CostasNarrativeXP

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 Valentine's feature 
"Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Published in June, 1908
Project Gutenberg Ebook edition

An imaginative orphan is unexpectedly adopted into a quiet rural community, where her vivid inner life and stubborn spirit gradually transform the people around her.

Chapter 9-12
00:30 9 After Mrs. Lynde insults Anne’s looks, Anne retaliates with a furious outburst. Marilla demands an apology, but privately empathizes with Anne’s hurt feelings while finding Rachel’s shock secretly hilarious.
15:40 10 Anne is punished but persuaded by Matthew to apologize. She delivers a dramatic apology, is forgiven, and finally feels Green Gables is truly her home.
31:21 11 Marilla gives Anne plain dresses. At Sunday school Anne feels out of place, unimpressed, and lonely. Her blunt criticism of church shocks Marilla, who secretly agrees.
42:36 12 Marilla scolds Anne for standing out, then introduces her to Diana Barry. The girls instantly bond, swear friendship, make plans, and Anne joyfully shares Matthew’s candy.

Characters
Anne Shirley - A thin, red-haired orphan with an incredibly vivid imagination and a "tongue fastened at one end." Overjoyed to finally have a home.
Matthew Cuthbert - A shy, awkward sixty-year-old bachelor who lives at Green Gables. Though he is terrified of women and girls, he finds himself strangely charmed by Anne
Marilla Cuthbert - Matthew’s sister. She is tall, thin, with a strict sense of duty. While Matthew is the heart of the duo, Marilla is the logic. She is the one who ultimately has to decide what to do about adopting Anne by mistake
Rachel Lynde - The town gossip and "notable" busybody, she represents the judgmental social standards of Avonlea
Alexander Spencer - She is the "middleman" whose misunderstanding of the Cuthberts' request led to Anne being brought to Prince Edward Island instead of a boy
Diana Barry - Anne’s kind, pretty, and conventional neighbour who becomes her first and dearest “bosom friend"

Costa's Wordbook
Grippe n arch. Influenza (grip)
Parthian shaft (shot) idiom a sharp, telling remark, act, gesture, made in departing; parthian is ancient iranian

Narcissi pl n of narcissus, the flower (Narc Ciss sigh)
Sateen n a cotton fabric woven like satin with a glossy surface (sat Teen)
Furbelow n a gathered strip or pleated border of a skirt or petticoat (Fur billow)
Dudgeon n a feeling of offence or deep resentment (Dud geon)

Fuchsia n a shrub with pendulous tubular flowers that are typically of two contrasting colours. They are native to America and New Zealand and are commonly grown as ornamentals (Few sia)

Caper n an illicit or ridiculous activity or escapade
Consumption n (dated) a wasting disease, especially pulmonary tuberculosis
Abet v encourage or assist (someone) to do something wrong, in particular to commit a crime
Fore and aft adv all the way; backwards and forwards
Deprecatory adj apologetic or appeasing; expressing disapproval (Dep pre catory)

Complete Features
Little Prince, Brave New World, Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Patreon: costasaudiobook
YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Castbox, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn, Castro, Player FM

Powered by Firstory Hosting

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 Valentine's feature 
"Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Published in June, 1908
Project Gutenberg Ebook edition

An imaginative orphan is unexpectedly adopted into a quiet rural community, where her vivid inner life and stubborn spirit gradually transform the people around her.

Chapter 4-8
00:30 4 Anne wakes up cheerful but resigned to leaving. Despite Matthew’s subtle hints, Marilla remains firm and drives Anne away to return her.
14:29 5 Anne recounts her difficult past while traveling. Impressed by her spirit and resilience, Marilla begins rethinking her decision to return the girl.
27:00 6 To rescue Anne from the cruel Mrs. Blewett, Marilla decides to keep her at Green Gables as an "experiment," provided Matthew lets her handle the child’s upbringing.
38:50 7 Shocked by Anne’s lack of prayer, Marilla allows a quirky first attempt. Labeling her a "heathen," Marilla remains committed to raising Anne at Green Gables.
46:26 8 Marilla officially tells Anne she can stay. Anne contemplates a religious painting, dreams of a "bosom friend" in Diana Barry, and chooses her new reality over her romantic imaginings.

