Free Listens

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:03:00 +0000

I've been meaning to post here, but since the new semester started, things have been busy and don't show signs of letting up. Therefore, I'll probably be posting much less on Free Listens. You'll still see an occasional review, but I'll not be posting every week like in months past.

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:34:00 +0000

I'll not be posting any new reviews for the next few weeks while I'm on vacation for the Christmas and New Years' holidays. Until then, check out these seasonal free audiobooks and stories from years past:

"The Dead" by James Joyce
"Twas the Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore
"A Kidnapped Santa Claus" by L. Frank Baum
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens

"Markheim" by Robert Louis Stevenson

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:40:00 +0000

Source: LibriVox (mp3)
Length: 44 minutes
Reader: William Coon

The story: In desperate need of money on Christmas Day, Markheim approaches a local pawnbroker. Markheim's evil intentions go beyond just selling stolen goods. His deeds, however secretive, do not go unnoticed. A touch of the supernatural enters into the story, bringing the tale beyond the usual trappings of a dark crime story and into a discussion of the nature of evil and the powers of free will.

This story strongly reminded me of Crime and Punishment (previously reviewed) with both its general outline and its themes. The major difference is the addition of the supernatural into the story. This addition allows Stevenson to open up the story into the future and past, but also into the soul of Markheim and investigate the essence of his being. With only a fraction of the length of Dostoevsky's novel, Stevenson is able to visit many of the same themes.

Rating: 8 / 10

The Reader: Coon is a superb reader. He builds the tension of this story so that the listener feels the growing psychological horror of the crime. Even though this recording dates to the early days of LibriVox, Coon's recording is clear and well-made.

photo by wallg via flickr. Creative Commons by attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives

The Wondersmith by Fitz-James O'Brien

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:09:00 +0000

Source: Maria Lectrix (Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 )
Length: 1 hr, 32 min
Reader: Maureen O'Brien

The story: On a back street of 19th century New York stands an odd shop labeled simply "Wondersmith." No one is quite sure what is sold there, though beautiful toy figures are arranged in the shop window. Deep within the Wondersmith store, a secret meeting is held shortly before Christmas to devise a plan to use children's gifts to advance a nefarious plot.

"The Wondersmith" is the type of racist and formulaic tale that sold lurid dime novels in the mid 1800s. The villains are evil gypsies intent on murdering Christian children. The heroine is perfect and noble as she is beautiful. Yet, despite these tropes, the story is exciting and chilling. It's easy to see why such stories sold so well to a public in search of Christmas entertainment.

Rating: 7 / 10

The reader: As the host of the Maria Lectrix podcast, Maureen O'Brien has years of experience in telling stories. Her podcast is focused on Catholic religion, but she also reads stories and books only tangentially related to religion. The archive features large number of stories, novels and religious nonfiction. All this experience shows in her reading of this story. She has a warm, expressive voice that she modulates for the different characters. She slightly alters the text of the story to replace a misused word, but otherwise the story is complete and unabridged.

photo by geekygirlnyc via flickr. Creative Commons attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives.

"The Happy Prince" by Oscar Wilde

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 01:42:00 +0000

Source: Spoken Alexandria (mp3)
Length: 25 min
Reader: Alex Wilson

The story: Children's stories are a convenient framework to present a fable about life in the world of adults. This is what Oscar Wilde does in this famous short story. Like Hard Times, "The Happy Prince" presents the despair of poverty and greed of the rich.

The Prince of the title is a statue of a man who was wealthy in life, but now sees the sadness of the poor from the vantage point of his pedestal. His companion is a sparrow who has delayed in flying south with the rest of his flock and decides to help the prince to alleviate the suffering of the people of the city. The story has the melancholy feel of Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree".

Would this be a good story for modern children? Perhaps. Depressing stories seem to have fallen out of favor recently as parents try to shelter their children against a depressing world, but the lessons of empathy for others is one that everyone, both children and adults, need to learn.

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: Wilson is an outstanding performer of short stories. He voices the creatures and people of this story with such great characterizations that they almost become real. The voice of the birds is an especially expressive one. The recording is superbly engineered and provided in several formats other than the mp3 directly linked above.

