Snoozecast

Tonight, we’ll read from Grimms' Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm titled “The Valiant Little Tailor.” This episode originally aired in July of 2021.

In this story, the tailor starts out having achieved a very small feat and ends up a hero.

— read by V —

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Tonight, we’ll read from “The New Royal Cook Book by Royal Baking Powder Co.” published in 1920.

When the first truly American cookbook was published in 1792, the recipes included used three possible types of leavening: baker's yeast, emptins (from the leavings of brewing beer), and pearlash.

The effectiveness of such leavenings varied widely. At that time, reliable commercial products were not available.

The creation of shelf-stable chemical combinations of sodium bicarbonate and cream of tartar is seen as marking the true introduction of baking powder later in the 1800s. Although cooks had used both sodium bicarbonate and cream of tartar previously in recipes, they had to purchase the ingredients individually from chemists and store them separately to prevent them from reacting prematurely.

Regardless of the expiration date, the effectiveness can be tested by placing a teaspoon of the powder into a small container of hot water. If it bubbles vigorously, it is still active and usable.

— read by N —

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Tonight, we shall read the next part to “Pride and Prejudice”, written by Jane Austen.

In the last episode, Lydia and Wickham arrive at Longbourn. Lydia is giddy over her marriage, mocking her older sisters for failing to get married before she did. While gloating about the details of her wedding, Lydia reveals to Elizabeth that Darcy attended the ceremony. Lydia quickly apologizes: it was supposed to be a secret. Elizabeth burns with curiosity and writes to Mrs. Gardiner for more details.

— read by V —

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Tonight, we’ll read an excerpt from “The Great Gatsby,” a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan. This episode first aired in June of 2021.

The novel was inspired by youthful romance and riotous parties the author had recently experienced.

“The Great Gatsby” was a commercial failure that many critics thought was sub-par to Fitzgerald’s previous work. Now, it is widely considered to be a literary masterwork and a contender for the title of the Great American Novel.

— read by V —

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Tonight, we’ll read from Dorothy Wordsworth’s personal journal, which she kept the year 1798. It was published a century later in 1897.

Wordsworth was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had no ambitions to be a public author, yet she left behind numerous letters, diary entries, topographical descriptions, poems, and other writings.

Dorothy Wordsworth's works came to light just as literary critics were beginning to re-examine women's role in literature. Her observations and descriptions have been considered to be as poetic if not more so than those of her brother.

If you enjoy this episode, please look for our other episode featuring this author titled “First Steps | A Scottish Tour” that we rebroadcast on January of 2023

— read by V —

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Tonight, we’ll read the next part to “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne.

In the last episode, electricity temporarily fails on the submarine, and the captives onboard are enchanted at the view of bioluminescent marine life surrounding them in the dark. Later, Captain Nemo spies something that disturbs him at a distance. In response, he apparently slips a sleeping potion into the captives breakfast so that they sleep deeply through the disturbance.

— read by N —

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Tonight, we’ll read a story called “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” from “The Arabian Nights: Their Best-known Tales” by Smith, Wiggin, and Parrish. It has become one of the most familiar of the "Arabian Nights" tales, and is where the phrase “Open, Sesame!” comes from.

This folk tale was added to the “One Thousand and One Nights” anthology in the 18th century by its French translator. This translator heard it from a Syrian storyteller who travelled to Paris.

This episode originally aired in June of 2021.

— read by V —

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Tonight, we’ll read the opening to the humorous short story “An Experiment in Gyro-Hats” written by Ellis Parker Butler and published in 1910.

Butler was a prolific American writer, although his writing was mostly a part-time endeavor for him as he was also a banker. Butler was also known as an always-present force in the New York City literary scene.

A gyroscope is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation. It is a spinning disc in which the axis of rotation is free to assume any orientation by itself.

While in this story a gyroscope is used in a hat, real life applications include the Hubble telescope, submarines, and smartphones.

— read by V —

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Tonight, we’ll read the fourth chapter to “Anne of Green Gables” the classic 1908 novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. This chapter is titled “Morning at Green Gables.”

Written for all ages, this book recounts the adventures of an eleven year old orphan named Anne Shirley on Prince Edward Island, Canada.

In the last episode, we learn that Marilla, unlike her brother Matthew, does not shrink from voicing her surprise upon seeing a girl orphan, instead of a boy, at her front door. As the Cuthberts talk about Mrs. Spencer’s mistake, Anne realizes she is not wanted.

— read by N —

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Tonight, for our 700th episode, we’ll read excerpts from “The Myrtle Reed Cook Book” written by Myrtle Reed and published in 1916. Reed was an American author, poet, journalist, and philanthropist. She was a diagnosed insomniac with prescribed sleeping potions, called sleeping drafts in her day. This episode originally aired in June of 2021.

— read by V —

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