Characters
Anne Shirley - A thin, red-haired orphan with an incredibly vivid imagination and a "tongue fastened at one end." Overjoyed to finally have a home, unaware that it has been a major mistake
Matthew Cuthbert - A shy, awkward sixty-year-old bachelor who lives at Green Gables. Though he is terrified of women and girls, he finds himself strangely charmed by Anne
Marilla Cuthbert - Matthew’s sister. She is tall, thin, with a strict sense of duty. While Matthew is the heart of the duo, Marilla is the logic. She is the one who ultimately has to decide what to do about adopting Anne by mistake
Rachel Lynde - The town gossip and "notable" busybody, she represents the judgmental social standards of Avonlea
Alexander Spencer - She is the "middleman" whose misunderstanding of the Cuthberts' request led to Anne being brought to Prince Edward Island instead of a boy

Costa's Wordbook
Handle n nickname

Vim n energy, enthusiasm

Irreverence n a lack of respect for people or things that are generally taken seriously
Manse n a house provided for a minister of certain Christian Churches; a person’s home (Mans)

Scald v arch. rinse (a container) with boiling water (scold)

Complete Features
Little Prince, Brave New World, Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Patreon: costasaudiobook
YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Castbox, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn, Castro, Player FM

Powered by Firstory Hosting

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 Valentine's feature 
"Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Published in June, 1908

An imaginative orphan is unexpectedly adopted into a quiet rural community, where her vivid inner life and stubborn spirit gradually transform the people around her.

Chapter 1-3
00:30 1 Rachel Lynde is shocked to discover that the elderly Cuthberts are adopting an orphan to help on their farm, despite her dire warnings about the risks involved.
18:50 2 Shocked to find a girl instead of a boy, shy Matthew brings the imaginative, talkative orphan home, dreading the moment of revelation.
48:14 3 Matthew brings Anne home. Marilla is cold but amused. Anne begs for diginity. Matthew softens. Marilla resists. Anne cries herself to sleep.

Characters
Anne Shirley - A thin, red-haired orphan with an incredibly vivid imagination and a "tongue fastened at one end." Overjoyed to finally have a home, unaware that it has been a major mistake
Matthew Cuthbert - A shy, awkward sixty-year-old bachelor who lives at Green Gables. Though he is terrified of women and girls, he finds himself strangely charmed by Anne
Marilla Cuthbert - Matthew’s sister. She is tall, thin, with a strict sense of duty. While Matthew is the heart of the duo, Marilla is the logic. She is the one who ultimately has to decide what to do about adopting Anne by mistake
Rachel Lynde - The town gossip and "notable" busybody, she represents the judgmental social standards of Avonlea
Alexander Spencer - She is the "middleman" whose misunderstanding of the Cuthberts' request led to Anne being brought to Prince Edward Island instead of a boy

Costa's Wordbook
Lady's Eardrops n any of several plants having pendent flowers thought to resemble earrings, as the jewelweed or the fuchsia
The whys and wherefores phr the reasons for something
by dint of phr by means of
Buggy n a light horse-drawn vehicle for one or two people, with two or (in North America) four wheels
Sorrel n a horse with a light reddish-brown coat (Sor rol)
Prim Lombardies - Lombardy Poplars, famous for their unique shape. Unlike most trees that spread out, Lombardies grow straight up like tall, thin pillars or spires (Lom ber dees)
The proverbial ‘perk of dirt’ - refer to old saying: "Every man must eat a peck of dirt before he dies." peck is old unit of measurement for dry volume (roughly 2 gallons) (pro Verb bee al)
Spry adj (especially of an old person) active, lively
Home boy - “British Home Children”. Almost exclusively white children from the United Kingdom were sent to the colonies to work. Between 1869- late 1940s, over 100,000 children were sent to Canada.

