Librivox Audiobooks

Los Miserables: Tomo V (Pt.1)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Nemesio Fernández (1818 - 1893)

Juan Valjean rescata a Mario gravemente herido y lo lleva a casa de su abuelo. Le perdona la vida a Javert, quien le confiesa que lo ha estado persiguiendo y que no fue sincero cuando lo prometió. Por otro lado, Mario no quiere que Juan Valjean siga visitando a Cosette, pues este ya le había dicho que no era su verdadero padre, y deciden que las visitas serán cada vez más esporádicas con tal de que, con el tiempo, deje de verla . (Montse González)

Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

Language: Spanish

Keyword(s): realismo (13), crítica social (10), justicia (5)

Group: Los Miserables (Spanish version)

Los Miserables: Tomo IV (Pt.2)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Nemesio Fernández (1818 - 1893)

Mario, con ayuda de Eponine, consigue encontrar a Cosette viviendo con Juan Valjean en la calle Plumet. Se inicia un apasionado idilio entre ambos. Pero Jean Valjean, en su constante huida, se ve la necesidad de cambiar de lugar de residencia y pronto marchará con Cosette a Inglaterra. Mario, decide pedir permiso y ayuda a su abuelo, el señor Gillenormand, para casarse con Cosette. Pero éste se burla y le dice que la tome por amante. Mario huye del lado de su abuelo sin saber cómo solventar la situación.
De fondo los acontecimientos de la revolución que se prepara en las calles de París.
(Resumen de Montse González)

Genre(s): Historical Fiction

Language: Spanish

Keyword(s): amor  Ética , justicia 

Group: Los Miserables (Spanish version)

Los Miserables: Tomo IV (Pt.1)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Nemesio Fernández (1818 - 1893)

Mario, con ayuda de Eponine, consigue encontrar a Cosette viviendo con Juan Valjean en la calle Plumet. Se inicia un apasionado idilio entre ambos. Pero Jean Valjean, en su constante huida, se ve la necesidad de cambiar de lugar de residencia y pronto marchará con Cosette a Inglaterra. Mario, decide pedir permiso y ayuda a su abuelo, el señor Gillenormand, para casarse con Cosette. Pero éste se burla y le dice que la tome por amante. Mario huye del lado de su abuelo sin saber cómo solventar la situación.
De fondo los acontecimientos de la revolución que se prepara en las calles de París.
(Resumen de Montse González)

Genre(s): Historical Fiction

Language: Spanish

Keyword(s): amor (18), Ética (5), justicia (5)

Group: Los Miserables (Spanish version)

Los Miserables: Tomo III

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Nemesio Fernández (1818 - 1893)

En este tercer volumen aparece Marius. Mario es criado por su abuelo, éste le hace creer que su padre, un coronel del ejército de Napoleón, murió en la batalla de Waterloo. Al enterarse Mario que su padre aún vive y está en Normandía, se pone en marcha, pero cuando llega su padre acaba de fallecer. Esto sumado a la diferencia de pensamiento entre su abuelo y él los distanciará.
Por otro lado Mario, pasados unos años, paseando por un parque, se enamora de la mirada de una joven que siempre va acompañada de un misterioso caballero. ¿Será Jean Valjean? La muchacha es Cosette. (Montse González. )

Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

Language: Spanish

Keyword(s): drama , crítica social 

Group: Los Miserables (Spanish version)

Los Miserables: Tomo II (Pt.2)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Nemesio Fernández (1818 - 1893)

Valjean de nuevo es capturado y condenado a trabajos forzados de por vida. Encarcelado en el puerto militar de Toulon rescata a un marinero atrapado en el aparejo de la nave. Los espectadores piden su liberación. Valjean finge su propia muerte por dejarse caer al mar. Las autoridades le dan por muerto. Entonces viaja hasta la posada de los Thérnardier en busca de Cosette. Descubriendo como tratan a la hija de la difunta Fantine, Valjean decide llevársela y adoptarla como su hija. Viven en los barrios parisinos más pobres hasta que son aceptados en un convento, al que llegan huyendo, una vez más, de Javert. Summary by Wikipedia

Genre(s): General Fiction, Historical Fiction

Language: Spanish

Keyword(s): religion , romanticismo , Ética , justicia 

Group: Los Miserables (Spanish version)

Los Miserables: Tomo II (Pt.1)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Nemesio Fernández (1818 - 1893)

Valjean de nuevo es capturado y condenado a trabajos forzados de por vida. Encarcelado en el puerto militar de Toulon rescata a un marinero atrapado en el aparejo de la nave. Los espectadores piden su liberación. Valjean finge su propia muerte por dejarse caer al mar. Las autoridades le dan por muerto. Entonces viaja hasta la posada de los Thérnardier en busca de Cosette. Descubriendo como tratan a la hija de la difunta Fantine, Valjean decide llevársela y adoptarla como su hija. Viven en los barrios parisinos más pobres hasta que son aceptados en un convento, al que llegan huyendo, una vez más, de Javert. Summary by Wikipedia

Genre(s): General Fiction, Historical Fiction

Language: Spanish

Keyword(s): religion (749), romanticismo (7), Ética (5), justicia (5)

Group: Los Miserables (Spanish version)

Los Miserables: Tomo I (Pt.2)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Nemesio Fernández (1818 - 1893)

Los miserables (título original en francés: Les misérables) es una novela del político, poeta y escritor francés Victor Hugo publicada en 1862, considerada como una de las obras más conocidas del siglo XIX. La novela, de estilo romántico, plantea a través de su argumento un razonamiento sobre el bien y el mal, sobre la ley, la política, la ética, la justicia y la religión. El autor confesó que se había inspirado en Vidocq, criminal francés que se redimió y acabó inaugurando la Policía Nacional francesa, para crear a los dos protagonistas y que la historia de su país le había inspirado para situar el contexto histórico: por ello, los personajes viven la Rebelión de junio (1832) y los posteriores cambios políticos. Además, el autor analiza los estereotipos de aquel momento y muestra su oposición a la pena de muerte. En su núcleo, al fin, la novela sirve como una defensa de los oprimidos sea cual sea el lugar o situación sociohistórica que vivan. - Summary by Wikipedia

Genre(s): Literary Fiction

Language: Spanish

Keyword(s): literatura (12), ficcion (11), clásico universal (2)

Group: Los Miserables (Spanish version)

Los Miserables: Tomo I (Pt.1)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Nemesio Fernández (1818 - 1893)

Los miserables (título original en francés: Les misérables) es una novela del político, poeta y escritor francés Victor Hugo publicada en 1862, considerada como una de las obras más conocidas del siglo XIX. La novela, de estilo romántico, plantea a través de su argumento un razonamiento sobre el bien y el mal, sobre la ley, la política, la ética, la justicia y la religión. El autor confesó que se había inspirado en Vidocq, criminal francés que se redimió y acabó inaugurando la Policía Nacional francesa, para crear a los dos protagonistas y que la historia de su país le había inspirado para situar el contexto histórico: por ello, los personajes viven la Rebelión de junio (1832) y los posteriores cambios políticos. Además, el autor analiza los estereotipos de aquel momento y muestra su oposición a la pena de muerte. En su núcleo, al fin, la novela sirve como una defensa de los oprimidos sea cual sea el lugar o situación sociohistórica que vivan. - Summary by Wikipedia

Genre(s): Literary Fiction

Language: Spanish

Keyword(s): literatura (12), ficcion (11), clásico universal (2)

Group: Los Miserables (Spanish version)

Little Lord Fauntleroy

Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849 - 1924)

Little Lord Fauntleroy is a sentimental children's novel by American (English-born) author Frances Hodgson Burnett, serialized in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1885. It was a runaway hit for the magazine and was separately published in 1886. The book was a commercial success for its author, and its illustrations by Reginal Birch set fashion trends. Little Lord Fauntleroy also set a precedent in copyright law in 1888 when its author won a lawsuit over the rights to theatrical adaptations of the work. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Children's Fiction, General Fiction

Language: English

Keyword(s): fiction , children , improvement 

 A Little Princess is a classic of children's literature by the author of The Secret Garden. Seven-year-old Sara Crewe comes to London to attend Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies, where she must live apart from her adored father. Sara is a bright and imaginative child who is both loved (for her friendliness) and hated (for her father's wealth) at Miss Minchin's. When Sara receives some terrible news on her eleventh birthday, her life changes forever. -Summary by Elizabeth Klett

Little Women (Version 3 Dramatic Reading) Pt.2

Louisa May Alcott (1832 - 1888)

Louisa May Alcott's beloved 1868 novel is about the four March girls - Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy - who are growing up in Massachusetts during the Civil War. As the novel opens, their father is away at war, and the girls are struggling to be good and to reconcile themselves to their relative poverty. Each has her trials to deal with, and they are encouraged by their loving mother, and by their friendship with their neighbor, Theodore "Laurie" Laurence.
Cast:
Narrator/Jo: Elizabeth Klett
Meg: Arielle Lipshaw
Beth: Kalynda
Amy/Parrot: Karen Savage
Marmee: Kara Shallenberg
Mr. March: Bruce Pirie
Hannah: MaryAnn
Mrs. Hummel/Hummel Children/Lotty: Elli
Girl/Child/Tina/Daisy/Maid: Lavinia
Laurie: mb
Aunt March: Amy Gramour
Old Man/Dr. Bangs: Phil Chenevert
Mr. Laurence: David Lawrence
Mr. Davis/Shopman/Young Man #2/Clerk: Tom Crawford
Annie/May Chester: sherlock85
Clara/Miss Lamb/Kitty: ESFJ Girl
Mr. Lamb/Mr. Dashwood: Denny Sayers
Mrs. Moffat/Aunt Carrol/Old Lady/Mrs. Chester: Sally Mc
Major Lincoln/Tudor: Henry Frigon
Belle/Second Girl/Minnie: BookAngel7
Nan/Mrs. Kirke: Susanna
Sallie Gardiner Moffat: rashada
Hortense/Esther: Nadine Eckert-Boulet
Fred Vaughan: John Croudy
John Brooke: Peter Bishop
Kate Vaughan: BumbleVee
Ned Moffat/Parker/Young Man #1: coolkid2219
Frank Vaughan: John Fricker
Boy/Demi: E. Lee
Professor Bhaer: Rainer
Audio edited by: Elizabeth Klett

