Audiobooks narrated by William Dufris

The Top 10 Short Stories - Haunted House

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author's brain, their soul and heart. A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere.In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted 'Top Tens' across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions - Why that story? Why that author? The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature.Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something.In this volume our classic authors invite us in to share hospitality at a house most of us are ever keen to veer away from. But the invitation has been issued and it would be rude to disappoint, despite the rising fear that begins to take its chilling grip on us.01 - The Top 10 - Haunted House - An Introduction02 - The Fall of the House of Usher - Part 1 by Edgar Allan Poe03 - The Fall of the House of Usher - Part 2 by Edgar Allan Poe04 - They by Rudyard Kipling05 - The Rats in the Walls by H P Lovecraft06 - The Ebony Frame by Edith Nesbit07 - Lost Hearts by M R James08 - The Room in the Tower by E F Benson09 - The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell10 - An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street by Sheridan Le Fanu11 - The Empty House by Algernon Blackwood12 - Decay by Marjorie Bowen

Algernon Blackwood, E F Benson, Edgar Allan Poe, Edith Nesbit, Elizabeth Gaskell, H.P. Lovecraft, M R James, Marjorie Bowen, Rudyard Kipling, Sheridan Le Fanu (Author), David Shaw-Parker, Robbie Mcnab, William Dufris (Narrator)

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Arthur Llewelyn Jones was born in Caerleon|Monmouthshire on the 3rd March 1863.Machen came from a long line of clergymen|North London. But his characters are not quite so sure which reality they actually inhabit.|a maverick music teacher with a passion for the theatre. He also began to receive legacies from Scottish relatives which allowed him to devote more time to writing.After publishing in literary magazines in 1894 he published his first book 'The Great God Pan'. Its sexual and horrific content very much helped sales.Over the next decade or so he wrote some of his best work but was unable to find a publisher mainly due to the collapse of the decadent market over Oscar Wilde's scandalous trial.In 1899|and Machen was brought up at the rectory there.In his early years he received an excellent classical education|and he was sent to London to sit exams to attend medical school but failed the exams. He did show literary promise with the publication of the poem 'Eleusinia' in 1821. But life in London was difficult and it was only in 1884 that he published again and was taken on to translate several French works which thereafter became the standard editions for many years.In 1887|and when he was two|but family poverty ruled out university|by the late 20's new works had dried up and his back catalogue was no longer a source of regular income.In 1932 he received a Civil List pension of ?100 per annum but other work was not forthcoming. His finances finally stabilised with a literary appeal in 1943 for his eightieth birthday and allowed him to live his remaining years in relative comfort.Arthur Machen died on 15th December 1947 in Beaconsfield. He was 84.In "N" Machen brilliantly sets up an alternate reality in Stoke Newington|his father became vicar of a small parish about five miles north of Caerleon|his father died. That same year he married Amelia Hogg|his wife died and during his long recovery he took up acting and travelled around the country as part of a travelling company. Three years later he was publishing again and had remarried.Re-publishing of earlier works helped anchor both his reputation and his income. By the time the Great War opened Europe's wounds he returned to the public eye with 'The Bowmen' helped by the publicity around the 'Angel of Mons' episode.However

Arthur Machen (Author), William Dufris (Narrator)

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Tips and Traps When Buying a Home, 3rd Edition

Robert Irwin is America's #1 real estate expert. But don't take our word for it-the sales figures speak for themselves. To date, his real estate titles have sold more than one and a half million copies. Both Tips and Traps When Buying a Home and Tips and Traps When Selling a Home have gone on to become the #1 guides in their respective subjects. In the seven years since those two classics were last revised the real estate market has undergone many dramatic changes. Irwin has updated these bestsellers to reflect these changes so listeners can be successful in their real estate endeavors. Featuring fully revised facts and figures that reflect the most recent changes in the real estate market, Tips and Traps When Buying a Home, Third Edition provides first-time and experienced home buyers alike with practical, step-by-step information on a broad range of proven home buying strategies, along with indispensable advice and guidance on: - Buying in an 'Up' market - 'Flipping,' buying with 'options,' bidding wars, and other new facts of life - The latest new financing options - The new rules of closing costs

Robert Irwin (Author), William Dufris (Narrator)

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Sixth-Grade Alien: I Shrank My Teacher

Pleskit Meenom, the first alien to go to school on Earth, is starting to fit in with his new class. It's not easy, given how slippery the language is. (Just how many meanings does the word "cool" have, anyway?) But the biggest problem is Jordan Lynch, the class bully who just can't resist picking on the new kid. Finally Pleskit and his new best friend, Tim Tompkins, decide to take action. But taking action when you have alien technology at your disposal can mean taking things just a little too far . . . and we do mean little! This hilarious mix of comedy, alien adventure, and social satire is enhanced by a brilliant reading from the late, great William Dufris (the original American voice of Bob the Builder), which School Library Journal said, "makes the recording a hoot!"

