Free Audiobooks

Moby Dick - Herman Melville - Book 1, Part 4

Title: Moby Dick

Overview: Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that on the ship's previous voyage bit off Ahab's leg at the knee. A contribution to the literature of the American Renaissance, Moby-Dick was published to mixed reviews, was a commercial failure, and was out of print at the time of the author's death in 1891. Its reputation as a "Great American Novel" was established only in the 20th century, after the centennial of its author's birth. William Faulkner said he wished he had written the book himself, and D. H. Lawrence called it "one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world" and "the greatest book of the sea ever written". Its opening sentence, "Call me Ishmael", is among world literature's most famous. Melville began writing Moby-Dick in February 1850, and finished 18 months later, a year longer than he had anticipated. Melville drew on his experience as a common sailor from 1841 to 1844, including several years on whalers, and on wide reading in whaling literature. The white whale is modeled on the notoriously hard-to-catch albino whale Mocha Dick, and the book's ending is based on the sinking of the whaleship Essex in 1820. His literary influences include Shakespeare and the Bible. The detailed and realistic descriptions of whale hunting and of extracting whale oil, as well as life aboard ship among a culturally diverse crew, are mixed with exploration of class and social status, good and evil, and the existence of God. In addition to narrative prose, Melville uses styles and literary devices ranging from songs, poetry, and catalogs to Shakespearean stage directions, soliloquies, and asides. In August 1850, with the manuscript perhaps half-finished, he met Nathaniel Hawthorne and was deeply moved by his Mosses from an Old Manse, which he compared to Shakespeare in its cosmic ambitions. This encounter may have inspired him to revise and expand Moby-Dick, which is dedicated to Hawthorne, "in token of my admiration for his genius". The book was first published (in three volumes) as The Whale in London in October 1851, and under its definitive title in a single-volume edition in New York in November. The London publisher, Richard Bentley, censored or changed sensitive passages; Melville made revisions as well, including a last-minute change to the title for the New York edition. The whale, however, appears in the text of both editions as "Moby Dick", without the hyphen. Reviewers in Britain were largely favorable, though some objected that the tale seemed to be told by a narrator who perished with the ship, as the British edition lacked the Epilogue recounting Ishmael's survival. American reviewers were more hostile.

Published: 1851

List: 100 Classic Book Collection

Author: Herman Melville

Genre: Novel, Adventure Fiction, Epic, Sea Story, Encyclopedic Novel

Episode: Moby Dick - Herman Melville - Book 1, Part 4

Part: 4 of 5

Length Part: 5:36:19

Book: 1

Length Book: 24:38:10

Episodes: 28 - 36 of 44

Narrator: Stewart Wills

Language: English

Edition: Unabridged Audiobook

Keywords: determination, persistence, man versus nature, whale, battle, morality play, perception, discovery

Credits: All LibriVox Recordings are in the Public Domain. Wikipedia (c) Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. WOMBO Dream.

A Daughter of the Snows - Jack London - Book 2, Part 2

Title: A Daughter of the Snows

Overview: A Daughter of the Snows (1902) is Jack London's first novel. Set in the Yukon, it tells the story of Frona Welse, "a Stanford graduate and physical Valkyrie" who takes to the trail after upsetting her wealthy father's community by her forthright manner and befriending the town's prostitute. She is also torn between love for two suitors: Gregory St Vincent, a local man who turns out to be cowardly and treacherous; and Vance Corliss, a Yale-trained mining engineer. The novel is noteworthy for its strong and self-reliant heroine, one of many who would people his fiction. Her name echoes that of his mother, Flora Wellman, though her inspiration has also been said to include London's friend Anna Strunsky. Modern commentators have criticized the novel for its approval of the main character's view that Anglo-Saxons are racially superior. This novel contains very overt racial and gender stereotypes and as such reflects the attitudes growing in society at the time it was written. The novel was commissioned by publisher S. S. McClure, who provided London a $125 a month stipend to write it.

