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Title: Mrkets hjerte [Heart of Darkness]

Author: Joseph Conrad

Narrator: Torben Sekov

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-22-14

Publisher: Viatone

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Mrkets hjerte bygger p Conrads oplevelser som flodkaptajn i Belgisk Congo, 1890. Fortlleren Marlow beretter her om, hvordan han rejser op ad floden og ind i 'mrkets hjerte' for at finde den udstationerede belgiske elfenbensjger Kurtz. Det viser sig, at Kurts fra et humant og delt udgangspunkt har udviklet sig til en begrlig materialist og despot, der hersker uindskrnket over de omkringboende indfdte.

Please note: This audiobook is in Danish.

Critic Reviews:

"Mrkets hjerte er for mange af os bogen, vi ville tage med p den de . En rejseroman i mere end én betydning, ikke mindst den helt praktiske: Verdenslitteratur i lommeformat, Dante, Joyce og Proust pakket ned p hundrede sider." (Bjrn Bredal, Politiken)

"Mrkets hjerte er et ondt opgr med den vestlige kultur og dens selvforstelse som civiliseret, dannet, ophjet og humanistisk. Den er ogs andet end det. Man kan stte mrkets hjerte som etiket p kolonitiden, Sovjetimperiet eller nazismen. Men mrkets hjerte gemmer sig inde i alle fremskridt, i alle politiske og personlige holdninger. Godheden forvandles til ondskab og nihilisme." (Fl. Chr. Nielsen, Jyllandsposten)

"... Af alle Conrads romancer og fortllinger er det Mrkets hjerte, der griber mig mest. Alt i denne lille fortlling er p kanten og udover: Situationer, personer og beskrivelser. ... For mig er Mrkets hjerte ogs en rkke dystert uafrystelige billeder, ikke blot p Conrads sjletilstand, men p den moderne verden." (Carsten Jensen i Politiken, "Min Yndlingsbog")

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Title: The Wonderful Visit

Author: H. G. Wells

Narrator: Flo Gibson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-22-14

Publisher: Audio Book Contractors

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

When the Vicar of a small village accidentally shoots down a "strange bird" it turns out to be an angel, who finds the customs and manners of Earth very strange indeed!

Members Reviews:

A minor but enjoyable work by Wells. A angel ...

A minor but enjoyable work by Wells.

A angel from the world of dreams somehow travels to our world and is grounded by a bird-hunting vicar who shoots him in the wing, mistaking him for a huge bird. The guilt-stricken clergyman takes the angel in and tries to help him fit into society, but people prove to be too suspicious, nasty, aggressive and self-centered to accept the good-natured and innocent angel's attempts to pretend to be human. It's a fairly basic tale of social satire that's carried mostly by Wells's assured prose, the well-depicted characters and the likeability of the unlucky main character. My main critique is that the budding romance between "Mr. Angel" and the vicar's maid could have been more developed to support his sacrifice at the end, but that's a fairly common flaw even in books today.

A different book to get into - curiosity kept me going

I read this book because of the author. I had a hard time getting interested in reading it, but figured because of the author it would have an underlying meaning. It is about how people are quick to judge and want to impose their personal views on others. How closed minded many people are and not willing to accept others. Be open minded to "see" all that you can "see in it" as you read.

When Angels Fall to Earth

Classic H. G. Wells, moralistic fantasy. This is the story of a vicar who takes in an angel who has inadvertently dropped out of the sky. After being shot, the angel's wings no longer work, and he looks like a hunchback in human clothing. The vicar has no doubt that this is an angel, but he's the only one except for a servant girl who is kind and loving toward him. It is a tale of how humans treat what they don't understand and can't comprehend. The fear and loathing is devastating to the angel. The pain of our world is unimaginable to him. And the damage to the vicar's standing in the community breaks him and puts him in a catch 22, knowing he should stand up for the angel, but not having the courage to do it. The angel speaks of a land where there is no pain, no hunger, no work, a Utopian existence. And the poor vicar is tasked with trying to explain our difficult world to an innocent. I wonder if the author of Powder had this book in mind when he wrote it. It's a good story and definitely reflects the biases of the time, but also shows us the timeless challenge of standing up for what one believes. Definitely worth a read. What would you do if an angel landed right in front of you?

An Emotionally Charged Work of Social Criticism

I love H.G Wells. He was a man of deep insight, broad subjects, and love. Im not afraid to admit, that this story brought tears to my eyes. Its not supposed to be some incredible science fiction clencher. Its a critique on humanity and asks the question, what would an angel, previously ignorant of our affairs, do, if he was suddenly dropped into our "World of Death?" This is a work that will remain close to my heart, forever, I suspect.

