A Year of Reading #1
Compiled and Indexed by Richard Seltzer B&R Samizdat Express - January 11, 2006
Genre: Literature & Nonfiction
Reviewed by Rochelle Caviness - February 3, 2006
How many books do you read in an average year? Would a hundred books keep you busy for a year? Do you ever have trouble deciding which book to read next? Ever wonder what other people are reading? In A Year of Reading #1 Richard Seltzer has compiled not only a beneficial reading list that will keep you 'reading' for a year or more, but he has also gathered together the text of all the books on the list and placed them on a single CD!
There are 100 books in this collection, enough books to keep the most avid reader with enough material to keep them satiated. All the books in this collection are in the public domain, and have been saved as plain text files, making them readily accessible via computer screen reading and magnification programs. The books in this collection run the gamut from fiction to nonfiction, and from well-known classics to lesser known works. Here is a brief list of some of the exciting titles that you'll find in this collection:
Tess of the d'Urbevilles, by Thomas Hardy
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
Winesburg Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Call of the Wild, by Jack London
The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories, by Mark Twain
Story of My Life, by Helen Keller
Up from Slavery, by Booker T. Washington
Walden, by Henry David Thoreau
The Art of War, by Sun Tzu
The Guide for the Perplexed, by Moses Maimonies
You'll find books by such writers as Jane Austen, Joseph Conrad, Daniel Defoe, Charles Dickens, Honore de Balzac, Anton Chekhov, Kate Chopin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gustave Flaubert, Bret Harte, Nathaniel Hawthorne, O. Henry, Leo Tolstoy, John Keats, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Aritstotle, just to name a few. You'll also find a large selection of short story collections, biographies, philosophical and religious works, poetry, essays, and political science books such as Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince.
According to Seltzer, the books in this collection were selected with readers who use text-to-speech programs in mind. As such he aimed to included books that are best suited for 'listening to' and he has included primarily shorter works, along with numerous short story and poetry collections, although you will find a few longer selections that will delight both those that read by ear as well as those that read by eye.
In short, no matter what your taste, you are sure to find numerous enticing books, both old favorites and new discoveries. Best of all, the 100 books in this collection can all be had for less than the price of most hardcover books. This collection is perfect for gift giving as it provides readers with a selection of books from across the spectrum of genres and works from a range of famous authors. It is also an ideal collection to buy for yourself, providing you with a wealth of reading material to keep you reading all year long.
For more information on A Year of Reading #1 CD, including a complete list of the books contained in this collection, visit: http://store.yahoo.com/samizdat/1001.html.
Related Reviews:
When Dickens Was News - Classic Magazines, compiled by Richard Seltzer.
A collection of hundreds of issues of various Victorian era magazines, including The Strand, The Atlantic Monthly, Punch, and the Mirror of Literature, all on one CD, in plain text format.
Poetry - American, British, World, compiled and indexed by Richard Seltzer.
Divided into 20 thematic sections, this CD represents a vast treasure trove of poetic works. While the largest sections are devoted to English poetry, you will also find substantial bodies of work covering American, Canadian, Australian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Latin, Scottish, and Welsh poetry.
