Happy New Year 2021!
With 2020 finally over, we can start to make new plans for the coming year, which will hopefully be much better… Let’s look into a brighter tomorrow with 10 gems from our catalog.

All Things are Possible was the creed of Lev Shestov. Even when he was driven out of his native Russia, he firmly believed that you’re invincible when you really believe in yourself and nothing else.

In contrast, many people believe in The Hope of the Gospel. In this book, George MacDonald goes deep beneath the surface and meditates on what Christ came to accomplish on Earth.

The teachings of Christ gave people the strength to embark on The Enterprise of the Mayflower. Amice MacDonell took the narrative of the first American settlement and turned it into a play.

When the Californian settlers on the other end of the continent heard of cities filled with gold, they left their orchards in search of riches and a better life. Find out more in George Fenn’s novel The Peril Finders.

As The Charwoman’s Daughter, Mary is used to the perils of the Dublin slums where she lives. However, the unbound enthusiasm of youth coupled with teenage love feeds her desire to escape. James Stephens tells her story in this novella.

The grass is always greener on the other side for lookalike exiles Sir Dominey and Baron von Ragastein, who swap places. But Dominey’s wife is about to see through The Great Impersonation… Read this pre-WWI spy novel by E. Phillips Oppenheim to see what else is uncovered.

Claims adjuster Wills is content working for The Company in the scif-fi joint work by Frederik Pohl and Lester del Rey. But when he meets a mysterious couple, putting all of mankind’s happiness on the line suddenly seems like a Preferred Risk…

Much more predictable is the life of Baroness Tilling, who is dedicated to her husband’s legacy of creating peace on Earth. A good start is to pass on the thoughts to Martha’s Kinder, in the second book by Nobel Peace Prize winner Bertha von Suttner.

After WWI, lasting peace was on everybody’s minds. H. G. Wells was at the front lines of the creation of the League of Nations. In the Fourth Year: Anticipations of a World Peace, is a collection of 11 of his essays penned at the time.

After a year like 2020, it is important not to lose sight of All That Matters. In this collection of 53 poems, Edgar A. Guest writes about moms, dads, and all that’s needed for a happy family life.

Enjoy – and may this year turn out much better than the last one!

The year is almost over – thank goodness! But with everything that went wrong worldwide, 2020 has also shown us that we’re in this together, no matter where we live. Therefore, let’s celebrate what unites us as humans with 10 gems from our catalog.

Every one has the same ancestors – biologically speaking. A young man remembers his past life long Before Adam in his dreams – or are they nightmares? Jack London tells a story of pre-stone-age life, with his usual sense of humour.

While humour may be cultural, laughter is universal. Greek playwright Aristophanes has Dionysus venture to the underworld to bring back his favourite playwright, Euripides. Find out if he is successful in the ancient comedy The Frogs.

Breathing is generally a sign of life, but did you know that there’s a proper way to do it? In The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath William W. Atkinson explains a number of exercises for breathing awareness and health.

Speaking of exercises, in the 12th century, Yoritomo Tashi wrote his famous book on Common Sense, How to Exercise It. Learn how to go all the way from virtues to harmony and finally, to perfect peace.

Humanity seeks peace and harmony – and many find them in a divine being. Our collection of The World’s Best Poetry brings you religious and devotional poems from various authors from around the globe under the title The Higher Life.

Others look for the divine on Earth – and for the perfect partner. Love is all around us, and our series on Love Stories brings you romantic tales with happy endings from various authors and countries.

Everybody loves stories, and for a long time, human history was preserved and nature explained in them. Seek the grain of truth in our collection of Myths and Legends Around the World.

John Cameron was a legend of English football, and even organised games with his fellow prisoners of WWI. In Association Football and How to Play It he talks about the history and tactics of the game that has become popular everywhere.

Every day when playing, kids build their own Magic World and dream themselves into it. Follow E. Nesbit into 12 stories for kids that have a special magical touch even for adults.

Another thing we all have in common – globally speaking – is our future. In 1894, John J. Astor IV created A Journey in Other Worlds: A Romance of the Future, where he imagines life in the year 2000. What do you think 2021 will look like?

Enjoy and take care of yourself and others!

Welcome to the final leg of the LV World Tour 2020! We have circled the globe once and now return to where LibriVox is from. Explore North America with 10 gems from our catalog.