Wonderful

It's relatable today even though it was written in the 1800s.

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Title: The Hammer of God

Author: G. K. Chesterton

Narrator: Cathy Dobson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-18-14

Publisher: Red Door Audiobooks

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The Colonel's body is discovered in the blacksmith's yard, the skull smashed like a crushed eggshell. No man for 40 miles around could have struck such a blow, except the giant of a blacksmith... and the blackmith has a cast-iron alibi.

Only the reticent catholic priest Father Brown can deduce the extraordinary truth behind this bizarre murder.

Members Reviews:

One Of My Personal Favorites of The Father Brown Mysteries

G. K. Chesterton is an excellent and clever writer of fiction and non fiction. Among his compositions was a series of short stories about a fictional priest, Father Brown. Father Brown was a small, inoffensive figure who was often underestimated.

Father Brown possessed a wealth of worldly knowledge due to his interactions with sinners. As such he was constantly solving mysteries that had confused others. Many of his analysis of crimes were based on philisophical and religious premises. In this manner, G. K. Chesterton often put forth his own philisophical positions in the guise of entertaining fiction.

This story is an excellent example of these mysteries. I cannot tell you much about it without risking spoiling the story. It is short, enjoyable, and can be read at one sitting. If one enjoys this story, entire collections of Father Brown mysteries are readily available. Thank You...

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Title: How the Camel Got His Hump

Author: Rudyard Kipling

Narrator: Phillip J. Mather

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-07-14

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling and narrated by Phillip J. Mather, we learn the Camel has a hump given to him by a djinn as punishment for the camel's refusing to work (the hump allows the camel to work longer between times of eating).

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Title: Bulldog Drummond

Author: Sapper

Narrator: Cathy Dobson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-03-14

Publisher: Red Door Audiobooks

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Captain Hugh 'Bulldog" Drummond', DSO, MC is a first world war veteran finding it difficult to adjust to life as a civilian in London. He is a trained soldier, a strong, brutal fighter who has honed his skills of stalking and the martial arts. Now that the war is over he is bored. He posts an advertisement in the newspaper, seeking for adventure... and immediately finds himself drawn into a web of intrigue involving an international gang of criminals whose aim is the destruction of Great Britain.

The leader of the criminals is the evil genius, Carl Peterson, who is to be Drummond's opponent and sworn enemy through a series of adventures. The Bulldog Drummond books are a series written by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". This is the first of the series.

Members Reviews:

Imagine you're back in time -- the 1930s.

I selected this book because I happened to see on TCM one of the Bulldog Drummond movies filmed in the 1930s. It was a fun, very 1930s movie to watch and I noticed in the credits that the screenplay was based on the book -- so I had to read it. The book is written in that very stilted style of the 1930s. The plot is neatly wrapped up. Both could be turn-offs to modern audiences but reading "Bulldog Drummond" is like reading an historical novel from, well, the 1930s. McNeile wrote lots of other Bulldog Drummond books and I'll read them as soon as I get past five other books I've purchased recently. Bottom line - give McNeile a chance. Imagine you're back in time. The 1930s. Reading the latest from H.C. McNeile. You'll love it.

Precursor of James Bond; not politically correct by today's standards

I somehow had this title/character in mind before I was exposed to the book in Amazon, so I was pleased to read it.

First, you need to know that Sapper is a pseudonym used because the British officers were prohibited from publishing in their own names. Sapper was the colloquial name for Engineers who were also trained to fight. Second, please know that all of the books attributed to Sapper are not by the original author but the later ones are by a friend. Wikipedia will explain all this thoroughly and separate the books by author, if you are interested. Third, you need to know that the racist comments were thoroughly acceptable at the time, specifically against Germans and Jews. And women, of course, need to be rescued, flowers that they are. Fourth, the book presented here is the one I read and includes, at the end, a commentary by a British professor which is totally accessible to anyone. I found this to be really helpful in dealing with the racism but also the books' fame as the predecessor of James Bond. I highly recommend reading this either before or after reading the novel.

Beyond all that, let me say that I have purchased more Sapper books and look forward to reading them--once I made up my mind to just ignore the racism.

When I watch British films with some American characters I always wait for the "dissing" of Americans "across the pond." To get even, I'll just say the language of these upper class men is a hoot.

stargram7

This story is the stuff of my childhood...movie serials of Perils of Pauline and Buck Rogers...the westerns where you knew who wore the white hats and who wore the black! Bulldog and his wartime pals have all the virtues and the villains have all the vices.

