Christmas Books and Stories
Compiled and Indexed by Richard Seltzer B&R Samizdat Express - December 14, 2004
ISBN: 0-917466-15-2
Genre: Literature
Reviewed by Rochelle Caviness - December 20, 2004
The Christmas Books and Stories CD, compiled by Richard Seltzer contains nearly fifty books and stories related to Christmas. Many are well-known 'Christmas' classics, such as A Christmas Carol,
by Charles Dickens and O. Henry's timeless tale, The Gift of the Magi. Others are books and stories that are Christmas themed, including A Country Christmas by Louisa May Alcott, and A Kidnaped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum.
In addition to the above, you will also find a vast repertoire of Christmas themed books and stories from the Biblical accounts of the Christmas story to:
At Christmas Time, by Anton Chekhov
Christmas Eve, A poem by Robert Browning
The Christmas Tree and the Wedding, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Haunted Man: A Christmas Story, by Bret Harte
At Last: a Christmas in the West Indies, by Charles Kingsley
Beasley's Christmas Party, by Booth Tarkington
The complete text of: The Night Before Christmas
and many more...
This delightful collection is the fourth volume in Seltzer's recently inaugurated CD of the Month series. Each month, he is issuing a collection of books on CD that are thematically connected. In this case, the theme is Christmas, and this collection is a perfect stocking stuffer that will delight readers of all ages - and you can't beat the price. Currently the Christmas Books and Stories CD sells for $12.00 if purchased directly from B&R Samizdat Express' online store, which comes out to around 35 cents for each book and story on in this collection! Information on how to order this CD, as well as a complete index of all the books and stories contained this collection, can be found online at: http://store.yahoo.com/samizdat/christmas.html.
This CD is designed for use with a Window's based PC. You will also need to have a web browser (such as Internet Explorer or Netscape) and/or a Windows based word-processing program such as Microsoft Word, or Corel's Word Perfect, in order to read the text. Once the text is opened, you can enlarge the font to suit your reading needs.
All the books and stories in this collection are currently in the public domain, and all are presented in plain text format (ASCII). This makes the files readily accessible those using computer screen reading and magnification programs. This collection also includes two computer programs that will be of particular interest to visually impaired readers, namely, ReadIt and ReadPlease.
ReadIt, by DLJ Software, is a dos shareware program that displays the text of the books on a black screen with white type. Once you open a file, this program allows you to bookmark your place within a text, adjust the speed at which the text is displayed, and it can be operated solely using the keyboard. As well, it facilitates quick and easy navigation among various computer files, and will be especially useful for visually impaired readers. This program works well on computers running Windows 98 and below. However, I was not able to get it to install correctly on a computer running Windows XP. I was unable to determine if the problem was a comparability issue with the Windows XP operating system or with me *grin*. In either case, it did not cause any problems to the computer, it just did not work correctly.
The other program, ReadPlease, is a text-to-speech program. When you click on the installation icon found on the CD, you are giving the option of installing a freeware version called ReadPlease 2003 as well as a trail version of the commercial version of this program, called ReadPlease Plus.
This is an outstanding collection of Christmas books and stories that will enliven any Christmas celebration and provide hours of reading throughout the year. Best of all, this collection is especially user friendly for visually impaired readers, as well as for those who just like the option of altering the font size, color, or style of the text they are reading.
Related Reviews:
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.
When Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, little did he realize that this little story would become one of the best loved Christmas stories around. So step back in time and listen to this dramatic reading of Dickens' classic tale featuring Ebenezer Scrooge, Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchit, and Tiny Tim. (Audio)
Children's Books, Compiled by Richard Seltzer.
Over 200 Children's classics on one CD, ranging from Aesop's Fables to The Wizard of Oz. (CD)
