Telltale Weekly - Funding a Free Audiobook Library The Spoken Alexandria Project
Browse Audiobook Catalog blank space Mission - About Telltale blank space Presskit and Biography blank space Contact - FAQ blank space The Free Stuff


View all categories
Nonfiction Audio Books


Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable 03: Apollo and Daphne, Etc
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
by Thomas Bulfinch
23 minutes, 11 seconds
Unabridged Mythology/Literature
1913


Bulfinch's Mythology

Here we have Apollo and Daphne and how one of them refuses the other's advances and becomes a laurel tree. Then we have Pyramus and Thisbe, the love story that inspired Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, or at least the bloody parts of it. And finally: Cephalus and Procris and how the wind is slutty and how misunderstanding can inspire uxoricide. Read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable 03: Apollo and Daphne, Etc"


Posted by alex at 9:48 AM | TrackBack

Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable 02: Prometheus and Pandora
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
by Thomas Bulfinch
18 minutes, 40 seconds
Unabridged Mythology/Literature
1913


Bulfinch's Mythology

Creation myths! Read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable 02: Prometheus and Pandora"


Posted by alex at 7:01 PM | TrackBack

Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable 01: Introduction
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
by Thomas Bulfinch
24 minutes, 44 seconds
Unabridged Mythology/Literature
1913


Bulfinch's Mythology

An introduction to the stories and legends of ancient Greece and Rome, and an overview of the pantheon. Read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable 01: Introduction"


Posted by alex at 10:46 AM | TrackBack

New Testament: Philippians
$0.75
Download Now!
MP3
Ogg Vorbis
AAC
Download page follows PayPal payment.

Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
from the King James Bible
16 minutes, 18 seconds
Unabridged Religous Work
First Century AD


The King James Bible

The eleventh book of the New Testament: the epistle of the apostle Paul to the Philippians. It was written during Paul's first imprisonment in Rome, yet he emphasizes joy and rejoicing at the gospel.

Read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "New Testament: Philippians"


Posted by alex at 2:36 PM

About Magnanimous-Incident Literature
$0.75
Download Now!
MP3
Ogg Vorbis
AAC
Download page follows PayPal payment.

Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
by Mark Twain
16 minutes, 7 seconds
Unabridged Humor/Storytelling/Essay
1878


Twain

Twain proposes some realistic sequels to three common morality tales.

Continue reading "About Magnanimous-Incident Literature"


Posted by alex at 3:28 PM

The Morals of Chess
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
by Benjamin Franklin
8 minutes, 52 seconds
Unabridged Essay
1786


The Morals of Chess

American essaysist and humorist Benjamin Franklin on the game of chess, and its application to life.

Read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "The Morals of Chess"


Posted by alex at 8:42 AM

NIMH: Social Phobia
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
from the National Institute of Mental Health
13 minutes, 37 seconds
Unabridged NIMH Informational Brochure
1999


Social Phobia
This unabridged recording includes two freely available brochures from the National Institute of Mental Health: Social Phobia: A Real Illness and Facts about Social Phobia.

Full text (including printable and redistributable brochures) available at the NIMH website.

Continue reading "NIMH: Social Phobia"


Posted by alex at 12:30 PM

Clarion My Wayward Son 1 of 2
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
by Alex Wilson
48 minutes, 4 seconds
Unabridged SF-related podcast
2006

Clarion My Wayward Son

Telltale founder Alex Wilson, preparing to attend the famous Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop, gives an introduction and "before" picture. Featuring Michael A. Burstein and Jason Erik Lundberg.

Follow along with the adventures in Alex's Clarion Journal. The theme song "Untitled Pretention Pontificated by a Passive Voice" is available separately here. Photo by Jamie Bishop.

Expect the second and final Clarion podcast in the first half of 2007.

Continue reading "Clarion My Wayward Son 1 of 2"


Posted by alex at 10:13 AM

The Gettysburg Address
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
by Abraham Lincoln
2 minutes, 22 seconds
Unabridged Speech
1863


Lincoln

"Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the propisition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great Civil War..." Given by US President Abraham Lincoln on the battlefield November 19, 1863, after the hard-fought, casualty-ridden, and turning-point Civil War battle near Gettysburg, PA.

