Snoozecast

Tonight, for our final episode in this series, we’ll read about more wildflowers on the farm, including cornflowers and charlock in the hay-field, from “Flowers of the Farm” written by Arthur O. Cooke and published in 1900. In the last episode of this series, which aired last week, we read about dandelions and common grasses that grow wild around British farmlands.  — read by V — Sign up for Snooz...

Tonight, we shall read the next part to “Pride and Prejudice”, written by Jane Austen. In the last episode, we learn the details of the deal. Wickham is basically ransoming Lydia, and Mr. Bennet feels obliged to pay a small sum every year in return for Wickham actually marrying her. Otherwise, they would apparently live together unmarried and thus tarnish the reputations of all her other unmarried...

Tonight, we’ll read a short story called “The Golden Touch” from “A Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1910. This episode is dedicated to our patron Kathryn, who was craving something from Greek mythology, and our listener, Sue, who suggested this particular book. — read by N — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to  snoozecast.com/p...

Tonight, we’ll read about more wildflowers on the farm, including poppies in the hay-field, from “Flowers of the Farm” written by Arthur O. Cooke and published in 1900. In the last episode, which aired last week, some plants found in the foldyard of the farm were discussed. A fold was a pen or enclosure for cattle or sheep, and the inference is that it must often have been a temporary structure, m...

Tonight, we’ll read the next part to “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. In the last episode, Arronax, Conseil and Ned encounter the Papuan people from the island, and the people are unfriendly to the visitors. The three intruders retreat to the Nautilus. When Aronnax tells Nemo about the natives, the captain is unconcern...

Tonight, we’ll read the opening to “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Italian writer Carlo Collodi, published in 1883. This episode originally aired in May of 2021. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto as a wooden puppet but he dreams of becoming a real boy. He is notably characterized for his frequent tendency to lie, which causes his nose to grow. Pinocchio is a cultural icon. He is...

Tonight, we’ll read about handsome weeds and wildflowers from “Flowers of the Farm” written by Arthur O. Cooke and published in 1900. In the last episode, which aired last week, the wallflower was discussed among other flowers. Wallflowers are perhaps more commonly known today as people who gravitate to the sidelines of social gatherings. However, the wallflower is the common name for a genus of f...

Tonight, we’ll read the third chapter to “Anne of Green Gables” the classic 1908 novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. This chapter is titled “Marilla Cuthbert is Surprised.” Written for all ages, this book recounts the adventures of an eleven year old orphan named Anne Shirley on Prince Edward Island, Canada. In the last episode, we learn that all women scare timid Matthew, except for his sister Marilla...

Tonight, we’ll read an excerpt from “Tess of the d’Urbervilles,” a novel by Thomas Hardy, published in 1891. Hardy's writing often explores what he called the ""ache of modernism"", and this theme is notable in Tess, which as one critic noted portrays ""the energy of traditional ways and the strength of the forces that are destroying them"". The book, now considered a major work of it’s time, rece...

Tonight, we’ll read the opening section to “Flowers of the Farm” written by Arthur O. Cooke and published in 1900. Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeatedly cut down to near ground level, result...

Tonight, we’ll read the next part to “The Boxcar Children” written by first grade school teacher Gertrude Chandler Warner and published in 1924. The Boxcar Children tells the story of four orphaned children, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. They create a home for themselves in an abandoned boxcar in the forest. In the first episode, we learn that the only relative for the orphans to live with wou...

Tonight, we’ll read from “The Bread and Biscuit Baker’s and Sugar Boiler’s Assistant” written by Robert Wells and published in 1890. This episode originally aired in May of 2021. Candy is made by dissolving sugar in water or milk to form a syrup, which is boiled until it reaches the desired concentration or starts to caramelize. The type of candy depends on the ingredients and how long the mixture...

Tonight, we’ll read the opening to “Cranford”, a novel by the English writer Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in 1853. The work slowly became popular and from the start of the 20th century it saw a number of dramatic treatments for the stage, the radio and TV. The fictional town of “Cranford” is based on the author’s childhood home town of Knutsford in England. The stories within portray the old...

