Random Loyalbooks.com Podcasts

Henry Beam Piper’s book “Five Sci-Fi Short Stories“ is a collection of: The Answer, Temple Trouble, Flight From Tomorrow, Police Operation and Graveyard of Dreams. “The Answer” is about two nuclear scientists who have successfully made a very powerful weapon and are planning to drop it from space on un-expecting earthlings. The story is set in 1984, many years after a supposed nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union had ended. The stories “Temple Trouble” and “Police Operation” deal with alternate histories which is a theme that Piper is well known for. “Temple Trouble” has a very interesting religious undertone which many readers will surely be curious about and in “Police Operation,” he introduces Varken Vall, one of the best characters that Piper brought to life. “Flight From Tomorrow” and “Graveyard of Dreams” on the other hand are both set in the future. Like in all of Piper’s works, these stories have a simple narrative style and a very interesting storyline. Most of his main protagonists in these stories also have a common factor: they’re self-reliant persons who can deal with any kind of situation which they face. Some experts believe that they’re a reflection of himself. Piper unlike most of the other writers during his time was largely self-educated and even worked various blue collar jobs before he became a successful writer. Piper’s “Five Sci-Fi Short Stories” is a good read for people who are interested in futuristic and alternate reality sci-fi stories.

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, Five Sci-Fi Short Stories by H. Beam Piper, free audio books, H. Beam Piper, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, science-fiction, Short stories

Present day readers live in a world that’s emerged from the Cold War and the endless rivalry of the Super Powers but this book goes back and traces the origins of the conflict and mutual antagonism between nations. Kim by Rudyard Kipling is set against the background of the Great Game as it was called the tug-of-war between Britain and Russia for the control of Central Asia. The novel’s action takes place during the Anglo-Afghan Wars of 1839-42. The novel’s sweeping narrative, the depth of character and the sheer historical scale make it a first rate story. Nobel Prize winning author Rudyard Kipling is not much in fashion today. He is considered a relict of Imperialism and the old colonial tradition. Yet, his work remains relevant and incisive even today, in the climate of Neo-Imperialism and the economic and social colonialism practiced by many big powers. As a brilliant and most authentic portrait of Victorian British India, Kim remains unrivaled. It is also a wonderful coming of age story, peopled with remarkable and memorable characters, and traces the young hero’s poignant search for identity, caught as he is between two cultures. Kimball O’Hara (or Kim) lives an itinerant existence in 19th century India, where Imperialism is at its peak. He is the young son of poor Irish parents who are both no more. He survives by running occasional errands for a Pashtun horse-trader called Mahbub Ali in Lahore. Mahbub Ali is actually an undercover agent working for the British. Kim leaves Lahore and joins a Tibetan lama in the quest for a legendary river. Ali meets and recruits Kim to his spy ring, but Kim is rescued by an old friend of his father’s and sent off to study in a good boarding school in Lucknow. He remains in touch with Ali and the Lama. Upon completing his schooling, he is recruited by the British government and enters the Great Game in earnest. The rest of the novel follows Kim’s career and deals with the final choices he has to make in life. Kim is a book that can be read on many levels—a gripping adventure story, a brilliant picture of childhood and a mystical tale of the spiritual traditions of India. For modern readers, the current situation in Afghanistan seems all too close to what is depicted as happening more than a century ago.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Kim, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Rudyard Kipling, Spy stories, Teen/Young adult

An epistolary novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall follows the courageous journey of the protagonist, Helen Graham, as she struggles to escape her socially imposed role as dutiful wife, while also acting on her moral responsibilities as a mother and self-respect as a woman. Published in 1848, under the pseudonym Acton Bell, the novel provoked much criticism at the time of its release due to its shocking content and atypical portrayal of an English wife, who not only defies the strict conventions of society, but also consciously violates the law that legally represses the rights of women. The novel begins with the narration of Gilbert Markham, as he recounts the arrival of a mysterious widow who takes up residence in Wildfell Hall together with her young son. Introduced as Helen Graham, the tenant ignites much curiosity among the town’s residents, as her reclusive behavior irritates their inquisitive nature. Consequently, Gilbert Markham, a young farmer, is also allured by her reticent nature and soon develops feelings towards the beautiful young woman. However, following a jealous outburst by Gilbert’s spurned love interest, a series of scandalous rumors about Helen are spread throughout the town. Subsequently, the accusations inspire Helen to reveal the truth about her past to Gilbert, as she gives him her diaries which provide the answers to all his grueling questions. Nevertheless, Anne successfully presents a pivotal figure in feminist literature and is also regarded as having laid the foundations for gender equality, as the novel had finally evoked a much needed reaction from an otherwise passive society. Moreover, a compelling novel focusing on themes including marriage, betrayal, abuse, social oppression, duty, and morals, The Tenant of Wildfell is an insightful piece that offers a vivid illustration of life during the first half of the 19th century and the unequal treatment of women in a male dominated society. Regarded as one of the first sustained feminist novels, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall successfully secures Anne’s literary reputation, as she masterfully employs a multi-layered plot and an endearing heroine, while simultaneously challenging the prevailing social and legal structures of the established norms of the Victorian era.

