Random Teen/Young adult Podcasts

One of the first instances of science fiction, Wells’ classic tale published in 1986 examines various controversial philosophical issues active at the time of its publication, most notable being the implications of vivisection and degeneration. Narrated by its everyman protagonist Edward Prendick, the novel follows the events of his stay at a mysterious island, home to ghastly secrets, horrors, and incomprehensible experiences. Furthermore, the novel features innovative themes which have become iconic in the modern science fiction genre, including moral and ethical responsibility, evolution, and man’s interference with the course of nature. The novel begins when Edward Prendick, an educated gentleman is shipwrecked in the middle of nowhere, and is taken aboard a passing ship where he is revived by a man later introduced as Montgomery. The man explains to Prendick that he is headed to a private island where he works, along with the animals on the ship. While on board, Prendick also meets a gruesome brute by the name of M’ling, whom he believes to be Montgomery’s manservant. When Montgomery reaches his destination he initially refuses to accommodate Prendick after the captain demands he leave the ship, but later takes pity on his bleak circumstance and agrees to put him up. The protagonist is subsequently introduced to the cold and intense Dr. Moreau, whom Prendick recognizes as a former distinguished physiologist in London, whose horrific experiments in vivisection had been publicly exposed. Prendick is housed in an outer room of the enclosed compound, and is cautiously locked out of the inner part. Conquered by curiosity, he decides to explore the jungle where he comes face to face with a startling figure that marks the beginning of his task to unearth the shocking truth behind the segregated island and its beastly population. The Island of Dr. Moreau brilliantly intrigues readers with its generous serving of ingenuity, abominable imagery and chilling hypothesis of the possible dangers of scientific progression. A literary classic, the novel imposes many ethical questions still relevant to modern society, and certain to provoke reaction.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: Adventure, animals, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, H. G. Wells, Horror/Ghost stories, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, science, science-fiction, Teen/Young adult, The Island of Dr. Moreau

An epistolary novel, Lady Susan is an early work by Austen that was posthumously published in 1871. The short novel focuses on the self-serving eponymous anti-heroine, as she cunningly maneuvers her way through society in search of a wealthy husband for both her daughter and herself. Disregarding anything but her own selfish goals, Susan employs her charms to lure men and draw them into her web of deceit, no matter their age or status. Exploring issues including morals, manners, self-indulgence, malevolence, and social machinations, the relatively short novel is sure to fascinate with its atypical form. Comprised of forty-one letters, the novel introduces Lady Susan Vernon, a beautiful recent widow in her thirties, who is allowed to stay with her brother-in -law Charles Vernon and his wife Catherine in their family home. Apparently, this move is initiated after Susan is sent packing from the previous residence where she had been residing, due to the exposure of her flagrant affair with a married man. The novel also focuses on Frederica, Susan’s timid 16-year old daughter, who is terrorized by her mother, as Susan tries to marry her off to the wealthy, yet fatuous Sir James Martin against her wishes. Furthermore, Susan’s skills in manipulation are confirmed when Catherine’s younger brother arrives to meet the notoriously scandalous woman, whose name is attached to many raffish rumors. However, having a way with words, Susan effortlessly manipulates and twists the disreputable gossip to her favor and even has the man converted to the position of advocate. Her true nature is revealed through her correspondence with her friend Alicia Johnson, to whom she reveals all her schemes, contrivances, and the true depth of her unscrupulous nature. Austen effectively employs the epistolary format in her writing, allowing the audience to gain an insight into the characters, their emotions, schemes, and artifices. Unlike Austen’s most notable female characters, who are typically guided by principled objectives, Lady Susan is in contrast guided simply by her egocentric ways. An exciting view of Austen’s early attempts to write in the epistolary format, Lady Susan presents a melodramatic piece full of details, descriptions, provocative characters, and a well-deserved taste of one’s own medicine.

