Download Best Sellers Audiobooks in Classics, Greek & Roman

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Title: Jane of Lantern Hill

Author: L.M. Montgomery

Narrator: Lauren Saunders

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 06-20-17

Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 24 votes

Genres: Classics, Kids & Young Adults

Publisher's Summary:

For as long as she can remember, Jane Stuart and her mother have lived with her controlling grandmother in a dreary mansion in Toronto. Jane always believed her father was dead, so she was shocked to receive an invitation to stay with him for the summer on Prince Edward Island. But from their very first meeting, Jane fell in love with her charming father and his whimsical cottage. During her stay with him, she even found herself daring to dream that there could be such a house back in Toronto - a house where she, Mother, and Father could live together without Grandmother directing their lives - a house that she could come to call home.

Members Reviews:

hurrah for Jane! lovely story of redemption

loved every minute of Lantern Hill, Jane Victoria's story is enchanting, realistic, and fun. would have loved a sequel

Loved it!

I've read this story as a child and listening to it again reminded my why I loved it so much. One of LMM's best books. Nice narration.

Dear little Jane-let

The book was the only one of L.M. Montgomery's that I had not yet read. It was different and meloncholy but also beautiful in its descriptions, which is a hallmark of her writings. It reminded me of Blue Castle but written regarding a child rather than a woman. I do love to read about a misunderstood and mistreated heroine overcoming her struggles and finding out that dreams can come true for her.

The narrator had a pleasant voice but I noticed that one several points during the reading, there would be a brief pause and the same words would be repeated. I wonder why those parts weren't edited out. Other than that it was well-done.

Not Worth an Audible Credit

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was not LMM's best work by any means (by that I mean, not on par with the Anne books or Blue Castle), but perhaps I would have liked it better with a different narrator.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

She did not carry the nuance of the story. She was easy enough to listen to, but she did not lend any depth to the characters or credence to the plot line. Also, the performance itself was awful. There were many, many times when phrases were repeated. Once, the narrator mispronounced a word. It was corrected, but we heard both the incorrect pronunciation and then the correct. Bad, bad job on the part of the director and editor!

Any additional comments?

Buy the book and read it. :)

Okay interpretation

I'm disappointed that this wasn't awesome, because I liked this book a lot as a kid (though some things struck me differently listening as an adult) and I was really excited to see more of the lesser-known LM Montgomery works getting audiobooks.

I thought the narrators voice would grow on me, but it didn't really. She attempts different voices but is just very bland, to me, and did not do a good job with Jane's fathers voice.

Throughout the recording, too, are multiple duplications of lines (as if the narrator took a break and then reread the last line and went forward, but the editing left both lines in). Not a huge deal, but this is the first audiobook from audible that I've heard this on. It just seems unpolished.

Overall, nothing awful but could've been much better. Recommended for fans, but for someone new to LM Montgomery I would choose something else.

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Titolo: Odissea

Autore: Omero

Narratore: Claudio Carini

Formato: Unabridged

Durata: 13 hrs and 37 mins

Lingua: Italiano

Data di pubblicazione: 05-09-17

Editore: Recitar Leggendo Audiolibri

Categoria: Classics, Greek & Roman

Riepilogo Editore:

L'Odissea è un testo che conserva sempre intatto il suo fascino particolare. Restiamo sempre ammaliati da quello che si può considerare il viaggio più importante di tutta la cultura occidentale. La curiosità dell'ignoto, il bisogno del viaggio e del ritorno a casa sono le forze che spingono Ulisse a vagabondare per tutto il mondo conosciuto ed anche oltre.

Le sue avventure si sviluppano in un continuo intreccio di rapporti con gli dèi, i quali di volta in volta in volta lo salvano o tentano di eliminarlo. Ma forse sono proprio quelle stesse divinità ad invidiare questo essere umano capace di un coraggio e di una intelligenza leggendari e di sentimenti che valgono molto di più della loro immortalità.

