Literature Podcasts
Librivox: Bible (ASV) 31: Obadiah by American Standard VersionJoin Now to Follow
"The Book of Obadiah is found in both the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, where it is the shortest book, only one chapter long. Its authorship is generally attributed to a person named Obadiah, which means “servant (or worshipper) of the Lord”. Obadiah is classified as a "minor prophet" in the Christian Bible due to the brevity of the writing (only 21 verses) and the content (prophetic material). An Old Testament prophet was (professedly) not only a person who was given divine insight into future events, but a person whom the Lord used to declare his word. The first nine verses in the book foretell total destruction in the land of Edom at the hand of the Lord. Obadiah writes that this destruction will be so complete that it will be even worse than a thief who comes at night, for not even a thief would destroy everything. The Lord will allow all allies of Edom to turn away and help chase Edom out of its land. What is the reason for such a harsh punishment? Verses ten through fourteen explain that when Israel (the Lord’s chosen people) was attacked, Edom refused to help them, thus acting like an enemy. What is even worse is that Edom and Israel share a common blood line through their founders who were brothers, Jacob and Esau. Because of this gross neglect of a relative, Edom will be covered with shame and destroyed forever. The final verses, fifteen through twenty-one, depict the restoration of Israel and the wiping out of the Edomites. Verse eighteen says that there will be no survivors from the house of Esau once the destruction is complete. Israel will become a holy place and its people will return from exile and inhabit the land once inhabited by the Edomites. The final verse of the prophecy places the Lord as King who will rule over all the mountains of Edom." (Summary from Wikipedia)
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Librivox: Ronicky Doone by Brand, MaxJoin Now to Follow
Frederick Schiller Faust (1892-1944), is best known today for his western fiction. Faust was born in Seattle, Washington and at an early age moved with his parents to the San Joaquin Valley in California where he worked as a ranchhand. After a failed attempt to enlist in the Great War in 1917 and with the help of Mark Twain's sister he met Robert Hobart Davis, editor of All-Story Weekly and became a regular contributor writting under his most used pseudonym “Max Brand”. He wrote in many genres during his career and produced more than 300 western novels and stories. His most famous characters were Destry and Dr. Kildare, both of which were produced in film. Faust was killed in Italy in 1944 as a front line war correspondent at the age of 51. He is buried in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy. Ronicky Doone (1926) is a hero of the west, respected by the law-abiding citizen and hated by bushwhacking bandits. Bill Gregg is a man in love, not about to be deflected from meeting his lady love for the first time, and willing to stand up to the living legend to reach her. This initial meeting leads to a friendship between the two and they travel east to New York City on the trail of the girl. When they find the girl, Caroline Smith, and she refuses to leave, Ronicky must discover the secret that holds her. They encounter the sinister John Mark and the beautiful Ruth Tolliver and are exposed to the horrors and vices of big city life as they attempt to rescue Caroline and find their way back to the mountain-desert of the west. (Summary by Rowdy Delaney)
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Librivox: Lāčplēsis by Pumpurs, AndrejsJoin Now to Follow
Lāčplēsis is an epic poem by Andrejs Pumpurs, a Latvian poet, who wrote it between 1872-1887 based on local legends. Lāčplēsis is regarded as the Latvian national epic. The poem recounts the life of the legendary hero Lāčplēsis, chosen by the gods to become a hero of his people. His name means "Bear-slayer”. At the castle of Lord Aizkrauklis, he spies on the activities of the witch Spīdola(Spīdala), who is under the control of the Devil, and the holy man Kangars, who is in reality a traitor plotting to replace the old gods with Christianity. Lāčplēsis meets and falls in love with the maiden Laimdota and becomes friends with another hero, Koknesis ("Wood-bearer"). Further adventures seperate the lovers and bring Laimdota to Germany, but Lāčplēsis becomes lost in the Northern Sea, where he is welcomed by the daughter of the North Wind. In his dangerous journey home from the Northern Sea, he fights monsters and is reunited with Laimdota. They return home and celebrate wedding, but the heroes soon set off to fight the German crusaders. Kangars finds out the secret of Lāčplēsis' strength and treacherously reveals it to the Germans. In a seemingly friendly tournament Lāčplēsis is overpowered by the Black Knight, they both fall into Daugava river and disappear. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia by Kristine Bekere)
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Librivox: Undine by Fouqué, Friedrich de la MotteJoin Now to Follow
Undine is a novel by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué concerning Undine, a water spirit who marries a Knight named Huldebrand in order to gain a soul. It is an early German romance, which has been translated into English and other languages. The novel served as inspiration for two operas in the romantic style by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann and Albert Lortzing, respectively, and two ballets: the nineteenth century Ondine and the twentieth century Undine. An edition of the book was illustrated by Arthur Rackham. In The Fantastic Imagination, George MacDonald writes, "Were I asked, what is a fairytale? I should reply, Read Undine: that is a fairytale ... of all fairytales I know, I think Undine the most beautiful." (Summary from Wikipedia)
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Librivox: Warble for Lilac-Time by Whitman, WaltJoin Now to Follow
LibriVox volunteers bring you 6 different recordings of Warble for Lilac-Time by Walt Whitman.
