John Gielgud - The Voice of Poetry

Sure Gielgud is one of the best actors to have ever delivered a sonnet by Shakespeare. But how is he at just reciting non-Willam penned poetry? Pretty great as well actually.

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John Gielgud - Gielgud's Letters

Alot of times a biography in the form of letters left behind by the person in question is very often more interesting than what some biographer could scrape together. This is absolutely the case here as Gielgud was frightfully funny and lengthy in his correspondence. Great look into a giant of an actor...also, its read by none other than Derek Jacobi.

we
are not
worthy!

Michael Caine - What's It All About

I'm pretty certain that Michael Caine doesn't require an introduction. As such this is pretty self-explanatory post; highly entertaining autobiography of the man read by Caine.

Get Carter

Sean Connery reads

Sadly this is not a full book but only one poem entitled Ithaca which also features music by Vangelis. Makes for a pretty inspiring piece to wake up to.

Zardoz

Roald Dahl - Boy: Tales of Childhood

The imitable Derek Jacobi reads this very funny 'autobiography' of Roald Dahl and the many hardships he endured as a boy. Very excellent look into a fascinating childhood.

part I
part II

Roald Dahl - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

No comment on the two film adaptations of this work except to say that fans of Monty Python may find this version the best as its read by none other than some guy who goes by the name of Eric Idle.

...she got better

Graham Chapman - A Liar's Autobiography

And now for something completely different..

a newt?

Samuel Beckett - Waiting For Godot

Yes that is Gandalf and Picard. Could this mean that this is the amazing current stage adaptation they are doing together?! Sadly no. However, should anyone see it and manage to bootleg a copy let me know. ^_^

Anyhow this fine BBC radio production about this tale of two tramps is a great listen....at least until it ends and you realize that seeing a adaptation by MacKellen & Stewart would be akin to reading a book with the light of a Silmaril.

*sigh*

Waiting for Godot

Clifford D. Simak - Way Station

Enoch Wallace, an American Civil War veteran, is chosen by an alien called Ulysses to administer a way station for interplanetary travel. Wallace is the only human being who knows of the existence of these aliens, until almost a hundred years later, when the US government becomes aware of and suspicious about his failure to age or die..

part 1
part 2

Anderson, Coblentz & Smith - A Galaxy Trilogy

A Galaxy Trilogy is a collection of three influential works of sci-fi which were pillars of the genre before the great three came along to re-invent the wheel.

"These were three giants of my youth and none have been better yet." - H. Ellison

Anderson
Bruford
Wakeman
Howe?

Arthur C. Clarke reads 2001 (final chapters)

Thnanks to the Mountains blog for this rare gem. Clarke himself reads the final chapters of 2001 and like the previous post, this recording is a wonderful listen.

And if you haven't ever seen Clarke's last message, I highly recommend that you check it out.

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Homer - The Odyssey

"Come hither my young Took and you shall hear yet another old tale of a man who crossed the sea long before Eärendil made his own perilous journey.."

read by Sir Ian McKellen

~fixed tracks~

William Shakespeare - The Tempest

Full-cast production of The Tempest featuring voice talent of Gandalf the Grey aka Mithrandir aka The White Rider aka Stormcrow aka Incánus aka Tharkûn aka Gandalf Greyhame aka Gandalf the White aka Lathspell aka Olórin aka Sir Ian McKellen.

you SHALL pass?

William Shakespeare - Hamlet

To me, Kenneth Branagh is the Hansi Kürsch of Shakespearean actors and that passion he brings out often translates into some of the very best Shakespeare adaptations. His four-hour version of Hamlet is a personal favorite of mine and this Renaissance Theatre production has around 50% of the same cast (Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Judi Dench, John Gielgud) that was in the film and that alone makes this an essential recording. The additional music by composer Patrick Doyle is icing on a already first-rate cake.

To Be or Not...

