Arts Podcasts

Librivox: Peace On Earth, Good-Will to Dogs by Abbott, Eleanor Hallowell show

Librivox: Peace On Earth, Good-Will to Dogs by Abbott, Eleanor HallowellJoin Now to Follow

If you don't like Christmas stories, don't read this one! And if you don't like dogs I don't know just what to advise you to do! For I warn you perfectly frankly that I am distinctly pro-dog and distinctly pro-Christmas, and would like to bring to this little story whatever whiff of fir-balsam I can cajole from the make-believe forest in my typewriter, and every glitter of tinsel, smudge of toy candle, crackle of wrapping paper, that my particular brand of brain and ink can conjure up on a single keyboard! And very large-sized dogs shall romp through every page! And the mercury shiver perpetually in the vicinity of zero! And every foot of earth be crusty-brown and bare with no white snow at all till the very last moment when you'd just about given up hope! And all the heart of the story is very,—oh very young! For purposes of propriety and general historical authenticity there are of course parents in the story. And one or two other oldish persons. But they all go away just as early in the narrative as I can manage it.—Are obliged to go away! Yet lest you find in this general combination of circumstances some sinister threat of audacity, let me conventionalize the story at once by opening it at that most conventional of all conventional Christmas-story hours,—the Twilight of Christmas Eve."

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Librivox: Short Nonfiction Collection Vol. 004 by Various show

Librivox: Short Nonfiction Collection Vol. 004 by VariousJoin Now to Follow

A collection of eleven short nonfiction works in the public domain. The items included in this collection were independently selected by the readers, and the topics encompass history, conservation, philosophy, politics, religion and cooking. Included in this collection are Thomas Jefferson's first Inaugural Address, "Secession" by Alexander H. Stephens, "Of Truth" and the preface to "The New Organon, or True Directions Concerning the Interpretation of Nature" by Francis Bacon, John Donne's last sermon delivered in March 1631, "On Old Age" by Cicero, a chapter from "The Fight for Conservation" by Gifford Pinchot, The Sacredness of Work" by Thomas Carlyle and an essay "On the Unjust Causes of War" by Hugo Grotius. On the lighter side, try selections from "Cocoa and Chocolate Recipes" by Miss Parloa and a 1912 article from Scientific American on the amazing escapes of Harry Houdini. (summary by J. M. Smallheer)

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Librivox: Lady Audley's Secret by Braddon, Mary Elizabeth show

Librivox: Lady Audley's Secret by Braddon, Mary ElizabethJoin Now to Follow

Mary Elizabeth Braddon's first novel, Lady Audley's Secret, was one of the most popular English novels of its day. Published serially in 1862, it tells the story of the lovely Lucy Graham, who becomes Lady Audley at the beginning of the novel, and who conceals a scandalous secret from her new husband and his family. The plot, which includes madness, bigamy, attempted murder, and seduction, made this a shocking but highly successful story for Victorian audiences. It remains one of the best examples of 19th century sensational fiction, and is a wonderfully absorbing book. (Summary written by gloriana).

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Librivox: In Memoriam A.H.H. by Tennyson, Alfred, Lord show

Librivox: In Memoriam A.H.H. by Tennyson, Alfred, LordJoin Now to Follow

In Memoriam is Tennyson's elegiac tribute to his friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died in 1833 at the age of 22. Tennyson wrote this long poem over 17 years as a chronicle of his mourning process. The poem became a favorite of Queen Victoria when she was grieving for her husband, and was one of the most popular and artistically influential poems of the Victorian period. (Summary by gloriana).

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Librivox: Kim by Kipling, Rudyard show

Librivox: Kim by Kipling, RudyardJoin Now to Follow

Kim is a fabulous adventure story set in India during the former British Empire. It tells the story of a street-wise but (in typical Kipling fashion) highly moral Anglo-Indian boy who becomes enmeshed the “the Great Game” -– the competition between Britain and Russia for control over Asia. Taking time off from his role as the traveling companion of an aged Tibetan lama, the boy is trained as a spy, matches wits with various evildoers, and wins out in the end. So much more than just a spy story, Kim is one of the most enjoyable books that you will ever read -- or have read to you. Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was born in Bombay, India. He was the author of many short stories and novels including The Jungle Book. (summary by

By LibriVox

Librivox: In the Field (1914-1915) by Dupont, Marcel show

Librivox: In the Field (1914-1915) by Dupont, MarcelJoin Now to Follow

I have merely tried to make a written record of some of the hours I have lived through during the course of this war. A modest Lieutenant of Chasseurs, I cannot claim to form any opinion as to the operations which have been carried out for the last nine months on an immense front. I only speak of things I have seen with my own eyes, in the little corner of the battlefield occupied by my regiment. (Summary by the author)

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Librivox: Second Latchkey, The by Williamson, Charles Norris show

Librivox: Second Latchkey, The by Williamson, Charles NorrisJoin Now to Follow

Jewelry thefts, society parties, clairvoyance, and romance marks this mystery, which is set in England and the US in the early 20th century. (Summary by Gesine)

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Librivox: Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories, The by Twain, Mark show

Librivox: Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories, The by Twain, MarkJoin Now to Follow

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg" is a piece of short fiction by Mark Twain. It first appeared in Harper's Monthly in December 1899, and was subsequently published by Harper Collins in the collection The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories and Sketches (1900). This recording contains all the stories and sketches from the 1900 Harper Collins publication. (Summary from wikipedia and John)

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Librivox: Chronicles of Canada Volume 07 - The Fighting Governer : A Chronicle of Frontenac by Colby, Charles W. show

Librivox: Chronicles of Canada Volume 07 - The Fighting Governer : A Chronicle of Frontenac by Colby, Charles W.Join Now to Follow

The Canada to which Frontenac came in 1672 was no longer the infant colony it had been when Richelieu founded the Company of One Hundred Associates. Though its inhabitants numbered less than seven thousand, the institutions under which they lived could not have been more elaborate or precise. In short, the divine right of the king to rule over his people was proclaimed as loudly in the colony as in the motherland. This book follows Frontenac through his life as a public officer in Canada.

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Librivox: Burgess Bird Book for Children, The by Burgess, Thornton W. show

Librivox: Burgess Bird Book for Children, The by Burgess, Thornton W.Join Now to Follow

The Burgess Bird Book for Children is a zoology book written in the form of a story featuring Peter Rabbit. Peter learns from his friend Jenny Wren all about the birds of North America, and we meet many of them in the Old Orchard, the Green Meadow, and the Green Forest. (summary by Laurie Anne Walden)

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