Balsamy adj like balsam, often associated with healing, fresh air, and a sense of peace
Sundry adj of various kinds, several (Sun dree)
Shingle n thin, flat pieces of wood or other material used in rows for roofs or walls
Sidle v walk in a furtive, unobtrusive, or timid manner, especially sideways or obliquely (Cy dle)
Preparatory n serving as or carrying out preparation for a task or undertaking (pre Pair ret tree)
Wincey n a strong, lightweight twilled fabric, typically a mixture of wool with cotton or linen (Win sea)
Lacy adj made of, resembling, or trimmed with lace
Tongue hung in the middle - idiom a very talkative or gossipy person
Crocus n a small spring-flowering Eurasian plant of the iris family, which grows from a corm and bears bright yellow, purple, or white flowers (Crow cus)

Deprecatingly adv one shows of little value or importance, or disapproval (Dep prec cating ly)

Complete Features
Little Prince, Brave New World, Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Patreon: costasaudiobook
YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Castbox, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn, Castro, Player FM

Powered by Firstory Hosting

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 New Year feature 
"The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Published in April 1943

A fable in which a lone traveler meets a mysterious child from another world, gently exploring loneliness, love, and what truly matters, through simple words that speak most clearly to adults.

Introduction Chapter 1-27
00:29 Author's biography
02:37 1 we are introduced to the narrator, a pilot, and his ideas about grown-ups
06:13 2 the narrator crashes in the desert and makes the acquaintance of the little prince
11:15 3 the narrator learns more about from where the little prince came
14:07 4 the narrator speculates as to which asteroid from which the little prince came
19:45 5 we are warned as to the dangers of the baobabs
25:01 6 the little prince and the narrator talk about sunsets
26:39 7 the narrator learns about the secret of the little prince's life
32:00 8 the rose arrives at the little prince's planet
37:02 9 the little prince leaves his planet
40:06 10 the little prince visits the king
48:26 11 the little prince visits the conceited man
50:33 12 the little prince visits the tippler
51:49 13 the little prince visits the businessman
57:35 14 the little prince visits the lamplighter
1:02:20 15 the little prince visits the geographer
1:07:51 16 the narrator discusses the Earth's lamplighters
1:09:47 17 the little prince makes the acquaintance of the snake
1:13:39 18 the little prince goes looking for men and meets a flower
1:14:39 19 the little prince climbs a mountain range
1:16:01 20 the little prince discovers a garden of roses
1:17:44 21 the little prince befriends the fox
1:26:07 22 the little prince encounters a railway switchman
1:27:55 23 the little prince encounters a merchant
1:28:53 24 the narrator and the little prince, thirsty, hunt for a well in the desert
1:33:34 25 finding a well, the narrator and the little prince discuss his return to his planet
1:38:33 26 the little prince converses with the snake; the little prince consoles the narrator; the little prince returns to his planet
1:48:24 27 the narrator's afterthoughts

Characters
The Pilot - an aviator stranded in the desert, telling the story in first person. Also the narrator
The Little Prince - a mysterious child who appears in the desert and asks the pilot to draw
The Rose- the Little Prince’s unique flower on his home asteroid

Costa's Wordbook
Weathervane n a revolving pointer to show the direction of the wind, typically mounted on top of a building (Weather vain)

Complete Features
Brave New World, Count of Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Patreon: costasaudiobook
YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Castbox, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn, Castro, Player FM

Powered by Firstory Hosting

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 New Year feature 
"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Published in February 1932

In a genetically-engineered utopia where comfort is mandatory and individuality is extinct, the World State maintains total stability at the cost of the human soul.