This speech is inscribed, along with Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "The Gettysburg Address"


Posted by alex at 11:17 AM

Getting Past Being Joe Blow Neopro
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
by Tobias S Buckell
1 hour, 17 minutes
Unabridged SF-Related Essays on Writing
2003



Science fiction and fantasy author Tobias S. Buckell talks about a much-ignored period in the working writer's career: after one makes that first major professional story sale, but before he or she has turned that exception into the rule. Buckell discusses "the benefits, the experience, and the dangers of being a Joe Blow Neopro," along with "some strategies to move out of this stage in of our careers."

These six columns originally appeared in Speculations in 2003, when Buckell was still a neopro. His advice is likely worth reading because his first novel, Crystal Rain, comes out this month from Tor Books. Columns included:

  1. An Introduction
  2. Putting in the Time
  3. Original Source Creativity
  4. Professionalism
  5. Taking it Up a Notch
  6. Plan Your Career Now
Spoken Alexandria podcasted the column twice weekly between February 1st through 18th, and now the bundled downloads are available free. Read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "Getting Past Being Joe Blow Neopro"


Posted by alex at 1:25 AM

New Testament: Galatians
$1.00
Download Now!
MP3
Ogg Vorbis
AAC
Download page follows PayPal payment.

Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
from the King James Bible
23 minutes, 39 seconds
Unabridged Religous Work
First Century AD


The ninth book of the New Testament: the epistle of the apostle Paul to the Galatians. Paul argues that redemption comes from grace rather than as a reward for adherence to laws, "for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."

Read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "New Testament: Galatians"


Posted by alex at 4:23 PM

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
by Patrick Henry
6 minutes, 51 seconds
Unabridged Speech
1775


Patrick Henry's address to the second Virginia Convention in March 23, 1775, where he offered a resolution that put the colony in a state of defense leading up to the American Revolution.

A bestselling Telltale recording (and one of the first), now available free with a Creative Commons License. Read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death"


Posted by alex at 3:17 PM

The Art of War
$3.00
Download Now!
MP3
Ogg Vorbis
AAC
Download page follows PayPal payment.

Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
by Sun Tzu
1 hour, 19 minutes
Unabridged Military Treatise
600 BC, 1910 (translation)


The Art of War

The classic, definitive Chinese book on military strategies and tactics. For centuries it has influenced generals, rulers, and others interested in military intelligence. More recently it has become required reading for some businesses executives. Translation from the Chinese by Lionel Giles. Read by Alex Wilson.

The free MP3 sample below includes the entirety of Part 7.

Continue reading "The Art of War"


Posted by alex at 3:29 PM

NIMH: Men and Depression
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
from the National Institute of Mental Health
1 hour, 1 minute
Unabridged NIMH Informational Brochure
2003


Men and Depression

A detailed booklet describing what you need to know about depression in men: how it looks, how it feels, getting help, and getting better. Read by Alex Wilson.

Full text (including a printable and redistributable brochure) available at the NIMH website.

Have you known a man who is grumpy, irritable, and has no sense of humor? Maybe he drinks too much or abuses drugs. Maybe he physically or verbally abuses his wife and his kids. Maybe he works all the time, or compulsively seeks thrills in high-risk behavior. Or maybe he seems isolated, withdrawn, and no longer interested in the people or activities he used to enjoy.

Perhaps this man is you. If so, it is important to understand that there is a disease of the brain called depression that may be underlying these feelings and behaviors. It's real: scientists have developed sensitive imaging devices that enable us to see it in the brain. And it's treatable: more than 80 percent of those suffering from depression respond to existing treatments, and new ones are continually becoming available and helping more people. Talk to a healthcare provider about how you are feeling, and ask for help.

Or perhaps this man is someone you care about. Try to talk to him, or to someone who has a chance of getting through to him. Help him to understand that depression is a common illness among men and is nothing to be ashamed about. Encourage him to see a doctor and get an evaluation for depression.

For most men with depression, life doesn't have to be so dark and hopeless. Life is hard enough as it is; and treating depression can free up vital resources to cope with life's challenges effectively. When a man is depressed, he's not the only one who suffers. His depression also darkens the lives of his family, his friends, virtually everyone close to him. Getting him into treatment can send ripples of healing and hope into all of those lives.

