Hidden PD gems

michaelwy · Post by **michaelwy** » April 9th, 2020, 12:58 pm

Hello, I know people who join librivox read a lot. I also wonder if you have ever encountered a short story or a novel and thought "why isnt this story known worldwide?" In short, have you encountered hidden gems in the LV catalogue? If so, what are they? And why is this particular story or novel so great.

I am asking because I am looking for stuff to listen to, and the LV catalogue is so huge.

lurcherlover · Post by **lurcherlover** » April 9th, 2020, 3:06 pm

There are many hidden gems but it is hard to find ones that are well written and well read. You just have to search. It takes time and I spend a lot of time looking for things to record. It's a pain and I would rather be recording than doing research. But that's life ...

Post by **Availle** » April 9th, 2020, 3:45 pm

In the 10 staff picks per month, I try to stay away from famous stuff everybody knows, as far as possible. You can have a look there if you like.

https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php?title=Staff_Picks

ej400 · Post by **ej400** » April 9th, 2020, 3:51 pm

Availle wrote: ↑April 9th, 2020, 3:45 pm In the 10 staff picks per month, I try to stay away from famous stuff everybody knows, as far as possible. You can have a look there if you like.

https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php?title=Staff_Picks

For example, I decided to read a new novel by Louisa May Alcott. Everyone knows her, but have you read any other of her books? (for example). I now have a favorite book (Jack & Jill).

Sometimes try searching for authors you already know, and try something else they have that you haven't read.

CSCO · Post by **CSCO** » April 10th, 2020, 9:05 am

Alcott? Her best novel is Emily of New Moon. This is common sense!

If a cloth bag receives a stitching awl, the point springs out from the bag someday. Nabokov's Lolita came from an erotica publisher in France at first because publishers in the U.S. were afraid of publishing Lolita. Lolita is one of masterpieces of the 20th century literature now. Gems cannot hide themselves.

CSCO · Post by **CSCO** » April 10th, 2020, 9:38 am

Anime: 若草物語ナンとジョー先生 (Little Men)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9wmwnJXplA

schrm · Post by **schrm** » April 10th, 2020, 11:54 am

i think, one of the best lv books read in english (i ever heard ) is: https://librivox.org/its-your-fairy-tale-you-know-by-elizabeth-rhodes-jackson/
...matter of taste but..
it's my fairytale, you know?

Monaxi · Post by **Monaxi** » April 11th, 2020, 1:09 pm

For me, this is one of the hidden gems: https://librivox.org/studies-in-the-art-of-rat-catching-by-henry-c-barkley/

read by Clive Catterall, one of my favorite readers. Is it exciting? No, not in the least. But it is soothing and gently funny.

Monaxi · Post by **Monaxi** » April 11th, 2020, 1:12 pm

schrm wrote: ↑April 10th, 2020, 11:54 am i think, one of the best lv books read in english (i ever heard ) is: https://librivox.org/its-your-fairy-tale-you-know-by-elizabeth-rhodes-jackson/
...matter of taste but..
it's my fairytale, you know?

Thanks! I'll give it a try!

Post by **ColleenMc** » April 15th, 2020, 6:25 am

I recorded a "young adult" novel last year called The Luck of the Dudley Grahams that I really enjoyed. It was about a widowed mom and 4 kids trying to make ends meet after the death of their absent-minded inventor father. It reminded me of a sort of cross between the spirit and family relations of Little Women and the time period of the All of a Kind family books, both of which I grew up absolutely loving. I would have loved this book had I stumbled over it as a 10 or 11 year old. I actually found myself thinking of how it could be made into a Disney (more like FreeForm) or Netflix YA series, or even have the plot updated to modern times. A lot of the forgotten kids books are forgotten for good reason, as they are either too didactic, too racist, or too horrific (I've learned to steer clear of "adorable/inspiring animal" books that all too often casually mention how the rest of the kittens or puppies in the litter were drowned!) for modern sensibilities, but I felt like this one could be revived.

When I read short pieces for the collections of short fiction or non fiction, I try to dig into magazines and find stories that weren't reprinted bunches of times and widely known, I've found a few fun ones that way as well. With a lot of the PD ghost/horror and some of the SF from the late 19th/early 20th century, I remember reading many of the stories in cheap anthologies as a teenager when the 70s horror boom was going on and they were reprinting a lot of the older stuff, like Lovecraft, Derleth, tho I didn't realize the stories were that old at the time. But there are entire layers of stories below that top one of recovered/revived stories, and it's fun to find them. Some of them are definitely not classics but are fun to read all the same.

And definitely check out the monthly recommendations, I think Availle does a great job of selecting those!

Colleen

schrm · Post by **schrm** » April 23rd, 2020, 9:49 am

fresh in the catalogue:
https://librivox.org/violets-and-other-tales-by-alice-dunbar-nelson/

Violets And Other Tales
by Alice Dunbar Nelson
This is a collection of the author's short stories and poems where she writes about the collective experience of African American women, and African Americans in general. But she is sharpest when she pushes back against the notion that women must accept and endure a subservient role to men. - Summary by James K. White

i think she uses the words beautifully, her language is so elegant..
well read, too!