COMPLETE - The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius - NF/ge

[Gesine]

This project is now complete, and available to download from the catalogue page:- http://librivox.org/the-consolation-of-philosophy-by-boethius/


The Consolation of Philosophy by Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius. Translated by H.R. James.

This is a fun book, well written and not like the sometimes dry philosophy fare. It consists of poems (songs) and prose. Most sections have a song and a short section of prose. All sections are very short - the longest perhaps 20 minutes, the shortest about 3 minutes. So this is a nice thing to do in-between longer chapters, or come back for more helpings! :)

1. 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�d like to read (include the blue number, please). Read points 6. to 8. below for what to do before, during and after your recording.
2. New to recording?
   Please read our Newbie Guide to Recording!
3. Is there a deadline?
   Target completion date of this project: 25 March 2007 but try to send your recordings as soon as you can. 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 are all volunteers and things happen.
4. Where do I find the text?
   Gutenberg e-text: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14328
5. Please claim section numbers (the numbers in the first column below)!
   
   Some of these sections are very short, others a little longer. Please consult the e-text to choose, but I think no section is much longer than 20 minutes.
   Do read the footnotes if you find them useful.
   
   (BC admin link)
6. BEFORE recording:
   Please check the Recording Notes:
   http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6427#6430
   
   Sample rate
   1. 44.1KHz is the default sample rate in lots of software. We like getting files at this rate.
   2. Some know-it-all told us that 32KHz sounds better. If you know how, try to use this rate.
   3. We want to make this easy, so we'll take any rate from 22 to 44.1KHz, if you need us to.
   4. Please don't use 48KHz or anything under 22KHz. If you accidentally send us something at these rates, our uploaders will resample it for you and advise you on how to record at a sample rate we can use. Don't worry, your work will never be wasted!
7. DURING recording:
   Make sure you add this to the beginning and end of your recording:
   Start of recording (Intro)
   • "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 Consolation of Philosophy, by by Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius. Translated by H.R. James. [Book and book title, e.g. "Book 1, The Sorrows of Boethius"], [Section, e.g. "Song 1: Boethius' Complaint, and section 1" (as outlined in the readers' list)]"
   
   End of recording
   • At the end of the section, say:
     �End of [Book and book title, e.g. "Book 1, The Sorrows of Boethius"], [Section, e.g. "Song 1: Boethius' Complaint, and section 1" (as outlined in the readers' list)]"
   • At the end of the whole book, say (in addition):
     "End of The Consolation of Philosophy, by by Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius and translated by H.R. James."
   
   Please leave 5 seconds silence at the end of your recording, or 10 seconds for files longer than 30 minutes!
   
   Also, please remember to check this thread frequently for updates!
8. AFTER recording:
   Save files as
   128 kbps MP3
   consolationphilosophy_##_boethius.mp3 , all lower-case, where ## is the two-digit section number (first column above). (consolationphilosophy_01_boethius.mp3)
   
   ID3 V2 tags
   (To find out more about ID3 tags, go to our wiki: http://librivox.org/wiki/moin.cgi/WhatIsID3)
   Add the following tags to your .mp3 file (how you do this depends on which software you use - if you are unsure about ID3 tags, send me a message). Please mind upper and lower case and take care with the spelling - you may want to copy and paste these.
   
   Title: [your two-digit section number] - Book [number], section [title (as outlined in the readers' list)], e.g. '05 - Book I, Song VI: All Things Have Their Needful Order, and section VI'
   Artist: Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (transl. James)
   Album: The Consolation of Philosophy
   
   Transfer of files (completed recordings)
   Files can either be posted here in the forum (link to your webspace) or uploaded to my server using the LibriVox Uploader: http://librivox.gesine.org
   Password: upl0ad1t
   
   I'll need the following information from you when you submit a recording:
   - If you are not listed here: http://librivox.org/wiki/moin.cgi/ListOfReadersCatalogNames I'll need your name as you want it to appear in the LibriVox catalog, and your webpage URL (if applicable)
   - the runtime of the recording in format hh:mm:ss

Any questions?
Please post below or PM me.

[earthcalling]

Hi Gesine,

Can I take:-

05 - Song IV: Nothing Can Subdue Virtue, and section IV
13 - Section V, and Song V: The Former Age

Thanks,

David

[Gesine]

Certainly! Thanks, David.

