same time. Holy smokes! What a game changer!

I started my immersive reading with Dungeon Crawler Carl and I guess it helps that Jeff Hayes’ audiobooks are truly top tier.

Do you all have suggestions on top tier audiobooks like the Dungeon Crawler Carl series that I should add to my “Immersive Reading” list? I never got into audiobooks before because it always seemed flat and boring and I can narrate the book in my head better. Not Dungeon Crawler Carl tho lol

I’m looking for dystopian/fantasy/sci-fi fiction that has real thematic depth. Stuff that examines power, mortality, society, human nature, but is still propulsive and immersive (not a dry literary slog).

Books/series I’ve loved:

- Red Rising Saga

- Arc of a Scythe

- The Giver

- Blood Over Bright Haven

- The Hunger Games

If it helps, I love story forward video games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the Last of Us, Final Fantasy X, etc. I particularly can’t stop thinking about Clair Obscur’s story. That “beautiful world hiding a devastating truth”, grief-and-mortality register is exactly the kind of depth I’m looking for.

I want genuine depth while still being propulsive and immersive. Both stand alones and series are welcome!

Dealbreakers:

- No spice/explicit content please. Romance is totally fine as long as it serves the story, but I don’t want awkward explicit chapters or romance-forward romantasy where the relationship is the whole point.

- No slog. If it reads like a high-school assignment (dense, meandering), it’s not for me. I want depth braided into a gripping story.

If you made it this far, thank you!

I’m on the hunt for libraries with short wait times. What book do you use to gauge the waitlist? I’ve been using the Red Rising Saga. I’ve seen the first book range from 1 week to months depending on the library system.

What I’ve been doing so far is going on the Wiki for non-resident cards here, looking for ones that are <$10/year, then checking their waitlist on the Libby App. I figured 3-5 libraries with short wait times is better than 1 $38/year Broward County Card.