Chapter 1-18
00:27 1 The Hatchery mass-produces citizens via an assembly line, biologically predestining Alphas and Betas for intellect and leadership, while conditioning the rest for manual labor.
30:33 2 The state uses hypnopaedia and shocks to condition citizens to hate nature but crave expensive sports, ensuring constant consumption and social stability via manufactured "morals."
48:50 3 Mustapha Mond, Lenina, and Bernard, contrasts the World State’s sexual freedom with past prudishness, presents soma, critiques conditioning, and foreshadows tension through Bernard’s discontent and the Savage Reservation.
1:30:05 4 Lenina agrees to spend a week with Bernard; he and Helmholtz, both dissatisfied Alpha-plus men, discuss their emptiness and frustration with the World State’s shallow society.
1:55:29 5 Lenina and Henry enjoy drug-fueled, mindless sex. Meanwhile, Bernard’s mandatory group orgy fails to cure his loneliness, leaving him more alienated from society than before.
2:22:15 6 Bernard’s rebellion collapses into conformity with Lenina; he faces exile after the Director’s slip, panics over punishment, and travels with Lenina to Savage Reservation, soma-induced.
2:55:42 7 Bernard realizes John is the Director’s son; John introduces Linda, who explains her promiscuous life on the Reservation and the hostility it provoked among other women.
3:25:37 8 As outcast, John finds solace in literature. Bernard deceptively offers him escape to expose the Director, while John mistakenly expects a glorious paradise: “O brave new world!”
3:57:06 9 Bernard gets permission to bring Linda and John to London; meanwhile, John secretly enters Lenina’s room, contemplates her lustfully, then panics and leaves when a helicopter arrives.
4:06:03 10 The Director plans to exile Bernard, but bringing Linda and John exposes the Director as John’s father, humiliating him and forcing him to flee in front of the crowd.
4:17:09 11 Bernard gains fame from John and Linda; Linda escapes into soma, John is showcased, but rejects Lenina’s sexual advances after a feelie, retreating instead to Shakespeare.
4:51:25 12 Bernard’s party collapses when John refuses to appear, ruining Bernard’s popularity. Helmholtz faces censure for a poem on solitude and is inspired when John reads Shakespeare to him.
5:14:01 13 Lenina pursues John, arrives determined, he professes idealized love but rejects sex, insults her, she hides, then an urgent call sends him away.
5:33:28 14 John visits his dying mother, Linda, but her drug-induced confusion and "death-conditioned" children haunt him. Linda dies in traumatic distress.
5:51:25 15 Distraught by Linda’s death, John incites a "Soma Riot," throwing the drug away. Bernard cowers while Helmholtz joins the rebellion. Police restore order with soma-gas and arrest all three men.
6:06:14 16 Mond explains that stability requires sacrificing art and science. He exiles Bernard and Helmholtz to an island; Bernard collapses in terror, while Helmholtz welcomes the challenge. Mond reveals his own past choice.
6:29:08 17 John rejects the World State’s artificial stability, choosing the "right to be unhappy." He embraces suffering, disease, and fear over a shallow existence devoid of God, nobility, and soul.
6:48:35 18 John retreats to a lighthouse to purify himself, is rediscovered, dragged into a soma-fueled orgy, awakens in horror at his moral collapse.

Characters
Director of D.H.C - The authoritative figure who leads the student tour and explains the technical "birth" process
Henry Foster - The Director's assistant and a high-caste Alpha who is obsessed with statistics and the efficiency of the hatchery
Lenina Crowne - A Beta-minus worker on the assembly line, specifically the "Embryo Store", who is described as uncommonly pretty
Mustapha Mond - Resident World Controller for Western Europe, sophisticated superior leader who enforces social stability through censorship while secretly possessing forbidden knowledge
Bernard Marx - An Alpha-Plus specialist in Hypnopaedia whose physical stuntedness causes him to feel like a social outcast
Fanny Crowne - A Beta technician in the Bottling Room who acts as a strictly orthodox representative of the World State’s social rules
Helmholtz Watson - Alpha-plus lecturer and writer, is admired and impressive but secretly frustrated by the emptiness of his work and the World State
Linda - John’s mother, originally from the World State, whose inability to adapt back exposes the cruelty and emptiness beneath its comforts
John (the Savage) - Born on the Reservation and raised outside the World State, shaped by isolation and Shakespeare, he embodies moral seriousness and conflict with "civilized” values

