LibriVox: Amateurs Ascending

Comments about LibriVox? Suggestions to improve things? News?
Cori
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Post by Cori »

For a long time Thomas Hardy was (most mysteriously to me since I can't stand his novels) our most downloaded work via archive.org ... but on checking today, I see that Sherlock Holmes has (happily) thrashed that record!

http://archive.org/details/adventures_holmes -- Downloaded 1,108,039 times
There's honestly no such thing as a stupid question -- but I'm afraid I can't rule out giving a stupid answer : : To Posterity and Beyond!
annise
LibriVox Admin Team
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Post by annise »

That always puzzled me too - was Return of the Native essential reading in all American High Schools or was it that the third chapter played backwards contained satanic messages :shock: ?

Anne
earthcalling
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Post by earthcalling »

Bob,

My engagement and motivation have changed greatly over time, but I think that rather than recalling my motivation of years ago, I'll leave others who are there now (new volunteers, hard-working BCs and the all-caring admin team) to describe those things. I'll try and describe what keeps me at LibriVox now.

The thing which underlies everything I'll say is that I care about and deeply admire LibriVox - the vision, the purpose and the people. I love the consistency, the stability, the unwavering loyalty to the principles of what we do, why we do it and how we do it. Giving our time and talents for free, for the benefit of many or maybe a few (maybe just two or three) complete strangers, anywhere in the world, at any time in the future, with no reward other than an occasional 'thank you'… The way new volunteers are welcomed and encouraged; the 'be nice' culture; the considered and considerate conversations in the forum; the constant churn of projects going through the process to completion - yet still the complete lack of schedules or assignments, the apparently unhurried pace of things, which somehow miraculously produces several new audiobooks every day.

Although I do precious little here now, it's still one of my favourite places to hang out. It's a bit like having such a deep and fond attachment to a former place of work, that you still go and spend time mooching around the factory floor, or sit and have a coffee in the canteen and catch up with some old friends, perhaps even go and sit in on the odd meeting and maybe throw in a comment or two, knowing it's OK to do that and not at all weird.

My motivation to record has changed too over time. 'What? I can do this?' became 'Ooh, maybe I could do it a bit better', then 'Come on guys, we have to record the whole of the public domain - by the end of next month! Get on with it!!'… to now a very sedate one solo a year, very carefully chosen. My taste has changed, in part through realising that I'm not as good as I'd like to be at certain things, but more as a reflection of the sort of books I read and the things that are important to me. I feel like I have found my niche, at least for the moment, and am happy to continue there while the rest of LibriVox tackles the rest of the public domain - by the end of next month. :-)

The process of recording is deeply enjoyable, but also a challenge and a big commitment. Some of the books I record are quite difficult, both in terms of the content and the style of language, and my objective is to make them accessible to the listener. In doing that, I learn from the text and absorb it. So it can be a long time between deciding on the text, and actually getting down to the recording. But the moment when I set up the microphone and start recording is always very exciting and satisfying.

Tying this back to my first comment, I love the fact that I can choose my own texts and do them in my own way, at my own pace... and that the LibriVox community, the structures, the processes and (crucially) the time given freely and uncomplainingly by other volunteers, make that possible.

That's extraordinary. Truly extraordinary.

David
bobgon55
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Post by bobgon55 »

Wow, David. Thank you for that detailed and thoughtful reflection.

You know, I've been contemplating the mission of recording EVERY work of the public domain a lot over the year or so I have been here and I really think it crazy, as Hugh has even mentioned it in some of his interviews. If we really took that literally, there WOULD be this insane mad dash of desperately churning out books as quickly as possible, which would take all the fun out of the enterprise, it would seem to me.

For me, it makes more sense to see the the mission statement as the FREEDOM and the POSSIBILITY of recording all books in the public domain rather than the COMPULSION and NECESSITY of recording them. If recording ALL books were the single driving motive, then multiple versions of texts would be serious delays to that end. But, of course, they are not, and the additional ideal of "choice of voice" tempers and qualifies the "record all books" goal for me. I dare say almost everyone on LibriVox feels that there are some books that do not deserve to be turned into audiobooks or just are not suitable for the medium of the voice. Of course, then one could argue that across all LV volunteers, the overlap could be such that with enough of us all books WOULD deserve to see the light of an audio day. So I see the POSSIBILITY and FREEDOM of recording ANY book in the public domain as one of the best motivations for all audio voice talents here - both attracting the new and nurturing the veteran readers.