Categories: Arts

Tags: Anne Brontë, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

The Last Days of Pompeii, a novel by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton tells the love story of the Greeks Glaucus and Ione who were living in Pompeii when Mt. Vesuvius erupted and destroyed the city. But aside from telling their romance, the book is also full of insights about the decadent lifestyle of the Romans during the later part of their empire’s history. The different characters in the story represent the different civilizations which they come from. Glaucus, the main protagonist in the novel was portrayed as a handsome Greek nobleman. His main love interest, Ione was a very beautiful Greek who ended up in Pompeii after being orphaned while she was still a child. Then, there’s also Arbaces, an Egyptian who was the guardian of Ione. He’s the villain in the novel and repeatedly attempted to seduce Ione but failed. Edward George Bulwer-Lytton interestingly set the story in Pompeii during the time when Roman society was already decaying. In the novel, Glaucus and Ione met and fall in love with each other. When Arbaces learned about this he cleverly devised a plan so that Glaucus will be convicted of a murder that he never committed. But as Glaucus was about to be fed to the lions in the amphitheatre as his punishment, the truth is revealed as to who really committed the murder. Don’t miss the end of this story to find how who the real culprit was and what the final fate of Pompeii would be. This book is definitely a good read for those who are looking for an interesting love story and at the same time to learn more about ancient Roman civilization. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, fiction, free audio books, Historical Fiction, Last Days of Pompeii, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com

Magnificent in its scale and scope, this monumental poem by the blind poet John Milton was the first epic conceived in the English language. It describes an omniscient, all powerful God, the Fall of Man, the Temptation in the Garden of Eden, the disgraced angel who later becomes known as Satan, the Angelic Wars fought by Archangels Michael and Raphael and the Son of God who is the real hero of this saga. The poet John Milton was more than sixty years old when he embarked on this immense work of literary creation. His father was a wealthy merchant who had embraced Protestantism despite opposition from his Catholic family. Milton grew up in a privileged environment, having been schooled at home by private tutors and traveling extensively throughout Italy. It was here that he first read Virgil and Homer and decided to create his own epic in English. Tumultuous historical events intervened, like the English Civil War and the establishment of Puritan Rule. Milton was deeply embroiled in politics and the new parliament. When the monarchy was restored, Milton found himself on the wrong side and he retreated into hiding where he began working on his dream of creating an epic to match the best in Latin and Greek. He completed it after five years of tremendous effort, since he was already totally blind when he began working. The entire work, consisting of nearly ten thousand individual lines of blank verse was dictated by Milton from memory, to a series of scribes. Paradise Lost consists of twelve smaller volumes divided into Books. Each one is devoted to a particular Biblical episode. It begins with a prologue that describes the subject of the epic, much like an introduction. The action shifts to the rebellion of Lucifer and from then on, to familiar episodes like the temptation of Adam and Eve and their disobedience to God’s laws. Satan and his unholy legions are described in great detail as are their rebellion and malevolence. Adam and Eve, God and the Son of God are portrayed in brilliant, unforgettable lines and the conflict between the forces of good and evil is represented on a cosmic scale. For lovers of poetry and literature, Paradise Lost represents a seminal work of supreme importance in English literature. Present-day readers will certainly find it fascinating to decode the multitude of classical references, Biblical lore, social and cultural themes that adorn this great work.

Categories: Arts, Religion & Spirituality

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, John Milton, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Paradise Lost, poetry, religion

