Random Loyal Books Podcasts

The Book of Tea was written by Okakura Kakuzo in the early 20th century. It was first published in 1906, and has since been republished many times. – In the book, Kakuzo introduces the term Teaism and how Tea has affected nearly every aspect of Japanese culture, thought, and life. The book is noted to be accessibile to Western audiences because though Kakuzo was born and raised Japanese, he was trained from a young age to speak English; and would speak it all his life, becoming proficient at communicating his thoughts in the Western Mind. In his book he elucidates such topics as Zen and Taoism, but also the secular aspects of Tea and Japanese life. The book emphasises how Teaism taught the Japanese many things; most importantly, simplicity. Kakuzo argues that this tea-induced simplicity affected art and architecture, and he was a long-time student of the visual arts. He ends the book with a chapter on Tea Masters, and spends some time talking about Sen no Rikyu and his contribution to the Japanese Tea Ceremony.

Categories: Arts, Education, Society & Culture

Tags: art, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, History, Languages, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, Okakura Kakuzo, Philosophy, The Book of Tea

The Wind in the Willows allows every person who has always wished animals could talk to dream a little more. In this amazing book, Toad, Ratty, Mr. Toad and Badger form a tight friendship and have many adventures. At the beginning of the book, Mole is busy spring cleaning is home when he suddenly decides he is simply sick of the job and that he wants to see what the big world outside his home is really like. He discovers the world is a busy, crazy place and it takes a while for him to adapt. While he is wandering along the river, he meets his first friend, Ratty. Ratty is fun-loving and has a relaxed attitude about life. He tells Mole he will show him the world and proudly shows Mole how much fun life along the river can be. Ratty does not like new things, though, so he and Mole learn some things together. Mr. Toad is the next friend they meet. He lives in Toad Hall and is smart and kind, but he is also spoiled and believes he is the most important person in the world. He likes doing new things and gets obsessed over motor cars and houseboats. His wild ways get him into trouble several times. The final friend in the group is Badger. He lives alone and he likes it that way. Badger does not want anyone to bother him and has little use for company. Mr. Toad’s father was Badger’s best friend and he is disappointed in how Mr. Toad is living his life. The Wind in the Willows is full of fun and adventures for the best friends. It has serious themes at times, such as Mr. Toad and his prison time, but mostly it is a timeless story of friends who will do anything for each other. Children of all ages are enchanted by the thought of talking animals that have very human-like adventures together. This is definitely a cannot-go-wrong title for all ages! More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: animals, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, Kenneth Grahame, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Wind in the Willows

The children of Colonel Beverley, a Cavalier officer killed at the Battle of Naseby are believed to have died in the flames when their house, Arnwood, is burned by Roundhead soldiers. However, they escape and are raised by Joseph Armitage, a gamekeeper in his cottage in the New Forest. The story describes how the children adapt from anaristocratic lifestyle to that of simple cottagers. The children are concealed as the grandchildren of Armitage. Eventually after Armitage’s death, Edward Beverley leaves and works as a secretary for the sympathetic Puritan placed in charge of the Royal land in the New Forest. He then joins the army of the future King Charles II and after the Royalist defeat at the Battle of Worcester, he escapes to France and lives in exile until the Restoration. His brother and siblings continue to live in the New Forest and they are reunited on the King’s return.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, Frederick Marryat, free audio books, Historical Fiction, History, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Children of the New Forest

Awaiting his trial on charges of impiety and heresy, Socrates encounters Euthyphro, a self-proclaimed authority on matters of piety and the will of the gods. Socrates, desiring instruction in these matters, converses with Euthyphro, but as usual, the man who professes to know nothing fares better than the man who claims to be an expert. One of Plato’s well-known Socratic Dialogues, Euthyphro probes the nature of piety, and notably poses the so-called Euthyphro Dilemma: Do the gods love a thing because it is holy, or is a thing holy because it is loved by the gods? More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Education, Society & Culture

Tags: Ancient Texts, audio books, audiobook, Classics (antiquity), ebooks, Euthyphro, free audio books, Languages, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, Philosophy, Plato

The Way of Peace is your guide to the power of meditation; self and truth; the acquirement of spiritual power; the realization of selfless love; entering into the infinite; saints, sages, and saviors; the law of service; and the realization of perfect peace. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Education, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, instruction, James Allen, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, Philosophy, religion, The Way of Peace