Genre(s): Dramatic Readings, General Fiction

Language: English

Keyword(s): alcott , Little Women 

Little Women (Version 3 Dramatic Reading) Pt.1

Louisa May Alcott (1832 - 1888)

Louisa May Alcott's beloved 1868 novel is about the four March girls - Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy - who are growing up in Massachusetts during the Civil War. As the novel opens, their father is away at war, and the girls are struggling to be good and to reconcile themselves to their relative poverty. Each has her trials to deal with, and they are encouraged by their loving mother, and by their friendship with their neighbor, Theodore "Laurie" Laurence.
Cast:
Narrator/Jo: Elizabeth Klett
Meg: Arielle Lipshaw
Beth: Kalynda
Amy/Parrot: Karen Savage
Marmee: Kara Shallenberg
Mr. March: Bruce Pirie
Hannah: MaryAnn
Mrs. Hummel/Hummel Children/Lotty: Elli
Girl/Child/Tina/Daisy/Maid: Lavinia
Laurie: mb
Aunt March: Amy Gramour
Old Man/Dr. Bangs: Phil Chenevert
Mr. Laurence: David Lawrence
Mr. Davis/Shopman/Young Man #2/Clerk: Tom Crawford
Annie/May Chester: sherlock85
Clara/Miss Lamb/Kitty: ESFJ Girl
Mr. Lamb/Mr. Dashwood: Denny Sayers
Mrs. Moffat/Aunt Carrol/Old Lady/Mrs. Chester: Sally Mc
Major Lincoln/Tudor: Henry Frigon
Belle/Second Girl/Minnie: BookAngel7
Nan/Mrs. Kirke: Susanna
Sallie Gardiner Moffat: rashada
Hortense/Esther: Nadine Eckert-Boulet
Fred Vaughan: John Croudy
John Brooke: Peter Bishop
Kate Vaughan: BumbleVee
Ned Moffat/Parker/Young Man #1: coolkid2219
Frank Vaughan: John Fricker
Boy/Demi: E. Lee
Professor Bhaer: Rainer
Audio edited by: Elizabeth Klett

Genre(s): Dramatic Readings, General Fiction

Language: English

Keyword(s): alcott (19), Little Women (7)

Abraham Lincoln: A History, Vol 1(Pt.2)

John Hay (1835 - 1905) and John George Nicolay (1832 - 1901)

This is the biography of Abraham Lincoln, written by two of his private secretaries. (Summary by ashleighjane)

Genre(s): Biography & Autobiography, Modern (19th C)

Language: English

Keyword(s): history , biography , civil war , United States history , lincoln 

Group: Abraham Lincoln: A History in 10 Volumes

Abraham Lincoln: A History, Vol 1(Pt.1)

John Hay (1835 - 1905) and John George Nicolay (1832 - 1901)

This is the biography of Abraham Lincoln, written by two of his private secretaries. (Summary by ashleighjane)

Genre(s): Biography & Autobiography, Modern (19th C)

Language: English

Keyword(s): history  biography , civil war , United States history , lincoln 

Group: Abraham Lincoln: A History in 10 Volumes

Lincoln's first inaugural address was delivered on March 4th, 1861, as the North and South were sliding towards separation and Civil War. His second inaugural, given just weeks before his assassination, was also delivered on March 4th but four years later, in 1865. Just over a month later, April 18th, 1865, the Civil War ended with the surrender of the Confederate army. This was four days after Lincoln was shot on April 14th. He died the next day. - Summary by John Greenman

Light on Life’s Difficulties

When a man enters a dark room he is not sure of his movements, he cannot see objects around him, or properly locate them, and is liable to hurt himself by coming into sudden contact with them. But let a light be introduced, and immediately all confusion disappears. Every object is seen, and there is no danger of being hurt. To the majority, life is such a dark room, and their frequent hurts—their disappointments, perplexities, sorrows and pains—are caused by sudden contact with principles which they do not see, and are therefore not prepared to deal with. But when the light of wisdom is introduced into the darkened understanding, confusion vanishes, difficulties are dissolved, all things are seen in their true place and proportion, and henceforth the man walks open-eyed and unhurt, in the clear light of wise comprehension. - Summary by James Allen

Genre(s): *Non-fiction, Self-Help

Language: English

Keyword(s): love (365), Law (52), Occult (52), self-help (50), sin (33), metaphysics (32), heaven (31), wisdom (29), peace (29), New Thought (22), mind (21), truth (17), spirit (15), happiness (14), sorrow (9), thought (8), change (7), reality (6), Ego (4), willpower (4), purity (3)

Narrative of The Life of David Crockett of The State of Tennessee

David Crockett (1786 - 1836)

Autobiography, written by David (Davey) Crockett about 2 years before his death at the Alamo in March of 1836. - Summary by Bill2147

Genre(s): Biography & Autobiography

Language: English

Keyword(s): autobiography , Tennessee, davey crockett (2)

L. Frank Baum takes us through the adventures of Santa Claus beginning with his adoption as an infant by Necile the nymph. As a youth, Claus discovers fellow humans on earth and returns to their world where he decides his duty is to make children happy through the gift of toys. Claus has to fight Awgwa’s and eventually gets help from the Flossie and Glossie, the first reindeers. Through his tireless work Claus is declared a Saint and is bestowed with immortality. His work lives on today with the help of good parents around the world.
Summary by Linette Geisel.
Cast List:
Cast
Narrator: KHand
Claus: Larry Wilson
Ak the Master Woodsman: Donald Gilmore
Necile the nymph: Devorah Allen
Queen Zurline: Beth Thomas
Queen of the Faries: Leanne Yau
Various other roles read by:
realisticspeakers,
linny ,
pmstrahm,
DrPGould,
TJ Burns,
Christopher Thompson,
Jim Locke,
Foon,
Jasmin Salma,
Pseudonymous Nerd,
Edited by: linny
Proof listener: DrPGould

Genre(s): Dramatic Readings, Myths, Legends & Fairy Tales

Language: English

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

L. Frank Baum (1856 - 1919)

This story of Santa Claus veers away slightly from the traditional stories of his beginnings. L. Frank Baum creates a world of fantasy that surrounds Santa Claus's life. Orphaned at an infant he is found by the nymph Necile, who convinces the great Ak to allow her to raise Claus for her own. As he grows older he meets his fellow humans, and sees the neglect of children. This sets him on the path to making toys and becoming the beloved Saint Nicholas we are familiar with today. (summary by Kri)

Genre(s): Myths, Legends & Fairy Tales

Language: English

Keyword(s): baum , santa claus (, santa 

Life on the Mississippi (Pt.2)

Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

Life on the Mississippi is a memoir by Mark Twain detailing his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Nature, Memoirs

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature , nature , biography , twain , river , mississippi 

Life on the Mississippi (Pt.1)

Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

Life on the Mississippi is a memoir by Mark Twain detailing his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Nature, Memoirs

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature , nature , biography , twain , river , mississippi 

The Book of Lieh-Tzu

Liezi ( - ca. 400 BC)
Translated by Lionel Giles (1875 - 1958)

Although Lieh Tzu's work has evidently passed through the hands of many editors and gathered numerous accretions, there remains a considerable nucleus which in all probability was committed to writing by Lieh Tzu's immediate disciples, and is therefore older than the genuine parts of Chuang Tzu. There are some obvious analogies between the two authors, and indeed a certain amount of matter common to both; but on the whole Lieh Tzu's book bears an unmistakable impress of its own. The geniality of its tone contrasts with the somewhat hard brilliancy of Chuang Tzu, and a certain kindly sympathy with the aged, the poor and the humble of this life, not excluding the brute creation, makes itself felt throughout. - From Lionel Giles Introduction

Genre(s): Ancient

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature , history , Lieh-Tzü

Les Misérables, Vol 5 (Pt.2)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Isabel Florence Hapgood (1851 - 1928)

This is book 5 of 5.
An ex-convict breaks parole and starts a new life as a righteous man, but is pursued by a police inspector. Along the way, the ex-convict joins a revolution, adopts a daughter, and beats people up. Hooray. (Summary by smileyman457)

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Romance

Language: English

Keyword(s): fiction (1620), romance (1120), novel (163)

Group: Les Misérables (English Version)

Les Misérables, Vol 5 (Pt.1)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Isabel Florence Hapgood (1851 - 1928)

This is book 5 of 5.
An ex-convict breaks parole and starts a new life as a righteous man, but is pursued by a police inspector. Along the way, the ex-convict joins a revolution, adopts a daughter, and beats people up. Hooray. (Summary by smileyman457)

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Romance

Language: English

Keyword(s): fiction , romance  novel 

Group: Les Misérables (English Version)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Isabel Florence Hapgood (1851 - 1928)

This is book 4 of 5.
An ex-convict breaks parole and starts a new life as a righteous man, but is pursued by a police inspector. Along the way, the ex-convict joins a revolution, adopts a daughter, and beats people up. Hooray. (Summary by smileyman457)

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Romance

Language: English

Keyword(s): fiction , romance , novel 

Group: Les Misérables (English Version)

