56 flavors of Pi proudly produced by volunteers to celebrate Pi Day, 2008. (3/14) Don't worry, you don't have to listen to an infinite string of numbers: each reader presents just the first 50 digits in styles of their own choosing. In light of the spirit of this occasion (and the might of our spirited community), this offering makes a gentle exception to the policy of faithfully presenting just the text. This is the real Pi, but served up with a side of sillies -- it's ...
Science, Essay/Short nonfiction, Humor
Witty, opinionated alphabetical examples of what Bierce considered poor (American) English and advice on alternatives - entertaining, thought-provoking, occasionally outdated but so interesting to see how style and taste have changed.
Instruction, Humor
The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today is an 1873 novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner that satirizes greed and political corruption in post-Civil War America. The term gilded age , commonly given to the era, comes from the title of this book. Twain and Warner got the name from Shakespeare's King John (1595): To gild refined gold, to paint the lily... is wasteful and ridiculous excess. Gilding a lily, which is already beautiful and not in need of further adornment, is ...
Fiction, Satire
volunteers bring you 24 recordings of Velvet Shoes by Elinor Wylie. This was the Weekly Poetry project for December 6th, 2009.
Poetry
Dit is een verzameling van kort Nederlandstalig proza van allerlei aard - fictie en non-fictie. Uitgekozen en gelezen door vrijwilligers van .
Essay/Short nonfiction, Short stories
Lester del Rey (1915 – 1993) was a Golden Age science fiction author and editor closely connected to John W. Campbell Jr. and Astounding Science Fiction magazine. He also founded Del Rey Books, a popular publishing label he edited with his wife Judy-Lynn. Victory is the story of an undefended Earth in a warring galaxy. It appeared in the August 1955 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. (Summary by Gregg Margarite)
Science fiction
Dans ce roman, le scientifique français Pierre Aronnax, son fidèle domestique Conseil et le harponneur canadien Ned Land sont capturés par le capitaine Nemo qui navigue dans les océans du globe à bord du sous-marin Nautilus. L'aventure donne l'occasion de descriptions épiques (dont un enterrement sous-marin, un combat contre des calamars géants, etc.) Œuvre d'anticipation, Vingt mille lieues sous les mers comporte plusieurs épisodes qui témoignent de l'imagination de son...
Adventure, Fiction, Teen/Young adult
Spirits in Bondage is C.S. Lewis’s first book and the first of his works to be available in the public domain. It was released in 1919 under the pseudonym of Clive Hamilton and was written in a period of darker thought for C.S. Lewis than was later evidenced in his Christian apologist writings. The darkness of the verse is most evident in Part One (The Prison House), begins to change in the short transitional Part Two (Hesitation) and attains a more hopeful tone in the f...
This is a compilation and publication of sleep-related poetry, exalting the delight of sleep, as well as bemoaning the lack of it. (written by Clarica)
Literature, Poetry
Struwwelpeter (Slovenly Peter) is an illustrated collection of humorous children’s poems describing ludicrous and usually violent punishments for naughty behavior. Hoffmann, a Frankfurt physician, wanted to buy a picture book for his son for Christmas in 1844. Not impressed by what the stores had to offer, he instead bought a notebook and wrote his own stories and pictures. While Struwwelpeter is somewhat notorious for its perceived brutal treatment of the erring childre...
Children, Poetry
This is the Arthurian legend of Tristan and Iseult. It is a tale of love, honour, intrigue, betrayal and jealousy, ending ultimately in tragedy. This story predates that of Lancelot and Guinevere, and is one of the most influential romances of the medieval period, inspiring many artists, from story-tellers to painters to composers. (Summary by Joy Chan)
Romance
Treasure Island is an adventure novel, a thrilling tale of buccaneers and buried gold. Traditionally considered a coming of age story, it is an adventure tale of superb atmosphere, character and action, and also a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality—as seen in Long John Silver—unusual for children's literature then and now. (Summary from wikipedia.org)
Adventure
Many readers will already be familiar with Uncle Remus’ favorite animal characters – Br’er Rabbit and Br’er Fox among them – and some of the popular tales concerning them. (To this day, “tar baby” as an expression for a particularly sticky situation that is almost impossible to solve, has passed into the English language and common use.) Even people who have never read any of these tales will know exactly why you don’t throw a rabbit into a briar patch, mainly because Wa...
Children, Animals, Short stories
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 ...
Literature
Walden by Henry David Thoreau is one of the best-known non-fiction books written by an American. Published in 1854, it details Thoreau’s life for two years, two months, and two days around the shores of Walden Pond. Walden is neither a novel nor a true autobiography, but a social critique of the Western World, with each chapter heralding some aspect of humanity that needed to be either renounced or praised. Along with his critique of the civilized world, Thoreau examines...
Nature, Philosophy
volunteers bring you nine different recordings of When We Two Parted, by George Gordon, Lord Byron. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of November 26th, 2006.
Der deutsche Vermessungsingenieur Old Shatterhand kommt betrügerischen Machenschaften bei der Verlegung einer neuen Eisenbahnlinie durch das Gebiet der Apachen auf die Spur. Nachdem er den Häuptlingssohn Winnetou vor dem Marterpfahl der feindlichen Kiowas gerettet hat, wird er von ihm in einem Kampf schwer verletzt und in das Indianerlager verschleppt... (Zusammenfassung aus Wikipedia)
Adventure, Teen/Young adult
A collection of three short stories about fairies, complete with good moral lessons (as every fairy tale should be). (Summary by Claire Goget)
Fairy tales, Children
Various influential religious texts in audio eBook format. Audio files received from Brother Scott. Added February 6, 2009.
A tale of passion set in the bleak Yorkshire moors in mid 19thC, far from the Victorian uprightness, Wuthering Heights depicts the mutual love of Catherine and Heathcliff till destruction rends the narration; yet cruelty is only to be met with forgiveness in the following generations. Romantic, impassioned and wild, it is also a dark journey in the human soul. (Summary by Lady Maria).