Published: 1902

Series: Novels #2

Author: Jack London

Genre: Adventure Novel, Action & Adventure, General Fiction

Episode: A Daughter of the Snows - Jack London - Book 2, Part 2

Part: 2 of 2

Length Part: 4:31:38

Book: 2

Length Book: 8:34:43

Episodes: 16 - 30 of 30

Narrator: Don W. Jenkins

Language: English

Rated: Guidance Suggested

Edition: Unabridged Audiobook

Keywords: determination, persistence, man versus nature, battle, morality play, perception, discovery, travels, adventure, family, jacklondon

Hashtags: #freeaudiobooks #audiobook #mustread #readingbooks #audiblebooks #favoritebooks #free #booklist #audible #freeaudiobook #determination #persistence #man #nature #battle #morality #perception #discovery #travels #adventure #family #JackLondon

Credits: All LibriVox Recordings are in the Public Domain. Wikipedia (c) Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. WOMBO Dream. Don W. Jenkins.

Short Science Fiction Collections - Book 65

Title: Short Science Fiction Collections

Overview: Thousands of short science fiction stories are available through our Short Science Fiction Collections series from classic science fiction authors Jules Verne, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G. Wells, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, Robert Louis Stevenson, Hugo Gernsback, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Philip K. Dick, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Frank Herbert, Voltaire, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and many other science fiction authors. Science fiction (sometimes shortened to sci-fi or SF where Forrest J Ackerman has been credited with first using the term "sci-fi" in about 1954) is a genre of speculative fiction that typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. It has been called the "literature of ideas", and it often explores the potential consequences of scientific, social, and technological innovations. Science fiction can trace its roots back to ancient mythology, is related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction, and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Science fiction, in literature, film, television, and other media, has become popular and influential over much of the world, and it is also often said to inspire a "sense of wonder". Besides providing entertainment, it can also criticize present-day society and explore alternatives. The literary genre of science fiction is diverse, and its exact definition remains a contested question among both scholars and devotees. This lack of consensus is reflected in debates about the genre's history, particularly over determining its exact origins. Question of deeper origins aside, science fiction developed and boomed in the 20th century, as the deep integration of science and inventions into daily life encouraged a greater interest in literature that explores the relationship between technology, society, and the individual. Scholar Robert Scholes calls the history of science fiction "the history of humanity's changing attitudes toward space and time ... the history of our growing understanding of the universe and the position of our species in that universe." In recent decades, the genre has diversified and become firmly established as a major influence on global culture and thought.

Published: Various

List: Short Science Fiction Collections, Sci-Fi #65

Author: Various

Genre: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy Fiction, Science Fiction Adventure, Fantasy Action & Adventure, Anthologies

Episode: Short Science Fiction Collections - Book 65

Part: 1 of 1

Length Part: 6:09:37

Book: 65

Length Book: 6:09:37

Episodes: 1 - 20 of 20

Narrator: Collaborative

Memorium: Gregg Margarite (1957 - 2012), Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)

Language: English

Rated: Guidance Suggested

Edition: Unabridged Audiobook

Keywords: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Sci-Fi, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H. P. Lovecraft, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, Bram Stoker, Lewis Carroll, Gertrude Atherton, Mark Twain, H. G. Wells, Rudyard Kipling, Oscar Wilde, Joseph Conrad, Harriet Beecher Stowe

Hashtags: #freeaudiobooks #audiobook #mustread #readingbooks #audiblebooks #favoritebooks #free #booklist #audible #freeaudiobook #ScienceFiction #ShortStories #Anthologies #Sci-Fi #CharlesDickens #SirArthurConanDoyle #HPLovecraft #MaryShelley #EdgarAllanPoe #WashingtonIrving #BramStoker #LewisCarroll #GertrudeAtherton #MarkTwain #HGWells #RudyardKipling #OscarWilde #JosephConrad #HarrietBeecherStowe

Credits: All LibriVox Recordings are in the Public Domain. Wikipedia (c) Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. WOMBO Dream.

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë - Book 1, Part 2

Title: Jane Eyre

Overview: Jane Eyre; (originally published as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography) is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë, published under the pen name "Currer Bell", on 16 October 1847, by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first American edition was published the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York. Jane Eyre is a Bildungsroman that follows the experiences of its eponymous heroine, including her growth to adulthood and her love for Mr. Rochester, the brooding master of Thornfield Hall. The novel revolutionized prose fiction by being the first to focus on its protagonist's moral and spiritual development through an intimate first-person narrative, where actions and events are colored by a psychological intensity. Charlotte Brontë has been called the "first historian of the private consciousness", and the literary ancestor of writers like Proust and Joyce. The book contains elements of social criticism with a strong sense of Christian morality at its core, and it is considered by many to be ahead of its time because of Jane's individualistic character and how the novel approaches the topics of class, sexuality, religion, and feminism. It, along with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, is one of the most famous romance novels of all time.

