Compliments

A place for the kind words that people have posted on my blog pages from time to time. I find it really inspiring and encouraging to read about so many appreciative ears in one place.

Audiobook recording is a peculiarly solitary business, so connecting with listeners is wonderful. πŸ™‚

Thankyou all!!



159 Comments

  • Your voice captivates me. I could listen to you all day and night. My MP3 Player is full of nothing but you, which I use when I can’t sleep. I just wanted to say thanks, you and one other old gentleman are my favorites.

  • Just downloaded the Librivox SF Collection Vol 1

    Thanks for compiling these!

    Please advise when Vol 2 becomes available.

    – John

  • Thankyou GM!

    And no problem, John … I’ll be blogging here when the second collection is done — but you’d also be welcome to sign up for an automagic email when it’s complete, through LibriVox (email addresses deleted once sent, and not used for any other purpose.)

    http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11273 (click-me link at top of thread.)

  • I’ve just finished listening to “The Troubadour”. I can’t say I thought that much of the story, but I absolutely love your voice, I could just listen to it all day. In fact maybe my opinion of the story was caused by the fact that my attention was on your voice rather than the content. I hope that one day your voice earns you great riches. Keep up the good work!

  • you have such a nice voice. It sounds so perfect. A no nonsense person. So you got me really smiling when i started listening to your ‘sucking’ podcast.
    Thats why I came here to see who’s hiding behind this voice.

  • I have always had a taste for the work of Edgar Allan Poe but I never thought I would actually feel his words in such a remarkable way in which you read it (with reference to a Dream Within a dream). Thanks so much for you contribution and I need to say- I now am a wholehearted fan of yours!

  • You bring literature to life! You not only inspire me to listen (and read) works of great writers but you also inspire me to write my own – I only need to think on how you would present it and then then next line of my work pops into my head! Thanx a million. I plan on listening to all your projects!

    Regards

  • Thankyou ever so much, Michael — that was a joy to work on … I was so lucky to get a section (it had been picked by someone else, who was later unable to record it.)

    Jay, I’m so glad you’re writing your own works too … I’m very happy to be expanding the public domain, but sometimes I do wonder about those who come after us, and what there’ll be around for them to read. Make sure you leave ’em a good choice!

  • Cori, you rock! I didn’t know you’d read so much – you’ve got such a great voice. If you’re not doing some paid stuff too then you’re nuts!

    Really enjoyabe!

  • Thankyou both, Bernd and Jay! I’ve added some text to this page finally, though I’m still hiding behind my voice to some extent.

    I’m glad you liked that poem, Jay — I had a cold I thought would never end when I recorded it, and I certainly felt awfully Poe-like at the time.

  • Nevertheless you did an excellent job!

    I just wish more people could see the value in literature, modern as well as classic and that, despite excellent TV shows and other entertainment, they could experience the works and opinions which these excellent writers have to offer.. and of course, could experience what you and the rest of the LibriVox people have to offer.

    Also, thank you for your reply.

  • Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your work, you really have a perfect voice. I think I first heard your chapter in Lost World, and then tracked down your other recordings. If you don’t do professional VO work I think you should.

    Either way your work in the public domain is both impressive and laudable. Thank you.

  • I never have done professional VO, John, but I’d be interested to. *smiles* Thankyou for stopping by and commenting!

    Thankyou ever so much, FW. Tender Buttons is the least loved-on of all my solos, and in fact, yours is the first comment I’ve had on it, apart from the original proof-listeners. I know a strange few are listening to it at archive.org, just from the downloads, and it’s been sold on eBay a number of times … but … I’m glad to hear that it’s actually enjoyable too!

  • Please, if you do nothing else with your time, I beg you to complete Inferno. Cantos I-V were simply beautiful.

    The rest are unlistenable.

  • I loved reading the first part of Inferno, John, and I’m glad you enjoyed them too! I don’t have immediate plans to do a solo recording of it, but it would be wonderful for a future project, I will bear it in mind!

  • Pirates aren’t all that cool, generally speaking. A few specifics, and most of the fictional glorifications.

    Oppression makes lawlessness a bit too romantic. I doubt it would be as fun as it sounds from the security of the couch or armchair, all the despicable activities.

    I would like to thank you for reading.
    (PS I’m a pirate)

  • It’s a fair point, Richard, well made. In proof-reading a book by the sometime-pirate Alexander Esquemeling, I definitely came to sympathise with the non-pirate side. The pirates were SO VILELY ANNOYING, pillaging and destroying communities already fighting an unequal battle against a harsh living environment. On the other hand, much like the ninja (without being too frivolous) — the notion of piracy and the associations of freedom and “fortune favours the bold” are pretty appealing. This is more a library for the concept-lovers than those armed to the nines with Kalashnikovs and with serious designs on innocent shipping.

