Hello from New Zealand

[chromiumjade]

hi all!

If a globe could have a corner, this is it. I'm Kiwi now (got naturalised during lockdown), but am also Canadian and American. I found myself struggling to put into words why I decided to sign up. Turns out that I enjoy listening. I'm a ex-software engineer and always listened to music when coding. But I needed something different when I wasn't working, so I began listening to audiobooks. I found myself drawn to certain narrators' voice and began to choose books read by them rather than by author. Huh. Pair that up with family members who are visually impaired . . . . I thought it would be interesting to contribute.

cheers!
-Jade M.

[vviera]

hi all!

If a globe could have a corner, this is it. I'm Kiwi now (got naturalised during lockdown), but am also Canadian and American. I found myself struggling to put into words why I decided to sign up. Turns out that I enjoy listening. I'm a ex-software engineer and always listened to music when coding. But I needed something different when I wasn't working, so I began listening to audiobooks. I found myself drawn to certain narrators' voice and began to choose books read by them rather than by author. Huh. Pair that up with family members who are visually impaired . . . . I thought it would be interesting to contribute.

cheers!
-Jade M.

Welcome, Jade!
The cool thing about Librivox (well, one cool thing) is that all the corners of the globe are right next to each other! I love this international community. We have had people join from many countries recently. I lost count at about a dozen in the last few weeks. Just a couple of weeks ago we welcomed another Kiwi. (See the "Kia ora" message a bit ago on this forum.) I enjoy waking up in the morning and seeing what has happened on Librivox in other parts of the world while I was sleeping!

If you haven’t yet seen it, take a look at the Newbie Guide to Recording. It will orient you to the whole process.

Then, to get started, do your 1-Minute Test. It's not an audition - just a chance to make sure that all the technical settings you're using when recording match Librivox requirements.

After you're OK'd on that, browse the forums for a project you'd like to participate in. Most people start with a chapter in a book or some other short work. Post a claim for a section in the corresponding thread when you see something you'd like to record.

Since you specifically said you enjoy listening, you might also consider being a prooflistener (PL). You can read more about that on this wiki entry.

Any time you have a question, post in one of the forums, and someone will pop in to help you out.

Have fun!

[chromiumjade]

Hello Verla!

Thank you for the warm welcome. I've taken your advice and have put my hat in the ring for a chapter. I'll also check out the prooflistener role, sounds interesting. And I'll look for kia ora thread, too.

[TheBanjo]

A warm welcome from me too, Jade. I'm in Melbourne, Australia (born and bred here), but have a son (an orchestral musician), daughter-in-law and two grandchildren in Auckland, so we typically visit Aotearoa twice a year (and what a beautiful — and welcoming — country it is, I must say). There are more than a few people in this Librivox community within a couple of timezone hours from you, so you're far from alone here, I can assure you. I do hope you enjoy your time here. I certainly have.
With best wishes,
Peter