Les Misérables, Vol 4 (Pt.1)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Isabel Florence Hapgood (1851 - 1928)

This is book 4 of 5.
An ex-convict breaks parole and starts a new life as a righteous man, but is pursued by a police inspector. Along the way, the ex-convict joins a revolution, adopts a daughter, and beats people up. Hooray. (Summary by smileyman457)

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Romance

Language: English

Keyword(s): fiction , romance , novel 

Group: Les Misérables (English Version)

This is book 3 of 5.
An ex-convict breaks parole and starts a new life as a righteous man, but is pursued by a police inspector. Along the way, the ex-convict joins a revolution, adopts a daughter, and beats people up. Hooray. (Summary by smileyman457)

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Romance

Language: English

Keyword(s): romance , french revolution , ex-convict 

Group: Les Misérables (English Version)

Les Misérables, Vol 2(Pt.2)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Isabel Florence Hapgood (1851 - 1928)

This is book 2 of 5.
An ex-convict breaks parole and starts a new life as a righteous man, but is pursued by a police inspector. Along the way, the ex-convict joins a revolution, adopts a daughter, and beats people up. Hooray. (Summary by smileyman457)

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Romance

Language: English

Keyword(s): romance , french revolution , theft , ex-convict 

Group: Les Misérables (English Version)

Les Misérables, Vol 2(Pt.1)

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translated by Isabel Florence Hapgood (1851 - 1928)

This is book 2 of 5.
An ex-convict breaks parole and starts a new life as a righteous man, but is pursued by a police inspector. Along the way, the ex-convict joins a revolution, adopts a daughter, and beats people up. Hooray. (Summary by smileyman457)

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Romance

Language: English

Keyword(s): romance (1120), french revolution (67), theft (19), ex-convict (5)

Group: Les Misérables (English Version)

Le Morte d'Arthur - Vol. 2

Sir Thomas Malory (1405 - 1471)

Le Morte d’Arthur (spelled Le Morte Darthur in the first printing and also in some modern editions, Middle French for la mort d’Arthur, “the death of Arthur”) is Sir Thomas Malory’s compilation of some French and English Arthurian romances. The book contains some of Malory’s own original material (the Gareth story) and retells the older stories in light of Malory’s own views and interpretations. First published in 1485 by William Caxton, Le Morte d’Arthur is perhaps the best-known work of English-language Arthurian literature today. Many modern Arthurian writers have used Malory as their source, including T. H. White for his popular The Once and Future King. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Myths, Legends & Fairy Tales

Language: English

Keyword(s): Legend, Britain , Knights , chivalry , Arthur ), Round Table

Le Morte d'Arthur - Vol. 2 (Pt.1)

Sir Thomas Malory (1405 - 1471)

Le Morte d’Arthur (spelled Le Morte Darthur in the first printing and also in some modern editions, Middle French for la mort d’Arthur, “the death of Arthur”) is Sir Thomas Malory’s compilation of some French and English Arthurian romances. The book contains some of Malory’s own original material (the Gareth story) and retells the older stories in light of Malory’s own views and interpretations. First published in 1485 by William Caxton, Le Morte d’Arthur is perhaps the best-known work of English-language Arthurian literature today. Many modern Arthurian writers have used Malory as their source, including T. H. White for his popular The Once and Future King. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Myths, Legends & Fairy Tales

Language: English

Keyword(s): Legend (39), Britain (32), Knights (23), chivalry (18), Arthur (15), Round Table (9)

The Last Man (Pt.2)

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797 - 1851)

The Last Man is an early post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Mary Shelley, which was first published in 1826. The book tells of a future world that has been ravaged by a plague. The plague gradually kills off all people. Lionel Verney, central character, son of a nobleman who gambled himself into poverty, finds himself immune after being attacked by an infected "negro," and copes with a civilization that is gradually dying out around him. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Science Fiction

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature (1964), sci-fi (208), apocalypse (13)

The Last Man (Pt.1)

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797 - 1851)

The Last Man is an early post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Mary Shelley, which was first published in 1826. The book tells of a future world that has been ravaged by a plague. The plague gradually kills off all people. Lionel Verney, central character, son of a nobleman who gambled himself into poverty, finds himself immune after being attacked by an infected "negro," and copes with a civilization that is gradually dying out around him. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Science Fiction

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature (1964), sci-fi (208), apocalypse (13)

Dear children: Do you like Elephants? Do you believe in Giants? And do you love all the jolly people of the Wonderful Land of Oz? Well then you'll want to hear about the latest happenings in that delightful Kingdom. All are set forth in true Oz fashion in "Kabumpo in Oz," the sixteenth Oz book. Kabumpo is an Elegant Elephant. He is very old and wise, and has a kindly heart, as have all the Oz folks. In the new book you'll meet Prince Pompa, and Peg Amy, a charming Wooden Doll. There are new countries, strange adventures and the most surprising Box of Magic you have ever heard of. Ruggedo , the wicked old Gnome King, does a lot of mischief with this before Princess Ozma can stop him. Of course Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Scraps, Glinda the Good, Tik-Tok, and other old friends all are alive and busy in the new book. I am just back from the Emerald City with the best of Oz wishes for everybody, but especially you. Philadelphia Spring of 1922 Ruth Plumly Thompson (Summary by Ruth Plumly Thompson)

Genre(s): Myths, Legends & Fairy Tales

Language: English

Group: Oz books

William is a mischievous eleven year old who is puzzled by the adult world, which is no less puzzled by him. The humor is gentle and pleasing. The series of books is better known in the United Kingdom than in the U.S. (Summary by David Wales)

Genre(s): Children's Fiction, General Fiction, Humorous Fiction

Language: English

Just So Stories (version 2)

Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)

The stories, first published in 1902, are fantastic accounts of how various natural phenomena came about. The original editions of Just So Stories were illustrated with woodcuts by Kipling himself. Read along online and see the illustrations at mainlesson.com. Each story is accompanied by a poem, in a somewhat ballad style. Many of the stories are addressed to "Best Beloved" (they were first written for Kipling's eldest daughter, Josephine, who had died during an outbreak of influenza in 1899), and throughout they use a comically elevated style inspired by the formal speech of India, full of long and improbable-sounding words, some of them made up. As a result, it is a delight to read them aloud, and easy to memorise passages from them. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Animals & Nature

Language: English

Keyword(s): children , animals , Kipling , just-so stories 

Julius Caesar

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, based on true events, concerns the conspiracy against Julius Caesar, his assassination in 44 BC, and its immediate aftermath. Probably written in 1599 and among the first of Shakespeare's plays to be performed at the Globe Theater, Julius Caesar is one of his best-known dramas and has received innumerable performances throughout the centuries. (Summary by Laurie Anne Walden after Wikipedia)
Cast:
Julius Caesar – Kim Stich
Octavius Caesar – Glenn Simonsen
Antony – Barry Eads
Lepidus and Cicero – David Lawrence
Publius, Poet, and Pindarus – Nathan Miller
Popilius Lena and First Commoner – Andrew
Brutus – Denny Sayers
Cassius – Christopher Sanner
Casca – mb
Trebonius and First Soldier – Mark I. Smith
Ligarius and Second Soldier – om123
Decius Brutus – Kalynda
Metellus Cimber and Dardanius – Chris Caron
Cinna, Young Cato, Second Commoner, Claudius, and Messenger – Sonja
Flavius and Clitus – Mark Penfold
Marullus and Messala – Arielle Lipshaw
Artemidorus – Aspergine
Soothsayer – Availle
Cinna the Poet – Elli
Lucilius – Christian Al-Kadi
Tintinius – Chris Sellers
Volumnius and Servant – Laurie Anne Walden
Varro and Third Soldier- Lucy Perry
Strato – Philippa
Lucius – MGVestal
Calpurnia – Miriam Esther Goldman
Portia – Abigail Bartels
First Citizen – Bellona Times
Second Citizen – Mark Paar
Third Citizen – David Cole
Fourth Citizen – wimberprincess
Stage directions – Elizabeth Klett
Audio edited by David Lawrence

Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Tragedy

Language: English

Keyword(s): history , rome , theater 

A Journal of the Plague Year (Pt. 2)

Daniel Defoe (c.1660 - 1731)

The novel is a fictionalized account of one man's experiences of the year 1665, in which the Great Plague struck the city of London. The book is told roughly chronologically, though without sections or chapter headings.

Genre(s): Historical Fiction

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature , London , historical 

A Journal of the Plague Year (Pt.1)

Daniel Defoe (c.1660 - 1731)

The novel is a fictionalized account of one man's experiences of the year 1665, in which the Great Plague struck the city of London. The book is told roughly chronologically, though without sections or chapter headings.

Genre(s): Historical Fiction

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature , London , historical 

Is it possible to be familiar with Jesus, to know the Bible, to be involved in church life, and yet not really know Jesus at all well? Andrew Murray, with his perceptive insights into the church of his day, and indeed of ours too, shows how this is all too often the condition of many believers. In the two essays comprising this book, Murray shows how we can move to a new place in really knowing Jesus, and how the presence of the Lord can become much more real to us. There is a cost, but God always abundantly rewards those who seek Him with their whole heart. - Summary by Christopher Smith

Chronicles of Canada Volume 02 - Mariner of St. Malo: A Chronicle of the Voyages of Jacques Cartier

Stephen Leacock (1869 - 1944)

Jacques Cartier grew up as a sailor, married well and became an agent of exploration for King Francis I of France. In April, 1534, he sailed for the New World. Before sailing, his men took an oath that they would “behave themselves truly and faithfully in the service of the Most Christian King.” Jacques’ name was made immortal by the faithfulness with which he and his men carried out that oath. Summary from Christian History Institute, used with permission.

