[GROUP] Coffee Break Collection #39 - MAGIC lt

[msfry]

Coffee Break Collection #39 - MAGIC

This is the 39th Coffee Break Collection, in which Librivox readers select and read stories or poems, fiction or non-fiction pieces of fifteen minutes' duration or less, suitable for short commutes and coffee breaks. The subject for this collection is "MAGIC" . Michele Fry, BC.

• There is no need to pre-claim. You will read from text you provide.
  
  Where do I find the text? Any Public Domain text is acceptable. Project Gutenberg is a good place to search for material, and you might run across authors/stories mentioned in other stories you are reading.
  
  New to recording? This is a great place to start. Please read our Newbie Guide to Recording!
  
  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.
  
  Level of prooflistening: standard. Michele Fry (msfry) will DPL. (Note: if you are new, please read the PL FAQ). Be sure to edit and proof listen your own files before submitting!
  
  Please don't download or listen to files belonging to projects in process (unless you are the BC or PL). Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!
  

  Magic Window:

  
  
  BC Admin
  
• Link to author on Wikipedia (if available):
• Link to title on Wikipedia (if available):
• Number of sections (files) this project will have: 20
• Does the project have an introduction or preface: No
• Original publication date (if known):
• If you are a new volunteer, how would you like your name (or pseudonym) credited in the catalog?
• Do you have a URL you would like associated with your name?:

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Genres for the project: Short Stories/Anthologies

Keywords that describe the book: magic, short stories

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[*]BEFORE recording: Please check the Recording Notes: viewtopic.php?p=6430#p6430

Set your recording software to:
Channels: 1 (Mono)
Bit Rate: 128 kbps
Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz

[*]DURING recording:
Include 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the recording!
Make sure you add this to the beginning of your recording:

START of recording (INTRO)
"Title of story by Author. Coffee Break Collection 39 - Magic 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 a poem, omit the italicized intro and add shortened disclaimer at the end (as shown below).
If you wish, say: "Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
Say:
"Title of story", then read the story

END of recording (OUTRO)
At the end of the story, say:
"End of: title", by Author
If you wish, say:
"Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
If a poem, add “This Librivox recording is in the public domain.”
[There should be ~5 seconds silence at the end of the recording.

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 latest version of Audacity is recommended for noise-cleaning. See this LibriVox wiki page for a complete guide.

Save files as:
128 kbps MP3
cbc39_shorttitleinoneword_readersinitials_128kb.mp3 (all lower-case) (e.g. cbc39_halos_mtf_128kb.mp3) (remember to ignore 'the', 'a' at the beginning of your title)
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: https://librivox.org/login/uploader
  
  (If you have trouble reading the image above, please message an admin)
• 
  You'll need to select the MC folder, which for this project is: lt - Lynnet
• When your upload is complete, you will receive a link - please post it in this thread.
• If this doesn't work, or you have questions, please check our How To Send Your Recording wiki page.

Please post in this thread:

• The link from the uploader
  The file length in mm:ss
  The title of the story
  The author of the story with birth and death dates if available. Translator's birth and death dates if applicable
  Link to the online text (must be Public Domain).

Any questions?
Please post below[/list]

BC/DPL: msfry Michele Fry
MC: LynneT Lynne
Cover: msfry Michele Fry
[/quote]

[Lynnet]

Ready for submissions.

[Winnifred]

I have a question. I'd like to record "The Magic Fishbone" by Charles Dickens, but the version I'm looking at has a brief Foreword. Should I include this or just go straight into the story?

Thanks,

[Beeswaxcandle]

https://librivox.org/uploads/lynnet/cbc39_prefacetomagic_bwc_128kb.mp3 06:09
Preface to Magic by Ellis Stanyon (1870–1951). Preface written by Henry Ridgely Evans (1861–1949). Published 1910
Source: https://archive.org/details/magicinwhichareg00stan

[msfry]

I have a question. I'd like to record "The Magic Fishbone" by Charles Dickens, but the version I'm looking at has a brief Foreword. Should I include this or just go straight into the story?

Thanks,

If you think the Forward is relevant and the 15 minute rule isn't exceeded by much, I'd say include it.

[Winnifred]

I have a question. I'd like to record "The Magic Fishbone" by Charles Dickens, but the version I'm looking at has a brief Foreword. Should I include this or just go straight into the story?