Of course, everything is better with a friend. Therefore, a group of friends decide to spend A Summer in a Canyon, chock full with camp adventures. Follow Kate D. Wiggins’ story to California and enjoy the scenery on the way.

Exploring the American wilderness was a dangerous part of early settlers’ lives. But even among friends you thought you could trust, things can go terribly wrong… Read The Song of Hugh Glass by John Neihardt as a proof.

How much of the above story is true is debatable, but “history is written by the winners” is not a hollow phrase. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, a Spanish conquistador, details his version of Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España.

Phillip Whittemore finds himself between truth and lies when he happens upon the Fort of God deep in the woods of Canada. Now he tries to find out who these people are, where they are coming from and what they are hiding in Flower of the North by James Curwood.

Lots of secrets surround a legendary Aztec gold mine, and only their last descendant knows its location. Travel to Mexico with Mark Venner and see if he can crack The Mystery of the Four Fingers in the novel by Fred White.

The last leader of the Shawnee, Tecumseh, is one of the great heros of the Canadians. Opposing the US in the war of 1812, he died on the battlefield. Ethel T. Raymond details his life in Vol. 17 of The Chronicles of Canada.

Rosanna Leprohon penned an interesting family chronicle: Bookish Armand Durand is the son of Paul Durand and his first wife. His half brother Paul jun. is his polar opposite, and they do their best to reconcile their differences.

Even more different are the families of Blessed, an educated young man, and Zora, an unschooled girl from the swamps of the South. W.E.B. du Bois tells a haunting story of love in a world long gone in The Quest of the Silver Fleece.

Equally haunting when read with modern eyes is the autobiography of Booker T. Washington. How he raised himself Up From Slavery and helped many other black people to do the same is an excellent example for everyone.

Sadly, there are many bad examples too. When the Spanish conquered Mexico, they brought Christianity with them – and the inquisition. Vicente Riva Palacio set his novel Monja y Casada, Vírgen y Mártir in a convent during the inquisition.

Enjoy – and stay safe and curious!

In times like these it is almost natural to dream of far away lands and exotic encounters. Asia promises all of that. Make your dreams come true (well, almost) with 10 gems from our catalog.

Get in the mood for dreaming with 10 poems in Tagalog, the native language of the Philippine islands. This collection, entitled Mga Piling Tula mula sa Buntong Hininga was written by Pascual de Leon.

Tagalog plays an important role in José Rizal’s novel El Filibusterismo. Manila students fight – so far with words – against the friars and the government. But in the background, the jeweller Simoun weaves a dangerous web, for he wants nothing less than a revolution…

Revolutions and civil wars weaken a country from the inside. The leaders of the Mahratta Empire were so busy fighting amongst themselves that they were an easy target for the British Empire. G. A. Henty tells the story how India became British in At the Point of the Bayonet.

Many, many years before that, the subcontinent faced another empire – that of Alexander the Great. In the play by Jean Racine, the great Macedonian needs all his wit to overcome two kings and one queen of India.

From a great king to a great poet: Rabindranath Tagore was one of India’s greatest storytellers, who even received the 1913 Nobel Prize for literature. Let him guide you through his country with some of his letters containing Glimpses of Bengal.

Separated by the heavenly river (the Milky Way), Cowherd and Weaver Girl (牛郎織女傳) can only glimpse at each other from afar. But when the Celestial Emperor hears about their love, he allows them to meet – for a single night each year. This old Chinese legend is retold by Mingshi Zhu.

Sadly very real was the opium crisis in 18th century China, which had practically the whole population addicted, and eventually led to the collapse of the Chinese Empire. As explained by Samuel Merwin in Drugging a Nation, once again, the British were responsible …

… just as they were for The Afghan Wars 1839-42 and 1878-80. At that time, they fought with Russia for dominance over central Asia in the mountains of Afghanistan. Read Archibald Forbes’ book on a topic that has left Afghanistan a war-torn country to this very day.

In contrast, Japan was at peace with its neighbors and itself for all of the 250 years of the Edo period. Tales of Old Japan contains stories of true incidences, folk lore, Buddhist sermons, and a few observations on everyday life in Edo, collected by Lord Redesdale.

Indonesia is a collection of more than 17,000 islands (picture that!), where a multitude of local languages are spoken. Sekar Karya contains 21 pieces in poetry and prose by various authors, all tied together by their language: Javanese.

Enjoy – and keep dreaming!