My LibriVox Recordings

Recordings for LibriVox

I found out about LibriVox in March of 2006, and have been recording for them off and on ever since. LibriVox is to vocal recordings what Project Gutenberg is to the world of printed literature. The aim of the project is to create audiobooks of public domain works of literature through use of volunteer readers. Since the collaborative works are done by several readers, I will only include links my portions of those works on this page, but will add a link to the final project at LibriVox once it has been completed.

Click here to see listings and links for some of the LibriVox recordings I've done.

Collaborative Literature Projects (Dickens, Poe)

Collaborative Drama Projects (Shakespeare)

LibriVox Weekly Poetry (a variety of poets)

Solo Literature (a whole book on my own, Penguin Island, by Anatole France)

Literature (Collaborative)

With collaborative literature projects, several volunteers volunteer to read one or more sections (usually chapters) from a book

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
      Book 1, Chapter I: The Period .
tale_of_two_cities_01_dickens.mp3
     Book 3, Chapter X: The Substance of the Shadow.
tale_of_two_cities_40_dickens.mp3
     Book 3, Chapter XV: The Footsteps Die Out For Ever .
tale_of_two_cities_45_dickens.mp3

What do you do when you suddenly realize you will be reading two iconic lines from one of literature's greatest works ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times", and "It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done . . .")? Why, you practice, of course. Outtakes from Book 1, Chapter I of A Tale of Two Cities.

best_of_times_outtakes_dickens.mp3

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Alan Poe -- Chapters 9, 10 and 11. .
arthurgordonpym_09_poe.mp3
arthurgordonpym_10_poe.mp3
arthurgordonpym_11_poe.mp3

LibriVox NaNoWriMo Novel by An Assortment of LibriVoxers
The idea is to write a whole novel in the month of November, based on the guidelines of the National Novel Writing Month. The twist is that a number of writers sign up to do one or more sections of 1,700+ words each. Each writer follows the plot until it's their turn, and then they take over. Who knows where it will lead? Each writer can also record their own section of the story, or have someone else record theirs for them. The final chapter (#30) will/may be written/recorded by multiple authors, providing a number of alternate endings to the story. The text and the recordings will be/are posted on the LibrVox website, and also are/were podcast. Here are my sections, Chapters 5, 12, 24, and 30 (posted after they occur)..

Text:
Chapter 5 -- http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dt724vw_1cp54m7#Chapter%2005
Chapter 12 --.http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dt724vw_1cp54m7#Chapter%2012
Chapter 24 -- http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dt724vw_1cp54m7#Chapter%2024
Chapter 30b -- http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dt724vw_1cp54m7#Chapter%2030b%20-%20a%20version%20of%20the%20end

Recordings of all chapters may be accessed at the Internet Archive -- http://www.archive.org/details/nanowrimo2006audio_librivox

The entire novel can be read here -- http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dt724vw_1cp54m7

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Drama (Collaborative)

Dramatic projects involve the readers doing separate parts for specific characters, sending those files to a person who coordinates the assemblage of the disparate pieces into the entire play. These lines are just for the parts I volunteered for. I'll put a link to complete plays once they have been posted at LibriVox..

Richard II -- William Shakespeare. Lines for the character of Henry Percy (Hotspur).
richard_ii_henry_percy_act2_shakespeare.mp3
richard_ii_henry_percy_act3_shakespeare.mp3
richard_ii_henry_percy_act4_shakespeare.mp3
richard_ii_henry_percy_act5_shakespeare.mp3

(May 5, 2007) This play has now been completed and catalogued. The full production can be obtained at

http://librivox.org/the-tragedy-of-king-richard-ii-by-william-shakespeare/

Henry IV, Part 1 -- William Shakespeare. Lines for the character of Hotspur.
1_henry-iv_hotspur_act1_shakespeare.mp3
1_henry-iv_hotspur_act2_shakespeare.mp3
1_henry-iv_hotspur_act3_shakespeare.mp3
1_henry-iv_hotspur_act4_shakespeare.mp3
1_henry-iv_hotspur_act5_shakespeare.mp3

Other Shakespeare. Individual monologues, etc.
from Hamlet --
Character of Hamlet
from Act II, Scene 2 - "O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I"
from Act III, Scene 1 - "To be, or not to be"
from Act IV, Scene 4 - "How all occasions do inform against me"

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Weekly Poetry Readings

Each week, a poem is offered for any LibriVox volunteers to record (during that week). I'll post links to any of these I've done, along with a link to the LibriVox page that houses all the other versions of the poem recorded that week.

