Hi, Here's my contribution including reflections on recording the 8000th work.
duration 4.06
https://librivox.org/uploads/cori/podcast138_dw.mp3
I'm including here the text of the recording in case it might make editing easier:
One of the things I like most about recording works for librivox, whether fiction or non-fiction, is the peek into another world, another place and time. Written before 1923, sometimes subtly and sometimes in ways that hit you in the face, a different worldview reveals itself. These are people who haven’t lived through the second horrific world war (and often not even the first), the holocaust, the threat of nuclear annihilation, techno-terrorism, modern communication, tv, the internet, antibiotics and modern surgery, and so much more. Sometimes that worldview is refreshing (a trust in progress and the perfectibility of the human), sometimes it’s appalling (the almost unconscious racism and anti-semitism). But it’s always interesting and thought-provoking. Maybe if we remember our past we won’t repeat it.
I really quite enjoyed reading Invention and Discovery, Curious Facts And Characteristic Sketches, written anonymously sometime in the mid-nineteenth century. It is a collection of miscellaneous blurbs from countless sources, seemingly on any subject great or small that struck the editor’s interest. Sometimes the science is howlingly wrong; electricity does not run through a wire faster than the speed of light. Sometimes we get a view of relationships we might never have guessed, for example, the devotion and contribution of Caroline Herschel to her brother William Herschel’s astronomical discoveries and telescopic technology. Some other topics chosen at random: Babbage’s calculating machine, Cuvier and Napoleon, electrifying machine in Persia, navigation before the compass, Christopher Wren’s destruction of the ruins of Old St Paul’s Cathedral in London, strychnine a remedy for paralysis, a watch melted by lightning, the world in a drop of water, and hundreds more. I don’t think one would want to listen to the whole book at one sitting, but because I recorded the work in approximately 30-minute segments, it’s easy to dip into a few now and then. I hope folks enjoy listening to Invention and Discovery as much as I enjoyed recording it.
Although I enjoy occasionally contributing to group projects (especially when something is tantalizingly close to completion), I usually record solo. That’s probably because I am a big-time control freak. I like the idea of being solely responsible for shaping the experience of the listener. Because I am a very strong introvert, I don’t find solo recording lonely but rather refreshing. Introverts need their alone time to be able to face the world. I like both fiction and non-fiction with a slight bias toward fiction; I like an author’s creation of an alternate reality. I enjoy trolling through projectgutenberg.org because one comes upon the most amazing stuff, sort of like walking down the physical aisles of a library. On the other hand, it can be a frustrating exercise: so many books, so little time! The human mind is astounding.
When I choose something to listen to, I usually choose solo works, too. Because I have some hearing loss, it’s easier to become accustomed to one voice (intonation, pronunciation, phrasing, etc) than to many. But the controlling factor is my interest in the work itself. And I do find fascinating different readers’ styles and vocal creations. Librivox volunteers are an amazing group. I am so glad I found such a group to work with, valuing similar intellectual ideals.