Categories: Arts, Comedy, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Epistolary fiction, fiction, free audio books, humor, jane austen, Lady Susan, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, romance, satire, Teen/Young adult

Written originally for his own children, Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories have continued to delight generations of youngsters since they were first published in 1902. The thirteen stories collected in this book are meant for very young children, but they engage older kids and adults too with their charming conversational style and simple plot lines. These stories are typical examples of the “origin” story, where children are provided with imaginative rather than practical explanations for the “why” “what” “how” “where” “who” “when” questions of childhood. The Just So Stories were tales that Kipling would tell his own daughter who tragically died in infancy of pneumonia. An early forerunner of these stories can be found in The Second Jungle Book in the chapter, “How Fear Came” where the story of how the tiger got its stripes is narrated to Mowgli. All the fables in the Just So Stories follow a similar theme. They relate how a particular creature is altered from an original form into its present appearance either by a magical spirit or a human being. So the reader encounters wonderful and fantastical reasons why The Whale Got Its Throat, The Camel Got Its Hump, The Rhinoceros Got Its Skin, How the Alphabet was Made, and so on. Written in a pretend grand style, as though the narrator was recounting a great and important myth, the stories are studded with fabulous made up words and turns of phrase that catch the reader’s attention. Comic exaggeration, wordplay, lots of spontaneous, funny poems, juxtapositions of everyday events with the fantastical tales, amusing and entertaining “explanations” and a short poem at the beginning of each story serve to highlight Kipling’s prodigious story telling talents. The reader is always called “Best Beloved” which adds to the personal touch, reminding us of the original listeners of these stories, who were Kipling’s own children. Some of the stories may seem politically incorrect to modern day readers, but they must be read in the context in which they were written and could in fact become a starting point for discussions on such issues as race, gender etc. with your own children. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy, Kids & Family

Tags: animals, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, humor, Just So Stories, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, nature, Rudyard Kipling, Short stories, Teen/Young adult

The Last Man is an early post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Mary Shelley, which was first published in 1826. The book tells of a future world that has been ravaged by a plague. The plague gradually kills off all people. Lionel Verney, central character, son of a nobleman who gambled himself into poverty, finds himself immune after being attacked by an infected “negro,” and copes with a civilization that is gradually dying out around him.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, science, science-fiction, Teen/Young adult, The Last Man

The novel picks up where Tarzan of the Apes left off. The ape man, feeling rootless in the wake of his noble sacrifice of his prospects of wedding Jane Porter, leaves America for Europe to visit his friend Paul d’Arnot. On the ship he becomes embroiled in the affairs of Countess Olga de Coude, her husband, Count Raoul de Coude, and two shady characters attempting to prey on them, Nikolas Rokoff and his henchman Alexis Paulvitch.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

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

Louisa May Alcott, more famously known for her Little Women series, takes a familiar nursery rhyme and creates a whole novel out of it in one of her last books Jack and Jill: A Village Story. Though she continued to publish under the penname AM Barnard, this book probably marked the end of a particular writing phase in 1880. Jack and Jill is set in the fictional Harmony Village. On a December afternoon, the youngsters of the village are out enjoying the bracing cold and snow. The bright winter shines down as they have fun skating and sledding. A group of spectators sits on the fences, watching their more active friends zoom past on toboggans or skates. A shiny red sled comes hurtling past, carrying a tall, golden haired lad and a tiny, black haired girl. They are the inseparable friends, Jack Minot and Janey Pecq, nicknamed Jack and Jill by the villagers in keeping with the famous rhyme. Disaster strikes when Janey (Jill) compels Jack to coast down a perilous slope. The two are seriously injured and the rest of the story follows their convalescence and consequent growing into maturity and adulthood. Apart from the entertaining and educational story, Jack and Jill also tackles several important social issues of the day. Children’s health, the transition from childhood to adolescence, the importance of emotional support during illness and the life-changing consequences of our impulsive actions are some of the themes that are explored in detail in this entertaining yet thought provoking novel. Filled with interesting characters and Alcott’s typical spiritual underpinnings, the book also looks at that crucial stage of human development – Adolescence. This phase, with all its emotional and physical changes, the angst and joys, the rebellion and the learning are all wonderfully portrayed through many of the characters like Molly Boo and other friends of Jack and Janey. Many of Louisa May Alcott’s stories and novels are based on autobiographical elements. Her father, Amos Bronson Alcott was a spiritual healer and teacher who compelled his family to adopt an unconventional and experimental lifestyle in a commune. The young Louisa was a rebel and chafed under the tough child rearing practices favored by her father. Some of these features can be seen in her fictional characters like Jo March. In this particular book, Jack and Jill too, where Janey Pecqt’s mettlesome personality is finally “tamed.” As an early forerunner of the “tough love” philosophy of child rearing, Jack and Jill is indeed an interesting and entertaining read. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Jack and Jill, Kids, Literature, Louisa May Alcott, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Teen/Young adult