Danse Russe by William Carlos Williams, recorded Tuesday, August 15, 2006.
My Version: http://ia311527.us.archive.org/2/items/danse_russe_librivox/danse_russe_williams_mks.mp3
All Librivox Versions: http://librivox.org/danse-russe-by-william-carlos-williams/

Ozymandias of Egypt by Percy Bysshe Shelley, recorded Monday, August 21, 2006.
My Version: http://ia300033.us.archive.org/3/items/ozymandias_librivox/ozymandias_of_egypt_shelley_mks.mp3
All Librivox Versions: http://librivox.org/ozymandias-of-egypt-by-percy-bysshe-shelley/

Fire and Ice by Robert Frost, recorded Sunday, August 27, 2006.
My Version: http://ia311541.us.archive.org/2/items/fire_and_ice_librivox/fire_and_ice_frost_mks.mp3
All Librivox Versions: http://librivox.org/fire-and-ice-by-robert-frost/

Work Without Hope by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, recorded Wednesday, September 6, 2006.
My Version: http://ia300031.us.archive.org/1/items/work_without_hope_librivox/work_without_hope_coleridge_mks.mp3
All Librivox Versions: http://librivox.org/work-without-hope-by-samuel-taylor-coleridge/

A Ballad of John Silver by John Masefield, recorded Sunday, September 17, 2006 (for Speak Like a Pirate Day).
My Version: http://ia331328.us.archive.org/3/items/ballad_john_silver_librivox/ballad_john_silver_masefield_mks.mp3
All Librivox Versions: http://librivox.org/a-ballad-of-john-silver-by-john-masefield/

A Vagabond Song by Bliss Carman, recorded Monday, September 25, 2006.
My Version: http://ia331333.us.archive.org/0/items/vagabond_song_librivox/vagabond_song_carman_mks.mp3
All Librivox Versions: http://librivox.org/a-vagabond-song-by-bliss-carman/

The Village Blacksmith by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, recorded Monday, October 2, 2006.
My Version: http://ia331326.us.archive.org/2/items/village_blacksmith_librivox/village_blacksmith_longfellow_mks.mp3
All Librivox Versions: http://librivox.org/the-village-blacksmith-by-henry-wadsworth-longfellow/

Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfrid Owen, recorded Saturday, November 11, 2006 (for Veterans Day).
My Version: http://ia331315.us.archive.org/3/items/anthem_doomed_youth_owen_librivox/anthem_doomed_youth_owen_mks.mp3
All Librivox Versions: http://librivox.org/anthem-for-doomed-youth-by-wilfred-owen/

Dirge for Two Veterans by Walt Whitman, recorded Tuesday, May 29, 2007 (for Memorial Day).
My Version: http://ia350611.us.archive.org/0/items/dirge_librivox/dirge_whitman_mks.mp3
All Librivox Versions: http://librivox.org/dirge-for-two-veterans-by-walt-whitman/

A Pinch of Salt by Robert Graves, recorded Tuesday, June 5, 2007
My Version: http://ia350627.us.archive.org/3/items/pinch_salt/pinch_of_salt_graves_mks.mp3
All Librivox Versions: http://librivox.org/a-pinch-of-salt-by-robert-graves/

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Literature (Solo Projects)

September 2006 -- I've decided to record a book by myself, Penguin Island, by Anatole France. It's a wonderful satire, first published in 1908. I'll be reading an English translation of the original. In college, I played The Devil in a theatrical version of the story. That version was written by Noel Langley, the man who wrote the screenplay for The Wizard of Oz. The story is about a priest named Mael who is 97 years old, and has such bad eyesight that (influenced by The Devil) he baptizes a bunch of penguins. Once the penguins are baptized they have no choice but to become human, so (with typical human faults and foibles) they pattern themselves after the whole of human history, falling in love, murdering each other, building civilizations, going to war, etc. Funny stuff, and very apropos to today. I'll be posting links to each chapter (saved to a temp folder as .mp3 files) as I finish recording them, something that I suspect will take me several months. The number in front of each chapter below indicates the numbering scheme I'll use when I record each chapter (which will help CD and MP3 players sort the chapters). The date following each link is the date I finally finished editing each chapter and uploaded it, not the day I initially recorded it, which may have been days or even weeks before.