Hard Times by Charles Dickens

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:35:00 +0000

Source: Librivox (zipped mp3s)
Length: 12 hr
Readers: narrated by Bob Neufeild, voiced by many

The book: The lower classes do all the work and have little to show for it, while the rich get richer. Charles Dickens saw the same problems 150 years ago that people are protesting today. Like Upton Sinclair in The Jungle (previously reviewed), Dickens blends fiction and social activism in his attack on industrialization and the plight of the working class.

Unlike Sinclair's muckraking style, Dickens lacks authenticity in his novel. At the time of writing this book, Dickens was already a well-known writer, so it's unlikely that his sources were anything better than second-hand accounts of life in the factories. Instead of realism, Dickens makes his industrialists into blatant cartoons, bluntly criticizing what he did not know. Still, the novel is readable for Dickens' sense of humor and his trademark pathos. I just wish he had taken his approach more seriously and shown the real pathos in the working man's life.

Rating: 6 / 10

The readers: This book is presented as a dramatic reading, somewhere between a play and a narration. None of Dickens' words have been changed (the "he said"s are even still there), but different readers play each part. This can be a great help in keeping track of who is who, but it gets a bit disconcerting to hear all the different voices, especially since they have different accents and recording equipment. The parts are done very well, for the most part, and edited together nicely. Bob Neufield, as the narrator, does most of the speaking. The main parts are all well-acted, but I won't spend time naming names. This is an interesting way to present an audiobook and, for the most part, it works.

(Entered in Cym Lowell's Book Review Wednesday. Follow the link to read reviews of other books)

"Second Variety" by Phillip K. Dick

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Source: Librivox (Part 1 | Part 2)
Length: 1 hour, 24 minutes
Reader: Greg Margarite

The story: In case you haven't noticed, I usually try to pair the stories I review with the book I've reviewed earlier in the week. I like the way that interesting comparisons sometimes result from the juxtaposition of two narratives. This week, the book was a science fiction novel that is no longer plausible because the basis in scientific fact has been overturned. In this science fiction story, the science aspect is still plausible, but the political situation it depicts is history.

In the story, a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the U.N. has turned Earth into a battlefield. American scientists left robots called "claws" to battle the Soviets, then fled Earth to the moonbase. When a U.N. General returns to Earth to negotiate a peace treaty, he discovers what the Russians already know -- that the robots have modified themselves into a human form to better trap unsuspecting soldiers. No one can be trusted - anyone could be a robot in disguise.

If you feel you've heard this before, it's because Dick's story has become hugely influencial in science fiction. The 1995 film Screamer's was directly based off the story. More significantly, both The Terminator and the newer version of Battlestar Galactica have elements of Dick's paranoid thriller.
Rating: 8 /10

The reader: I've reviewed Margarite's readings before on this blog, including his tendency to give a William Shatner-like delivery. The more I listen to him, though, the more I like him. It's a good thing that I 've grown to love his readings, since he has an extensive catalogue of science fiction stories that he's narrated for LibriVox.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:54:00 +0000

Source: The Drama Pod
Length: about 10 hours
Reader: Winfred Henson

The book: With modern science at our backs, it's hard to take Journey to the Center of the Earth seriously. We know that there's no secret chambers beneath the Earth's surface hiding dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. From the standpoint of modern geology and biology, calling this book science fiction rather than fantasy is only a matter of its place in the history of the genre.

Yet, in the book, Verne himself, through another character, ridicules his own concept of geology. This technique is also used in Conan Doyle's The Lost World (previously reviewed). In both cases, it gives the author the chance to have an exciting, yet improbable, adventure while also wink at his audience to let them know he's not totally taken in by his own fantasies.

Rating: 7 / 10

The reader: Henson has a deep clear voice. His speech pattern is precise, with distinctly enunciated words. He has a bit of a Southern accent in his narrating voice, but creates accents for the characters. The over-the-top voice he creates for the uncle may strike people as either silly fun or a bit annoying. The recording itself is well-produced with good quality sound.