Costa's Wordbook
Vitaminized adj (of food or drink) having added vitamins (Vit tim min nysed)
Pare v trim (something) by cutting away its outer edges (Pear)
Whittle v carve (wood) into an object by repeatedly cutting small slices from it
Stave n a vertical wooden post or plank in a building or other structure (Stayve like save)
Weal n a red, swollen mark left on flesh by a blow or pressure (wheel)
Coccyx n a small triangular bone at the base of the spinal column in humans and some apes, formed of fused vestigial vertebrae (Cock six)
Benighted adj in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance (be Nighted)
Perchance adv arch. by some chance, perhaps
Shantung n a dress fabric spun from tussore silk with random irregularities in the surface texture, primarily to a durable silk fabric from China's Shandong province 山東 (shen Tongue)
petit beurre n fr a sweet butter biscuit (petty burr)
Unanimity n agreement by all people involved; consensus (u nen Nim mity)
Ineradicably adv in a way that cannot be changed or removed (in eRa dic cably)
Turpitude n depraved or wicked behaviour or character (Tur pit tude)

Complete Features
Count of Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Patreon: costasaudiobook
Podcast: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn

Powered by Firstory Hosting

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 New Year feature 
"The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Published in April 1943

A fable in which a lone traveler meets a mysterious child from another world, gently exploring loneliness, love, and what truly matters, through simple words that speak most clearly to adults.

Chapter 9-17
00:29 9 the little prince leaves his planet
03:33 10 the little prince visits the king
11:52 11 the little prince visits the conceited man
13:59 12 the little prince visits the tippler
15:16 13 the little prince visits the businessman
21:01 14 the little prince visits the lamplighter
25:46 15 the little prince visits the geographer
31:18 16 the narrator discusses the Earth's lamplighters
33:13 17 the little prince makes the acquaintance of the snake

Characters
The Pilot - an aviator stranded in the desert, telling the story in first person. Also the narrator
The Little Prince - a mysterious child who appears in the desert and asks the pilot to draw
The Rose - the Little Prince’s unique flower on his home asteroid

Costa's Wordbook
Thriftily adv shows careful use of money or resources (Thrift ty ly)
Tippler n a habitual drinker of alcohol
Blest adj arch. Blessed

Complete Features
Count of Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Patreon: costasaudiobook
Podcast: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn

Powered by Firstory Hosting

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 New Year feature 
"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Published in February 1932

In a genetically-engineered utopia where comfort is mandatory and individuality is extinct, the World State maintains total stability at the cost of the human soul.

Chapter 15-17
00:27 15 Distraught by Linda’s death, John incites a "Soma Riot," throwing the drug away. Bernard cowers while Helmholtz joins the rebellion. Police restore order with soma-gas and arrest all three men.
15:16 16 Mond explains that stability requires sacrificing art and science. He exiles Bernard and Helmholtz to an island; Bernard collapses in terror, while Helmholtz welcomes the challenge. Mond reveals his own past choice.
38:10 17 John rejects the World State’s artificial stability, choosing the "right to be unhappy." He embraces suffering, disease, and fear over a shallow existence devoid of God, nobility, and soul.

