I’m a couple of days late posting, but like last year and the year before, there is a wonderful entirely new LibriVox Adventskalender with poems, stories, fairy tales, song texts and more for each day leading up to Christmas. Of course all the stories are something related to Christmas, snow, winter and of course the Christkind.
As I was rather busy all of Oct. and Nov. I only managed to record two tiny poems for the Adventskalender. Here is one of them. It’s called “Die Weihnachtsbäume” by Gustav Falke:
Die Weihnachtsbäume
Nun kommen die vielen Weihnachtsbäume
Aus dem Wald in die Stadt herein.
Träumen sie ihre Waldesträume
Weiter beim Laternenschein?
Könnten sie sprechen! Die holden Geschichten
Von der Waldfrau, die Märchen webt,
Was wir uns alles erst erdichten,
Sie haben das alles wirklich erlebt….
The whole Adventskalender can be found here (along with all the text links and author info). Happy listening:
Like in 2011, I kept track of all my reading last year too and I have to say it has been a very busy year. All in all I’ve read and listened to 132 books. Of those 26 were commercial/non LV audiobooks, 75 LV recordings and 31 actual books. (not including the vast number of comic books and all the job related stuff I had to read). Quite a lot, eh?
Of all the books I read, the one I liked best probably was “A Game of Thrones” by George R. R. Martin (and all the sequels of course) closely followed by “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins and Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink. Both A Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games were re-reads, but I liked them almost better the second time. 😀
The book I hated most was “Als ich unsichtbar war” by Martin Pistorious. I only made it about halfway through for though the book is very touching at the beginning, it gets tedious and whiny towards the middle… and also very confusing. There is no real story that is told, just bits and pieces mixed together totally at random. Apart from that the writing style is awful and the book is just plain boring, boring, boring.
Here is the list of books I’ve read:
Finished books (including non LV audiobooks):
1. Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
2. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (audiobook)
3. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (audiobook)
4. Mercy by Jussi Adler Olsen
5. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (audiobook)
6. Als ich unsichtbar war by Martin Pistorious: only got halfway through… at first it’s really interesting but then it gets boring, boring, boring
7. Deenie by Judy Blume (commercial audiobook)
8. Achtung Baby by Michael Mittermeier (commercial audiobook)
9. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
10. All unsere Liebe für Kate by Ben Harrington
11. Double Fudge by Judy Blume (commercial audiobook)
12. Miracle Cure by Harlan Coben
13. Ich habe den Todesengel überlebt by Eva Mozes Kor
14. Bed by David Whitehouse
15. Storm Front by Jim Butcher (audiobook)
16. Ugly by Constance Briscoe
17. Sing you home by Jodi Picoult
18. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (audiobook)
19. Otherwise known as Shiela the Great by Judy Blume (commercial audiobook)
20. Mit der Liebe einer Löwin by Christina Hachfeld-Tapukai
21. Die weisse Massai by Corinne Hofmann
22. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher (audiobook)
23. Zurück aus Afrika by Corinne Hofmann
24. Wiedersehen in Barsaloi by Corinne Hofmann
25. Geschichten für den allerliebsten Liebling by Rudyard Kipling
26. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (audiobook)
27. The house of the Mosque by Kader Abdolah
28. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
29. Ziemlich beste Freunde: Ein zweites Leben by Philippe Pozzo di Borgo (commercial audiobook)
30. The Internet is a Playground by David Thorne
31. Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
32. Das fliegende Klassenzimmer by Erich Kästner (commercial audiobook)
33. Till Eulenspiegel by Erich Kästner (commercial audiobook)
34. Die Schildbürger by Erich Kästner (commercial audiobook)
35. Zerbrechlich by Jodi Picoult (commercial audiobook)
36. Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (audiobook)
37. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (commercial audiobook)
38. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (commercial audiobook)
39. A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
40. Die purpurnen Flüsse by Jean Christophe Grange (audiobook)
41. Der Flug der Störche by Jean Christophe Grange (audiobook)
42. World without End by Ken Follett (audiobook)
43. Du fehlst mit, du fehlst mit by Kinna Gieth und Peter Pohl
44. Der Streik der Dienstmädchen by Gudrun Pausewang
45. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
46. Madeleine by Kate Mc Cann
47. House Rules by Jodi Picoult (audiobook)
48. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (audiobook)
49. Der Weihnachtsabend by Charles Dickens
50. Weihnachtsmärchen für Kinder by Luise Büchner (LV solo)
51. Deine Schritte im Sand by Anne-Dauphine Julliand
52. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson (audiobook)
53. Ein falscher Traum von Liebe by Christine Birkoff
54. Mundtot – Wie ich lernte meine Stimme zu erheben by Maria Langstroff
55. The Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud (audiobook)
56. The Snow Queen and Other Stories by Hans Christian Andersen (for LV)
57. Wie der Grinch Weihnachten gestohlen hat by Dr. Seuss
Just a tiny post to wish you all a Happy New Year!
And as the weekly poem at LV fits so nicely, here it is too. It is called A Song for a New Years Eve by William Cullen Bryant:
Stay yet, my friends, a moment stay‚—
Stay till the good old year,
So long companion of our way,
Shakes hands, and leaves us here.
