What brought you to LV, and why do you volunteer here?

Everything except LibriVox (yes, this is where knitting gets discussed. Now includes non-LV Volunteers Wanted projects)
barbara2
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Joined: June 24th, 2012, 10:28 pm
Location: Queensland, Australia

Post by barbara2 »

I like to do voluntary work but I have a dread of being more helpful than is necessary :D so one of my favourite projects was to read tapes on demand for visually handicapped uni students. Then human readers were superseded by computers. But, on a literary forum I follow, somebody mentioned a recording project called Librivox and I wondered if there might be still be visually handicapped people who needed things read for them.

I had no idea.

I also had no idea how much I would enjoy listening to other people's Librivox recordings and to podcasts in general. All in all, I've had a lot of fun.
fiddlesticks
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Post by fiddlesticks »

I have enjoyed reading through all h\these stories of how people started volnteering!

I first heard of LibriVox when my Mom was gone for the day and by older brother had put 'A Study In Scarlet' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on a CD and my siblings and I listened to the whole thing in one afternoon. My brother thought the disclaimer on every chapter was very annoying, but I thought it was great because if I heard it enough times I would maybe remember to look it up later being the book lover that I am But instead of that I thought it would just be easier to get my brother to put whatever I wanted on a CD for me, though I still inteded to look it up some time a year or two later I finally got around to it!! and after another year or two of enjoying a few hundred audiobooks I dicovered the forum and for the first time realized someone had to put all these books together and record them! So after I looked through the forum a bit I decided to pl and that is still my favourite lv activity :D less than a year ago I finally started recording and love it! Unfortunately I am not in circumstances to continue volenteering, but in a few months when things are better I fully intend to come back regularly and I am so much enjoying all the audiobooks I have downloaded!
~Tiffany
ezwa
LibriVox Admin Team
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Post by ezwa »

I've always (well, maybe not for that long ;o)) enjoyed reading books and cartoons aloud, even though I never got much of a chance to read to others.
That might have been what a sibling and I were talking about when he told me about a friend's friend who had launched a website I might be interested in: LibriVox. I came by the website, had a look, saw that there was one French project, Les Liaisons dangereuses, which I did not fancy, and went my way. A few months later, I talked about that website again with my sibling. I was looking into volunteering but didn't have anything to record with apart from a computer (no microphone). He surprised me with a headset. I came back, registered and ... zouh! recording for the project I didn't fancy at first I was.
So, I volunteer simply because I enjoy reading aloud and, if others can enjoy it with me, it's all the better.
Ezwa

« Heureux qui... sait d'une voix légère passer du grave au doux, du plaisant au sévère »
Boileau
« Soyez joyeux dans l'espérance, patients dans la tribulation, persévérants dans la prière. »
Rm 12:12


Envie de lire du dramatique ?
Hobbit
Posts: 3525
Joined: January 10th, 2012, 7:17 pm
Location: Indiana

Post by Hobbit »

My LV journey started when I complained one afternoon to my dad that our library didn't have an audiobook version of The Three Musketeers. He told me he knew where he could get one and downloaded this for me. I loved it and was fascinated by the fact that different readers read different chapters. On hearing the disclaimer that told me I could volunteer, I promptly decided to join up. To my delight, this project was in progress and I excitedly claimed two long chapters of it. In retrospect, I wish I'd known enough to start with a slightly easier claim (both of my first sections came out at around 30 minutes), but it wasn't enough to scare me off, because I'm still here! :D
Between being a full-time college student and working 20+ hours per week, I'm not able to be involved at LV these days, but I remain a loyal fan and look forward to a triumphant return sometime in the (probably distant) future.
ej400
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Post by ej400 »

When I got a little bit behind in my school work, my mom put in the internet search bar, "audio children of the new forest" And it came up with librivox. When I was 8 years old I heard Kara Shallenberg reading Our Island Story Part 1.

One day I wen't to the Forum and got an account.
Boomcoach
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Location: Bluffton, IN
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Post by Boomcoach »

I had discovered Arsene Lupin, in a sideways way, through Black Coat Press (they do translations of classic French pulps into English). I looked on PG for the original translations and saw the audiobook links, which were to LV. Enjoyed the book, and have always enjoyed reading out loud, so volunteering was a natural next step.
Boomcoach
My Catalog Page
My current Solo project A Spoiler of Men by Richard Marsh
One role needed to complete the Dramatic Reading of The Leader by Murray Leinster, help us finish this project!
MARTIN GEESON
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Joined: February 8th, 2009, 11:30 am
Location: Haslemere Surrey UK

Post by MARTIN GEESON »

To be self-excoriatingly honest: What led me to read for LibriVox, having discovered it, was a vainglorious belief that other people liked the sound of my voice. This was based on many years of working in telephone-based jobs. Time after time, my interlocutors reacted with kind remarks and compliments; sometimes moderated their anger with such expressions as: 'Please don't think I mean this personally'; responded with erotic and suggestive flattery; - without pretension: I supplied their need for a voice, aside from real life, which fulfilled their need for comfortable words; impersonal and yet loving reassurance of a kindness expressed in words. Audible humanity.
sjmarky
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Post by sjmarky »

