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Wool Omnibus
Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey Published: 2012 Narrated by: Amanda Sayle I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately. I was even on holiday last month and somehow managed to spend a week on a beach in Hawaii without reading a thing, which you wouldn’t even think was possible. Life’s been quite stressful these last couple of months, and I’ve been having a hell of a time concentrating on anything for more than a moment. I finished listening to Wool ages ago actually, before The Slump began, but I apparently forgot to write this post. Under normal circumstances, this is really not a forgettable book. It’s actually a…
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That’s What Bilbo Baggins Hates
Listen below to hear J.R.R. Tolkien sing That’s What Bilbo Baggins Hates. It’s neat to hear it from the man himself. Note: this might not show up on RSS feeds. [via] Chip the glasses and crack the plates! Blunt the knives and bend the forks! That’s what Bilbo Baggins hates— Smash the bottles and burn the corks! Cut the cloth and tread on the fat! Pour the milk on the pantry floor! Leave the bones on the bedroom mat! Splash the wine on every door! Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl; Pound them up with a thumping pole; And when you’ve finished if any are whole, Send them down…
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Stephen Fry on Language – Kinetic Typography
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Moab is My Washpot
Moab is My Washpot (audio) by Stephen Fry Published: 1997 Narrated by: Stephen Fry I’ve read a few articles here and there of Stephen Fry’s, but this is the first of his actual books, fiction or non-fiction, that I’ve read. Even so, I knew I was going to love it going in, as I’m already a huge fan of his. I’ve spent countless hours watching his comedy, documentaries, and interviews, and I can easily spend an evening listening to him give his opinions on any topic. He uses language in a way that can elevate fart jokes to fine art. This is his autobiography, covering the first twenty years of…
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William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize Speech
Here’s an excerpt from William Faulkner’s 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature acceptance speech, actually presented to him in 1950. An optimistic view of a writer’s duty. The full text is below. Ladies and gentlemen, I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work – a life’s work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before. So this award is only mine in trust. It will not be difficult to find a dedication for the money…
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A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Published: 1843 Narration: Tim Curry I expected to read a lot during the holidays. I was visiting my hometown, where I only really keep in touch with one friend, and I figured I’d be able to blast through quite a few books during my downtime, considering all of my time would be down. Unfortunately, I become obsessed with achieving Steam holiday objectives and barely read at all. I did get through a couple of books, though, and A Christmas Carol was one of them. I grew up watching the Alastair Sim version of A Christmas Carol nearly every year with my dad. It’s the…
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I Am Legend
I Am Legend (audio) by Richard Matheson Published: 1954 Firstly, I didn’t think the movie as was quite as bad as everyone made it out to be, but I can see where they’re coming from if they had read the book first. While it feels similar in atmosphere, it does differ in ways that reek somewhat of Hollywood tampering, and it ends up completely disregarding a fairly key point to the story. Robert Neville is a lone and immune survivor of a disease that turns people to vampires. His life is a tedious cycle of keeping the vampires at bay during the night and hunting them during the day. At…