L'audiolibro contiene la versione integrale del poema recitato in una prosa scorrevole, per un ascolto ricco di sfumature evocative.

©2017 Claudio Carini (P)2017 Recitar Leggendo audiolibri

Recensioni dei membri:

Odisseasm by Homer

An immortal masterpiece

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Title: The Pharsalia

Author: Lucan

Narrator: Charlton Griffin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-05-17

Publisher: Audio Connoisseur

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, Greek & Roman

Publisher's Summary:

If you had been a court poet during the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, irritating the megalomaniac ruler would not have been wise. And one of the things which would have really angered Nero would have been the effort to write an epic poem about the struggle between Pompey and Caesar in which the noble hero (portrayed by Pompey) was the man who fought to preserve the Republic, and the selfish villain (portrayed by Caesar), the man who destroyed it. Yet Lucan wrote just such a poem, and Nero, naturally, hated both poem and poet. To the educated Roman of the mid-first century AD, the young Lucan probably appeared amazingly foolhardy. Naturally, his epic work got him into trouble. The poem abruptly breaks off in the middle of the 10th book. It was never finished because Lucan was ordered to commit suicide or face execution. He took poison.

Nero's ire is easy to understand. Idle talk about restoring the Republic had been making the rounds for quite some time, and the ruling Julio-Claudian dynasty did not want such talk taken seriously. Besides, the average Roman citizen was primarily interested in economic and political stability. Any discussion of the old Republic conjured up evil memories of earlier civil wars. But the brash young poet went right ahead and produced a minor masterpiece recounting the clash between Julius Caesar and the Republican aristocracy. Lucan called it "De Bello Civili" ("On the Civil War"). Later, it came to be called "The Pharsalia", the name of the battle where Pompey met defeat.

With soaring rhetoric, thundering speeches, cataclysmic scenes of war, and beautifully written passages full of the pathos of life and love, Lucan has left us an unfinished gem from Latin literature's Silver Age.

Members Reviews:

The poem is actually funny in many places

This is a rather dogged translation that misses out on Lucan's dry sense of humor. The poem is actually funny in many places. Or it is in the Latin.

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Title: The Secret Garden

Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Narrator: Pearl Hewitt

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-16-17

Publisher: Essential Audiobooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 33 votes

Genres: Classics, Kids & Young Adults

Publisher's Summary:

When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle, everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. But this lonely girl's life is transformed when she finds the key to the secret garden.

Members Reviews:

Outstanding Update to Beloved Classic!

Any additional comments?

The audiobook of the Secret Garden narrated by Pearl Hewitt is an outstanding and much needed update to the childrens classic. Written by Frances Hodgson Burnett in 1911, it tells the tale of Mary who is orphaned after her parents are both killed by cholera in India. She travels to Yorkshire to live at her much absent uncle's estate. Always thought of as a troublesome and sickly girl, Mary thrives in the Yorkshire Moors and surrounding gardens, with the help of a grouchy gardener, a robin, and one of the servants younger brothers.

Listening to this again after reading it about 30 years ago, Im reminded how gothic it feels in parts. For example, Mary frequently hears the sound of crying down one of the long corridors. Is this a ghost, her uncle, or just the sound of the wind rolling through the Moors? [I couldnt help but remember the mysterious sounds that Jane Eyre hears in Thornfield]. About half-way through the book, we discover the sound is from Marys invalid cousin, Collin. Obviously spoiled like a prince with frequent temper-tantrums, Collin orders everyone about and staff walk on pins and needles around him. Mary takes none of it and puts him in his place. She challenges him to go outside with her and let the magic of the gardens and nature heal his soul (and body). The ending is one of the best written ever!

Pearl Hewitt did an absolutely outstanding job narrating this book. She provided distinct and consistent voices for all characters, young and old. She has a spunk and sassiness in her readings that make listening very enjoyable. Brava!

Wonderfully Narrated Classic

The Secret Garden is the story of Mary Lennox, a disagreeable child orphaned when her parents die of cholera. She's sent to Yorkshire to live with her uncle in a house with a hundred locked rooms and a mysterious locked garden.