Depression is a real illness; it is treatable; and men can have it. It takes courage to ask for help, but help can make all the difference.

Continue reading "NIMH: Men and Depression"


Posted by alex at 6:09 PM

NIMH: Eating Disorders
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
from the National Institute of Mental Health
15 minutes, 56 seconds
Unabridged NIMH Informational Brochure
2001


Eating Disorders
Facts about Eating Disorders and The Search for Solutions

A detailed booklet that describes symptoms, causes, and treatments, with information on getting help and coping.

Full text (including a printable and redistributable brochure) available at the NIMH website.

Continue reading "NIMH: Eating Disorders"


Posted by alex at 4:06 PM

Mark Twain Lies!
$1.50
Download Now!
MP3
Ogg Vorbis
AAC
Download page follows PayPal payment.

Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
by Mark Twain
37 minutes, 26 seconds
Two Unabridged Humor Essays
1882,1899


Twain

Includes the Telltale Weekly comedic recordings of Mark Twain's "My First Lie (And How I Got Out of It)" and "On the Decay of the Art of Lying." From "My First Lie (and How I Got Out of It):"

"As I understand it, what you desire is information about 'my first lie, and how I got out of it.' I was born in 1835; I am well along, and my memory is not as good as it was. If you had asked about my first truth it would have been easier for me and kinder of you, for I remember that fairly well. I remember it as if it were last week. The family think it was the week before, but that is flattery..."

From "On the Decay of the Art of Lying:"

"Observe, I do not mean to suggest that the custom of lying has suffered any decay or interruption--no, for the Lie, as a virtue, a principle, is eternal; the lie, as a recreation, a solace, a refuge in time of need, the fourth Grace, the tenth Muse, man's best and surest friend, is immortal, and cannot perish from the earth while this club remains. My complaint simply concerns the decay of the art of lying..."

Two humorous essays/speeches read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "Mark Twain Lies!"


Posted by alex at 7:55 PM

The Constitution
$1.00
Download Now!
MP3
Ogg Vorbis
AAC
Download page follows PayPal payment.

Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
of The United States of America
27 minutes, 29 seconds
Unabridged Historical Document
1787


"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America..."

Read by John Jennens.

Also available: The Bill of Rights (free) and The Declaration of Independence (50 cents).

Continue reading "The Constitution"


Posted by alex at 10:01 AM

Jason Erik Lundberg (Small Press Startup) Interview
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
by Jamie Bishop
1 hour, 15 minutes
Unabridged Interview
2005


Four Seasons in One Day Publisher and writer Jason Erik Lundberg of Two Cranes Press talks to multimedia artist Jamie Bishop about the ups and downs of launching a small press startup, collaborating with fantasy artist Janet Chui, publishing science Scattered fiction and fantasy work by Jeff VanderMeer, Nalo Hopkinson, Bruce Boston, Mike Jasper, and others, and releasing a short story collection by Big Fish author Daniel Wallace. Candid, informative listen for anyone interested in starting up her or his own publishing venture.

Continue reading "Jason Erik Lundberg (Small Press Startup) Interview"


Posted by alex at 5:41 PM

My Escape from Slavery
$1.50
Download Now!
MP3
Ogg Vorbis
AAC
Download page follows PayPal payment.

Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
by Frederick Douglass
36 minutes, 37 seconds
Unabridged Memoir / Essay
1881


Douglass

"In the first narrative of my experience in slavery, written nearly forty years ago, and in various writings since, I have given the public what I considered very good reasons for withholding the manner of my escape..." Frederick Douglass reveals the missing piece of his autobiography, in a tale that could not have been told without endangering others while slavery continued to exist.

Continue reading "My Escape from Slavery"


Posted by alex at 10:59 AM

The Rediscovery of the Unique
$1.00
Download Now!
MP3
Ogg Vorbis
AAC
Download page follows PayPal payment.

Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
by H G Wells
23 minutes, 16 seconds
Unabridged Science & Philosophy Essay
1891


"Science is a match that man has just got alight." An important early essay on science and philosophy, offering insight into the unfettered mind that would a few years later belong to "The Father of Science Fiction." Read by Alex Wilson. Not for sale in the EU.