Internet censorship day

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:48:00 +0000

I usually don't post political issues here, but there's currently a pair of bills in the U.S. Congress that directly relate to Free Listens. If you're not in the United States, feel free to skip this post. The SOPA bill in the U.S. House and the Protect IP Piracy bill in the Senate have good intentions, but I'm concerned that they will result in an overreach of censorship upon many to protect the property rights of a few.

The bills, as I understand them, would block websites to users in the U.S. if a property rights holder complains that there is any copyright violation on the website. So, if I link to a legally free audiobook or story on a website and there is another audiobook or story on that website that might violate copyright in the U.S., then access to that website is blocked.

As I read it, there doesn't even need to be any laws broken for this law to censor a website. For example: I link to a free Creative-Commons licensed audio version of the public domain book "Call of the Wild" at an Australian website. The same website has a free version of "Gone With the Wind" that I don't link to. Because of a difference in the length of copyright in the two countries, "Gone with the Wind" is public domain in Australia, so no laws are being broken, but access to the entire website is blocked!

The legislation has even worse consequences for sites that contain user-generated content, since if one user violates copyright, all are blocked. My blog is hosted on Blogger, so when any of the hundreds of thousands of blogs on Blogger posts a copyright violation, it all goes down. This is clearly unworkable.

Google, Yahoo!, Mozilla, Twitter, Wikimedia, Facebook, and eBay all oppose this legislation. Please read more extensively on this subject, educate yourself, then visit http://americancensorship.org/ to write your Congressperson on this subject.

"The Interior Castle" by Jean Stafford

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 03:13:00 +0000

Source: Miette's bedtime podcast (mp3)
Length: 1 hour, 1 minute
Reader: Miette

The story: In 1938, Stafford was seriously injured in a car accident, an experience which led her to write "The Interior Castle." In the story, Pansy Vanneman is bedridden in the hospital, with a host of injuries and an upcoming reconstructive surgery on her nose. Stafford's description of the pain Pansy experiences both before and during the surgery are some of the most disturbing passages I've ever read.

What's more striking, though, is not the physical pain but the emotional pain. The surgery becomes a violation of Pansy's body as the surgeon probes deeper and causes more pain. The picture of modern medicine is that of impersonal doctors with a veneer of bedside manner, but who see patients as a problem to be solved. This is a story, along with Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Illyich (reviewed previously) that all doctors and medical students should read.

Rating: 8 /10

The reader: Miette has a lovely velvet voice. She has an accent that I just love, with beautiful round vowels. Her phrasing is a bit unconventional at times and she repeats a line at least once, but these imperfections serve to make her reading less professional and more personal. Her reading starts with a little personal anecdote about round food which I initially mistook for the story. The recording cuts off with about 10 minutes to go. None of the story is lost, but there's a considerable bit of silence at the end.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 02:27:00 +0000

Source: LibriVox
Length: 7 hours, 15 minutes
Reader: Karen Savage

The book: Persuasion was recommended to me as "the man's introduction to Jane Austen." The book has several qualities that make it good for men interested in Austen: it's short, reducing the time you've wasted if you don't like it, it's one of Austen's later works, showing a more polished style for those unused to her writing, and many of the male characters are naval officers, making it sort of a shoreside version of a Patrick O'Brien novel. Being male and having already listen to (and mildly enjoyed) Pride and Prejudice, I looked forward to reading this one.

As with Pride and Prejudice, I liked the novel, but failed to see why Austen is so hugely admired by her fans. The plot concerns Anne Elliot, a spinster at age 27, who is re-introduced to her old beau, Captain Frederick Wentworth. Anne and Captain Wentworth had been engaged when Anne was younger and Wentworth was much poorer, but the engagement had been broken off at the advice of Anne's guardian. The reconnaissance and rebuilding of their relationship is an interesting story, full of Austen's wry observations on human nature, but I couldn't really get excited about a novel with so obvious a direction. I appreciate Austen's writing, but I still haven't learned to love her.

Rating: 7 /10

The reader: Karen Savage does a marvelous job at bringing Austen's characters to life. She has a bright tone of voice that manages to convey plenty of emotion with great subtlety, as is fitting for this book. The characters are clearly drawn without the performance of drastically different voices. I can't imagine why anyone would want a professionally made recording when this one is just perfect.

