Johann Peter Hebel (10 May 1760 – 22 September 1826) was a German short story writer and dialectal poet, most famous for his collection of alemannic tales “Schatzkästlein des rheinischen Hausfreundes” (Treasure chest of the family friend by the Rhine). This book was a collection compiled from his short stories “Kalendergeschichten” (Tales from the calendar). On the occasion of Hebel’s 250th birthday, we are able to present a recording of 6 of these “Kalendergeschichten”, read in the original German by Hans Hafen. You can find them here.
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Anzac Day
In honour of Anzac Day, LibriVox proudly presents Five Months at Anzac by Joseph Lievesley Beeston: A Narrative of Personal Experiences of the Officer Commanding the 4th Field Ambulance, Australian Imperial Force from his leaving Australia December 1914 till his evacuation due to illness after 5 months at Gallipoli. Read by Annise to remember those who were there.
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.
We have a very active contingent of readers from Australasia, but would be delighted to welcome more.
Here are some other recordings with an Australian theme:
Australia Felix by Henry Handel Richardson (1870-1946). The story of Richard Mahony, a doctor trained in Edinburgh who comes to Ballarat in the gold rush of the 1850s. Read by tabithat.
Seven Little Australians by Ethel Sybil Turner (1872-1958). This is the story of seven incorrigible children living near Sydney in the 1880’s with their military-man father, and a stepmother who is scarcely older than the oldest child of the family. Read by Ophelia Darcy.
A Lady’s Visit to the Gold Diggings of Australia in 1852-53 by Ellen Clacy. A clergyman’s daughter, who at age 20 left Britain to visit Bendigo with her brother, recounts her trip, and aspects of colonial life, transportation, emigration and other gold-fields. Read by Annise and Lucy Burgoyne.
Robert O’Hara Burke by Andrew Jackson. A non-fictional account of Burke and Wills’s 1860 expedition to cross the Australian continent from south to north and back. Read by Chris Chapman and Magdalena.
A Selection of Australian Poetry and Prose recorded by various readers.
Australian Legendary Tales Folk-Lore of the Noongahburrahs As Told To The Piccaninnies by K. Langloh Parker. A Collection of Australian Aboriginal Legendary Folk-Lore Tales, legends of the Narran tribe, known among themselves as Noongahburrahs. Recorded by various readers.
Final Draft: Audio Interviews
There was some LibriVoxiness on Australian Radio recently … the “Final Draft” show on Radio 2SER FM, Sydney. It’s up on the web:
[audio:http://finaldraft.podomatic.com/enclosure/2010-04-12T02_00_34-07_00.mp3]This week, we’re stepping outside the confines of the printed page and devoting our entire show to the phenomenon of audiobooks. First, we speak to Hugh McGuire, the founder of Librivox, a volunteer-run website that provides readers free recordings of books in the public domain. Then we take a close look at Nick Cave’s The Death of Bunny Munro, which broke new ground when it was released as an audiobook earlier this year. And finally we speak to the Chair of the Australian Braille Authority, Bruce Maguire, about how the growing popularity of audiobooks and speech technology may pose a threat to Braille literacy.
Hugh McGuire, founder of Librivox.org; Linda Ferguson and Timothy Ferguson, Librivox volunteers – interviewed by Paul Kildea
Nick Cave, The Death of Bunny Munro, Text Publishing – reviewed by Rochelle Fernandez
Bruce Maguire, Australian Braille Authority – interviewed by Ella O’Keefe
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Our Readers’ Favourites – Old and New
Here are some suggestions from the heart of our LibriVox community – audio books which have given our readers particular pleasure to listen to.
We have three versions of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in our catalogue, with two more recordings in progress. It is clearly a book which many readers want to record. Our first version, which was a collaborative project with over a dozen different readers, was released only 6 months after LibriVox started, and is still one of our most popular downloads.
John Buchan’s The Thirty-Nine Steps has been adapted for several films and television productions, but in a member’s view none measure up to the original book. Here we offer you Adrian Praetzellis’ recording. As a reviewer says: “His voice characterisations were first class…”
All you mathematicians out there will know that it was Pi Day on March 14th, but have you heard our ground-breaking The First Fifty Digits of Pi? A true feast – the first 50 digits served up by 56 readers each to his/her own recipe.
March 14th was also the birthday of Albert Einstein, and you can hear an introduction to Einstein’s space-bending, time-stretching theory of Relativity, written by the master himself at Relativity: The Special and General Theory.
If that is rather heavy fare, how about a light snack of short stories? The Parenticide Club by Ambrose Bierce, read by Peter Yearsley, consists of four grotesque short stories about murder within the family.
Not to be missed is The Return of Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer, superbly read by Elaine Tweddle.
Also highly recommended is J. M. Smallheer’s reading of a top ten bestseller of 1906, The House of a Thousand Candles by Meredith Nicholson. If you like mystery, adventure and romance, you will love this.
If you prefer science fiction, The Door Through Space, an early work of Marion Zimmer Bradley, may be to your taste. When the door swings open, erstwhile Terran Intelligence agent Race Cargill finds himself facing a plot designed to destroy the Terran Empire. Read by Christie Nowak and Clive Catterall.
Notable for its vivid descriptions of the eponymous hero (no mean feat!) The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells is a classic of science fiction. This version from 2006 is read by Alex Foster.
H. P. Lovecraft lists among his greatest influences works by William Hope Hodgson including The House on the Borderland. This recording, by Alan Winterrowd, has been highly recommended by aficionados of the horror and fantasy genres.
And for a little bonne bouche at the end of this banquet of fine things, here is some delicious poetry: Selected Poems by Christina & Dante Gabriel Rossetti, read for you by Leonard Wilson.
All previous listening suggestions may also be found on the Recommended Listening List in the LibriVox Wiki.
If you have a favourite recording you would like me to include next time, feel free to leave a comment here or visit us on this forum thread What are your favourite recordings? and tell us about it.