Genre(s): Middle Ages/Middle History

Language: English

Keyword(s): Canadian History , chronicles of Canada 

Group: Chronicles of Canada Series

The Invisible Man (Version 1)

H. G. Wells (1866 - 1946)

The Invisible Man (1897) is one of the most famous science fiction novels of all time. Written by H.G. Wells (1866-1946), it tells the story of a scientist who discovers the secret of invisibility and uses it on himself. The story begins as the Invisible Man, with a bandaged face and a heavy coat and gloves, takes a train to lodge in a country inn whilst he tries to discover the antidote and make himself visible again. The book inspired several films and is notable for its vivid descriptions of the invisible man--no mean feat, given that you can't see him!

Genre(s): Science Fiction

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature , science fiction 

Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

First written in Gandhi's native language Gujarati, this booklet advocates for Indian non-violent self-rule during the struggle for Indian independence against the British Empire. It is written as a dialogue between two characters. In it, the "Reader" serves as a typical Indian countryman (the targeted audience for Hind Swaraj), who voices common beliefs and arguments of the time concerning Indian independence, while Gandhi, the "Editor," explains why those arguments are flawed and interjects his own valuable arguments of self-reliance, passive resistance and the Indian identity.
The Gujarati-language publication was banned from publication by the British in India, causing Gandhi to translate it to English himself to evade the British authorities, as well as rally support from English-speaking Indians and international supporters of independence. It is now considered the intellectual blueprint of India's independence movement. (Mary Kay and Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Political Science, Social Science (Culture & Anthropology)

Language: English

Keyword(s): war , politics , western , India , Law , government , peace , Independence , criticism , dialogue , British Empire , translation , social justice , pacifism , fight , travels , Values , gandhi , activism , pacifist , indian culture , home rule , rejection , self-rule , passive resistance , swaraj , banned book , gujarati , booklet

The Idiot (Part 03 and 04)

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881)
Translated by Eva M. Martin ( - fl.1915)

The extraordinary child-adult Prince Myshkin, confined for several years in a Swiss sanatorium suffering from severe epilepsy, returns to Russia to claim his inheritance and to find a place in healthy human society. The teeming St Petersburg community he enters is far from receptive to an innocent like himself, despite some early successes and relentless pursuit by grotesque fortune-hunters. His naive gaucheries give rise to extreme reactions among his new acquaintance, ranging from anguished protectiveness to mockery and contempt. But even before reaching the city, during the memorable train journey that opens the novel, he has encountered the demonic Rogozhin, the son of a wealthy merchant – who is in thrall to the equally doomed Nastasia Filippovna: beautiful, capricious and destructively neurotic, she joins with the two weirdly contrasted men in a spiraling dance of death… (Summary by Martin Geeson)

Genre(s): Literary Fiction

Language: English

Keyword(s): romance , Russian Literature , dostoyevsky , naivety

The Idiot , Vol 1(Part 01 and 02)

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881)
Translated by Eva M. Martin ( - fl.1915)

The extraordinary child-adult Prince Myshkin, confined for several years in a Swiss sanatorium suffering from severe epilepsy, returns to Russia to claim his inheritance and to find a place in healthy human society.
The teeming St Petersburg community he enters is far from receptive to an innocent like himself, despite some early successes and relentless pursuit by grotesque fortune-hunters. His naive gaucheries give rise to extreme reactions among his new acquaintance, ranging from anguished protectiveness to mockery and contempt.
But even before reaching the city, during the memorable train journey that opens the novel, he has encountered the demonic Rogozhin, the son of a wealthy merchant who is in thrall to the equally doomed Natasha Filippovna: beautiful, capricious and destructively neurotic, she joins with the two weirdly contrasted men in a spiralling dance of death... (Summary by Martin Geeson)

Genre(s): Published 1800 -1900

Language: English

Keyword(s): fiction , novel , dostoyevsky , idiot 

This project is Part 1 & 2 of the 4 part novel
Parts 3 & 4 of the novel

The Idiot (Part 01 and 02)

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881)
Translated by Eva M. Martin ( - fl.1915)

The extraordinary child-adult Prince Myshkin, confined for several years in a Swiss sanatorium suffering from severe epilepsy, returns to Russia to claim his inheritance and to find a place in healthy human society.
The teeming St Petersburg community he enters is far from receptive to an innocent like himself, despite some early successes and relentless pursuit by grotesque fortune-hunters. His naive gaucheries give rise to extreme reactions among his new acquaintance, ranging from anguished protectiveness to mockery and contempt.
But even before reaching the city, during the memorable train journey that opens the novel, he has encountered the demonic Rogozhin, the son of a wealthy merchant who is in thrall to the equally doomed Natasha Filippovna: beautiful, capricious and destructively neurotic, she joins with the two weirdly contrasted men in a spiralling dance of death... (Summary by Martin Geeson)

Genre(s): Published 1800 -1900

Language: English

Keyword(s): fiction , novel , dostoyevsky , idiot 

This project is Part 1 & 2 of the 4 part novel
Parts 3 & 4 of the novel

Ὕμνοι ἤτοι προοίμια (Homeric Hymns)

Homer (c. 8th cen - c. 8th cen)

Οἱ Ὁμηρικοὶ Ὕμνοι ἐντάσσονται στὰ πλαίσια τῶν ἐργασιῶν πού ξεκίνησα ἐδῶ καὶ μερικὰ χρόνια στὴν ἰστοσελίδα μου Projet Homere (Σχέδιο Ὁμήρου (γιὰ τὴν ἑλληνικὴ γλῶσσα στὸ σύνολό της)) - http://www.projethomere.com
Ὅπως ἦταν φυσικό, ξεκίνησα τὴν προσπάθεια μου μὲ τὴν ἠχογράφηση τῆς Ὁμηρικῆς ποιήσεως διότι πιστεύω ὅτι βρίσκεται στὴν κορυφὴ τῆς ἑλληνικῆς καὶ τῆς δυτικῆς λογοτεχνίας ἀφοῦ πρόκειται γιὰ τὰ πρῶτα λογοτεχνικὰ ἔργα - Ἐπίσης θεωρῶ ὅτι αὐτὰ τὰ σπουδαῖα ἀρχαῖα ἑλληνικὰ λογοτεχνικὰ ἔργα πρέπει νὰ ἠχογραφηθοῦν ἀπὸ ἑλληνικὲς φωνὲς .
The Homeric Hymns are part of the work that I started a few years ago on my website, Projet Homere (Homer Project (For the Greek language as a whole)) - http://www.projethomere.com
As I naturally started my effort with the recording of Homeric poetry because I believe it is at the top of Greek and Western literature Since they are the first literary works. Ι also believe that these great ancient Greek literary works must be recorded by Greek voices.
Les Hymnes Homériques font partis des travaux que j'ai commencés il y a quelques années sur mon site Projet Homère( sur la langue grecque dans sa globalité) : http://www.projethomere.com
Comme il était naturel , j'ai débuté les enregistrements avec la poésie homérique qui est au somment de la littérature grecque et occidentale puisqu'il s'agit des premières œuvres littéraires. Je suis persuadée qu'il est important que les anciennes œuvres littéraires grecques soient enregistrées par des voix grecques.
Summary by Ἑλένη Κεμικτσή.

Genre(s): Classics (Greek & Latin Antiquity), Elegies & Odes

Language: Ancient Greek

Keyword(s): homer, homeric hymns

Herodotus' Histories Vol 1

Herodotus (c.484 BCE - 425 BCE)
Translated by A. D. Godley (1856 - 1925)

The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in Western literature. Written about 440 BC, the Histories tell the story of the war between the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. Herodotus traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book. The rise of the Persian Empire is chronicled, and the causes for the conflict with Greece. Herodotus treats the conflict as an ideological one, frequently contrasting the absolute power of the Persian king with the democratic government of the Greeks. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia.)

Genre(s): Antiquity

Language: English

Keyword(s): history , classics , Europe , greece , ancient history ), greek history 

Henry V

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

After the turmoil and uncertainty of Henry IV a new era appears to dawn for England with the accession of the eponymous Henry V. In this sunny pageant Chorus guides us along Henry's glittering carpet ride of success as the new king completes his transformation from rebellious wastrel to a truly regal potentate. Of course, there is an underlying feeling that the good times won't last, and this is all the more reason to enjoy the Indian summer before the protracted and bitter fall of the house of Lancaster. (Introduction by Algy Pug)
Cast:
Alice: Caroline Sophie
Archbishop of Canterbury: Sean Randall
Bardolph: John Fricker
Bates: David Lawrence
Bishop of Ely: Algy Pug
Boy: Aldor
Chorus: Elizabeth Klett
Constable of France: Lars Rolander
Court: Dale Burgess
Duke of Bedford: Dale Burgess
Duke of Bourbon: Algy Pug
Duke of Burgundy: Algy Pug
Duke of Exeter: David Goldfarb
Duke of Gloucester: Tadhg Hynes
Duke of Orleans: Ric F
Duke of York: Algy Pug
Earl of Cambridge: Algy Pug
Earl of Salisbury: Algy Pug
Earl of Warwick: Algy Pug
Earl of Westmoreland: Timothy Ferguson
First Ambassador: Dale Burgess
Fluellen: Martin Geeson
French soldier: Nadine Eckert-Boulet
Governor of Harfleur: Dale Burgess
Gower: Bruce Pirie
Grandpre: Dale Burgess
Henry V: Arielle Lipshaw
Herald: Maria Therese
Hostess Quickly: Elizabeth Klett
Jamy: lennich
Katharine: ezwa
King of France: Paul Adams
Lewis the Dauphin: Nadine Eckert-Boulet
Lord Scroop: Bruce Pirie
Macmorris: Tadhg Hynes
Messenger: Elizabeth Klett
Montjoy: Amy Gramour
Nym: Sandra G
Pistol: Algy Pug
Queen Isabel: Kalynda
Rambures: Elizabeth Klett
Sir Thomas Erpingham: Dale Burgess
Sir Thomas Grey: Dale Burgess
Williams: Ty Unglebower
Narrator: Elizabeth Klett
Audio edited by: Elizabeth Klett