Tonight, we shall read the next part to “Pride and Prejudice”, written by Jane Austen. In the last episode, much is changing as the Bennet family worries about Lydia’s fate. Mr. Bennet has decided that Elizabeth was right and he must be stricter with his remaining young daughters. Mrs. Bennet is besides herself with self-pity and grief. Jane and Elizabeth spend much of their time together wonderin...

Tonight, we’ll read “A Voyage to the Moon” written by Edgar Allen Poe. It was intended by the author as a hoax when it was originally published in 1835 titled as "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall." The story is regarded as one of the early examples of the modern science fiction genre. Jules Verne acknowledged Poe as the creator of the "scientific novel." This episode originally aired...

Tonight, we’ll read the short story “Lulu’s Triumph” written by Matilde Serao and published in English in 1907.  In this character study, Lulu meets a young man at the races, and they start courting. Lulu talks about her expectations to her sister, Sofia, who is older and more serious than she. Matilde Serao was a Greco-Italian writer. She was the first woman editor of an Italian newspaper. Serao...

Tonight, we’ll read the next part to “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. In the last episode, Aronnax, Conseil and Ned obtain permission to row ashore to a nearby deserted tropical island. After only eating seafood, Ned in particular is craving to hunt down some land food. They feast on local flora and fauna for several d...

Tonight, we’ll read a story from a short story collection titled “Mrs. Spring Fragrance” written by Sui Sin Far, published in 1912. The story we will read, about two children who find themselves lost in a magical forest, was originally titled “The Banishment of Ming and Mai.” This episode originally aired in April of 2021. The author Sui Sin Far was the pen name of Chinese-British-Canadian-America...

Tonight, we’ll read about desert oases from a book written by H. J. Llewellyn Beadnell and published in 1909. In ecology, an oasis is a fertile area of a desert that sustains plant life and provides habitat for animals. Surface water may be present, or water may only be accessible from wells or underground channels created by humans.  — read by V — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free...

Tonight, we’ll read the second chapter to “Anne of Green Gables” the classic 1908 novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. This chapter is titled “Matthew Cuthbert is Surprised.” Written for all ages, it recounts the adventures of an eleven-year-old orphan named Anne Shirley on Prince Edward Island, Canada. In the first episode, we meet busybody Rachel, who checks in on Marilla Cuthbert. They live in a smal...

Tonight, we’ll read an excerpt from “A Girl of the Limberlost” by Gene Stratton-Porter, published in 1909. This episode first aired in April of 2021. The story takes place in Indiana, in and around the Limberlost Swamp. Even at the time of its publication, this impressive wetland region was being reduced by heavy logging, natural oil extraction and drainage for agriculture. The author, Stratton-Po...

Tonight, we’ll read the second half to “The Adventure of the Empty House” written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as part of 1903’s “The Return of Sherlock Holmes”. The first half aired last week. Doyle ranked "The Adventure of the Empty House" sixth in his list of his twelve favorite Holmes stories out of 56 total stories. In the first half, the year is 1894, and it is three years after the apparent d...

Tonight, we’ll read the opening to “The Boxcar Children” written by first grade school teacher Gertrude Chandler Warner and published in 1924. This episode originally aired in August of 2021, and we will continue to the end of this book over time. The Boxcar Children tells the story of four orphaned children, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. They create a home for themselves in an abandoned boxca...

Tonight, we’ll read about baking cakes from the “Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Volume 4” This episode originally aired in March of 2021. The Woman’s Institute was founded by Mary Brooks Picken in Scranton, PA. Born in Kansas in 1886, Picken wrote the first dictionary to be published by a woman in the English language, beyond the over one hundred other books she wrote. — read by V — Sign up...

Tonight, we’ll read the first half to “The Adventure of the Empty House” written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as part of “The Return of Sherlock Holmes”. It was first published in 1903. The second half will air next week. Public pressure forced Conan Doyle to bring the sleuth back to life, and explain his apparently miraculous survival after his struggle with Professor Moriarty in "The Final Problem...