Summer Shorts '14 Bonus Listen Fridays!

Image courtesy of Tantor Media, Inc. & Going Public

Ah, summer. The time for getting out, hitting the road...and it also happens to be JIAM - short for June is Audiobook Month! What better way to celebrate than to have a collection of some of the best pieces of classic literature bundled into a collection that not only showcases some of the best voices in the audiobook world, but also supports literacy?

 Tantor Media, Inc. has teamed up with Spoken Freely, a group of more than 40 professional narrators to create Summer Shorts '14. All proceeds from the sales of this collection will go to support ProLiteracy, a nationwide organization to that provides adult learning, content, and programs to help adult learners and advocate on their behalf. ProLiteracy also publishes learning materials used in adult literacy and basic education instruction.

Even more exciting - bloggers like me are getting a chance to "host" tracks in an ongoing blog hop that is taking place ALL MONTH LONG. I'll be showcasing each Friday in June my "Critic's Pick" of the theme of the week for a bonus listen! (Full disclosure: although I do work for Tantor in my day job, I had no involvement in the production of this work-I'm independently promoting it because it's a cool project!) We are coming to the end of Poetry Week, and I chose one of my favorite poets (who I also share a namesake with), Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)" that she wrote for her husband and fellow poet Robert Browning and read by Coleen Marlo. Far from being sappy, the line that always stuck like a splinter in my mind is "I love thee with the passion put to use in my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith."I always interpreted that as Ms. Browning's reflection on how true love allows us to redirect our energies away from jaded ideals and embrace the world with new eyes, like those of a child. Take a listen to the right! 

When you're done, head on over to Audio Gals to read the excellent interview they conducted with Ms. Marlo on why she chose that particular poem as her feature in the Summer Shorts.

Poetry week keeps rolling on! You can take a listen to today's new releases by following the links below!

 Katherine Kellgren, Father William, by Lewis Carroll @ Overreader
                    
 Carrington MacDuffie, Al’s Boy, by Carrington MacDuffie @ Beth Fish Reads

And wrap up your week right tomorrow with these selections:

  Diane Havens, So Long, by Walt Whitman @ Author Michael Stephen Daigle’s blog
                   
  John Pruden, The Funny Little Fellow, by James Whitcomb Riley @ Going Public

 For the full schedule for the blog hop and how to hear more, please visit coordinator Xe Sands' blog Spoken Freely.

Stay tuned for next Friday's Summer Shorts Critic's Pick!