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Title: Heart of Darkness and A Personal Record

Author: Joseph Conrad

Narrator: Greg Wagland

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-16-13

Publisher: Magpie Audio

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

This audiobook comprises two works: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and his autobiographical A Personal Record.

The opening of Heart of Darkness finds Charles Marlow in fading light on the Thames Estuary, as he and his companions relax on deck, waiting for the turn of the tide. He tells of the time he turned 'freshwater sailor' on the River Congo, of his perilous journey upriver in a little steamboat with a band of white colonialists and a group of cannibals that takes him closer to the coveted ivory, closer to Kurtz the rogue agent, closer to certain unspeakable rites and the heart of darkness. Serialised in three parts in 1899, Heart of Darkness was first published in 1902.

A Personal Record is a 'fragment of biography', an autobiographical work by Joseph Conrad, published in 1912. It has also been published under the title Some Reminiscences. It is a masterpiece of atmospheric writing and the main contemporary source to detail his early life. Conrad, Polish by birth, who goes on to become one of the greatest novelists of the English language, describes his childhood and adolescence, discusses his forebears, one of whom fought on the side of Napoleon and ate a Lithuanian dog, the exile of his parents, the death of his mother and his relationship with Uncle Tadeusz..

Thereafter Conrad beautifully interweaves the tales of why he went to sea and how he came to be a writer. Its digressive structure is precisely what makes it a magical and timeless work about exile, destiny and art.

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Title: Charles Lamb (1775 - 1834)

Author: Charles Lamb

Narrator: Neville Jason

Format: Unabridged

Length: 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-04-13

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

This is an essay from the Favorite Essays collection.

Here, in this unusual collection, are some of the greatest essays in Western literature. Witty, informative and imaginative, the topics vary from starvation in Ireland, fine China, the extension of railways in the Lake District, and the tombs in Westminster Abbey. A little like after-dinner monologues, they are passing thoughts expressed as journalism. Neville Jason reads with urbane clarity.

Editorial Reviews:

This selection from the Favorite Essays collection presents Charles Lambs "Dream-Children; A Reverie", first published in his most well-known 19th-century work Essays of Elia. "Dream-Children" is characterized by a kind of melancholic nostalgia, and constitutes a rich reflection on the nature of childhood and memory.

Neville Jason gives life to Lambs words in his performance of this entrancing piece, perfectly capturing the wistful reminiscence in this story and slipping easily into the role of its narrator, a father faithfully relaying the tales of a long-lost childhood to his own children.

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Title: Kim

Author: Rudyard Kipling

Narrator: Flo Gibson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-26-13

Publisher: Audio Book Contractors

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Kimball O'Hara, an Irish orphan, is raised in Lahore by an Indian woman. When his parentage is eventually discovered, he is sent to a British school. But he longs to return home to his wanderings and heroic adventures with his friend, the old lama.

Members Reviews:

Somewhat of an amateurish effort

I read the book Kim as a teenager and have seen the movies, and so I am familiar with Kipling and the story Kim.

This effort fails to really capture the spirit of the story. The artwork is okay, certainly not great. The real problem is the prose, which is written more like an illustrated book than a graphic novel... e.g. the text describing what is happening in the frame. In the end, it reads like someone recounting the story of Kim, and not actually telling or showing the story. The story is largely true to the story, but edited down, and I suspect some of the less politically correct aspects of the original have been smoothed over or removed.

I had hoped to give this to or read it with my children, but I think I would prefer to just get a copy of the original and read that to them instead.

Cartoon version of Kim

This version of Kim is actually a truncated one, turned from the original into a comic book. It's not bad for a comic book version, but the information about it should tell you this and not waste your time if you don't like the genre. I much prefer the original.

KIm is just as wonderful decades later

I have always loved Kim. Decades later, I reread it recently and listened to the disk at night. This time I looked up the geography mentioned. I had no idea the characters walked that far. I googled the Trunk Road. Fascinating. A CIA director spook died with it next to his bed. A well thumbed print. An old fan

Ordered this by mistake thinking it was a READABLE edition.

Even though I ordered this in error, I would not recommend it . Infantile version, very poorly done. Not a way to introduce child or anyone else to Kipling.

Excellent redition in comic book form.

The story of Kim is here in comic book form for folks who like the "funnies". The politics are lagging but the essence is included. Reminds me of some of the TM manuals in the military. This could entice younger readers.

