Ken Reads The Classics: Recent Episodes
Ken Davis
Hello all you audio-book lovers out there. Welcome to my new podcast and as you probably guessed, I will read classic literature for your listening pleasure. Feel free to send me any comments or suggestions for the next book at kenreadstheclassics@gmail.com. Thank you for listening. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ken-davis7/support
Dorothy and her friends meet the Hammerheads, travel to the Land of the Quadlings, and Glinda grants their wishes.
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Dorothy and friends wreak havoc on the little china country and then the Lion becomes the king of the forest.
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Trying one more time to get it right.
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Today, the Wizard fulfills his promises to Dorothy and her friends...kind of.
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In this chapter, we learn about humbugs and enabling. :)
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Dorothy and her friends get lost on their way back to Oz. They call on their old friend, the Queen of the Mice, who tells them about the charm on the cap Dorothy acquired from the Wicked Witch of the West. She calls the Winged Monkeys and they take her back to Oz, but along the way, the King of the Winged Monkeys tells the story of Gaylette and Kaylala. Interesting indeed!
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Dorothy and her companions must seek out the Wicked Witch of the West and kill her or Oz will not grant them their wishes.
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Our merry travelers finally meet the Wonderful Wizard of Oz but will they get all they desire? Or does Oz have something not so wonderful in store?
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In this chapter we examine the Tin Woodman's complicated views on life and love and we finally get to the Emerald City.
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Thank you for continuing to listen to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I hope you enjoy the episode.
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In this episode, we meet the Tin Woodsman and the Cowardly Lion. They join Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and her little dog Toto too, as the journey to meet with the Wizard of Oz.
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In this episode, I continue reading Frank L. Baum's classic tale The Wizard of Oz. You can find free, electronic form of this book at gutenberg.org. Enjoy.
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In this season, I read Frank L. Baum's classic tale, a free electronic form of this book is available at gutenberg.org.
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Hello and welcome to this bonus episode of Ken Reads The Classics. As I mentioned, I will, from time to time, review a modern book and this is one of those times.
I just finished reading Razzmatazz by Christopher Moore. Razzmatazz is the sequel to his novel Noir but rest assured it stands on it’s own. I know this because I haven’t read Noir before but after reading Razzmatazz, I plan on picking a copy of Noir up and enjoying that.
Razzmatazz takes place in post-World War II San Francisco. Moore created a host of engaging characters like Sammy, Moo Shus, The Cheese, and Uncle Ho among the human ones and the Rain Dragon and Scooter among the non-human ones.
This book grabbed my attention from the beginning, and I mean beginning with the trigger warning. Moore uses colorful language throughout the book, including some racial slurs, but he uses them to show the ignorance of people vice engaging in racial supremacist apology or justification.
Sammy is the lead character who couldn’t serve in the war due to physical defects and now that the war is over, earns his living as a bartender. He dates a energetic, former welder now turned waitress that he calls The Cheese but doesn’t want her to know that. Moore surrounds this duo with a multi-racial, multi-cultural team of people with Asian and African ethnicity to solve a mystery, well several mysteries actually, like the figurative onion with Moore peeling away layer after layer until you reach the center - of the earth - well, almost.
His energetic writing style kept my mind engaged as the story raced along; I admit to re-reading several sections, sometimes because I wanted to laugh again - this book is very funny, and other times because my brain couldn’t keep up with Moore. I appreciated the challenge though and I think you will too. If you can handle the many off-color jokes and a great deal of immature yet somehow just for adults language, then Razzmatazz is for you.
Thank you for listening and please joining me next time on Ken Reads The Classics.
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In this episode we learn a king is willing to give his daughter away as a prize to either a flea, a grasshopper, or a leap-frog, whichever can jump the highest. Ah, the horrors of being a woman back in the day.
Also, we hear the tale of a young boy who learns about his future from a dryad.
Enjoy!
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I just finished reading P.T. Duetermann’s The Last Paladin, a book about the U.S.S. Holland - a sub-hunting surface ship during World War II. I picked this book because I have a friend who is stationed in Hawaii and talking with her reminded me of my time sailing around Diamond Head as well as sailing in Japan and other parts of the world.
