<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr"></div><div dir="ltr">Hi all,</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">FYI, in case you were not aware that Book Share has an Alexa skill.</div><div dir="ltr">I checked it out and it does work.</div><div dir="ltr">You do have to link your account and log into your Book Share account to approve access to Alexa. See instructions below.</div><div dir="ltr">Lori</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><br><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><b>From:</b> Lori Falk <falkl@optonline.net><br><b>Date:</b> January 28, 2022 at 2:11:01 PM EST<br><b>To:</b> Lori <falkl@optonline.net><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>Alexa Smart Speaker (Beta 2021) | Bookshare</b><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div dir="ltr"><base href="https://www.bookshare.org/cms/help-center/alexa-smart-speaker-beta-2021"><style id="print">
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</style><title>Alexa Smart Speaker (Beta 2021) | Bookshare</title><div class="original-url"><br><a href="https://www.bookshare.org/cms/help-center/alexa-smart-speaker-beta-2021">https://www.bookshare.org/cms/help-center/alexa-smart-speaker-beta-2021</a><br><br></div><div id="article" role="article" style="-webkit-locale: "en"; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class="system exported">
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<div class="page" style="text-align: start; word-wrap: break-word; max-width: 100%;"><h1 class="title" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.95552em; line-height: 1.2141em; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; text-align: start; display: block; max-width: 100%;">Alexa Smart Speaker (Beta 2021)</h1><h2 class="subhead" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: start; display: block; color: rgba(27, 27, 27, 0.65); font-size: 1.46664em; margin-top: -0.35em; line-height: 1.27275em; max-width: 100%;">Welcome to the Bookshare Reader for Amazon Alexa beta!</h2><p style="max-width: 100%;">We ask that you make note of your experience: what worked well and what didn't, what you enjoyed and what we could improve. You will receive a regular survey soliciting feedback throughout the beta period. Thank you in advance for your participation!</p><ol style="max-width: 100%;"><li style="max-width: 100%;"><span class="converted-anchor" style="max-width: 100%;">Set up the Bookshare skill</span></li><li style="max-width: 100%;"><span class="converted-anchor" style="max-width: 100%;">Prepare the book on Bookshare.org</span></li><li style="max-width: 100%;"><span class="converted-anchor" style="max-width: 100%;">Read with Alexa</span></li></ol><h2 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.43em; max-width: 100%;">1. Setting up the Beta Bookshare Skill</h2><h3 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.25em; max-width: 100%;"><span style="max-width: 100%;">Installing the Beta skill on the Alexa app</span></h3><ol style="max-width: 100%;"><li style="max-width: 100%;">If you are new to using an Alexa enabled device, download and install the Alexa app onto your mobile device or computer and sign in with your Amazon account.</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">Find the Bookshare Skill by searching for Bookshare Reader within the Skills and Games section from the More tab of the Alexa App, on the Alexa Skills page on the Amazon website, or by voice command to your Alexa-enabled device.</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">In the Alexa App, open the Bookshare Reader skill and select the <strong style="max-width: 100%;">Launch button</strong>.</li></ol><p style="max-width: 100%;"><img src="https://www.bookshare.org/cms/sites/default/files/styles/panopoly_image_quarter/public/images/media/skills_and_games_page_2.jpg?itok=MPjbqhL2" title="Screenshot of the Alexa App menu showing where to add new Skills and Games" alt="Screenshot of the Alexa App menu showing where to add new Skills and Games" width="277" height="493" data-delta="9" data-fid="3953" data-media-element="1" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""><img class="reader-image-tiny" src="" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: inline; margin: 0px;" data-unique-identifier=""><!--break--></p><h3 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.25em; max-width: 100%;">Linking the skill to your Bookshare account</h3><ol style="max-width: 100%;"><li style="max-width: 100%;">Once the skill is enabled, click the Settings button, then <strong style="max-width: 100%;">Link Account</strong> to link the skill to your Bookshare account.</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">On the Bookshare.org page, enter your email address and password associated with your Bookshare account, then click the <strong style="max-width: 100%;">Sign In</strong> button.</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">When your credentials are verified, you will be directed to a confirmation page announcing that your account has been successfully linked. Select the <strong style="max-width: 100%;">Done</strong> button. This will return you to the Bookshare skill in the Alexa app.