Sotto Voce: Books

Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Audio Books

When I was a child, I enjoyed listing to a series of Disney Read-Along books on record {Yes, vinyl was available "in my day"} and cassette tape. I would flip thought the pages as the stories were read and I loved that they included some of the songs from the movies. So fun! {Below are two of my favorites!}

I did not really listen to books on tape again until I had a 10-15 hour a week commute into the City. I was a frequent patron of the library seeking audio books as soon as I had grown tired of my meager music collection. I felt by listening to all of those books I was not wasting my time, and it kept me awake when I was tired.

Thankfully, I no longer have that commute, but I do still enjoy listening to books on tape whenever I am doing something that will allow me to listen. I get audio books from the library occasionally, but with the capabilities of my new phone, I can download them. I found a website that does not limit you to just putting them on your phone. They are available for download so you can burn them to CD. Great for road trips! And you do not have to turn them in if you cannot finish them in the allotted "check out" time. Best of all, this website offers audio books for free. What website, you ask? Go here. LibriVox has an ever growing collection of books that are in the public domain and the recordings are, too. I will make these recommendations, though: Look for books that only have one reader. When the reader switches each chapter it is rather distracting, or at least I think think it is. And, do not give up if you don't care for the reader... they are free after all. If you do not like the reader, pick a different book!

I am currently listening to The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper and I just finished Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

Monday, October 26, 2009

New Meaning to Book Bag

Here is a cute idea I found online.

I am not sure how I feel about them defacing Pride and Prejudice, but still fun.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Steal of a Find

For the last while I have been looking for an old dictionary. Not just any dictionary, but one of those huge dictionaries. I have found them online, but they are so expensive. We are talking $375 expensive. I could not rationalize spending that much. No way. But today was a wonderful day! Mom and I went to the used book sale at the local library. I love used book sales. I found a 1939 Unabridged Dictionary, seven volumes of Pushkin in pre communist Russian, and two writing books from 1924. They were $1 each. So cool! Aren’t they beautiful?!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Lunch Break List

Yesterday one of my coworkers, knowing my penchant for literature, told me about an article published Monday in one of the British newspapers. In this article the results of a survey are discussed. What was said survey about? Well, this survey tried to determine who are the most romantic heroes in literature? I am not going to share the link, because I do not agree. Instead, I am going to give you my list compiled on an obliging post-it note during my lunch break. I am certain upon greater reflection I would determine that someone has been overlooked and/or may not be ranked as they should have been… Not so, for my top three. But how much more time, really, should I spend thinking about this? That being said, I will withhold no longer:

10 Most Romantic Heroes in Literature:

1) John Thornton (North and South)**

2) Frederick Wentworth (Persuasion)

3) Константин Дмитриевич Лёвин, Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin (Анна Каренина, Anna Karenina)

4) George Knightley (Emma)

5) Gabriel Oak (Far From the Madding Crowd)

6) Daniel Deronda (Daniel Deronda)

7) Allan Woodcourt (Bleak House)

8) Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)

9) Percy Blakeney (Scarlet Pimpernel)

10) Gilbert Markham (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall)

**Note: Please refer to the book {not the movie} for his true character!

Worthy of an Honorable Mention:

Edmund Bertram (Mansfield Park), Dick Dewy (Under a Greenwood Tree), Edward Ferrars (Sense and Sensibility), John Ridd (Lorna Doone), Edward Rochester (Jane Eyre), Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing), Eugene Wrayburn (Our Mutual Friend), John Harmon (Our Mutual Friend), Paul Emanuel (Villette), Gilbert Blythe (Anne of Green Gables), Graham Bretton (Villette), Waldo Hawkridge (The Nonsuch), Arthur Clennam (Little Dorrit), Nicholas Nickleby (Nicholas Nickleby), Arthur Goring (An Ideal Husband), Robert Chiltern (An Ideal Husband)

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Three Cups of {Herbal} Tea

Tonight was our monthly ward book group meeting. I have to say it was just delightful! We discussed all sorts of things including our book for this last month. We read Those Who Love by Irving Stone. It is a biographical novel about John and Abigail Adams. I have to confess I did not have time to finish the book before this evening, but I was familiar enough with the history that there were no “spoilers.” I am still looking forward to finishing it. Great pick Karah! Both the book and the refreshments were wonderful. When reading a book that includes the Boston Tea party… what other refreshment is there, but {herbal} tea? Karah made all of these little tea sandwiches. Yum. She also had a floral tea that she put in a glass tea pot and we watched it bloom. So cool! There were several yummy varieties of {herbal} tea that we put in the prettiest tea cups ever. I have to admit I had three cups. I wish I would have taken a picture of the delectable tea accoutrements. Unfortunately I only have this photo of my Petits Fours. Not too shabby for a first attempt, but I will admit to using a cheater method. And I even cheated on the cheater method. I did not fill them and I did not dip them, and worse… I froze the cake before I cut the squares. Still it was fun. Next time I make them I need to give myself more time to decorate them. What a lovely evening!