Audio Books Can Be Fun
Enjoying a good audio book depends a lot on the interpretation of the storyline by the narrator.
And, thankfully the quality of audio books is generally excellent.
It is true to say that some books do not lend themselves to the spoken word and can be dreary, difficult to follow and if they contain many characters, the narrator may not be able to portray them properly. Not too long ago I downloaded an account of the American Civil War but because of the many place names, dates etc… I eventually gave up on it. Often you need to refer to a map to make sense of the storyline.
On the other hand there are many genres which were meant to be recorded and listened to on iPods or MP3 players. And, for those who are game for a laugh, there are many radio recording of classic comedy show audio books like Beyond Our Ken now available as an MP3 download. These comedy shows are evergreen and are well worth listening to again and again. Who can ever forget Manuel “I’m from Barcelona.” in the Fawlty Towers series.
And, for the students among us there is a wide choice of classic novels, which are on the school curriculum, ready and waiting for their iPods. In addition, there is also a series of audio book articles and notes being published which explain the context of these novels.
I remember many years ago trying to read Macbeth by William Shakespeare and having lots of trouble trying to retain an interest. My teacher suggested that we should attend an amateur production of the play at a local theatre and, I surprised myself how much I enjoyed it, and understood it much better.
Many of these productions include well known character actors of film and radio. When sound effects and music are added to the mix, this makes the listening experience all the more enjoyable.
I read stories these days of commuters getting stuck in traffic for many hours. The audiobook would make an ideal traveling companion instead of listening to all the gloom and doom on the radio. I’m sure many of us would like to have the time to read more, but with the pace of life increasing this does not seem possible. Well, think again. How much time is wasted in the car, bus, train or at the airport?
There is a category of audiobooks which I think is badly overlooked, and that is the study of languages. This is one area where these books on audio excel themselves. The main languages are broken down into several parts, and range from easy phrases to more complicated conversations. The big benefit is that the narration is done by native speakers, and so the problem of correct pronunciation is eliminated.
£43000 Book bench architect & William Shakespeare
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PLIT2A-00100 Photo Mugs Title page of Shakespeares Sonnets, London, 1609, first edition. Woodcut reproduction witih a watercolor wash…. |
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Shakespeare/grammar Schl Photo Mugs WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Grammar School at Stratford-upon-Avon where he studied as a boy…. |
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Ran (StudioCanal Collection) [Blu-ray] $20.44 Akira Kurosawa’s spellbinding transposition of “King Lear” to feudal Japan chronicles Lord Hidetora’s attempt to pass down his kingdom to his sons, which results in its violent and chaotic downfall. Tatsuya Nakadai stars, with Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu and Daisuke Ryu as his sons, and Mieko Harada as ruthless Lady Kaede. 162 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital … |
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10 Things I Hate About You [VHS] $4.75 It’s, like, Shakespeare, man! This good-natured and likeable update of The Taming of the Shrew takes the basics of Shakespeare’s farce about a surly wench and the man who tries to win her and transfers it to modern-day Padua High School. Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles) is a sullen, forbidding riot grrrl who has a blistering word for everyone; her sunny younger sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is poised… |
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Midsummer Night’s Dream [VHS] $1.98 Product Details Actors: Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Stanley Tucci, Calista Flockhart Directors: Michael Hoffman Writers: Michael Hoffman, William Shakespeare Producers: Michael Hoffman, Ann Wingate, Arnon Milchan, Leslie Urdang, Nigel Goldsack Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC Language: English, Italian Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Number of tapes: 1 S… |
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West Side Story: 50th Anniversary Edition Box Set [Blu-ray] $28.95 Leonard Bernstein’s classic street-wise musical, a modern-day “Romeo and Juliet,” stars Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood as doomed lovers caught up in the violence of rival street gangs. Co-stars Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn, Simon Oakland. Songs include “Maria,” “Somewhere,” “I Feel Pretty,” “Something’s Coming.” Winner of 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture; co-directed by Robert Wise and Jero… |
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Romeo & Juliet $2.71 Director Franco Zeffirelli’s exceptional version of Shakespeare’s immortal tale casts young unknowns Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting as the teenage lovers crossed by the stars and doomed by the animosity felt between their families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Co-stars Michael York, Milo O’Shea, John McEnery; narrated by Laurence Olivier. 138 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English D… |
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William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet $7.11 Director Baz Luhrmann’s audacious, stylized updating of the Bard’s timeless romance shifts the setting to modern-day Verona Beach, where two brutal crime families, the Montagues and the Capulets, vie for power. Amid the violence, teenagers Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes meet and fall in love, but their parents’ bitter rivalry leads to tragedy all around. Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Pete Pos… |
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WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE IMAGE COOL TEE SHIRT … |
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Shakespeare – The Board Game $22.04 As a Elizabethan theater entrepreneur in the early 1600′s, your goal is to “pack the house”. In particular, the chase is on to acquire scripts from the greatest living playwright of the time, Will Shakespeare. To stage these extraordinary dramas, you will need to form a company of actors, acquire all the props that the play requires, find a patron, and acquire large sums of money to enable these p… |