I also think that the devotion to classic books elevates this project above so much of the other group endeavors on the internet. LibriVox is a community of practice, not one of simply bantering and venting. We provide a service that is rewarding for both providers and provided. We create products that have the potential to enrich the lives of whomever takes advantage of them. And what a fabulous way to engage literature! I've heard and read repeatedly how the simple act of reading aloud - of slowing down enough to voice texts - creates such a rich experience for the reader, as it also can for the listener.

Thanks again for your contribution to this discussion.

Bob
earthcalling
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Post by earthcalling »

Thank you, Bob. I couldn't agree more. :thumbs:

David
sidhu177
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Location: Virginia

Post by sidhu177 »

1) the idea of taking things up which you believe will be of value to people (audio books are a great way when multi tasking and whats best when you can listen to a great work at the same time do routine stuff) and the helping nature of the volunteers who share your belief and take up sections, i find that most satisfying.
2)interactions with volunteers when working in a project, its more like a crew "on a ship" type set-up and you can call "the chief " and ask if you can have more time before you could give him his stuff, librivox way of doing things makes it fun.
3)&4) the author who could think of all the words in his mind and laid it down in paper for people to know has now got a new dimension to his work, volunteers here give their voice to his work and in this ever busy and digital age, audio books can have a far increased reach, that i think is worth the effort and motivates me, apart from the fact that people with reading difficulties find this very useful.
5)when i see accomplished people here like some of the MCs- Chocoholic, tricia, annise, they could contribute so much and are still performing, volunteers here are guided in a nice friendly way, the accomplished ones do not exert their superiority and this is great. it would be a lot greater if some books which have their copyright expired(books published after 1923) be allowed to be done.
6) its good the way it is, friendliness is a "built in" feature of librivox conversations and as long as it stays that way people will be here.
Of my own bliss I'll pay the price,And be myself my sacrifice.
J_N
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Post by J_N »

This reminds me of a discussion I had recently with a friend... He was going on about what a wonderful human being he is because he is trying to better the world (he is involved in a project to find alternative energy sources/building materials/etc.) in his free time without any sort of remuneration, which really got on my nerves (I loath self-adulation) and I told him he does it because he gets something emotionally/psychological out of it... respect of his community, a sense of doing something worthwhile, etc... he did NOT like me telling him, but it's still the truth :D Humans never do something without getting something out of it - even if it's just a smug feeling of having done something unpleasant for someone else... :)
What makes all this so satisfying?
for me it's the result... in my job I never really ever see ANY results... and here I do something where when it's done there is something I can 'look at', something I can point to and say "I did that!"
What makes this fun for you?
it's something different to my everyday job, and there is this whole community attached to it... :)
What makes it worth the effort and the striving that go into completing any recording that will be catalogued on LibriVox?
the thought that there might be someone out there who will enjoy it (if there isn't - I don't want to know :lol:)
Can you describe the thoughts that motivate you to dedicate so many, many hours of your free time to researching, recording, editing, proof listening, book coordinating, and cataloguing public domain texts?
  1. I get to read texts I probably wouldn't otherwise have come across
  2. I am part of this online community (I don't care what some ppl say - you can be emotionally invested in a community even if you haven't met a single person in RL :))
  3. there is always the hope that what we do might actually really matter to someone
  4. and also - those recordings, they will still exist (hopefully) when we are long gone... something we can leave behind :)
This work clearly has a certain amount of value for you since you trade the time you could be employing to other forms of recreation for doing all things LibriVox. What hooked you here and what keeps you coming back? What parts of the experience are mandatory for you to remain here?
I came to librivox because I was looking for an opportunity to volunteer - something I was capable of with flexible hours... didn't really find anything suitable offline, so online I went :D But I keep coming back because
  1. it's fun - if it ever stops being fun a becomes a chore, I am off :)
  2. there are lots of friendly people - if at some point the forums/the policies where to change in a bad way - again I'd be gone in a jiffy (but that links back to having fun :))
Julia - Introverts, unite! Seperately... in your own homes.

Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you're supposed to. ― Susan Cain

Author death +70 yrs? Legamus!
Miss Avarice
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Post by Miss Avarice »

What makes all this so satisfying?
I like participating in group projects and seeing the fruits of my labor out there on the internet. It's also extremely gratifying to know that people have listened to my voice and in some cases, actually like it! On a more abstract level, I enjoy performing roles that I would be unable to in real life: most of the people on LibriVox are nice enough to let me do Shakespeare without a British accent, and even cross gender and racial lines. For instance, I recently read the short story "Dracula's Guest". Though the narrator is supposed to be a 20-something British gentleman it was read by a sixteen-year-old Asian-American woman! So the performative aspect of gender and race are completely null in recordings, which I find freeing. I also hope that somewhere out there I'm doing someone a little bit of good, spreading a little bit of knowledge or helping them achieve an enjoyable listening experience.
What makes this fun for you?
It's definitely a lot of work, but I have fun interacting with the friendly site members as well as pursuing my low-key acting ambitions in roles I probably wouldn't be able to play outside of the internet. I live in an area without a strong theatre presence (it's no New York City!) and my public high school never chooses to put on Shakespeare or Pirandello, so I have a lot of fun experiencing a "role" while not even being onstage!
What makes it worth the effort and the striving that go into completing any recording that will be catalogued on LibriVox?
Knowing that people are listening (even if it's just the Proof Listener, who is kind of roped into it :P ) to me is a big deal. I spend a lot of time feeling frustrated and stymied in real life, especially on topics where I feel most passionate. I have some great teachers, but more often than not I feel like I am being shuffled through a school system that I have to fight in order to get good classes and not burn out on academics entirely. I'm a third wave, postmodern feminist, which does not lend itself to the style of discourse most commonly found in high school. So most of the time I have to keep my opinions to myself and quietly read about postcolonialism on my own time.

On LibriVox, though, a lot of people know who Tom Stoppard and Margaret Atwood are. They're willing to "put on" (at least through audio) really engaging plays and read tough classics that I've shied away from in the past. But at the same time nobody here has been unfriendly or unkind to me, and it's very nice. I was once a member of a message board for "prodigiously gifted" <18-year-olds (I'm a little embarrassed by the title now, haha) and while I could connect intellectually with many of the fellow members they were prone to being extremely competitive and often arrogant. With that arrogance came unkindness toward those they saw as intellectually "inferior". On LibriVox I can participate in intellectually engaging material and be a part of a community that loves reading as much as I do -- and as a bonus, everyone here is really nice!
Can you describe the thoughts that motivate you to dedicate so many, many hours of your free time to researching, recording, editing, proof listening, book coordinating, and cataloguing public domain texts?
I sometimes worry about the state of literature. I worry that a lot of it is going to be lost or forgotten, especially if it's not preserved somewhere. I also want to promote free resources of literature for people who can't afford to buy lots of books/audiobooks. We record in so many different genres, there's probably something for everyone: from Alice in Wonderland to pulpy crime novels to H.P. Lovecraft, I want to share the joy of the written word with everyone (and in several languages!).
What hooked you here and what keeps you coming back?
I joined when I was 13. Frankly I had no idea what I was doing. A year passed and I lurked, and then suddenly a part came up in a dramatic reading that I thought 14-year-old me would be good at. This is the bizarre turn of events that led me to play Alice in the Alice in Wonderland dramatic reading. I didn't even have a very good microphone -- I used my computer's built in one! Everyone was very kind and willing to help me along in the process, and I had been experiencing some troubles in school so it was nice to find a supportive environment online where my slightly bizarre love of 19th century British authors wouldn't be ridiculed ;)

So a big part is the community. But of course, the written works themselves are always a treat. I am constantly discovering new ways of interpreting a line, or new characters to play. I mainly read dramatic works, though I do record some poetry and short stories. Scouring the archives of Gutenberg.org often brings me to new writers to admire like Rupert Brooke or John Dos Passos.
What parts of the experience are mandatory for you to remain here?
Well, if everyone suddenly became mean I suppose I would leave. I don't see that happening anytime soon... so... :wink: :twisted: I suppose if the entire point of community reading was undermined, for instance if suddenly we had to do auditions, I wouldn't like that as much. LibriVox is really open, and while I've had fun in voice acting communities where there were stricter regulations, it would really take away from the relaxing atmosphere. I also hope there isn't more legislation passed that puts some books further away from the public domain, since dealing with copyright law is already a mess.
Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.
- Lady Lazarus, Sylvia Plath
bobgon55
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Post by bobgon55 »

Thanks so much, sidhu, J_N, and Miss Avarice for your responses, all fill with such informative, insightful and delightful details! I'm continually fascinated by the conceptual similarities and the anecdotal differences in everyone's responses. :D :clap: :clap:
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