SOLO Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott - rap

[FlamboyantOtter]

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, by Edwin A. Abbott (1838 - 1926)

In Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions—written by Edwin Abbott Abbott—readers are presented with a question. What if the world were flat? Well and truly flat, that is, with figures in place of humans as we would think of them. It takes this question, and pushes it further, asking about the natures of people, and society, as well as angles, lines, and the dimensions of space itself. It takes this question, and uses it to deliver insightfully political satire, and a surprising amount of mathematical education. (Summary by FlamboyantOtter)

Source text (please read only from this text!): https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/97

Target completion date: 2021-10-31

Prooflistening level: Standard
Prospective PLs, please see the Guide for Proof-listeners.

IMPORTANT - soloist, please note: in order to limit the number of languishing projects on our server, we ask that you post an update at least once a month in your project thread, even if you haven't recorded anything. If we don't hear from you for three months, your project may be opened up to a group project if a Book Coordinator is found. Files you have completed will be used in this project. If you haven't recorded anything yet, your project will be removed from the forum (contact any admin to see if it can be re-instated).

Please don't download or listen to files belonging to projects in process unless you are the BC or PL. Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!

Magic Window:

BC Admin
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Genres for the project: General Fiction/Published 1800 -1900; Satire; Non-fiction/Mathematics

Keywords that describe the book: satire, politics, adventure, science, society, war, geometry, quest, gender, math

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LibriVox recording settings: mono (1 channel), 44100 Hz sample rate, 128 kbps constant bit rate MP3. See the Tech Specs

Intro to recording:
Leave 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning.

For the first section, say:

"Section # of Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit librivox.org." [Optional: "Read by your name."] "Flatland, by Edwin A. Abbott. Section Title."

For the second and subsequent sections, you may use the shortened intro if you wish:

"Section # of Flatland, by Edwin A. Abbott. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain." [Optional: "Read by your name."] "Section Title."

End of recording:
Say:

"End of section #." [Optional, and if not stated in the intro: "Read by your name, city, date."]

If you are recording the final section of the book, add:

"End of Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, by Edwin A. Abbott."

Leave 5 seconds of silence at the end.

Filename: flatland_##_abbott_128kb.mp3 where ## is the section number. (e.g. flatland_01_abbott_128kb.mp3)

Upload to the LibriVox Uploader: https://librivox.org/login/uploader

MC to select: Rapunzelina

Copy and paste the file link generated by the uploader into the relevant Listen URL field in the Section Compiler, enter the duration in the Notes field, and post in this thread to let your PL and MC know that you have uploaded a file. You may also post the file link in the thread.

[FlamboyantOtter]

This is FlamboyantOtter. I read this book a short while ago, and thought that it might be fun to do a recording of (and I haven't done any solo recordings as of yet!).

Here are some notes I've made, with things I'm curious about.
I'm not sure if I put the right number of sections in; based on the 24 count, some of them might be less than 10 minutes. Additionally, there's a section that is called a "preface," but Gutenberg puts it at the end of the book. Based on its content, I think it works better at the end than it would at the beginning, but the other recording of the book puts it at the beginning. Finally, the main page on Gutenberg for the book calls it "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions," but all of the internal text just calls it "Flatland," so I'm not sure which should be used or how.

Those are just some of my concerns.
Thanks a lot.

Otter.

[Availle]

Hi, well chosen text!

As for the preface: Our first version was read from an 1884 text without preface; our second version has the preface at the beginning. It is a preface, not a postface and readers can skip it if they're not interested.

Number of sections: You can combine sections if you like. Most listeners like sections that are around 30 minutes long, but the author wrote it in short pieces for a reason. It's really up to you.

Title: The full title should go in the catalog, and in the intro of the first and the outro of the last section I think. In the shorter intros of the sections in between, I think it's okay if you abbreviate to "Flatland" only. The main text should be read as written, as usual.

Hope this helps.

[silverquill]

Well, one of my all time favorite books, so if you need a DPL, I would like to volunteer.

I'm not sure why the Gutenberg edition has the preface to the revised edition at the end.

One thing you can do is check Archive.org for an actual scan of the book. Here is one that I found:

https://archive.org/details/flatlandromanceo1884abbo/page/n5/mode/2up

There the preface is at the beginning. So other readers may have read from that scan. Archive also has scans of the original edition.

I also think it is important to include the "dedication" as it sets the tone for the book. In this case, I would have a Zero Section entitled preface and dedication, and read them in that order. Alternatively, you could include that "dedication" in Section One, I think, if you don't want it to get buried with the Preface. So, I see 22 sections in the actual book, and if you have a Zero section for the preface, that would be 23 by my count. You, as BC, can add sections, but only the MC can delete them.

As to the title. I would use the long title in the intro for the first section, then you could use just Flatland for the sections, and then the long title again at the end of the book. And, it's okay to have long and short sections since that is how it is written.

Oh, and for the title for the files to upload, definitely shorten it to flatland.

These are just one person's opinion, and the MC who picks this up may have further or different insights.

All the best!

PS: Looks as if Ava and I were responding at the same time. I'm just more long winded.
But, I think we're essentially on the same page with our comments. How about that?

[mightyfelix]

What a fun book! Do you know, I actually just finished reading it for the first time, yesterday, in fact!

I'll be happy to MC for you. I'll get your MW set up after coffee...

[mightyfelix]

Ok, everything should be set up for you. As this is your first solo, you'll need to create a login for the workflow. This is where you'll go to edit your MW, and it's a separate system from the forum. Here's how to set that up, as well as how to edit things once you're in.

