Random Mark Twain Podcasts

When you dive into Mark Twain’s (Samuel Clemens’) The Innocents Abroad, you have to be ready to learn more about the unadorned, ungilded reality of 19th century “touring” than you might think you want to learn. This is a tough, literary journey. It was tough for Twain and his fellow “pilgrims”, both religious and otherwise. They set out, on a June day in 1867, to visit major tourist sites in Europe and the near east, including Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, “the Holy Land”, and Egypt. What Twain records, in often humorous, sometimes grotesque but always fascinating detail, are the day-to-day ups and downs of discovering the truth about people and places. The truths they learn are often far different than their education and rumor have made them preconceive. This is a voyage of discovery. It’s long and, in places, tiresome. But it’s revelatory about so much. As with some of his other works, Twain includes popular prejudices of his time, which are today considered socially unacceptable. His references to “Indians”, “Negroes” and “infidels” come to mind. Beyond the lows, though, there are the highs of Twain’s cutting wit and insight as he guides us along the bumpy and often dangerous voyage. No need to buckle up. Just take it slow, and steady…like the journey itself.

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain, Memoirs, Non-fiction, The Innocents Abroad, travel

A river memoir documenting Twain’s early days as an apprentice steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War. Reminiscing about his happy experiences as a young man under the instruction of an experienced mentor, the autobiographical tale depicts one of the most vivid illustrations of river life. Furthermore, the book captures the author’s nostalgic emotions through his resonant depiction of one of the most notable periods of his life. Twain begins his memoir with a rich historical account of the Mississippi River including its exploration by early explorers, its evolution, and its vastness. He then proceeds to tell of his youthful experiences along the river, and its significant role in his life from early childhood right up to adulthood. Subsequently, the classic focuses on Twain’s time as a cub-pilot on a steamboat and the incidents that occur during his apprenticeship. Never depicting a dull moment, the author mentions various characters and encounters which further enrich the tale as he navigates along the river. Written from a personal point of view, the story offers insight as the audience is exposed to a different angle of river life through an enchanting travel log. He vibrantly describes the beauties of the Mississippi River with its twists, shallows, rapids, turns and landmarks, consequently bringing life to the river. In the second part of the book, however, Twain describes a different experience on the Mississippi River, conveying the harsh reality of progress as he travels along the river years later. In addition the book presents opposing images of a bucolic setting not yet altered by the inescapable grasp of industrialization, and the image of the consequences instigated by industrialization and automation. A stunning blend of autobiography, history and tall tales, the book has much to offer to its audience, and also includes humorous appendixes and commentaries. A well comprised piece of writing, Life on the Mississippi is full of imagery and descriptive language that portrays the beauty of nature, culture and heritage. Exploring themes such as inevitable change and progress in society, gratification gained from the simplicity of nature, and the deceptiveness of outward appearance, the book is a timeless classic portraying an important part of American history. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Biography, ebooks, free audio books, Life on the Mississippi, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain, Memoirs, nature, Non-fiction, travel

“The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg” is a piece of short fiction by Mark Twain. It first appeared in Harper’s Monthly in December 1899, and was subsequently published by Harper Collins in the collection The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories and Sketches (1900). This recording contains all the stories and sketches from the 1900 Harper Collins publication. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy, Kids & Family

Tags: and Other Stories, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, humor, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain, Short stories, Teen/Young adult, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

Eve’s Diary is a comic short story by Mark Twain. It was first published in the 1905 Christmas issue of the magazine Harper’s Bazaar, and in book format in June 1906 by Harper and Brothers publishing house. It is written in the style of a diary kept by the first woman in the Judeao-Christian creation myth, Eve, and is claimed to be “translated from the original MS.” The “plot” of this novel is the first-person account of Eve from her creation up to her burial by, her mate, Adam, including meeting and getting to know Adam, and exploring the world around her, Eden. The story then jumps 40 years into the future after the Fall and expulsion from Eden. It is one of a series of books Twain wrote concerning the story of Adam and Eve, including ‘Extracts from Adam’s Diary,’ ‘That Day In Eden,’ ‘Eve Speaks,’ ‘Adam’s Soliloquy,’ and the ‘Autobiography of Eve.’ Eve’s Diary has a lighter tone than the others in the series, as Eve has a strong appreciation for beauty and love. The book may have been written as a posthumous love-letter to Mark Twain’s wife Olivia Langdon Clemens, or Livy, who died in June 1904, just before the story was written. Mark Twain is quoted as saying, “Eve’s Diary is finished — I’ve been waiting for her to speak, but she doesn’t say anything more.” The story ends with Adam’s speaking at Eve’s grave, “Wherever she was, there was Eden.” More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy, Society & Culture