Characters
Director of D.H.C - The authoritative figure who leads the student tour and explains the technical "birth" process
Henry Foster - The Director's assistant and a high-caste Alpha who is obsessed with statistics and the efficiency of the hatchery
Lenina Crowne - A Beta-minus worker on the assembly line, specifically the "Embryo Store", who is described as uncommonly pretty
Mustapha Mond - Resident World Controller for Western Europe, sophisticated superior leader who enforces social stability through censorship while secretly possessing forbidden knowledge
Bernard Marx - An Alpha-Plus specialist in Hypnopaedia whose physical stuntedness causes him to feel like a social outcast
Fanny Crowne - A Beta technician in the Bottling Room who acts as a strictly orthodox representative of the World State’s social rules
Helmholtz Watson - Alpha-plus lecturer and writer, is admired and impressive but secretly frustrated by the emptiness of his work and the World State
Linda - John’s mother, originally from the World State, whose inability to adapt back exposes the cruelty and emptiness beneath its comforts
John (the Savage) - Born on the Reservation and raised outside the World State, shaped by isolation and Shakespeare, he embodies moral seriousness and conflict with "civilized” values

Costa's Wordbook
Dolichocephalic adj having a relatively long skull (typically with the breadth less than 80 or 75% of the length) (Doli Koh se Fallic)
Bursar n a person who manages the financial affairs of a college or school
Carapace n something regarded as a protective or defensive covering; the hard upper shell of a tortoise, crustacean, or arachnid (Cara pace)
Anaesthetize v administer an anaesthetic to (a person or animal), especially so as to induce a loss of consciousness (an Niece the ties)

Chary adj cautiously or suspiciously reluctant to do something (cherry)
Scullion n a servant assigned the most menial kitchen tasks (skul li en)
Marquesas - meaning "the land of men", are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean (mar Key sas)

Pandulf - Pandulf Verraccio, was a Roman ecclesiastical politician, papal legate to England and bishop of Norwich. His beliefs were entirely centered on Papal Supremacy, the idea that the Pope is the supreme ruler of the world, above all kings and emperors.
Maine de Biran - a French philosopher, who believes religious belief is a biological byproduct of losing your physical vitality.
Cardinal Newman - John Henry Newman, an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. His beliefs center on the idea that faith is not a "feeling" or a "superstition," but a specialized form of reasoning.
Postulates pl n a thing suggested or assumed as true as the basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief
Neurasthenia n an ill-defined medical condition characterized by lassitude, fatigue, headache, and irritability, associated chiefly with emotional disturbance (neu ras Theen nia)
The Girl of Mátsaki - a traditional Zuni folk tale collected by Frank Hamilton Cushing, often cited as a Southwestern Native American variant of the Cinderella story
Adrenal n an adrenal gland (a Dreen nal)
Adrenin n a natural hormone and neurotransmitter from the adrenal glands that triggers the "fight-or-flight" response, preparing the body for intense situations by increasing heart rate, blood flow to muscles, and alertness (a Dreen nin)

Complete Features
Count of Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Patreon: costasaudiobook
Podcast: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn

Powered by Firstory Hosting

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 New Year feature 

"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

Published in February 1932

In a genetically-engineered utopia where comfort is mandatory and individuality is extinct, the World State maintains total stability at the cost of the human soul.

Chapter 12-14

00:27 12 Bernard’s party collapses when John refuses to appear, ruining Bernard’s popularity. Helmholtz faces censure for a poem on solitude and is inspired when John reads Shakespeare to him.

23:03 13 Lenina pursues John, arrives determined, he professes idealized love but rejects sex, insults her, she hides, then an urgent call sends him away.

42:31 14 John visits his dying mother, Linda, but her drug-induced confusion and "death-conditioned" children haunt him. Linda dies in traumatic distress.