The Twelve Caesars is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire. The work was written in 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, while Suetonius was Hadrian’s personal secretary. On the Life of the Caesars concentrates on the acts and personalities of the Julio-Claudians and their immediate successors. Together with Tacitus’ Annals, this work is a major source for the historical details in Robert Graves’ novels “I Claudius” and “Claudius the God”. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Biography, ebooks, free audio books, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, History, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars

Le Morte d’Arthur (spelled Le Morte Darthur in the first printing and also in some modern editions, Middle French for la mort d’Arthur, “the death of Arthur”) is Sir Thomas Malory’s compilation of some French and English Arthurian romances. The book contains some of Malory’s own original material (the Gareth story) and retells the older stories in light of Malory’s own views and interpretations. First published in 1485 by William Caxton, Le Morte d’Arthur is perhaps the best-known work of English-language Arthurian literature today. Many modern Arthurian writers have used Malory as their source, including T. H. White for his popular The Once and Future King.

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, Le Morte d'Arthur, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Myths/Legends, romance, Sir Thomas Malory

If you’ve watched and loved Winona Ryder playing the innocent May Welland in the 1993 film adaptation of Edith Wharton’s sweeping novel about class-consciousness in nineteenth century America, you will certainly enjoy reading the original. Though Martin Scorcese’s brilliant work was certainly true to the spirit of the original novel, no film can reproduce the charm of language and turn of phrase employed by one of America’s greatest writers. The Age of Innocence was Edith Wharton’s 12th novel and is located in familiar Wharton territory. The genteel snobbery of the upper classes with its underlying cruelty and heartless judgments passed on those who cross the line is wonderfully depicted in The Age of Innocence. The story opens at a glittering music concert, featuring the wonderful opera singer Christine Nilsson singing Faust at the Music Academy in New York. In the high-society club boxes, the leading lights of New York society train their opera glasses on the crowd, occasionally throwing a sniping remark or two. Newland Archer, a young, handsome, wealthy lawyer whose privileged background is matched only by that of his new fiancée, May Welland. As the self satisfied and complacent Archer surveys the crowd in the opera theater, he overhears two men gossiping about a lady who has just entered a nearby opera box. She is Ellen Olenska, the recent widow of a Polish count, who had shocked society a few years earlier by first marrying a complete outsider and then running away from him to live alone in various cities across Europe. For Archer, the issue is complicated by the fact that Ellen is his beloved May’s first cousin. What follows has a devastating impact on the lives of everyone who is connected with the cousins. The story traces the roots of social prejudices and is an absolutely frank and fearless look at the hypocrisy, double standards and betrayals that people indulge in, in the name of “good form.” The Age of Innocence is filled with memorable characters like the elderly gossip Sillerton Jackson, who is not just considered to be an authority on “families” but also possesses an indelible memory about every single scandal and mystery that has occurred in the claustrophobic Manhattan society of the day. The Age of Innocence won the Pulitzer Prize in 1921 and takes its title from a famous eighteenth century English painting by Joshua Reynolds. It was initially serialized in 1920 in the Pictorial Review magazine, but later compiled into a book and published in the following year. As a ruthless and bitter commentary on the social mores of the day, The Age of Innocence is certainly an insightful book to enjoy.

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Edith Wharton, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Age of Innocence

Leonard Leslie Brooke was a talented nineteenth/early twentieth century illustrator who also wrote some delightful children’s books. He was well-known for his caricatures, portrait and landscape painting and sketches. He illustrated many children’s books, especially those written by Andrew Lang. Some of his famous works are The Nursery Rhyme Book, The Golden Goose Book, Johnny Crow’s Party and Ring O’ Roses. The Story of the Three Little Pigs was published in 1904. Most readers would be familiar with this children’s tale. The Big Bad Wolf was immortalized in Disney animated pictures, but here he is simply a Wolf. The illustrations by Leslie Brooke himself are realistic and the characters are not at all modified to look like cartoons. The Wolf looks quite terrifying and the little pigs look exactly like what they are. The end is quite gory and very small, sensitive children may find the whole story quite scary! However, as a children’s classic, The Story of the Three Little Pigs has entertained generations of children and parents too. The current volume contains just this one story and children may find the illustrations quite interesting and stimulating to the imagination. The Wolf’s constant refrain, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in!” is something that remains entrenched in the memory long after one has grown up. The Story of the Three Little Pigs could also serve as a great platform for initiating discussions about safety, being smart enough to outwit your enemies, bonding with your siblings and how to take care of yourself when you leave home. Some of the lessons that can be instilled in young minds by reading this famous cautionary tale are about diligence, hard work, self discipline and respect for manual labor. Planning ahead, thinking ahead of your opponent and good and regular habits are some of the other topics that parents can discuss after reading this story. Using the right material for the right purpose is something that parents can advise can talk to heir children about. The first two pigs who used straw and sticks to build their houses found that these materials were totally unsuited. Only the brick house was able to withstand the Wolf’s attack. Brooke’s work remains a charming and memorable children’s story that is sure not to disappoint.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: animals, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Fairy tales, fiction, free audio books, Kids, L. Leslie Brooke, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Story of the Three Little Pigs