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

A Tramp Abroad is a work of non-fiction travel literature by American author Mark Twain, published in 1880. The book details a journey by the author, with his friend Harris (a character created for the book, and based on his closest friend, Joseph Twichell), through central and southern Europe. While the stated goal of the journey is to walk most of the way, the men find themselves using other forms of transport as they traverse the continent. The book is often thought to be an unofficial sequel to an earlier Twain travel book,The Innocents Abroad. As the two men make their way through Germany, the Alps, and Italy, they encounter situations made all the more humorous by their reactions to them. The narrator (Twain) plays the part of the American tourist of the time, believing that he understands all that he sees, but in reality understanding none of it. The term “tramp” is meant as in a “walk-about” and not as in a “bum”.

Categories: Arts, Comedy

Tags: A Tramp Abroad, Adventure, audio books, audiobook, Comedy, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, humor, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain

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

A poor young boy from the slums of London watches a royal procession pass, with the youthful Prince of Wales riding at its head. He ventures too close and is caught and beaten by the Prince’s guards. However, the young royal stops them and invites the vagrant to the palace. Here the two boys sup alone and are stunned to discover that they bear a startling resemblance to each other. The Prince is Edward, long awaited heir of the monarch, Henry VIII, while the vagrant is Tom Canty, the son of a thief and a beggar. Edward is fascinated by the free and unfettered life that Tom leads, while Tom is overawed by the wealth and luxury of the palace. The boys decide to switch clothes. From here, adventure begins for both of them! First published in 1881, The Prince and The Pauper by Mark Twain is the famous American writer and humorist’s first foray into historical fiction. Set in the sixteenth century Tudor court of Henry VIII, the book is reputedly Mark Twain’s most carefully plotted novel. Great attention has been paid to setting, dialog and character. Early plot devices are carefully constructed to become invaluable features that carry the story along. Several real historical figures appear in the book. It is also a novel of contrasts. The two boys, born on exactly the same day, have completely different destinies. Before they meet, they each have dreams that are very different from their circumstances. Edward longs to be free to roam the streets at will, unhampered by court protocol and conventions. Tom yearns for security, comfort and the certainty of knowing where his next meal will come from. Twain also explores ideas of conventional wisdom that deem “Clothes Maketh a Man” which implies that appearances are everything. Being a voracious reader of history himself, Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens to give his real name) was able to use some of the material he had absorbed in The Prince and The Pauper. He faithfully renders Tudor English that he also displays in the other books Tom Sawyer and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. The thrilling climax of the novel, which takes place just days before Henry VIII’s death, and the coronation of the new king, is one that brings all the threads of this exciting tale together. The Prince and The Pauper has been widely adapted on screen, stage and television. Comics, animated versions, a Mickey Mouse version and many more have continued to explore this very interesting theme of switched identities. Disney films like Parent Trap, a Barbie version, a film version in Hindi, and several musical adaptations have kept this timeless classic alive. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family, Society & Culture

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Historical Fiction, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain, The Prince and the Pauper, War stories