  • I never reach out, and perhaps I should thank readers more often, but, your Tender Buttons is as important to me as anything else and it has been that way for some time. Thank you.

  • Hi Cori,

    Your voice is beautiful and you read beautifully. My first librivox book was your reading of “The Water Babies” and I have been hooked ever since. Please do more solos! Weirdly, I had also accidentally emigrated to Australia and have since given away most of my vast home library. The digital (portable) realm provides some solace, hence my desire to encourage you to continue your good work.

    Cheers,
    Simmon

    (I tried to download Tender Buttons, but there was some problem with the file.)

  • Thankyou Stephen, I really appreciate your comment. Tender Buttons is an odd little piece, but I loved reading it. It was also released on my birthday, a tiny gift back to the world.

    I’ve been having problems getting to TB and the ‘babies at archive.org, Simmon, their servers do get busy for days at a time. More solos on the way, I’m finishing one at the moment, and another, long-term one’s starting up. Or hop across to the future page and make suggestions. *grins* Best wishes for your own emmigration and the eventual reincarnation of your bookshelves.

  • Cori,
    Thank you so much for your message of encouragement to me on my post about the difficulties I am having recording for LibriVox. You have given me the motivation to continue!

  • I just stopped by to say that I listened to The Ebony Frame from Librivox today and it was absolutely fantastic! Your reading was outstanding.

  • Thankyou, Justin! That piece was requested by the starter of the project, Peter Why … I’d never heard of Nesbit’s adult stories before. She’s very good, though, a creepy pleasure to read.

  • Thank you so much for making your recordings! Of all the readers I’ve heard on Librivox your voice and all aspects of your reading are the best and most captivating!

  • Just a note to thank you for your Librivox work – I loved The Hunger Artist, The Dead and Howard’s End.

  • Thank you for your lovely readings! I just listened to your chapter in Mansfield Park, and you really stood out. As another listener remarked, you should be doing this professionally!

  • By the way, I pretty much agree with John’s comment about the Inferno. After hearing you lead it off, listening to the other readers was a trial.

    And, yes, Denny Sayers *is* unbearable. It was hellish traveling through the infernal circles over which he presides. In other works as well, he often reads passages without regard to their meaning, and almost as often reads them as if he was laying eyes on them for the first time.

    Thanks for listening – and reading!

  • Hi Cori –

    You do have a wonderful voice. I’m sure, if you chose, you could become a professional reader for audio book recordings. I’m brand new here and librivox, and was listening to different voices to hear how people read for these sort of things, and was so enchanted by your reading of Virgil that I kept listening as I read through the site. I almost never do that – and I’ve never read Virgil, either. So there you have it – you made a difference in my life today, and I’m better for it. How’s that for the importance of projects like librivox!

    Anyway, I just wanted to find more of your works, and found a place to say thank you. So there it is:

    Thank you for your efforts and for your contributions here. I can see that I have a lot to learn!

    Take care, and watch out for all those boys and their “pretty” comments…! ; )

    –Kate

  • Ah, Walter, my mum says I *am* as pretty as my voice. So there’s that. And I’m contemplating the Inferno, but have a irresistable queue of things before I could get to it, so, we’ll see. πŸ™‚ Thanks for your comments, though!

    And thankyou Kate, too. Virgil was read, ohhh, at least a year ago – in fact, I think it might be on my old headset mic. So I’m glad it sounds okay still … I’m always chary of going back to hear old things, ’tis odd enough listening to myself, without worrying about the equipment and technique I had too. Thanks too for the feedback about LibriVox … it’s impossible to know what effect the simple act of muttering into a microphone can have in general, so it’s fun to have it here, in specific terms. Hope you find your own way to contribute, too … it’s a lot of fun, and the project needs people doing all kinds of things.

  • What a marvellous resource! You are a shining example of what can be achieved on the web for the benefit of all. Thank you.

  • hi cori,

    I’ve been listening to the stories you’ve read in LibriVox, and I must say i really like your voice. I’ve heard different stories being read by different people and you are the best! πŸ™‚

    It is so nice listening to book read with an english prononciation, I must say that books being read in english instead of american are best.

    And you read with an insight and you use your voice so that the books get more “vivid”, but at the same time you don’t exaggerate it. πŸ™‚

    I have one little question… Are you planning to read Jane Austen some time? i am a little fan of her stories, but I haven’t found any reader with a good english pronunciation and pleasant voice as you have. πŸ™‚

  • Cori I have fallen in love with the sound of your voice!! I can’t express in words how listening to you read just makes my day.
    Thank you for all you do for us listeners!
    Danny

  • If, as you say, you’re interested in doing professional VO, why not send a sample of your work to some of the big professional talent agencies? You can start with William Morris (wma.com). They have an extensive portfolio of VO talent.