The Red Badge of Courage is a fiction that tells the story of a soldier named Henry Fleming during the American Civil War. The novel gained widespread praise from critics and was also a commercial success shortly after its release and made Stephen Crane an instant celebrity at the young age of 24. In the novel, Henry was one of the enlisted soldiers in the 304th New York Regiment. He flees from battle in one of the skirmishes they had against the Confederates and to hide his cowardice, he attempted to inflict a wound to himself which is referred to as the “red badge of courage.” He got the wound that he wants to have when he joins a group of fellow soldiers retreating from the battlefield. One of them accidentally hit his head with a rifle butt and wounded him. When he came back to their camp, the other soldiers there quickly treated his wound believing that he got it during the battle. After this incident, he again went back to the battlefield and was able to prove that he was really a capable solider. Most critics praise this novel because of the very realistic way in which Crane was able to describe all the battle scenes in the story. He was born after the Civil War and had not even experienced a fight in any war. It’s very interesting to know that Crane was able to write a very realistic novel about the War just by reading other novels about it and listening to the stories told by war veterans in New York. Readers who are into historical war novels will definitely have a great time reading this book. Although it’s a work of fiction, its contents are very realistic and accurate. This is very important especially for a story with a historical setting. This book will definitely not disappoint anyone who’s looking to read a good novel about the Civil War.

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Historical Fiction, History, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage, War stories

Mental Efficiency and Other Hints to Men and Women is one of the many self help books that Bennett wrote, the most famous of these being How to Live 24 Hours a Day. It is highly readable, amusing and offers wisdom in an extremely palatable form. Bennett’s gift for analysis and his knowledge of philosophy and psychology make this book a valuable treasure trove of handy hints to improve our lives. Though it was first published in 1911, it remains as relevant, wise and useful as it did more than a hundred years ago. Originally intended for American audiences, the book opens with a discussion on the nature of mental efficiency as opposed to physical efficiency that was, and still is, worshiped in America and many other countries today. The author presents his ideas in the form of correspondence between himself and various readers who have asked him certain questions regarding the problems they face in life. He recommends keeping a journal that will help people to perform what he calls “mental calisthenics.” Bennett defines mental efficiency as the ability to read, write and think. He considers it to be one of the keystones of human contentment. Some of the other chapters deal with topics like “Expressing One’s Individuality” “Breaking with the Past” “Settling down in Life” “Marriage” “Books” “Success” and many more such interesting subjects. The counsel and wisdom offered here are garnished by anecdotes and the author’s own thoughts and opinions, making it an interesting read for young and old. Arnold Bennett’s wonderful use of the English language, his witty and humorous asides, his easy conversational style and practical tips add to the appeal of the book. Mental Efficiency and Other Hints to Men and Women is indeed a timeless classic that can benefit readers of all ages. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts

Tags: advice, Arnold Bennett, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mental Efficiency and Other Hints to Men and Women, Non-fiction, Psychology