Book I -- The Beginnings
01 - Chapter 1 -- ~~Life of Saint Mael   09-12-2006   (3.29 MB)~~
                             Life of Saint Mael 09-25-2006 (3.20 MB)   3 min/30 sec.   [file re-edited -- I wasn't happy with the first versions].
02 - Chapter 2 -- ~~The Apostolical Vocation of Saint Mael   09-12-2006    (8.91 MB)~~
                            The Apostolic Vocation of Saint Mael 09-25-2006 (8.90 MB)   9 min/43 sec.   [file re-edited -- ditto].
03 - Chapter 3 -- The Temptation of Saint Mael   09-26-2006 (6.31 MB)   6 min/53 sec.
04 - Chapter 4 -- St. Mael's Navigation on the Ocean of Ice 09-26-2006 (5.50 MB)   6 min/00 sec.
05 - Chapter 5 -- The Baptism of the Penguins    09-26-2006 (5.87 MB)   6 min/24 sec.
06 - Chapter 6 -- An Assembly in Paradise   10-15-2006 (17.00 MB)   18 min/36 sec
07 - Chapter 7 -- An Assembly in Paradise (Continuation and End)   10-18-2006 (9.90 MB) 10 min/49 sec
08 - Chapter 8 -- Metamorphosis of the Penguins    10-19-2006 (3.41 MB) 3 min/44 sec
             Note: Book One is complete, as of 10-19-2006.

Book II -- The Ancient Times
09 - Chapter 1 -- The First Clothes    10-19-2006 (9.94 MB) 10 min/51 sec
10 - Chapter 2 -- The First Clothes (Continuation and End)    10-19-2006 (1.69 MB) 1 min/51 sec
11 - Chapter 3 -- Setting Bounds to the Fields and the Origin of Property   10-21-2006 (7.91 MB) 8 min/38 sec     [re-recorded version, first one was too flat]
12 - Chapter 4 -- The First Assembly of the Estates of Penguinia   10-22-2006 (5.03 MB) 5 min/29 sec     [re-recorded the narration and one of the characters]
13 - Chapter 5 -- The Marriage of Krakken and Orberosia   10-22-2006 (4.23 MB) 4 min/37 sec
14 - Chapter 6 -- The Dragon of Alca 10-23-2006 ( 5.10 MB) 5 min/34 sec
15 - Chapter 7 -- The Dragon of Alca (Continuation) 10-25-2006 ( 4.57 MB) 4 min/59 sec
16 - Chapter 8 -- The Dragon of Alca (Continuation) 10-26-2006 ( 5.61 MB) 6 min/07 sec
17 - Chapter 9 -- The Dragon of Alca (Continuation) 10-26-2006 ( 4.81 MB) 5 min/15 sec
18 - Chapter 10 -- The Dragon of Alca (Continuation) 10-28-2006 ( 6.40 MB) 6 min/59 sec
19 - Chapter 11 -- The Dragon of Alca (Continuation) 10-29-2006 ( 5.78 MB) 6 min/19 sec
20 - Chapter 12 -- The Dragon of Alca (Continuation) 10-30-2006 ( 5.54 MB) 6 min/03 sec
21 - Chapter 13 -- The Dragon of Alca (Continuation and End) 10-31-2006 ( 4.04 MB) 4 min/25 sec
             Note: Book Two is complete, as of 10-31-2006.

Note: (late October, 2006) I'll be taking a break from this for a month so I can participate in NaNoWriMo. I'll start recording Penguin Island again sometime early in December.

Book III -- The Middle Ages and the Renaissance
22 - Chapter 1 -- Brian the Good and Queen Glamorgan    12-12-2006 (7.58 MB) 8 min/16 sec
23 - Chapter 2 -- Draco the Great (Translation of the Relics of St. Orberosia)    12-13-2006 (6.35 MB) 6 min/56 sec
24 - Chapter 3 -- Queen Crucha    12-16-2006 (6.07 MB) 6 min/38 sec
25 - Chapter 4 -- Letters: Johannes Talpa    12-21-2006 (6.91 MB) 7 min/32 sec
26 - Chapter 5 -- The Arts: The Primitives of Penguin Painting    12-22-2006 (10.50 MB) 11 min/30 sec
27 - Chapter 6 -- Marbodius    12-26-2006 (23.80 MB) 26 min/03 sec
28 - Chapter 7 -- Signs in the Moon    12-26-2006 (3.08 MB) 3 min/22 sec
             Note: Book Three is complete, as of 12-26-2006.