    Good luck!

  • Cori – I followed the the links here to say how enjoyable it is to listen to your voice only to notice with suprise how beaten the path is. Good luck with your aspiration in VO.

    all best regards,
    david in brooklyn

  • just wanted to say how much i love your reading. after a lifetime of consuming books with my eyes they are giving out and i have had to turn to audio books. i have mathilde on my ipod and listen to it frequently. for me it is one of those perfect marriages of book and reader which do not often take place in the audio book world, commericial or otherwise. it is a gift to be able to read in the same voice a book is written. and the joy to the listener is that the reader does not intrude on the experience. thank you ! Lorna

  • Thankyou, David!

    Walter, I’m signed up with one agency (Action Audio) and have finished one (as yet unreleased) audio book with them … I think I prefer longer readings to shorter VO work, but I hadn’t thought of wma.com, and with my last solo being his namesake, I think that might be a good omen. πŸ™‚ Need to work on the ol’ demo …

  • Thankyou, Robert! I had a long pause in recording it, because I lost confidence with ‘doing the voices’ and also because the next chapter is quite violent. But I do love the overall story, and will be back to it pretty soon, I think. πŸ™‚

  • Dear Cori,
    I am following a treatment for a serious desease with interferone. I feel too tired to read or watch tv, so I have downloaded lots of books from librivox. Your wonderfully soothing voice works wonders for me and helps me through this difficult time. keep on the good work, with all my wishes to achieve the success you deserve.
    Anthony

  • Thankyou so much for your comment, Anthony. I hope your treatment goes quickly and very well, and am glad you’ve found LibriVox to pass the time.

  • Cori,

    I just listened to your recording of Edith Nesbit’s Nine Unlikely Tales for Children. Your voice is absolutely perfect for those stories. I look forward to listening to some of your other recordings.
    Jim

  • Cori, Thanks for the suggestion about Ruth Golding. I have a question about how to handle problems or errors in a text that I want to read for LibiVox. In the first sentence of “The Miraculous Pitcher” there appears to be a mis-transcribed word. It appears in the Gutenberg text as “…enjoying the cahn and beautiful sunset.” and after some hunting I believe it was incorrectly scanned or something and it should be “…enjoying the calm and beautiful sunset.” The notes for LibriVox say you shouldn’t change any words and I certainly understand that, but this appears to be an error that should be read correctly. Have you run run into this sort of problem in your reading?

    Thanks,
    Jim Sib (Grandpa Sib)

  • Yes, it’s happened a few times, Jim. Quite a number of Gutenberg texts (especially the earliest ones) have mistakes, from the transcription process — I just ignore those and read what I think it should be. (There are quite a few arid/and substitutions, for instance, that’s the classic example of a transcription ‘scanno’.) The cahn/calm is probably one of these, as you say!

    Printer’s errors and author’s errors are different, and can be harder to resolve. If the meaning is ambiguous, I go back to a copy of the book, either a physical one or a scan of the pages (archive.org has many, so do Google and a few other places online.) If none of those help, I call in friends who have a lot of experience in the bizarre world of book errors and see what they think.

  • Hello,
    Our whole family thanks you for your recording of Nine Unlikely Tales by E. Nesbit! We had an eight-hour car trip from Baltimore to New York and back and all of us were captivated: grandparent, parents, and children.
    Your fans,
    The Bader family

  • I am really indebted to you for all the good recordings I ever heard in my life. I am a student learning English. Good stuff.

  • Dear Cori,

    English is my second language and I have looking for a great British reader like you. The first I heard you reading on http://www.librivox.org I was completely amazed by your gorgeous voice. I will listen all of your readings I can find and hope you will never stop reading! Please keep reading. πŸ™‚ – Ashley

  • Cori, I have just listened to you reading the “Paradise Lost”. Your voice delights me, which is quite distracting while trying to concentrate on Milton’s sophisticated English.

    Greeting from Poland.

  • when im not sitting down and reading or meditating… im listening to an audio book while gardening or something else. after listening to your section in The Divine Comedy, i wished you had done the rest of it.
    i think your voice and enthusiasm is amazing and captivating, and i hope you continue.

    Have The Best Day Ever ^_^

  • To add to the long list of fans, I have to say you have the greatest voice I’ve ever heard. I recently did a 1000 mile ride on a sportsbike and your reading made it fly by!
    Thank you!

  • I found your recordings through Librivox. I found them to be both crippling and inspirational. It changed a great deal in my life! I know they renewed my interest in podcasting.

  • Goodness, Amy — I hope they inspired more than they did anything else. I’m just me, with a microphone to mutter into, just like every other LibriVoxer. πŸ™‚

  • I’ll put in my word. “Tender Buttons” was what led me to this site & to the voice of Cori Samuel (or was it first the poem by Rochester––”Ancient Person of My Heart”?). I’d written a few things about Tender Buttons on my web-log & clicked the tag & here I was.

