Audio Books Podcasts
Texas Music Forge - An Audio MagazineJoin Now to Follow
Each month we publish sharply-written short stories with soundtracks containing songs that draw on all the music of Texas. The grit, the glory, the songs and the stories - we are the real deal from Austin, y'all...
By Ed Kliman, Proprietor
Librivox: Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson, The - Version 2 by Twain, MarkJoin Now to Follow
It was published in 1893–1894 by Century Magazine in seven installments, and is a detective story with some racial themes. The plot of this novel is a detective story, in which a series of identities — the judge's murderer, Tom, Chambers — must be sorted out. This structure highlights the problem of identity and one's ability to determine one's own identity. Broader issues of identity are the central ideas of this novel. Twain's multiple plots and thrown-together style do serve to inform a central set of issues, with the twins, Pudd'nhead, and Tom and Chambers all serving as variations on a theme. The themes are slavery, tradition, and nature vs. nurture. To a lesser extent, Southern society and first impressions are also touched upon, and the novel is one of the first to use fingerprints as a means of unique identification, as it was not until 1897 that the world's first Fingerprint Bureau opened in Calcutta. One of Twain's major goals in this book was to exploit the true nature of Racism at that period. Twain used comic relief as a way to divulge his theme. The purpose of a comic relief is to address his or her opinion in a less serious way, yet persuade the reader into thinking the writers thoughts. Twain's use of satire is visible throughtout the book. Twain's use of colloquialism(dialect) and local color as features of Naturalism to convey his theme, is impressive and ahead for his time.(Summary by Wikipedia)
By LibriVox
Librivox: Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder, A by De Mille, JamesJoin Now to Follow
"A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder" is the most popular of James De Mille's works. It was serialized posthumously in Harper's Weekly, and published in book form by Harper and Brothers of New York City in 1888. This satiric romance is the story of Adam More, a British sailor. Shipwrecked in Antarctica, he stumbles upon a tropical lost world of prehistoric animals, plants, and a cult of death-worshipping primitives. He also finds a highly developed human society which has reversed the values of Victorian society. Wealth is scorned and poverty revered; death and darkness are preferrable to life and light. Rather than accumulating wealth, the natives seek to divest themselves of it as quickly as possible. At the beginning of each year, the government imposes wealth (the burden of "reverse taxation") upon its unfortunate subjects as a form of punishment. A secondary plot about the four yachtsmen who find the manuscript forms a frame for the central narrative. [Condensed from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Strange_Manuscript_Found_in_a_Copper_Cylinder ]
By LibriVox
Librivox: My Prime of Youth is but a Frost of Cares by Tichborne, ChidiockJoin Now to Follow
LibriVox volunteers bring you 13 different recordings of My Prime of Youth is but a Frost of Cares by Chidiock Tichborne. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of December 2nd, 2007.
By LibriVox
Librivox: ספר הקבצנים Fishke the Lame (The Book of Beggars) by מנדלה מוכר ספרים Mendele Mocher SforimJoin Now to Follow
Mendele Mocher Seforim (Literary name for Shalom Jacob Abramovitsch) (1835 - 1917, b. Kapulye, Belorussia), one of the first modern Jewish writers, wrote in both Hebrew and Yiddish throughout his career. In his work he described with sharp satirical criticism the traditional life in small Jewish towns, as well as tendencies for assimilation of learned Jews at the time. He was regarded as the "grandfather of Yiddish literature," but the Hebraic-Zionist atmosphere in Odessa influenced him, and in 1886 he turned to writing Hebrew fiction. The Book of Beggars, or Fishke the Lame, was one of the first romances written in Hebrew in Eastern Europe. It was published in Yiddish in 1869 and later translated into Hebrew by the author. Mendeli used a satirical style mixed with tears and compassion to describe Jews of the lowest classes in small poor communities in Eastern Europe of the second half of the 19th century, organized to look for food and charity. This was the background for an entangled story of theft, rape and sentimental love, with an emphasis on suffering and hardships of women. (Summary by Omri Lernau)
By LibriVox
Librivox: Outline of Science, Vol. 1, The (Solo) by Thomson, J. ArthurJoin Now to Follow
In The Outline of Science, Thomson gives us a window into scientific thinking as it stood in 1922 on the big, the little, and the biological. With straightforward language intended for a general audience, this book covers astronomy from the Solar System to the Milky Way, the submicroscopic makeup of matter from protons and electrons, and the evolution of simple living beings into the varied fauna of the world today. Thomson cites many examples that would have been familiar to his readers of the day and notes where scientific understanding leaves off and conjecture begins. He clearly shows how the accumulation of observation and experiment stacked up to form the body of knowledge reported in the book. For even the scientifically well-versed, there will be interesting nuggets, for investigation into how the world came to be as it was, was both wide and deep. To a modern listener, what was not known may be as interesting as what was. With the 100-inch Mt. Wilson reflector the largest telescope in the world, the existence of galaxies outside the Milky Way was suspected but not confirmed. Neutrons, soon to become important in the field of nuclear energy and atomic bombs, were as yet unguessed-at, yet the prospect of liberating the immense energy of the atom was already a keen interest. Although the famous Michaelson-Morley experiment had already been seen as disproof of an all-pervading "ether" which facilitated the flow of energy across empty space, scientists still retained ether as a place-holder for properties they could measure but not explain - an approach very similar to the "dark matter" of modern cosmology. Regardless of your personal sentiments on Darwin's theory of evolution, Thomson provides well-chosen examples that illustrate why this theory arose. He examines not only the fossil record but the evidences present in modern living beings that the process of evolution is by no means finished, but ongoing. Even at that time, Thomson worried over the future of energy sources. He contemplated the exhaustion of the coal fields and indeed, the eventual exhaustion of all usable energy in the universe, foreshadowing our concept of entropy. This book has been consistently among the "Top 100 E-Books" published by Project Gutenberg. Summary by Mark F. Smith.
By LibriVox
Librivox: Fables in Rhyme for Little Folks by La Fontaine, Jean deJoin Now to Follow
Several of La Fontaine's fables, translated into English by W. T. Larned. (Summary by bge1234)
By LibriVox
Librivox: Short Nonfiction Collection Vol. 006 by VariousJoin Now to Follow
A collection of fifteen short nonfiction works in the public domain. The essays, speeches and reports included in this collection were independently selected by the readers, and the topics encompass history, politics, medicine, nature and religion. Included in this collection are speeches by George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses, several interesting or historic articles from Vanity Fair and the NY times, as well as writings of Eugene Debs, Alexander von Humboldt, Lena Morrow Lewis, Joseph Lister and C. M. Ellis. (summary by J. M. Smallheer)
By LibriVox
Librivox: Favourite Chapters Collection 003 by VariousJoin Now to Follow
A collection of LibriVox volunteers’ favourite chapters. Some were chosen for being the key chapter in a great novel, others for the wonderful clarity with which great ideas are expressed, and still others because the reader did a wonderful job. Whatever the reason they were chosen, we hope they will give you as much pleasure as they did us. (Summary by David Barnes).
By LibriVox
Librivox: Short Poetry Collection 066 by VariousJoin Now to Follow
LibriVox's Short Poetry Collection 066: a collection of 20 public-domain poems.
By LibriVox