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Title: A Tale of Two Cities

Author: Charles Dickens

Narrator: Flo Gibson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-25-13

Publisher: Audio Book Contractors

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

As the starving people rise up against the ruling class during the French Revolution, there are vivid descriptions of the storming of the Bastille and the death cells of the aristocrats who have been doomed to the guillotine. The sinister Madame Defarge, charming Charles Darnay and herioc Sidney Carton are but a few of this beautiful novel's unforgettable characters.

Members Reviews:

TV and Movies versions were good, but the book is better. . .

One of my co-workers encouraged me to read this since I have only seen the TV/Movie versions. It was a quick read and very enjoyable. Fortunately, the TV/Movie versions weren't too far off the mark. Regardless, there were facets of the story that you would only get through the book, which is why reading the book will always be my favorite option.

BAH! HUMBUG!! "God bless Us, Every One"

A Christmas Carol is a beloved Christmas favorite. Nothing says Christmas like favorite Christmas stories. This timeless tale has been told in many versions. Iâve seen the movie and play but Iâve never read the book. I thought it was about time to finally read this tale.

The illustrations throughout the book were fun to look at. Not common to find illustrations in books today unless they are children stories.

Lots of great quotes come from this story but the most famous is BAH! HUMBUG! followed by:

"God bless Us, Every One!"

Standalone

As great to read vs as to watch as a production.

We've enjoyed many kinds of productions of this classic Scrooge story. The original makes us 'rise to the occasion' - or at least gets us to mentally take the time to step back in that era. Life was so different, so the real factor is (I think) a little richer, than already assembled viewables. Emotional, and the older language adds some incentive to digging into the story.

A must read!

Dickens has always intimidated me. Somehow, I made my way through high school and college without having to read one of his novels. Finally, a few weeks before Christmas, I decided to give this a try when I learned it is relatively short. I figured if it took some work, at least it wouldn't take all that long. I'm sorry I waited so long. It was impossible for me to separate this from the many versions of A Christmas Carol I've seen over the years. I loved it. I enjoyed the glimpse into the time and place of the story. The story and theme are, of course, legendary.

Don't be intimidated. This is a book everyone should read at least once.

Classic I Know

I have tried this one before and was distracted within the first five chapters but with the advise of a colleague I am going to attempt this one again. I am late 30's and sometimes have a tough time focusing for long spans of time unless the story is captivating from the get go, you have to appreciate writing for the sake of verb-age and description to get into this. So, because it is a classic and I think the classics should be read - I'll give it another go but not looking forward to it despite the wonderful reviews. Hated Pride and Prejudice too - just depends on personal taste I suppose. Loved The Divine Comedy....

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Title: The Canterbury Tales: The Lawyer's Tale (Modern Verse Translation)

Author: Geoffrey Chaucer

Narrator: Charles Kay

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-14-13

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

This is a story from the Canterbury Tales III: Modern Verse Translation collection.

Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, a collection of narratives written between 1387 and 1400, tells of a group of 30 people from all layers of society who pass the time along their pilgrimage to Canterbury by telling stories to one another, their interaction mediated (at times) by the affable host - Chaucer himself. Naxos AudioBooks' third volume presents the tales of six people, here in an unabridged modern verse translation (by Frank Ernest Hill, 1935). This is an ideal way to appreciate the genuinely funny and droll talent of England's early master storyteller. Seven leading British actors bring the medieval world into the 21st century, and at least in terms of character, not much seems to have changed!

Editorial Reviews:

Geoffrey Chaucers masterful Lawyers Tale receives royal treatment via the sonorous narration by British stage and screen veteran Charles Kay and a modern English translation by Frank Ernest Hill. Conceived as one of the tales told by 14th-century pilgrims to the shrine at Canterbury, this narrative features the Christian princess Constance, her betrothal to the Syrian Sultan, and the betrayal that sends her back to sea alone and toward additional trials after crashing into the shores of Northumberland. While the story itself is stirring, it also provides shrewd commentary on the role of women in commerce and religion.

Members Reviews:

Great edition, just wish

Can't go wrong with Chaucer. Great edition, just wish, they would have split it into two volumes, or maybe even three with the third being the dictionary as a separate book. Would gladly pay extra for having three instead all in one. Happy reading!!!

Chaucer

This book arrived quickly and its in current English. Reading Chaucer is difficult when you're accustomed to reading today's modern literature. But this makes it easier.

Enjoyable

A must read for those who enjoy the classics!

Beware of the sycophant! (this and other caveats)

In the Nun's Priease Tale, Chaucer utters the most startingly 4 words constructed: Beware of the sycophant! Each tale, like the latter, also contains a moral. The best book in the English language this side of Shakesphere.

Five Stars

Nice to listen to every month!