</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">You're now ready to start using the Bookshare skill on your smart speaker! Try saying, <strong style="max-width: 100%;">"Alexa, open Bookshare"</strong></li></ol><p style="max-width: 100%;"><img src="https://www.bookshare.org/cms/sites/default/files/styles/panopoly_image_original/public/images/media/credentials.png?itok=rt8CyUql" title="Screenshot of Bookshare login page" alt="Screenshot of Bookshare login page" width="764" height="480" data-delta="3" data-fid="3833" data-media-element="1" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></p><h2 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.43em; max-width: 100%;">2. Getting Audiobooks for Alexa to Read</h2><p style="max-width: 100%;">The Bookshare Reader skill creates and uses a Reading List called "Amazon Alexa". By adding books to this reading list, you make them available for the Bookshare skill to find and read aloud.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">There are 2 ways to put audiobooks on the Amazon Alexa Reading List:</p><ul style="max-width: 100%;"><li style="max-width: 100%;">Ask the skill to add a book that you've recently accessed on another device to the Amazon Alexa Reading List</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">Go to Bookshare.org and add books to the reading list</li></ul><h3 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.25em; max-width: 100%;">Get books from your history</h3><p style="max-width: 100%;">1. Launch the Bookshare skill by saying "Alexa launch Bookshare".</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">The first time you use this skill, Alexa will respond with "Welcome to Bookshare Reader. It looks like you don't have any audio books available to read. Go to the Bookshare website and add books to your Amazon Alexa Reading List or say <strong style="max-width: 100%;">Get My History</strong> to read from your recent</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">downloads."</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">2. Say "Get My History"</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Alexa will read you a list of books from your recent downloads and ask which one you would like to add to the Alexa Reading List.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><strong style="max-width: 100%;">Note:</strong> <i style="max-width: 100%;">If you do not have any books in your history, go to Bookshare.org on a web browser to add books to your list (see next section.)</i></p><p style="max-width: 100%;">3. Say the name of the book and she will respond “Okay, I’ve added [book title] to your reading list. Would you like to read it now?”</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">4. Say “yes” to begin reading.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">When the audiobook is ready, Alexa will say “Okay, let’s read” and the book will begin.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><strong style="max-width: 100%;">Note:</strong> <i style="max-width: 100%;">The first time you access this book, it may take several seconds for it to convert to audio. If the conversion will take longer, Alexa will say “Sorry it looks like that book is being converted to audio and is not yet available. Please try again in a little bit. Would you like to read a different book or list your books?” You can choose another book or try back in 5 or 10 minutes.</i></p><p style="max-width: 100%;">You can also remove books from your reading list by saying <strong style="max-width: 100%;">"Remove [book title]"</strong></p><h3 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.25em; max-width: 100%;">Get books from Bookshare.org</h3><p style="max-width: 100%;">At this time, searching for new books is not yet available through the Bookshare skill, but you can add any book to the Amazon Alexa Reading List on Bookshare.org. These books will then be accessible from the Bookshare skill by saying “Alexa, list my books”.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">1. Login to your Bookshare account at <span style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="http://www.bookshare.org" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">www.bookshare.org</a></span>.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">2. Use the <strong style="max-width: 100%;">search bar</strong> or the <strong style="max-width: 100%;">Browse button</strong> in the header region to find a book you want to read. (To find books you've recently accessed, go to the My History link in the left navigation region.)</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">3. In the Status column, click the <strong style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="max-width: 100%;">Add to Reading List</span></strong> link and choose the Amazon Alexa Reading List.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><img alt="Screenshot of drop down menu with Amazon Alexa reading list highlighted" title="Screenshot of drop down menu with Amazon Alexa reading list highlighted" height="608" width="1328" data-delta="1" src="https://www.bookshare.org/cms/sites/default/files/styles/panopoly_image_original/public/images/media/screenshot_of_adding_a_book_to_amazon_alexa_reading_list.png?itok=DUo4bFa7&c=76d171e81741b163fc30a7082fa852a8" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><strong style="max-width: 100%;">Note:</strong> <i style="max-width: 100%;">Not all books in the Bookshare collection are available in audio format, either because they are not well-formatted, are too large, or have too many images. It is a good idea to check in the Download drop-down menu to make sure the book is available in audio format before putting it on the Alexa list. If there are multiple copies of a book provided by different publishers, you might try a different version.