Bruce Coville (Author), William Dufris (Narrator)

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The Poetry of Hymns

Through the centuries in the solace of a church we hear music. These soaring vaulted often beautiful pieces of architecture have borne witness to hymns that change our emotions and fortify our spirit through life, death and celebrations and memorials of every type in between. Whether you are of a Christian faith or not, it is difficult to deny that these hymns create something stirring something magical which shouldn't be surprising when you hear the original poems. They speak with clarity and purpose, uplifting the heart and the soul, rejoicing God's work and man's pledge to do better in His eyes. But Hymns also have a wider duty to perform as there are many facets, themes and help on how to live lives as ourselves and appreciate each other as well as nature. In listening each of us can be swayed and persuaded on a number of levels.However many poets have called their work 'a Hymn' and have explored its theme and its definition, in different ways. They can be more irreverent and suggest that hymns can come not from churches but other places - even watermelon pavilions.One of the purposes of poems, of verse, of words, is to bring a subject into our view, imbue it with a little understanding and perhaps help us to confirm our opinions or hear in a way we might not have originally thought of it. Seeing and hearing through others can be a way to find more complex ripples of knowledge or to challenge what we hold and adjust that thinking.In this volume we bring you a wide range of Hymns from the religious and the devotional to the humane and the wonderful.

Ann Griffiths, James Thomson, John Donne (Author), Daniela Nardini, Richard Mitchley, William Dufris (Narrator)

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Pandemic! The Unseen Enemy

Nature is always on the move. Evolution over untold generations moves, streamlines, sometimes mutates.Since the dawn of life there is little doubt that at any given time disease can strike, slowly growing over time or with a sudden instant ferocity that catches any given species in a consuming catastrophe.The human race has been on the receiving end of many viral and bacterial diseases from the Black Death, to smallpox, polio and a myriad of others that have slaughtered millions in their trail. And as medicine brings them to heel, eradicates their power, so Nature and Evolution brings others to the fore in a ceaseless march to weaken some, to strengthen others.And, as our race understands their mysteries so we begin to weaponize them for our own malevolent use as biological weapons. The movement of the Global Pandemic in the modern age is overwhelmingly quick both in reach and transmission. Covid merely the front runner in the early years of this Century.Authors have always been drawn to this global scale and individual human response. In this collection virus and plague are given their head and the responses must see cure or capitulation within a few short pages.Edgar Allan Poe, Jack London, Fred M White and H G Wells unleash words and thoughts in four startling tales of war with an unseen enemy.

Edd Mcnair, Edgar Allan Poe, H.G. Wells, Jack London (Author), Christopher Ragland, David Shaw-Parker, William Dufris (Narrator)

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An Hour of Nature Poems - Volume 1

Silence is rare in Nature.When we really listen, Nature is conducting symphonies of sound as her world goes about the day and night. Her invisible heartbeat is everywhere, for everyone.Our eyes are constantly bathed in the wonder of her ways, the soft drizzle of rain from soft grey clouds, the bleached harsh desert sand of a noon day, a wave caressing the shore, to the ravenous colours of a departing sunset. Indeed, whenever we look and listen to the vastness of our world Nature's beauty is always there for us. She placates our anger, soothes our pain. Her vistas feed our hearts and souls; the world of a single flower brings a smile.In these 60 minutes nature takes us through her world of wonder.

Gerard Manley Hopkins, Radclyffe Hall, William Wordsworth (Author), Alex Jennings, Richard Mitchley, William Dufris (Narrator)

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Social TV: How Marketers Can Reach and Engage Audiences by Connecting Television to the Web, Social

TV consumption is on the rise, but consumers are viewing and experiencing TV in a vastly different way than they were even 5 years ago. TV viewership has radically transformed from a passive experience to a more engaged, interactive, and on-demand experience. Content producers will not only have to continue to create quality entertainment products, but they will now need to consider ways to a) enhance the viewing experience, b) leverage social media to promote their properties, and c) distribute their content across multiple platforms. Trends in TV Consumption: Digital recording devices have allowed for consumers to time shift. At the end of 2010, 38% percent of all U.S. TV households had a DVR; however, those viewers are still watching commercials. Nielsen also found that in DVR homes, playback actually improves commercial ratings by 44% among 18-49s after three days. People are watching full-length videos on computers. In Jan. 2011 143.9 million Americans viewed videos online (Source:Nielsen). Furthermore, eMarketer reports that a full third of U.S. adult Internet users watch full-length TV shows online. Third-screen viewing via mobile devices is on the rise. Consumers are viewing more of their favorite shows from mobile devices, such as phones and tablets a habit that has increased 41% year-over-year. The majority users of mobile video are teens, clocking in more than seven hours a month on average. Multi-screen viewing is also on the rise. Per a recent Nielsen study,70 percent of tablet owners and 68 percent of smartphone owners said they use their devices while watching television. In another study from late 2010, 86% of mobile Internet users said they were using their devices while watching TV (Source: Nielsen/Yahoo). What are people doing while interacting with these devices during TV shows? Nielsen/Yahoo found that a third were using mobile apps, 37% were browsing the web, 40% were engaging via social networks and 56% were texting with a friend or family member. Examples of how companies are responding: Old Navy partnered with music tagging app Shazam to make their commercials more interactive. Consumers who tag the commercial as it airs are driven to a custom experience where they can download music, learn more about the clothes, get coupons, and more. Wheat Thins thrust unexpected Twitter users (who happened to tweet about their product) into the starring role of their TV commercials. Their ad shows a Wheat Thins team delivering a truckload of crackers to this unsuspecting fan who mentioned they ran out of their product in a tweet USA Network recently launched Chatter app, which lets viewers talk to other fans and engage with content from several social channels while viewing the show.

