Skip to content →

Category: Audio

Getting into Podiobooks

Published February 6, 2009 by Kelly Ford

I’m sure I’m definitely a Johnny-come-lately to the table when it comes to podiobooks. I know a friend of mine has been after me to experience the world for more time than I care to remember. I dabbled a bit a few months ago and then the computer I was using to gather books crashed and well, I wouldn’t be a Johnny-come-lately if I jumped right back in now would I?

 

The basic premise as I understand it behind the podiobooks world is this: There are loads of authors who have stories to tell that today’s mainstream publishing world just won’t publish. Based on my own experience it has little to do with the quality of the writing or nature of the books. I’m sure it is more a reflection of the homerun or nothing mentality of the publishing industry as anything else.

 

Some of these authors have decided to use technology to solve the problem of getting their stories out and one of the leading web sites for this is Podiobooks.com. There you can download for whatever donation you choose to make, hundreds of books in audio form, mostly read by the authors.

 

I won’t claim to be any sort of expert in the area. My understanding is that several of the authors have garnered book deals with publishing houses as a result of their success in this new arena. What I will say is that I’ve found another good source of reading material. My sleep might not like the result, but the reader in me has been enjoying the new discoveries I’m making in the podiobooks world. And a big thanks to the friend who persisted in telling me I’d enjoy this source of listening material.

2 Comments

Sounds of Northwest Folklife

Published May 28, 2006 by Kelly Ford

Memorial Day weekend finds the Seattle Center playing host to the 35th annual Northwest Folklife festival. The event, which I’ve not previously attended, is a collection of music, art, food and more with what seemed like a rather eclectic theme to me. The Seattle times obviously covered the event too.
Here’s some music we heard in a few hours of walking around on Saturday. The bagpipes were a disappointment as I think some instruments really are not meant to be played over a speaker. A steel drum band did two interesting covers, followed by some traditional folk music. Next is some Indian music recorded from McCaw Hall. This was the first time I’d been inside the hall and the acoustics were quite impressive. Unfortunately my tiny digital recorder doesn’t present things as richly as they sounded but for a small handheld the booming base of the tabla does come through well enough.
Our musical stroll finished with a short time listening to a country group from a balcony and then a collection of drummers keeping the beat going.
Apologies for not having names of artists but the music speaks for itself.

Comments closed

Tube Tunes

Published December 17, 2005 by Kelly Ford

One thing that sticks in my mind from trips to London are the street musicians one hears as you walk through tube stations. The stations tend to have long halls with concrete or tile walls which makes for an acoustically rich environment. Add a little reverb in and anyone can sound good (just ask the recording industry). Here’s a sample of some tube tunes from our recent trip.

Comments closed