Midsummer in Annapolis - Hello All!

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JBSDramaking
Posts: 1
Joined: July 20th, 2017, 11:41 am

Post by JBSDramaking »

Introduction - This is my first post to the Forum. Hello from a guy who's always wanted to read books aloud. I'd like to do some of the novels I grew up and fed my English major brain with. I don't know if Hemingway is off-limits, but I think a lot can be done with the ennui and strong personalities of his characters. This is the very first forum I've ever posted to, come to think of it... I have the temerity to believe I'm good at characterization in dramatic readings, and I also have a good ear for dialect. I also speak Spanish.

When a reader is skilled, characters can live in memory for a long time. One of the best readings for me was Tom Wolfe's 'Bonfire of the Vanities" as read by John Lithgow. Mr. Lithgow has a tremendous talent for different characterizations. Just FYI, I consider the opening paragraphs of Tom Wolfe's novel, as read by Mr. Lithgow, a masterwork of vocal interpretation. Listen sometime to just that first flurry of language, and you'll probably see what I mean.

I also love Children's books - my grown daughters and granddaughters love being read to, and now that my daughters have girls of their own, I'm still reading Beverly Cleary's adventures of Fudge Hatcher. They love it the first and each successive time I get into the characters of Fudge himself, Fudge's older brother Peter, and all the nutty but perfectly plausible situations of the Hatcher family. Again, this might be prohibited by copyright stuff, but I will read whatever I'm legally permitted to.

Thanks for this: It's an outlet I never thought I'd have access to.

Jeff
Lynnet
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 33333
Joined: September 16th, 2012, 7:07 pm
Location: In the desert

Post by Lynnet »

Hi and welcome.
The best starting point is submitting a one minute test and the team there will guide you on getting your setup right. http://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/1-Minute_Test There is no need for an expensive mic... a decent USB mic can be bought for about $20 on Amazon. Of course, you can pay a lot more for a better one, but best to see if you enjoy recording before forking out :D

When you start, it is best to read a chapter or two of established projects, but once you are familiar with the site and the process, you can branch out to any Public Domain text that interests you. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Hemmingway's work was published after 1922 - which means it is not Public Domain in the U.S. so we are unable to use it.
You also mention children's works -- that is a great starting point, since children's work tend to be easier to read, with simpler language and sentence structure. They're also usually short 8-) Just look for titles with KIDS in the subject line in the Readers Wanted forums.
Lynne
ToddHW
LibriVox Admin Team
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Joined: August 14th, 2011, 4:24 am
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Post by ToddHW »

Assuming you mean Annapolis MD, I work there and though I now live in Baltimore (and commute) I lived in Annapolis for 30 years.

I have been caught up in the dramas here as you might be able to tell from my signature line. The idea that I can play a role without standing up in front of a bunch a strangers in a funny costume or having to memorize all the lines is very liberating. Though my neighbors might have some other words to say about hearing me record a bawdy play on a quiet Sunday morning....

Enjoy, Todd
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