I think that both Larry and Ava are right on with their suggestions. I've edited the disclaimers in the first post to reflect what I think is the best approach. I also think that the preface should be at the beginning. I don't know why Gutenberg put it at the end, but the original, as well as other later editions, has it at the beginning, and as Ava said, it is a Preface. I think it works well as a "teaser" for what you're about to encounter. If you like, we can make that preface (and dedication, if you like; I agree with Larry that it would be nice to include) section 0, so that chapter 1 remains section 1, etc. I personally like this approach. Let me know if you want to make that change. Also, as Larry said, if there are too many sections, I can delete the extra(s). I'd go ahead and fill in the section titles if I were you, to see how it works out. I've done the first couple for you.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, or if you have any trouble logging in.

[FlamboyantOtter]

Wow. Thanks to all three of you for replying! I also think that a preface section would be good at the start (maybe the uploader at Gutenberg thought it worked better at the end?), but I think I'll put the dedication with chapter 1.

In specific:

Well, one of my all time favorite books, so if you need a DPL, I would like to volunteer.

I don't know how setting that up works (or if anything needs to be set up?), but that would be great!

Ok, everything should be set up for you. As this is your first solo, you'll need to create a login for the workflow. This is where you'll go to edit your MW, and it's a separate system from the forum. Here's how to set that up, as well as how to edit things once you're in.

I think that both Larry and Ava are right on with their suggestions. I've edited the disclaimers in the first post to reflect what I think is the best approach. I also think that the preface should be at the beginning. I don't know why Gutenberg put it at the end, but the original, as well as other later editions, has it at the beginning, and as Ava said, it is a Preface. I think it works well as a "teaser" for what you're about to encounter. If you like, we can make that preface (and dedication, if you like; I agree with Larry that it would be nice to include) section 0, so that chapter 1 remains section 1, etc. I personally like this approach. Let me know if you want to make that change. Also, as Larry said, if there are too many sections, I can delete the extra(s). I'd go ahead and fill in the section titles if I were you, to see how it works out. I've done the first couple for you.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, or if you have any trouble logging in.

I filled out the other section titles, and left the last one blank, so that can get deleted.
Calling the preface "section 0" would probably be best, so please do that.
So I guess I'll start then!

PS. I've never done book coordinating before (but I did read through the tutorials), so if there's anything I'm messing up, please let me know.

[mightyfelix]

Ok, everything looks good from here, and I've tidied up the MW, so I'll take us over to Going Solo!

[FlamboyantOtter]

Section 0 is uploaded and ready for PL.

[silverquill]

Section 0 is uploaded and ready for PL.

I'll do the full PL this evening, but right away I see a major issue -- the volume. When I opened this in Audacity, I saw solid blue with a lot of clipping. The actual volume comes in at a huge 96.4 dB. Our target is 89 dB with a range of 86-91 db. Since this is a logarithmic scale, this is way over the top. I think you have the input gain too high. You can see the flattened tops of the wave form, which means part of the audio is clipped off. You can amplify this down, but you're still going to lose some of the audio. It is best to play around with the audio input and your recording set-up to get a raw recording a little closer to the target, then you can make minor adjustments. You may need to back off a little from the mike.

Second, instead of reading this as "Section Zero," Just read it as "Preface . . . " and "end of Preface . . . " That is what we usually do, and it sounds a lot better. Just my suggestion.

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Here are two programs that I use to adjust the volume of recordings:

1. CHECKER
https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php?title=Checker

This little program was written specifically for LibriVox, and is very easy to use.
Just drag your file to the Checker window, and it will quickly check it for all LibriVox specifications and give you a report.

One of the measurements is the volume in decibels. Use the Amplify feature under the Effect menu in Audacity to adjust the volume, by setting the value to plus or minus to bring the recording close to the LV target of 89 dB.

2. ReplayGain
https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php?title=Measuring_Volume_within_Audacity

This article will introduce you to ReplayGain, which is a plugin specifically for Audacity. There is a link to download it and a link to a tutorial on how to use it. Once installed, it is easy to use. Depending on your version of Audacity, it will appear either in the Analyze menu or the Effects menu. ReplayGain can be selected to analyze the recording, giving a reading of how many decibels, plus or minus, that the recording is off from the target. It is then easy to use the Audacity Amplify feature to make the adjustment before exporting the file.

[silverquill]

Okay, I was able to grab a few extra minutes to listen to this after amping it down. There reading is just fine.
So, you can make the volume adjustment and listen to it. If you're satisfied with the audio quality then it's good to go since it is your solo. But with the amount of clipping, you might consider a redo. I'm just the listener.

[FlamboyantOtter]

Okay, I was able to grab a few extra minutes to listen to this after amping it down. There reading is just fine.
So, you can make the volume adjustment and listen to it. If you're satisfied with the audio quality then it's good to go since it is your solo. But with the amount of clipping, you might consider a redo. I'm just the listener.

I went back and listened to the raw file, and it didn't have any clipping in it. It turns out that I'd just gone a bit crazy with compression and limiting (without making sure to prevent it from going over -0). I reedited it, along with changing "section 0" out for "preface."

So I guess it's good now. Thanks!

[FlamboyantOtter]

Next time I'll remember to make a separate file once I'm done the rough edit.

[silverquill]

You nailed it!
PL OK

[FlamboyantOtter]

Section 1 is uploaded.