This timeless classic really needs no introduction, it's a wonderful story that has been enjoyed by generations. It has something for everyone, a bit of gothic mystery, a coming of age journey, descriptive passages for a poet's soul, and the charming characters that make it such a classic children's tale. It even spells out the power of positive thinking like any best-selling self help book.

I think what I love best about this book is watching the two neglected little children, starved for love and attention, find happiness in their garden. One of my favorite scenes is when Martha buys Mary the skipping rope. The fact that someone thought of her, remembered her, and bought her something is just so foreign to Mary. It's a subtle scene that really shows how unloved she's been all her life, and how much such tiny things matter to a child.

I don't remember the first time I read The Secret Garden, but I do remember receiving my first hardback copy. I refused to open my other Christmas presents and just sat there looking at the beautiful illustrated pages. Listening to this version brought back that feeling. There's just something special about audiobooks, the narration, if well done, can bring the book to life. Pearl Hewitt manages to do just that.

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Title: Stories from Herodotus

Author: Lorna Oakes

Narrator: Catherine O'Brien

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-07-17

Publisher: Essential Audiobooks LLC

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Classics, Greek & Roman

Publisher's Summary:

Herodotus wrote the first history book in the world. That is why he is sometimes called the "Father of History". He lived about 2500 years ago in the fifth century BC. He was born at a place called Halicarnassus in Asia Minor. The modern names for these places are Bodrum in Turkey. Herodotus was a keen traveler who went all over the ancient world and was interested in everything he saw and heard.

Members Reviews:

Entertaining and educational!

If youve ever tried to read Herodotus, then you know that most translations have a lot of repetition and ramble on a bit. Now Lorna Oakes gives us some great stories from Herodotus distilled down into thoughtful, sometimes action-packed, stories that will delight adults and entertain kids.

The book starts off with a little bit about Herodotus. He traveled extensively during his lifetime and wrote down historical events as best he could. Many of the events he wrote about happened generations before his time, so theres bound to be some inaccuracies. Yet theres a charm to his works as well. He made a grand attempt at recording the known worlds history and that account has survived to this day. All around, that is extraordinary. I, myself, have only read a bit of Herodotus but Oakess book makes it easy to absorb the essence of the tales Herodotus was trying to capture.

Theres 4 parts to this book. Part I is all about King Croesus in Lydia, which is in modern-day Turkey. He has a portentous dream and is concerned about his reign. I really like how he tested the various oracles. Very clever! Yet he then relies on the foretelling of the Delphi Oracle, misinterpreting the true meaning. Oakes does a great job here of just telling this tale, showing us how arrogance can color the meaning to any oracle riddle. It provides a great discussion point for adults and kids alike.

Part II is the Story of Cyrus. Part I flowed into Part II as both Cyrus and King Croesus are both influenced by the Delphi Oracle. This tale tells us how Cyrus came into power. Its significant because Cyrus united two major families and became a significant Persian ruler. Cyrus was slated for death as a babe but he was saved by a cowherder and his wife. Later, of course, this is discovered and a reckoning must come out of it. I love that Oakes doesnt leave out a rather bit of gruesome in this story. She doesnt linger over it either and I feel it was essential to show motivation for one of the characters vengeance.

Part III is about Herodotuss time in Egypt. Of course, he visits the great pyramids and writes about how they were constructed. Herodotus gives us his version of how Psammeticus became king of the 26th dynasty of Egypt. This sections also includes the tale of King Apries and how he was overthrown by General Amasis and rebel forces. For me, it was the bits about the Great Pyramids that stood out most in this section.

Part IV is all about the Greeks and Persians. Theres some famous stories in this section, including the tale of Leonidas and how he and his small force repelled Xerxess army. This is a captivating story and the retelling of it here is well done. This section also includes the esteemed Greek physician Democedes. He was taken captive and bounced around a bit, sometimes as tribute. He ties Polycrates of Samos to the Persian king Darius.

