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Free public domain audiobooks

librivox.org

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Re: Free public domain audiobooks

#31

Post by themodelplumber »

throwaway984393 wrote: post #29

Can anyone recommend a microphone / audio setup for recording audio books? I'd like to record some and I want to avoid the quality problems some Librivox recordings have. Actually, more important: is there an app that makes recording audio books easier? Like, can I record in one shot, and mark places I want to cut out so I can just re-speak one passage, and later on it'll automatically be cut together like I want? I…

I did some podcasts using a Blue Yeti and it sounded great as long as the knobs and switches on the mic were properly configured. Afterwards I used Audacity for noise removal, some EQ for things like bass roll-off, and TAP Scaling Limiter for adjusting levels. It was helpful to compare to other podcasts on the same speakers or headphones. Doing the same today I would probably give Ocenaudio a shot, as I like it so far. Good luck.

Edit: Yes, apps that allow you to mark and quickly edit are common.

Re: Free public domain audiobooks

#32

Post by aasasd »

throwaway984393 wrote: post #29

Can anyone recommend a microphone / audio setup for recording audio books? I'd like to record some and I want to avoid the quality problems some Librivox recordings have. Actually, more important: is there an app that makes recording audio books easier? Like, can I record in one shot, and mark places I want to cut out so I can just re-speak one passage, and later on it'll automatically be cut together like I want? I…

Youtube is likely full of advice on this topic. With live examples.

Re: Free public domain audiobooks

#33

Post by Simorgh »

JZL003 wrote: post #5

For a technical audience, I would look at some TTS (text to speech) programs especially by google and IBM. It's definitely robotic and nothing like a nice narrator but audiobooks are amazing regardless. And your mind actually starts filling in the emotional blanks. It can also be really cool to use like internet archive's scanned book's OCR -> TTS and make an audiobook from a cool old book that would never be profess…

I've been playing around with the IBM TTS for audiozing research papers. I think that research should be more accessible and I think that the audioform is the way forward.

The comprehension of powerful ideas should be easy, effortless and intuitive. Listening to content has the double benefit of ensuring that talking about complex subjects is all the more familiar. If you've been introduced to a topic through speech, talking about it is all the more natural.

Re: Free public domain audiobooks

#34

Post by jonny_eh »

worldofmatthew wrote: post #15

I have been working on remastering some audiobooks from there, once I got more books done, I will have a proper section for people to download them for free from my website (direct links from the listing, no bs). Remastering as in removing background noise, EQing, compression and normalization of audio levels and reducing the librivox intro to the start of the audiobook only, rather than annoying people every chapter…

Are you able to submit them back so it's easier for users to find your work?

Re: Free public domain audiobooks

#35

Post by aspenmayer »

badguybeetle wrote: post #22
primaryobjects wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

iPhone users can enable Spoken Content. Open an ebook. Swipe down with two fingers. Instant audio book. Also, you can select the Voices option (under Spoken Content) to download high quality Siri voices.

i am unable to do this on my iPhone do i need to enable it in the settings.

This support page may help:

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/spoken-content-iph96b...

Re: Free public domain audiobooks

#36

Post by GrinningFool »

aasasd wrote: post #32
throwaway984393 wrote: post #29

Can anyone recommend a microphone / audio setup for recording audio books? I'd like to record some and I want to avoid the quality problems some Librivox recordings have. Actually, more important: is there an app that makes recording audio books easier? Like, can I record in one shot, and mark places I want to cut out so I can just re-speak one passage, and later on it'll automatically be cut together like I want? I…

Youtube is likely full of advice on this topic. With live examples.

Only on youtube, you have to watch everything through a filter of "who is an expert sharing their knowledge" and "who is trying to sell me this thing".

Re: Free public domain audiobooks

#38

Post by ganzuul »

dang wrote: post #16

Past related threads: LibriVox: Free Public Domain Audiobooks - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23558686 - June 2020 (81 comments) Free Audio Books: Download Great Books for Free - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22104143 - Jan 2020 (84 comments) LibriVox: free public domain audiobooks - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11141452 - Feb 2016 (37 comments) LibriVox hits 100 Million downloads, looking for a…

Thank you kindly.

Re: Free public domain audiobooks

#39

Post by hcrisp »

umvi wrote: post #2

I listened to Treasure Island[0] on librivox and was impressed with the quality of the voice actor (Adrian Praetzellis). Beware though, some books are fragmented and performed by N different voice actors/actresses which can be jarring. [0] https://librivox.org/treasure-island-by-robert-louis-stevens...

Another excellent narrator with a British accent is Karen Savage. She has read many complete works by Jane Austen and E. Nesbit, among other titles, and is as good as any professional voice actor:

  - 'Pride and Prejudice' (Austen)
  - 'Sense and Sensibility' (Austen)
  - 'The Story of the Treasure Seekers' (Nesbit)
  - 'The Railway Children' (Nesbit)
  - many others (says 141 total matches)
http://www.karenrsavage.com/blog/

Re: Free public domain audiobooks

#40

Post by RobertLoblaw »

umvi wrote: post #2

I listened to Treasure Island[0] on librivox and was impressed with the quality of the voice actor (Adrian Praetzellis). Beware though, some books are fragmented and performed by N different voice actors/actresses which can be jarring. [0] https://librivox.org/treasure-island-by-robert-louis-stevens...

HN lurker for years, created an account just to say how much I love the librivox recordings by Adrian Praetzellis. His "Wind in the Willows" is just wonderful.
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