COMPLETE: [grp] The Book of Cats by Charles H. Ross - dii

[ShiNeko]

The Book of Cats by Charles Henry Ross (1835 - 1897).

All files can be downloaded from our catalogue page here: https://librivox.org/the-book-of-cats-by-charles-henry-ross/

One day, ever so long ago, it struck me that I should like to try and write a book about Cats. I mentioned the idea to some of my friends: the first burst out laughing at the end of my opening sentence, so I refrained from entering into further details. The second said there were a hundred books about Cats already. The third said, “Nobody would read it,” and added, “Besides, what do you know of the subject?” and before I had time to begin to tell him, said he expected it was very little. “Why not Dogs?” asked one friend of mine, hitting upon the notion as though by inspiration. “Or Horses,” said some one else; “or Pigs; or, look here, this is the finest notion of all:—

‘THE BOOK OF DONKIES,
BY ONE OF THE FAMILY!’”

Somewhat disheartened by the reception my little project had met with, I gave up the idea for awhile, and went to work upon other things. I cannot exactly remember what I did, or how much, but my book about Cats was postponed sine die, and in the meantime I made some inquiries.

I hope I have not been very prosy, and I hope, in the somewhat large collection of Cat anecdotes here brought together, “the only one worth the trouble of relating” has not been omitted. If this has been the case, allow me to assure you it has not been because I have spared any trouble in gathering together my materials. (C.H.Ross)

• 1. How to claim a part, and "how it all works" here To find a section to record, simply look at point 5. below at the sections. All the ones without names beside them are "up for grabs." Click "Post reply" at the top left of the screen and tell us which section you would like to read (include the section number from the left-most column in the reader list, please). Read points 6. to 8. below for what to do before, during and after your recording.
  2. New to recording? Please read our Newbie Guide to Recording!
  3. Is there a deadline? We ask that you submit your recorded sections within 1-2 months of placing your claim. Please note that to be fair to the readers who have completed their sections in a timely way, if you haven't submitted your recording(s) after two months, your sections will automatically be re-opened for other readers to claim, unless you post in this thread to request an extension. Extensions will be granted at the discretion of the Book Coordinator. If you cannot do your section, for whatever reason, just let me know and it'll go back to the pool. There's no shame in this; we're all volunteers and things happen.Please do not sign up for more sections than you can complete within the two month deadline.
  4. Where do I find the text? Source text (please only read from this text!): http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43790
  5. Please claim sections (the numbers in the first column below)! If this is your first recording, please let me know under which name or pseudonym you'd like to appear in the LibriVox catalogue. We can also link to a personal website/blog.
     
     Prospective Prooflisteners: Please read the Listeners Wanted FAQ before listening! Level of prooflistening requested: standard
     
     
     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
     Genres for the project: Non-fiction/Animals
     
     Keywords that describe the book: Ross, cat, animals
     
     ============================================
  6. BEFORE recording: Please check the Recording Notes: http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6427#6430
     
     Set your recording software to:
     Channels: 1 (Mono)
     Bit Rate: 128 kbps
     Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz
  7. DURING recording:
     No more than 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the recording!
     Make sure you add this to the beginning of your recording:
     START of recording (Intro)
     • "Chapter [number] of The Book of Cats. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit: librivox DOT org"
     • If you wish, say: "Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
     • Say:
       "The Book of Cats, by Charles Henry Ross. [Chapter]"
     
     END of recording
     • At the end of the section, say:
       "End of [Chapter]"
     • If you wish, say:
       "Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
     • At the end of the book, say (in addition):
       "End of The Book of Cats, by Charles Henry Ross. "
     
     There should be 5 seconds silence at the end of the recording, or 10 seconds for files longer than 30 minutes.
     
     Please remember to check this thread frequently for updates!
  8. AFTER recording
     Need noise-cleaning?
     Listen to your file through headphones. If you can hear some constant background noise (hiss/buzz), you may want to clean it up a bit. The new (free) version 1.3.3. of Audacity has much improved noise-cleaning. See this LibriVox wiki page for a complete guide.
     Save files as
     128 kbps MP3
     bookofcats_##_ross_128kb.mp3 (all lower-case) where ## is the section number (e.g. bookofcats_01_ross_128kb.mp3)
  9. Example ID3 V2 tags
     (To find out more about ID3 tags, go to our wiki: http://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/What_is_ID3)
     Add the following tags to your .mp3 file (how you do this depends on which software you use – if you are unsure about ID3 tags, send me a message). Please mind upper and lower case!
     Artist: Charles Henry Ross
     Title: ## - [Section title]
     Album: The Book of Cats
     
     Please ignore tags for Genre and Track Number - these will be filled in automatically at the cataloguing stage.
     Transfer of files (completed recordings) Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file. Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.
     • Upload your file with the LibriVox Uploader: http://librivox.org/login/uploader
       
       (If you have trouble reading the image above, please message an admin)
     • You'll need to select the MC, which for this project is: dii - dii
     • When your upload is complete, you will receive a link - please post it in this thread.
     • If this doesn't work, or you have questions, please check our How To Send Your Recording wiki page.
     
