volunteers bring you 8 recordings of Christmas at Church by Hattie Howard. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for December 2, 2018. ------ This Fortnightly Poem is taken from Poems by Hattie Howard, Pub 1902

This is the first in the series of twelve Make Believe Stories about a sawdust doll who begins her life in Toy Town with the other dolls and toys, until she goes to live with a little girl. And then her adventures begin! - Summary by Nan Dodge

The history of Egypt from the earliest times to the conquest by Alexander the Great, covering the development of Egyptian civilization: science, religion, art, language and literature. This book is written for the interested layperson, requiring no prior knowledge of Egypt, and in approachable everyday language.

This is a little collection of short stories, written by different authors and published in 1865. It is a Christmas book, and the stories will make you feel an old-fashioned Christmas spirit. All stories relate to a key that opens something, be it a door, a box, or a heart. - Summary by Carolin

In 1906, William Jennings Bryan, himself a famous American orator, and Francis Whiting Halsey published a series of the most famous orations of all time. They are ordered by both geographic area and time period, ranging from Ancient Greece to their contemporary United States. The third, fourth, and fifth volumes of this collection concern British speakers. The speeches contained in this fifth volume are ordered chronologically. We begin in the year 1865 with a speech on the Canadian Confederation, and end this volume in 1906, the year in which this volume was published, with a couple of speeches on Liberalism. - Summary by Carolin

This is a collection of poems by Violet Fane, pseudonym of Lady Mary Montgomerie Currie. The poems convey a lot of emotion, feeling, and sympathy. - Summary by Carolin

A diverse collection of short stories selected and read in English by readers. The ever-popular detective stories of Arthur Conan Doyle are joined by humor from Charles Dickens and Nathaniel Hawthorne as well as some weird and creepy selections to satisfy every taste. So sit back and enjoy the 77th Short Story Collection!

Few plays have been seen as a more fitting conclusion to a playwright's career than Shakespeare's The Tempest. Focusing on the aging sorcerer and rightful Duke of Milan, Prospero, we are transported to a remote island where magic and strange music fill the air, and the monstrous slave Caliban roams in bitterness. Seeing an opportunity to restore his slandered name, Prospero conjures a mighty storm to bring down a ship containing his wicked brother and the King of Naples, both of whom had driven him out of Milan twelve years before...

Orphan boy Oliver is forced into child labor at an early age, and after a simple plea for more food, finds himself alone in the streets of London, where ultimately he becomes the center of attention for a gang of pickpockets. - Summary by Brad "Hamlet" Filippone

A collection of stories that inspired the works of many writers such as HP Lovecraft, "The King in Yellow" revolves around the play that the main characters read a part of, and those two acts of the play drive them all into madness. - Summary by Eva Staes

The classic Christmas story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. The result of their visit shows that redemption is achievable for even the worst of us. - Summary by wikipedia and jvanstan

Fifteen short ghost stories by the Anglican then Roman Catholic priest, Robert Hugh Benson . The form of the book is of an old English Roman Catholic priest telling stories to his young friend. Benson wrote prolifically in many genres. His horror and ghost fiction are collected in The Light Invisible and A Mirror of Shalott - David Wales

volunteers bring you 12 recordings of Blessings for Chanukah by Jessie E. Sampter. This was the Weekly Poetry project for December 9, 2018. ------ Jessie Sampter was a Jewish educator, poet, and Zionist pioneer. She was born in New York City and immigrated to Palestine in 1919. In her twenties, she joined the Unitarian Church and began writing poetry. Her poems and short stories emphasized her primary concerns: pacifism, Zionism, and social justice. - Summary by Wikipedia

The memoirs of Chateaubriand continue in Volume 5, with the author, now a grand hommes des lettres, still in the thick of political events, telling his story with his trademark acerbity and melancholy, interspersed with extracts from his voluminous correspondence with the literary, intellectual and political stars of his age.

Are you interested in learning about climate change and its current and future effects on the United States? The Fourth National Climate Assessment – Volume II is a 2018 report written in non-technical language by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, a panel of independent experts, as mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990. This report focuses on the human welfare, societal, and environmental elements of climate change and variability in the U.S., with particular attention paid to observed and projected risks and impacts...

