Geoffrey Chaucer's classic "Canterbury Tales" has here been rendered into clear and contemporary English prose. These classic stories are now available to those who would like to read them without struggling through Middle English poetry. The character and humour of The Wife of Bath and other larger-than-life people created by Chaucer are now accessible to a wider audience, including children. Please note that the original Canterbury Tales includes 24 stories, of which 11 are reproduced here. (Summary by Beth Thomas)
How to claim a part, and "how it all works" here To find a section to record, simply look at point 5. below at the sections. All the ones without names beside them are "up for grabs." Click "Post reply" at the top left of the screen and tell us which section you would like to read (include the section number from the left-most column in the reader list, please). Read points 6. to 8. below for what to do before, during and after your recording.
Is there a deadline? We ask that you submit your recorded sections within 1-2 months of placing your claim. Please note that to be fair to the readers who have completed their sections in a timely way, if you haven't submitted your recording(s) after two months, your sections will automatically be re-opened for other readers to claim, unless you post in this thread to request an extension. Extensions will be granted at the discretion of the Book Coordinator. If you cannot do your section, for whatever reason, just let me know and it'll go back to the pool. There's no shame in this; we're all volunteers and things happen.Please do not sign up for more sections than you can complete within the two month deadline.
Please claim sections (the numbers in the first column below)! If this is your first recording, please let me know under which name or pseudonym you'd like to appear in the LibriVox catalogue. We can also link to a personal website/blog.
Prospective Prooflisteners: Please read the Listeners Wanted FAQ before listening! Level of prooflistening requested: standard
Please don't download or listen to files belonging to projects in process (unless you are the BC or PL). Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!
Magic Window:
BC Admin
Genres for the project: Culture & Heritage; Humorous Fiction
Keywords that describe the book: Chaucer, canterbury tales
Set your recording software to:
Channels: 1 (Mono)
Bit Rate: 128 kbps
Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz
DURING recording: No more than 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the recording! Make sure you add this to the beginning of your recording: START of recording (Intro)
"Chapter [number] of The Chaucer Storybook. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit: librivox DOT org"
If you wish, say: "Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
Say: "The Chaucer Storybook, by Eva March Tappan. [Chapter number and Chapter Title]"
END of recording
At the end of the section, say: "End of [Chapter number]"
At the end of the book, say (in addition): "End of The Chaucer Storybook, by Eva March Tappan. "
There should be 5 seconds silence at the end of the recording, or 10 seconds for files longer than 30 minutes.
Please remember to check this thread frequently for updates!
AFTER recording Need noise-cleaning?
Listen to your file through headphones. If you can hear some constant background noise (hiss/buzz), you may want to clean it up a bit. The new (free) version 1.3.3. of Audacity has much improved noise-cleaning. See this LibriVox wiki page for a complete guide. Save files as
128 kbps MP3
chaucerstorybook_##_tappan_128kb.mp3 (all lower-case) where ## is the section number (e.g. chaucerstorybook_01_tappan_128kb.mp3)
Transfer of files (completed recordings) Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file. Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.
Beth, this reminds me of my university days so I will venture out to MC my first group project for this cause. Let's see if I can give you a MW before the servers go down.
Sonia
I will be on vacation from Wednesday 27 March till Sunday 14 April
and unable to PL during that time. Thank you for your patience.
Please note that the original Canterbury Tales includes 24 stories, of which 13 are reproduced here.
may I just mention, that if you don't count the Preface and Section 1, which is not really one of the tales, but more a sort of prologue, there are only 11 tales in this book.
Sonia
I will be on vacation from Wednesday 27 March till Sunday 14 April
and unable to PL during that time. Thank you for your patience.
Beth, I got some work for you Here is the Pardoner's Tale.
I can't believe, Mrs Tappan managed to transcribe the entire story and left out the very important motto of the Pardoner, that "Cupidity is the root of all evil". In class that was much-discussed topic, and I missed it here, although it of course was conveyed by the story. But despite that small omission, she did an excellent job with the story.