A sentimental short story praised for its moving plot and condemnation of scientific experimentation on animals, Mark Twain efficiently delivers a truly captivating piece. First appearing in Harper’s Magazine in 1903, A Dog’s Tale was later published as a pamphlet for the National Anti-Vivisection Society. The tale focuses on the life of Aileen, a misunderstood dog who experiences the ups and downs of life, while cruelly subjected to suffering because of the shallow belief of her inferiority amidst humans. The story is told from the point of view of Aileen Mavourneen, a self-proclaimed Presbyterian, whose mother is a Collie, and father is a St. Bernard. The story begins with Aileen’s life as a puppy, living together with her mother until she is later taken in by a loving family. Life at her new home seems perfect, as she lives in a well adorned house, and has an open space where she is free to roam and play with other dogs. Subsequently, the household welcomes the arrival of the owner’s baby and Aileen’s puppy, which adds joy to the home. However, the idyllic days are brought to a halt when a terrible accident occurs, prompting Aileen to risk her own life to save her owner’s infant from harm’s way. Despite the heroic deed, Aileen is rewarded with the utmost brutality that changes her life forever. A compelling piece of literature, A Dog’s Tale efficiently depicts the dark and inconsiderate nature of humans, which is contrasted with the benign and loyal nature of dogs. Guaranteed to make one’s heart tingle, the short story evokes many powerful emotions throughout its short, yet overpowering pages. Twain successfully creates a piece that will captivate its audience, leaving them incapable of feeling indifferent to such a powerful message presented in the piece. Furthermore, Twain’s effectiveness to illustrate the inhumane and inconsiderate treatment of animals is heightened by allowing the audience to enter the mind of a dog and observe and feel life on the other side of the coin. Supplying a generous serving of humor, irony, love, cruelty, and heartfelt moments, A Dog’s Tale encourages humanity to take a step back and carefully reflect on their actions and reconsider the roles played by both humans and animals in society. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy

Tags: A Dog's Tale, animals, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, humor, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain

When Hank Morgan, a practical, no-nonsense Yankee who works in an ammunition factory as a head superintendent gets into a fight with an aggressive employee, little does he know what’s in store for him. The bully lays Morgan low with a skull-crushing blow delivered with a crowbar and knocks him out. When Morgan regains consciousness, he finds himself transported back in time, to the sixth century. From here on, the story describes the travails of a hard-boiled, true blue American with strong democratic values who has to deal with medieval feudalism and ancient customs! A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court was published in 1889. Mark Twain wrote it after the great success of his early novels, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. His first book, Innocents Abroad had met with a lukewarm reception. Connecticut Yankee… met with mixed reactions. Some regarded it as a great piece of historical fiction. In Britain, it was seen as an attack on their history and culture. Laced with Twain’s inimitable brand of irreverent humor, the book portrays the sheer absurdity of romanticizing the past. If people in modern times thought Camelot and the legends of the Knights was the perfect world to live in, Twain wanted to show them otherwise. He also sought to strike a balance between the mindless worship of technology and so called “progress.” Hank Morgan also tries to modernize the past! He tries to educate the medieval people about machines, science and tries to dispel their superstitious beliefs in magic. Many of the famous Knights of the Round Table feature in this book. Other characters like Morgan Le Fay, Merlin, King Arthur and Queen Guinevere also appear, in tandem with many of Twain’s own creations. Mark Twain’s own disillusionment with industrialization and his exploration of the concept of time travel are described in the book. It was in this sense one of the earliest examples of this genre of science fiction. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s court has been extensively adapted to stage, radio, screen and television. Since the first silent version in 1921, the book has found favor with Hollywood and a variety of stars have played roles in the films. Disney adaptations, various spoofs and spinoffs, animated versions and references in other books have ensured that the book’s popularity never wanes. For Mark Twain enthusiasts and readers who love humor blended with some historical fiction, this is indeed a great addition to their collection!