The Story of Ahikar is a fictional work. It is a colorful story but considered to be a work containing great wisdom. The story of Ahikar is considered one of the earliest "international books". It can be found in a variety of geographical translations and has been circulated in the middle east and near east regions. - Summary by CJ Plogue

A group of young adults away on a nutting expedition is delayed in a hospitable home by a sudden rainstorm. After the storm, Marjorie insists that she must get home that night, albeit late, out of respect and care for her mother. Others want to extend the fun and stay away overnight. Ralph, the driver of their wagon and unspoken beau of Marjorie, is swayed by the teasing ridicule of Estelle to refuse to take them home that night. Unknown to the party, unexpected opportunities occur at Ralph's and Estelle's homes that same night, and their delay and subsequent actions profoundly affect the course of all three of their lives. Sequel: Overruled

Children's Short Works Collection 030: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

This is a collection of 44 poems read in English by volunteers for August 2019.

A reader of this history, encountering the frequent references to “my author,” meaning the current source, will be reminded of DON QUIXOTE and of THE MORTE D'ARTHUR, for Milton employs a style that might be called dissertational rather than novelistic; he carefully identifies his sources and often quotes from them. However, much of the scholarly documentation has been omitted from the reading—all except footnotes indicating the years—to avoid cumbersome interruptions. What will be obvious to a listener, though, is that Milton uses earlier chronicles with discretion...

After his wife's desertion, Sir Austin wants to bring up his son according to a strict educational system governing every aspect of his life. However Richard has to make his own mistakes, fall in love, and generally live his own life. This book tells about the clashes between Richard's wish to govern his own life to his father's constant interference. This book was very influential. The leading libraries of the day considered it too frank and sexually explicit and refused to buy it. Later authors including E. M. Forster, Oscar Wilde and Virginia Woolf admired and respected it. - Summary by Stav Nisser and Wikipedia

This story deals with the obvious fact that we humans are split, dual. We have urges to do the 'right' thing, to be honorable and wise, but we also frequently fail to follow these better instincts and follow instead urges to do dishonorable, evil things. We seem to battle within ourselves. Are we really composed of two different personalities housed within the same brain, within the same person? Dr Jekyll in this story is so convinced and manages by scientific means to actually split himself into his ordinary composite self, and his evil self whom he calls Mr. Hyde. The horror of this unnatural split is well documented here and shows what might happen were this possible.

Edward the Black Prince was the eldest son of King Edward III of England. He commanded the vanguard at the Battle of Crécy and, skillfully deploying his troops, defeated a much larger French force at the Battle of Poitiers. In this short biography, Louise Creighton sets Edward's life within the context of his times and portrays both the bright and the dark sides of this paragon of chivalry.

A slightly more complex sequel to Mark Twain's original book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, this book really shows the true side of racism in quite a different light. A brilliant masterpiece, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follows its protagonist, Huck Finn, as he travels down the Mississippi River and learns some very important things- and even learns to see his adoptive parent's servant in a different light.

John Macmillan Brown was born in New Zealand and a University professor, wrote under the pseudonym Godfrey Sweven. An excerpt from the Introduction: "Absorbed in contemplation of its sublimity, I sat for a moment on a rock that rose out of the bush. I almost leapt from it, startled; a voice, unheralded, fell like a falling star through the soundless air. I had heard no footstep, no snap of trodden twig or rustle Of reluctant branch. My senses were so thrilled with the sound that its purport shot past them. There at the base of the rock stood the strangest figure that ever met my eyes." - Summary by Kirk202

Fifteen short nonfiction works in the public domain, independently chosen by the readers. Volume 62 features several introspective essays: by T. S. Eliot , Stephen Leacock , Carlyle , and Jonathan Swift . Life questions are further explored by theologians Agrippa von Nettesheim and Spurgeon , while spiritualist Andrew Jackson Davis presents his understanding of death and dying . Public and political life are examined by Eltwood Pomeroy , Henry Ward Beecher , Franklin Hanford , and Nicolas de Condorcet ...