Genre(s): Plays

Language: English

Keyword(s): history , historical play

Hamlet

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

Hamlet is commonly regarded as one of the greatest plays ever written. Drawing on Danish chronicles and the Elizabethan vogue for revenge tragedy, Shakespeare created a play that is at once a philosophic treatise, a family drama, and a supernatural thriller. In the wake of his father's death, Prince Hamlet finds that his Uncle Claudius has swiftly taken the throne and married his mother, Queen Gertrude. The ghost of the dead king then appears and charges Claudius with 'murder most foul.' Hamlet is called to revenge his father's death: but will he be able to act before it is too late?
Cast:
Claudius, King of Denmark - Michael Sirois
Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, and Mother of Hamlet - Elizabeth Klett
Ghost Of Hamlet, the Late King of Denmark - dolohov
Hamlet, Son to the former, and Nephew to the present King - John Gonzalez
Polonius, Lord Chamberlain - Andy Minter
Laertes, Son to Polonius - Denny Sayers
Ophelia, Daughter to Polonius - Kristin Hughes
Reynaldo, Servant to Polonius - Thomas Wells
Horatio, Friend to Hamlet - David Nicol
Rosencrantz, Courtier - Kara Shallenberg
Guildenstern, Courtier - Karen Savage
Francisco, a Soldier - Andrew Lebrun
Bernardo, Officer - David O’Connell
Marcellus, Officer - Jordan Mueller
Voltimand, Courtier - Thomas Wells
Osric, Courtier - allex
A Gentleman, Courtier - David Jaquay
Another Gentleman - mb
Clown One, Grave-digger - Brennan Holtzclaw
Clown Two, Grave-digger - Christie Nowak
A Priest - Kevin O’Coin
Fortinbras, Prince of Norway - mb
A Captain & his Army - Andrew Lebrun
English Ambassador - Andrew Lebrun
First Player - Rosalind Wills
Player King - Denny Sayers
Player Queen - Kirsten Ferreri
Player Lucianus - allex
Group Of Danes - David O'Connell
Lord - LaurenT
Servant - Christie Nowak
Stage Direction - Rosalind Wills
Editors - mb & Jc Guan
Dedicated Proof-Listeners - Elizabeth Klett & mb
Book Coordinators - J.C., Scott Sherris, Jc Guan, Elizabeth Klett & mb

Genre(s): Plays, Drama, Tragedy

Language: English

A Guide to Modern Cookery (Le Guide Culinaire) Part I: Fundamental Elements

Auguste Escoffier (1846 - 1935)
Translated by James B. Herndon

Le Guide Culinaire can be regarded as the ‘Bible’ of modern cooking. It was Escoffier's attempt to codify and streamline the French restaurant food of the day. The original text was printed for the use of professional chefs and kitchen staff; Escoffier's introduction to the first edition explains his intention that the book be used toward the education of the younger generation of cooks. This usage of the book still holds today; many culinary schools still use it as their core textbook. The book overall is 900 pages long and contains over 2500 recipes. Part 1 is 120 pages long and describes the basic principles and techniques required for the chef, including descriptions of more than 250 recipes and preparations. (Summary by Chris Cartwright adapted from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): *Non-fiction, Cooking

Language: English

Keyword(s): cooking , food , recipes , kitchen , cookery , recipe , cuisine , chef , gastronomy

The Adventures of a Grain of Dust

Hallam Hawksworth (1863 - )

This charming book for children is full of interesting facts about all sorts of plants, insects, birds and animals and how they all help to enrich the soil for farmers - each in its own special way. Join our narrator, The Grain of Dust on a fascinating journey around the planet to meet them.
"I don't want you to think that I'm boasting, but I do believe I'm one of the greatest travellers that ever was; and if anybody, living or dead, has ever gone through with more than I have I'd like to hear about it. Not that I've personally been in all the places or taken part in all the things I tell in this book—I don't mean to say that—but I do ask you to remember how long it is possible for a grain of dust to last, and how many other far-travelled and much-adventured dust grains it must meet and mix with in the course of its life. ...Finally, if what we call flesh and blood can think and talk, why not a grain of dust? In fact, what is flesh and blood but dust come back to life? Says the poet—and the poets know:
'The very dust that blows along the street Once whispered to its love that life is sweet.'
You see it's as likely a thing as could happen—this whole story."
Summary by J. M. Smallheer with quotes from the Preface of the book

Genre(s): Children's Non-fiction, Science

Language: English

Keyword(s): nature , animals , birds , insects , farming ), agriculture , geology , worms , natural science , soil

Glinda of Oz is the fourteenth Land of Oz book and is the last one written by the original author L. Frank Baum, although the series was continued after his death by several other authors.
Dorothy and Ozma discover that a war is brewing in a distant and unexplored part of Oz, between two mysterious races, the Flatheads and the Skeezers. The girls set out to try to prevent the fighting, not knowing what dangers await them. (Summary by Lucy Perry.)

Genre(s): Children's Fiction, Action & Adventure

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature , children (1126), adventure , fantasy  baum 

Group: Oz books

The Gift of the Magi is an O. Henry short story in which a young couple are very much in love with each other but can barely afford their one-room apartment. For Christmas, they each make a sacrifice to purchase a gift for the other, with ironic results.
The moral of the story is that physical possessions, however valuable they may be, are of little value in the grand scheme of things. The true unselfish love that the characters, Jim and Della, share is greater than their possessions.
O. Henry ends the story by clarifying the metaphor between the characters in the story, Della and James (or Jim), and the Biblical Magi. The Gift of the Magi features O. Henry's characteristic twist ending and use of flowery diction.
(Summary adapted from Wikipedia.org)

Genre(s): Short Stories

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature  Christmas 

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is an 1884 science fiction novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott. As a satire, Flatland offered pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture. However, the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions; in a foreword to one of the many publications of the novella, noted science writer Isaac Asimov described Flatland as "The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions." As such, the novella is still popular amongst mathematics, physics and computer science students. (Summary by Wikipedia)

Genre(s): General Fiction, Satire, Science Fiction

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature (1964), science fiction (469), satire (306), women (92), mathematics (32), geometry (8), Victorian society (3), dimensions (2)

The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals is a book by Charles Darwin, published in 1872, concerning genetically determined aspects of behaviour. It was published thirteen years after On the Origin of Species and alongside his 1871 book The Descent of Man, it is Darwin's main consideration of human origins. In this book, Darwin seeks to trace the animal origins of human characteristics, such as the pursing of the lips in concentration and the tightening of the muscles around the eyes in anger and efforts of memory. Darwin sought out the opinions of some eminent British psychiatrists, notably James Crichton-Browne, in the preparation of the book which forms Darwin's main contribution to psychology. - Summary by Availle

Genre(s): Animals, Science

Language: English

Keyword(s): evolution (37), emotions (10), darwinism (3), mimic (1), facial expression (1)

Eutifrón

Plato (Πλάτων) (c. 428 BCE - c. 347 BCE)
Translated by Patricio de Azcárate Corral (1800 - 1886)

La naturaleza de la santidad, o usando el lenguaje de Platón, lo santo, ocupa el fondo del diálogo; y un supuesto encuentro del adivino Eutifrón con Sócrates es lo que da origen a la cuestión. Eutifrón pretende realizar un acto santo, reclamado por la justicia, pidiendo, con ocasión de la muerte de un esclavo, una condena contra su padre. Sócrates representa en este caso la conciencia moral y la razón. (Patricio de Azcárate) Grabación realizada en colaboración: Tux, Epachuko y KevinS. La composición se terminó durante la pandemia del Covid-19, en abril de 2020.

Genre(s): Ancient

Language: Spanish

An Essay on Criticism was the first major poem written by the English writer Alexander Pope (1688-1744). However, despite the title, the poem is not as much an original analysis as it is a compilation of Pope's various literary opinions. A reading of the poem makes it clear that he is addressing not so much the ingenuous reader as the intending writer. It is written in a type of rhyming verse called heroic couplets. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Poetry, Essays & Short Works, Literary Criticism

Language: English

Keyword(s): poetry (1842), poems (208), essay (83), criticism (18), pope (16), alexander (8), recordings (4)

Neben berühmten Erzählungen wie "Max und Moritz - Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen" von Wilhelm Busch und zwei der weniger bekannten Texten von Heinrich Hoffmann (Autor von Struwwelpeter) enthält diese Sammlung insgesamt 20 kurze Erzählungen, Gedichte und Märchen für Kinder. (Zusammenfassung von Elli)

Genre(s): Short works

Language: German

Keyword(s): children (1126), short stories (751), German (353), Deutsch (319), teen (128), Kurzgeschichten (23), Grimm (17), Kinder (14), Erzählungen (7), Wilhelm Busch (2), Heinrich Hoffmann (1), Max und Moritz (1), Sibylle von Olfers (1), Frank Adams (1), Else Dorn (1), Johannes Trojan (1), Elsa Maartman Beskow (1), adelbert von chamisso (1), leonhard diefenbach (1), else birkenstock (1), will vesper (1), karl storch (1), heinrich schlitt (1), gertrud caspari (1)