All around, its a great collection of ancient tales based on Herodotuss works.

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Title: Séneca - Sobre A Brevidade da Vida [Seneca - On the Brevity of Life]

Subtitle: Adaptado Para Leitores Contemporâneos [Adapted for Contemporary Readers]

Author: James Harris, Lucius Seneca

Narrator: Nicolas Villanueva

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-27-17

Publisher: James Harris

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, Greek & Roman

Publisher's Summary:

Sobre A Brevidade Da Vida é um ensaio moral escrito por Sêneca o Jovem, um filósofo estoico romano, para seu padrasto Paulinus. O filósofo nos traz muitos princípios estoicos sobre a natureza do tempo, principalmente a que os homens desperdiçam muito do seu próprio tempo em perseguiçes sem sentido. De acordo com o ensaio, a natureza dá ao homem tempo o suficiente para fazer o que é realmente importante e o indivíduo precisa permitir que isso aconteça propriamente. No geral, o tempo pode ser melhor usado no estudo da filosofia, de acordo com Sêneca.

Este ensaio foi cuidadosamente adaptado para uma forma contempornea para permitir uma fácil leitura.

Please note: This audiobook is in Portuguese.

Members Reviews:

Audiobook em português

Foi o primeiro audiobook em português que encontrei aqui. Gostaria de encontrar outros. Apesar de o narrador no ter domínio perfeito do idioma sua performance é bastante razoável e compreensível.

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Title: Virgil's Aeneid in Modern Verse

Author: Howard Felperin - translator

Narrator: Denis Daly

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-05-17

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Genres: Classics, Greek & Roman

Publisher's Summary:

Together with the Iliad, the Odyssey, The Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost, the Aeneid is one of the true monuments of world literature. Like all these great classics, over the centuries it has become stultified by academic formalism, and its true glory as a narrative of thrilling power and richness has become very much obscured. This new translation seeks to highlight the vigor and immediacy of Virgil's epic while still respecting the grandeur of the original language.

In the words of the translator: "The Aeneid is a stupendous story, because whatever it is that draws us under the spell of imaginative writing in the first place - be it the creation of human character in its breadth and depth; the construction of resonant fables and alternative worlds; or perhaps the kind of language that reaches those parts that practical language can't and makes them tingle - the Aeneid does it in abundance. Quite as much as his gods, Virgil's protagonists are as lifelike as they are archetypal. As for his fable: well, what Goethe said of his Elizabethan precursor's version of the Faust myth: 'How greatly is it all planned!' - better applies to this epic than to Marlowe's tragedy. For it exemplifies, with a magical realism equal to Homer's, how to tell a story."

Members Reviews:

Story told well

reads very well, wherever you dip in, carries reader along as a good story should

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Title: The Adventures of Sammy Jay

Author: Thornton W. Burgess

Narrator: Tom S. Weiss

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-04-16

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, Kids & Young Adults

Publisher's Summary:

Sammy Jay is a blue jay who, like most blue jays, is mischievous. He delights in making trouble for other creatures of the Green Meadows and the Green Forest. Sammy really doesn't want to see them hurt, he just wants to make torment them.

Enter Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who also lives in the Green Forest and can be as troublesome as Sammy Jay. In The Adventures of Sammy Jay, Chatterer and Sammy Jay match wits and show off their bad attitudes toward one another. As he does in all his books, Thornton Burgess presents younger listeners with good moral values sprinkled throughout the book.

Thornton W. Burgess was a conservationist and author of children's stories. He loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years. By the time he retired, he had written over 170 books and 15,000 stories for a daily newspaper column.

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Titolo: Iliade

Autore: Omero

Narratore: Claudio Carini

Formato: Unabridged

Durata: 14 hrs and 58 mins

Lingua: Italiano

Data di pubblicazione: 06-10-16

Editore: Recitar Leggendo Audiolibri

Valutazioni: 5 su 5 su 1 voti

Categoria: Classics, Greek & Roman

Riepilogo Editore:

Primo capolavoro della letteratura occidentale, scritto probabilmente intorno all'VIII secolo a.C., l'Iliade è, insieme con l'Odissea, uno dei pilastri di tutta la cultura occidentale.