Oh stay, oh stay,
One little hour, and then away.
The year, whose hopes were high and strong,
Has now no hopes to wake;
Yet one hour more of jest and song
For his familiar sake.
Oh stay, oh stay,
One mirthful hour, and then away….
Just in time for Christmas my tiny German LibriVox Solo is finished and ready for listening. Yay! 😀
The book is called “Weihnachtsmärchen für Kinder” by Luise Büchner (translated the title of the book means “Christmas stories for children”). As the title already suggests, the book consists of 9 fairy tales all centered around Christmas. The stories are all connected in one way or another by a frame story, in which a loving aunt tells them to her small niece and nephew – Mathilde and Georg – to shorten the time till the Christ Child finally comes.
Luise Büchner
»Liebe Tante,« sagte eines Abends, grade acht Tage vor Weihnachten, die kleine Mathilde, »du erzählst mir immer von dem Christkindchen, aber gar nichts von seiner Mama. Sage mir doch, wer sie gewesen ist und wo sie gewohnt hat.« »Nun, wenn du hübsch ruhig sitzen und zuhören willst und der Georg auch, dann will ich euch alles erzählen, was ich von dem Christkindchen, von seiner Mama, dem Knecht Nikolaus und dem Eselchen weiß.« (Zusammenfassung von zeno.org)
As I’ve already posted my reading the preface, here is my reading of the first chapter :
It’s a sweet little book with really cute stories and I enjoyed reading them. The only thing I found a bit strange – spoiler ahead – is that the Nikolaus is made out to be be the one who punishes bad children and also that he travels with the Christ Child. Oh and in some of the stories there is almost a bit too much morale, but apart from that the stories are very cute and fun to read.
I’m a day late in posting, but like last year there is a wonderful brand- new LibriVox Adventskalender full of German short stories, poems, song texts, fairy tales, etc. All stories are centered around Christmas, snow, the Christkind, winter itself and everything even remotely related to it.
Here is one of the poems I read for the collection. It’s called Weihnacht by Ernst von Wildenbruch:
Die Welt wird kalt, die Welt wird stumm,
der Winter-Tod zieht schweigend um;
er zieht das Leilach weiß und dicht
der Erde übers Angesicht –
Schlafe – schlafe
Du breitgewölbte Erdenbrust,
du Stätte aller Lebenslust,
hast Duft genug im Lenz gesprüht,
im Sommer heiß genug geglüht,
nun komme ich, nun bist du mein,
gefesselt nun im engen Schrein –
Schlafe – schlafe…..
A couple of minutes ago, I uploaded my 500. LibriVox recording!!!!
500. LibriVox recording!!!
It took me almost exactly 9 months to record 100 sections. My 500. section is a short poem for the fortnightly poetry collection. The poem is rather sad, but also very beautiful and it is called “Are The Children at Home?” by Margaret Elizabeth Sangster. Here is my recording of it and also the first paragraph of the poem:
Each day, when the glow of sunset
Fades in the western sky,
And the wee ones, tired of playing,
Go tripping lightly by,
I steal away from my husband,
Asleep in his easy-chair,
And watch from the open door-way
Their faces fresh and fair.
Today I finally cataloged the group recording of “Heimatlos – Geschichten fuer Kinder und auch fuer solche, welche die Kinder lieb haben” (roughly translated: Homeless – Stories for kids and also for those, who love them) by Johanna Spyri. She probably is best known for “Heidi”, but I love her other books too and will surely do a couple more for LibriVox in the future.
The book consists of two wonderful stories – “Am Silser – und am Gardasee” and “Wie Wiseli’s Weg gefunden wird” for kids. Both stories are about orphaned children. In the first it’s a little Italian boy, who goes out into the world because of a song his father used to sing and in the second one a little girl has to go and live with a relative after her mother dies… and though both stories are very sad at times they both have a happy ending.
Now something totally different. I’m down with a rather nasty cold at the moment and so I had quite a bit of time for knitting. So here is another sock to show off:
Acutally the first sock is almost finished by now, I just haven’t had time to take new pics. But there will be a couple soon.
After knitting those black beaded socks I blogged about last time, I wanted to try something a little more complicated. I didn’t find good pattern for working with beads online, so I’m kinda making it up as I go. It’s superfun and I think the socks will look wonderful when they are done. 😀
2011 was quite a busy year where reading is concerned. I read 39 books and listened to 77 audiobooks. Of those 77 audiobooks only 16 were either commercial or non LibriVox recordings. The other 61 were Librivox recordings, for which I did the prooflistening.
Of the books I read the one I liked best probably was “Little Town on the Prairie” by Laura Ingalls Wilder (though I greatly enjoyed the rest of the series too). Also the “Hunger Games” series by Suzanne Collins and the “Cazalet Chronicles” by Elizabeth Jane Howard were great.
