« July 2011 | Main | September 2011 »
Weekend Theater 2 (for kids and the young at heart)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, chapter 20
![]() 英語音読 |
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, Part 1, Chapter 1 (3/3)
This is the end of Chapter 1. I would continue posting the rest if I could, but this is all I've recorded so far. Maybe sometime in the not too distant future -- who knows?
![]() 英語音読 |
Thursday Theater
Here's "The Man with the Twisted Lip" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Part 5 of 5. Enjoy.
![]() 英語音読 |
"The Blue Cross" by G.K. Chesterton, 1/5
I bad-mouthed Father Brown stories the other day, and I aplogize if I offended any fans of that series. As a token of my contrition, here's a Father Brown story!
![]() 英語音読 |
Weekend Theater 2 (for kids and the young at heart)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, chapter 19
![]() 英語音読 |
Thursday Theater
Here's "The Man with the Twisted Lip" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Part 4 of 5. Enjoy.
![]() 英語音読 |
Tuesday Theater
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Chapter 1a
The title of this novel has been clumsily translated into Japanese as "偉大なるギャツビー" or "華麗なるギャツビー" or resignedly in katakana as "グレート・ギャツビー". They all sound wrong, because actually there's nothing great about this Gatsby character. If so, why not take liberty and simply put it as "ギャツビー"? That's what I would do if I were ever to translate this novel.
Many people rave about this novel, but I didn't quite see the point, even after I'd made this recording. (I had hoped that I might appreciate this novel better if I recorded the whole thing.) Well, I still couldn't relate to any of the characters, and I let the recording alone for over a year after proof-listening and listening through it once or twice. Then I recently chanced to listen to it again. Although I still don't like the characters much, I came to realize that Fitzgerald's writing was rather clever as far as his technique went. I guess I just didn't have the patience to appreciate that talent of his. Anyway, I have come to enjoy this book much more than I did before. Perhaps my training in reading books aloud began to pay off in some unexpected ways. I still think the novel is essentially shallow, but now I also find it stylistically interesting and worthy of attention.
I performed this novel faster than I I had done with any other books before (i.e., more words per minitue), perhaps unconsciously feeling that the cleverness of the language would be lost if the sentences were dwelt on for too long. Opinions would vary, but I personally think that was the right approach.
After a heavy dose of Conrad, I hope this novel would come as a welcome relief to the listeners. To be presented in 30 installments or so.
![]() 英語音読 |
Weekend Theater 2 (for kids and the young at heart)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, chapter 18
![]() 英語音読 |
Gulliver's Travels Part 1, Chapter 1 (1/3)
I have only finished recording Chapter 1, and I'm not sure if I'd keep on recording the rest of the book (though I'd love to and eventually will).
The book was written nearly 300 years ago. Although the writing is sometimes quaint, the language is amazingly easy to understand. Well, perhaps it's the other way around -- the book has been read by so many people that it must have profoundly influenced -- and even shaped -- modern English in one way or another.
![]() 英語音読 |
Thursday Theater
Here's "The Man with the Twisted Lip" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Part 3 of 5. Enjoy.
![]() 英語音読 |
Tuesday Theater
Paradoxically, this is the first and last episode of my reading of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
When I started uploading this series back in March, I deliberately skipped the first episode for a reason. Let me quote myself from the posting of March 2:
"Heart of Darkness is a relatively short novel, but by no means easy for the uninitiated. The opening is especially tough for casual listeners because of its tight economy of words. Like paintings by Turner or Monet, vague outlines -- or impressions -- of things are discernible, but the details are only alluded to and therefore remain veiled. If you listen to the opening later, preferably after listening to the entire story, the meaning will become much clearer. "
I hope this prediction will come true for you. Thanks again for listening to this story.
What will come next? Well, wait and see! (It's going to be another novel -- that much I can tell you.)
![]() 英語音読 |
Weekend Theater 2 (for kids and the young at heart)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, chapter 17.
![]() 英語音読 |
The Ogress in Adachi-ga-hara. Text by Masahiro KUDO who runs the Old Stories of Japan site.
![]() 英語音読 |
Thursday Theater
Here's "The Man with the Twisted Lip" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Part 2 of 5. Enjoy.
![]() 英語音読 |
"The Face In The Target" 2/4
A short story from The Man Who Knew Too Much by G.K. Chesterton
As you may have found out, this is not one of the Father Brown stories. (And that's a good thing!)
![]() 英語音読 |
Tuesday Theater
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - 24
This is the last episode of this novel. Thanks for listening. As mentioned before, however, I have yet to share the first episode with you. That will be for the next week.
![]() 英語音読 |