The Mysterious Island is another exquisite novel written by the master of adventure writing, Jules Verne. The novel has been seen as the sequel to two other famous novels written by the same author: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and In Search of the Castaway. The story revolves around five Americans who live in a dark and harsh environment as prisoners of the American Civil War. Depleted by famine and death all around them, the five war prisoners take a big risk and escape by hijacking a hot air balloon. The five fugitives, an engineer, a servant, a former slave, a sailor and a journalist have to face an ugly and destroying storm, crashing on a mysterious volcanic island. The five men start a new living there, but circumstances soon become mysterious when a message in a bottle turns up on the beach. With pirate attacks and erupting volcanoes these five escapees get more than they bargained for. This book is a fun read for anyone with an adventurous spirit deep inside.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Jules Verne, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, science, science-fiction, Teen/Young adult, The Mysterious Island

A beautiful story about survival, the Robinson family shows that one does not have to have the usual comforts of life in order to be comfortable and happy. It is also a story about family relations. The book showcases a family of six that has to start all over without the basic amenities that make life easier in the eyes of society. The idea of being in an island with no human neighbors is daunting to say the least. The family was shipwrecked and everyone else on the ship perished when they deserted the ship. When the storm finally abated, they figured out a way to shore and immediately tackled the most urgent needs like food and shelter for the night. The senior Robinson and Franz, the eldest son, explored the island and found that it was well endowed with food and animals that could be killed for meat. On further exploration, they discovered better shelter and even a salt supply. They had supplies and even wax from which they made candles. They made many more amazing discoveries and got quite comfortable on the island which was hither to uninhabited. Later, they found an English girl, Jenny, who had been stranded on a different island for three years. But how did she get there and survive so long? This book tells an endearing survival story and highlights the joys of close family bonds. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Johann David Wyss, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, nature, Teen/Young adult, The Swiss Family Robinson

A collection of my favorite short children’s stories and rhymes.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: animals, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Fairy tales, fiction, free audio books, Kayray's Storytime, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Teen/Young adult, various

Sixteen year old Leslie Crane has come to the New Jersey shore as a companion to ailing Aunt Marcia, whose doctor has sent her there for a some quiet rest and recuperation. While the beach is lovely in October, Leslie quickly finds herself getting lonely with no one her own age to talk to. Little does she realize that she will not only soon make a new friend, but that they will both end up in the midst of a puzzling mystery centered around the closed up bungalow next door. Augusta Huiell Seaman is the author of over 40 historical fiction and mystery novels for older children most of which are currently out of print. The Dragon’s Secret was originally published in 1921.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Augusta Huiell Seaman, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, MYSTERY, Teen/Young adult, The Dragon's Secret

