Kendall Campus Library iPod Project
Miami Dade College

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Introducing the LitPod

Do you love audiobooks but miss curling up with a "real" book? Are you interested in literary classics but find them too intimidating? The "LitPod" could be just the thing for you!

Each volume in the Kendall Campus Library's new LitPod series consists of an iPod containing the audiobook version of a classic literary work, accompanied by the print version of the same work.
The LitPod was developed to give borrowers the option of listening, reading, or doing both at the same time.

The following LitPod titles are currently available:

  • The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (read by Donald Sutherland)
  • The Awakening by Kate Chopin (read by Shelly Frasier)
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (read by the author)
  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (read by Tim Robbins)
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (read by Patrick Fraley)
  • On the Road by Jack Kerouac (read by Matt Dillon)
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (read by Edward Petherbridge)
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (read by Irene Sutcliffe)
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (read by Ruby Dee)
  • Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (read by Alfred Molina)
  • Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (read by Ethan Hawke) ; plus an interview with the author.
  • The Call of the Wild by Jack London (read by Frank Muller)
  • 1984 by George Orwell (read by Simon Prebble)
  • Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (read by Michael York) ; plus a dramatized version of Brave New World performed by the author and the CBS Radio Workshop.
  • The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (read by Sean Pratt)
  • A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (read by Frank Muller)
  • The Edgar Allan Poe Audio Collection (read by Basil Rathbone and Vincent Price) ; click here for table of contents.
  • Great American Women's Fiction by Willa Cather, Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Edith Wharton (read by Chris McGlasson, Tamara Walters, Jan Ahders, and Marni Webb) ; click here for table of contents.
What is your opinion of the LitPod? Does listening while reading help to improve your understanding of a literary work? Click the comments link below to share your thoughts.

posted by Jennifer at 9:35 AM

2 Comments:

  • How were the titles chosen?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At November 13, 2007 at 12:51 PM  

  • The selection of the LitPod titles is based on a variety of criteria such as:

    • Student demand.
    • Availability of unabridged, iPod-compatible audiobook.
    • Quality of narration. Preference is given to commerically produced audiobooks narrated by professional readers or actors.
    • Language. We have not yet been able to include works originally written in foreign languages (like Siddhartha or The Metamorphosis) because the translations used in the audiobook versions differ, sometimes significantly, from the print versions. Since the idea behind the LitPod is to allow borrowers to listen and read at the same time, we want to provide matching translations. We're still looking, so stay tuned!

    By Blogger Jennifer, At November 13, 2007 at 1:32 PM  

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