"The History Teacher’s Magazine is devoted to the interests of teachers of History, Civics, and related subjects in the fields of Geography and Economics. It aims to bring to the teacher of these topics the latest news of his profession. It will describe recent methods of history teaching, and such experiments as may be tried by teachers in different parts of the country. It will keep the teacher in touch with the recent literature of history by giving an impartial judgment upon recent text-books...

volunteers bring you 11 recordings of A Merry Christmas : two early birds by anonymous. This was the Weekly Poetry project for December 11. 2018. ------ This Christmas pamphlet, dated 1890, from The Mail and Empire, a Toronto newspaper, solicits Christmas donations for the newspaper delivery boys. - Summary by David Lawrence

volunteers bring you 14 recordings of Santa Claus, Kriss Kringle or St. NIcholas by Anomymous. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for December 16, 2018. ------ This poem was published in booklet form with illustrations in 1897. - Summary by David Lawrence

By turns illuminating, infuriating, bewildering, and amusing, Nietzsche's masterwork covers a lot of ground. He rejects most strands of Western thought, especially on the subject of morality, and develops his own theme demanding that individuals embrace their own 'will to power' to give life intention and direction. First published in German in 1887, this translation was produced in 1907 by Helen Zimmern, a long-standing acquaintance of Nietzsche.There is an accessible text at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4363 but it leaves out all words in Greek, and is not in alignment with any printed edition; hence using the archive.org version. - Summary by Cori Samuel

Clare awakens in the middle of the night with no idea why. Her husband is not in his bed and as she goes in search of him she runs into her cousin Elsie who's heard a terrified shout from Rupert. When Clare returns her husband is burning papers in the grate. Next morning they discover that Uncle John a very shady and disagreeable usurer has been murdered!! Who is the culprit and will the earlier interrupted kiss ever be completed? - Summary by Celine Major

A young society woman travels to the country to visit her aunt, only to end up as the unwilling guest of a neighboring family. The daughter is not so sure how to deal with this unpleasant circumstance. The young man of the household has met her before. Through them, she gains new perspectives on life, faith, and love. - Summary by LikeManyWaters

This is the story about Tommy and how he came to better understand the animals around him. Tommy has a favourite stone that he likes to sit upon to think about his day and ponder his troubles. He comes to name this stone the wishing-stone, as it seems to grant his impulsive wishes to become various animals that happen to cross his path while sitting there. Tommy learns first-hand about the exciting life of these animals and gains a new perspective after each exciting adventure. - Summary by SweetHome

THREE great names stand forth conspicuous in the annals of America, those of Washington, Bolívar, San Martin. Of Washington, the great leader of the Democracy of the North; of Bolívar and of San Martin, who were the emancipators of the southern half of the continent. The story of the life-work of the latter of these two is the Argument of this book.The scene of action passes on a vast theatre, a territory extending for more than fifty degrees of latitude, from Cape Horn to the Tropic of Cancer, and occupies twenty years of strife...

This is a collection of old-fashioned English fairy tales. This collection, written by Ernest Rhys, founder of the Everyman's Library series of classic books, and his wife Grace, contain all the classic English fairy tales, such as Jack the Giant Killer and Tom Tit Tot. These tales have lost none of their charm in over a hundred years since they were written. - Summary by Carolin

This is a collection of fairy tales. The first story is a Christmas story in verse, and of course the Christmas holidays are the best time for fairy tales, but the other stories in this volume are fairy tales that can be enjoyed year-round. This volume contains classics like the story of Cinderella and the Beauty and the Beast, but also stories you may not expect, like the story of Robinson Crusoe and the story of Robin Hood. - Summary by Carolin

This book describes a five day national pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Lourdes, where miracle cures are hoped for. The central character is a priest, Pierre, whose faith is faltering. He is accompanying his childhood sweetheart who has been stricken with paralysis and whose faith is strong. In the background of the great irony of this relationship, there are numerous sub-plots, some tragic, some whimsical, involving a large number of characters, set in the midst of organised chaos in the pilgrimage site. Through Pierre's mental and spiritual experiences Zola explores the role of religious faith in a society coming to terms with science and reason. - Summary by Peter Tucker

volunteers bring you 18 recordings of Christmas Carol by Sara Teasdale. This was the Christmas Weekly Poetry project for December 23, 2018. ------ This Christmas Poem is taken from Helen of Troy, and Other Poems by Sara Teasdale. - Summary by David Lawrence