In 1894, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) published two short collections of aphorisms: “A Few Maxims For The Instruction Of The Over-Educated”, in the Saturday Review newspaper, and “Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young”, in the Oxford student magazine The Chameleon. By turns witty, intellectual, counter-intuitive and obtuse, the collections came to be seen by many as emblematic of Wilde’s style, and countless collections of Wildean aphorisms have since been published. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy, Kids & Family

Tags: Aphorisms, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, humor, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, Oscar Wilde, satire, Teen/Young adult

Conn Maxwell returns from Terra to his poverty-stricken home planet of Poictesme, “The Junkyard Planet”, with news of the possible location of Merlin, a military super-computer rumored to have been abandoned there after the last war. The inhabitants hope to find Merlin, which they think will be their ticket to wealth and prosperity. But is Merlin real, or just an old rumor? And if they find it will it save them, or tear them apart?

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, H. Beam Piper, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, science, science-fiction, Teen/Young adult, The Cosmic Computer

At one time Race Cargill had been the best Terran Intelligence agent on the complex and mysterious planet of Wolf. He had repeatedly imperiled his life amongst the half-human and non-human creatures of the sullen world. And he had repeatedly accomplished the fantastic missions until his name was emblazoned with glory. But that had all seemingly ended. For six long years he’d sat behind a boring desk inside the fenced-in Terran Headquarters, cut off there ever since he and a rival had scarred and ripped each other in blood-feud. But when THE DOOR THROUGH SPACE swung suddenly open, the feud was on again—and with it a plot designed to check and destroy the Terran Empire. (Original book blurb)

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Marion Zimmer Bradley, science, science-fiction, Teen/Young adult, The Door Through Space

The story of a plucky, optimistic newsboy, Michael O’Halloran, who has been orphaned from a young age and asks nothing of the world but to “Be Square!” This is a warm and joyous story of how Michael makes life sunnier for those around him, bringing joy to all who know him.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Gene Stratton-Porter, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Michael O'Halloran, nature, romance, Teen/Young adult

Begun when she was just eleven years old, Love and Friendship is one of Jane Austen’s stories that very few readers may have encountered before. Austen experts feel that this story was written, like many others, only for the pleasure of her family and friends. It is scribbled across three notebooks, in childish handwriting, and the complete work is thought to have been written over a period of six or seven years. It is dedicated to one of her cousins, whom she was very close to, Eliza de Feuillide. Eliza herself was an extremely colorful figure and is thought to have been the illegitimate daughter of the first Governor General of India, Warren Hastings. She was also a witness to the French Revolution where her husband, the self styled Comte de Feuillide was guillotined. For the young Jane, these events must have been sheer inspiration to a writer’s imagination. Love and Friendship takes the shape of an expostulatory novel. Written as a series of letters from Laura to a much younger Marianne who is her friend Isabel’s daughter, it is meant to apprise the young and flighty Marianne about the dangers of infatuation and falling headlong into romantic love. The book offers an early and crucial insight into Jane Austen’s style, her wonderful sense of humor and her take on contemporary society. At times, she portrays events almost in parody form, at others, she is sharp and critical, but as always, the typical Jane Austen brand of gentle, sparkling wit is highly evident. She describes the concept of “sensibility” or what we would today call “sensitivity” or “sentimentality” and how it can be taken to ridiculous extremes. The deliberately twisted and complicated plot is replete with fainting fits, deaths due to a variety of causes, including “galloping consumption,” plenty of drama, elopements galore, unbelievable coincidences and wicked philanderers—all the elements that a typical potboiler of the era would contain. Love and Friendship was written primarily for the amusement of her large and gregarious family, and young Jane was probably called upon to read her writings aloud. The reader can only imagine the sheer hilarity that the novel must have evoked. As part of a collection of Jane Austen Juvenilia, this is indeed a treasure trove for Jane Austen enthusiasts as it offers early glimpses of that brilliant talent which was to shine forth a few years later and delight readers of all ages.