</i></p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><i style="max-width: 100%;"><img alt="Screenshot of download options with audio highlighted" title="Screenshot of download options with audio highlighted" height="386" width="1278" data-delta="2" src="https://www.bookshare.org/cms/sites/default/files/styles/panopoly_image_original/public/images/media/screenshot_of_download_options_with_audio_highlighted.png?itok=pUIlREMY" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></i></p><h2 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.43em; max-width: 100%;">3. Using the Bookshare skill with Alexa</h2><h3 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.25em; max-width: 100%;">Opening a book</h3><p style="max-width: 100%;">1. Ask Alexa to launch the Bookshare skill by saying</p><ul style="max-width: 100%;"><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Alexa, launch Bookshare", or</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Alexa, open Bookshare"</li></ul><p style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="max-width: 100%;">Alexa will respond with "Welcome to the Bookshare Reader skill for smart speakers. If she doesn't find any books on your Amazon Alexa Reading List, she will tell you to go download them at Bookshare.org. See <span class="converted-anchor" style="max-width: 100%;">Step 2</span> for instructions.</span></p><p style="max-width: 100%;">Note: Alexa doesn't always recognize "Bookshare" immediately as a skill. If she directs you to Audible, try invoking the skill again, perhaps speaking more slowly, or use the term "launch" instead of "open". Also, you may want to make sure the language on the device is set to "US-English". Once she recognizes the skill, this should no longer be an issue. Please note your experience in the feedback survey so we can characterize it.</p><p style="max-width: 100%;">2. You can ask Alexa to read a book or list your books with the following commands. When she asks what you want to do, say:</p><ul style="max-width: 100%;"><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Read a book"</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Read [book title]"</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">"List my books"</li></ul><p style="max-width: 100%;">3. You can also ask Alexa how fast she will read and to change the speed. (Note: you will need to change the speed <i style="max-width: 100%;">before</i> starting the audio player. Once the audio player begins, you will need to stop reading to change the speed.) When she asks what you want to do, say:</p><ul style="max-width: 100%;"><li style="max-width: 100%;">"What's the reading speed?" or "How fast are you reading?"</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Read faster"</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Read slower"</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Read at 125%" (Reading speeds range from 50% to 300%.)</li></ul><p style="max-width: 100%;">Enjoy listening to your book!</p><p style="max-width: 100%;"><img src="https://www.bookshare.org/cms/sites/default/files/styles/panopoly_image_original/public/images/media/hey_alexa_cartoon_michael.png?itok=5frkPJBp" title="Hey Alexa, open Bookshare" alt="Cartoon showing Alexa user saying "Hey Alexa, open Bookshare" to the smart speaker." width="891" height="443" data-delta="8" data-fid="3838" data-media-element="1" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></p><h3 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.25em; max-width: 100%;">Navigating a book</h3><p style="max-width: 100%;">There are only a handful of commands to remember for navigating a book.</p><ul style="max-width: 100%;"><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Alexa pause" - stop reading</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Alexa resume" - continue reading where you left off</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Alexa skip" or "Alexa next" - skip to the next section</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Alexa back" or "Alexa previous" - go back to the previous section</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Alexa stop" - exit the Bookshare skill. To reinvoke the skill, you will need to say "Alexa open Bookshare"</li></ul><p style="max-width: 100%;">Note: a "section" is currently defined by the html formatting of the book. It might be a chapter or subchapter and could be different depending on the book.</p><h3 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.25em; max-width: 100%;">Forgot a command? No problem - just ask Alexa!</h3><ul style="max-width: 100%;"><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Alexa help" - Alexa will offer you a tutorial or shortcuts</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Alexa tutorial" - how to use the Bookshare skill</li><li style="max-width: 100%;">"Alexa shortcuts" - list the reading commands</li></ul><h2 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.43em; max-width: 100%;">We hope you enjoy your Bookshare skill experience!</h2><p style="max-width: 100%;">Please remember to fill out the surveys we will send you periodically. If you have any questions or experience more urgent issues, please email us at: <a href="mailto:smartspeaker@benetech.org" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">smartspeaker@benetech.org</a>.</p></div></div></div><div dir="ltr"></div></div></blockquote></body></html>