News:

Got a few minutes to kill? Try the Doom Flash Challenge :afro: - http://www.cafedoom.com/forum/index.php/board,36.0.html

Main Menu

Download Free MP3 Audiobooks from Barnes and Noble

Started by elay2433, May 14, 2009, 02:48:55 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

elay2433

For those of you who do audiobooks:

Barnes and Noble is offering free MP3 downloads of nine audiobooks. The audiobooks are short stories by authors that include The Babysitter's Code by Laura Lippman, Great Day: An Unabridged Story from Armegeddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut, and Merrano of the Dry Country by Louis L'Amour. Tom Sawyer is also available for the free download. The audiobooks can be listened to on any device that plays MP3s.

The free downloads are only available at bn.com or its mirror sites. The offer ends at 2:59 a.m. Eastern Time on May 16.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/Free-Audiobook-MP3-Downloads/379001389/?cds2Pid=27239&linkid=1383455

There's a Joe Hill story, too.

Ed

Thanks for the heads-up, Elay - I'll look forward to listening to them. Great stuff :afro:
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

elay2433

You're welcome. Haven't read any Joe Hill yet, so I'm looking forward to the listen as well.

Pharosian

Quote from: elay2433 on May 14, 2009, 05:49:15 PM
You're welcome. Haven't read any Joe Hill yet, so I'm looking forward to the listen as well.

I'll be interested to hear what you think of "Best New Horror," the Joe Hill selection. I got the audiobook "20th Century Ghosts" from the library, and that story is part of the collection. It wasn't my favorite story of the bunch, but it wasn't the worst of the lot, either. It *is* probably the one most deserving of the "horror story" label, and it should be noted that whether you do or don't like the story, the range of tones in the rest of the collection is wide, so you shouldn't expect the others he's written to match it in any particular way, other than being very well written. The narrator does a great job.

elay2433

Thanks, Pharosian. I'll let you know what I think after I give it a listen.

Ed

Well, I tried to get the mp3s, but ran into the first roadblock - I'm outside the United States. Tried to get around it by making up an address and a zip code, which seemed to work ok, but then they wanted payment, so I opted to pay by phone, thinking that they would drop the requirement before it was necessary to ring anybody, being that the mp3s are actually free. No such luck. I tried to change my payment option to Paypal, but now it tells me my cart is empty ::)

I give up.

Don't suppose one of you would be kind enough to upload the Joe Hill one to megaupload, or something like that, and give me the link so I can have a listen, please?
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Ed

Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

elay2433


Ed

Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Ed

Forgot to say what I thought of the story.

I think it's one that editors will like and relate to more than readers. It's predictable from the moment the MC decides to go and see the writer, and it's standard fare all the way. Could be one of those trunk stories that finally found a home? I'm not awe inspired, but it was written well for what it was. The plot was pretty dull for my tastes.

What did everybody else think of it?
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

elay2433

Haven't listened yet. I'm in the middle of  a novel that has about three hours left.

Ed

Can you imagine having the job of reading aloud for that length of time? I couldn't do it. It was difficult enough reading bedtime stories for my kids and keeping the voice going, keeping it oiled with tea, and varied, rather than monotone, etc. The thought of reading a whole novel aloud would leave me in a cold sweat, I think :shocked:
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Pharosian

Quote from: Ed on May 28, 2009, 03:41:29 AM
Forgot to say what I thought of the story.

I think it's one that editors will like and relate to more than readers. It's predictable from the moment the MC decides to go and see the writer, and it's standard fare all the way. Could be one of those trunk stories that finally found a home? I'm not awe inspired, but it was written well for what it was. The plot was pretty dull for my tastes.

What did everybody else think of it?

Yes, I'd have to agree. Most, if not all of the others in the collection are much more imaginative. I didn't like the ending of "Best New Horror." I thought it was weak, and as you said, predictable. Where Joe Hill really shines (in the other stories, at least) is in his characterization. He creates memorable characters for most of the stories, though for a couple of them, such as "Last Breath," it's the "idea" that carries the story more than the character(s). I rated this a 3 out of 5, and ranked it about 11 out of the 15 stories in the collection.

elay2433

Went ahead and gave it a listen. Not bad. Nothing I'll remember a year from now, but entertaining. I can't say I saw the ending coming. It almost seemed the horror of it just got started and then the story ended openly. No point of another ten pages of him being chased through the woods I guess. I think the MC in the story said it somewhere: In horror it's often the things you leave unsaid that count. Suppose that's true. All said, I think I'll give the collection a shot. If he can create characters anywhere near as well as his dad then it'll be worth the read.