    Anyhow, Tender Buttons is a book so often so poorly read aloud, that I was, well, delighted. And now carry around that recording on my Kindle.

  • Just to say Cori that I agree with all those who have set messages I have listen’d to Mysteries of London and was so captivated that I purchased the book which was not easy as it’s not in print I continue to admire what you do and can hear that it helps to enjoy it. Thankyou so much pray carry on doing it!

  • Cori,
    I listened to you read Nine Unlikely Tales by Nesbit with my children and we just love, love, LOVE you! I am a homeschooling Mom in California and there are a group of us out here who love your voice and your lovely accent. Your reading is excellent and I had to smile with delight when my eight year old daughter was swirling around in her room imitating your lovely accent after listening to your audio that day. In case you aren’t sure what to record next, please do consult with us as we have a full list of books we’d love for you to do, starting with Pilgrim’s Progress and Our Island Story πŸ™‚ Thank you!

  • You’re very, very welcome, Naomi … and what a brilliant mental image I’ve got of your newly-Englished daughter. πŸ™‚ Will certainly check in with you once I’ve finished the ever-growing backlist of Forgotten Gems that I Must Record (which seems to be strangely lacking in Nesbit, must fix that, as she is one of my favourite authors ever.)

  • Greetings! I enjoy your recordings both for their accuracies and clarity. Your librivox recordings sound very professional, and I’d be interested in learning whether or not you read in a sound booth. (Also, by chance, do you have any opinions regarding the Audio-Technica AT2020 Microphone?)
    Anyway, I enjoy your recordings and appreciate the time you’ve spent in service of the common good!

  • Thanks, Josh! I had a Porta-Booth-style arrangement set up (made out of acoustic foam tucked inside a canvas drawer, around the back & sides of the mic) for most of my recordings in the last year or so … but as of last month, I now have a ‘real’ sound booth (formerly known as a hall cupboard) though I’m still working on making the sound nice for that. I noise-clean anyway, but it does help to have a nice quiet place to start with!

    No opinion on the AT2020, as I’ve not tried it (I’m a happy Samson C01U user.) I think it’s been discussed a few times in the forums, though … do you have one / are you considering it?

  • You have a calm soothing voice when reading dantes inferno, very very nice to listen to! I listen to it while surfing the internet. Thank you! – Tigershark

  • Hello Cori! Posterity here ;-). Just dropping by to extend my thanks for the great work you’ve done both in recording books and in hosting the LibriVox podcast (LOVE the disclaimers!). Your karma is high. Or bright. Or whatever happens to karma when it’s good.

  • Just wanted to say I love your voice – I’ve been seeking out your recordings (as well as a few others like Clive Catteral). You guys are very talented and we all really appreciate your contributions to the free audiobooks projects. Keeping the old texts alive is extremely important, and you guys make it so enjoyable! Keep up the awesome work!

    1. Will do, Samanem, I enjoy reading them so much … I’m glad you enjoy listening too! Thankyou for writing. πŸ™‚

  • Once a well-known songstress told me that she couldn’t pick a favorite song, because they were all like her children. If I may ask, do you have a favorite recording you’ve made, perhaps one that you were especially proud of or enjoyed the most?

  • Such a hard question! One of my favourites would definitely be “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, because it’s so very well-written, and packs a real emotional punch for me. I really enjoyed Milton, because I thought he’d be a terribly fusty read, whereas the language of “Paradise Lost” is vivid and so elegantly put-together. I’m oddly protective of Mary Wollstoncroft, so reading part of her “Vindication of the Rights of Women” made me feel closer to her. And finally, the first LibriVox Community podcast I ever made, #54, was huge fun, even if it was so over-produced that I get regular podcaster’s block trying to live up to it.

  • Oh that’s cool, Clay … brings Brooke interestingly up-to-date. Despite Wilfred Owen’s most common sense efforts, there’s still a lot of “Dulce et Decorum Est” around.

  • Hi Cori,
    After searching for short stories I discovered Nine Unlikely Tales and have been listening to your wonderful voice. Great job!
    Thank you so much!
    Rachel

  • Hi, Cori.

    I’m currently listening to your recordings of Shelley’s Mathilda. You have a lovely voice, and I am thoroughly enjoying hearing your reading. I look forward to listening to more. All the best, and thank you!

    Meghana

    1. Thank-you for writing, Meghana. I love Mary Shelley, and was pleased to be able to help putting the text into Project Gutenberg; it was the icing on the cake that someone invented the wonderful LibriVox, just for me to record a version too. Happy listening!