Published: 1847

List: 100 Classic Book Collection

Author: Charlotte Brontë

Genre: General Fiction, Romance, Gothic, Bildungsroman

Episode: Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë - Book 1, Part 2

Part: 2 of 3

Length Part: 6:50:51

Book: 1

Length Book: 18:36:29

Episodes: 14 - 26 of 38

Narrator: Elizabeth Klett

Language: English

Edition: Unabridged Audiobook

Keywords: love, autonomy, belonging, value, self-sacrifice, integrity, personal value, marriage

Credits: All LibriVox Recordings are in the Public Domain. Wikipedia (c) Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. WOMBO Dream.

Short Nonfiction Collections - Book 54

Title: Short Nonfiction Collections

Overview: Thousands of short stories are available through our Short Nonfiction Collections series from classic authors Ernest Hemingway, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, James Joyce, J. D. Salinger, William Faulkner, Jack London, Anton Chekhov, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walt Whitman, Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Douglass, Charles Darwin, O Henry, Sir Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, and many other classic authors. These nonfiction short stories provide accurate information regarding a real-world topic and may be presented either objectively or subjectively. Nonfiction is one of the fundamental divisions of narrative writing (specifically, prose) — in contrast to fiction, largely populated by imaginary characters and events, though sometimes ambiguous regarding its basis in reality. Each of the short story collections is a book of short stories that may or may not share a tone, theme, setting, or characters with one another. While specific claims in a nonfiction work may prove inaccurate, the typical author genuinely aims to be truthful at the time of their composition, offering accounts of historical or empirical facts. Systematic reporting of the beliefs of others in a nonfiction format is not necessarily an endorsement of the veracity of those beliefs, but rather an exercise in representing the topic. These short story collections are made up of smaller texts—the individual short stories—in order to form a superior whole. In spite of this, each short story does not lose any of its meaning or narrative independence by being included in a collection. This does not mean that these short stories do not gain any new meaning from being included in a collection, though. Because each story's context has changed, surrounded by other stories with their own meanings and tones, the meaning and tone of any individual story might also be affected. In addition to the individual stories, short story collections may also include notes by the author.

Published: Various

List: Short Nonfiction Collections, Nonfiction #54

Author: Various

Genre: Non-Fiction, Essays & Short Works, Academic, Almanac, Autobiography, Biography, Creative Nonfiction, Design, Diary, Dictionary, Encyclopedia, Essay, Guides & Manuals, Handbook, History, Journal, Journalism, Letter, Letter Collection, Literary Criticism, Memoir, Natural History, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Popular Science, Self-Help, Science, Short Works, Statute, Technical, Theology, Travelogue

Episode: Short Nonfiction Collections - Book 54

Part: 1 of 1

Length Part: 6:04:36

Book: 54

Length Book: 6:04:36

Episodes: 1 - 16 of 16

Narrator: Collaborative

Language: English

Rated: Guidance Suggested

Edition: Unabridged Audiobook

Keywords: anthologies, historical, melodrama, philosophical, picaresque, sea story, tragedy, detective, mystery, horror, science, fiction, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, O Henry, Sir Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, JM Barrie, HG Wells, Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire, Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo

Hashtags: #freeaudiobooks #audiobook #mustread #readingbooks #audiblebooks #favoritebooks #free #booklist #audible #freeaudiobook #anthologies #historical #melodrama #philosophical #picaresque #seastory #tragedy #detective #mystery #horror #science #fiction #NathanielHawthorne #WashingtonIrving #EdgarAllanPoe #HenryWadsworthLongfellow #OHenry #SirWalterScott #CharlesDickens #JMBarrie #HGWells #FrancoisMarieArouetdeVoltaire #AlexandreDumas #VictorHugo

Credits: All LibriVox Recordings are in the Public Domain. Wikipedia (c) Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. WOMBO Dream.