[KBD]

I am willing to give it a shot.
I will take:
#04 book one, Song 3 The Mists Dispelled Section 3

and

#35 book four, Section 7 and Song 7 The Hero's Path

If those are still available.
KBD

[Gesine]

Hi KBD! They are yours. Let me know if you need any help. :)

[a.r.dobbs]

Hi Gesine,

These are *very* short bits, could I have this little run:
07 - Song VI: All Things Have Their Needful Order, and section VI
08 - Song VII: The Perturbations of Passion (song only)
09 - Section I. (ignore the Summary) (prose and song)

a.r.dobbs

[Gesine]

Thanks, Anita! 07-09 are yours. :)

[earthcalling]

Gesine,

Here's my first contribution:-

05 - Song IV: Nothing Can Subdue Virtue, and section IV

http://download.yousendit.com/2C09AFCF51DA8BBC

David

[redelf]

Hi Gesine,

I enjoyed reading this book (I've been meaning to for years), thanks for giving me a reason to actually get around to doing it.
I would like to have a bash at reading out

11 - Section III, and Song III: All Passes
and
14 - Section VI, and Song VI: Nero's Infamy

I am new to librivox so I would be greatful for any advice you, or anyone else, could give me.

Mal

[a.r.dobbs]

Hi Hi redelf -- Welcome to the readership!

If I can help anytime, please call on me.
I'm a slightly experienced (dented) newbie.
You invited advice, and so I offer you (and you are the first to receive them!) my top two tips [Edit: now I have a third]:


1) Come under the wing of your wonderful Book Coordinator

---first by reading her post at the top of this page
and following her link there "2. New to recording?
Please read our Newbie Guide to Recording!"
http://librivox.org/wiki/moin.cgi/NewbieGuideToRecording

---and then by sending her a sample:
when you're set to record, make a test (like 1 minute) and send it to Gesine so she can spot any recording problems and tell you great solutions (we struggle often with low-volume files).


2) Input volume -- tell your computer to make your microphone loud

This is the first step in getting a great recording volume.
(I have to reset this volume to high every time I plug in my mic.
As soon as I unplug it, the volume resets to mid-volume.
Before I knew about this mic volume control, I recorded at the midvolume, my files were too faint and I had to artificially amplify them, and when I did that, all the little noises and hisses in my recording were amplified too, sadly.)

How to: on my PC, with my mic plugged in (a USB headset),
Start > Control Panels > Sounds and Audio devices > click the Audio Tab along the top ... in the Sound Recording section of the window ... I see that my microphone is named there ... then I click the Volume tab -- and I slide volume up near the top.

(:

[May 7 Edit:

3) Gain -- the final step in boosting faint files [between the first, mentioned above, and this last, there are several additional ways to boost and improve recordings in Audacity]

If your file is still faint, cautiously adjust gain at the left side of the track. In Audacity, at the left side of each track,
under the "Mute" and "Solo" buttons is a gain slider;
drag the slider one to the right, listen,
maybe one more to the right, listen.
It instantly increases the volume of your track.
The volume stays intact when you export to mp3, so your file won't be too faint.
(Noise and stuff...separate issue and not so important as comfortable listening volume is.)

End of May 7 edit]

When I was a newer, undented newbie, I somehow missed the very helpful Newbie files that Gesine's link leads to.

And I never thought of increasing my mic volume till I stumbled over someone's advice in one of the forums. (Too late for five recordings I'd already sent, alas.)

So I call them tips, but I feel they're treasures.
Little treasures that help us get down to - - r e a d i n g ! - - Welcome, reader!

a.r.dobbs
By the way, I use Audacity on a PC (with a USB headset microphone by Logitech) to record and edit, and if you have a similar recording set up, I'll happily share / compare settings and such. If you have a different set up, someone else around here has the same as yours, for sure, and can compare notes with you.

[a.r.dobbs]

David, what a lovely reading. Clear and measured, resonant with meaning.



Gesine, could I add this to my list?
06 - Song V: Boethius' Prayer, and section V
(Unless you could be persuaded to read it yourself?)

a.r.dobbs

[Gesine]

earthcalling - wonderful reading, thank you.

redelf - can't really add anything to a.r.'s great advice! Sections 11 & 14 are yours, thanks.

a.r.dobbs - thanks for you help! And I've signed you up for 06. I'll read some of this, but need to finish Darwin and some other long chapters I claimed first.

[Gesine]

KBD - have received section 35, thank you very much. Will email you about a couple of issues.

[earthcalling]

Hi folks,

I'm struggling to understand a phrase in my next section -

13 - Section V, and Song V: The Former Age

Here it is:-

Yet these fine things show their quality better in the spending than in the hoarding; for I suppose 'tis plain that greed Alva's makes men hateful, while liberality brings fame.

That Alva's makes no sense to me. Not just that I don't know who Alva is (I can forgive my own ignorance!), but even grammatically I can't work it out, so I don't know how to read it.

I wonder whether it's a typo for 'always'. Or an odd way of saying 'the greed of Alva'.

Any ideas?

David

(PS - Many thanks for the nice words, a.r. and Gesine)

[Gesine]

David - you don't know who Alva is!? Get out of my project! - No, seriously: I don't have a clue who Alva might be. Just googled Boethius Alva, not much luck. As you said, it's ungrammatical, too... 'Always' seems to be the best fit for the sentence, but could it be misspelled like that? I'm bothered by the capital A. Hmmmm... I'm stumped. Perhaps you might post in the Help Wanted forum to see if anyone knows more?