FREE/BARGAIN — Audiobooks

[tubemonkey]

Christmas Stories 2023 v1 -- Assorted Stories

Tis that time of year to compile a collection of free/inexpensive Christmas stories. Vol 1 will include all Christmas stories except A Christmas Carol. Due to the sheer volume of that perennial classic, it'll be the subject of Vol 2. Both posts will be linked in the OP.

• Christmas Stories 2023 v2 -- A Christmas Carol

Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night; in some traditions, Christmastide includes an octave.

• Spoiler:

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Audible (authors)

• FREE -- Christmas Bonus (series) -- Nick Alexander -- 1.4 hrs --> details
  
• FREE -- Christmas in Kitchen (bk 7.5) -- Nalini Singh -- 19 min
  
• FREE -- Cricket on the Hearth -- Charles Dickens -- 3.6 hrs
  
• FREE -- Gather ‘Round the Sound -- multiple -- 1.2 hrs --> details
  
• FREE -- Most Wonderful Tales of Year -- multiple -- 1.8 hrs --> details

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other Sources (authors)

• FREE -- A Child's Christmas in Wales -- Dylan Thomas -- 25 min --> details
  
• FREE -- Adventure of Christmas Pudding -- Agatha Christie -- 1.4 hrs --> details
  
• FREE -- Holmes' Christmas Quest -- Kris Griffin -- 5.5 min --> details
  
• FREE -- Santaland Diaries -- David Sedaris -- 7.5 min
  
• FREE -- The Bird's Christmas Carol -- Kate Douglas Wiggin
  
• FREE -- The First Christmas Tree -- Henry Van Dyke -- 55 min
  
• FREE -- The Gift of the Magi -- O Henry -- 20 min -- full cast (WOUB Radio)

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Collections (authors)

• FREE -- Christmas Stories (22 titles) -- multiple (LibriVox)
  
• FREE -- Christmas Stories (25 titles) -- multiple (Storynory)
  
• FREE -- Dickens' Christmas Stories (5 titles) -- Charles Dickens -- 2.1 hrs
  
• FREE -- Greatest Christmas Short Stories (29 titles) -- multiple (LibriVox) -- 7.1 hrs
  
• FREE -- Children's Book of Christmas Stories (35 titles) -- multiple (LibriVox) -- 7.7 hrs

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Old Time Radio Shows (dramatizations)

• FREE -- OTR Christmas Programs -- YouTube search to hundreds of shows

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The Night Before Christmas -- Clement C Moore (disputed)

• FREE -- A Visit from St Nicholas -- Lit2Go -- 3.3 min
  
• FREE -- The Night Before Christmas -- The Chipmunks -- 3 min
  
• FREE -- Twas Night Before Christmas -- Michael Scott -- 4 min
  
• FREE -- Twas Night Before Christmas -- LibriVox (9 titles)
  
• FREE -- Zelda's Night Before Christmas -- Big Finish -- 3 min --> details
  
• Synopsis
  • Spoiler:

    "A Visit from St. Nicholas", more commonly known as "The Night Before Christmas" and "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously in 1823 and later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, who claimed authorship in 1837. Some commentators now believe the poem was written by Henry Livingston Jr..
    
    The poem has been called "arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American" and is largely responsible for some of the conceptions of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today. It has had a massive impact on the history of Christmas gift-giving. Before the poem gained wide popularity, American ideas had varied considerably about Saint Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors. "A Visit from St. Nicholas" eventually was set to music and has been recorded by many artists.

    A Visit from St. Nicholas
    
    Versions of A Visit from St. Nicholas generally attributed to Clement Clarke Moore; possibly by Henry Beekman Livingston
    
    The poem "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas", also known as "The Night Before Christmas" from its first line, and first published in 1823, is largely responsible for the contemporary American conception of Santa Claus, including his appearance, the night he visits, his method of transportation, the number and names of his reindeer, and that he brings toys to children. Prior to the poem, American ideas about St. Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors varied considerably.
    
    The poem was published anonymously in 1823 by the Troy Sentinel. It was first attributed to Clement Clarke Moore in 1837 by Charles Fenno Hoffman in The New York Book of Poetry. Moore himself first claimed authorship in his 1844 book Poems. Circa 1860, the family of Major Henry Livingston, Jr. (1748–1828) discovered the claims of Moore's authorship, but waited until after Moore's death to publicly argue that Livingston had first composed the poem circa 1807.
    
    The last two reindeer names were Dunder and Blixem when the poem was first published anonymously on December 23, 1823. The editor of the 1825 McClure Almanac was the first to change Blixem to Blixen. When Moore later published the work as his own (Poems, 1844), the names were spelled Donder and Blitzen. In a number of later reprintings, Dunder/Donder's name is further simplified to Donner.
    
    — Excerpted from A Visit from St. Nicholas on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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[tubemonkey]

Christmas Stories 2023 v2 -- A Christmas Carol

Tis that time of year to compile a collection of free/inexpensive Christmas stories. Vol 1 will include all Christmas stories except A Christmas Carol. Due to the sheer volume of that perennial classic, it'll be the subject of Vol 2. Both posts will be linked in the OP.

• Christmas Stories 2023 v1 -- Assorted Stories

A Christmas Carol -- Charles Dickens (1812~1870)

A Christmas Carol is a novella by Charles Dickens. It was first published in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim. Carol tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a gentler, kindlier man after visitations by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come.

The book was written at a time when the British were examining and exploring Christmas traditions from the past as well as new customs such as Christmas cards and Christmas trees. Carol singing took a new lease on life during this time. Dickens' sources for the tale appear to be many and varied, but are, principally, the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales.