In 2005, we got the announcement that the tech company I was working for was going to be bought-out and shut down by a competitor, a process that would take more than a year. I was a Human Resources Director there, and it fell to me to manage all of the North American layoffs - about 3,500 - after which I would be the last employee out the door. Having ample time to think abut my future and not wanting to have to look for another HR job at the age of 54, I decided to look for some second career that would make better use of my original degree in Radio and TV and Theater. The acquisition closed and the layoffs started in earnest in May, 2006. I worked brutal 7-day-a-week schedules for the next three months, after which there was a long, slow wind-down. Needing to depressurize, the spousal unit and I decided to take a long weekend vacation in Seattle in August. Not wanting to get a local newspaper, the SU got a New York Times. Happened to be the one with the full-page article on Librivox. I hadn't thought about audiobook narration as an option, but decided to check it out when we got home. I quickly got hooked, and light fiction has been suffering for the coincidence ever since.
"Bringing you yesterday's tomorrow...today!"

My website
My Librivox reader page
Carolin
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Post by Carolin »

those are some really good stories, im glad youre all here :)
Carolin
Elizabby
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Joined: April 1st, 2011, 5:36 pm
Location: Kelsingra

Post by Elizabby »

Oh yeah! Martin, I DO love your voice! ;)

And Mark, that company's loss was our gain! So glad you are here reading classic SF! :9:
silverquill
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Location: Southern California

Post by silverquill »

I love hearing these stories! We are all so unique, diverse, but find a unifying community here at LibriVox.

Well, first some confessions: I've never listened to a LibriVox audio book, not even ones I've had a part in - just, bits and pieces. Well, that is not quite true, because I've been DPL on a few dozen books. :?

A couple of years ago, after returning from a 5-year adventure teaching English in Korea, I saw a notice on John DeNardo's SF blog about an audio recording of Amazing Stories. It was LibriVox!

There was a natural appeal, drawing on some diverse things - college drama days, public speaking, radio announcing, more speaking as a minister, even amateur radio that put a mike in front of me for hours. Then there was the short time that I volunteered for Recording for the Blind in Los Angeles, long before the computer days. Yep, we used magnetic tape! Oh, I had a collection of antique books, and dreamed of scanning them someday to make them available. Others have done this better, although I did contribute several volumes, but now I get to read them for the world. How cool is that?

I did my first recording in our car at night -- just tough to find a place to record. Got to read some Poe, then the play Thomas More, a part I really enjoyed because I played Thomas Cromwell in A Man for All Seasons. I owe a lot to TriciaG who mentored me through those early days -- and still does!

A drastic change in my semi-retired status put my in a hiatus, but I'm able now to restructure things to make more time for LibriVox. I'm enjoying all aspects of LibriVox -- reading, of course from poetry to science to dramatic works; proof listening all kinds of stuff (learning so much), and just recently beginning to BC a few projects (making lots of mistakes, but learning). I enjoy helping to support new readers.

All of these things - being part of something larger than myself, a supportive community, and just having fun is what keeps me coming back. I'm here for the long haul.
~ Larry
JonKerfoot
Posts: 36
Joined: April 26th, 2012, 4:36 pm

Post by JonKerfoot »

My story's a lot simpler and not as exciting as the others here. I found Librivox because I got a cold.

It was the kind of cold that makes you take a few days off work and makes you want to stray in bed as much as possible. I love to read, but reading in bed is uncomfortable; I thought audiobooks would be the answer. I looked at commercial audiobooks online and was not excited by either the selection or the price, so I searched for "free audiobooks" on the internet. Of course Librivox popped up, so I downloaded a couple of Tom Swift books to make the sick days go faster.

After I got well, I decided that since I gained something from Librivox, I should put in the effort to give back to those who gave to me. I've always been an auditory learner - reading textbooks out loud seemed to help me remember the material better - so I figured I'd volunteer to read for a Tom Swift book. I did a couple chapters there, then job pressures took over and kept me away from Librivox for a few years.

Now I'm unemployed yet again, needing to fill time (I'm way too old to spend all day sending out resumes), so I've come back and started recording again - staying for the moment in the boys' adventure series genre.
Elizabby
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Joined: April 1st, 2011, 5:36 pm
Location: Kelsingra

Post by Elizabby »

Welcome back Jon! If you ever found your way over to dramatic readings, we are pretty much always looking for more male voices over there! :thumbs:
pnagami
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Joined: July 15th, 2015, 6:42 am
Location: California, USA

Post by pnagami »

I think I found Librivox through an audiobook app on my phone.

After listening to maybe a thousand hours of Librivox books, I started feeling like I should be contributing, but I was worried about my barking dogs. (I should have been worried about the Van Nuys Airport).

So I bought a mic and a pop filter and jumped in (with a lot of help from Phil Chenevert's videos) and I have been very happy to be a part of this team of volunteers.

Pam
"Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm."

Robert Louis Stevenson
simba
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Joined: October 7th, 2015, 9:22 am
Location: Hastings, England

Post by simba »

I'm not sure when I first found out about Librivox, I've known about it for years and every so often would download a book from there, then when I got a smartphone I got the app. I always thought about volunteering but couldn't because I didn't have a decent setup. Fast-forward to now and I've got a fairly healthy music studio.

I recently bought a new mic and thought well I can finally contribute. I've always thought it was a cool thing to do. I signed up and dived into a project straight away and just about to submit my second recording :mrgreen:
My photography https://sim.photos
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