Hello from Webster Groves, MO!

[MDoorkeeper]

(That's near St. Louis BTW. USPS keeps trying to tell everyone I live IN St. Louis...I'm resisting.)

I've been interested in helping with Project Gutenberg and in narrating audio books for some years now, but never seemed to have the time...until now. I'm eager to get started. (I actually LIKE the sound of my recorded voice.)

Next up:
"The One Minute Test!"

[msfry]

Looks like you've got your hand on the throttle, and are forging ahead. 1 minute test is the place to start if you intend to record, and while you are waiting for the OK, peruse our forums and wikis. Readers Wanted will show you the projects being worked on now.

I am curious, what do you like to read? What recording equipment and software do you intend to use?

[MDoorkeeper]

Forging ahead indeed. I'm quite serious about this, and so have invested in some equipment - not top of the line, but adequate. I'm using a Rode NT1-A condenser mic in a shock mount with a pop screen, mounted in a table-top type isolation/reflection filter. I run the audio through a Behringer preamp/USB interface into my MacBook Pro, running Audacity 2.2.2. I have some familiarity with Audacity, having used it quite a bit over several years to digitize old analog LP's and cassette tapes so I can add them to my iTunes, or convert to Mp3 and store them in my phone's SD card and play them wherever.

As to what I like to read? Hmmm, my personal recreational reading tends toward adventure and science fiction. As far as narrating goes, I'm pretty much wide open, except I'm not sure how I'd do with poetry. I don't really understand poetry, so I have no idea what it should sound like read aloud.

[msfry]

I see you've posted a 1 minute test of your own choosing. An admin will come along and check it out. I listened and other than volume a bit lower than our mean of 89, the other tech specs checked out.

Meanwhile you can head over to Readers Wanted forums and see what projects are cooking and who is looking for readers. OPEN sections show in the Magic Window (MW). I'd recommend you start with some short pieces, to get yourself used to our procedures. Read the First Post carefully to see how the Book Coordinator (BC) wants the Intro and Outro to read, what to name your files (needs to be exactly as shown so I always copy and paste, just changing the section number), where to Upload your file (you need to know the Meta Coordinator (MC), and Proof Listening (PL) procedures. Once you do that a few times, it will become second nature to you and you'll be on your way.

I love poetry. Writing it. Reading it. It is an acquired taste, I believe. Librivox (LV) gives a unique way to study poetry by listening to the same poem read by several different readers, each interpreting and pacing it differently. I try to imagine myself writing each line as if it sprung from my own pen. From whence did it cometh into my mind? What mood was I in? What point was I trying to make? Some poems make no sense to me. I skip those. Others really resonate.

I am sure you will find plenty of material that you like around here. Hope to be seeing you around the LV playground.