Arts Podcasts
Librivox: Jewish Children (Yudishe Kinder) by Sholem AleichemJoin Now to Follow
Although written from a child's perspective, this is not a kids book but a series of funny, poignant, and sometimes disturbing stories about life in a late 19th-century Russian-Jewish village -- the world of my grandparents. Sholem Rabinovich (1859-1916) was born in Pereiaslav, Ukraine and later immigrated to New York. His short stories about Tevye and his daughters were freely adapted into the musical FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. Rabinovich's will contained the following injunction: "Let my name be recalled with laughter or not at all." His translator, Hannah Berman, was Irish of Lithuanian descent. Some of these stories may be too intense for younger children. (summary by Adrian Praetzellis)
By LibriVox
Librivox: Paradise Lost by Milton, JohnJoin Now to Follow
Paradise Lost is the first epic of English literature written in the classical style. John Milton saw himself as the intellectual heir of Homer, Virgil, and Dante, and sought to create a work of art which fully represented the most basic tenets of the Protestant faith. His work, which was dictated from memory and transcribed by his daughter, remains as one of the most powerful English poems.
By LibriVox
Librivox: Жития Святых, т. 01 - септемврий (Zhitiia Sviatykh, v. 01 - September) by Dimitriĭ, Saint Metropolitan of RostovJoin Now to Follow
Жития и похвалы святых подобятся светлостию звездам: якоже бо звезды положением на небеси утвержденны суть, всю же поднебесную просвещают, тыяжде и от Индиан зрятся, ни сокрываются от скифов, землю озаряют, и морю светят, и плавающих корабли управляют: ихже имен аще и не вемы множества ради, обаче светлей доброте их чудимся. Сице и светлость святых, аще и затворены суть мощи их во гробех, но силы их в поднебесней земными пределы не суть определенны: чудимся тех житию, и удивляемся славе, еюже Бог угодившыя Ему прославляет. [St. Symeon Metaphrastes on the Lives of the Saints, 10th century A. D. ENGLISH TRANSLATION: The lives and the eulogies of the Saints resemble, by their luminosity, the stars: for as the stars, firmly studded in the firmament as they are, illume the entire universe, and the same stars are beheld by the Indians, and are not hid from the Scythians, and shed their radiance over the earth and the seas, and show the way to the ships: and even if we know not their names for their multitude’s sake, we as yet admire their brilliant loveliness. So, too, doeth the brilliance of the Saints, even when their relics are shut under a tombstone, yet their miracles in the entire universe are not bound by earthly confines: we admire their lives and wonder at the glory wherewith God glorifieth those who have pleased Him. This succinct description is found as introduction to each of the 12 volumes of the Church Slavonic Lives.]
By LibriVox
Librivox: Nagelaten Bekentenis, Een by Emants, MarcellusJoin Now to Follow
"Mijn vrouw is dood en al begraven." Hiermee opent Willem Termeer zijn bekentenis. Het zou zonde zijn om hier meer details te vermelden - laat Termeer zijn eigen verhaal maar vertellen. Teaser in English: this Dutch classic starts with the famous opening line: “My wife is dead and has already been buried.” It's written by the recent widower, and the book is entitled “a posthumous confession”. That will give you some idea of the contents.... (Summary by Anna Simon)
By LibriVox
Librivox: 9/11 Commission Report, The by 9/11 CommissionJoin Now to Follow
9/11 Commission Report, formally titled Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, is the official report of the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks. It was prepared by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (informally sometimes known as the "9/11 Commission" or the "Kean/Zelikow Commission") at the request of the President of the United States and Congress. The commission convened on November 26, 2002 (441 days after the attack) and their final report was issued on July 22, 2004
By LibriVox
Librivox: Horror Story Collection 005 by VariousJoin Now to Follow
An occasional collection of 10 horror stories by various readers. We aim to unsettle you a little, to cut through the pink cushion of illusion that shields you from the horrible realities of life. Here are the walking dead, the fetid pools of slime, the howls in the night that you thought you had confined to your more unpleasant dreams.
By LibriVox
Librivox: Annals Vol 3, The by Tacitus, Publius CorneliusJoin Now to Follow
The Annals was Tacitus' final work, covering the period from the death of Augustus Caesar in the year 14. He wrote at least 16 books, but books 7-10 and parts of books 5, 6, 11 and 16 are missing. Book 6 ends with the death of Tiberius and books 7-12 presumably covered the reigns of Caligula and Claudius. The remaining books cover the reign of Nero, perhaps until his death in June 68 or until the end of that year, to connect with the Histories. The second half of book 16 is missing, ending with the events of the year 66. We do not know whether Tacitus completed the work or whether he finished the other works that he had planned to write; he died before he could complete his planned histories of Nerva and Trajan, and no record survives of the work on Augustus Caesar and the beginnings of the Empire with which he had planned to complete his work as an historian. (Summary from Wikipedia.)
By LibriVox
Librivox: Boys Life of Mark Twain, The by Paine, Albert BigelowJoin Now to Follow
Albert Bigelow Paine was Samuel Langhorne Clemens' (Mark Twain's) biographer. He lived with Twain, collecting ideas and material for a biography, for a few years before Twain's death in 1910. Six years later Paine published this "story of a man who made the world laugh and love him". For those who have read or listened to Mark Twain's works, Paine's work is an invaluable resource to better understand Twain, the stories behind his stories and his life with those he loved and with whom he worked. (Summary by John Greenman)
By LibriVox
Librivox: Epistles of Ignatius by Ignatius of Antioch, SaintJoin Now to Follow
Ignatius of Antioch penned these letters to churches (Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, and Smyrnaeans) and Polycarp on his way to martyrdom. Ignatius was an apologist for the Episcopal style of church government (as opposed to sole rule by a council of presbyters) which developed in the late first or early second century. Eager to die in imitation of his Savior, it was Ignatius who wrote this to the Roman church: "I am God's wheat, and I am ground by the teeth of wild beasts that I may be found pure bread [of Christ]." (Summary by Sam Stinson)
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Librivox: Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Hardy, ThomasJoin Now to Follow
I’LL WRITE THE SUMMARY LATER (Summary by Adrian Praetzellis)
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