A Complete History of The Vikings

For those seeking a less modern history look no further. This is a professional lecture series that is broken up into 36 thirty-minute lectures by the esteemed Prof. Kenneth Hall who covers the entire history of the Vikings and everything imaginable thing related to their history/culture. A great series.

here be epic

Howard Zinn - A People's History of the United States: Highlights from the 20th Century

With this book historian Howard Zinn gives his fix to the traditional "top down" account of US History that many have been instilled with since childhood and which often omits many unpleasant truths about America's past. The book itself is narrated by Matt Damon as when he grew up Howard Zinn happened to be his neighbor and they grew to be friends. In sum, a non-stuffy and eye-opening account of US history.

U S A # 1 ?

Richard Feynman - Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

In case one does not know, Richard Feynman was one of the premier physicists of our time; Nobel prize winner, participant of the Manhattan project, a key founder of quantum mechanics, etc. He is also a brilliantly funny man and this book goes into his life, his love of physics, and just about everything in-between. A terrific look into a giant.

one
dos
III
4

Michael Shermer - Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time

Dedicated to Carl Sagan, with a foreword by Stephen Jay Gould, this book by the publisher of Skeptic magazine and the Director of the Skeptics Lecture Series at California Institute of Technology, comes with quite the pedigree. Throughout the book, errors in thinking that lead people to believe weird & unsubstantiated things, especially the built-in human need to see patterns (even where there is no pattern to be seen) are given the rational look over by Shermer. As he states, "Skepticism does not need to be cynicism."

Spock-approved

Henning Mankell - Faceless Killers

Is that legendary British actor David Warner's head? Is it to be assumed that it is he who reads this story in that usual David 'make-every-syllable-sound-malicious' Warner tone of his? Yes, I am happy to report it is so. The story itself couldn't be more appropriate as it is a Swedish murder story involving a divorced middle-aged detective who indulges in too much opera and liquor until a murder on a small farm rouses him to take up his crime-solving techniques once again.

As a bonus, I included a recording of Warner reading a short piece by Edgar Allen Poe.

"concentrated
Evil"

J. M. Barrie - Peter Pan

This is Peter Pan being read by none other than Dr. Frank-N-Furter himself (Tim Curry) who did a great job of doing Captain Hook back from back in the day and now brings everything full-circle with this Currytastic adaptation.

Captain
Curry

J.R.R. Tolkien - Roverandom

In 1925, while on vacation with his family on the Yorkshire coast, four-year-old Michael Tolkien lost his favorite toy, a little lead dog he was reluctant to put down even to dig in the sand. To console and distract him, his father, J. R. R. Tolkien, improvised a story - the story of Rover, a real dog magically transformed into a toy, who, after many fantastic adventures in search of the wizard who wronged him, at last wins back his life. This charming tale, peopled by a wise old whale and a terrible dragon, by the king of the sea and the Man-in-the-Moon, was a Tolkien family favorite, going through several typewritten drafts over many years.

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J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit (1974)

~new & much higher quality recording (including chaptermarks & artwork)~

Out-of-print audiobook whose adaptation was authorized by professor Tolkien himself, this was originally put out in 1974 as a boxed set of LPs. In my view, this is pretty much the best adaptation of The Hobbit ever, rivaling even the terrific animated film adaptation. It owes its greatness to the wonderful music and simply amazing voice work of Nicol Williamson, who may be better known to some as Merlin from the film Excalibur. If there were a Criterion Collection for audiobooks, this would surely be be one of the first titles.

part I
part II

James Blish - A Case of Conscience

A Case of Conscience won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1959. And for good reason.

Recommended if you like Philip K. Dick

part I
part II

Star Trek: VOY - The Hologram's Handbook

Do you sometimes feel that you're the only intelligent one in the room? Does the everyday "simplicity" of your fellows scream out to you? Do you ever feel that everything would fly apart at the seams if not for your presence?

We all know how difficult it can be to deal with the solids in our lives, but no one knows that better than I. You see, I have spent seven years tirelessly serving aboard the Starship Voyager as chief medical officer, to name just my primary assignment; enumerating all the others would require another tome. Let me help you cope with the three-dimensional being in your life.

Please state the nature...

Kate Mulgrew - Tea At Five

1 woman play as told from the perspective of Katherine Hepburn who is brilliantly brought to life by none other than Captain Janeway. Wonderful monologue and I very highly recommended it...and no, i'm not just saying that to be polite.

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