[COMPLETE;FICTION] Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad -lz

Illiterati · Post by **Illiterati** » January 2nd, 2009, 5:51 am

Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad.

This project is now complete! All audio files can be found on our catalog page: http://librivox.org/tales-of-unrest-by-joseph-conrad/

Tales of Unrest (1898) is the first collection of short stories by Joseph Conrad published in his lifetime.

Joseph Conrad (1857– 1924), a Polish-born English novelist, was a master in the formats of long short story and novella, a form of story longer than conventional short story but shorter than a novel. Some of Conrad's most acclaimed works have been written in these formats, most notably Heart of Darkness (1899).

Tales of Unrest contains five stories; Karain: A Memory (written 1897), The Idiots (1896), An Outpost of Progress (1896), The Return (1897) and The Lagoon (1896). (Summary by Illiterati)

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 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. For this project I would like readers to claim complete stories instead of chapters. See second post in this thread below.
New to recording?
Please read our Newbie Guide to Recording!
Is there a deadline?
Target completion date of this project: 31.12.2009 (new deadline) – but try to send your recordings as soon as you can. Please note that if we haven't heard from you for two months, your section(s) will automatically be re-opened for other readers. 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.
Where do I find the text?
Source text (please only read from the texts linked in the Magic Window!): http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1202
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.

I WOULD LIKE READERS TO CLAIM COMPLETE STORIES IN THIS PROJECT
MAGIC WINDOW:

(BC admin)
BEFORE recording:
Please check the Recording Notes:
http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6427#6430

Set your recording software to:

Channels: 1 (Mono)
Bit Rate: 128 kbps
Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz
DURING recording:
Make sure you read the complete text of your section, including the Librivox disclaimer and chapter notes!

Also, 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 (Mac/Win) has much improved noise-cleaning. See this LibriVox wiki page for a complete guide.

Save files as
128 kbps MP3
talesofunrest_##_conrad.mp3 (all lower-case) where ## is your section number. (e.g. talesofunrest_01_conrad.mp3). You can find the precise name of your file also from the end of the document you are reading from.

ID3 V2 tags
(To find out more about ID3 tags, go to our wiki: http://librivox.org/wiki/moin.cgi/WhatIsID3)
Add the tags in the end of your document 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!

Please ignore tags for Genre and Track Number - these will be filled in automatically at the cataloguing stage.

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.
- Upload your file with the LibriVox Uploader (when your upload is complete, you will receive a link - please post it in this thread):
  http://upload.librivox.org
  
  (If you have trouble reading the image above, please message an admin)
  You'll need to select the MC, which for this project is: lz - lezer
- If this doesn't work, or you have questions, please check our How To Send Your Recording wiki page.

Any questions?
Please post below or PM me.

Illiterati · Post by **Illiterati** » January 2nd, 2009, 5:52 am

Tales of Unrest (1898) is the first collection of short stories by Joseph Conrad published in his lifetime.

Joseph Conrad (1857– 1924), a Polish-born English novelist, was a master in the formats of long short story and novella, a form of story longer than conventional short story but shorter than a novel. Some of Conrad's most acclaimed works have been written in these formats, most notably Heart of Darkness (1899).

Tales of Unrest contains five stories; Karain: A Memory (written 1897), The Idiots (1896), An Outpost of Progress (1896), The Return (1897) and The Lagoon (1896).

For my very own PLing pleasure I WOULD LIKE READERS TO CLAIM COMPLETE STORIES IN THIS PROJECT. Here is a brief description of each of the five stories with their estimated reading times:

Karain: A Memory (1897) 15807 words ~ 100 minutes reading time.
Written just after finishing the Nigger and the Narcissus, the story continues Conrad's examination of the Malaysian archipelago and the colonial setting there. This is the third published short story Conrad ever wrote.

The Idiots (1896) 9031 words ~ 60 minutes reading time
Written on honeymoon in May 1896, The Idiots is a story of a peasant couple all the children of whom have been born mentally deficient. Merciless to himself as ever, Conrad writes it off as "such an obviously derivative piece of work that it is impossible for me to say anything about it here" in the preface of this collection.

An Outpost of Progress (1896) 9481 words ~ 60 minutes reading time
Conrad himself considered An Outpost of Progress his best short tale, even after writing the Heart of Darkness. Often compared to this more famous counterpart, the story draws on Conrad's own experience in Belgian Congo and revolves around two European agents, named Kayerts and Carlier, who take charge of a trading post in a remote part of the African jungle.