Nel poema si narrano i 51 giorni della guerra di Troia, dall'ira di Achille ai funerali di Ettore, densi di battaglie ed imprese nelle quali si intrecciano continuamente i destini di dèi ed eroi. Nei 24 libri che compongono il poema vengono descritti tutti i perché della guerra, oltre a sentimenti grandiosi ed eterni quali l'orgoglio, l'amicizia, l'ira.

L'audiolibro propone una traduzione fluida e scorrevole dell'opera nella sua versione integrale, in una interpretazione ad alta voce misurata ed altamente evocativa.

© Dominio pubblico (P)2016 Recitar Leggendo audiolibri

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Title: Plato's Ion

Author: Plato

Narrator: Ray Childs

Format: Unabridged

Length: 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-01-16

Publisher: Agora, New Internet Technologies

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 23 votes

Genres: Classics, Greek & Roman

Publisher's Summary:

Socrates questions Ion, an actor who just won a major prize, about his ability to interpret the epic poetry of Homer. How does an actor, a poet, or any other artist create? Is it by knowing? Is it by inspiration? As the dialogue proceeds, the nature of human creativity emerges as a mysterious process and an unsolved puzzle.

© Agora Publications

Members Reviews:

A brief commentary on pompous actors

Socrates questions Ion, who recites the lines of Homer. Ion claims to recite and understand the meaning of Homer's poetry as part of his success. Ion is like an actor who overestimates his intelligence and ability, like one who thinks he can run a company because he plays a CEO in a movie (insert actor of choice).

This is a short dialogue. Socrates argues that Ion has no real understanding of Homer's content (Homer is the TRUE genius). The rhapsode (the one who recites) is a vehicle. Socrates attributes Ion's success to 'inspiration' from the muses or the god. Not from intelligence.

All of Plato is insightful and worth reading, but I liked Ion for two additional reasons. This dialogue is shorter than Plato's other dialogues. Unlike some, there was a clear conclusion reached here, even though is was specific and not universal.

ok

Is ok, Cant do much better for the price, Can be a slow read at some times in the book.

Art or Inspiration?

This dialogue examines whether Ion, a rhapsode, receives his gift of recitation through techne or Inspiration. This dialogue holds many implications for Plato's aesthetic theory and is well worth the read.

you will really enjoy. Likewise

Ion is a very short Platonic dialogue between Socrates and a rhapsode by the name of Ion who specializes in reciting the poetry of Homer. The dialogue explores the nature of poetic and artistic inspiration in a most playful way. If you are interested in literature and the arts, you will really enjoy. Likewise, if you havenât read any Plato, this is a great place to start. To offer a taste, here are a few snatches of the dialogue along with my brief reflections. Sidebar: all of my statements are, in a way, questions, not to be taken as definitive answers; scholars and philosophers have been debating the details of Platoâs thought for over 2000 years.

SOCRATES: I often envy the profession of a rhapsode, Ion; for you have always to wear fine clothes, and to look as beautiful as you can is a part of your art. Then, again, you are obliged to be continually in the company of many good poets; and especially of Homer, who is the best and most divine of them; and to understand him, and not merely learn his words by rote, is a thing greatly to be envied. ---------- A stroke of true Socratic irony. The idea of a philosopher envying someone preoccupied with wearing fine clothes and making sure they look beautiful. What a scream. And then to say such a person âunderstandsâ Homer. Too much. Plato must have had fun writing this dialogue since he adjudged the philosopher beyond concern with physical appearance and ascribed âunderstandingâ to the realm of abstract, logical thinking.

SOCRATES: The gift which you possess of speaking excellently about Homer is not an art, but, as I was just saying, an inspiration; there is a divinity moving you, like that contained in the stone which Euripides calls a magnet, but which is commonly known as the stone of Heraclea.