An American diplomat’s family moves into an ancient stately mansion. They’re warned by the owner that it is haunted by a most horrifying and gruesome spirit who had once cruelly murdered his own wife. The story progresses with creaking floor boards, mysterious passages, dark attics, clanking chains, and weird howling. Yet, the reader is totally unprepared for Oscar Wilde’s brand of tongue in cheek humor as he takes all the ingredients of a traditional ghost story and turns it on its head, and creates a hilarious parody instead of a morbid saga! The Canterville Ghost was the first of Oscar Wilde’s short stories to be published. It appeared in a magazine in 1887 and provides a prophetic glimpse into Wilde’s genius for comic timing, dialogue and situational comedy. He had a successful career as a journalist and poet and consequently turned to fiction and drama. The plot is one that leaves the reader chuckling at every turn. The American diplomat and his family are products of a purely pragmatic culture which has no patience with sentimentality and superstitions. The English mansion is steeped in legends about ancient curses and the diabolical doings of a seventeenth century specter. The Americans believe in a robust, healthy and practical way of life and use all manner of branded cleaning products. The two youngest members of the family called the Stars and Stripes set wicked traps for the ghost, while the daughter Virginia is the only one who can truly appreciate the poor ghost’s situation. The Canterville Ghost revels in stereotypes and mocks at society’s typical ways of viewing people and history. Pitting the brash and impertinent Americans against the dignified and aristocratic English provides plenty of room for comedy. The reader comes to realize that the ghosts of the past have no power over the optimism of the present. It is also a tale of the clash between the Old and New Worlds, of new money and old, traditions and modernity. It also portrays the gradual decay of the aristocratic English way of life in the Victorian era and the advent of American heiresses whose untold millions made in a variety of industrial businesses pumped new blood into the dying aristocracy of Old England. However, the genteel good breeding of Lord Canterville and the innocent goodness of fifteen year old Virginia provide food for thought as Wilde creates characters who stand out in their humanity and compassion. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Comedy, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Horror/Ghost stories, humor, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Oscar Wilde, The Canterville Ghost

If you’ve watched and loved the delightful musical My Fair Lady, then you’d love to read the wonderful play on which it is based. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw is equally engrossing and as full of charm, wit and underlying pathos. First performed on stage in 1912, Pygmalion takes its title from the Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. In the ancient story, a brilliant sculptor, Pygmalion falls in love with one of his own creations, a ravishingly beautiful sculpture whom he names Galatea. He propitiates Aphrodite, who grants his wish that his statue would come to life and that he could marry her. His wish is granted and the couple live happily ever after. Shaw’s play uses the symbolism of the myth to show how a human being can be molded into anything that another wants. It is also Shaw’s most popular and best loved play and gave him the distinction of receiving both the Nobel Prize for Literature and an Oscar Academy Award! The play opens one rainy night in Covent Garden. Theater-goers take shelter from the downpour in the porch of St Paul’s. A poor flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, plies her wares. In the shadow of one of the pillars, a mysterious man is making notes of everything she and everyone else says. He begins amusing the small crowd by accurately deducting where each speaker comes from, based on the way he or she speaks. An elderly gentleman is most intrigued by this and introduces himself as Colonel Pickering of the Indian Army and an expert on dialects. The note taker is Professor Henry Higgins, a scholar of phonetics. Higgins is a braggart and boasts of his being able to use the science of phonetics to making any flower girl sound like a Duchess! Colonel Pickering immediately takes up the challenge. The two gentlemen “adopt” Eliza and then begins a rigorous regimen of transforming her into a Duchess. The goal is to present her at an aristocratic dinner party, where Eliza is expected to be passed off as a high society lady. An amusing and sometimes poignant story follows, as Higgins and Eliza discover that human beings are not mere marble and ivory sculptures. Written specially for Mrs. Patrick Campbell, whom Shaw was supposed to have been deeply in love with, the role of Eliza is of a girl full of high spirits, street smartness and innocence. Higgins is sarcastic, witty, impatient, arrogant and obnoxious, but he is also a gifted teacher. Colonel Pickering is the perfect gentleman and a foil to the Professor’s rudeness. In all, a delightful comedy that has not lost a bit of its shine more than a century after it was first written! More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy, Education

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Comedy, Dramatic Works, ebooks, free audio books, George Bernard Shaw, Languages, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, play, Pygmalion, romance

Get the true story of Adam and Eve, straight from the source. This humorous text is a day-to-day account of Adam’s life from happiness in the “GARDEN-OF-EDEN” to their fall from grace and the events thereafter. Learn how Eve caught the infant Cain, and Adam takes some time to learn exactly what it is.

Categories: Arts, Comedy, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Comedy, ebooks, Extracts from Adam's Diary, fiction, free audio books, History, humor, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain, Short stories

The Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe, is an English Protestant account of the persecutions of Protestants, many of whom had died for their beliefs within the decade immediately preceding its first publication. It was first published by John Day, in 1563. Lavishly illustrated with many woodcuts, it was the largest publishing project undertaken in Britain up to that time. Commonly known as, “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs”, the work’s full title begins with “Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Days, Touching Matters of the Church.” There were many subsequent editions, by Day, and by other editors down through the years. Foxe’s original work was enormous (the second edition filling two heavy folio volumes with a total of 2,300 pages, estimated to be twice as long as Edward Gibbon’s “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.” This edition is much abridged from Foxe’s original. Proofed by Heart of Texas, coordinated and produced by Karen Merline.

