Let your voice be heard

This afternoon I'm putting on my sandwich board and hoping to drum up some business for a pet worthy cause/source of free entertainment: LibriVox. Last year (or was it the year before?) I got excited about Project Gutenberg's growing catalog of online books. I not only indulged in some of their free reads (i.e., I took on The Scarlet Pimpernel whilst doing therapeutic tub-soaks), but I also put a few volunteer hours into the global kitty, to help advance the process of getting classic texts into people's hands at no charge. Yeah, I'm all for that. (I still prefer having an actual paper-and-ink, dog ear-able book in my own hands though. But that's a story for a different post.) Then several months ago I discovered a whole 'nother realm of internet book pleasures—voila! LibriVox! These same classic books are now being recorded by plain ol' folks and made available to the ears of the masses. That idea floats my boat, flips my nickels, busts my buttons, waters my plants, etc. Much as I love to read, sometimes I have to find a way to absorb books while I work, or not read at all, so I'm all about the audio experience.

I received a LibriVox newsletter this morning which contained a plea for volunteers to help out with something happy called "Jumping July!" The goal is to clean house and finish up several straggling projects that need a few chapters read or simply listened to. I signed up for some Oscar Wilde—it'll be my first recording and I'm pretty excited. Sometimes Oscar really waters my flowers too. But there are other books on the list that look like great fun. If you have a little time and want to do some service that is a bit out of the ordinary, I recommend you check out the possibilities. If you don't trust your voice, Project Gutenberg can still use your help with their etexts.

Just think! A virtual library at your fingertips, with no overdue fees!

This public service announcement brought to you by Bloggers Who Should Be Doing Laundry Instead.