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Librivox: Bible (ASV) 01: Genesis by American Standard VersionJoin Now to Follow
"Genesis (Greek: "birth", "origin") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible, and the first of five books of the Pentateuch or Torah. It recounts the world from creation to the descent of the children of Israel into Egypt, and contains some of the best-known accounts of the Old Testament, including Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, and the biblical Patriarchs." (From Wikipedia, modified by Sam Stinson)
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Librivox: Nase, Die by Gogol, Nikolai VasilievichJoin Now to Follow
The story tells of a St. Petersburg official whose nose leaves his face and develops a life of its own. (Summary by Wikipedia)
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Librivox: Bible (ASV) 28: Hosea by American Standard VersionJoin Now to Follow
Hosea was the son of Beeri and a prophet in Israel in the 8th century BCE. He is one of the Twelve Prophets of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, also known as the Minor Prophets of the Christian Old Testament. We know practically nothing about the life or social status of Hosea. According to the Book of Hosea, he married the prostitute Gomer, the daughter of Diblatayim, at God's command. He lived in the Northern Kingdom in the period 740–725 BCE. In Hosea 5:8 ff., there is a reference to the wars which led to the capture of the kingdom by the Assyrians (ca. 734–732 BCE). It is not certain if he has also experienced the destruction of Samaria, which is foreseen in Hosea 14:1. Hosea's family life reflected the "adulterous" relationship which Israel had built with polytheistic gods. His children's names made them like walking prophecies of the fall of the ruling dynasty and the severed covenant with God — much like the prophet Isaiah a generation later. Hosea is often seen as a "prophet of doom", but underneath his message of destruction is a promise of restoration." (From Wikipedia)
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Librivox: King Henry IV, Part 1 by Shakespeare, WilliamJoin Now to Follow
King Henry IV, Part 1 is the second of Shakespeare’s eight Wars of the Roses history plays, with events following those of King Richard II . As the play opens, King Henry IV (formerly Henry Bolingbroke) and Henry Percy (Hotspur) argue over the disposition of prisoners from the Battle of Holmedon. The King’s attitude toward Mortimer and the Percy family prompts them to plot rebellion. In the meantime, his son Prince Hal is living the low life in the company of Sir John Falstaff. As the time of battle nears, Prince Hal joins his father and is given a high command. The play’s climax is the Battle of Shrewsbury, in which Prince Hal and Hotspur meet and fight, with Prince Hal and the forces of the King prevailing. The action continues in King Henry IV, Part 2 . From the start this has been an extremely popular play both with the public and with critics. (Summary by Laurie Anne Walden and Wikipedia)
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Librivox: Three Ghost Stories by Dickens, CharlesJoin Now to Follow
As a gifted writer with a strong interest in supernatural phenomena, Charles Dickens produced a string of ghost stories with enduring charm. Three of them are presented here, of which The Signal Man is one of the best known. Though quite different from his most celebrated realistic and humorous critical novels, these ghost stories, Gothic and grotesque as they are, are of good portrayal, and worth a read/listen. Summary by Vivian Chan
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