From The InterÂnet Archive: “RecordÂed here is the comÂplete, origÂiÂnal stoÂry The CuriÂous Case of BenÂjamin ButÂton as penned by FitzgerÂald in the earÂly 1920s, pubÂlished origÂiÂnalÂly in ColÂliers and finalÂly colÂlectÂed in the popÂuÂlar Tales of the Jazz Age.” You can downÂload and lisÂten to this FitzgerÂald stoÂry here. MulÂtiÂple forÂmats are availÂable. We’ve also added this work to our Free Audio Book colÂlecÂtion, along with some othÂer good works: NikoÂlai Gogol’s The OverÂcoat, Walt WhitÂman’s Song of Myself and OthÂer Poems, and Lu Xun’s “A MadÂman’s Diary.
Seth HarÂwood is bringÂing crime writÂing into the new world of Web 2.0. Since 2006, HarÂwood has been podÂcastÂing his own crime ficÂtion, includÂing a book called Jack Wakes Up, which you can downÂload (for free) via iTunes, RSS Feed, or MP3. (RanÂdom House will be releasÂing Jack Wakes Up in print next month for $10.25.) This expeÂriÂence got Seth thinkÂing about the powÂer of podÂcasts, and he soon took the next logÂiÂcal step, launchÂing Crimewav.com, a webÂsite devotÂed to podÂcastÂing crime stoÂries (not just his own) to an audiÂence worldÂwide. On CrimeÂwav, you’ll find some gems, includÂing Dashiell HamÂmetÂt’s first stoÂry (1923), “The BarÂber and His Wife” (mp3). Plus, you’ll stumÂble upon a deletÂed chapÂter from Michael ConÂnelÂly’s latÂest NYT bestÂseller, The Brass VerÂdict, read by ConÂnelÂly himÂself (mp3). Lots of good pieces to explore. And if this sort of ficÂtion is your thing, then let me direct you to two othÂer good resources. First, an archive of Agatha Christie’s radio mysÂterÂies, and then the free works of bestÂselling horÂror author, Scott Sigler. Enjoy.
The audio book verÂsion of Seth GodÂin’s latÂest book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, can be downÂloaded for free from Audible.com. Godin is the best-sellÂing author of entreÂpreÂneurÂial busiÂness books and writes a popÂuÂlar blog on “marÂketÂing, respect, and the ways ideas spread.” In print, the book usuÂalÂly costs $13.57 and runs 160 pages. In audio, it is free (for now) and has a runÂtime of 3 hours and 45 minÂutes. To downÂload the book, you will need to regÂisÂter with AudiÂble (essenÂtialÂly creÂate a userÂname and passÂword). But if you don’t want to do that, you can also stream it from this page.
A quick fyi: We’ve spent some time beefÂing up our colÂlecÂtion of Free Audio Books. The colÂlecÂtion now feaÂtures over 250 works of ficÂtion, non-ficÂtion and poetÂry, all of which can be downÂloaded to your comÂputÂer or mp3 playÂer for free.
Among the new addiÂtions you’ll find some media from The New YorkÂer MagÂaÂzine, includÂing a series of mp3’s that feaÂture Paul TherÂoux readÂing a short work by Jorge Luis Borges, T. CorÂaghesÂsan Boyle readÂing Tobias WolfÂf’s BulÂlet in the Brain, and Junot Diaz readÂing his short piece, How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or HalÂfie). Also you will find newÂly added works by Charles DickÂens, AlexanÂdre Dumas, F. Scott FitzgerÂald, James Joyce, ShakeÂspeare, Kurt VonÂnegut and more. You can peruse the full colÂlecÂtion here. Enjoy.
Sci-fi author Neil Gaiman has the right idea. After makÂing his well-known novÂel AmerÂiÂcan Gods freely availÂable online last year, he has gone the extra mile again in releasÂing his new novÂel, The GraveÂYard Book. In brief, he has just kicked off a nine day book tour, and each day he’s readÂing a chapÂter that you can latÂer watch on the web. You can watch all of the videos above. And find more readÂings here:
If you would like to supÂport the misÂsion of Open CulÂture, conÂsidÂer makÂing a donaÂtion to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your conÂtriÂbuÂtions will help us conÂtinÂue proÂvidÂing the best free culÂturÂal and eduÂcaÂtionÂal mateÂriÂals to learnÂers everyÂwhere. You can conÂtribute through PayÂPal, PatreÂon, and VenÂmo (@openculture). Thanks!
In a quick three minÂutes, you can watch the someÂtimes cocky author of The CorÂrecÂtions read from an essay on bird watchÂing, courÂtesy of BigThink.com, where you can also find more videos with intelÂlecÂtuÂal heft.
I first postÂed this one durÂing the dead of sumÂmer, so it seemed worth revisÂitÂing this now that we’re all a bit more focused .…
Over at the InterÂnet Archive, you can find George Orwell’s clasÂsic, 1984, availÂable as a free audio book. As you’ll see, the recordÂing is proÂfesÂsionÂalÂly done. You can downÂload the full zip file here. Or alterÂnaÂtiveÂly you can get the indiÂvidÂual mp3 files, or stream them, from this page. On a more perÂmaÂnent basis, you can find Orwell’s 1949 work housed in our Free Audio Book ColÂlecÂtion along with lots of othÂer free texts. Or see it on our list of Life ChangÂing Books.
Edward GibÂbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire – It’s a major work of the EnlightÂenÂment, a book that shaped how we modÂerns write hisÂtoÂry (and, for that matÂter, how we aspire to write in the EngÂlish lanÂguage), and it’s now availÂable as a free podÂcast thanks to LibÂrivox. Or at least VolÂumes 1, 2, 3, and 4 are. (Click on each link to downÂload the full zip files, which include many hours of audio. And please note that the remainÂing volÂumes are forthÂcomÂing.)
PubÂlished first in 1776, just as the US declared its indeÂpenÂdence from EngÂland, GibÂbon’s Decline and Fall looked to offer an empirÂiÂcal explaÂnaÂtion for why Ancient Rome fell as a powÂer, and he genÂerÂalÂly pointÂed to a decline in civic virtue among its citÂiÂzenÂry (why bothÂer fightÂing the Empire’s wars when you can get merÂceÂnarÂies to do it?) and to the rise of ChrisÂtianÂiÂty (why worÂry about Rome when a betÂter life, an eterÂnal afterÂlife, awaits you?).
In part, GibÂbon’s work has endured because it speaks to quesÂtions that modÂern powÂers have on their minds. What brings Empires down, and what (implicÂitÂly) allows them to endure? These quesÂtions have a cerÂtain amount of relÂeÂvance these days in an anxÂious US. And indeed GibÂbon’s name was immeÂdiÂateÂly invoked in a podÂcast that asked whether AmerÂiÂca, today’s empire, is on the brink. (Click to lisÂten.) The parÂalÂlels between GibÂbon’s Rome and the conÂtemÂpoÂrary UnitÂed States have also been directÂly explored by the proÂlifÂic, young HarÂvard hisÂtoÂriÂan, Niall FerÂguÂson. You may want to check out his OctoÂber 2006 piece in VanÂiÂty Fair, Empire Falls. And dependÂing on what you think, you can give time to his two books on Empire — the first (and betÂter) one focusÂes on the British Empire, and a secÂond one devotes itself to the US.
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