Thank you to all Dracula V2 Readers and in Memoriam of Denny Sayers

[Xiao]

My name is Xiao, I started to listen to Librivox in 2011, when I moved to U.S.A. from China to attend law school. Initially I used Librivox as a way to help me improve my English. After graduation, I became a lawyer and started to spend pretty much all my time awake working in front of my computer, which really strained my eyes, adding to my already rather thick glasses. I always loved reading and did not want to stop, so instead of reading, I started to listen to Librivox regularly as a part of my life.

I soon found that if I look up one book that I love (that I read in Chinese many years ago), the reader for that book would also have many other books under his or her name that I also love. I feel like I come to know these readers and become friends with them. Although they don’t know my existence, I listen to their voices as we relive the moments in the books, they in a way recommend me books that I would also like, and, after all, I know them well since I know all the books that they love enough to read and share with everyone else. We are pen friends who never really communicated to each other.

I came across Denny Sayers this way recently as I listened to the book Dracula where he read as Dr. Seward. He did such a magnificent job to present a live Dr. Seward in front of me. The way he read the madman Renfield, is really insane. I loved it. I looked up Denny Sayers when I completed listening to Dracula, and was happy to found out he also read many books that I read over and over again countless time in Chinese as a little kid, like Robinson Crusoe and Alice in Wonderland. I also found that some of the books he read together with other readers are already in my favorite list including the Wind in the Willows and Hans Anderson.

I clicked into his page and started to mark books favorite on my cellphone APP, just like what I would normally do when I found a great reader I love. Then, I noticed there was a “d. 2015” next to his name.

Upon entering his name in Google, I found a Librivox forum post that Denny Slayers died in 2015. It was a shock to me. For a few hours I was occupied by a sad sensation. I wept a little as I read through other readers' reply under the April 2015 post. I listened to his voice as if he was conversing with me real time. I have just made a friend when I realized my friend already passed away five years ago. I will never really get to know my friend.

Thank you, Elizabeth Klett (I looked up one of my favorite books Jane Eyre, which led me to your page. I listened to almost all books you read. You led me to Dracula). Thank you, mb, Arielle Lipshaw, Eric Zetterlund, Brett W. Downey, Kara Shallenberg, Chuck Burke, Katalina Watt, Robert B., Availle, Rismyth, Lucy Perry, Dee Wyckoff, David Lawrence, Robert B., Nadine Eckert-Boulet. I don't know where you are, are you still walking on the earth or looking down at us in heaven together with Denny Slayers. Although you don’t know me, me and many others regard you as our close friends.

May peace be with you, Denny Sayers, and those of you who I yet to know.

Xiao

[kayray]

Hi Xiao,

What a lovely tribute! I'm so glad you took the time to post this. Thank you!

(I'm Kara Shallenberg)

[Xiao]

Kara, thank you for the good work, keep it coming! We are listening, and appreciating.