Keep Up With the Latest Digital, Social, and Literary Trends; June 2019
App Alert
Google Maps: Parking Spot
Google Maps has added a feature that will remember where you parked. To enable, make sure location services for this app are “always on” and turn on “Know Where You Parked.” The app will place a blue dot on the map to show your car in relation to your surroundings.
Libby
Are you an e-book lover? Libby is the best way to borrow e-books from your local library and read within the app itself on your phone or tablet or sync to your Kindle. All you need is a library card!
Old Time Radio 24
This Internet radio app provides nostalgic music and popular radio shows from the 1920s to 1950s so you can enjoy the sounds of the golden years right at your fingertips.
Magnifying Glass
Utilize the camera and flashlight applications in your phone with this magnifying glass function. (Unlike an actual magnifying glass, ants will be pleased that this new technology cannot be misused in direct sunlight to fry their brethren.)
Book Club: What to Read This Month
Lincoln in the Bardo
by George Saunders
The death of Abraham Lincoln’s 11-year-old son, Willie, in 1862 shook the man to his core. Newspapers reported that the grief-stricken Lincoln visited the crypt on numerous occasions, weeping over his son’s body. Acclaimed short story writer George Saunders takes this as the subject of his first novel and with a masterful interweaving of the historical and supernatural creates a beautiful father-son story like no other.
Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln
by Janis Cooke Newman
Misunderstood and often misrepresented, Mary Todd Lincoln gains a new level of respect in this passionate work of historical fiction by Janis Cooke Newman. Beginning in the insane asylum from which she later escaped, Cooke lets the character of Mary tell the reader about her life so that we may know her mind and her vibrant spirit and come to appreciate and embrace her complexities.
Lincoln
by Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal brings Lincoln to life in this masterful work where historical fact is deftly woven with beautifully observed fiction, lively dialogue, and realistic depictions of many of his closest compatriots. You will have to remind yourself on many occasions that you are in fact reading a work of fiction and not an in-the-moment biography.
Hobby Spotlight: Genealogy
Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to expand a family tree further, genealogy is a great way to connect with distant relatives online and discover more about your family’s history. Who knows, once you put on your Sherlock hat you might find long-lost relatives right in your own backyard! Interested in learning more? Check out the El Dorado Hills Genealogical Society (edhgs.com), Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society (rootcellar.org), Genealogical Association of Sacramento (gensac.org), and the Roseville Genealogical Society (rgsca.org).