The book I hated most was “3096 Days” by Natascha Kampusch. It’s badly written and badly translated (I tried the German and the English version). Everything sounds terribly artificial and very much like the author is trying way too hard to try to convince everybody that her story is true…
Anyway here is the list of books I read:
1. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
2. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
3. Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
4. On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
5. The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman
6. By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
7. The Apple Stone by Nicholas Stuart Gray: audiobook. LOVED it!!!!
8. Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
9. Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
10. Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary
11. The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright: audiobook
12. Pu der Bär by A.A. Milne
13. The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
14. Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
15. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
16. The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
17. Das Wunder von Narnia by C.S. Lewis
18. Four Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright: audiobook
19. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
20. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
21. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
22. Half Magic by Edward Eage: audiobook
23. Fever of the Bone by Val McDermid
24. Ramona Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
25. The Secret Garden by F. H. Burnett
26. Ramona and her mother by Beverly Cleary
27. Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary
28. Ramona’ World by Beverly Cleary
29. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer (commercial audiobook)
30. Fall of Giants by Ken Follett (commercial audiobook)
31. The Passage by Justin Cronin
32. Marking time by Elizabeth Howard
33. The Adventures of Sally by P.G.Wodehouse (LV recording)
34. Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik by Roald Dahl
35. Brat Farrer by Josephine Tey
36. Frei ist nur der Blick zum Himmel by Sandra Gregory
37. Fever Dream by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (commercial audiobook)
38. Da waren es nur noch neun by Agatha Christie (commercial audiobook)
39. Heidi by Johanna Spyri (LV recording)
40. Trick of the Dark by Val Mc Dermid
(Michel aus Lönneberg by Astrid Lindgren: picture book)
(Der alte, der junge und der keine Stanislaus by Vera Ferra Mikura: picture book)
41. Marked by P.C and Kristin Cast (commercial audiobook)
42. Superfudge by Jody Blume (commercial audiobook)
43. Der stumme Schrei by Hilda Lawrence (commercial audiobook)
44. Wolfskind: Die unglaubliche Lebensgeschichte des ostpreußischen Mädchens Liesabeth Otto von Ingeborg Jacobs
45. A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard
46. Delirium by Lauren Oliver
47. Die Welle by Morton Rhue (commercial audiobook)
48. Der Herr der Ringe by J. R. R. Tolkien (commercial audiobook)
49. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
50. Ramona and her father by Beverly Cleary
51. Room by Emma Donoghue
(Guck mal, Madita! Es schneit! by Astrid Lindgren: picture book)
(Na klar, Lotta kann Rad fahren by Astrid Lindgren: picture book)
(Weihnachten in Bullerbü by Astrid Lindgren: picture book)
(Die Heinzelmännchen von Köln by August Kopisch: picture book)
52. Der König von Narnia by C.S. Lewis
53. 3096 Days by Natasche Kampusch: HATED it!
54. Confusion by Elizabeth Jane Howard
55. Reckless by Cornelia Funke (commercial audiobook)
Just a tiny post to tell you all about the beautiful poem I recorded last weekend for the fortnightly poetry collection at LibriVox. The poem is called “The Little Mud-Sparrows” by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. (taken from CHRISTMAS IN LEGEND AND STORY; A Book for Boys and Girls, complied by Elva S. Smith, Carnegie Library Pittsburgh and Alice I. Hazeltine)
Here is the poem and my version of it:
A Jewish Legend
I like that old, kind legend
Not found in Holy Writ,
And wish that John or Matthew
Had made Bible out of it.
But though it is not Gospel,
There is no law to hold
The heart from growing better
That hears the story told:—
How the little Jewish children
Upon a summer day,
Went down across the meadows
With the Child Christ to play.
And in the gold-green valley,
Where low the reed-grass lay,
They made them mock mud-sparrows
Out of the meadow clay.
So, when these all were fashioned,
And ranged in rows about,
“Now,” said the little Jesus,
“We’ll let the birds fly out.”
Then all the happy children
Did call, and coax, and cry—
Each to his own mud-sparrow:
“Fly, as I bid you! Fly!”
But earthen were the sparrows,
And earth they did remain,
Though loud the Jewish children
Cried out, and cried again.
Except the one bird only
The little Lord Christ made;
The earth that owned Him Master,
—His earth heard and obeyed.
Softly He leaned and whispered:
“Fly up to Heaven! Fly!”
And swift, His little sparrow
Went soaring to the sky,
And silent, all the children
Stood, awestruck, looking on,
Till, deep into the heavens,
The bird of earth had gone.
I like to think, for playmate
We have the Lord Christ still,
And that still above our weakness
He works His mighty will,
That all our little playthings
Of earthen hopes and joys
Shall be, by His commandment,
Changed into heavenly toys.
Our souls are like the sparrows
Imprisoned in the clay,
Bless Him who came to give them wings
Upon a Christmas Day!
For once I’m on time posting about the German Adventskalender on LibriVox. It’s a collection of 24 lovely stories, poems, fairy tales and many other texts centered around Christmas, snow, winter and everything related to it.
Anyway, here is the catalog page with all recordings and other details:
It’s called Bärbele’s Weihnachten by Ottilie Wildermuth. It’s a lovely tale about a poor little girl, who is longing to have a godmother like all the other children in the small village…
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