Kestrell

Since the summer, I've been trying to find ways to deal with severe chronic fatigue, which has really cut down on the activities I've felt up to doing. It has, however, upped my intake of audiobooks and other things I can listen to. I recently discovered Audiobooks.com, which seems to have the largest selection of audiobooks and podcasts to search from, while also being very accessible and, as in the following instance, if it is a podcast, you have the option of either purchasing it to download or listening to it for free through the app.

So yesterday, while searching for new audiobooks, I came across this BBC Radio 4 series by Natalie Haynes and, being the classics and myth geek that I am, I listened to her Series 5, which began with Aristotle. I'm always interested in hearing more about Aristotle due to my obsession with _The Name of the Rose_. Since I've read a number of her books, I was quite prepared for Natalie Haynes to be witty and fascinating, but I had no idea that she was so *funny*!!! In addition, she has other classicists as guests who are *also* funny!

Haynes also makes it a point to feature as her subjects women of the classical world and recent archeological discoveries which support broadening our ideas regarding diversity in Western Europe. I can see how this show led her to write _Pandora's Jar_, in which she explores ideas regarding the role of women in Greek epic and drama, including lost and obscure works (note that _Pandora's Jar_ and other books by Haynes are available on NLS and on Bookshare).

Two episodes which I absolutely must recommend are "The Amazons" and "homer." During the latter, she announces that, since we really don't know anything about Homer, she will, instead, give a summary of all twenty-four books of "The Iliad" in the next twenty-four minutes and this turns out to have so many insights and poetic highlight that I am feeling excited about rereading the entire thing again.

You can find Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics online, including an episode list here
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b077x8pc/episodes/player

and you can also ask Alexa "Alexa, play Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics.," although I'm not sure if Alexa has access to all the episodes that are available on the BBC website.

The 8 Best Websites to Download Audiobooks for Free
https://www.makeuseof.com/best-websites-download-free-audiobooks/

Learn Out Loud
https://www.learnoutloud.com/
Learn Out Loud's Directory of free audio books, courses, documentaries, talks, interviews, speeches, and many other great free audio and video resources.
https://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video

20 of the Best Free Audiobooks You Need to Listen To
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-free-audiobooks-need-hear/

On his latest podcast, Jonathan Mosen discusses Libro.fm, which is an online bookshop that sells DRM-free audiobooks and supports indie bookstores
https://mosenatlarge.pinecast.co/episode/94ad284a845143fb/listener-reflections-on-audiobooks-and-introducing-libro-fm-for-access-to-over-150-000-drm-free-audiobooks

Blind Bargains has a new podcast, and one notable item is a discussion of Zoom's new accessibility settings, which allow screen reader users to control notifications and announcements. Find it here
https://blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=22003

I've previously mentioned Doug Lee and his Jaws-related scripts for improving the accessibility of various applications such as Microsoft Teams and Discord, and now he's written a new set of scripts called ListTbl, which make it easier to navigate columns in listview controls for managing files and tasks
https://dlee.org/listtbl/

NVDA has developed an add-on for Zoom to control the speaking of notifications and other announcements.
https://addons.nvda-project.org/addons/zoomEnhancements.en.html

WebFriendlyHelp has a blog post which discusses these enhancements
https://webfriendlyhelp.com/zoom-accessibility-enhancements-for-nvda/

WebFriendlyHelp also has this post on new Features in JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion
https://webfriendlyhelp.com/new-features-in-jaws-zoomtext-and-fusion-2/

NV In-Process, the newsletter for the free screen reader NVDA, often includes news items relevant to blind users and software developers, outside of news related to NVDA. The most recent issue includes items about an accessible space station RPG, and also tips for ensuring accessibility when developing your own software.
Read the new In-Process newsletter at
https://www.nvaccess.org/post/in-process-7th-september-2020/

NVDACon website
https://www.nvdacon.org/#content
where you can join the announcements list and listen to sessions from previous conferences.

