Archive for November 2010

Audiobook Complete: Librivox SF Collection 28

Title: Short Science Fiction Collection 28 Author: varied Source: Librivox URL: http://librivox.org/short-science-fiction-collection-028/ This is a collection of ten short stories by various authors, and read by various readers.  This particular collection is of varying quality, centering right around mediocre.  There’s only one story, “The Servant Problem” by Robert J. Young, that is likely to stick […]

Audiobook Complete: A Double Barreled Detective Story

Title: A Double Barreled Detective Story Author: Mark Twain Source: Librivox URL: http://librivox.org/a-double-barreled-detective-story-by-mark-twain/ I don’t think this is one of Twain’s best – but as much as he wrote, you have to expect some mediocrity.  This is really two detective story plots spliced together, sort of, with an appearance by Sherlock Holmes, who isn’t such […]

What a stupid system.

It’s time again in the US for the annual ritual of Open Benefits Enrollment, where employees register, pick, and choose from the benefits offered to them by their employer.  What a stupid system. My preparation complaint – why does each company choose their own schedule for this activity?  Few households with 2 employed adults have […]

Audiobook Complete: Three Men and A Maid

Title: Three Men and a Maid Author: P. G. Wodehouse Source: Librivox URL: http://librivox.org/three-men-and-a-maid-by-p-g-wodehouse/ Typical silly Wodehouse romantic comedy.  All three men are engaged to the maid at one point or another, until she finally figures out which one she really wants.  Not deep or meaningful, but quite entertaining. The reader has done a number […]

Audiobook Complete: The Magic Shop

Title: The Magic Shop Author: H.G. Wells Source: SimplyAudioBooks URL: http://www.simplyaudiobooks.com/audio-books/Magic+Shop/83498/ This is an entertaining short story about a boy who visits a magic shop for his birthday.  But is it entertainment magic, or is it real magic?  His father can’t quite tell…  Fun read, the reader manages the difference between boy and father quite […]

Audiobook Complete: King of the Khyber Rifles

Title: King of the Khyber Rifles Author: Talbot Mundy Source: LibriVox URL: http://librivox.org/king-of-the-khyber-rifles-by-talbot-mundy/ The main character is a British secret agent named King.  He’s in India / Pakistan at the beginning of WWI, tasked with stopping a holy war.  As an adventure story, it is pretty good entertainment.  As political commentary, it is eerie how […]