     
     
     Any questions?
     Please post below

[dii]

Hi Nastya,

I'll MC this for you. Will be back with the MW soon!

And MW is up!

[ShiNeko]

Thank you, Diana! The MW is set up.

[dii]

Great, I'll move us to Readers Wanted!

[krzys]

Hi,

I'd like to claim sections one and two.

[ShiNeko]

I'd like to claim sections one and two.

Hi! Thank you for your claims! You can now find your catalog here: http://librivox.org/reader/8758 . Or just click on your nickname in the MW. Good luck!

[krzys]

Well, I think I underestimated my possibilities, or overestimated the time it takes to record a section. Either way, I'd like to claim sections 3 and 4.

Here is section 1:
URL: http://librivox.org/uploads/dii/bookofcats_01_ross_128kb.mp3
duration: 12:31

[ShiNeko]

Well, I think I underestimated my possibilities, or overestimated the time it takes to record a section. Either way, I'd like to claim sections 3 and 4.

Here is section 1:
URL: http://librivox.org/uploads/dii/bookofcats_01_ross_128kb.mp3
duration: 12:31

Thanks! Well, I can't tell I read bad in English so it takes me some time to record.

[ShiNeko]

Krzysztof
About section 1.
Thanks for your recording. You did a great job! Here are some PL notes:
The Volume is a bit low: 86.5 dB (you can check it with Checker). Can you please amplify it ? We aim for 89 dB but it is ok for 88-91dB. How to make volume lower (or higher) in Audicity you can find in this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ALT9v5RXqQ

Also after amplifying the volume you might get the noise louder too. If it is too loud you can try noise cleaning. Select a short selection of background noise only (no speech, you can use that 5 sec silence at the end of the recording), then click Effect | Noise Removal and Get Noise Profile.

Then select the whole recording (Ctrl+A), click Effect | Noise Removal again. I use the following settings:

Noise reduction: 7 dB
Sensitivity: 0 dB
Frequency smoothing: 150 Hz
Attack/decay: 0.1

Here are some other noise cleaning resources:
text instructions: http://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/Noisecleaning_With_Pics
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFSg9o37HMw

Also
0:53 stumble/repeat like "to-to begin"

If you have questions you can ask freely. Good luck!

[krzys]

Thanks for PL-ing, ShiNeko!

I removed the stumble from 0:53. I also amplified and ran noise removal. Actually, I did both before uploading the original, so there wasn't much noise to clean this time. As for amplification, I had to use amplify to decrease volume on certain words first, in order to amplify the whole without clipping. Worked well, I think.

http://librivox.org/uploads/dii/bookofcats_01_ross_128kb.mp3
running time still the same (12:31, the deleted fragment was very small).

[krzys]

here is the second section. I finally installed Checker and the file passed strict validation: volume level at 86.4, noise at 32.

URL: http://librivox.org/uploads/dii/bookofcats_02_ross_128kb.mp3
duration: 20:50

this is a funny book, I have to say. I really like it and I'm glad I found out about it - thank you!

[ShiNeko]

here is the second section. I finally installed Checker and the file passed strict validation: volume level at 86.4, noise at 32.
...
this is a funny book, I have to say. I really like it and I'm glad I found out about it - thank you!

Thank you! If the volume is at 86.4 dB, though it passed, you still better amplify it because we aim for 89-91 dB.

PS I'm glad you liked it.

[krzys]

Sorry, I was so thrilled that Checker accepted my file that I forgot to check with the first post again
Anyway, I uploaded again, Checker says 89.2 this time. Had to de-amplify in a couple of places to avoid clipping. Noise still below -72dB in the plot spectrum.

[ShiNeko]

Section 1 PL OK! I'm sorry it took quite time.

[ShiNeko]

Sorry, I was so thrilled that Checker accepted my file that I forgot to check with the first post again
Anyway, I uploaded again, Checker says 89.2 this time. Had to de-amplify in a couple of places to avoid clipping. Noise still below -72dB in the plot spectrum.

Thanks for your work! I hope I'll PL section 2 this week.