Characters

Director of D.H.C - The authoritative figure who leads the student tour and explains the technical "birth" process

Henry Foster - The Director's assistant and a high-caste Alpha who is obsessed with statistics and the efficiency of the hatchery

Lenina Crowne - A Beta-minus worker on the assembly line, specifically the "Embryo Store", who is described as uncommonly pretty

Mustapha Mond - Resident World Controller for Western Europe, sophisticated superior leader who enforces social stability through censorship while secretly possessing forbidden knowledge

Bernard Marx - An Alpha-Plus specialist in Hypnopaedia whose physical stuntedness causes him to feel like a social outcast

Fanny Crowne - A Beta technician in the Bottling Room who acts as a strictly orthodox representative of the World State’s social rules

Helmholtz Watson - Alpha-plus lecturer and writer, is admired and impressive but secretly frustrated by the emptiness of his work and the World State

Linda - John’s mother, originally from the World State, whose inability to adapt back exposes the cruelty and emptiness beneath its comforts

John (the Savage) - Born on the Reservation and raised outside the World State, shaped by isolation and Shakespeare, he embodies moral seriousness and conflict with "civilized” values

Costa's Wordbook

Wheedle v use flattery or coaxing in order to persuade someone to do something or give one something

Carotene n an orange or red plant pigment found in carrots and many other plant structures. It is a terpenoid hydrocarbon with several isomers, including beta-carotene (Caro teen)

Collation n a light informal meal (col Lay tion)

Ethiop n arch. ethiopian; black-skinned person (Ee thee op)

Egeria - a nymph who served as a wise counselor and spiritual adviser to King Numa Pompilius, Rome’s second king

Harbinger n a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another

Capulet - the noble family in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Juliet belongs to the House of Capulet, and Romeo belongs to the House of Montague. Their families are locked in a "bloody feud."

Tybalt - Juliet's cousin. He fights Romeo to defend his family's honor, and is killed by Romeo. His death is a major turning point that leads to Romeo's banishment and the eventual double suicide of the lovers.

Jim-jams n a fit of depression or nervousness; pyjamas

Mwanza-Mwanza - Mwanza City, Tanzania

Trypanosomiasis n a parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma parasites, leading to African sleeping sickness in humans (Trippen no so Mya sus)

Rakishly adv in a confidently careless and informal way

Blackamoor n derog. a black African or a very dark-skinned person

Abstemious adj indulging only very moderately in something, especially food and drink (ab Steam me ous)

Fitchew n arch. Polecat, a kind of weasel; slang in Shakespeare for prostitutes (Fit chew)

Fie excl. Arch. used to express disgust or outrage

Parley v hold a conference with the opposing side to discuss terms (Par ly)

Wurlitzer - The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, or simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853, producing pianos

Verbena n a chiefly American herbaceous plant which bears heads of bright showy flowers, widely cultivated as a garden ornamental, purple in colour (ver Been na)

Sexagenarian n a person who is between 60 and 69 years old (Sexa gen nare rian)

Pailful n the quantity that fills a pail (bucket)

Ordure n excrement, dung (Or dure)

Paradisal adj (of a place or state) ideal or idyllic, heavenly (Para dye sal)

Complete Features

Count of Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestone

2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release

2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release

2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release

2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Patreon: costasaudiobook

Podcast: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn

Powered by Firstory Hosting

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 New Year feature 
"The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Published in April 1943

A fable in which a lone traveler meets a mysterious child from another world, gently exploring loneliness, love, and what truly matters, through simple words that speak most clearly to adults.

Introduction, Chapter 1-8
00:29 Author's biography
02:37 1 we are introduced to the narrator, a pilot, and his ideas about grown-ups
06:13 2 the narrator crashes in the desert and makes the acquaintance of the little prince
11:15 3 the narrator learns more about from where the little prince came
14:07 4 the narrator speculates as to which asteroid from which the little prince came
19:45 5 we are warned as to the dangers of the baobabs
25:01 6 the little prince and the narrator talk about sunsets
26:39 7 the narrator learns about the secret of the little prince's life
32:00 8 the rose arrives at the little prince's planet

Characters
The Pilot - an aviator stranded in the desert, telling the story in first person. Also the narrator
The Little Prince - a mysterious child who appears in the desert and asks the pilot to draw
The Rose- the Little Prince’s unique flower on his home asteroid

Costa's Wordbook
Baobab n a short tree with a very thick trunk and large edible fruit, living to a great age (Bayo bab)

Complete Features
Count of Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Patreon: costasaudiobook
Podcast: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn

Powered by Firstory Hosting

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 New Year feature 
"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

In a genetically-engineered utopia where comfort is mandatory and individuality is extinct, the World State maintains total stability at the cost of the human soul.