Book IV -- Modern Times: Trinco
29 - Chapter 1 -- Mother Roquin    12-27-2006 (9.06 MB) 9 min/53 sec
30 - Chapter 2 -- Trinco    12-28-2006 (6.06 MB) 6 min/37 sec
31 - Chapter 3 -- The Journey of Doctor Obnubile   12-30-2006 (8.53 MB) 9 min/19 sec
             Note: Book Four is complete, as of 12-30-2006.

Book V -- Modern Times: Chatillon
32 - Chapter 1 -- The Reverend Fathers Agaric and Cornemuse 2-22-2007 (13.70 MB) 15 min/02 sec
33 - Chapter 2 -- Prince Crucho 2-24-2007 (5.37 MB) 5 min/52 sec
34 - Chapter 3 -- The Cabal 3-1-2007 (9.22 MB) 10 min/04 sec
35 - Chapter 4 -- Viscountess Olive 3-3-2007 (7.92 MB) 8 min/39 sec
36 - Chapter 5 -- The Prince des Boscenos 3-9-2007 (10.2 MB) 11 min/13 sec
37 - Chapter 6 -- The Emiral's Fall 3-20-2007 (13.8 MB) 15 min/09 sec
38 - Chapter 7 -- Conclusion 3-21-2007 (6.4 MB) 6 min/59 sec
Note: Book Five is complete, as of 3-21-2007.

Book VI -- Modern Times
39 - Chapter 1 -- General Greatauk, Duke of Skull 3-23-2007 (6.37 MB) 6 min/59 sec
40 - Chapter 2 -- Pyrot 3-24-2007 (6.81 MB) 7 min/26 sec
41 - Chapter 3 -- Count de Maubec de la Dentdulynx 3-27-2007 (7.02 MB) 7 min/40 sec
42 - Chapter 4 -- Columban 4-16-2007 (5.96 MB) 6 min/31 sec
43 - Chapter 5 -- The Reverend Fathers Agaric and Cornemuse 4-18-2007 (8.49 MB) 9 min/16 sec
44 - Chapter 6 -- The Seven Hundred Pyrotists 4-19-2007 (8.55 MB) 9 min/20 sec
45 - Chapter 7 -- Bidault-Coquille and Maniflore, the Socialists 4-25-2007 (11.7 MB) 12 min/50 sec
46 - Chapter 8 -- The Columban Trial 4-27-2007 (11.0 MB) 12 min/05 sec
47 - Chapter 9 -- Father Douillard 5-04-2007 (9.56 MB) 10 min/26 sec
48 - Chapter 10 -- Mr. Justice Chaussepied 5-04-2007 (8.02 MB) 8 min/46 sec
49 - Chapter 11 -- Conclusion 5-05-2007 (7.06 MB) 7 min/43 sec
Note: Book Six is complete, as of 5-05-2007.

Book VII -- Modern Times
50 - Chapter 1 -- Madame Clarence's Drawing-Room 5-12-2007 (7.56 MB) 8 min/15 sec
51 - Chapter 2 -- The Charity of St. Orberosia 5-13-2007 (8.19 MB) 8 min/57 sec
52 - Chapter 3 -- Hippolyte Ceres 5-15-2007 (11.5 MB) 12 min/36 sec
53 - Chapter 4 -- A Politician's Marriage 5-16-2007 (7.99 MB) 8 min/43 sec
54 - Chapter 5 -- The Visire Cabinet 5-17-2007 (9.84 MB) 10 min/45 sec
55 - Chapter 6 -- The Sofa of the Favorite ~~5-18-2007 (8.52 MB) 9 min/18 sec~~ re-edited to fix a line error, 5-22-2007 (8.45 MB) 9 min/14 sec
56 - Chapter 7 -- The First Consequences 5-19-2007 (6.72 MB) 7 min/20 sec
57 - Chapter 8 -- Further Consequences 5-21-2007 (12.4 MB) 13 min/34 sec
58 - Chapter 9 -- The Final Consequences 5-22-2007 (16.3 MB) 17 min/49 sec
Note: Book Seven is complete, as of 5-22-2007.

Book VIII -- Future Times
59 - The Endless History and Section 1 5-26-2007 (12.3 MB) 13 min/31 sec
60 - Section 2 5-27-2007 (7.77 MB) 8 min/29 sec
61 - Section 3 5-28-2007 (10.0 MB) 10 min/57 sec
62 - Section 4 5-28-2007 (3.16 MB) 3 min/27 sec
Note: Book Eight is complete, as of 5-28-2007.

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This page last updated on June 13, 2007

msirois@rice.edu