Many of these links have been culled from Top Tech Tidbits. You can subscribe to the newsletter or read the entire newsletter online at
https://www.toptechtidbits.com/

A friend got me hooked on the female real-crime podcast "My Favorite Murder," even though I need to cover my ears for some parts, because I'm a wuss when it comes to real crime stories.
However, what really fuels the show are the two female hosts and storytellers, who are the best kind of crazy.

Another favorite media thing of mine is the daily audiobook recommendation from AudioFile Magazine skill I receive through Alexa
Audiobook Recommendations from AudioFile Magazine [AudioFile is spelled capital a u d i o capital f i l e]
https://alexa.amazon.com/spa/index.html#skills/dp/B07TWPRCQZ/?ref=skill_dsk_skb_sr_3&qid=1563892656
especially this week's theme is strong women.

This morning's recommendation was for "Stay Sexy and Don't Get Murdered," by the "My Favorite Murder" hosts. The title comes from their traditional show sign off. Parts of the audiobook are recorded with the hosts reading in front of their live audience, so it does manage to capture some of the Captain marvel-like "Because, fuck you" tone of the podcasts.

I was a little conflicted about the excerpt AudioFile chose to use, because it mocks the use of the word "self-care" which, in the world of PWD, is of huge importance, despite its more, um, self-indulgent use as framed by the show hosts.

Also, if you are a regular reader of audiobooks, I highly recommend the AudioFile Magazine Alexa skill, especially this week's focus on strong women.
Note: AudioFile is spelled capital a u d i o capital f i l e.

This is if you do not already have a BPL card. The point of this is that you can register for an e-card online and it allows you access to all the online services, including being able to electronically borrow music, audiobooks, and ebooks. Some of these ebooks require an additional ebook reader app, but many can be read using just your browser.

This online registration form is mostly accessible--I am using Jaws with Chrome--but the label for the "City" combo box didn't get read for some reason. You will get an error and a link back to the form if you miss anything, though, so just stick with it.

Here's the link to the form and the FAQ
https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4197886/eCard-Registration

Kes: This article manages to sum up in a relatively small word count the three major distinctions which paper fetishist repeatedly make between the audiobook and the "book-book."

Wired for Sound.
By John Schwartz
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/books/review/wired-for-sound.html

1. "When I talk with one friend or another about books we've both read, I often have to admit that I read the particular work in audio form. Although I'm not especially perceptive, it's pretty easy to translate my interlocutor's expression. It's a blend of surprise, condescension and an unmistakable dash of
'that's cheating."
]Kes: although, in my case, most people will say, in a gracious tone, that of course I read books in audio format for accessibility reasons, implying that some reasons have more validity than others.]

2. "A prime skeptic is my wife, Jeanne, who also happens to be the principal recommender of the new books I read. She is not unalterably opposed to aural reading; in fact, she's a fan of recorded lectures. But when it comes to fiction, she insists on holding the printed text in her hand. Also, she has a problem with that alien Other -- the intervening reader who takes command of the entire text.

I want the voices in my head for the characters,' she once said. I don't want that person in my ear.

We developed a retronym: if I slipped a book -- the kind with covers and pages -- into my backpack for the train or to get started on at home, that meant I was reading a 'book-book. Of course the term itself reinforced her belief -- I won't call it a prejudice -- against audio reading. It was firmest in
the case of novels, which she thought I couldn't possibly absorb, especially if they were complex narratives. Not that we argued or fought over this. I would never say such a thing. Out loud.
[Kes: This reminds me of my orientation for grad school, where we went around and introduced ourselves and our interests in media. I was second-to-last, and mentioned my fascinationw ith the intersection of books and media, such as audiobooks andnew media formats. The final student spoke right after me, and her first sentence was, "I'm not like the rest of you: I read books." I guess I read baloney slices?]