The Return (1897) 20578 words ~ 130 minutes reading time
Lambasted by the writer himself, this story still gives good view into the development of Conrad as a writer. It is the only of the Conrad short stories that was not originally published in any magazine.

The Lagoon (1896) 5591 words ~ 35 minutes reading time
The first short story Conrad ever wrote, The Lagoon is a continuation of the Malaysian phase of Almayer's Folly and The Outcast of the Islands, Conrad's first two novels.

The reading times are estimations based on an average reading speed of 155 words/minute found in other Conrad's books in Librivox. Some people read slower, some faster, and that's great! The estimations are NOT targets, just something to give you an idea what sort of a work is ahead of you.

With estimated reading times from half an hour to just over two hours, individual stories in this book would be perfect for someone willing to take a step beyond short stories and/or individual chapters in collaborative projects towards their first big solo.

Happy reading!

earthcalling · Post by **earthcalling** » January 2nd, 2009, 6:49 am

Illiterati wrote:... perfect for someone willing to take a step beyond short stories and/or individual chapters in collaborative projects towards their first big solo.

Great idea! I'll vouch for The Return being a good read, but won't jump to pick it up unless it lies unclaimed after a while...

David

Illiterati · Post by **Illiterati** » January 2nd, 2009, 7:25 am

earthcalling wrote:
Illiterati wrote:... perfect for someone willing to take a step beyond short stories and/or individual chapters in collaborative projects towards their first big solo.
Great idea! I'll vouch for The Return being a good read, but won't jump to pick it up unless it lies unclaimed after a while...

David

Thank you for the encouragement, David.

You might be held accountable at some point for that. Conrad is being pretty harsh on himself, but the author is not always the best judge of his works. I found all of it readable and enjoyable when I read this couple of years ago. In fact, there are gems here.

I

lezer · Post by **lezer** » January 2nd, 2009, 11:27 am

Hi Illit,
What a good idea! I'd like to be MC. I'll get you set up. Be back later.
Anna

lezer · Post by **lezer** » January 2nd, 2009, 11:40 am

OK - all set, I think. Do I understand correctly that you will provide text-links, with ID3 tags in the docs?
I suggest that we leave the project in the Launch Pad for a day or so - and perhaps move it over to Readers Wanted end of Saturday?

Illiterati · Post by **Illiterati** » January 2nd, 2009, 12:14 pm

Great, thank you, Anna!

Yes - exactly. I have all the info in Google Docs, coming up soon. Let's just hover here for awhile.

Btw - I need one more section.

I

lezer · Post by **lezer** » January 2nd, 2009, 12:16 pm

21 sections it is, then!

You know where to find me if you have any questions.

Illiterati · Post by **Illiterati** » January 3rd, 2009, 8:39 am

Ready to go. And everybody can really claim stories here!

I

Sibella · Post by **Sibella** » January 7th, 2009, 8:06 pm

Hi! Can I have 00 and 19-20?

Illiterati · Post by **Illiterati** » January 8th, 2009, 3:09 am

Well of course! Welcome, Sibella. 00 and 19-20 are yours.

Tailsn · Post by **Tailsn** » January 8th, 2009, 2:18 pm

Hiya!
Can I take 01-06?
This will be my first recording, so I hope that is alright?

Illiterati · Post by **Illiterati** » January 8th, 2009, 3:32 pm

Hi!

Well, it is quite a chunk for a very first recording. Usually we ask people to start with a work in the short works section; a short story of your choice, or the weekly poem, for instance. But if you are determined, I won't slow you down.

Since this is your first recording, however, you may want to send a sample recording of a minute or so, so that we can straighten all the possible kinks in sound quality, volume etc. It's much better than having to redo some of the recording because of a technical thing that could easily have been resolved.

To do this, first upload your test recording to http://upload.librivox.org

(If you have trouble reading the image above, please message an admin)

You will need to select xx as MC. Please wait the file to upload, and you will receive a link. Copy this link and post it to the thread "Listeners & Editors Wanted". Tag it with something like CC - test. That would mean getting feedback on also the non-technical aspects of your reading.

After that's done, and you've got the feedback, adjusted what needs possibly to be adjusted, just head back here and reclaim and start recording.

I

rachaelreads · Post by **rachaelreads** » January 12th, 2009, 3:39 pm

Could I have sections 10 and 11?

Illiterati · Post by **Illiterati** » January 12th, 2009, 3:49 pm

Most certainly, rr.

This is your new page: http://librivox.org/newcatalog/people_public.php?peopleid=3499

I checked your test recording as well, and you are ready to go. Have fun with it. Just remember to tell it to the person who is listening to your story on the other side of the table from you.

I