Emma, "belle, intelligente et riche" a une fâcheuse tendance a vouloir marier les autres. Ce qu'elle va d'abord faire pour sa sœur, puis sa gouvernante, miss Taylor. Mais la voilà seule, avec son père âgé, veuf et très craintif, voir hypocondriaque. Son ami, M. Knightley essaie de la raisonner en l'empêchant d'avoir cette manie de marier ses proches. Pourtant, ses plans semblent relativement bien fonctionner. Qui sera donc sa prochaine protégée ? Et elle, songera-t-elle à se marier un jour ? - Summary by Laurette

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Romance

Language: French

Emma (French Version) Pt.1

Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)
Translated by Pierre de Puliga

Emma, "belle, intelligente et riche" a une fâcheuse tendance a vouloir marier les autres. Ce qu'elle va d'abord faire pour sa sœur, puis sa gouvernante, miss Taylor. Mais la voilà seule, avec son père âgé, veuf et très craintif, voir hypocondriaque. Son ami, M. Knightley essaie de la raisonner en l'empêchant d'avoir cette manie de marier ses proches. Pourtant, ses plans semblent relativement bien fonctionner. Qui sera donc sa prochaine protégée ? Et elle, songera-t-elle à se marier un jour ? - Summary by Laurette

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Romance

Language: French

Keyword(s): Roman (57), 19e siècle (7), roman sentimental (1), mr woodhouse (1), mr knightley (1), weston (1), l'entremetteuse (1), highbury (1), hartfield (1), donwell abbey (1), randalls (1)

The Elements of Style (1918) by William Strunk, Jr. is an American English writing style guide. It is one of the best-known and most influential prescriptive treatment of English grammar and usage, and often is required reading in U.S. high school and university composition classes. The original 1918 edition of The Elements of Style detailed eight elementary rules of usage, ten elementary principles of composition, “a few matters of form”, and a list of commonly "misused" words and expressions. This book, printed as a private edition in 1918 for the use of his students, became a classic on the local campus, known as "the little book", and its successive editions have since sold over ten million copies. This version is based on the public-domain text from 1918, which was originally uploaded to Wikibooks and wikified by Wikibooks:User:Lord Emsworth in 2003. In January 2006, Kernigh transwikied the text from Wikibooks:Elements of Style to Wikisource.” (Summary by Wikipedia and Wikisource)

Genre(s): *Non-fiction, Education, Language learning

Language: English

Keyword(s): languages (29)

In this classic of H. G. Wells, Edward Prendick is shipwrecked on a beautiful island in the South Seas and is drawn into the wild and cruel world of Doctor Moreau, who aspires to play God with animals. Summary by Bob Neufeld

Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction, Fantastic Fiction

Language: English

Keyword(s): science fiction ), vivisection 

Dorothy is swallowed by an earthquake! And that is just the start of Dorothy's adventures in this exciting and fun book. She and her kitten, Eureka are on their way home and stop to visit a relative in California. But the earthquake opens the ground under their feet and everyone, including the horse and buggy and her cousin Zeb fall deep, deep into the earth. Down there they find they can walk on air, but are attacked by the strange and dangerous vegetable creatures. But who should drop in but Dorothy's old friend the Wizard of Oz with 9 tiny piglets! And all the animals can talk! From there the adventure really begins to get strange but in the end all is well when Ozma rescues them but I won't tell you how. Whew! what an exciting book! (Summary by Phil Chenevert)

Genre(s): General

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature (1964), children (1126), Oz (37), baum (22), dorothy (12), wizard of oz (9)

Group: Oz books

Don Quijote, Vers 1 (Pt2)

Don Quijote de la Mancha (ortografía y título original —1605—, El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha) es una de las obras cumbre de la literatura española y la literatura universal, el libro más traducido después de la Biblia, escrito por Miguel de Cervantes.
La novela consta de dos partes: la primera, El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, fue publicada en 1605; la segunda, El ingenioso caballero don Quijote de la Mancha, en 1615.
La primera parte se imprimió en Madrid, en casa de Juan de la Cuesta, a fines de 1604. Salió a la venta en enero de 1605 con numerosas erratas, a causa de la celeridad que imponía el contrato de edición. Esta edición se reimprimió en el mismo año y en el mismo taller, de forma que hay en realidad dos ediciones de 1605 ligeramente distintas. Se sospecha, sin embargo, que existió una novela más corta, que sería una de sus futuras Novelas ejemplares. (Resumen de Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction, General Fiction

Language: Spanish

Keyword(s): literature (1964), adventure (1092), spanish (49)

Don Quijote de la Mancha (ortografía y título original —1605—, El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha) es una de las obras cumbre de la literatura española y la literatura universal, el libro más traducido después de la Biblia, escrito por Miguel de Cervantes.
La novela consta de dos partes: la primera, El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, fue publicada en 1605; la segunda, El ingenioso caballero don Quijote de la Mancha, en 1615.
La primera parte se imprimió en Madrid, en casa de Juan de la Cuesta, a fines de 1604. Salió a la venta en enero de 1605 con numerosas erratas, a causa de la celeridad que imponía el contrato de edición. Esta edición se reimprimió en el mismo año y en el mismo taller, de forma que hay en realidad dos ediciones de 1605 ligeramente distintas. Se sospecha, sin embargo, que existió una novela más corta, que sería una de sus futuras Novelas ejemplares. (Resumen de Wikipedia)

Don Quijote 2

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547 - 1616)

Don Quijote de la Mancha (ortografía y título original —1605—, El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha) es una de las obras cumbre de la literatura española y la literatura universal, el libro más traducido después de la Biblia, escrito por Miguel de Cervantes.
La novela consta de dos partes: la primera, El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, fue publicada en 1605; la segunda, El ingenioso caballero don Quijote de la Mancha, en 1615.
La primera parte se imprimió en Madrid, en casa de Juan de la Cuesta, a fines de 1604. Salió a la venta en enero de 1605 con numerosas erratas, a causa de la celeridad que imponía el contrato de edición. Esta edición se reimprimió en el mismo año y en el mismo taller, de forma que hay en realidad dos ediciones de 1605 ligeramente distintas. Se sospecha, sin embargo, que existió una novela más corta, que sería una de sus futuras Novelas ejemplares. (Resumen de Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction, General Fiction

Language: Spanish

Keyword(s): literature (1964), adventure (1092), spanish (49), quijote (2)

Don Quijote de la Mancha (ortografía y título original —1605—, El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha) es una de las obras cumbre de la literatura española y la literatura universal, el libro más traducido después de la Biblia, escrito por Miguel de Cervantes.
La novela consta de dos partes: la primera, El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, fue publicada en 1605; la segunda, El ingenioso caballero don Quijote de la Mancha, en 1615.
La primera parte se imprimió en Madrid, en casa de Juan de la Cuesta, a fines de 1604. Salió a la venta en enero de 1605 con numerosas erratas, a causa de la celeridad que imponía el contrato de edición. Esta edición se reimprimió en el mismo año y en el mismo taller, de forma que hay en realidad dos ediciones de 1605 ligeramente distintas. Se sospecha, sin embargo, que existió una novela más corta, que sería una de sus futuras Novelas ejemplares. (Resumen de Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction, General Fiction

Language: Spanish

Keyword(s): literature (1964), adventure (1092), spanish (49), quijote (2)

Don Quijote 2

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547 - 1616)

Don Quijote de la Mancha (ortografía y título original —1605—, El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha) es una de las obras cumbre de la literatura española y la literatura universal, el libro más traducido después de la Biblia, escrito por Miguel de Cervantes.
La novela consta de dos partes: la primera, El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, fue publicada en 1605; la segunda, El ingenioso caballero don Quijote de la Mancha, en 1615.
La primera parte se imprimió en Madrid, en casa de Juan de la Cuesta, a fines de 1604. Salió a la venta en enero de 1605 con numerosas erratas, a causa de la celeridad que imponía el contrato de edición. Esta edición se reimprimió en el mismo año y en el mismo taller, de forma que hay en realidad dos ediciones de 1605 ligeramente distintas. Se sospecha, sin embargo, que existió una novela más corta, que sería una de sus futuras Novelas ejemplares. (Resumen de Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction, General Fiction

Language: Spanish

Keyword(s): literature (1964), adventure (1092), spanish (49), quijote (2)

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle

Hugh Lofting (1886 - 1947)

Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting. He is a doctor who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in their own languages. He later becomes a naturalist, using his abilities to speak with animals to better understand nature and the history of the world.(summary from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Children's Fiction, Action & Adventure

Language: English

Keyword(s): children (1126), adventure (1092), animals (417), lofting (1)

Group: Newbery Medal and Honor Books

"David Copperfield" or "The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery" was first published in 1850. Like all except five of his works, it originally appeared in serial form. Many elements within the novel follow events in Dickens' own life, and it is probably the most autobiographical of all of his novels. It is also Dickens' "favorite child." (Summary adapted from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Published 1800 -1900

Language: English

Keyword(s): ⁠⁠novel⁠⁠ (163), ⁠⁠dickens⁠⁠ (67), ⁠⁠Victorian novel⁠⁠ (24)

"David Copperfield" or "The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery" was first published in 1850. Like all except five of his works, it originally appeared in serial form. Many elements within the novel follow events in Dickens' own life, and it is probably the most autobiographical of all of his novels. It is also Dickens' "favorite child." (Summary adapted from Wikipedia)

"David Copperfield" or "The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery" was first published in 1850. Like all except five of his works, it originally appeared in serial form. Many elements within the novel follow events in Dickens' own life, and it is probably the most autobiographical of all of his novels. It is also Dickens' "favorite child." (Summary adapted from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Published 1800 -1900

Language: English

Keyword(s): ⁠novel⁠ (163), ⁠dickens⁠ (67), ⁠Victorian novel⁠ (24)

