Currently in my reading life...

Currently Reading, or rather Listening to

I came across this a couple days ago: A fan-made audiobook version of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. But it's not just a mere audiobook. LOTR fan Phil Dragash not only reads the book text but has also included music and various sound effects to make it a richer experience. As he explains in his introductory video of the project, he's trying to make a "hybrid of an audio drama and an audiobook" that includes the sounds that you'd hear as if you were in the situations described in the book.

In a scene that takes place in the woods, the sound of rustling leaves and birds twittering can be heard in the background; when a rider on horseback comes up the road, the rhythmic clopping of hooves accompanies the narration. There are also pieces of music, some of which you might recognize from the LOTR movie soundtracks, to set the mood of the scenes.



It's quite an ambitious endeavour but it's very well done. I'm only three chapters into The Fellowship of the Ring but so far the production quality has been great, the sound effects and music very fitting, and Dragash's narration is full of nuance and emotion. I should mention that he's also got an incredible talent for voice acting, breathing life into the characters and bringing out their personalities. Overall, what I've listened to so far has a very professional feel to it (albeit with a few minor, but not distracting, errors).

If you're interested, here's a link to Phil Dragash's channel on Youtube, where you can listen to the first two books in the series (the third one is forthcoming, I believe) online or download the mp3s.


An Upcoming Read-along

Tien's Blurb will be hosting a Read-along of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, which will start September 15 and last until December, so we'll all be ready to watch the movie when it comes out around Christmas. It's the classic French tale of love and redemption, of justice and mercy, with a full cast of colourful and complex characters, set against the backdrop of the revolutionary Paris of the 1800s.

I've already read this one (just last year, in fact) but it is such a massive book (my copy being over 1400 pages long!) that my goal the first time was just to get through the darn thing. I'm sure I missed a lot of the nuances of the story and I know much of the details of the revolution went over my head, so this time I'm hoping to read a little more carefully and absorb more of the story.

Head over to Tien's post about it if you'd like to join us in tackling this brick of a book!