Continue reading "The Rediscovery of the Unique"


Posted by alex at 12:57 AM

Three Sermons and Prayers
$3.50
Download Now!
MP3
Ogg Vorbis
AAC
Download page follows PayPal payment.

Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
by Jonathan Swift
1 hour, 29 minutes
Unabridged Christian Sermons
1744


Contains the Telltale Weekly unabridged recordings of Jonathan Swift's On Sleeping in Church, On the Wisdom of This World, On Mutual Subjection, and Three Prayers Used by the Dean for Stella in Her Last Sickness..

Read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "Three Sermons and Prayers"


Posted by alex at 11:04 AM

Five Speeches
$1.00
Download Now!
MP3
Ogg Vorbis
AAC
Download page follows PayPal payment.

Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
by Mark Twain
29 minutes, 45 seconds
Unabridged Humorous Speeches
1899-1908


Twain

Five speeches by the master at making them interesting and witty.

Theoretical Morals (1899)
"A man can't become morally perfect by stealing one or a thousand green watermelons, but every little helps."

The Alphabet and Simplified Spelling (1907)
"Simplified spelling is all right, but, like chastity, you can take it too far."

Education and Citizenship (1908)
"Now I want to tell a story about jumping to conclusions. It was told to me by Bram Stoker and it concerns a christening."

Layman's Sermon (1906)
"Now I am not modest. I was born modest, but it didn't last."

University Settlement Society (1901)
"Marvelous it is, to think of schools where you don't have to drive the children in, but drive them out! It was not so in my day."

Read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "Five Speeches"


Posted by alex at 1:07 PM

The Bill of Rights
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
from The Constitution of The United States of America
4 minutes, 27 seconds
Unabridged Reading of a Historical Document
1789 / 1791


The ten original amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America--passed by Congress September 25,1789 and ratified December 15, 1791. This recording may be freely shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license.

Read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "The Bill of Rights"


Posted by alex at 5:27 PM

Microsoft Research DRM Talk
$2.00
Download Now!
MP3
Ogg Vorbis
AAC
Download page follows PayPal payment.

Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
by Cory Doctorow
53 minutes, 1 second
Unabridged Speech on Technology and Business Issues
2004


Cory Doctorow DRM Talk

On June 17, 2004, science fiction author and EFF spokesman Cory Doctorow talked to Microsoft Research Group and other interested parties about Digital Rights Management (DRM), copyright, and the technology that cleaves them together and apart. In five parts, Doctorow covers everything from DVD region coding and the player piano to the Apple iTunes Music Store and why Sony didn't create the digital successor to its once-ubiquitous Walkman. Everything you ever wanted to know about DRM, but were afraid to tell Microsoft.

20% of all revenues from the sale of this recording will be donated to the Cory Doctorow's charity of choice, which--to nobody's surprise--is the Electronic Frontier Frontier Foundation. This is in addition to the 1% of all Telltale Weekly revenues donates to the EFF. See the Mission page for details.

Continue reading "Microsoft Research DRM Talk"


Posted by alex at 12:48 AM

Civil Disobedience
$2.50
Download Now!
MP3
Ogg Vorbis
AAC
Download page follows PayPal payment.

Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
by Henry David Thoreau
1 hour, 20 minutes
Unabridged Essay
1849


Thoreau

Originally entitled "Resistance to Civil Government," the classic libertarian essay on self-reliance advocating the active refusal to disobey unjust laws. Read by Alex Wilson.

Continue reading "Civil Disobedience"


Posted by alex at 12:00 AM

Inaugural Address 1961
Free - Share this Audio
MP3 Download - Click Here
Ogg Vorbis Download - Click Here
AAC Download - Click Here
This recording is in the public domain. You may redistribute it without restriction.

Unzip files after downloading. Which format should you choose?
Podcast MP3
by John F. Kennedy
15 minutes, 4 seconds
Unabridged Formal Poetry
1961


On January 20, 1961, Kennedy called on Americans to be active in their citizenship. This recording is in the public domain.

Continue reading "Inaugural Address 1961"


Posted by alex at 9:45 AM

Inaugural Addresses 1861 & 1865
$1.25
Download Now!
MP3