  • Dear Cori,

    I am a big fan of your voice. Your diction is precise like a pencil tip yet your tone is soft like pillow. I agree heartily with one of the comments above that you should record the divine comedy in its entirety. After swaying to your first couple cantos, I now associate the text with your voice; it was painful to continue with the other readers.

    Alex

    1. I do plan to read it all, Alex, sometime. It’s an amazing piece of writing, for sure, and the translation flows beautifully.

  • Cori,
    I discovered your reading of The Wood Beyond the World, Your reading of this book is so captivating and soothing to me that I wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed it. I am currently listening to it for the third time. Thank you so very much for this your voice is a treasure.

  • Cori,

    Thank you so much for your readings! You have the most beautiful voice I think I have ever heard. I’ve been listening to Book 4 Part 2 of Paradise Lost over and over. Your reading of it is simply fantastic. Thank you

    Matt

    1. Thankyou, Matt! Eventually, I WILL make the time to record the whole thing … I’d never read Milton before, but think this particular work is just amazing.

  • Hi Cori, I have listened to History of Holland by George Edmundson, for which you have recorded some parts, and I just want to compliment you with your wonderful reading voice. It’s just very pleasant to listen to. Thanks, Sander.

    1. Oh, you’re very welcome, Sander. I knew very little about the Netherlands before starting to record, and it was an interesting read!

  • Hi Cori,

    I have just listened to your E Nesbitt childhood memories audio book and, like the garden described at the end of its pages, was enchanted. You have the most marvelous gift of gracing every sentence with a beautiful, warm charm that, delightful as it is, never distacts the listener from the content of what you are reading.
    The pleasure you take in reading becomes our pleasure, and for that I warmly thank you.

  • Dear Cori,
    How very odd to be posting this message to the voice from
    my iPhone! I stumbled upon you while looking for stories my children would enjoy, and am completely spoiled now. I truly can’t bear any other narrator, and listening to your reading of Nine Unlikely Tales is a nightly ritual in my house. I have no doubt E. Nesbit would be so pleased with your interpretation of her work. You have an amazing gift/skill. Keep adding titles, please! We are your adoring upstate NY fans!

    1. The modern world is a wonderful place! Greetings from iPhones and bedtime stories from across the world and back a century. Some people are a little starry-eyed about the past, but I’m really very happy to be alive now. I’ll have a look around for other Nesbit stories, Julie — the Nine weren’t online, I came across them in an old library, and that was all they had. There must be more, though …

  • I love hearing your wonderful voice, I discovered in the first chapter of the Divine Comedy and I can’t stop hearing, many, many thanks!

  • Hi Cori.

    The Language I love is the very language you read on. Is’s great pleasure listening the music of your voice. I’d name you a painter of the sound. I see you words as the colourful ones.

    Thank you so much.

    Dimitry, from Russia.

  • Thank you for your work on Dante’s inferno.

    I love to hear your voice while I work; it’s very soothing so I keep it in loop. This is the reason why I’m stuck in Inferno instead of moving on to Paradise πŸ˜‰

    Thank you for your contribution in my life.

    1. *laughs* Thankyou, David! I promise that I will get around to recording all of it sometime in the not-too-distant future, and Paradise will be attained generally. πŸ™‚

  • Hi Cori,
    I just sent a donation to support your work. I love your reading of Tender Buttons–the high technical quality, your careful diction, thoughtful inflection, and the musical quality of your voice. There’s perhaps something odd about hearing this American writer read in an English accent, but she lived and wrote in France, and your reading justifies the venture. She has an unusual accent of her own in the one recording I’ve heard of her. When you read her, Stein makes interesting sense.

    Apropos, I wonder if you might be able to identify a particular flavor to your accent–it’s not exactly BBC but has a different sound from some other English accents I’ve heard.

    Best wishes, and thanks for your contribution.
    Robert

    1. Thankyou, Robert, very much appreciated. Accent-wise, it’s probably a fair bit of Estuary sneaking into the BBC … I’ve been ankle deep in silt for about 20 years now.

  • Hi Cori,

    God has surely given you a talent for reading! Listening to you is somewhat like going back to one’s childhood, and being read to by one’s mum. I think a greater compliment would be tough to come by! And I think we could all stand to become a bit more child-like. As for Dante–well, not everyone can read Dante; you are a gem of an exception, and sound like you grew up with Dante as your native language. I look forward to your next Dante installment! Have you ever considered reading The Story of a Soul by St. Therese? I don’t know how the copyright laws work in regard to reading books for Librivox, but I know there would be a big audience for that book, and that you would read it brilliantly.

    What else can I say? I echo the words of others on this page–warmest thanks for being part of our lives πŸ™‚

    1. Thankyou, Keith! Once I’ve made it through Frankenstein and another Iambik project, Dante is definitely next on the list … and the credit will go entirely to Longfellow for making such an eminently readable translation.