Categories: Arts, Comedy, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Dramatic Works, ebooks, Epistolary fiction, Essay/Short nonfiction, fiction, free audio books, humor, jane austen, Literature, Love and Friendship, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, romance, satire, Teen/Young adult

Robin Hood is a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for “robbing from the rich and giving to the poor”, assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his “Merry Men”. Traditionally Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes. The origin of the legend is claimed by some to have stemmed from actual outlaws, or from ballads or tales of outlaws.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family, Society & Culture

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Fairy tales, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, Historical Fiction, J. Walker McSpadden, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Myths/Legends, Robin Hood, Teen/Young adult

A collection of short stories first published in 1912, the book focuses on events occurring in the popular fictional village of Avonlea, which is notorious as the hometown of Anne Shirley. Comprised of 12 short stories, the Chronicles of Avonlea present a different view of the town, with the introduction of many new gripping characters, which prove to be just as endearing as their most renowned resident. Tales of everyday snippets of life proving to be humorous, identifiable, and heartwarming, the collection is an effective reinvigoration to the classic setting. Montgomery’s short stories are loosely related to the Anne of Green Gables series, incorporating the charming Anne as a minor role in one of the stories and briefly mentioning her in others. It also features some other familiar characters, although the plots are independent of the series and are based on the experiences on other Avonlea locals. One of the most gripping stories in the collection, which holds the power to enchant, is “Each in His Own Tongue” where Montgomery portrays the sacred nature of art and its hidden value. The tale involves a young boy who has a love and gift for the violin, but his passion is frowned upon by his grandfather who is a reverend, and frowns upon the idea of the boy becoming a musician. However, the boy’s talents are well known and appreciated by various residents, and although he is forbidden he still continues to play the violin. Much to the dismay of the minister, the captivating tune does in fact have the ability to serve a higher purpose and is even able to match the foundations of his own capacity as a church member. Nevertheless, each story portrays its own unique plot guaranteed to entertain with its colorful variety. Focusing on universal themes about mankind, the book conveys the flaws of critical behavior that is sure to leave a poignant mark later in life. In addition it deals with compassion, taking risks, and absolute dedication in order to attain one’s hopes and dreams, while serving as a reminder to not allow pride the luxury to govern one’s choices.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Chronicles of Avonlea, Dramatic Works, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Lucy Maud Montgomery, romance, Teen/Young adult

In The Adventures of Ulysses, Charles Lamb re-tells the story of Ulysses’s journey from Troy to his own kingdom of Ithaca. The book uses Homer’s The Odyssey as the basis for the story, but it isn’t a direct translation of the Greek classic. The book is considered a modern version of the epic tale when it was published in 1808. In the preface of the book, Lamb said that he made the narration of the story faster so that more readers would be attracted to it. To begin with, Homer’s Odyssey is already a classic and in re-telling this story, Charles Lamb aimed to make this epic poem more comprehensible to the average person. And he was successful in doing what he aimed for. The book became very popular not just to adults but also among children because it was well-written and can be easily understood. Lamb was really talented in bringing deep, hard to understand works of literature close to the masses. Before The Adventures of Ulysses, Lamb also wrote Tales From Shakespeare in which some of Shakespeare’s plays were retold as short stories, so like Ulysses, they can also be easily read. The Adventures of Ulysses is filled with interesting characters including sirens, giants, warriors and enchanters. Each chapter is filled with new adventures and challenges which Ulysses must face and overcome. Lamb was able to retell the story of Ulysses’s adventures in a light and entertaining way without losing any of the important details of the original story. Readers who are into Greek mythology and are also looking to read a version of Homer’s Odyssey will surely enjoy reading this book. The original version of the Odyssey may not be easy to read for everyone. If you’re looking for a book that will let you understand the story of the epic tale with great accuracy this is the book for you.

Categories: Arts, Education, Kids & Family

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, Charles Lamb, ebooks, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, Languages, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Myths/Legends, Teen/Young adult, The Adventures of Ulysses