DIY Audiobooks By Yours Truly!

In a few posts now, I've mentioned that I enjoy reading aloud to my roommate, who has great taste in stories, but reads at the pace of an actual snail. We've kicked around the idea of recording these readalouds for other people to listen to while they're going about their day. Now it's happening!

In time, I'd like to work up to reading whole books, but I've started small...ish. (Who knew that a simple 10-page story could turn into a 30-minute recording? Not me, that's for sure.)

These recordings were meant to be heard, rather than watched; there's not much to look at, just your resident book grump turning pages. I hope they're fun to listen to, though. I'd love to hear your comments (and suggestions on how to improve the recording quality.)

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The first recording I did was "Stronger Than Time," a short story by Patricia C. Wrede from her collection Book of Enchantments. I don't like this recording as much now that I've done the others--the "voice" of the story is rather flat and dry, where the other two have a much more lively narration that's fun to read (and act out a bit)--but it's still a lovely, eerie story that plays off the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty.

I'm more proud of this next one: "Barrens Dance" by Peter S. Beagle, from the anthology Wizards (which I highly recommend, by the by.) This is an original tale about a fantasy frontier's troubles with the local wizard, and his attempts to woo a monster trainer away from her husband. If you must watch a video, rather than listen, I recommend this one.

And if neither of these stories sound like your taste, try Patricia McKillip's "Lady of the Skulls" from the anthology The Secret History of Fantasy. This is another original short story with a heavy Arthurian feel, about an enchanted tower and its guardian. The legends say that the one who chooses the most precious treasure in the tower will win it all, but those who choose wrongly will die on the spot.

Happy listening!