Categories: Arts

Tags: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain

“…if I should talk to a stenographer two hours a day for a hundred years, I should still never be able to set down a tenth part of the things which have interested me in my lifetime.” The words of Mark Twain in his introduction to Chapters from my Autobiography provide a tantalizing glimpse of what is in store for the reader! Mark Twain, whose real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens was still working on his reminiscences when he died in 1910. This book is really only a portion of the complete work. The interesting part of his autobiography is that the first volume of 700 odd pages was published exactly 100 years after his death, in 2010 by the University of California in keeping with his last will and testament. It achieved wild popular success. This made Twain the only best seller writer to be famous in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries! Twain also intended that his autobiography should serve as a model for future writers because of its unique form and method. He sought to constantly bring the past and present face to face so that the resultant sparks would light a fire of interest in his readers. With this aim in mind, the book is structured in an extremely loose chronological order, switching back and forth in time, relating episodes that are not connected sequentially with each other yet remaining wonderfully interesting, like a colorful mosaic of experiences. Which is how Twain felt life should be portrayed. Brimming with Twain’s own brand of irreverent humor, the book begins with an attempt to trace his ancestors, the Clemenses, to Civil War England. He plunges next into a hilarious account of his early experiences as an author in New York in 1867 and then leaps into a wonderfully evocative retelling of his childhood in Hannibal, Missouri in 1849, on the banks of the Mississippi. These experiences formed the basis of his immortal Tom Sawyer/ Huckleberry Finn books. Further chapters describe meeting writers like Bret Harte, Robert Louis Stevenson and others. Twain himself had an extremely eventful and colorful life. He worked variously as a newspaper hack, silver miner, inventor, printer’s apprentice, steamboat pilot and typesetter. He was also a famous anti-war thinker, pacifist, vegetarian and anti-imperialist. He used humor and satire effectively to convey his ideas in novels, plays and historical fiction. Chapters from my Autobiography is a delightful jumble of recollections. Some of them are poignant and moving like the chapter that deals with the death of his daughter Susy while others are memorable like the brilliant portrait of his older brother Orion. For Mark Twain enthusiasts, humor fans and anyone who simply loves a great read, Chapters from an Autobiography is a great read. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Biography, Chapters from my Autobiography, ebooks, free audio books, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain, Non-fiction

Into nostalgia? “A Look Behind in Rewind” is a podcast series reminiscent of Jean Shepherd of WOR-Radio… like a modern-day Mark Twain. Tom’s stories range from childhood escapades to college hijinks to crazy tales from film/broadcast/ad agency days, including interviews with American Bandstand mogul Dick Clark and others. (When it comes to some of these early youthful adventures, names have been changed to protect the innocent). Podcast lengths are short, generally only 7 to 10 minutes each. Email narrator/producer Tom Nielson at andwordspread@gmail.com

Categories: Comedy, Fiction, Society & Culture

Tags: Comedy, humor, Jean Shepherd, Mark Twain, media, memories, new jersey, nostalgia, storytelling, tv

This long essay is a work of mock philology, one of several appendices to Twain’s travel novel, A Tramp Abroad. In it, Twain explains, complains about, and shows how one might improve upon various aspects of the (awful) German language. His examples of precisely how the German language is awful include the famed “separable verb” – which allows one to put the first part of a given verb at the beginning – and its second part at the end – of a given clause or sentence (which may, indeed, be very long). He also makes fun of the extreme length of certain compound nouns (which are created by tacking two – or more – words together, without using hyphens to clarify where one ends and the next begins), as well as the many noun and verb forms one must master (memorize) in order to use German cases properly.As the essay progresses, Twain includes a few hilarious passages that are partly or mostly in (his own, awful) German. Nevertheless, the work is easily understandable even by people who don’t know any German at all.(In the novel, A Tramp Abroad, Twain details his journey with his friend, Harris, through Germany, the Alps, and Italy, where he encounters various ridiculous situations. Here, much of the humor lies in his silly, often over-stated characterization of the circumstances as quickly grasped and easily explained by such a seasoned tourist as himself, while he also make plain throughout the profoundly strange nature of many of his experiences, and the various pitfalls he and Harris run into as they try to navigate their unfamiliar terrain.) (Introduction by Kirsten Wever)

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain, The Awful German Language

