Librivox recs

We recently finished listening to Mark Nelson's recording of Tom Swift and the Visitor from Planet X. I'd never read any of the Tom Swift books before, and was continually astonished at how much of a product of their time (1950s and 60s) they are. What boy doesn't dream of being listened to and respected not just by his elders, but by the head of the local police department - and the FBI and CIA? What boy doesn't think it would be incredibly cool to be handed a potentially life-threatening problem and have the brainpower and materials handy to rig up a working solution in only an hour or two? What boy wouldn't prefer use a visiting space alien to spy on enemies to America (thinly disguised Russians in this case) to learning about the planet the visitor comes from? Despite the various ludicrous departures from reality, overt sexism, and brief moments of religiosity, the book retains a certain charm. Our enjoyment of the book was aided by Mr. Nelson's excellent reading and character voices. If you enjoy stories of adolescent boy adventure/incredible inventions, this roughly four-and-a-half hour recording is for you.

I received a notification this morning that the Short Nonfiction Collection #009 has been catalogued.  Awhile ago, I told a few of you about a piece that the huz recorded for this collection and which is now available: The Book of Accidents (originally noted by a buddy of ours on an email list; I forget who).  This short (~25 minute) book reads as if it were intended as a parody of all the Victorian instructional books for children ever written - except, of course, it's deadly serious.  From the dangers of drowning to being bitten by a dog to getting gored by a bull to being run over by a sleigh, it's actually kind of surprising how many of the core lessons apply even today.  (Okay, maybe the bull isn't so timely.  Substitute cars for sleighs, though...)  The huz gives an appropriately mock-serious air to his reading, which is the third piece in the collection.  Be sure to increase your child's chances of becoming a properly productive member of society by playing this recording to them.

The hyperlinks will take you to the catalog pages for each work.  Enjoy!