In The Last Paladin, Deutermann writes a fascinating story about the Holland, a fictional sub-hunter sent to destroy Japanese submarines in the vast, and I mean vast, Pacific Ocean. He uses a technique I have never come across before, writing in the first-person but from two different characters points of view - the Captain and the Executive Officer. As I read this story, I found myself fully engaged in the sea battles between the Holland and the six different submarines they attacked and sunk. To be clear, the Holland takes on each sub one at a time and in most cases alone. Lieutenant Commander deTomasi, Deutermann’s fictional captain, is a consummate hunter, evaluating his prey and devising techniques to scare the enemy subs to the surface or boxing them in with a new weapon - the hedgehog.
One of the challenges for me was the harsh comments and derogatory terms the captain and crew understandably made towards their enemy - the Japanese. These comments jumped out at me because I was stationed in Japan for over six years early on in my Air Force career. I found the Japanese people to be just like people all around the world, kind and generous and fun to be around. And now, of course, the countries of Japan and the United States of America are allies. What a difference a day makes. This all gives me hope we can find a way to make our current adversaries into our future friends - without a horrific war. I don’t fault Deutermann as he used the terms to create a very realistic experience aboard a wartime vessel facing a determined enemy.
Back to the book, Deutermann creates some very memorable scenes in The Last Paladin. The most salient of which for me is that of Chief Petty Officer Garcia sitting ten feet above an unexploded Japanese torpedo lodged into the side of the Holland. The Chief sits in a bosun’s chair, smoking a cigar, over the top of unexploded ordnance, as the Holland makes five knots in calm seas and lists to port.
If action packed, seafaring stories are for you, then I can highly recommend The Last Paladin. You can grab a copy at your local library. That’s where I got mine. Thank you for listening and I hope you join me next time on Ken Reads The Classics.
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In this episode, we finish up The Shoes of Fortune and then learn a lesson about happiness from The Fir Tree. Enjoy.
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This episode begins with Chapter IV of The Shoes of Fortune, a resident at a local hospital wears the enchanted galoshes and get stuck in a fence, attends a fortune telling event, and travels through the hearts of unsuspecting theater goers.
In Chapter V we learn of a police clerk who turns into a poet and a chirping bird.
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We follow the adventures of some unsuspecting soles who unknowingly put on 'the shoes of fortune'.
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Today we have two tales by Hans Christian Anderson, The Swineherd - a tale of a prince who, having been rejected by a princess, seeks his revenge in a bewildering fashion, and A Real Princess about a Queen Mother who creates a bizarre test to see if a young lady who showed up at their door one evening truly is a princess.
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It's great to be back again. I hope you enjoy this reading of The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson.
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In this episode, we meet Gertrude who travels to Knotacentinim Towers (pronounced Nosham Taws) to act as governess for the children of Lord Knotacent, who - in turn, has a secret. In order to keep this secret, he insists his son, Ronald, marry and soon. Ronald refuses, wishing to marry for love. Wait! It seems a mystery surrounds Gertrude's inheritance as well. Will our heroine discover the truth? Will Ronald marry for family or for love? Will the English ever learn to pronounce English? Listen and find out.
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In this episode, we learn how strongly two people can love someone they have never met. Enjoy.
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This pstory cracks me up. I enjoyed reading and hope you enjoy listening to it.
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Hello,
I hope you all enjoy this first story in a series of stories written by Stephen Leacock in his book, Nonsense Novels.
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I'm going to take a break from reading classical literature for the moment but please give a listen to my new podcast The Magical World of Rowan Farfington Blarney and travel to a different place and a different time.
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Scientists say trial judges should stop doing this immediately.
The unexpected benefits of growing at unusual rates.
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Most people do this one thing while playing croquet.
If you're a Mock Turtle in Wonderland, click on this link.
10 surprising benefits of the Lobster Quadrille.