"David Copperfield" or "The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery" was first published in 1850. Like all except five of his works, it originally appeared in serial form. Many elements within the novel follow events in Dickens' own life, and it is probably the most autobiographical of all of his novels. It is also Dickens' "favorite child." (Summary adapted from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Published 1800 -1900

Language: English

Keyword(s): novel (163), dickens (67), Victorian novel (24)

This is a volume of short stories by the famous Arthur Conan Doyle. - Summary by Carolin

Genre(s): Single Author Collections

Language: English

Keyword(s): short stories (751), danger (12)

The Dancing Mania

Justus Hecker (1795 - 1850)
Translated by Benjamin G. Babington (1794 - 1866)

Numerous theories have been proposed for the causes of dancing mania, and it remains unclear whether it was a real illness or a social phenomenon.
One of the most prominent theories is that victims suffered from ergot poisoning, which was known as St Anthony's Fire in the Middle Ages. During floods and damp periods, ergots were able to grow and affect rye and other crops. Ergotism can cause hallucinations, but cannot account for the other strange behaviour most commonly identified with dancing mania.
Many sources discuss how dancing mania, and tarantism, may have simply been the result of stress and tension caused by natural disasters around the time, such as plagues and floods…people may have danced to relieve themselves of the stress and poverty of the day, and in doing so, attempted to become ecstatic and see visions. Sources agree that dancing mania was one of the earliest forms of mass hysteria, and describe it as a "psychic epidemic", with numerous explanations that might account for the behaviour of the dancers.
Another popular theory is that the outbreaks were all staged, and the appearance of strange behaviour was down to its unfamiliarity. Religious cults may have been acting out well-organised dances, in accordance with ancient Greek and Roman rituals. Despite being banned at the time, these rituals could be performed under the guise of uncontrollable dancing mania. (Introduction from Wikipedia, slightly adapted.)

Genre(s): *Non-fiction, History, Psychology

Language: English

Keyword(s): psychology (127), medieval history (10), History of Medicine (4), medieval religion (1), mass hysteria (1)

The Dance of Death

August Strindberg (1849 - 1912)
Translated by Edwin Björkman (1866 - 1951)

The Dance of Death is a play in two parts by the Swedish dramatist August Strindberg, written in 1900. It depicts the dissolution of a marriage between Edgar, an artillery captain, and Alice, a former actress. Increasingly isolated in their fort-like house, they manipulate and bait each other, until the unexpected arrival of Curt, Alice's cousin. His presence creates a tense triangular relationship that escalates throughout Part One, and is complicated with the introduction of two of the trio's children, Allan and Judith, in Part Two. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)
Cast
Edgar: Bob Neufeld
Alice: Elizabeth Klett
Curt: Bruce Pirie
Jenny: Availle
Old Woman: Bev J. Stevens
Allan: mb
Judith: Arielle Lipshaw
Lieutenant: Victoria
Narrator: Sean Daley
Audio edited by Elizabeth Klett

Genre(s): Plays

Language: English

Keyword(s): marriage (159), relationships (54)

No matter how enlightened, chances are you've been raised around superstitious lore of one kind or another. Fanny Dickerson Bergen was one of the original researchers of North American oral traditions relating to such key life events and experiences as babyhood and childhood, marriage, wishes and dreams, luck, warts and cures, death omens and mortuary customs, and "such truck," as Huck Finn would say.
You'll be surprised at how many of these old saws you'll know. Here's a quote from Chapter One, Babyhood:
Monday’s child is fair of face,
Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
Wednesday’s child is sour and sad,
Thursday’s child is merry and glad,
Friday’s child is loving and giving,
Saturday’s child must work for a living;
But the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is blithe and bonny, good and gay.
--Baldwinsville, N. Y.
All of these readings are as short as 5 minutes and no longer than 15 minutes, with plenty of pithy one-liners in the form of proverbs, always given with the locale they came from in Canada or the United States (with clear influences in British tradition). (summary by Denny Sayers)

Genre(s): *Non-fiction, Social Science (Culture & Anthropology)

Language: English

Keyword(s): classic (43), tradition (6)

The Cruise of the Snark (1913) is a memoir of Jack and Charmian London's 1907-1909 voyage across the Pacific. His descriptions of "surf-riding", which he dubbed a "royal sport", helped introduce it to and popularize it with the mainland. London writes:
Through the white crest of a breaker suddenly appears a dark figure, erect, a man-fish or a sea-god, on the very forward face of the crest where the top falls over and down, driving in toward shore, buried to his loins in smoking spray, caught up by the sea and flung landward, bodily, a quarter of a mile. It is a Kanaka on a surf-board. And I know that when I have finished these lines I shall be out in that riot of colour and pounding surf, trying to bit those breakers even as he, and failing as he never failed, but living life as the best of us may live it.
(Excerpted from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Memoirs

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature (1964), memoir (103), island (23), Pacific (8)

"Civilisations as yet have only been created and directed by a small intellectual aristocracy, never by crowds. Crowds are only powerful for destruction. Their rule is always tantamount to a barbarian phase. A civilisation involves fixed rules, discipline, a passing from the instinctive to the rational state, forethought for the future, an elevated degree of culture — all of them conditions that crowds, left to themselves, have invariably shown themselves incapable of realising. In consequence of the purely destructive nature of their power crowds act like those microbes which hasten the dissolution of enfeebled or dead bodies. When the structure of a civilisation is rotten, it is always the masses that bring about its downfall." - Gustave Le Bon, from Introduction

Genre(s): Psychology, Social Science (Culture & Anthropology)

Language: English

Keyword(s): democracy (17), communism (14), aristocracy (13), criminology (5), Fascism (5), group psychology (1), oligarcy (1)

Crome Yellow, published in 1921 was Aldous Huxley’s first novel. In it he satirizes the fads and fashions of the time. It is the witty story of a house party at ‘Crome’ where there is a gathering of bright young things. We hear some of the history of the house from Henry Wimbush, its owner and self appointed historian; Apocalypse is prophesied, virginity is lost, and inspirational aphorisms are gained in a trance. Our hero, Denis, tries to capture it all in poetry and is disappointed in love.
The author, Aldous Huxley, was born in 1894 and began writing poetry and short stories in his early twenties; this was his first novel and established his literary reputation. (Summary by Martin Clifton)

Genre(s): Satire

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature (1964)

he Crimson Fairy Book contains thirty-six stories collected from around the world and edited by Andrew Lang. Many tales in this book are translated, or adapted, from those told by mothers and nurses in Hungary; others are familiar to Russian nurseries; the Servians are responsible for some; a rather peculiarly fanciful set of stories are adapted from the Roumanians; others are from the Baltic shores; others from sunny Sicily; a few are from Finland, and Iceland, and Japan, and Tunis, and Portugal. No doubt many children will like to look out these places on the map, and study their mountains, rivers, soil, products, and fiscal policies, in the geography books. The peoples who tell the stories differ in colour; language, religion, and almost everything else; but they all love a nursery tale. The stories have mainly been adapted or translated by Mrs. Lang, a few by Miss Lang and Miss Blackley. (Summary from the preface)

Genre(s): Myths, Legends & Fairy Tales

Language: English

Keyword(s): children (1119), fairy tales (283), andrew lang (8), crimson fairy book (1)

Group: Andrew Lang's Fairy Books

Crime and Punishment (Pt.3)

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881)
Translated by Constance Garnett (1861 - 1946)

Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished St. Petersburg student who formulates and executes a plan to kill a hated, unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money, thereby solving his financial problems and at the same time, he argues, ridding the world of evil. Crime and Punishment is considered by many as the first of Dostoevsky's cycle of great novels, which would culminate with his last completed work, The Brothers Karamazov, shortly before his death. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Published 1900 onward

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature (1959)

Crime and Punishment (Pt.2)

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881)
Translated by Constance Garnett (1861 - 1946)

Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished St. Petersburg student who formulates and executes a plan to kill a hated, unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money, thereby solving his financial problems and at the same time, he argues, ridding the world of evil. Crime and Punishment is considered by many as the first of Dostoevsky's cycle of great novels, which would culminate with his last completed work, The Brothers Karamazov, shortly before his death. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Published 1900 onward

Language: English

Keyword(s): literature (1959)

Crime and Punishment (Pt.1)

Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished St. Petersburg student who formulates and executes a plan to kill a hated, unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money, thereby solving his financial problems and at the same time, he argues, ridding the world of evil. Crime and Punishment is considered by many as the first of Dostoevsky's cycle of great novels, which would culminate with his last completed work, The Brothers Karamazov, shortly before his death. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Creditors

August Strindberg (1849 - 1912)
Translated by Edwin Björkman (1866 - 1951)

Creditors is a tragicomedy by August Strindberg that plumbs the depths of the twisted triangular relationship between Tekla, her husband Adolph, and her ex-husband Gustav. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)
Cast:
Tekla: Elizabeth Klett
Adolph: mb
Gustav: Bruce Pirie
Narrator: Diana Majlinger
Audio edited by: Elizabeth Klett

Genre(s): Comedy, Tragedy

Language: English

Keyword(s): drama (199), strindberg (4), creditors (2)

The Cowardly Lion of Oz (version 2)

Ruth Plumly Thompson (1891 - 1976)

Mustafa of Mudge has heard of the famous Cowardly Lion of Oz, and decides to capture him and put him into a zoo! He enlists the help of Bob Up and a clown called Notta Bit More - the master of disguise! The Cowardly Lion meanwhile travels though Oz and meets a stone man, who offers to turn the Cowardly Lion into stone: after all, a stone lion doesn't feel fear! Is this the solution to the Cowardly Lion's quest for courage? Or is it a trap, and does the stone man want to trick him for reasons of his own?
The Cowardly Lion of Oz was published in 1923, and is the seventeenth in the Oz series created by L. Frank Baum. It is the third by Ruth Plumly Thompson, and comes directly after "Kabumpo in Oz". The main themes are disguises, honesty, and being true to who you are. (Summary by Beth Thomas)