An aristocratic English family is marooned off the coast of West Africa. They find their way into the interior of the dense jungle that lines the coast and here, Lord Greystoke is killed by a predatory ape. Lady Greystoke survives with her infant boy, but in a few months, she too succumbs to the perils of jungle life. The baby is adopted by a maternal she-ape who nurses him along with her own child. This marks the dawn of a legend – Tarzan of the Apes. Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American novelist who turned to fiction writing after an unsuccessful stint as a pencil sharpener salesman. His shrewd business acumen and marketing blitzkrieg ensured that Tarzan burst upon the world in the form of novels, comic-strips, films and merchandise. The legend of Tarzan took on the proportions of an icon that has endured ever since it first appeared in 1912. Since then, nearly 26 books and short stories featuring the Lord of the Jungle appeared in various magazines and in serial form. It seemed as if the world could not get enough of this rough hewn nobleman, clad in leopard skin and leaping through the magnificent forests of darkest Africa. Tarzan of the Apes is the very first book in the series. The plot is fast paced and the style captures the reader’s interest till the very last chapter. The young orphan grows up with a tribe of apes, but all the while knowing that he is different from them. He chances upon a small metal box which contains his father’s diary, faded photographs and artifacts that once belonged to his dead parents and finally begins to understand his true heritage. His growth into manhood and his journey to England to trace his lost inheritance form the rest of this compelling story. Generations of readers have enjoyed and loved memorable characters in the book like the maternal she-ape, Kala, the villainous males Kerchak and Tublat and of course, the gorgeous Jane who captures the jungle hero’s heart. Tarzan is portrayed as the symbol of pure and untainted manhood, perfect both physically and mentally and this is probably the secret of his enduring appeal over so many decades. Though modern-day readers may find parts of the novel dated and not politically correct, it remains a classical coming of age story that appeals to young and old alike. Adventure, thrills and romance interspersed with exciting episodes of combat and villainy make it an exciting read. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Edgar Rice Burroughs, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Tarzan of the Apes, Teen/Young adult

George MacDonald’s fairy stories and fantasy have inspired a number of writers including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and of this popular fairy story, which as you might suspect concerns a little princess plotted against by a race of goblins, G.K. Chesterton said that it “made a difference to my whole existence.”

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Dramatic Works, ebooks, Fairy tales, fiction, free audio books, George MacDonald, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Princess and the Goblin

From the master of the psychological horror genre comes this brilliant collection 12 Creepy Tales by Edgar Allan Poe. It features some of his classics like The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat and The Cask of Amontillado which are supreme examples of his craft. The Black Cat is a truly horrifying story of a death-row confession of guilt by a serial killer. The much loved family cat becomes the agent of his destruction and inevitable descent into crime and madness. Another superb story is The Facts in the Case of M Valdemar. In this chilling tale, a mesmerist uses his skill to put a man into a trance at the exact moment of death. Poe wrote this story based on a newspaper report that he read about a New York doctor who was supposed to have conducted an operation after placing the patient under hypnosis. Such was Poe’s talent that the story was mistaken for a genuine scientific report when it first came out! Writers and poets like Kipling and Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote personally to Poe, congratulating him on creating such a fantastic story. For sheer suspense and Gothic horror, The Masque of the Red Death is unrivaled. Set in some unnamed country, in an unnamed time, it tells of Prince Prospero who retreats into a sealed fortress with his trusted friends to escape a scourge called the Red Death, a mysterious and fatal disease that is decimating the countryside. The images of death, blood and disease linger in the mind long after you put the book down. A crumbling ruin steeped in an atmosphere of doom and decay… the last descendant of a noble family… an opium addict and his deluded fantasies&emdash;these form the elements of one of Poe’s most atmospheric creepy tales The Fall of the House of Usher. It is also one of his most famous stories and is considered to depict Poe as being at the peak of his craftsmanship. The surreal feeling of this story has made it a perfect choice for adaptation on film and television. Another truly scary tale is The Pit and The Pendulum, which describes the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition in medieval Spain in the sixteenth century. The collection also features Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem The Raven which is guaranteed to send a shiver down the spine of even the most skeptical of readers. Whether you’re a horror story fan or not, 12 Creepy Tales by Edgar Allan Poe is a great addition to your bookshelf. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts

Tags: 12 Creepy Tales, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Edgar Allan Poe, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, Horror/Ghost stories, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Short stories

Lytton Strachey’s first great success, and his most famous achievement, was “Eminent Victorians” (1918), a collection of four short biographies of Victorian heroes. With a dry wit, he exposed the human failings of his subjects and what he saw as the hypocrisy at the centre of Victorian morality. This work was followed in the same style by “Queen Victoria” (1921). More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Biography, ebooks, free audio books, History, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Lytton Strachey, Non-fiction, Queen Victoria

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936) has been called the “prince of paradox.” Time magazine observed of his writing style: “Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories—first carefully turning them inside out.” His prolific and diverse output included journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy and detective fiction. The title of Chesteron’s 1910 collection of essays was inspired by a title given to him two years earlier by The Times newspaper, which had asked a number of authors to write on the topic: “What’s wrong with the world?”. Chesterton’s answer at that time was the shortest of those submitted – he simply wrote: “Dear Sirs, I am. Sincerely yours, G.K. Chesterton”. In this collection he gives a fuller treatment of the question, with his characteristic conservative wit.