      The copyright laws depend on when (and sometimes where) translations were published and the date of death of their translator — so there is one version of St. Therese’s work in the LV catalogue already, but I don’t think that would be public domain for me, as the translator died in 1963.

  • I was really pleased to find the Water Babies at Librivox, since I haven’t read it since I was a child. I found I had remembered hardly any of it at all. I very much enjoyed it, and it was interesting from the historical point of view. It did, however, shock me a little in places, and I don’t make a fetish of “political correctness”. So unnecessarily abusive about the Irish for example!

    It thought it showed how much better George Macdonald was at fairy tales of this sort since he doesn’t weave in contemporary prejudices that were never very sound and have become dated in the way that Kingsley, despite much that is admirable, does.

    But the book was very enjoyable. Very nicely read, too. You missed the the right pronunciations of a few archaic words — e.g. ha’penny (hape-ny), Mama (m’mah) — but your voice is both clear and restful.

  • Hi Cori,

    I just heard The beetle hunter read by you. Superb quality and the most charming voice πŸ™‚

    All the best,
    Istvan

  • A mesmerizing performance of Water Babies. Simply superb. In the same way that Jeremy Brett became the definition of Sherlock Holmes, I have little doubt that your voice will become the defining one for this story.

    Have you thought of a serious career in (first and foremost) children’s audio literature?

  • How about this for a future reading: Swallows and Amazons – the whole series. None more perfect than you for this job. I have heard the audio voices on offer -Gabriel Woolf, Alison Larkin- your voice is heads and shoulders above these professionals.

  • Your voice is perfect reading the material that I love to listen to. Thank you so much for your contribution, such a pleasure to hear your presentations!

  • Thank you so much for taking the time to read for Librivox.org.

    I enjoy listening to your recordings while traveling, or hanging out by the pool here in Malaysia (enforced idleness and many plane trips due to husband’s overseas posting).

    I’m English so its lovely to hear British classics read in what, to me, is the “right” accent and marvel at your diction. Thanks again.

  • Oh, thankyou, Linda, you are very welcome! It’s such fun to read that that’s almost enough by itself — but to know that other people are enjoying the recordings too, is lovely.

  • I have just finished listening to your Librivox recording of ‘Frankenstein’.
    As I have to travel a lot, I listen to a lot of audiobooks in my car and normally I do not pay particular attention to the reader. But as your recording was so great, I googled your name and so I found this website. Really, this was the best recording I have ever heard. Your voice captivates everybody’s attention. Keep on the good work!

  • I agree with Astrid. I’ve also just finished listening to your reading of Frankenstein (well,l I have one more chapter to go) and you can count me impressed.

    Years ago I attempted reading this text but soon abandoned it as I found myself zoning out for large portions of it.

    So I was pleasantly surprised to find this time, as an audiobook, I actually enjoyed it the whole way through.

    Such a literate, clear and pleasant voice – perfectly suited to the material it was reading. It was – in my mind, anyway – as if Mary Shelly was reading the story to me herself.

    Fantastic! Thank you.

    1. Thankyou SO much! I’d been dithering over recording it for so long, and am glad it was worth finally taking the plunge. πŸ™‚

  • ~ Cori…

    As I have read through many of these comments, I count a number of individuals requesting you to record the final cantos of Inferno… I don’t know what I could possibly offer you to fulfill these requests, but I beg of you to finish this work. The LibriVox readers who followed you are no match to your talent for bringing your listener into the story with your method of inflection and soothing meter. I must have read this story a thousand times, but I felt as if I had heard it for the first time listening to your voice move over its passages.

    Again, I would be eternally grateful – along with the many others who share my sentiment – to finish the remaining cantos.

  • I met your voice from Black Beauty and I found your voice and reading excellent. Thank you very much!

  • I absolutely love your voice! So appreciate your work! I cannot imagine a more perfect voice for all the literature I so love.

  • I recently discovered Ms. Samuel’s voice on an Archive piece by de Quincey. A great voice and a flawless performance, expecially given de Quincey’s propensity to show off his Latin. Already many hours of enjoyment, and I look forward to many more. Thank you.

  • Your voice is lovely and I wish I cold sound like that…but all I can muster is a singsong Argie/Welsh sound am afraid…
    Would you mind telling me what equipment you use, your sound is pleasantly clear and bright.

  • I really enjoy your readings! The first I came across was the ebony frame, such a poignant story and read so wonderfully. Ever since I’ve been searching for things read by you, which has lead me to books i might never otherwise have come across. Currently enjoying the hound of the Baskervilles, you certainly make a far better Watson than Jude Law πŸ™‚

  • I dearly loved listening to your voice. I first listened to Frankenstein read by you, and I will never be able to read an excerpt from the book without hearing your voice in my mind. Thank you for adding to the librivox library (: You never quite know what you’re getting with free audio books, but this would have been worth hundreds.

