COMPLETE: Five Children and It, by Edith Nesbit

Solo or group recordings that are finished and fully available for listeners
Banshee

Post by Banshee »

kayray
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Post by kayray »

Wow, Maureen, I listened to the first couple of minutes just now and it sounds GREAT!!! Want to do another chapter? There's no reason you have to stop at one :)

Hugh, I'll collect all the files as they come in, check for proper formatting etc, and let you know when I've got them all.

WOOHOO!!!

Kara
Kara
http://kayray.org/
--------
"Mary wished to say something very sensible into her Zoom H2 Handy Recorder, but knew not how." -- Jane Austen (& Kara)
hugh
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Post by hugh »

alisha will take chapter 10. Scalps.
Guest

Post by Guest »

trying last night - very dialogue heavy with many diff characters. how are people approaching that? different voices?
kayray
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Post by kayray »

I don't really like listening to an audiobook where the reader has tried to do many different voices, so I gave the Psammead a gravelly voice and left everyone else alone.

Up to you :)

Kara
Kara
http://kayray.org/
--------
"Mary wished to say something very sensible into her Zoom H2 Handy Recorder, but knew not how." -- Jane Austen (& Kara)
Banshee

Post by Banshee »

I have to admit that I'm into doing funny voices, even if my accent is uncertain and thus they make me sound pretty stupid. I suspect this to be the evil influence of either my parents before I can remember, or Tolkien. (It was always obvious to me that <i>The Hobbit</i> was meant to be read with funny voices, and indeed, when I finally got to hear it, his reading of the "Riddles in the Dark" chapter turned out to be a masterpiece of bizarrerie.)

But on the other hand, you really don't need to use <i>any</i> different voices, even if there's plenty of unmarked dialogue, as long as the writer differentiates the speakers enough. I find that Nesbit makes the natural rhythms of each child's comments pretty different. If you're really worried about differentiating, you can always shift around at the microphone a little for each speaker; but again, this is probably unnecessary.

My best advice for reading children's books out loud is this: imagine a child sitting on your lap (or go get a real one), and start reading. Your own natural reading-to-kids style will soon emerge, and you'll do fine.
kayray
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Post by kayray »

Great advice :)

Also, there's a certain rhythm to dialogue... little pauses and changes in inflection sort of let you know who is speaking, even if there's no "cyril said, anthea said".

If you're not sure what you're doing sounds right, record a bit, then listen back without looking at the text. Does it sound good? Can you tell who is supposed to be speaking? And remember YOU are probably going to be overly critical of your own reading. :)

Don't worry about it too much! If you haven't done a lot of reading aloud, you'll get wayyyy more comfortable over time, so sign up for lots of books here!

Kara
Kara
http://kayray.org/
--------
"Mary wished to say something very sensible into her Zoom H2 Handy Recorder, but knew not how." -- Jane Austen (& Kara)
GordMackenzie
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Post by GordMackenzie »

Gord Mackenzie
gord[dot]mackenzie[at]gmail.com
Librivox Wiki Page: [url=http://librivox.org/wiki/moin.cgi/GordMackenzie]GordMackenzie[/url]
kayray
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Post by kayray »

Thanks Gord -- downloading now :)

Kara
Kara
http://kayray.org/
--------
"Mary wished to say something very sensible into her Zoom H2 Handy Recorder, but knew not how." -- Jane Austen (& Kara)
hugh
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Post by hugh »

Last edited by hugh on October 16th, 2005, 5:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
kayray
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Post by kayray »

Thanks Hugh -- sounds great :)

Kara
Kara
http://kayray.org/
--------
"Mary wished to say something very sensible into her Zoom H2 Handy Recorder, but knew not how." -- Jane Austen (& Kara)
SarahHadley
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Post by SarahHadley »

Thanks for the heads-up over in the other thread, kayray - is "Grown Up" still available?

And how did y'all choose to say "Psammead"? I have _always_ said "Sammy-add," but I'm not sure that's right. (I might be wrong, but doesn't Nesbit actually give a pronunciation of some kind?)

~S
kayray
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Post by kayray »

Sarah -- "Grown Up" is yours!

Yes, the children in the story pronounce it "sammy-ad" so you're right on.

Make sure to read the Recording Notes before you begin:

http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=106

And let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for volunteering! Now this wonderful book is fully subscribed -- YAY!!!
Kara
http://kayray.org/
--------
"Mary wished to say something very sensible into her Zoom H2 Handy Recorder, but knew not how." -- Jane Austen (& Kara)
SarahHadley
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Post by SarahHadley »

And apparently I got rather bored, because here's Chapter 9: Grown Up already. :) I can tamper with the volume if I need to.

http://mattdale.whoniversity.co.uk/sarah/fivechildren_09_nesbit.mp3

I'm afraid I _am_ one of those people who always does different voices, so...sorry, everyone...as a result, you get a rather Michael Caine-esque Psammead!

~S
"I give myself some very good advice - but I very seldom follow it."
kayray
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Post by kayray »

Beautifully read, Sarah! No need to tinker with volume, it sounds great just the way it is. Thanks for the speedy recording! Now, go sign up for another book :)

Hey we've got seven chapters done -- only need another four more!

Kara
Kara
http://kayray.org/
--------
"Mary wished to say something very sensible into her Zoom H2 Handy Recorder, but knew not how." -- Jane Austen (& Kara)
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