Long Weekend, Long Drive
01/18/2011
Well, I got back on Monday night from one of my whirlwind 36-hour trips to visit family in north Alabama, and after coping with domestic issues such as the little fuzzy-haired dog being covered, yet again, with cypress needles and cypress cones that ooze a glue-like resin, sat down and half-wrote my half-composed Sunday Night Journal, hoping to finish and post it on my lunch break. Then this morning I forgot to put it on the flash drive which I use to carry such documents back and forth between home computer and work computer. So I hope I'll be able to finish it tonight.
In the meantime: My wife and I listened to a recording of George Macdonald's The Princess and the Goblin on the trip. It was a free recording available from an admirable outfit called Librivox. I had heard of them and wondered what the quality of the recordings was. On the basis of this one, the answer is "excellent." This recording was by a young woman named Lizzie Driver, and she does a great job. She has a wonderful voice and uses it well. I thought she might be an actress, but apparently that's not the case. The recording doesn't have quite the polish of a commercial production, but it's delightful. Once or twice I heard a nice un-professional but wonderful touch: the distant sound of birds singing. That was especially appropriate at the end of the story, which by the way I loved. Here's a link to the recording, in several formats. I'm looking forward to hearing the sequel, The Princess and Curdie, recorded by the same person.
I've tried some recordings from LibriVox myself in the past, and I was also impressed. It's a neat idea; it is mostly run by volunteers, I believe.
I've been looking for something to listen to on my commute, and I've been meaning to read, or 'read', The Princess and the Goblin for a while now. Perhaps this is an opportunity to kill two birds with one smooth stone.
Posted by: Craig | 01/19/2011 at 07:42 AM
The 'link to the recording' in the post actually goes to The Princess and Curdie, also read by Lizzie Driver. The Princess and the Goblin is here.
Posted by: Craig | 01/19/2011 at 07:54 AM
Thanks for the correction. I was looking at both and obviously got the links mixed up. Equally obviously, I recommend this recording for your commute.
Posted by: Mac | 01/19/2011 at 09:28 AM
You're the second person I've encountered who enjoys listening to e-books while driving. I can't concentrate much myself... when it's a good voice, for example, the distraction of driving doesn't quite bring home the flavor.
Posted by: Angelica Emmanuel | 11/28/2011 at 04:03 PM