Categories: Arts, Comedy, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Essay/Short nonfiction, fiction, free audio books, G. K. Chesterton, History, humor, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Politics, What's Wrong With the World

Literary critics see Arthur Machen’s works as a significant part of the late Victorian revival of the gothic novel and the decadent movement of the 1890s, bearing direct comparison to the themes found in contemporary works like Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The White People is a highly influential horror story of a young girl’s discovery of ancient magic. It was written in the late 1890s as part of a longer unfinished novel, some sketches from which went into his book Ornaments in Jade. Fans of supernatural fiction often cite this story as a classic in the genre. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts

Tags: Arthur Machen, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Horror/Ghost stories, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The White People

This is volume 1 of 2. One of the most quirky, eccentric and endearing heroes to ever be depicted in fiction, the chivalrous Don Quixote is sure to capture hearts while bringing tears of laughter to your eyes. If you’ve never encountered the Knight from La Mancha before, get set for a delightful sojourn through the Spanish countryside, across the fertile countryside of Central Spain. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was an immediate success when it was first published in 1605 and won huge financial and literary success for its creator, an impoverished writer and poet. Cervantes’ own life was extremely eventful and colorful. The son of a poor army doctor, young Miguel enlisted in the army and fought in Turkey and Italy. He was captured by Algerian pirates and sold as a slave along with his brother and returned to Spain after three grueling years, when their ransom was finally paid. His aim in writing Don Quixote was, according to his own notes, to describe the manners and mores of the time and to tell the story in a clear and simple way. The character of the tragicomic Knight was apparently based on one of Cervantes’ own uncles who lived in the times of troubadours and knights errant. The plot revolves round the elderly gentleman, Don Quixote who is fascinated by the ideas of chivalry and noble deeds he has read about in old books. He sets out with his trusted “squire” Sancho Panza, in reality a simple village yokel. The Don who traverses the land riding a decrepit old horse Rocinante, proceeds to fall into a series of misadventures, but still keeps his lofty ideals intact! The more practical and earthy Sancho tries to bring his master down to earth, but to no avail. His master falls irrevocably and grandly in love with a peasant woman Dulcinea whom he imagines to be a damsel in distress. A series of zany incidents follow, with the Don slipping more and more into his imagined reality. Regarded as the first prototype of the modern novel in Europe, Don Quixote is full of satire, humor, irony and wit. The character of the Man from La Mancha is both endearing and exasperating, while being one of the truly memorable figures in literature. The book appeals to young and old readers alike and is definitely a must read for its literary and humorous qualities. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, Don Quixote, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, romance

A shy, introverted young poet. A weekend in a magnificent English country house. A beautiful young lady whom the poet is secretly in love with. An assorted group of guests with varied interests, motives, ambitions and aspirations, and the complex web of history and events that connect all of them. Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley was his first book, published in 1921, when he was just 27 years old. It is typical of many books written during this period by writers like Thomas Love Peacock and Somerset Maugham, centered round a country mansion and the quaint, British tradition of being invited to spend a weekend with a group of people whom one may or may not know. Crome Yellow is a novel of manners rather than plot and depends more on its style and characterization for its appeal. It is a precursor to Huxley’s brilliant novel Brave New World and indeed some of the characters in this book appear in his other books too, albeit in different avatars. The young poet, Denis Stone, is invited by Henry Wimbush, the owner of Crome, the lovely country house in rural England. He accepts the invitation mainly because he knows that Anne Wimbush, Henry’s niece, will also be there. She is four years older than Denis and sees him as a bit of a wimp, but knows that he is in love with her. She has almost made up her mind to accept him if she proposes. The other guests include an artist, Gombauld, a hearing-impaired young lady who buries herself in books to avoid interacting with people, a pompous journalist, a cynic, a philanderer and a vicar and his wife. Henry Wimbush is engaged in writing a history of his home, while his wife is addicted to gambling. This bunch of characters thrown together and the events that follow their intermingling with each other, form the plot of the book. Aldous Huxley’s sparkling and witty style is evident in his debut novel. Crome is supposedly a portrayal of Garsington Manor, the home of Lady Ottoline Morrell, a famous beauty and renowned hostess to such greats as TS Eliot, Yeats, Bertrand Russell and others. Huxley’s satirical depiction of the typical country house weekend is indeed amusing and thought-provoking. Modern-day readers may find the customs and traditions of pre-War England quaint. Many of the people in the book are “stock” characters found in many English novels of the time making Crome Yellow a delightful parody of the life and times of the 1920s. An interesting read! More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy

Tags: Aldous Huxley, audio books, audiobook, Crome Yellow, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, humor, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, satire

The History of the Peloponnesian War is an account of the Peloponnesian War in Ancient Greece, fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Athens) in the 5th Century BC. It was written by Thucydides, an Athenian general who served in the war. It is widely considered a classic and regarded as one of the earliest scholarly works of history. The History is divided into eight books. These book divisions are the work of editors in later antiquity. W. R. Connor […] describes Thucydides as “an artist who responds to, selects and skillfully arranges his material, and develops its symbolic and emotional potential.” More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, History, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, The History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides (Θουκυδίδης)

Comprised of four parts, Gulliver’s Travels documents the bizarre, yet fascinating voyages of Lemuel Gulliver as he makes his way through several uncharted destinations, experiencing the lives of the small, the giant, the scientific, and downright eccentric societies. Narrated in first person, Swift successfully portrays Gulliver’s thoughts and reactions as he faces struggles of integration throughout his travels. Beginning with the introduction of Gulliver, an educated ship’s surgeon, who after a series of unfortunate events is victim to repeated shipwrecks, desertions, and set adrift. His first of several misadventures sees him washed up on the shores of Lilliput, home to the less than six inches tall Lilliputians, where he wakes up to the sounds of scurrying beneath him. However, roles are reversed when his misfortunes lead him to Brobdingnag, a land occupied by giants where he must experience life as an inferior and fragile being. Subsequently, he comes across a society of oppressive theoreticians, and finally an intellectual, superior race. Divided between the known and the unknown, Gulliver must put aside his prejudgments and experience the unfamiliar societies first hand. As the novel gradually progresses, the transformation of the narrator becomes evident as he draws conclusions from each and every one of his adventures. Written by the master of satire, Jonathan Swift has not only created a story of adventure, but also cunningly attacks the mere nature of society in between its lines. Abuse of power, criticism of human nature, politics, and individualism are just some of the themes explored during the enlightening journeys of the venturesome Gulliver. Swift’s witty use of metaphors and satirical style serves as a puzzle waiting to be solved. An adventure story for the young, but a critical piece for the mature, the novel has a bit of everything and appeals to all age groups. The details in which the locations are described, the escapism it offers, and its openness to interpretation is what makes Gulliver’s Travels a timeless piece of literature.

Categories: Arts, Comedy, Society & Culture

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, satire, travel

In the sequal to The Story Girl Sara Stanley returns to join the King children in publishing their own local magazine to entertain the town of Carlisle. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Teen/Young adult, The Golden Road, War stories

Mark Twain’s work on Joan of Arc is titled in full “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte.” De Conte is identified as Joan’s page and secretary. For those who’ve always wanted to “get behind” the Joan of Arc story and to better understand just what happened, Twain’s narrative makes the story personal and very accessible. The work is fictionally presented as a translation from the manuscript by Jean Francois Alden, or, in the words of the published book, “Freely Translated out of the Ancient French into Modern English from the Original Unpublished Manuscript in the National Archives of France.”It was originally published as a serialization in Harper’s Magazine beginning in 1895 and later published in book form in 1896. However the Harper’s editors decided to cut 12 chapters that describe much of Joan’s Great Trial, saying the chapters were not suitable for serialization since, “They will not bear mutilation or interruption, but must be read as a whole, as one reads a drama.” This recording contains the complete text! De Conte is a fictionalized version of Joan of Arc’s page Louis de Contes, and provides narrative unity to the story. He is presented as an individual who was with Joan during the three major phases of her life – as a youth in Domremy, as the commander of Charles’ army on military campaign, and as a defendant at the trial in Rouen. The book is presented as a translation by Alden of de Conte’s memoirs, written in his later years for the benefit of his descendants. Twain based his descriptions of Joan of Arc on his daughter, Susy Clemens, as he remembered her at the age of seventeen. Twain said, “I like Joan of Arc best of all my books; and it is the best; I know it perfectly well. And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others; twelve years of preparation, and two years of writing. The others needed no preparation and got none.” More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Historical Fiction, History, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain, Memoirs, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, religion, Volumes 1 & 2, War stories

The Koran (Qur’an) is regarded by Muslims as the word of God (Allah) as revealed to the prophet Muhammad. It is divided into 114 chapters (surahs), arranged roughly by length. This version, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, is a widely used English translation of the Koran by a Muslim Englishman. Many Muslims, however, including Pickthall, believe that true translations of the Koran from the original Arabic are impossible, and see translations into other languages only as useful interpretations.

Categories: Arts, Religion & Spirituality

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, religion, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, Unknown