3. "At this point it occurred to me that what divides us on this issue may involve more than our preferred methods of reading. It may, in fact, be a matter of how we each best absorb difficult material. When I was in college I always got more out of lectures than out of the reading, and now I work in a trade, journalism, that is largely about listening to the spoken voice. And this, in turn, led me to wonder whether I'm wired in some way to listen rather than read.

And so I did what reporters are trained to do. I consulted an expert, in this case Howard Gardner, a professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Gardner is celebrated for his theory of multiple intelligences, which holds that there are many different kinds of smarts and learning. In his work, Gardner has parsed linguistic intelligence from logical-mathematical and musical intelligence, and has also described other
kinds of intelligence linked to interpersonal relationships and the body.

In a recent e-mail, I asked Gardner whether his theory could apply to an affinity for audiobooks. I get tremendous pleasure from audiobooks,' I wrote. My wife gets none at all, and spends her evenings holding by-God books.

Gardner responded quickly. This is very funny,' he said. Reading approaches in his marriage were the exact opposite of those in mine: his wife 'loves audiobooks and listens to them endlessly,' while 'I never listen to audiobooks. He is married to Ellen Winner, whose resume resembles his. She is chairwoman of the psychology department at Boston College, and a senior associate at Project Zero, an arts-education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Gardner suggested I speak with both of them that evening by phone.

When I called, Winner said she listens to books while exercising, grocery shopping or waiting in long lines at the airport. And what kinds of books? Great literature, classics that I would not have the time or patience to read if they were in print. She has happily worked the treadmill to 'Bleak House' and 'Daniel Deronda,' 'Crime and Punishment' and 'War and Peace.

I want to just sink into a fictional world,' she said. She could have been speaking for me.

Gardner, for his part, sounded a lot more like Jeanne. I like to provide my own soundtracks in life,' he said, adding that he loves listening to classical music, and not as a means of escape. I'm not trying to get away from anything,' he said.
[Kes: so people who read audiobooks are reading for escapist reasons, rather than the more intellectually-challenging immersive experience? And how does what the wife said about "sinking in" to a book different from the husband's "immersive"? Isn'the real issue that book-book types want to keep insisting that what they do is different from what audiobook types do, that your preferred format not only says something about your identity, but that it reflects a different aesthetic, a different kind of reading?]

As a practical matter, Gardner went on, he wants to read at his own pace, and to be able to flip back to earlier passages -- no easy feat on an iPod. To
me, reading is something I do with my eyes,' he said.

At times during our conversation, the couple seemed to grow somewhat heated. Not that I would call it arguing.

The truth, it seems, is that the way we read, and our reasons for loving or disliking audiobooks, are deeply personal. They are expressions of self, so
tied to who we are. If you belittle the way I read, you're belittling me.

When I pressed Gardner on whether multiple-intelligence issues might enter into these differences, he said he had not heard of any research in the area.


We don't have enough of a sample to make a decision,' he said, 'but there could be something in that.

check out some of the narrators on The Oscar Wilde Coolection
http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_5?asin=B005HEYU82&qid=1319748529&sr=1-5

I already only recently found out that, in the audio version of his autobiography, Keith Richards shares the narration with Johnny Depp. That definitely seems worth hearing, and I guess a lot of people agreed, because it won an Audie, the award for best audiobook of the year.

From today's LearnOutLoud.com

Haitian - Creole (Compact)
http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Compact/17755?utm_source=FROTD&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Free%2BResource%20of%20the%20Day

Audible.com and Simon & Schuster Audio are currently offering ten free language learning lessons of the Pimsleur Haitian Creole Compact Course. Haitian Creole is spoken by about eight million people in Haiti, which is nearly the entire population. If you or anyone you know is considering going to Haiti to help with the relief effort there, then download & listen to or share these free language learning lessons. These introductory lessons teach beginning language strategies for essential communication and traveling needs. These ten lessons can be downloaded in two parts from Audible.com as Lessons 1-5 and Lessons 6-10. Click the two Audible.com links on our page to access them (if the links don't take you to the right place just search "Haitian Creole" on Audible.com).