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What advice did the caterpillar give to Alice? Did you just call me a pig? Who wins the tea-cup shuffle? Learn all these answers and more in this episode of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
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Why are they trying to ban Alice in Wonderland?
Top Five Reasons to Eat Cake.
Doctors urge Alice in Wonderland readers to stop doing this one thing.
Is Alice growing or is the house shrinking? Listen to this episode and find out.
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Will more men die in the hunt for Captain Flint's buried treasure? Will Jim and the faithful crew return home to Bristol? What is Long John Silver's fate? Find out in the final chapters of Treasure Island.
Chapters 33 & 34.
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Dr. Livesey comes to treat the sick, Jim, Silver, and the doctor make a pact, the treasure hunt begins, the pirates hear a voice in the woods.
Chapters 30, 31, & 32.
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Jim sends Hands to the bottom of the sea, then returns to the house to recount his heroics. Silvers gains a hostage and Jim learns another hard lesson of life at sea.
Chapters 27, 28, & 29.
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Jim risks all to cut the schooner loose; he cruises in Ben Gunn's coracle, boards the now loose Hispaniola, strikes the Jolly Roger, and engages Israel Hands in a test of wills and wit.
Chapters 23, 24. 25, &26.
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Young Jim Hawkins picks up the narrative once again; the mutineers attack the stockade; Jim goes truant once again.
Chapters 19, 20, 21, and 22.
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How did the Union Jack end up flying over the stockade? Will Jim meet up with the doctor, the squire, and the captain? Who will be the next to die? Find out in this episode of Treasure Island.
Chapters 15, 16, 17, & 18.
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We learn what Jim heard in the barrel, the mutineers turn on their captain, the body count increases.
Chapters 11 and 12 of Part Two and Chapter 13 of Part 3.
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The Squire buys the Hispaniola, finds a ship's cook who just so happens to know lots of sailors looking for work. Secrets do not remain secrets for very long.
Chapters 7 through 10
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In this episode, the blind-man returns with his shipmates; Jim rides off with revenue officers to see Dr. Livesey. Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey, and Jim decide to go find buried treasure.
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In this, the first episode of Ken Reads The Classics, we meet young Jim Hawkins, who along with his mother and father, runs the Admiral Benbow, an inn near Bristol, England. Soon, a cantankerous sea-captain comes to stay at the inn. His former mates come to call on the captain.
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CHAPTER 134. The Chase—Second Day.
CHAPTER 135. The Chase.—Third Day.
Epilogue
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CHAPTER 131. The Pequod Meets The Delight.
CHAPTER 132. The Symphony.
CHAPTER 133. The Chase—First Day.
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CHAPTER 124. The Needle.
CHAPTER 125. The Log and Line.
CHAPTER 126. The Life-Buoy.
CHAPTER 127. The Deck.
CHAPTER 128. The Pequod Meets The Rachel.
CHAPTER 129. The Cabin.
CHAPTER 130. The Hat.
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CHAPTER 114. The Gilder.
CHAPTER 115. The Pequod Meets The Bachelor.
CHAPTER 116. The Dying Whale.
CHAPTER 117. The Whale Watch.
CHAPTER 118. The Quadrant.
CHAPTER 119. The Candles.
CHAPTER 120. The Deck Towards the End of the First Night Watch.
CHAPTER 121. Midnight.—The Forecastle Bulwarks.
CHAPTER 122. Midnight Aloft.—Thunder and Lightning.
CHAPTER 123. The Musket.
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CHAPTER 108. Ahab and the Carpenter.
CHAPTER 109. Ahab and Starbuck in the Cabin.
CHAPTER 110. Queequeg in His Coffin.
CHAPTER 111. The Pacific.
CHAPTER 112. The Blacksmith.
CHAPTER 113. The Forge.
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Enjoy this comical tale of Mr. McWilliams and his struggle with modern technology.
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CHAPTER 102. A Bower in the Arsacides.
CHAPTER 103. Measurement of The Whale’s Skeleton.
CHAPTER 104. The Fossil Whale.
