We Are Deep In the Heart of Texas

Nomadic seasons of farming adventures with nature thrown in to include; a pinch of family, snippets of friends, counting our blessings, paying IT forward, home school, and the spicy things I decide to rant about.















Sunday, June 19, 2011

Free Audiobooks, Yes I Said Free

As ya'll know, we have a son with dysexlia and Irlens.  Basically this means not only does he flip letters and symbols but, print moves on the page which makes reading a gut wrenching task. So I have a slow reader. Not only does Saenz has issues with reading but, the menfolk in my family do not like to pick up books. 

Well if the Mohammed does not want to read the proverbial mountain of educational tomes -- then this is a way to bring the mountain to Mohammed. 

My search began and sent me browsing eBay in search of books on audio tapes or cds in MP3 player format.  Normal audio books are pricey even if purchased used or from a person who got them for free from a library. 

I found a seller offering 233 classics for sale in MP3 zipped format on cd.  Yeppers, I made an offer and 'dude/dudette;' ignored my inquiry since Friday.  Now I hate to be ignored thus, I went searching.  What I did notice after reading the seller's description he/she told 'potential' customers the books were offered for free in the public domain.

Here is what I found gentle readers and I will pass this on to you. 

http://www.openculture.com/freeaudiobooks
http://www.librivox.net/

Some examples are:

A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child's History of England, A House to Let or A Christmas Carolby Charles Dickens; A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, A Double Barreled Detective Story or A Dog's Tale by Mark Twain; A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare; A Story of the Stone Age by H. G. Wells; A Tangled Tale by Lewis Carroll; A Utopia of Usurers by Gilbert K Chesterton; Aeropagitica by John Milton; Aesop’s Fables Volumes 1-12 by Aesop


These books are offered in a zipped format and have to be loaded onto your computer. However once you download your choices; unzip and burn to cd, mp3 player, or whatever compatible device you own.  Yes, some file formats can be converted as well.  So on this lovely Father's Day weekend; I am downloading books but, am not tied to my computer.  In the next few weeks Saenz and the rest of us will be listening to literary classics while going about our daily life. 

(Oh, there are also free books for the NOOK and Kindle.  All you have to do is a search and WAAA LAAA; a world of classic literature is yours for the download.)

Now onto more exciting farm news. 

Thanks Sid for coming down this weekend.  We enjoyed your visit as always.  Dad just loves to put you to work around the place because well; you have the potential to be a work-a-holic like him. Haa Haa!  We appreciate you helping to install the attic ladder in the 110+ temp and with back room cleanup.  Many many thanks! Please come on by any time because we love your stories and funny immitations; you should be in the theatre.

This Wednesday, hubby and I were working together in the yard.  Normally Cubby Bear would be outside with us but, he had some kind of stomach bug and stayed inside. Dad was watering the critters and I was gathering mesquite beans.  So Hubby came over to help me and Banjo when, we heard a familiar and frightening sound.  Little Banjo had disovered a 4' diamondback in our yard.  Right next to the a/c unit; what a scary event and, the slithering mouth of venom crawled under a gap beneath the front porch.  I can not remembered shaking so hard since, finding other critters face to face.  There is just something about a mouth of angry venom staring you down to make you say a prayer for deliverance.

We were very lucky because normally Cubby Bear has Banjo chase him around the yard holding a hot dog as a form of entertainment while, we do our work.  All I can say is a resounding "THANK YOU," to the universe and God for sparing us any snake bite.  This reminds me; we still need to zip tie more deer netting to all our inner fence to keep those buggers from coming into our yard.  With the extreme drought, we are so fortunate with critters looking for a drink of water not to have just migratory flocks of snakes running the yard. 

May all who pass have a wonderful weekend.  Spend time thanking your fathers, remembering them, and offering a little prayer to Him above.

Peace and send rain our way,
Mal

3 comments:

Texan said...

Free audio books, well how cool is that!

Oh girly I totally agree with you on the slithering creatures. I so hate them, and sadly I feel that way about them all. I don't care if they are deadly or not. I just can't stand them.

tlryder said...

My daughter has astigmatism, so reading sometimes gives her a headache even when she wears her glasses. She loves audio books! Thanks for the links. :)

Nekkid Chicken said...

Texan, I find it extremely exciting to find such a treat as free anything. I respect others feelings about snakes. I am sure if I had a gun at that time; it would be hanging dead on a tree limb somewhere. I don't like the idea of the boys stepping on one of those. Though I do teach them to leave the non-dangerous ones alone. Have a great weekend!

Take care,
Mal

T.L. Ryder,

I hope you find the books your daughter would enjoy. I used to love being read to as a child so, I will be exploring the mess out of both sites the next few months. Thanks for stopping by,
Mal