"Pigeons from Hell" by Robert E. Howard

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 01:20:00 +0000

Source: Gremlin Radio (mp3)
Length: 1 hr
Reader: various

The story: Robert E. Howard is best known for his Conan the Barbarian stories (previously reviewed here), but he was also a great horror writer. He also wrote the Solomon Kane stories, featuring a roving Puritan hunting monsters, but this is one of his stand-alone stories. This is one of Howard's scariest stories and a favorite of Stephen King.

When two New Englanders visit the South, they make the mistake of camping out in a deserted antebellum mansion. Despite the title, the pigeons play little direct role in the story - this is not The Birds. Rather, this is a creepy nightmare, full of atmosphere and building suspense. Even though Halloween is over, there's still good reasons to scare yourself silly.

Rating: 8 / 10

The readers: Although I love this story, I'm less enthralled by the audio production. Gremlin Radio went with an old-time style audio theater production for this story. The additional sound effects and music are redundant to a well-crafted piece of prose. The asides voiced by the actors are even more intrusive and have the cheesy effect of doubling the narration with dialog (A paraphrased example: "He wondered where he was. 'Where am I?'"). The distracting effect lessens as the story proceeds, but I wish they had just stuck with Howard's words.

The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 01:13:00 +0000

Source: LibriVox (zipped mp3s)
Length: 2 hours
Reader: Ethan Rampton

The book: For Halloween, here's a creepy story that influenced generations of horror writers. In the novella, a mysterious woman named Helen moves through London society, attracting those around her and leaving disaster in her wake. Who is she and what secret horrors does her beauty conceal?

Machen cleverly leaves it to the imagination most of the descriptions of what Helen actually does. This not only has the advantage of getting around Victorian censors, but also allows the reader to invent more heinous sins than any graphically presented misdeeds. Just like the threat of pain can be more frightening than pain itself, the phrase "as I expect you can guess" is a invitation to darkness.

Rating: 7 / 10

The reader: Rampton has a deep, brooding American accent that increases the atmosphere provided by Machen's words. He gives each character his own voice, allowing the fragments in the last chapter to be easily matched to their authors. The recording itself is well-made.

Happy Halloween!

(photo by Brookie via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons by Attribution Share-Alike)

"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 04:20:00 +0000

Source: Tell Tale Weekly (mp3)
Length: 8 minutes
Reader: Alex Wilson

The poem: "Nevermore." This poem is probably already familiar to you, but it's worth a listen as we approach Halloween weekend. Read aloud, it has a rhythm that builds its suspense that doesn't show up in print.

This isn't a horror of violence, but the horror of depression. I think it's an experience that is more relevant. Personally, I've often felt the loss of a loved one, but very rarely have I felt physically threatened. This horror is real and ever-present, which gives Poe's poem its lasting impact beyond the memorable refrain.

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: I've reviewed Wilson's readings before (see my review of "The Tell Tale Heart"). It's obvious he loves reading Poe's work. This poem, with its strong rhythm and rhyme, can easily become singsong. Wilson avoids this trap and embodies the pathos of the narrator This is a very good recording of a classic poem.

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:51:00 +0000

Source: Lit2Go (iTunesU download)
Length: 6.4 hours
Reader: Fadi Tavoukdjian

The book: Frankenstein is one of those books that's more fun to talk about than it is to read. I rarely felt much excitement or suspense except for chapter in which Victor Frankenstein creates his monster and a few other isolated incidents. The first few chapters after the framing story were particularly dull.

In retrospect, however, it's a great book. The symbolism and thought experiments are classic. This is not just a fable about science overreaching itself; it's a examination of humankind's place in the cosmos. How do we live our lives rightly and well when we're left alone on Earth by our Creator? The religions of the world have attempted to answer this question but even with the wisdom of the Bible, I'm often as confused as the monster as to what to do in some particular situations. Shelly makes the monster more human than his creator, giving us a stand-in for our sometimes bewildering exploration of our lives.

Rating: 7 / 10

The reader: Fadi (I'm not going to try to spell his last name more than once in this post) is one of the better readers I've heard from Lit2Go. He's got a smooth American accent, but affects his voice for the various narrators. He often speaks too quickly, and this speed sometimes causes him to make minor trips over consonants. There are occasional noises of page turns and bumps, but these may be overlooked.

