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Title: Jungle Tales of Tarzan

Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs

Narrator: David Stifel

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-25-14

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The Jungle Tales of Tarzan, book six of the Tarzan series, consists of 12 short stories loosely connected to each other, although each one can stand on its own. They fill in many details of Tarzan's youth and adolescence in the jungle, while still living with the tribe of great apes that reared him. Mr. Burroughs, much like Gene Roddenberry half a century later, was able to make very trenchant comments on our life and society by setting his stories outside our normal recognizable world. By returning to Tarzan's roots in the jungle, far from any civilized influences such as white Europeans, Ed was able to make startling comments about life. Among Ed's targets in this book are "civilization and its discontents", the nature of humankind, and one of his perennial favorites, religion. By substituting bizarre witch doctors for vested priests, Ed said things that no self-respecting early-20th-century pop writer could get away with had he attacked the church of the day head on.

The Jungle Tales talk of religion, the nature of reality, honor, courage, love - and all the time keep the listener intrigued by Burroughs' wonderful gift for spinning a heck of a yarn. Enjoy!

Members Reviews:

Rarely is a politically incorrect book this much fun to read.

On the one hand, the stories are fun and Burroughs was very imaginative. On the other hand, I have rarely picked up a more politically incorrect book in a long time. Tarzan is a young Adonis, The male apes are all low-browed and brutal.Women are delicate and need saving. Black natives are inferior to whites. Tarzan is the result of centuries of upper class "good breeding." BUT!!!! the stories were interesting and if I read "over" the incorrect facts - which I did - they were still a good read.

A Good Read

This is one of the series of the Tarzan books written by this prolific author. The book is written in an easily readable style, and makes enjoyable pleasant, light reading.

The author is writing at the beginning of the 20th century, when much of the African continent was unknown. It is interesting to follow the workings of his mind, as he creates a series of interesting and unique civilizations for Tarzan and the reader to explore.

As part of the format, one knows that our hero will find himself in mortal peril, but will predictably always escape, allowing us to look forward to the next book in the series.

A great Tarzan anthology

I read this great book when I was a kid and was really glad to find it here. It is an epic collection of short stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs about young Tarzan before his first contacts with humans, when he was still part of his ape tribe. Thanks for making it available! I highly recommend it!

Interesting form of storytelling

I like that this was not one long story, but rather a series of smaller stories and adventures that give the reader a better look at what makes Tarzan who he is. I've read them all before, and several years from now I will likely read them all again.

Five Stars

Really nice!

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Title: The Tomb

Author: H. P. Lovecraft

Narrator: Mike Vendetti

Format: Unabridged

Length: 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-21-14

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

"The Tomb" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft in June 1917 in the first work of fiction Lovecraft wrote as an adult.

H. P. Lovecraft was born in 1890 in Providence, Rhode Island, where he lived most of his life. He wrote many essays and poems early in his career, but gradually focused on the writing of horror stories. His relatively small corpus of fiction - three short novels and about 60 short stories - has nevertheless exercised a wide influence on subsequent work in the field, and he is regarded as the leading 20th-century American author of supernatural fiction. H. P. Lovecraft died in Providence in 1937.

Members Reviews:

Classic

Everybody should know who H.P. Lovecraft is. I might not be thought of as Twain, or Shakespeare, but is certainly a science fiction staple.

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Title: Unusual Short Stories

Author: Mark Twain, Guy de Maupassant, Stacy Aumonier, D. H. Lawrence, John Galsworthy, W. W. Jacobs, Ambrose Bierce

Narrator: Cathy Dobson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 hrs and 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-20-14

Publisher: Red Door Audiobooks

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Fifty unusual and enchanting short stories.

Members Reviews:

Thoroughly Enjoyable

After getting used to the narrator, I began to enjoy her style of reading, and I continued to listen to all 69 stories until the last one which I enjoyed as much as the first one.

Absolutely terrible performance

Would you try another book from the authors and/or Cathy Dobson?

Not from Cathy Dobson . It is nearly impossible to follow the stories . Awfull performance

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Cathy Dobson?

Anybody.

Do you think Unusual Short Stories needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I love short stories but with a different narrator

2nd rate

Poor narration. Not awful but not good. Many of the stories are told in the first person by a male. So why a partially incompetent woman reading?

A lot of these are dry dated old stuff from the days when gay only meant jolly. While there are occasional gems there is a lot more chaff than wheat. I hope nobody ever payed the full price for this as it is just some sweepings from the library floor thrown together and narrated without flare. You'd find much better podcasts for free. Best avoided unless you enjoy handsome cabs, handlebar moustaches and laboured writing.

Terrible Narration

I could not even make it through Chapter 1. You would think that Audible would vet the narrators beforehand, but it would seem not. Absolutely awful.

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Title: The King in Yellow

Author: Robert W. Chambers

Narrator: Mark Turetsky

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-18-14

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Skillfully narrated by voice actor Mark Turetsky, The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers is a classic in the field of the supernatural. The series of 10 short stories is named after a fictional play of the same name which induces madness in the minds of those that read it. The Yellow King and Carcosa were often alluded to in a popular TV series True Detective, where evil and madness are often a theme.