Categories: Arts, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture

Tags: A History of the Lives, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Foxe's Book of Martyrs, free audio books, History, John Foxe, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, religion

Adventures of a Brownie follows the life of a brownie who lives in a family’s coal cellar and the adventures he gets into with the members of the household. (Written by Ancilla)

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: Adventures of a Brownie as Told to My Child, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Miss Mulock

The Library of the World’s Best Mystery and Detective Stories is a six-volume edition, which contains one hundred and one tales written by authors as diverse and separated by history as Pliny the Younger (first century AD), Voltaire (17th century) and Guy de Maupassant (19th century) and also from different parts of the world. This volume which is the first, contains twenty interesting stories, and an introduction by the editor. The fascinating aspect of mystery stories is that sometimes the author allows the puzzle to solve itself without expert detective aid, while in other cases, a sleuth bends his or her deductive powers to the mystery. In rare cases, the author leaves the tale unexplained and allows the readers to draw their own conclusions. The stories contained in this volume include Francis Marion Crawford’s strange yarn, By the Waters of Paradise, which recounts how a young man’s tragic past takes a turn for the better when he meets a lovely young stranger. The New England writer, Mary Wilkins Freeman’s chilling tale of the supernatural, The Shadows on the Wall, tells of the strange circumstances which face a young woman who arrives at the home of her dead fiancé to find his three adoring sisters behaving in a very odd fashion. From the creator of the famous amateur sleuth, Uncle Abner, comes another charming puzzle in the form of the story, The Corpus Delicti. This story by Melville Davisson Post is certainly a deliciously enjoyable one! Other stories include two by Ambrose Bierce entitled The Heiress from Redhorse, a seemingly trite tale with a happy ending about a foolish heiress, but one which employs a sinister twist in the tail. Bierce’s other creepy tale The Man and the Snake tells of the horror experienced by a lonely man when he finds a snake in his apartment. No anthology of mystery stories is complete without at least one from the master, Edgar Allan Poe. This one too, has its share – The Gold Bug, a story of a man who visits his entomologist friend on a remote South Carolina and becomes obsessed by a weird bug that looks like a skull but seems to be made of pure organic gold! Washington Irving and Charles Brockden Brown are also featured in this collection. One of the most fascinating aspects of this anthology is that it was edited by Julian Hawthorne, the star-crossed son of the famous writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. A great read for all ages!

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, editor, fiction, free audio books, Julian Hawthorne, Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, MYSTERY, Short stories

From the dawn of human consciousness, dreams have always fascinated us. Do they mean something? Do dreams help us see into the future? These questions have intrigued us for centuries. Sigmund Freud was one of the first people to examine dreams seriously and interpret them in the context of our waking lives. In Dream Psychology: Psychoanalysis for Beginners, the Austrian psychoanalyst, Dr Sigmund Freud shares his exciting early discoveries that there was indeed a connection between his patients’ dreams and their mental disturbances. Sigmund Freud was educated to be a neurologist, but went on to revolutionize the world of human psychology by establishing the theories of psychoanalysis. This is a clinical therapeutic method for dealing with mental disturbances. He considered dreams as extra information that the patient was unable to convey to the analyst during the waking state. Dream Psychology, first published in 1921, and translated by MD Eder, is a definitive work which changed the climate of treatments and handling of different neuroses and dysfunctional people. The book is divided into nine chapters. In many of them, Freud uses his own dreams as subjects for interpretation, while in others, he uses his patients’ dreams to elucidate his theories of psychoanalysis. While some of the theories may no longer be relevant or valid in today’s world, this book is indeed one of the foundation stones of Freudian psychoanalysis and marked a water-shed in the attitude towards dreams. He refuted the purely medical and purely spiritual interpretations that had been prevalent till then and proposed a completely new theory. Some of the most interesting parts of the book deal with symbols and language in dreams. Freud developed a standard system of symbols and their actual meaning based on his studies and used it to interpret and decode what his patient was really thinking and conveying. Many of the dreams he recounts were analyzed in the context of Victorian attitudes towards sexuality, repressed desires and unfulfilled wishes. By analyzing and understanding these dreams, Freud’s patients were able to get a better understanding of their underlying, unexpressed motives and this set them on the path to healing. We spend nearly one third of our lives sleeping and during some of that time we dream. Some dreams are vivid enough to be remembered, others are forgotten the moment we wake. This book is an interesting and thought-provoking read that appeals to both people interested in psychology and the casual reader. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Dream Psychology, ebooks, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, Psychology, Sigmund Freud