Audio Podcast Directory - Podcasts with only audio episodes
Librivox: How to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Day by Bennett, ArnoldJoin Now to Follow
"Which of us lives on twenty-four hours a day? And when I say 'lives,' I do not mean exists, nor 'muddles through.'" -- Arnold Bennett knew a "rat race" when he saw one. Every day, his fellow white-collar Londoners followed the same old routine. And they routinely decried the sameness in their lives.-- So Bennett set out to explain how to inject new enthusiasm into living. In this delightful little work, he taught his fellow sufferers how to set time apart for improving their lives. Yes, he assured them, it could be done. Yes, if you want to feel connected with the world, instead of endlessly pacing the treadmill (or, "exceeding your programme", as he called it), you must do so.-- For time, as he gleefully notes, is the ultimate democracy. Each of us starts our day with 24 hours to spend. Even a saint gets not a minute more; even the most inveterate time-waster is docked not a second for his wastrel ways. And he can choose today to turn over a new leaf! -- Bennett believed that learning to discern cause and effect in the world would give his readers an endless source of enjoyment and satisfaction. Instead of only being able to discuss what they had heard, they could graduate to what they thought... and lift themselves completely from the deadening influence of a day at the office. (Summary by Mark F Smith)
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Librivox: Fisher's Boy, The by Thoreau, Henry DavidJoin Now to Follow
LibriVox volunteers bring you 11 different recordings of the Fisher’s Boy by Henry David Thoreau. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of May 13th, 2007.
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Librivox: Jane Eyre by Brontë, CharlotteJoin Now to Follow
Jane Eyre is not your typical romance. It is a story of a woman who struggles with a world in which she doesn't quite fit. Once finished with her schooling, and with no family that really cares of her she strikes out on her own as a governess. Jane Eyre searches for love, someone to care for her, and someone to care for, and finds it in unexpected places. (summary by Kri)
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Librivox: Washington Square by James, HenryJoin Now to Follow
Washington Square is a short novel by Henry James. Originally published in 1880 as a serial in Cornhill Magazine and Harper's New Monthly Magazine, it is a structurally simple tragicomedy that recounts the conflict between a dull but sweet daughter and her brilliant, domineering father. The book is often compared to Jane Austen's work for the clarity and grace of its prose and its intense focus on family relationships. James was hardly a great admirer of Jane Austen, so he might not have regarded the comparison as flattering. In fact, James was not a great fan of Washington Square itself. He tried to read it over for inclusion in the New York Edition of his fiction (1907-1909) but found that he couldn't, and the novel was not included. Other readers, though, have sufficiently enjoyed the book to make it one of the more popular works of the Jamesian canon.
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Librivox: Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood by MacDonald, GeorgeJoin Now to Follow
George MacDonald is mainly known for his fantasy works and fairy tales such as At the Back of the North Wind and the Princess and the Goblin. However, during his life he was more famous for many more realistic novels. . . among them the somewhat autobiographical Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood. This story of a young motherless boy growing up with his brothers in a Scottish manse is full of delightful characters. There is Kirsty, an enchanting Highland storyteller, Turkey, the intrepid cowherd, the evil Kelpie, and the lovely Elsie Duff. Throughout the twists and turns of his escapades and adventures Ranald learns from his father the important lessons of courage and integrity. When Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood came out in 1871 the New York Independent praised it as "full of sweetness, full of boy-life and true goodness". Perhaps, but it is also a good story, from the master of storytellers. (Summary by Bookworm)
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Librivox: Dream Psychology by Freud, SigmundJoin Now to Follow
Not a few serious-minded students, [...], have been discouraged from attempting a study of Freud's dream psychology. The book in which he originally offered to the world his interpretation of dreams was as circumstantial as a legal record to be pondered over by scientists at their leisure, not to be assimilated in a few hours by the average alert reader. In those days, Freud could not leave out any detail likely to make his extremely novel thesis evidentially acceptable to those willing to sift data. - Freud himself, however, realized the magnitude of the task which the reading of his magnum opus imposed upon those who have not been prepared for it by long psychological and scientific training and he abstracted from that gigantic work the parts which constitute the essential of his discoveries. The publishers of the present book deserve credit for presenting to the reading public the gist of Freud's psychology in the master's own words, and in a form which shall neither discourage beginners, nor appear too elementary to those who are more advanced in psychoanalytic study. - Dream psychology is the key to Freud's works and to all modern psychology. With a simple, compact manual such as Dream Psychology there shall be no longer any excuse for ignorance of the most revolutionary psychological system of modern times. (From the book introduction, by Andre Tridon)
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Librivox: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (abridged) by Carroll, LewisJoin Now to Follow
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a work of children's literature by the English mathematician and author, the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, written under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells the story of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit-hole into a fantasy realm populated by grotesque figures like talking playing cards and anthropomorphic creatures. The Wonderland described in the tale plays with logic in ways that have made the story of lasting popularity with adults as well as children. It is considered to be one of the most characteristic examples of the genre of literary nonsense. (Wikipedia)
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Librivox: Enchiridion of Augustine, The by Augustine of Hippo, SaintJoin Now to Follow
The Enchiridion, Manual, or Handbook of Augustine of Hippo is alternatively titled, "Faith, Hope, and Love". The Enchiridion is a compact treatise on Christian piety, written in response to a request by an otherwise unknown person, named Laurentis, shortly after the death of Saint Jerome in 420. It is intended as a model for Christian instruction or catechesis. - As the title indicates, the work is organized according to the three graces necessary for the Christian worship of God: Faith, Hope and Love. Under Faith, Augustine explains the use of the Apostles' Creed, in teaching Christian doctrine and in refuting heresies. Under Hope, he briefly explains the Lord's Prayer as a model of Christian prayer. The final part is a discourse on Christian love. (Summary from Wikipedia)
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Librivox: Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing, The by Trienens, JosephJoin Now to Follow
Written in 1910, this "cyclopedia" is full of information that was quite useful at the time. A hundred years later, its text is more humorous than practical -- although some advice never goes out of style. (Summary by Rachelellen)
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Librivox: Advance of Science in the Last Half-Century, The by Huxley, T. H.Join Now to Follow
Thomas H. Huxley, an English biologist and essayist, was an advocate of the theory of evolution and a self-proclaimed agnostic. A talented writer, his essays helped to popularize science in the 19th century, and he is credited with the quote, "Try to learn something about everything and everything about something." In The Advance of Science in the Last Half Century , he presents a summary of the major developments in Physics, Chemistry and Biology during the period 1839-1889 and their impact on society, within the historical context of philosophical thought and scientific inquiry going back to Aristotle. Huxley’s clear and readable prose makes this subject equally enjoyable for both the student of scientific history and the casual listener alike. (Summary by the reader.)
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