Thanks,

If you think the Forward is relevant and the 15 minute rule isn't exceeded by much, I'd say include it.

Ah, I think it'll exceed the 15 minutes even without the Foreword (almost 4,000 words). I'd better find something else and save this for a short story collection.

Thanks,

[msfry]

Ah, I think it'll exceed the 15 minutes even without the Foreword (almost 4,000 words).

Indeed it will. For what it's worth, I figure 150 WPM is 1500 words every 10 minutes, give or take a few minutes for differences in reading speed. My actual speed is a bit higher - about 165, but I can adjust my recordings' tempo up or down, using Audacity's Tempo Effect without any discernable change in audio quality, to squeeze into a desired time requirement. That would not work in this instance, of course.

There is also a neat little Words To Time app, listed on our Word Count Wiki, that helps people estimate their finished file length.

[Winnifred]

Ah, I think it'll exceed the 15 minutes even without the Foreword (almost 4,000 words).

Indeed it will. For what it's worth, I figure 150 WPM is 1500 words every 10 minutes, give or take a few minutes for differences in reading speed. My actual speed is a bit higher - about 165, but I can adjust my recordings' tempo up or down, using Audacity's Tempo Effect without any discernable change in audio quality, to squeeze into a desired time requirement. That would not work in this instance, of course.

There is also a neat little Words To Time app, listed on our Word Count Wiki, that helps people estimate their finished file length.

Now that's all very useful information. Thanks! I always forget to check length of readings when I come across something I like.

Cheers,

[Winnifred]

Here's a story of an appropriate length:

“The Magic Bon Bons,” by L. Frank Baum
From American Fairy Tales

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4357

https://librivox.org/uploads/lynnet/cbc39_magicbonbons_wja_128kb.mp3 (14:21)

A couple of notes about some minor changes I made (as I know you'll be reading the text, Michelle )

• At 7:29-7:30, I’ve inserted the word “so” that isn’t in the original text because the sentence doesn’t make sense without it.

• At 9:58-9:59, I’ve read “and catching up his hat and coat in the hall…” rather than “had and coat” as the text has it, since this has to be a typo.

Cheers,

[msfry]

“The Magic Bon Bons,” by L. Frank Baum
From American Fairy Tales

Got it! Will begin PLing these stories shortly.

[msfry]

Thank you Beeswaxcandle and Winnifred for submitting the first 2 entries on magic, both of them quite interesting, and PL OK!

BTW, I sat next to a magician at a banquet last weekend and he regaled me with his card tricks. He tried to teach me one using our 2 place cards, but I couldn't do it and he said he could not reveal the secret of the others due to the magicians code of secrecy or some such. My Uncle Rene used to make my fork disappear at the dinnertable when I was a young child. I never caught on to that one either. Magic is fascinating, entertaining, and I'd love to have some of those bon bons!

[Beeswaxcandle]

The Magic Number by Anon.
Taken from Punch, Volume 147, Issue 3813 (August 5th, 1914) https://archive.org/details/sim_punch_july-08-december-23-1914_147 p.125

https://librivox.org/uploads/lynnet/cbc39_magicnumber_bwc_128kb.mp3 04:02

[msfry]

The Magic Number is PL OK.
Thanks for contributing, Bees. If you know of any other "magic" stories, please post the titles here (even if you don't want to read them), as none seem to be popping up on this topic.

[Winnifred]

Here are a couple of suggestions:

The L Frank Baum book where I found "The Magic Bon-Bons" contained other stories (several approx. 2,000 - 3,000 words) involving magic, so readers might find something there: American Fairy Tales

There's also "The Autumn After Next," an entertaining little story from If by Margaret St. Clair. It's just over 2,500 words, and there's certainly magic involved.

Cheers,

[msfry]

Here are a couple of suggestions:

The L Frank Baum book where I found "The Magic Bon-Bons" contained other stories (several approx. 2,000 - 3,000 words) involving magic, so readers might find something there: American Fairy Tales

There's also "The Autumn After Next," an entertaining little story from If by Margaret St. Clair. It's just over 2,500 words, and there's certainly magic involved.

Cheers,

I need something myself, so I'll have a look. Thanks.