Members Reviews:

Some stories are fun.

The stories about the King in Yellow are very good, but most of the others are a bit dull.

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Title: The Enchanted Bluff

Author: Willa Cather

Narrator: Glenn Hascall

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-21-14

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

On the banks of a Nebraska river several boys hear a story that causes them to plan a great adventure for their future. They could never quite get past a plan to find the Enchanted Bluff, but life has a way of stealing dreams from childish minds. A beautiful story of the hope of childhood in a time a few shades less complicated. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

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Title: The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

Author: H. P. Lovecraft

Narrator: Mike Vendetti

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-25-13

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Charles Ward, even as a child, had always wandered the streets of ancient Providence, drawn inexorably to its domes and spires, its hills and homes, its history and its haunts. His antiquarian habits were always just so: an innocent preoccupation with the city and its wonders. Yet, when the discovery of a shadowy ancestor exposes an eldritch malevolence long thought to be contained, Charles must resist the dark grip of his fascination, before it consumes him, and his world, completely.

Please enjoy this new reading of a rare full-length tale from H. P. Lovecraft, the original master of the cosmic macabre, dedicated to the 125th Anniversary of his birth.

Members Reviews:

I love mikes voice

What can I say? I love Mikes reading. The Case of Charles Dexter's a great story too. :) has shades of Reanimator in it.

Fantastic story, mediocre narrator.

Would you try another book from H. P. Lovecraft and/or Mike Vendetti?

Lovecraft? Yes, absolutely. Vendetti? No.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward?

When Dr. Willett explores the old catacombs.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator, Mike Vendetti, has a good voice and his delivery is serviceable, but his pronunciation is atrocious. I'm not talking about made-up Lovecraft words like Yog-Sothoth or the different magical incantations, I'm talking regular English words. He cannot, for the life of him, pronounce a number of common, workaday English words and he often stumbles or stutters when delivering even mildly obscure words. This performance sounds like it was done in a single take with no editing.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably? It's been eighty or ninety years now and still no one has managed to make a decent Lovecraft movie.

Any additional comments?

Honestly, Wayne June is a superior Lovecraft narrator.

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Title: An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Author: Ambrose Bierce

Narrator: Kyle Munley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-25-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Set during the American Civil War, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is the classic short story of Peyton Farquhar, a Confederate sympathizer condemned to death by hanging from Owl Creek Bridge. Flashing between the present and the past - from Peyton's thoughts as he stands on the bridge to his memories as a major Confederate supporter in the South - he creates parallel realities in which truth and fantasy become indistinguishable.

A story of war, death, and the power of the mind, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is Ambrose Bierce's most anthologized work and an enduring piece of American literature.

Proceeds from sale of this title go to Reach Out and Read, an innovative literacy advocacy organization.

Members Reviews:

I loved this movie the first time I saw it

I loved this movie the first time I saw it. I watched it with my children, but a few short years later, my youngest son and a grandson died in a car wreck. Now, I have other grandchildren, but I still long to see those who aren't with us.

Losing a child or a grandchild will always be with you. Yes, I picked up the pieces, but the counselor I went to told me you never get over it. You just learn to live with it..

WELL WRITTEN SHORT STORY...BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED. It was like visiting an old friend.

First let me say that this review contains spoilers. This is a pity. The only reason I placed these spoilers in this review is that the product description here already lets the cat out of the bag as to the ending. This is a pity.

Anyway....

I first read this story years and years ago. It was one of the many short stories we had to read in a special advanced English course I took in high school. Like most kids of that age I felt I was being force fed a bunch of stuff I had absolutely no interest in and must admit that I fought it. Over the years I have forgotten most to many of the numerous stories we read during that year, which is sort of sad when you think about it, but I have to tell you that this offering from Ambrose Bierce was not one of those that I consciously or unconsciously shuffled either to the back of my mind or out of it completely. No, no - far, far from it! This one has stuck with me throughout the years and I was delighted when I found it as a free Kindle download.

A Confederate man; a planter in northern Alabama during the Civil War has been captured by Union Solders. He has been sentenced to death and the story begins on a railroad bridge as the man stands on a railroad bridge with a rope noose about his neck about to be hanged. The board he is standing upon is tilted and he begins to fall.

This entire short story takes place in the doomed mans mind as he falls to the end of the rope. The reader at this point does not realize this and we watch in sickening slow motion as the rope breaks, the planter hits the water, is shot at, makes a daring escape, struggles through the woods and finally finds himself going up the steps of his home to the loving arms of his wife...snap..white searing light!

As the story progresses in becomes more and more surreal and the reader starts getting hints that not all is as it seems. When you consider when this work was written and published; around 1891, this is a rather remarkable ploy. You know something strange is going to happen but it is not until the final line; the final word that your suspicions are confirmed. Now I have never been hung.

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Title: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Author: Mark Twain

Narrator: Kaleo Griffith

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-17-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Though known for his classic novels of adventure and coming of age, Mark Twain is equally esteemed for his short stories, which abound with the colorful characters and often comic antics readers have come to expect from his longer works. Included here is "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," a wild yarn involving a case of mistaken identity, a gambler who'd bet on anything, and an unusual frog named Daniel Webster. Originally published in the Saturday Press in 1865, the tale was immensely popular, and in 1867 an expandedversion was published.