Two short stories by Pansy. In "What She Said and What She Meant," Mrs. Marks detests gossip and avoids it as much as she can. But what she does say is vague and suggestive. It is taken, added to, and passed on by others, so that it is no longer what she meant, and threatens to ruin people's reputations and lives in the process. In "People Who Haven't Time and Can't Afford It," Mrs. Leymon is awakened to the needs of the abject poor in her town and works out how to help them. But will she find anyone able and willing to give of their time and money to help her with the scheme?

Saint Edmund Campion, S.J., was an English Catholic Jesuit priest and martyr. While conducting an underground ministry to the persecuted Catholics of Elizabethan England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn. Campion was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and canonised in 1970 by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

This is a volume of poetry by newspaperman-poet Harry Lee Marriner, published in 1910. Many of the poems are on the joyous days then, reflecting on childhood and the simpler times, with a measure of nostalgia and pathos, which the author uses to advantage for his poetry. - Summary by Carolin

This is a volume of poetry by American author Frances Cook Steen, published in 1922. These poems reflect with clarity on the preceding decade, including the war and all the other personal and historical events which Ms Steen lived through and witnessed. - Summary by Carolin

This is a collection of stories in verse for children. Published in 1866 by an author only known by the initials F.F., these poems teach children the virtues, their duties, and what happens to ill-behaving little boys and girls. - Summary by Carolin

"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for an author to dissolve the bands which have connected him with his publishers, a decent respect for the opinions of mankind requires that he should declare the causes which impel him to the separation." So begins the alleged author's introduction to this work, which chronicles the conflict between a female author and her publisher. This conflict really did happen, although the details in this book are fictitious. For more information about the actual situation, see the author's Wikipedia article.

The Library of Romance is a series of books concerning the romance of scientific facts, be it biology, chemistry, history, or politics. This volume is one of history, concerning an account of the known facts of piracy, starting with the Vikings, and arching in history and geography toward an account of piracy in Chinese waters at around the time of publication of this volume . - Summary by Carolin

William S. Nelson, D.D., was appointed as a missionary to Syria by the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, USA in 1888. In this short works, as the title suggests, he gives glimpses into his life as a missionary against the background of Syrian culture.

Fourteen stories of the strange by the Anglican then Roman Catholic priest, Robert Hugh Benson . The form of the book is of stories told by a gathering of Roman Catholic clergy. Benson wrote prolifically in many genres. His horror and ghost fiction are collected in The Light Invisible and A Mirror of Shalott - Summary by David Wales

Tales of Folklore are often of special interest. Anything may happen to ordinary mortals in the world painted by folklore. But it becomes even more interesting when you dive into folklore of places away from your own culture. This volume is a collection of ancient Japanese tales. We hear of ordinary mortals interacting with the spirit world, sometimes to their benefit, sometimes to their doom, we hear of love and hate, and of war and peace. Some of the stories will be entirely new to most readers, some of them will be uncannily familiar. - Summary by Carolin

According to the website www.stagebeauty.net, this is the 5th longest running play ever, with over 1200 original performances. Like Charley's Aunt , this also is a farce. An insurance investigator, a possible fraudulent injury claim, a lost necklace, an aged aunt with a more than passing resemblance to someone else, and of course, that Little Bit of Fluff - all conspire to cause great confusion. - Summary by ToddHW Cast list: JOHN AYERS: Tomas Peter BERTRAM TULLY, His friend: Campbell Schelp NIXON TRIPPETT, Inspector of Claims for the Motor ’Bus Company: Chuck Williamson DR...

