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Cory Doctorow is a sci-fi author and commentator, who is usually to be found in his capacity as co-editor at boingboing. His most recent essay collection, Context covers a diverse set of topics, trying to reconcile the “freemium” nature of the Internet (something we’re strongly in favour of here at emudir) and the need for creators to benefit from their hard work (we all have to eat, right?) What’s more, it is itself a “freemium” product, being a Context, is a Creative Commons licensed free download, as well as purchasable as a physical book.

This give-away model has also inspired Jan Rubak to do a similarly CC licensed audiobook reading of the book, just as he did with Doctorow’s previous book, Content. With not only the author’s permission, but also his thanks. Which is nice.

If you enjoy the book, you can either buy it directly, or donate a copy of either Context or Content to a school or library (which we would highly recommended, by the way).

Context
Homepage: http://craphound.com/context/
Download the book: http://craphound.com/context/download/
Download the audio book: http://www.archive.org/details/CoryDoctorow-Context

Content
Homepage: http://craphound.com/content/
Download the book: http://craphound.com/content/download/
Download the audio book: http://www.archive.org/details/CoryDoctorow-Content_268

Edward Gibbon’s enormous “The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire” was – especially by 18th Century standards – a literary success. Published in six volumes between 1776 and 1789, it covers everything from the time of Marcus Aurelius (emperor at the beginning of “Gladiator“, if you’re not up on your Roman history), right through to the 15th Century.

In fact, Gibbon’s history was considered so good it was used as a model for historians until the present day. It even featured as a plot point in an episode of “Hancock’s Half Hour” – although it was only to allow him to reach a copy of Darcy Sarto’s “Lady Don’t Fall Backwards” off the top shelf…

In any event, there’s no struggling with huge volumes here. Simply download the volunteer-read MP3 (or OGG, if you prefer) files from LibriVox and start listening. They are quite large, @historyscientis, author of the excellent History Books Review assures me that the whole thing is worth it – thanks for the information

All 6 volumes are here:

• Volume I
• Volume II
• Volume III
• Volume IV
• Volume V
• Volume VI

Anyone who is a fan of BBC Radio 4′s excellent The Now Show will already be familiar with the resident songsmith Mitch Benn. What you probably won’t be familiar with, however, is his excellent reading of the Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol“, reposted for this Christmas.

“A Christmas Carol”, of course, is Dickens’ tale of the miser Scrooge, whose heart is opened to the spirit of Christmas (and to his fellow human beings in general) by the visitations from four spirits (the first of which is his old partner, Jacob Marley), who take him to visit… Well, if you’ve seen one of the numerous films, you will already know – and if you don’t, then this is a great way to find out! …read more »