"That Damned Thing" by Ambrose Bierce

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Source: Naxos Audiobooks (mp3)
Length: 20 minutes
Reader: Johnathan Keeble

The story: "Seeing is believing." Unlike most other mammals, we primates rely on our sense of sight over our hearing or sense of smell. So when we can't see something, we become suspicious.

In this story, an invisible monster is on the loose in a mountain wilderness. Bierce plays with the imagery of sight: characters squint at a dead man's dairy, react when they see his mangled body, and disbelieve the testimony of an eyewitness to his death. Yet, we get the sense that the monster is not actually evil, but simply hated because he cannot be seen.

Rating: 7 / 10

The reader: Keeble is a professional voice actor in a professional audiobook. He creates distinct voices for each of the characters, making it easy to follow the action. His performance definitely adds to the appeal of this story. This is a free sample of a larger collection of stories. It's only free until the end of October, 2011, so download it soon.

The Willows by Algernon Blackwood

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:58:00 +0000

Source: LibriVox (zipped mp3s)
Length: 2 hours, 21 minutes
Reader: Michael Thomas Robinson

The book: Considered one of the greatest stories in horror literature, The Willows lives up to its reputation. Two friends canoeing down the Danube stop for the night on an island in the middle of a huge expanse of willow trees. The place seems mystic, almost otherworldly, and in the night the two interlopers find out why.

Blackwood could have set this story in any exotic river in the world, but he chose the Danube. This river, which runs through the heart of Europe, is the wildness that runs through what was then the epitome of civilization. As the atmosphere of this turns from idyllic to terrifying, Blackwood is showing that the unknown horrors of the world can be anywhere, even where we should be the most safe. This, I think, is the most horrifying realization of all.

Rating: 9 / 10

The reader: At first, I was not impressed by Robinson's voice. He's somewhat nasal, and starts the book with a bored, straightforward style. As the story went on, though, I realized the initial bored tone was probably intentional, contrasting with the building dread of the story. His pace quickens and slows to build the tension, drawing the listener into the horror of what the narrator is experiencing. Despite my early misgivings, I greatly enjoyed this reading.

(entered in Cym Lowell's Book Review Party Wednesday)

"A & P" by John Updike

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:34:00 +0000

Source: The New Yorker Fiction Podcast (mp3)
Length: 29 minutes
Reader: Allegra Goodman

The story: People don't grow up all at once. Sammy, the narrator of this great short story, is a young man crossing the doorstep of adulthood. At the A & P Supermarket where he works, three girls come in dressed in swimsuits. Sammy's response to them is a mixture of teenage objectification mixed with the kernel of a more mature view. He seems to lurch between wondering if girls think at at all and feeling great empathy for them when a manager scolds the girls.

I love the character of this narrator. I never really liked Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye; Sammy's attitude is similar to Holden's, but much more interesting to me in all his flaws. I think that's because Sammy shows more promise of growing into a person I would want to be. In such a short introduction, Updike lets us know the hope and tragedy of being young.

Rating: 8 /10

The reader: As she says in the introduction, Goodman really enjoys this story. Her familiarity and love of the piece comes through in the vibrancy of her reading. Her imitation of the cash register's song made me laugh. One of the things I enjoy the most about the New Yorker fiction podcast is the discussion afterwords. It's always fun to see what they thought about the story and compare their thoughts with my own observations.

(photo by RoadsidePictures via flickr. Creative Commons by attribution non-commercial.)

The Aspern Papers by Henry James

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:09:00 +0000

Source: LibriVox (zipped mp3s)
Length: 3 hr, 51 min
Reader: Nicholas Clifford

The book: "Why do you have to go around raking in the past?" asks the elderly Mrs. Bordereau to the unnamed narrator. He's trying to obtain letters the (fictional) American poet Jeffery Aspern wrote to Bordereau during their love affair many years ago. Mrs. Bordereau, accompanied by her niece Miss Tita, jealously guards her privacy against the prying eyes of the literary world, from which the narrator is an undercover agent of sorts.

