Monday, October 23, 2006

Rabbit Ear Tales

Recently released on Audio CD are some famous people telling beloved stories, in three different series--American Tall Tales, Bible Stories and Storybook Classics.

Garrison Keillor retells "Johnny Appleseed" and Angelica Houston narrates "Rip Van Winkle"
in some fall tall tales.
American Tall Tales vol.1

Amy Grant and Kelly McGillis retell the story of the creation and Noah's Ark in
Bible Stories vol. 1

There are two volumes of Storybook Classics on CD.
In vol. 1, Glenn Close tells "The Emperor and the Nightingale" and Kelly McGillis reads "Thumbelina".
Storybook Classics vol. 1

In the second Storybook Classics, Cher shares "The Ugly Duckling" and Holly Hunter tells about "The Three Little Pigs" and "The Three Billygoats Gruff".
Storybook Classics vol.2

All titles are available at Warrenton, Bealeton and Marshall in the children's audiobook section.

The series will continue to release new editions several times a year.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

More Modern Scholars

Baffled by the Brothers K? Do you find Tolstoy turgid?
Giants of Russian Literature: Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov explores the rich tradition of these great writers.
Professor Liza Knapp, who was the online "literary expert" for Anna Karenina, with Oprah's book club, explains how these works wrestle with the universal questions of love, death and the human condition.

The Search for the Holy Grail is timeless.
Eternal Chalice: the Grail in Literature and Legend
Professor Monica Brzezinski Potkay from the College of William and Mary, explores this theme.

A Way with Words: Writing, Rhetoric and the Art of Persuasion
From formal speeches to cocktail party banter, the role of rhetoric is pervasive in how we persuade and are persuaded. A History of the English Language focuses on how language defines people, and how the English language evolved.

Professor Michael D.C. Drout, who is the lecturer for both of these courses, is one of the founding editors of the Tolkien Studies Journal and has won numerous awards for his teaching lectures and scholarship.