The SFFaudio Podcast #201 – AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: The Inn by Guy de Maupassant

February 25, 2013 by Jesse Willis · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Podcasts

Podcast

The SFFaudio Podcast #201 – The Inn by Guy de Maupassant, read by Mirko Stauch. This is a complete and unabridged reading of the short story (34 minutes) followed by a discussion of it. Participants in the discussion include Jesse and Mirko.

Talked about on today’s show:
Where and why, more and more Maupassant, is there a definitive list of Guy de Maupassant SFF stories?, German translations, the BBC audio drama adaptation of The Inn, RadioArchive.cc, a ghost story, the twist in the end or the twist middle, great writing, an ambiguous ghost story, a psychological happening, the dog’s reaction, revenant, “it becomes the monster”, Louise Hauser, is Ulrich dead?, Gaspard, The Others, Maupassant tricks us, “they bury themselves”, Ulrich is punished for no reason, the voice, white noise, Ulrich’s religious beliefs, Cologne on a cold night, the ravens!, the audio drama improves on the short story!, a filling metaphor, “the immense ocean of pale mountain summits”, mainstream, the vertical issue, Wolfgang von Goethe, “only a very stable character”, a proto-cosmic horror, The Festival by H.P. Lovecraft, a Christmas story, describing nature, the second meaning, “arose from the snow itself”, “he’s alone on the Moon”, being alone, cabin fever, we are alone in the cosmos, community allows us to hide from the harsh truth, gambling, “I would have brought a bunch of books”, “illiterate mountain peasants”, a lonely island, did Gaspard fall into a crevasse?, nature is the monster, the unknown is more terrifying, the terror of the soul, undeserved guilt, “eighteen degrees of frost”, “he was of a sleepy nature”, 1886, Guy de Maupassant visited the Alps, riddled with disease, the Inn at Schwarenbach, The Shining by Stephen King, an internal flaw, “he could speak no human words”, Nightflyers by George R.R. Martin, Perry Rhodan, Silent Running, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, the dog as a symbol, the dog as a companion, the importance of routine for the lonely, the demon of loneliness, “all is busy work before the grave”, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Castaway, The Piece Of String (aka The Piece Of Yarn), “eating a sandwich that you find on the sidewalk”, he dies alone and unloved, “two feets”, every Norman is trapped in disbelief, it could have happened to us!, his hair turned white, Supernatural Horror In Literature by H.P. Lovecraft, “the unseen”, “the outer blackness”, able to appreciate the immensity of reality, Honey Boo Boo, The Horla by Guy de Maupassant, The Call Of Cthulhu, “when I think of H.P. Lovecraft I don’t think of immense tentacles.”

The Inn by Guy de Maupassant

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #201 - AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: The Inn by Guy de Maupassant [ 1:20:22 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: audiobook, Cologne, cosmic horror, Daniel Defoe, dogs, George R. R. Martin, ghosts, Guy de Maupassant, H. P. Lovecraft, loneliness, Perry Rhodan, radioarchive.cc, readalong, Richard Matheson, solitude, Stephen King, Switzerland, the moon, The SFFaudio Podcast

BBC Radio 4: In Our Time: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

December 22, 2011 by Jesse Willis · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Online Audio

SFFaudio Online Audio

The latest BBC Radio 4 In Our Time podcast, dated December 22, 2011, is a discussion of Daniel Defoe‘s Robinson Crusoe. Did you know that the novel was originally published pseudonymously? Or that Defoe wasn’t actually born with the name Defoe, but rather “Foe”? (he added the “De”). As usual In Our Time‘s podcast is a quick solid introduction to a fascinating topic. Here’s the official description:

“Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe. Published in 1719, it was an immediate success and is considered the classic adventure story – the sailor stranded on a desert island who learns to tame the environment and the native population. Robinson Crusoe has been interpreted in myriad ways, from colonial fable to religious instruction manual to capitalist tract, yet it is perhaps best known today as a children’s story. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Karen O’Brien, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education at the University of Birmingham; Judith Hawley, Professor of Eighteenth-Century Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London and Bob Owens, Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the Open University.”

|MP3|

Podcast feed: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/iot/rss.xml

Thank you very much British taxpayers!

Posted by Jesse Willis

Tags: adventure, BBC, Daniel Defoe

SFFaudio Challenge #6

November 11, 2011 by Jesse Willis · 8 Comments
Filed under: Commentary

SFFaudio Commentary

The SFFaudio Challenge Number Six THE CHALLENGE:
This is our 6th Annual SFFaudio Challenge. Every November 11th, for the last six years, we’ve offered the following challenge to SFFaudio readers:

“We’ll give you an audiobook if you make one for everyone else.”

That deal still holds. We’ll get you an audiobook if you make make an audiobook out of one of the public domain etexts we suggest. All you’ll need to do is claim a title (by email), record the audiobook, using your own human voice (sorry no robots), and follow the rules (see the first comment of this post for the rules). Some titles will not be public domain in all countries, but this is a global challenge. We’ve also added, for the very first time, a French language title!

Still feeling a little unclear on how it all works? Then have a look at our past SFFaudio CHALLENGES:

PRIZES:
This year we’re doing something a bit different with prizes, something better. Instead of offering those unwieldy physical copies we’ve got DRM-FREE MP3 downloads for you! This not only saves us on postage it also allows for a much greater selection of audiobooks! For each audiobook you complete, you can choose one of more than 1,300 titles available! All prizes this year come courtesy of Tantor Media.