August 10. 2015 marks the 10th anniversary of LibriVox, and we are ready for the big party! To honour the occasion, this is a special double edition of our staff picks, for which we have asked not only 10, but 20 of our volunteers for their favourite LibriVox recordings.

Everybody who signs up to the Librivox forums knows kayray, as she is the one to send out the welcome mail. One of the first volunteers back in 2005, her reader number is 19. The book she recommends to everybody is The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim.

Almost as seasoned is Miss Stav. Although the young woman from Israel has never recorded anything, she is intimately acquainted with at least 240 of our books, as she was either their DPL or BC or both. The recording that compelled her to volunteer since 2007 was A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

coenders is one of our Dutch volunteers whose goal it was to read all of the Dutch translations of Dicken’s works for us, and he has indeed succeeded! He enjoys other authors too though, most notably the four books of De Boeken der Kleine Zielen by Louis Couperus.

Expatriate is a serial soloist who has, since he joined LibriVox almost two years ago, completed more than 80 solos. For us, he reads in English, but in his time off, he loves Basho and our Japanese original recording of Oku no Hosomichi.

It is nice to be bilingual, and HoosierMary is one of our many volunteers who is. Unfortunately, there are not enough Italian speakers here to produce a play, but she found BC’ing the English version of La Locandiera – The Mistress of the Inn by Carlo Goldoni equally fun.

Another great asset for LibriVox is kathrinee, who enjoys DPLing and has done so in at least 5 languages. Her favourite recording is one of our most controversial, but to her it showcases everything that LibriVox stands for: Our first version of Ulysses by James Joyce.

James Joyce is also the top pick of one of the many people who enjoy BC’ing our group projects, and are generally helpful around the forums: carolb listened to Dubliners on the way to Dublin per boat, although it is not a requirement to do so.

Korean high school student jessieyun0404 is one of the latest additions to our reader’s pool. She has read our very first Korean solo, but is mostly found in the drama section of our forums. Her favourite dramatic reading is Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne.

Dramatic readings are very popular at the moment, and Elizabby is doing her share in all possible functions – as reader, BC, PL, and editor – to help satisfy the demand. The Australian’s favourite dramatic reading is set in England: It is Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Friedrich is among our seniors but can still be considered a LibriVox youngster. Although he enjoys recording works of Russian authors in German translation, in private his tastes go in a different direction, for example towards Der Froschmäusekrieg by Weinzierl and Blüthgen.

Another senior member is 2peltons – this time both in real and in LibriVox age. He didn’t have to think twice for his all time favourite recording and immediately chose  Hero Tales from American History by Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge.

Roger’s varied interests show in his recordings. So far, his oeuvre spans romances, French literature, poetry, autobiographies… The book he most enjoyed reading is The Thing From the Lake by Eleanor M. Ingram, an extremely good horror story.

Since 2008, aradlaw has been faithfully BC’ing, PL’ing and recording almost every single weekly and fortnightly poem, which makes him practically LibriVox inventory. When he takes one of his rare breaks, he likes listening to other genres, for example The Agony Column by Earl Derr Biggers.

Trying out new things is what Bellona Times likes most about LibriVox;  he has been the initiator of many of our various collections of short recordings. But, in true trial-and-error fashion, he has also taken part – as Petruchio – in his favourite play: William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

SweetPea was one of our youngest readers ever when she joined three years ago. Taking to it like a fish to water, she is still around and can most often be found in our drama section. When asked for her favourite non-dramatic recording, she chose His Big Opportunity by Amy Le Feuvre.

It may take a bit of time to get used to LibriVox routines, but once managed, it is quite a smooth ride. dread has firmly settled in his niche and now strives to bring all the sci-fi Astounding Stories into our catalogue, either as BC or soloist. His favourite edition is Vol 11, from November 1930.

Deeply addicted to LibriVox is craigdav1, one of our serial DPL’s, who is so fast in his work and always seems to be online, one wonders whether he needs sleep at all… Out of the more than 500 books he has PL’ed since 2011, The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine has left the most lasting impression on him.

Lynnet is another one of our BC’s, although she equally enjoys recording for various other projects. In the book she lists as her favourite however, she has done both; it is G. A. Henty’s Colonel Thorndyke’s Secret.

Black History from in- and outside of America is the great interest of Eduard Rochester. One of the numerous books on this topic he has brought back to life for LibriVox, and his absolute favourite, is The Conjure Woman by Charles Waddell Chesnutt.

Were there ever elections to the Queen of LibriVox, it would be won by gloriana. All her numerous recordings have been highly praised, and her flawless accents make Americans wonder whether she’s British – and the other way around. Her top pick is set in the Old World: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Enjoy – and don’t miss the celebrations!