Any legal junkies out there?
If you are studying to be a lawyer, interested in being a better citizen or trying to the next John Grisham, it could be fun to listen to SOME of this project. It strives to publish, “all audio recorded in the Court since the installation of a recording system in October 1955.”
Oyez.org
about $100 per course (free at some public libraries)
The Cadillac of audible non-fiction, the teaching company offers great college courses in audioform. Now that they offer content in mp3 form, they qualify as a podpook publisher.
The courses are designed for adult life long learners. This means that they strive at the parts of a subject that are intellectually interesting but not bogged down in the minutia that professional training would entail. So it may fail some looking for professional training but they are interesting enough.
Spoken Alexandria is a project that is trying to put out content nearly free. Books often cost less than $1.00 and money is used to fund the hosting and creation of content.
Audiotreasure offers the bible for free download or on a low cost CD.
freechristianaudioSome computer read books are not everyone’s cup of tea. I myself am leaning strongly toward these types of books because I can quickly make one for myself from any text I can download or scan onto my computer.
Christian audio.com is a commercial site but offers the old Christian Classics ethereal Library audio collection and a free download of the month.
The former CCEL collection books can be found scattered about the net now. For example G. K Chesteron’s works can be found at librivox. I might set about the project of making a recommended list.
Looks like this catholic collection is immense.
A small selection of works written and performed by there creator childrens_stories
and Short stories Nice production.
Project Gutenberg has a huge repository of texts which I recommend for use with a text to speech program. They have a section of public domain human read books. Public domain usually means that the author has died long enough ago for the work to belong to us all. The recording is made by a volunteer choosing to read the book. Production values are often low but I am biased in favor of the value of the classics.
A lot of stuff not exactly to my taste I prefer those dry old classics like on project gutenberg but probably what most people are looking for when they think of podbooks. Contemporary authors submitting there work for exposure or just the love of writing
Non Fiction and Essays
Children’s **Caution there are also selections inappropriate for children. But they are clearly deliniated**
http://www.freeclassicaudiobooks.com/ seems a little spammy on the advertising. And I’m not sure if it is horribly redundant on the content from gutenberg. They give proper credit and a link to one site they are borrowing from.
Annie Colman makes a podcast of classic books given to the public domain. She donates them and has easy generous terms. People who offer their work in one big zip file as well as a podcast are a class act.
Pride and Prejudice
Huck Finn
She seems to currently be working on Ann of Green Gables, delivering it via podcast.
Blog by an audiobook creater. less breadth more depth.
Nice little touches of appropriate emotion in here reading. Pleasant voice. Good recording.
license: public domain