volunteers bring you 19 recordings of Blood Road by Katharine Lee Bates. This was the New Year's Weekly Poetry project for December 30. 2018. ------ Katharine Lee Bates was an American writer, poet, professor, and social activist. Although she was a renowned author and professor during her lifetime, today she is primarily remembered as the author of the words to the anthem "America the Beautiful". For 25 years, she lived with her long-time friend and companion, Katharine Coman. This poem taken from 'America the beautiful and other poems' 1911. - Summary by Wikipedia

Hurlbut's Life of Christ For Young and Old is a detailed, chronological presentation of the life of Christ, relying heavily on quoted portions of Scripture/ Rev. Hurlbut makes the gospel story accessible for the reader as each episode and teaching is presented as natural dialog. The Life of Christ is a worthy companion to his larger multi-volume Story of the Bible. These are true classics of Christian literature. - Summary by Larry Wilson

"The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle having been ratified ... and peace being assured ... Louis XIV resolved to give a festival in his favorite gardens of Versailles. Moliere's comedy, George Dandin, formed the chief entertainment." The plot: A wife comes home rather late, finds the door shut, and threatens to kill herself if her husband does not let her in. She pretends to do so; the good man rushes out quite terrified; the wife, meanwhile, sneaks in, and he is in his turn locked out. Add in her idiot parents and this should be the usual madcap fun...

A disparate assemblage of lingual mastery spanning genres and prowess with an eye toward style in favor of capitulation. Tocsin was translated by W. H. Lowe Maldoror was translated by John Rodker Gridale was translated by F. S. Flint .

The State of the Union address is a speech presented by the President of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress, typically delivered annually. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the President to outline his legislative agenda and national priorities. This album contains recordings of addresses from Ulysses S. Grant. - Summary by Wikipedia

The Prophet is an inspirational book of 28 lyrical prose essays on life, love, children, religion, work, and more, - written in English by the Lebanese artist, philosopher and writer Kahlil Gibran. It was originally published in 1923 by Alfred A. Knopf, and is Gibran's best known work. The Prophet has been translated into over 40 different languages and has never been out of print.

On 26 November 1922, after eight years of work in the Valley of the Kings, archeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen, a pharaoh of the 18th dynasty . Different than all the tombs hitherto excavated, this was the first to be virtually undisturbed, and Carters words on a first look inside "Wonderful things!" have gone down in history. Excavating the tomb in full took eight years, and most of the 5,398 items that were found there are now on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, with the exception of the mummy of Tut-Ankh-Amen that remained where it had been laid to rest...

"The Morning Dawn, Bar Harbor, Maine: a Very Comprehensive Poem Illustrating and Describing the Scenic Beauty of the United States; Lafayette National Park, the Queen of Resorts" , is the complete title of this charming little book about Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park. Lafayette National Park was designated by the U.S. Congress in 1919 and was the first National Park in the Eastern United States. It was renamed to Acadia National Park in 1929. - Summary by Nemo

Twenty short nonfiction works in the public domain, independently chosen by the readers. Volume 63 features essays on a variety of topics: the emotion of the multitude in drama , audience , corpulence and diet , charity , the forgotten man , murder , suicide , free masonry , the poetic principle , and the evils of slavery . Excerpts from Kierkegaard explore his philosophy. Biographical sketches include Calamity Jane, Joseph Glidden, Lucy Bakewell Audubon, and J. M. W. Turner, while Joseph Conrad speaks to his own life in A Familiar Preface. Rounding out the volume is a fascinating 1674 meet-up with a miraculous sea-monster . Summary by Sue Anderson

John Kenlon became a New York City firefighter in 1887, and was appointed Fire Chief in 1911. In 1913, he wrote this authoritative book surveying the history of fire-fighting from ancient Rome to 20th-century New York. The first part of the book explores the evolution of fire-fighting techniques in various countries and the development of equipment and organization, and describes several famous historical fires and how they were fought. The remainder of the book discusses in greater detail some particular types of fires confronting an urban fire department in 1913, such as hotel, theater, factory, hospital, and school fires, sea port fires, and skyscraper fires...

Elizabeth Siddal was a British poet, artist and model. Her poems were not published in a single volume in her lifetime; this collection brings together fifteen of her verses on themes such as loss and relationships. Summary by Newgatenovelist