I really like the attitude of the people over on LibriVox.org. In one thread on the LibriVox forums a first time poster makes note that ‘LibriVox titles are being sold on eBay for $’. Like that guy I too was quite shocked and a little dismayed when I found that out. Here’s me thinking:
These audiobooks are available for free and yet some people are actually SELLING them!?!?! How dare they!
But as Puffin1, a long time LibriVoxateer so sensibly points out…
“It’s okay. We [LibriVox] don’t mind. Everything we do is in the public domain. Thanks for your concern. Welcome to LibriVox. Have fun!”
How cool is that?
It really sums up the LibriVox attitude too. Another LibriVoxer, David Barnes (AKA earthcalling), pointed out that… ‘the seller credits LibriVox … and is providing a service that LibriVox doesn’t provide – namely audiobooks on CD.’
Their whole attitude is positive and relaxed, their idea is “the more recordings are ‘out there’, the better!” As it turns out, it’s actually a very good thing that a lot of the sellers on eBay are selling these audiobooks. eBayers looking for audiobooks can discover LibriVox that way.
One such person is a Texan named R. J. Davis (aka Rick).
Rick described himself as “mostly retired” and a “two year cancer survivor.” I’d describe him as one cool mostly retired cancer survivor who narrates audiobooks. Rick found LibriVox through one of these eBay retailers, and has, since joining in December 2007 (!), started narrating public domain Science Fiction for LibriVox! He’s already read individual short stories like:
“Time and Time Again” by H. Beam Piper
“Warning from the Stars” by Ron Cocking
“Stairway To The Stars” by Larry Shaw
And he’s solo-completed entire novels like:
Key Out of Time by Andre Norton
The Time Traders by Andre Norton
And Rick’s got two more Norton novels forthcoming…
Storm Over Warlock by Andre Norton
The Defiant Agents by Andre Norton
Rick is what I’d call a real audiobook fan. LibriVox makes being cool look easy, and that’s pretty amazing because narrating an audiobook is bloody hard work.
Posted by Jesse Willis