Henry James considered this his best novella, even better than his well-known The Turn of the Screw (audiobook previously reviewed here). James was a great believer in individual privacy, even for those with fame. Knowing the personal details of a great man's life is both fascinating and inspirational. Yet even the most respectful biographers lay bare secret emotions and words of their subjects. Watching James struggle with this conflict through his characters in this book makes for a intriguing read.

Rating: 7 / 10

The reader: This audiobook places a good reader in a bad recording. Nicholas Clifford has a soft, expressive voice that fits the character of the literary historian who narrates the book. The recording, however, makes it difficult to hear his performance. There is a continual hiss in the background and it seemed to me that the sound volume slowly rose and fell throughout the book, forcing me to turn up or turn down the volume controls constantly. If you're hearing this book in a noisy car or on bad headphones, the recording may be an issue for you, but if you're hearing the book in an otherwise good listening environment, the annoyances will probably be minor.

(Entered in Cym Lowell's Book Review Party Wednesdays)

"Meditation 17" by John Donne

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Source: LibriVox (mp3)
Length: 5 minutes
Reader: Shawn Craig Smith

The essay: Donne's "Meditation XVII" is full of famous quotes: "All mankind is of one author and is one volume, ""No man is an island," and "Ask not for whom the bell tolls." As I listened, I found myself waiting for these greatest hits and missing the impact of the piece as a whole, ironically enough for an essay about the importance of the whole of mankind.

The meditation itself is surprising for the time it was written. Donne asserts that every human is a part of the larger brotherhood of mankind, and that we should feel the loss whenever any one dies. This death, he goes on to say, should not be seen as a detriment, but as gain since it reminds the one living to live his life well. Coming from someone in a time when a rigid class structure was in place, this brotherhood of man talk seems downright revolutionary. Of course, I'm not sure if Donne's brotherhood extended to non-white, non-Christian, non-European, or non-male humanity, but read as an all-inclusive embrace of mankind, it's an inspirational message.

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: Smith is a gifted amateur reader who has the difficult task of breaking the archaic grammar of the 1600s into a speech pattern that is listenable for the modern audience. He largely succeeds at this formidable task, bringing the words of Donne to life. He speaks with a earnest note of pleading that reflects the persuasive tone of the essay. There is a bit of a metallic flatness in the recording, as if the pickup levels were too high, but it's not enough to harm the quality of the reading.

(Photo by Rudy A Giron. Creative Commons by attribution noncommercial share-alike.)

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 11:09:00 +0000

Source: Speak the Speech (Act I | II | III |IV| V )
Length: 2 hours
Readers: Cast directed by Cynthia McGean

The play: Opening in a great storm at sea, The Tempest is a play that's easy enough to enjoy from the beginning, but has the depth and power suggested by its name. The plot is rather simple: Prospero, the former duke of Milan, has escaped to after his brother led a coup against him with the support of the King of Naples. Years later, Prospero summons a magical storm to ensnare the boat of his enemies. The remainder of the play consists of Prospero using magic to solve all of his own problems and foil the plots of the villains.

Yet underneath the simplistic solutions lie more problems. Is Prospero a hero or is his manipulation of those around him a troubling sign of a dark character? Is his punishment the malformed island native Caliban deserved or is Caliban the victim the oppression? Thought to be the last of Shakespeare's plays, it's apparent that the Bard sees a part of himself in the magician as he says farewell to the stage: "As you from crimes would pardon'd be, / Let your indulgence set me free."

Rating: 8 / 10

The readers: This is a full cast production with attendant sound effects and music. The sound effects are not overdone, but I found the twinkling chimes that signify Prospero's magic to be rather trite. The music is nicely performed and uses processed vocal effects to give an otherworldly feel to the fairy songs. The actors, particularly Prospero, Caliban, and Antonio, give a great performance, but it can sometimes be difficult to discern who is speaking what lines. For this reason and for the understanding of uncommon words, I recommend that listeners follow along with the text of the play. This version of the play is unabridged, Speak the Speech also offers an abridged one-hour version for download as well.

(Entered in Cym Lowell's Book Review Wednesdays)

No new reviews this week

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 22:27:00 +0000

I'll be skipping a week of reviews due to quarter-term exams in the classes I'm teaching. Next week, I'll be back with another free audiobook and free audio story review.