Mike Proulx, Stacey Shepatin (Author), William Dufris (Narrator)

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Black Sam: Prince of Pirates

The War of Spanish Succession is over, many sailors are out of work, and the thriving American colonies are quickly becoming the place of opportunity. For Sam Bellamy it is the opportunity to become the captain of his own ship. When he falls in love with a rebellious New England debutante, he finds out very quickly that he needs more than a dream to win over her socialite parents. After a failed treasure salvaging expedition, Sam makes one last desperate attempt to change his economic standing and unwittingly becomes the captain of the pirate ship Mary Anne. As a self-proclaimed 'Free Prince', Sam wages war on greedy merchantmen, slave traders, and Mother Nature in a bid not only for the love of his life but for life itself. The full list of additional narrators includes: Susan Hanfield, Ian Hart, Dave Fennoy, George Del Hoyo, Chuma Gault, Mae Sally Rouge Pax, Douglas Urbansk, Cleandra Martin-Waldron, Freddy Douglas, Gerry O'Brian, Peter Woodward, Jim Meskimen, Tamra Meskimen, Taylor Meskimen, Zachary Webber, Suzanne Heathcote, JP Gaumont, John Ortiz, Jackson Hyde-White, Elizabeth Swain, John Taylor, Jackson Conor, Brian Monk, Nate Aldrich, Paul Barry, Kevin Haas, Mauro Ron Butler, Austin Ford, Marc Solomon, Nicole Faires, Shelly Bovert, Garrick William, James Wood, James Lewis, Kelly Huddleston, Whitney Webster, Raul Dourado, and Shelby Lewis.

James Lewis (Author), Alex Hyde-White, And Others, James Adams, Jayne Entwistle, Roy Dotrice, Scott Brick, Simon Vance, Stefan Rudnicki, William Dufris (Narrator)

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HotDog!

Anh Do (Author), Aaron Lockman, Casey Turner, James Herrera, William Dufris (Narrator)

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Party Time!

Anh Do (Author), Aaron Lockman, Casey Turner, James Herrera, William Dufris (Narrator)

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An Odyssey of the North

John Griffith Chaney was born on January 12th, 1876 in San Francisco. His father, William Chaney, was living with Flora Wellman, when she became pregnant. Chaney insisted she have an abortion. Flora's response was to turn a gun on herself. Although her wounds were not severe the trauma made her temporarily deranged.In late 1876 his mother married John London and the young child was brought to live with them as they moved around the Bay area, eventually settling in Oakland where, now calling himself ‘Jack’, he completed grade school.Jack worked hard at several jobs, sometimes for 12-18 hours a day, but his dream was university. He studied hard and borrowed the money to enroll, in the summer of 1896, at the University of California in Berkeley.In 1897, at 21, Jack searched out newspaper accounts of his mother's suicide attempt and for the name of his biological father. He wrote to Chaney, then living in Chicago who claimed he could not be Jack’s father because he was impotent; and casually asserted that London's mother had relations with other men. Jack, devastated by the response, quit Berkeley and went to the Klondike. Other accounts suggest that his dire finances presented Jack with the excuse he needed to leave.In the Klondike Jack began to gather material for his writing but also began to accumulate several health problems, including scurvy, which together with hip and leg problems, he would then carry for the rest of his life.During the late 1890's Jack was regularly publishing short stories and, by the turn of the century, full-blown novels.By 1904 Jack had married, fathered two children and was now in the process of divorcing. A stint as a reporter on the Russo-Japanese war of 1904 was equal amounts trouble and experience. But that experience was always put to good use in a continuing and remarkable output of work.In 1905 he married Charmian Kittredge, who at last was a soul and companion who brought him some semblance of peace despite his advancing alcoholism and his incurable wanderlust.Twelve years later Jack had amassed both wealth and a literary reputation through such classics as ‘The Call of the Wild’ and ‘White Fang’ and many others. He had a reputation as a social activist and was a tireless friend of the workers. Jack London died, suffering from dysentery, late-stage alcoholism, and uremia, aged only 40, on November 22nd, 1916 at his property in Glen Ellen, California.

Jack London (Author), William Dufris (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by William Dufris