greetings

[swimaster2]

greetings from the west coast north of the 49th.

i am recently retired from teaching and have listened to librivox, on the side, for a number of years. while commuting to work i would listen to professionally read books-on-tape from the local library and always appreciated a good storyteller. however, since discovering librivox i have been thrilled to come across several 'readers' who also have that natural quality of voice and truly engage the listener.

the experience of listening to a good book, i have found, inspired many of my young students to put down their "graphics" and pick up a "chapter book". of a few favourites i read over the years, age-appropriate novels related to world war II and its symptoms always seemed to hold their attention. unforutnately these 'good reads' do not yet qualify under librivox guidelines.

although not a gifted 'reader' i believe that as with a musical instrument time and practice will improve the presentation.
i look forward to sharing a good story.

[msfry]

Greetings, swimmaster2. There are lots of interesting Public Domain texts that are modern -- government documents, for instance, and these aren't available as audio books anywhere but on Librivox that I know of. I read several sections on the Katrina report a few years back (why New Orleans flooded) called A Failure Of Initiative, and there is an ongoing project about Watergate right now, Volume 3, with sections open I believe. It's at viewtopic.php?f=28&t=69458.
There are probably countless PD documents on WWII available online, not blockbuster books, but the reports from which those books are no doubt written. Many of them are excellently crafted. Court cases are another venue. One day when I get time I'll look into those. Pant. Pant. The list is just endless!

My personal advice (not LV's) is to get a decent mike, and your voice will sound good while you learn. I spent my first two years here recording my heart out, on a cheap headset, and now I wince every time I hear one of those nasal-sounding files. LV never complained, but the only way I can stand listening to my early work is through my phone without earbuds, or on my car Bluetooth radio, in which case the poor quality seems to come from the speakers, not myself.

As soon as I got my Yeti Blue desk mike, the improvement was startling! And yes, one does continue to improve as one reads, and especially edits files. For practice on the process, I would start out reading short pieces. Enjoy yourself, and I hope to see you around.

[swimaster2]

I am on a macbook pro, just for reference. i have listened to librivox recordings almost on a nightly basis for years.
sometime last year i tried to get involved with the program and sent in a one minute recording. i received some helpful assistance, but the technical parameters became somewhat frustrating and my focus shifted to other simpler 'things' in life. i felt like a 'technicalus dinosaurus'.
i am now back and would really like to get involved. to begin with i need help with the 'replay-gain', which i assume is necessary, and have found a link for through a Paul Chenevert video. however when i try to drag the file into my plug-in folder it just runs right back to my desktop. another item is the target decibel reading of 89dB which i think relates to the replay-gain, or not!
and...the recording levels shown on the 'volume-scroll bar' when i record a phrase of two barely move above or below the 0.0 mark, and i understand this should be between 0.5 and 1.0. i am guessing this all relates somewhow.

it also seems that several of the locations for 'file items' which i need to deal with don't seem to be on my macbook or are in a location not mentioned.