Chapter 9-11
00:27 9 Bernard gets permission to bring Linda and John to London; meanwhile, John secretly enters Lenina’s room, contemplates her lustfully, then panics and leaves when a helicopter arrives.
09:23 10 The Director plans to exile Bernard, but bringing Linda and John exposes the Director as John’s father, humiliating him and forcing him to flee in front of the crowd.
20:30 11 Bernard gains fame from John and Linda; Linda escapes into soma, John is showcased, but rejects Lenina’s sexual advances after a feelie, retreating instead to Shakespeare.

Characters
Director of D.H.C - The authoritative figure who leads the student tour and explains the technical "birth" process, secretly the father of John from the Savage Reservation
Henry Foster - The Director's assistant and a high-caste Alpha who is obsessed with statistics and the efficiency of the hatchery
Lenina Crowne - A Beta-minus worker on the assembly line, specifically the "Embryo Store", who is described as uncommonly pretty
Mustapha Mond - Resident World Controller for Western Europe, sophisticated superior leader who enforces social stability through censorship while secretly possessing forbidden knowledge
Bernard Marx - An Alpha-Plus specialist in Hypnopaedia whose physical stuntedness causes him to feel like a social outcast
Fanny Crowne - A Beta technician in the Bottling Room who acts as a strictly orthodox representative of the World State’s social rules
Helmholtz Watson - Alpha-plus lecturer and writer, is admired and impressive but secretly frustrated by the emptiness of his work and the World State
Linda - John’s mother, originally from the World State, whose inability to adapt back exposes the cruelty and emptiness beneath its comforts
John (the Savage) - Born on the Reservation and raised outside the World State, shaped by isolation and Shakespeare, he embodies moral seriousness and conflict with "civilized” values

Costa's Wordbook
Cygnet n young swan (Sig net)

Cut no ice - idiom, have no influence or effect
Cadge v ask for or obtain (something to which one is not strictly entitled) (Cad tch)
Prophesy v say that (a specified thing) will happen in the future (Prof fuh sigh)
Dravidian adj relating to or denoting a family of languages spoken in southern India and Sri Lanka, or the peoples who speak them (dra Vidian)
Senegalese n a native or inhabitant of Senegal, or a person of Senegalese descent (sen ne gall Lease)
Prognathous adj having a projecting lower jaw or chin (prog Nay thus)
Retch v make the sound and movement of vomiting (Wretch)
Ferro-concrete - a composite building material using a rich mortar (cement, sand, water) applied over a mesh of fine steel wires
Vita-glass - a specialized glass from the 1920s-30s designed to transmit beneficial ultraviolet (UV) light for health
Penitentes n spa, members of a lay Catholic confraternity, especially in New Mexico, known for intense penance
Selenium n the chemical element of atomic number 34, a grey crystalline non-metal with semiconducting properties
Vitrify v convert (something) into glass or a glasslike substance, typically by exposure to heat (Vit tri fy)
Capriccio n a lively piece of music, typically one that is short and free in form (cap Pri chio)
Arpeggio n the notes of a chord played in rapid succession, either ascending or descending (ar Pe gio)
New-mown adj (of grass or hay) recently cut; just mown(new Moan)
Languor n tiredness or inactivity, especially when pleasurable; an oppressive stillness of the air (Lang ger)
Lucrezia Ajugari - an 18th century Italian coloratura soprano, she possessed an unusually agile voice with a large vocal range
Gardenia n a tree or shrub of warm climates, with large, fragrant white or yellow flowers (gar Deen nya)
Dewily adv in a dewy manner (Dew wi ly)

Complete Features
Count of Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Patreon: costasaudiobook
Podcast: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn

Powered by Firstory Hosting