"A Wagner Matinee" by Willa Cather

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Source: McDougal Littell Literature, Grade 11 (mp3)
Length: 20 min
Reader: Unlisted

The story: When I first moved to a city for college, I knew I'd never go back to living in a suburb. All around me were art galleries, coffee shops, neighborhood bars, funky stores that sold things I had never seen and restaurants that didn't serve photocopied meals from corporate headquarters. Best of all was the music, not the recorded stuff that passes out of radios, but real live music played by people I could see and touch. I don't go to concerts as much as I did as a student, but I still try to make it to a few concerts every year, be it rock, blues, classical, or choral.

In this story, Willa Cather takes a break from her usual setting of the plains of Nebraska to tell of an old farm wife who visits her nephew in Boston. Knowing that she was once an accomplished musician in Boston, the nephew takes her to the Boston Opera House for a Wagner performance. Cather's description of the aunt's reaction to the music shows the author's great empathy for her characters and understanding of humanity. This is a great short piece about the power of live music and the pain of choices that change our lives forever.

Rating: 7 / 10

The reader: This is a professionally produced recording and narrator, though I can't seem to find the reader's name on the website. The source is from McDougal Littell's webpage for users of its high school literature textbooks, but the audio files are available to the public. There's lots of great stories listed on the page, but most are short summaries with only a few being full-length readings of the stories or poems.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 01:01:00 +0000

Source: LibriVox (zipped mp3 | M4B file)
Length: Approx. 4 hours
Reader: Kristin Luoma

The book: Conrad's notoriously difficult book is like the jungle it depicts: full of mystery, intimidating, but with great wonders lurking beneath the surface. The surface story tells the tale of Charles Marlow, an ivory trader sent into the wilds of Africa to find and bring back Kurtz, another ivory trader who has gone insane. As Marlow continues his journey up the river, the narrative grows more nightmarish and dense. It's a daunting experience for the reader, but rewards with nesting questions of the nature of good and evil, civilization and wildness, European and colonial.

Like a jungle expedition, this one is made much more enjoyable with a good guide. Fortunately, the first time I read this book in high school, I had a great teacher as a guide. The characters' words and actions are not always in line with what Marlow as narrator or Conrad as author really believe. Readers, even knowledgeable ones, can read different meanings into the book. Though it's interesting to debate the symbols and motivations within the book, I think Conrad's real purpose is to show that we sometimes can't know a jungle (or man or culture) fully, only appreciate the complexity.

Rating: 8 /10

The reader: Kristin is a experienced reader for LibriVox. She doesn't put the emotion and dynamism into the reading that some other readers do, but reads with a clear, steady pace and neutral tone. In such an ambiguous novel as this, that means that it's up to the listener to interpret meaning. There's more work on the listeners' brain, which makes it harder to listen to, but ultimately can be a more free experience.

(entered in Cym Lowell's Book Review Party Wednesday. Follow the link for more reviews of other books)

BBAW: My Blogging Community

noreply@blogger.com (Listener) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:22:00 +0000

Happy Book Blogger Appreciation Week. The theme for this Monday is my blogging community, the bloggers that I read every post and feel a kinship with. I've listed some of my favorite blogs below.

Free Audio Review: Felbrigg started his blog on free audiobooks about the same time I did mine. He's got good tastes in audiobooks, and I always can find a good new candidate for reviews.

Fantasy Literature and SFFaudio are two blogs that I occasionally write columns for, but I was a fan of both long before either asked me to post. Both cover science fiction and fantasy literature, from slightly different perspectives.

The Reading Life: I'm not sure why more book bloggers don't review short stories; they're my favorite part of The Reading Life. Mel u does an excellent job of looking deep into classic fiction, both short and long forms. I've found several great suggestions there.

The Blue Bookcase: I first found the Blue Bookcase through the Literary Book Bloggers Hop, but I've also enjoyed their regular posts as well. One of my favorite features is The Reading List, a introduction to the greatest hits of sub-sub-genres.

I know I'm probably forgetting someone I love to read. If I left you out, don't feel bad, I may have just had a mental lapse. Let me know what your favorite blogs are and maybe I'll add them to the list.