PUBLIC DOMAIN ~ STAFF PICKS
You’ll notice our staff picks have additional links under the regular library resources. If availability has got you down, know that you can easily check out public domain ebooks and audiobook recordings through your computer or other device (iPad, phone, Kindle) using Project Gutenberg and LibriVox websites. Enjoy!
Bretagne recommends . . .
A classic novel that weaves you along through the complex characters' lives, for better or for worse. Experience nineteenth-century Russian culture through this classic novel along with vivid imagery and a passionate plot.
Find it in the library catalog HERE
Also available in digital format:
*Always available on Montana Library2Go
How to make money by scamming people in the 1700's Russia. A stylistic and quirky read.
Find it in the library catalog HERE
Also available in digital format:
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
As a child, I was naïve to the academic concepts of environmentalism, gender equality, or class politics. Something I knew well, however, was the frustrated fury that rose in my chest at any suggestion that frailty was feminine, or anger was strength, or that humanity and nature were related through polarity. That and I loved The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Mary is a little girl from wealthy but woefully negligent parentage whom servants have spoiled rotten from lanky blond mop to indolent toe. When her parents suddenly succumb to cholera, she moves from the isolating luxury of their British Indian estate to her uncle's enormous English mansion of cobwebs and abandoned memories on the moor. While exploring her new environment, she discovers much more than rooms and scrub: she discovers wellness, man's oneness with nature, the cumulative quality of giving and receiving care and love, and, of course, The Secret Garden. Burnett espouses a holistic perspective on the value and values of life through an exciting plot, without preaching, and with language that can be understood by readers of all ages.
Find it in the library catalog HERE
Also available in digital format:
*Always available on Montana Library2Go
*As one of the more popular LibriVox books to record (all performed by volunteers), there are many versions of The Secret Garden available through LibriVox. Listen to the introduction to choose which one you like to listen to best.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
A lighthearted comedy about the falseness of love and love at first sight. Shakespeare takes readers on a journey through the forest complete with fairies, comedic craftsmen and young lovers.
Find it in the library catalog HERE
Also available in digital format:
*Always available on Montana Library2Go
*You’ll also find many recorded versions of Shakespeare’s plays on LibriVox. Again, understand these are volunteer narrators, not professional. Also, when listening to Shakespeare, it can be helpful to have the text nearby to follow along. ??
I enjoy children’s books and often find it interesting to reread the books I loved in childhood, again, as an adult. As a child, I adored the clever main character, Elmer Elevator, in My Father’s Dragon. He impressed me with his bold decision to run away to find and rescue a baby dragon. On his adventure, Elmer meets a whole cast of wild, talking creatures. It is also fun to see the creative ways Elmer uses the supplies he brought along on his trip—including building a bridge of crocodiles using only lollipops and ingenuity.
As an adult, I still enjoy this delightful story. However, I will point out there are some harsher elements. For example, in the very first chapter, Elmer runs away from home after being whipped by his mother for feeding a stray alley cat!
One last thing, the LibriVox recording for this book, performed by volunteer child narrator, Gregory Holdsworth, is absolutely charming.
Find the book in the library catalog HERE
Also available in digital format:
Have you explored the public domain for reading materials?
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