Genre(s): General

Language: English

Keyword(s): Oz (37), l. frank baum (2)

Group: Oz books

How can you tell when your pig is fat enough? Why should you never buy mustard? What's wrong with eating potatoes? Which is better, beer or tea? And what type of straw makes the best bonnets? William Cobbett is the man to ask. Here is his book of practical advice to the rural labouring 'cottager' (first published as a part-work in 1821-22), the precursor in many ways to the handbooks on self-sufficiency that today entice so many city-dwellers.
A champion of the rural working class at a time of huge social and industrial change, a radical politician and a prolific writer, Cobbett is opinionated, passionate and enlightening, making 'Cottage Economy' a fascinating and entertaining window on daily life for the smallholders of his day, and still inspirational, almost 200 years later, to those who seek 'a good living' as the foundation of happiness. (Introduction by Philippa)
The figures referred to in the section on ice houses can be viewed here

Genre(s): *Non-fiction, House & Home

Language: English

Keyword(s): advice (81), farming (33), agriculture (31), bread (14), beer (9), pigs (8), self-sufficiency (5), Bacon (4), brewing (3), livestock (2), 19th century life (2), smallholding (1), cows (1)

Robert Hugh Benson was the youngest son of Edward White Benson, the Archbishop of Canterbury and his wife Mary. Benson was was a prolific and popular writer during his time, and in 1903 he became a prominent convert to the Roman Catholic Church from Anglicanism . In 1904 he was ordained a Catholic priest.
This book is his personal story of his journey to the Catholic faith, containing comparisons between Catholicism and the Anglican religion. (Summary by Maria Therese)

Genre(s): Biography & Autobiography, Christianity - Biographies

Language: English

Keyword(s): Catholic (225), priest (23), Anglican (15), convert (3)

“Thou hast the keys of Paradise, O just, subtle, and mighty Opium!”
Though apparently presenting the reader with a collage of poignant memories, temporal digressions and random anecdotes, the Confessions is a work of immense sophistication and certainly one of the most impressive and influential of all autobiographies. The work is of great appeal to the contemporary reader, displaying a nervous (postmodern?) self-awareness, a spiralling obsession with the enigmas of its own composition and significance. De Quincey may be said to scrutinise his life, somewhat feverishly, in an effort to fix his own identity.
The title seems to promise a graphic exposure of horrors; these passages do not make up a large part of the whole. The circumstances of its hasty composition sets up the work as a lucrative piece of sensational journalism, albeit published in a more intellectually respectable organ – the London Magazine – than are today’s tawdry exercises in tabloid self-exposure. What makes the book technically remarkable is its use of a majestic neoclassical style applied to a very romantic species of confessional writing - self-reflexive but always reaching out to the Reader. (Summary by Martin Geeson)

Genre(s): Memoirs

Language: English

Keyword(s): memoir (101), autobiography (94), alcohol (21), opium (12), addiction (5), confessional (2), laudanum (1)

Conceptions of Divine LoveSaint Teresa of Avila (1515 - 1582)
Translated by John Dalton (1709 - 1763)

Conceptions of Divine Love was written in 1577. St. Teresa wrote this with the idea of explaining certain words found in the Book of Canticles. When her confessor read the title of her work, he ordered her to immediately burn it, which, of course, she did. But one of her nuns had copied the first seven chapters, which was then published in 1612. Here, Father John Dalton has translated only four of those chapters in 1852. (Summary by Ann Boulais)

Genre(s): Christianity - Commentary

Language: English

Keyword(s): religion (744), Catholicism (32), Saint Teresa of Jesus (2)

Common Sense, How to Exercise It

Yoritomo Tashi (1147 - 1199)
Translated by Lily Berthelot De La Boileverie

One of three seminal philosophical works by the twelfth century Japanese Shogun, Yoritomo-Tashi. (From the Preface) He knows how to clothe his teachings in fable and appealing legend, and his exotic soul, so near and yet so far, reminds one of a flower, whose familiar aspect is transmuted into rare perfume.
By him the sternest questions are stripped of their hostile aspects and present themselves in the alluring form of the simplest allegories of striking poetic intensity.
When reading his works, one recalls unconsciously the orations of the ancient philosophers, delivered in those dazzling gardens, luxuriant in sunlight and fragrant with flowers.
In this far-away past, one sees also the silhouette of a majestic figure, whose school of philosophy became a religion, which interested the world because it spoke both of love and goodness.
But in spite of this fact, the doctrines of Yoritomo are of an imaginative type. His kingdom belongs to this world, and his theories seek less the joys of the hereafter than of that tangible happiness which is found in the realization of the manly virtues and in that effort to create perfect harmony from which flows perfect peace.
He takes us by the hand, in order to lead us to the center of that Eden of Knowledge where we have already discovered the art of persuasion, and that art, most difficult of all to acquire—the mastery of timidity.
Following him, we shall penetrate once more this Eden, that we may study with Yoritomo the manner of acquiring this art—somewhat unattractive perhaps but essentially primordial—called Common Sense. - Summary by B. Dangennes.

Genre(s): Philosophy

Language: English

Keyword(s): philosophy (997), Japanese (25), self help (10), medeval (1)

St. John Chrysostom (c. 349 - c. 407)
Translated by Gross Alexander (1852 - 1915)

St. Chrysostom’s Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians is continuous, according to chapter and verse, instead of being arranged in Homilies, with a moral or practical application at their close, as in his exposition of other Epistles. It was written in Antioch, as Montfaucon infers from a reference which the Author, makes upon Chap. i., ver. 16 to other of his writings, which certainly were written about the same time in that city. (Introduction from the preface by John Henry Newman)

Genre(s): Christianity - Commentary

Language: English

Keyword(s): religion (744), bible (494), Christianity (382), commentary (61), Galatians (8)

Dole briefly sketches the history of life, and shows how it has a definite direction - toward the survival of the kind and gentle people. It's a challenging, and quite persuasive argument, and also a much needed one in light of the dog-eat-dog theories out there. Dole shows that in our evolving society, our traditional understanding of "survival of the fittest" needs to be updated. A book that was way ahead of its time, yet so suited to it. Some may argue that - since he was writing The Coming People before the first two world wars - that he was obviously wrong. However, his argument remains valid given current scientific evidence cited in such books as "Evolution and Empathy", and "The Age of Empathy", and it's noteworthy that he wrote another book after World War I (see, A Religion for the New Day, 1920, where he states that while society is still quite barbaric, he retains his powerful conviction that it "is improving and improvable". ). Also, Dole points to the many flaws of his time (and ours too), and stresses the need to fix them in a peaceful, intelligent manner. Many of the issues he grappled with remain just as strong today, and he stated that it might be such. "The Coming People" is a universal, important message, and will continue to find home in the hearts of agnostics, believers, and atheists (at least for its strong social argument). (Introduction by Max Cusimano)

Genre(s): Philosophy

Language: English

Keyword(s): philosophy (997), religion (744), politics (209)

This text takes the reader on a comical journey from the time of the first European settlement through the Civil War. The author's caustic wit is evident throughout the book in his numerous sarcastic and humorous remarks. The reader will enjoy a "different" type of history book based on facts, yet caustically embellished for entertainment purposes.
(Summary by Allyson Hester)

Genre(s): History, Humor

Language: English

Keyword(s): history (910), comedy (201), civil war (155), slavery (149), USA (96), Indians (47), pioneers (21), new world (7), comic (6), us (6), united (3), states (3)

The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution (Pt.2)

William Cooper Nell (1816 - 1874)

A study of the black patriots of the American Revolution, with introductions by Harriet Beecher Stowe and Wendell Phillips.

Genre(s): War & Military, Biography & Autobiography

Language: English

Keyword(s): revolution (58)

The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution (Pt. 1)

William Cooper Nell (1816 - 1874)

A study of the black patriots of the American Revolution, with introductions by Harriet Beecher Stowe and Wendell Phillips.

Genre(s): War & Military, Biography & Autobiography

Language: English

Keyword(s): revolution (58)

As that heavenly bit of chocolate melts in our mouths, we give little thought as to where it came from, the arduous work that went in to its creation, and the complex process of its maturation from a bean to the delicacy we all enjoy. This "little book" details everything you have ever wanted to know (and some things you never knew you wanted to know) about cocoa and chocolate from how the trees are planted and sustained to which countries produce the most cacao beans. Do cacao beans from various countries differ? What makes some types of chocolate higher quality than other kinds? Are there any health benefits to eating chocolate? Read on to learn the answers to these and many other questions about that wondrous little treat we call chocolate. (Summary by Allyson Hester)

Genre(s): *Non-fiction, History, Cooking

Language: English

Keyword(s): history (910), cooking (77), food (51)

Translated by Evelyn Underhill (1875 - 1941)

The Cloud of Unknowing (Middle English: The Cloude of Unknowyng) is an anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the latter half of the 14th century. The text is a spiritual guide on contemplative prayer in the late Middle Ages. The book counsels a young student to seek God, not through knowledge and intellection (faculty of the human mind), but through intense contemplation, motivated by love, and stripped of all thought. This is brought about by putting all thoughts and desires under a "cloud of forgetting", and thereby piercing God's cloud of unknowing with a "dart of longing love" from the heart. This form of contemplation is not directed by the intellect, but involves spiritual union with God through the heart. (Summary by Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Christianity - Other

Language: English

Keyword(s): religion (744), Christianity (382), mediaeval (4), Christian mysticism (1)