Showing results by narrator "Deaver Brown" in All Categories

"The Knife" is a story about temptation, a near betrayal, and then a recovery. A cycle of danger and redemption, told with Crane's ironic touch. A black man with a penchant for fun jokes with the White owner of a watermelon patch. They both enjoy the racial stereotyping image of the black man being entranced by watermelons. Well, Peter Washington has a moment of such entrancement. He tells his friend Alek Williams and they work themselves into a fit of envy about those watermelons....

An interesting story about how a boy goes to school with new mittens his mother wants him to protect. To do so he cannot join in a snowball fight with his friends with parents less scrupulous about clothing and the like. The boy ultimately gives in, gets in trouble with his mother, is made to eat alone, attempts to run away much but only makes it to their cold shed.He then gathers his forces to leave for California - wherever that might be.

Knowing the state capitals and states helps you to understand American geography and history. This audiobook lets you test yourself on the states and each capital city. The narrator says the state name and then pauses a few seconds for you to say the capital name; the second track does the reverse, letting you test yourself on the capital cites and which state they are the capital of. Track 3 lists the population of states, from the highest to the lowest. Track 4 lists the land area by state, from the highest to the lowest.

Knowing the U.S. presidents and their terms in office, and the sequence in which they served, is immensely helpful as a framework for studying and being informed about American history.

Young readers enjoy this story a lot, because of the safecracking plot. Adults tend to like the growing up part: starting a shoe store, succeeding, getting the girl, and going straight.

"The Gift of the Magi" is not read or heard widely after one leaves high school, which is a shame, because it is such a magical story about expectations being crushed by realities, and the turn of events, which O. Henry was so masterful at achieving. The interesting twist is that these two people both sacrifice for each other, but that means neither of their gifts works out as planned. However (and O. Henry is full of howevers), the two are deeply in love and shrug it off and move on in their happiness.

The Red Badge of Courage was Stephen Crane's best known novel. It was one of his two great ones, the other being the underrated Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, which was also a ground-breaking work, taking up the subject of women's plights in industrial society as Red Badge takes up men's plight in wartime.

"The Men in the Storm" is a warm story by Stephen Crane relating to the struggles of homeless men against the cold, the elements, and hunger, while trying to keep a certain level of human dignity and optimism.

An Experiment in Luxury is the book end of all this as a young man visits his rich friend and his millionaire family. It is a conventional scene where the young man's friend, son of the household, encourages him to speak only conventionally to his mother or he will get on her bad side. We see her preoccupied with her worries and the husband/millionaire taking his mind off of it all by playing with a kitten.

"The Five White Mice" should be counted as one of Stephen Crane's great short stories. It has many parallels to "The Bride Comes to the Yellow Sky", with a stand off moment that was the turning point in many people's lives. In this case as in "The Bride Comes to the Yellow Sky", the Scratchy Wilson figure takes a step back, as Scratch did, and the dangerous moment passed by.

"An Episode of War", which is quite short, is an unexpected Stephen Crane jewel. Crane is best known for three short stories, "The Open Boa"t, thought by many to be the best short story ever written, "The Blue Hotel", and "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky". "An Episode of War" is perhaps the best known of the other ten Crane stories.

"A Great Mistake", which is quite short, is an unexpected Stephen Crane jewel. Crane is best known for three short stories, "The Open Boat", thought by many to be the best short story ever written, "The Blue Hotel", and "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky". Simply has recorded over ten more stories that deserve to be right up there with the top three. As Simply says, this is not an NFL Power ranking, or a compare and contrast assignment.

"A Dark Brown Dog" is an unexpected Stephen Crane jewel. Crane is best known for three short stories, "The Open Boat", thought by many to be the best short story ever written; "The Blue Hotel"; and "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky". "A Dark Brown Dog" is the first cousin of Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, in being set in the rough, tough world of the New York Bowery of the late 19th century.

This is the third of the best Stephen Crane short stories, with "The Open Boat" and "The Blue Hotel" being the other two. The story starts in an interesting way as the older sheriff has gone to another town to marry a not so young and not so beautiful woman who he is obviously devoted to.

"An Ominous Baby", which is quite short, is an unexpected Stephen Crane jewel. Crane is best known for three short stories, "The Open Boat", thought by many to be the best short story ever written, "The Blue Hotel", and "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky". "An Ominous Baby" is perhaps the most unusual of the other ten Crane stories Simply recorded. It deserves to be right up there with the top three.

"The Veteran" features Henry Fleming as a grandfather, many years after he appeared as the 18-year-old Yankee first-time soldier in The Red Badge of Courage. He retells the story succinctly and honestly about how he ran from his first battle as so many did. His grandchild is alarmed, as children are when they learn that adults are not perfect in what they do.

Guaranteed to give the student a solid core list of words for the SATs. Unlike most SAT prep courses, this short concise audiobook is laser focused on the words themselves. It does not wear down and intimidate the student with length and breadth.

This is the second in this series of Core Words. After learning the first 100, this audiobook has the core 500 words used in the SATs and GREs over the last 50 years. This audio book is best used after the Core 100 words are mastered so as not to intimidate the student.

Winesburg, Ohio has the most memorable cast of characters in 20th-century fiction. Listeners will remember at least a few stories and their characters for the rest of their lives. Each of the 23 stories stands on its own. And each is also interwoven into the fabric of the book.

The 251 poems are read in entirely, with a light commentary at the end. Wilfred Campbell focuses on the English Canadian tradition since French Canadians had their own history & influences, though Montreal & Quebec loom large in many poems. Women poets are not specifically recognized though authoring 40% of the poems.