Regarded as the pride and joy of American literature, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a picturesque novel depicting Huck’s epic journey from boyhood to manhood and the struggles he must face living in a corrupt society. The novel serves as a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, another famous work by Mark Twain. The plot unfolds in several locations sometime before the Civil War. The book opens with a description of Huck’s new life as he undergoes a process of “civilization” while living with the Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson. Although he dislikes the strict regime of education, manners, church and rigid clothing, which are a necessity to fit into society, Huck prefers anything to his previous life with his drunkard father Pap. However, just as things begin to stabilize, Pap returns to the picture and demands Huck give him the money that he had previously attained during an adventure with his best friend Tom Sawyer. Huck’s refusal to do so only infuriates Pap. Just when things are improving for Huck, he is kidnapped and mistreated by his no-good father. After faking his own death and on the run, he meets Jim who is a runaway slave with a bounty to his name. Huck must decide whether to trust his gut feeling and help an innocent flee slavery, or view the poor man simply as property. Caught up between ethics and legality, Huck must make a decision. The two set out together on a raft, both in search of freedom and experience many challenges on the way whilst at the same time an emotional bond is developed. Twain’s vibrant description of the places and people along the Mississippi River is one of the jewels of the novel, as well as the use of vernacular language and the presence of dialects. Moral and ethics, racism and slavery, and hypocritical society are just some of the targeted issues presented in the novel. Celebrated throughout generations, the slanted tale of adventure does not seize to spark appreciation although simultaneously stirring controversy.

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

An atypical piece of writing by Mark Twain, the short bawdy skit documents a conversion between Queen Elizabeth and several notable writers of the time, including Sir Walter Raleigh, Francis Beaumont, Ben Jonson, and William Shakespeare. Despite first being published in 1880, the piece remained anonymous for a period of time, until it was later acknowledged by Twain in 1901 as his own. Comprised of humor, descriptive imagery, ribald connotations, and vulgar language, the faux conversation is simultaneously humorous and repulsing, but nonetheless a wonder for its satirical precision. Written as a fictitious dialogue between Queen Elizabeth and her guest luminaries at court, the short story is accounted in a diary entry by one of her disgusted cup-bearers who observe the scandalous conversation of scatological nature. The conversation is instigated by a thunderous and foul reeking fart as the group begins to discuss its features and origin. Each individual subsequently comments on the issue and their experiences with flatulence. The conversation then takes a different direction as the topic of sex is introduced, and the individuals discuss various customs and rumors they have heard, including sexual appetite, physical features, and shocking sexual exploits. Furthermore, the issue of poetry and religion are put forward, with Shakespeare beginning to read poetry, hence prompting the characters to discuss poets, their work and ingenuity. The narrator continues to effectively record each shocking assertion as the conversation heatedly progresses. The short piece allows the audience to witness a completely different side to Mark Twain, as he criticizes literary figures and their works through his fantastic instance of potty humor. Entertaining and humorous throughout its short but rich content, the piece is a jewel considering its characters, historical context and the lewd imperceptible style employed by the great Mark Twain. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy

Tags: 1601: Conversation, as it was by the Social Fireside, audio books, audiobook, Comedy, Dramatic Works, ebooks, Erotica, fiction, free audio books, Historical Fiction, History, humor, in the Time of the Tudors, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain, Politics, satire

A collection of comical short stories by renowned American humorist and author Mark Twain, the compilation features 30 stories published in 1906. Presenting a colorful array of tales, the short stories cover various periods of Twain’s writing career, while also allowing him to revise and perfect each story. Exploring various topics including abusive hierarchical power, human recklessness, and backfiring expectations, the collection offers a sweet treat to satisfy every taste. The anthology begins with the story “The $30,000 Bequest” which introduces the married couple Electra and Saladin who live a modest yet comfortable life with their two daughters. Both husband and wife are known to be thrifty with their finances and are regarded by others as good people. However, their lives take an unexpected shift after the couple receives a note from a supposed distant relative informing them of his plans to leave them an inheritance of $30,000 after his death. He additionally adds in the note that they must not tell anyone about the money, its origin, or inquire about his death, for they will find out all necessary information in due course. Thrilled by such news, the couple begins to live in their own world governed by fantasy and choose to leave their mediocre lives behind them as they await their promised wealth. Nevertheless, it appears that they have bitten off more than they can chew, as their lives take a humorous turn, as Twain comically depicts their foolishness and credulousness. A successful satire and subtle critique on human nature and behavior, the short stories are genuinely evocative and full of emotion as they depict everyday characters and situations. Apart from serving as a form of entertainment and inducing a good laugh, The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories exhibit tales which also provide allegorical depth, encouraging the audience to read between the lines. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy

Tags: 000 Bequest and Other Stories, audio books, audiobook, Comedy, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain, Short stories, The $30