  • It’s been a while since i said how much i enjoy listening to you, but i hope the reviews I left on Audible are helpful (and not stalker scary) and attract more attention to the books you have read. I particularly liked listening to you read Tranquility’s Blaze. The magic practiced in the story is a lttle strong for my liking, but i love the characters, the conflict and your portrayal of such strong people in adversity. I can’t wait for the next volume! The Jane Lovering book was good fun and you character voice changes were amazing. You should really do a YouTube showing how you achieve such diversity in voices. All the fans you have hear would love it.

  • Hi Cori, I “have” to read Dante Divine Comedy for a course and I am listening to your recording. You have a fantastically expressive voice. I am an avid listener to audiobooks as I drive a lot in my job. I often find the voices chosen get in the way of the story as they are overly expressive or loud. Your voice is very soothing and draws me into the story. I am sad that you hate your local library. I work P/time in a library and try under difficult external circumstance (ie funding cuts, wage cuts and staff cuts) to give the best service possible. with best wishes Jason

  • Hi Cori
    I discovered you through doctor’s orders. I was told to take exercise so downloaded books onto an MP3 player and heard your voice. You’re brilliant and your delivery makes walking worthwhile. I’m an author and journalist and mentioned your voice on my website blog and in my Huddersfield Daily Examiner column. Keep up the good work.
    Denis

  • Had to find a place to thank you for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein LIbrivox reading. Thank you so much for using your beautiful voice to bring this book to life (pun intented).

  • Hi Cori,

    Love the whispering. If you like to do another, not so long, consider Undine, there is a good English translation at archive.org-

    https://archive.org/details/undine00lamo

    WITH Illustration by Arthur Rackham.!

    As a matter of fact, your whisper tale does not make me sleepy, but I listen to your reading at work,sometimes as a soothing background. (Also your reading of wood at the world end as well, among others).

    I do listen intently to the story as well, and for WITW would suggest that Arthur Rackham’s fantastic Illustrations (too bad not available on Archive.org, unfortunately) would really enhance the experience.

    So in the case of Undine you could directly link to those wonderful Rackham illustrations.

    In a sense, another good whispered one would be a whispered Alice, or through the looking glass, complete with links to public domain volume with the Tenniel’s illustrations (available at archive.org)…….

    so there it is, another suggestion- multimedia!

    Thanks so much for your readings. I find it almost impossible to listen to the vast majority of those readings on librivox, prefer to read than listen……by the way, I am from USA and of course am familiar with “american” english accents. Do you have an identifiable “British” accent in any geographical sense? I can certainly make out the difference between Aussie and Kiwi, Irish and Scots Englishes, as well as the midlands accents, but not much else. I assume it is very diverse (sorry for my ignorance).

    Cheers

    Looking forward to hearing your new stuff.

    JG

  • Dear Cori; Thx for a facinating reading of Matilda. I’ve just came across this site and have listened to a few stories and then found this tragic story. You’re voice is captivating! Thx so much by the way I cried at the tragic life of it. I’m an old man but still young enough to feel the heartbreak.

  • Listing to Divine Comedy. With such old text it can be vary hard to follow as most of the words and tempo/style of writing is outdated. You not only read it flawlessly but made listing to this easy and very enjoyable, I even re-listen to sections just to hear your voice again.

    Thank you for lending your talents to the free Public Domain. I can’t wait to hear more of what you have read.

  • Am greatly enjoying your reading of the Divine Comedy, which I am recording myself in the original.

    A professionally trained British Equity actor based in London and Paris, I’d love to record something with you.

    I have recorded poetry for BBC Radio in the past (Poetry Please and Nightwaves).

    If there is the ghost of a chance of you being interested, I will send you a couple of audio files should you have an email address you are prepared to share.

    I like what you do very much.

  • Am listening to Wood Beyond the World. Unbelievably well read. Couldn’t imagine a more perfect voice for that text. Thank you!!

  • Hi Cori.
    I just wanted to say thank you so much for taking the time to complete your recordings. I travel the UK and recently the world (Australia) working in hospitals every week and your voice now accompanies me on my travels. You have the voice of an angel and a fantastic gift and I can honestly say that your beautiful voice outshines most of the narrators on the audiobooks I have recently bought.
    I loved your version of Frankenstein and also The Hound of the Baskervilles. As you can tell I’m into horror and science fiction so if you ever decided to narrate a version of James Herbert’s The Fog or Stephen Kings Salems Lot or Cujo or something along the lines of Robin Cooks Coma I’d be forever in your debt.
    Yours in awe.
    George

  • Just wanted to let you know how much I love your audio book of Tender Buttons. Really makes the writing come to life for me. Great great job — thank you!

