(no subject)

[minxy]

I have hit on two key ideas!

1. Driving across the country (again) with my Sweetheart of Epic Adoration (first) sounds much more appealing with the addition of one word: AUDIOBOOKS. Anyone know of sources for good ones? I'm thinking of comedy or classic sci-fi.

2. What I need for the sock pattern is a BETA. Anyone out there up for beta-ing the writing and/or test knitting a sock? I can get it drafted by this weekend, I think. I would love an initial walk through on IM or via email too, a "what do you mean by..." or "can you post a key to your terms too?" that kind of thing.

Comments

[staranise]

I really like the Blackstone Audio versions of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan books, as read by Grover Gardner--those got me through at least 3,000 km.

[minxy]

Excellent rec, thank you!

[wyomingnot]

2. I'm up for sock beta. :)

[minxy]

Win! I'll email you this weekend with the draft? No hurry getting back with it, 3 weeks doesn't start until the end of April.

[wyomingnot]

If I don't start right away, it will languish. :) I'm thinking I might use some of last year's Socks That Rock yarn (since I haven't used any of it. wtf).

And yay for entrelac sock testing!

Oh. Dunno about audiobooks, but there's a spiff place out there for podfic.

[minxy]

Sending the .doc version of the pattern via DW email; look for me in your spam folder if you don't see it soon? I'm nightlight43 at yahoo, though I think minxy at dreamwidth works too.

[sid]

that sock was the cutest thing! (I'm sure the sweetheart is cute, too) :-)

[minxy]

I'll vouch for him. :)

[katie_m]

These are mostly educational, but that includes biographies and so on. Also free!

[minxy]

Oooh, thanks!

[domtheknight]

I think I could test knit if you need a second person.

[minxy]

Yay! You're on! And you'll have an email this weekend. 3 weeks starts end of April, but it's only a loose deadline, and all f/b will be helpful. Thanks, and I'm sorry in advance.

[minxy]

Coming to you via dreamwidth email. See me in your spam folder if it doesn't arrive reasonably quickly. And thank you.

[abyssinia]

I've found the Harry Potter audiobooks be very good for long road trips - well read, easy to listen to, and easy to drop in and out of paying attention.

[minxy]

*nod nod nod*

Noted!

[staranise]

Which reader did you listen to? I'm absurdly picky about audiobooks, but I found the Jim Dale versions to be kind of grating--he does ridiculous accents, and makes Hermione whiny--and was wondering about Stephen Fry.

(Minxy: you can hear the differences on Youtube--Jim Dale vs. Stephen Fry.)

[auntruth]

I did 12-hour drives across prairies for years, so I offer some highway-tested thoughts. First: Check your local public library. Ours have many on disk or tape to check out, used ones to sell cheap, and now also downloads free for cardholders. And I stumbled onto titles there that I never would have gone looking for.

One of the best things I ever found for that last two hours driving in the dark when you really don't want to stop yet but the road is MUCH too straight ahead of you -- the Stephanie Plum mysteries by Janet Evanovich. Can't vouch for the later ones, but Lori Petty read the first three and she had a perfect voice for them. They are witty and just exciting enough without being gory. They perk you up, you don't WANT to stop because you want to hear what comes next, and, young female blue-collar hero With Agency (Bechdel tests passed repeatedly with mom & grandma, despite their asking after her love life).

I also found that when taking any long novels it was good to also have a few collections of short comic pieces, or episodic memoirs -- e.g., Tom Bodett, Paula Poundstone, Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion, Anne Lamott's non-fiction. (Library should have them.) They break up the day, you two can stop the recording to chat and come back later without losing a narrative thread, and laughing out loud is good for your poor sitting-too-long body. (If you like your episodic cancer treatment memoirs full of screamingly funny family moments, be sure to try "God Said HA!" read by its author Julia Sweeney.)

If there's an actor whose voice you really love, search for "[name] audio" and see what they've recorded. e.g. Liam Neeson -- lots of titles, including a beautiful lilting job on "How the Irish Saved Civilization" (assuming you're not one of the people who hate that book [g]). Mandy Patinkin read "Imagining Argentina" (magic realism set in the junta years) and held us enthralled with its poetic dream world and mysteries; then in the last few pages we had to pull off to the shoulder because the boy and I were both crying.

ALSO, do you know zbs.org? They are a nonprofit group who do BRILLIANT, multi-layered audio productions of original drama and comedy. Best-produced stuff out there -- They were issuing amazing binaural stereo productions in the 1970's. (If you remember zbs: They're still at it! And they are up to Ruby Eight, now!! If you don't know them: You're in for a treat. The binaural ones are esp interesting in a small car with good speakers, they make you feel like you're driving around inside a pair of giant headphones with the sounds moving naturally all around you and localized so you can hear an actor whispering against the nape of your neck.) Much wonderful stuff in their catalog, and the recordings that are on cassette format are a steal as they close them out.

Tossing in a stand-up comedy or two can also be a good move. If you've never heard early Bill Cosby, Bob Newhart, Richard Pryor -- well, they built their reputations on audio and they totally earned them. For current acts, there are a few where you really want to see the face or body, but, lots of comics have material that works great on audio.

Be sure to tell us what you find that's wonderful.

For 2: GO, YOU!! for the first pattern!

[geeksdoitbetter]

i have enjoyed the selections on offer from podiobooks.com for years

[cofax7]

Also, podcasts! I'm totally hooked on "How Stuff Works" and "Stuff Mom Never Told You" and "Stuff You Missed in History Class", as well as "To The Best of Our Knowledge" and "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me".

[archersangel]

i've been renting books from http://www.booksfree.com/ & like the company. they have audio books on CDs & MP3-CDs. they have plans for renting 1 to 6 at a time. they have over 36,000 audiobook titles-- from classics to new releases, free shipping both ways & you can keep them for as long as you want. try code GF5X8 for 20% of the first month.