Proceeds from sale of this title go to Reach Out and Read, an innovative literacy advocacy organization.

Members Reviews:

MARK TWAIN AT A MINIMUM VIEW OF HIS OTHER BOOKS

IT'S OKAY; HAVING SAID THAT; I FELT THAT IT WAS BELOW THE LEVEL OF MARK TWAIN 'S OTHER BOOKS I'VE READ WHICH INCLUDES INNOCENTS ABROAD, OLD TIMES ON THE MISSISSIPPI, THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER, AND THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

A gambling man and a jumping frog make an interesting short story.

This is a charming and very short story about a man who gets trapped into listening to an old man's rambling tale about a gambling man he once knew who had a frog that could jump better than other frogs. It doesn't take long to read and has an amusing ending. It's written much in the style of Twain's other stories and books, so if you like them, you will probably like this.

I have loved The Celebrated Jumping of Calaveras County ever since I ...

I have loved The Celebrated Jumping of Calaveras County ever since I first read it in junior high school. It's one of Mark Twain's true masterpieces, full of humor, American wit and wisdom, and Twain's unique view of life. What more could you ask for? The annotated Kindle edition has a very nice surprise at the end -- a selection of sayings attributed to Twain. For $0.99, it's a definite bargain!

Four Stars

Mark Twain is great.

19th Century Duck Dynasty

Mark Twain wrote in the 19th century, but his tales fit people and situations even today. Take a look at Duck Dynasty. They could just redramitize Mark Twain tales and it would thrill fans of the show.

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Title: The Ice Palace

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Narrator: Vanessa Hart

Format: Unabridged

Length: 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-07-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

One of F. Scott Fitzgerald's earliest short stories, "The Ice Palace" is about Sally Carrol Happer, a young Southern woman who is bored with her conventional life. She's engaged to Harry Bellamy, a young man from the North. Despite concern from her family and friends, Sally travels to Harry's hometown to meet his family. Hoping for an exciting adventure, she instead finds herself in a cold, unfamiliar place. There, in the dead of winter, she begins to question everything.

Proceeds from sale of this title go to Reach Out and Read, an innovative literacy advocacy organization.

Members Reviews:

Where Do You Belong?

Sally Carrol Happer is a girl from Georgia who plans to marry Yankee Harry Bellamy, to the great consternation of her friends. She travels north to visit Harry and his family and friends for a month, plans to live there â until one eye-opening event makes her realize where she really wants to be. This is by far one of my most favorite Fitzgerald short stories.

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Title: The Veteran

Author: Stephen Crane

Narrator: William Roberts

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-20-13

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

This is a story from the Classic American Short Stories collection.

Five great American short story writers, dating from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, are represented here. Different in atmosphere and writing style, they nevertheless caught the mood and concerns of the day in a way that was distinctly American. Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" leaves echoes in the imagination; the stories by Crane and London recall the themes of the Civil War and the Klondike for which they are well known. Twain's humor is to the fore in "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," and O. Henry's sharp observations make his neat tales a joy to listen to. An attractive and accessible collection!

Editorial Reviews:

It is difficult to believe that there isn't a full cast of actors behind this excellent performance of Stephen Crane's story set in the wake of the Civil War. Narrator and recipient of an AudioFile's Earphones Award William Roberts individualizes the characters in this story so fully that his performance feels as real as a documentary. As main character Old Henry eloquently recounts how he ran away from his first battle in fear, listeners will sympathize with rather than judge his cowardice. When Old Henry finds the courage to save the animals stuck in a burning barn, listeners will feel a complex gamut of emotions, especially at the story's moving end.

Members Reviews:

Good price and fast delivery

Interesting selection from Barnes and Noble. Good price and fast delivery. Thank you.

Wonderful stories, melodramatic readings; nearly unlistenable

It is almost a crime to subject classic short stories such as these to this kind of audio treatment. Each is introduced with cheap sound effects or maudlin music. The reader is hopelessly overdramatic, mispronounces words like "coquettry" and cheapens the narrative with dripping emotion and weird rhetorical lifts in his voice. Worst of all is the dialogue which, as if in a radio play, is read by a variety of voices, women for female characters, men for male. Accents are over-wrought, turning the dialogue of masters like Twain and Fitzgerald into caricature. These great stories should be read and, if they must be read aloud, done with respect rather than fear that listeners might be bored without cheap theatrics.

Excellent Readings

These are very good readings of some good stories. Particularly impressive is Bierce's classic "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." This story holds up well on re-reading. On one level it's a cool "Twilight Zone" kind of story: man has out of body experience as he's about to be hanged. But on a deeper level, the story is about the interplay of mind and matter and about how to face death.

The O Henry pieces are all amusing, but his stories are a bit superficial and contrived, and I'm not sure they really deserve to dominate this collection. Nor are the Crane and London pieces their best.

But these are good stories, and the readers are excellent.

Five Stars

Beautiful and loved.