  • I’d listened to Librivox before but until hearing you narrate “The Well Beyond the World” I hadn’t realized what listening could be like. You’re the only narrator I’ve heard (thus far) who understands that good narration adds something to the text, it doesn’t just faithfully reproduce the text. You truly inhabit the works and bring them to life. Extraordinary.

  • I’ve listened to a few of your books, and I listened to “Moving Picture Girls” on Librivox for the simple reason that I love listening to your voice. You could probably read a credit card’s terms and conditions and I’d be enthralled.

  • I have just finished Charles Kingsley’s “The Water Babies” (while knitting). I’m in my 50s but felt like a wide-eyed child listening to your delightful rendering of the story which I had never read before. Thank you very much for that. I’ll be looking into your other recordings.

  • I’m listening to you read Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”. Your reading is so beautiful; it so blends with the lovely prose that you read so well!

  • Dear Lady, thank you so much!

    I discovered old-time radio & audio books in 1998-99, and have rarely encountered such a voice paired with the wholly wonderful understanding of how to tell a story!

    Thank you, as well, for contributing to Librivox; most notably for the introduction to and the reading of “Mathilda”, by Mary Shelley. What an interesting, albeit slightly dark, story! (Mary Shelley would’ve made a wonderful dinner date!)

    πŸ™‚

    Thanks again.
    M.

  • Cori,

    Thank you for your reading of “Wood Beyond the World” by William Morris. Your reading style is quite enjoyable to listen to.

    Thank you so very much
    Bruce

  • I just finished listening to your narration of ‘My School Days’ by E. Nesbit. Left a review on the Internet Archive site. But I really wanted to find something out about a woman with the voice and ability that I imagine cultivated Victorians possessed. I read almost no literature that is contemporary for many reasons, not the least of which is the lowborn style that I loathe. How satisfying it is to have 19th century literature narrated with a finesse that equals the beauty of that century’s word!

  • If angels actually were, they would strive to sound like you.
    Thank you for “Mysteries of London”.

    JP

  • Hi Cori,

    May I compliment you on your reading style and the quality of your work, but especially on your lovely voice. You have the most imaginatively delightful voice and coupled with your style, it is simple without an equal. Thank you for your work!

    Sincerely,
    Jonathan

    P.s. Albeit an arduous task, might you look into producing a solo and complete audio book of William Morris’ “The Well at the World’s End?” I think you collaborated on the first book of four but the work is not complete. This book would I gladly purchase or commission.

  • Hi Cori! I’m WYSIWYG at L’vox. A long time ago, I started mining the catalog by reader as well as by author. I’d missed mining for Cori-books until today, when your reading of the opening chapter of Mysteries of Paris set the tone for the whole series….. which I’d just chosen as my next recliner-listen (as opposed to bedtime/insomnia listens, or drive-hears).

    Of course in skimming thru your reads, I found two of my all-time favorites (Seacole and Nesbit’s Wings).

    As far as isolation in book producton, here’s a paradigm of mine for the borrowing…..

    In my worldview, you Librivox readers curl up on the edge of my bed all night, every night…. safe and wise and faithfully relaxed, through my night terrors and the dreams that process those terrors. It’s you readers as much as (and often more) than the authors, or the characters they’ve drawn. (Because…. you know, all the “isms” in them.)

    So– just as hearing a book seems like that to me, I invite you to install a virtual Susan-cheerleader…. perhaps tiny…. just above your microphone in virtual space, dancing with delight as she crows: “Oooooooo…… ooo ooo oooh! Another CoriStory!!! Wheee! ”

    Or if you prefer another form of motivation, I’ll be through your finished solos in about six months. Get on it, girl! πŸ˜‰

    Love and thanks,

    ~Susan
    (A former proofreader)

  • Cori,

    Thank you so much for your incredible readings. I’m working through Frankenstein right now, and you bring so much life into the text. Seriously, you made my commute so much better this week. Thanks for all you do.

    – David.

  • War of the Worlds. Great reading. Thanks. I’ve fallen madly in love with you, or at least your reading voice…..

  • Hi Cori! I used a part of one of your book recordings in a YouTube video I made to help demonstrate a vocoding effect. I don’t know if you still read these comments, but I thought you’d be interested to see it, since it’s a very different use for this type of a recording.

    https://youtu.be/loLr-xVnBJ0
    2:44 for an example of when I use your snippet.

    Thanks for the great public domain recordings!

  • Hi Cori, I ‘m an Italian preparing the anglo – american liretature exam. I would like to thank you (very much) for reading The scarlet letter as you do.
    fatastica. we say in Italian.
    take care.

    isabella

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