Weekly Picks

Hallo Hallowe’en!

Posted on October 22, 2009 by | Posted in about LibriVox, Blog, For Volunteers, News, Weekly Picks | Comments: 11 Comments on Hallo Hallowe’en!

Ghoulies and ghosties, long-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night. Curl up and enjoy some tasty Hallowe’en treats.

The Book of Hallowe’en by Ruth Edna Kelley, read by Sibella Denton. An account of the origin and history of Hallowe’en, illustrated by selections from ancient and modern poetry and prose.

The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde, read by David Barnes. An American family have bought an English stately home, complete with resident ghost – blood-stains, clanking chains and all.

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James, read by Peter Yearsley. James’s stories often use rural settings, with a quiet, scholarly protagonist getting caught up in the activities of supernatural forces.

Famous Modern Ghost Stories, compiled by Dorothy Scarborough, is an entertaining selection of stories, read by various readers. As the compiler wrote in 1921: “Life is so inconveniently complex nowadays, what with income taxes and other visitations of government, that it is hard for us to have the added risk of wraiths, but there’s no escaping.”

The Beetle by Richard Marsh certainly counts as being creepy enough for Hallowe’en: a story about a mysterious oriental figure who pursues a British politician to London, where he wreaks havoc with his powers of hypnosis and shape-shifting. Narrated from the perspectives of four characters, this is recorded by four different readers.

For a goodly helping of ghosts and witches, how can I possibly leave out the Librivox recording of Shakespeare’s Macbeth?

Nachtstücke von E.T.A. Hoffmann, gelesen von Rainer. Die “Nachtstücke” sind eine Sammlung von unheimlichen Geschichten, die der Romantik zuzuordnen sind.

Animal Ghosts by Elliott O’Donnell, read by Allyson Hester. Supposedly true stories of hauntings by many different kinds of creatures…

And now for a little non-fiction, though these are certainly long-leggedy beasties… The Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre, read by various readers.

And, if you finally want to get rid of all those ghouls and get to sleep, how about trying The Ghost Extinguisher by Gelett Burgess, a short story read by Gregg Margarite for one of our many collections of ghost and horror short stories?

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Picks of the Week

Posted on September 25, 2009 by | Posted in For Volunteers, News, Weekly Picks | Comments: 22 Comments on Picks of the Week

Two Years in the Forbidden City by Princess Der Ling. A fascinating glimpse into old China, beautifully read by Jc Guan.

The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, read by Peter Yearsley. We all think we know it, but how many of us do? With its regular, beating rhythm, Hiawatha has often been parodied, but in truth, it is a powerful, emotional epic.

King Coal by Upton Sinclair, read by Michelle Harris, exposes the dirty working conditions in the coal mining industry in the western United States during the 1910s.

Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum, a classic of travel literature, written by the first man to sail around the world alone in a small boat. Read by Alan Chant.

Lectures of Col. R. G. Ingersoll, Vol. 1.. Read by Ted Delorme. Colonel Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) was a Civil War veteran, American political leader and orator during the Golden Age of Freethought, noted for his defense of atheism. Volume 2 is also available.

Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, read by Elizabeth Klett. One of the best examples of 19th century sensational fiction, the book’s plot includes madness, bigamy, attempted murder, and seduction.

The Dhammapada, translated by F. Max Muller. The Dhammapada is is a Buddhist scripture, considered one of the most important pieces of Theravada literature. Despite this, the Dhammapada is read by many Mahayana Buddhists and remains a very popular text across all schools of Buddhism.

The Green Odyssey by Philip Jose Farmer. Read by Mark Nelson. Alan Green is a space traveler stranded on a barbaric planet who has been taken slave and made a consort to an insipid and smelly queen. How can you resist, especially as it is a recording by one of our most popular readers?

À se tordre par Alphonse Allais. Alphonse Allais est un journaliste, écrivain et humoriste français célèbre à la Belle Époque, connu pour sa plume acerbe et son humour absurde.

The Daffodil Mystery by Edgar Wallace.
If you’re in the mood for a good old-fashioned murder mystery, this could be for you.

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July: mmm… summer, strawberries and audiobooks in the sun.

Posted on August 1, 2009 by | Posted in about LibriVox, For Volunteers, News, Uncategorized, Weekly Picks | Comments: 1 Comment on July: mmm… summer, strawberries and audiobooks in the sun.

What delicious offerings did we have for you in July? A wide range, as usual:

“Doc” Smith’s space opera Triplanetary, eagerly awaited by all fans of reader Mark F. Smith.

The Sea Wolf and The Scarlet Plague by Jack London.

Eight recordings for children, including By Pond and River by Arabella Buckley, Baum’s The Magic of Oz and The Magic City by E. Nesbit.

Religion and philosophy, including St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica, Part Two, and The Autobiography of Madame Guyon, French mystic and advocate of Quietism.

101 years after the opening of Maria Montessori’s first Children’s House we have recorded the first English translation of The Montessori Method.

Volume One of one of the longest novels in the English Language the epistolary Clarissa by Samuel Richardson.

Stephen Leacock’s Nonsense Novels.

Murder mystery Madame Midas by Fergus Hume, always a popular author here.

The strange and wonderful The First Book of Urizen by William Blake, and the equally strange and wonderful post-apocalyptic classic After London by Richard Jefferies.

As usual, of course, there are short stories, poetry, Sci-Fi (Collections 20 and 21), and Ghost and Horror stories.

We have catalogued works in Chinese, Hebrew, Swedish, Dutch and German.

And much, much more: for all works catalogued during July, please see this page.

Next month, during which we celebrate Librivox’s 4th birthday, I shall return to some lesser-known recordings from our first four years.

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June is bustin’ out all over!

Posted on July 1, 2009 by | Posted in about LibriVox, For Volunteers, News, Weekly Picks | Comments: 2 Comments on June is bustin’ out all over!

We are pleased to announce that June 2009 was our third most productive month ever, with 93 recordings added to the catalogue.

You may see all the new additions here.

June provided us with a veritable feast of recordings, including:

And lots, lots more. Have fun!

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