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Audiobooks (narrators)

• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- 2.8 hrs -- Antonia Bath --> details
  
• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- 3.0 hrs -- Paul Michael --> details
  
• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- 3.2 hrs -- Kyle Munley (LibriVox)
  
• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- 3.2 hrs -- Michael Fenton Stevens --> details
  
• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- 2.9 hrs -- multiple

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Dramatizations (narrators)

• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- 54 min -- Jonathan Winters -- abridged
  
• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- 59 min -- full cast (Orson Welles) -- abridged
  
• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- 1.4 hrs -- Neil Gaiman --> details -- abridged
  
• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- 3.0 hrs -- full cast (LibriVox)
  
• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- 3.7 hrs -- full cast (WOUB Radio)

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LibriVox (narrators)

• FREE -- A Christmas Carol (25 titles) -- multiple

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Podcasts (narrators)

• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- 2.2 hrs -- Alan Smith -- details -- abridged
  
• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- 3.0 hrs -- Patrick Horgan

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Reviews (narrators)

• FREE -- An Intro to A Christmas Carol -- 29 min -- David Timson

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eBooks & other Sources

• FREE -- Google | iTunes | Kindle | Kobo | Nook | Proj Guten

• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- original 1843 edition published by Chapman & Hall
  
• FREE -- A Christmas Carol -- 1920 facsimile edition published by Little, Brown & Co
  
• FREE -- other Sources ------- copies, collections, libraries, etc

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[tubemonkey]

One Audiobooks -- Monthly Offers -- offers expire @ 11:59 pm PT

• FREE -- Expectation Corner -- ES Elliott/ J St John -- 2.3 hrs -- exp 29 Feb
  
• FREE -- Being the Bad Guys -- S McAlpine/ MB Carnes -- 3.6 hrs -- exp 31 Jan
  
• FREE -- Luther on the Christian Life -- C Trueman, et al/ S Bubb -- 8.6 hrs -- exp 31 Dec
  
  
• Limited Time Offers
  
• FREE -- Happily Ever After -- multiple/ multiple -- 2.3 hrs
  
• FREE -- Klaus-Dieter John -- J Benge, et al/ T Gregory -- 5.4 hrs
  
• FREE -- Possibilities of Prayer -- EM Bounds/ T Dixon -- 4.1 hrs

Download Instructions -- MUST download if you wish to keep books after exp date

• Spoiler:

  from skinmaan
  
  ...if you claim one of their free titles it will only stay in your library for a few months. That's okay, though, because the titles they offer are DRM-free and can be downloaded to your PC for use in your favorite audiobook player.

  from One Audiobooks
  
  Most FREE offers on the ONE Platform are provided on a limited-time basis.

  Downloading tracks to your device
  
  The ONE App is primarily intended for use with an internet connection because the audio tracks are streamed directly to your computer or phone.
  
  We are currently creating native apps for iOS and Android devices that will be available later this year.
  
  Each track and also be downloaded individually within the ONE App player web page. The process works well using a desktop computer, but can be tricky on a phone. Every phone handles the process a little differently based on the user's settings, and we find that most people have a difficult time with files being out of order and/or having trouble finding the files.
  
  The following video explains downloading in more detail.

.

[tubemonkey]

Audible AU -- Editor's Extra -- exp 31 Dec @ 11:59 pm AEDT (4:59 am PT)

Ten Steps to Nanette -- FREE -- Hannah Gadsby/ H Gadsby -- 13.8 hrs -- NF memoir

members only

Multi-award-winning Hannah Gadsby broke comedy with their show Nanette. Now they take us through the defining moments in their life and their powerful decision to tell the truth—no matter the cost.

“Hannah is a Promethean force, a revolutionary talent. This hilarious, touching, and sometimes tragic book is all about where their fires were lit.”—Emma Thompson

“There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself,” Hannah Gadsby declared in their show Nanette, a scorching critique of the way society conducts public debates about marginalized communities. When it premiered on Netflix, it left audiences captivated by their blistering honesty and their singular ability to take viewers from rolling laughter to devastated silence. Ten Steps to Nanette continues Gadsby’s tradition of confounding expectations and norms, properly introducing us to one of the most explosive, formative voices of our time.

Gadsby grew up as the youngest of five children in an isolated town in Tasmania, where homosexuality was illegal until 1997. They perceived their childhood as safe and “normal,” but as they gained an awareness of their burgeoning queerness, the outside world began to undermine the “vulnerably thin veneer” of their existence. After moving to mainland Australia and receiving a degree in art history, Gadsby found themselves adrift, working itinerant jobs and enduring years of isolation punctuated by homophobic and sexual violence. At age twenty-seven, without a home or the ability to imagine their own future, they were urged by a friend to enter a stand-up competition. They won, and so began their career in comedy.

Gadsby became well known for their self-deprecating, autobiographical humor that made them the butt of their own jokes. But in 2015, as Australia debated the legality of same-sex marriage, Gadsby started to question this mode of storytelling, beginning work on a show that would become “the most-talked-about, written-about, shared-about comedy act in years” (The New York Times).

Harrowing and hilarious, Ten Steps to Nanette traces Gadsby’s growth as a queer person, to their ever-evolving relationship with comedy, and their struggle with late-in-life diagnoses of autism and ADHD, finally arriving at the backbone of Nanette: the renouncement of self-deprecation, the rejection of misogyny, and the moral significance of truth-telling.