CHAPTER 105. Does the Whale’s Magnitude Diminish?—Will He Perish?
CHAPTER 106. Ahab’s Leg.
CHAPTER 107. The Carpenter.
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CHAPTER 99. The Doubloon.
CHAPTER 100. Leg and Arm.
CHAPTER 101. The Decanter.
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CHAPTER 93. The Castaway.
CHAPTER 94. A Squeeze of the Hand.
CHAPTER 95. The Cassock.
CHAPTER 96. The Try-Works.
CHAPTER 97. The Lamp.
CHAPTER 98. Stowing Down and Clearing Up.
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CHAPTER 88. Schools and Schoolmasters.
CHAPTER 89. Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish.
CHAPTER 90. Heads or Tails.
CHAPTER 91. The Pequod Meets The Rose-Bud.
CHAPTER 92. Ambergris.
CHAPTER 93. The Castaway.
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CHAPTER 84. Pitchpoling.
CHAPTER 85. The Fountain.
CHAPTER 86. The Tail.
CHAPTER 87. The Grand Armada.
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CHAPTER 80. The Nut.
CHAPTER 81. The Pequod Meets The Virgin.
CHAPTER 82. The Honor and Glory of Whaling.
CHAPTER 83. Jonah Historically Regarded.
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I hope you all enjoy this edited version of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
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CHAPTER 74. The Sperm Whale’s Head—Contrasted View.
CHAPTER 75. The Right Whale’s Head—Contrasted View.
CHAPTER 76. The Battering-Ram.
CHAPTER 77. The Great Heidelburgh Tun.
CHAPTER 78. Cistern and Buckets.
CHAPTER 79. The Prairie.
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I hope you all enjoy The Man Who Could Work Miracles, written by H.G. Wells, edited by Yours Truly, Ken Davis.
Enjoy!
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CHAPTER 69. The Funeral.
CHAPTER 70. The Sphynx.
CHAPTER 71. The Jeroboam’s Story.
CHAPTER 72. The Monkey-Rope.
CHAPTER 73. Stubb and Flask kill a Right Whale; and Then Have a Talk over Him
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CHAPTER 61. Stubb Kills a Whale.
CHAPTER 62. The Dart.
CHAPTER 63. The Crotch.
CHAPTER 64. Stubb’s Supper.
CHAPTER 65. The Whale as a Dish.
CHAPTER 66. The Shark Massacre.
CHAPTER 67. Cutting In.
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A frightful horror story spook-tacular for our Scare-toberfest! The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe. Enjoy.
I chose the 'explicit' label due to violence and animal abuse. Poe was a gory cat, er, I mean dude.
Also, by no means do I support animal abuse. I chose this story because it clearly and simply shows what can happen inside the mind of one who abuses alcohol and other substances.
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CHAPTER 55. Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales.
CHAPTER 56. Of the Less Erroneous Pictures of Whales, and the True Pictures of Whaling Scenes.
CHAPTER 57. Of Whales in Paint; in Teeth; in Wood; in Sheet-Iron; in Stone; in Mountains; in Stars.
CHAPTER 58. Brit.
CHAPTER 59. Squid.
CHAPTER 60. The Line.
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CHAPTER 54. The Town-Ho’s Story.
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CHAPTER 51. The Spirit-Spout.
CHAPTER 52. The Albatross.
CHAPTER 53. The Gam.
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CHAPTER 47. The Mat-Maker.
CHAPTER 48. The First Lowering.
CHAPTER 49. The Hyena.
CHAPTER 50. Ahab’s Boat and Crew. Fedallah.
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Mark Twain wrote A Dog's Tale circa 1903; Harper's Magazine originally published it in December, 1903. His story takes a very dark turn in Chapter 3 which left me feeling very depressed. So I decided I would edit the story and re-write the ending, with a much happier one.
Don't worry! I asked Samuel Clemens and he said it would be all right if I were to do such a thing.
Enjoy.
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CHAPTER 43. Hark!
CHAPTER 44. The Chart.
CHAPTER 45. The Affidavit.
CHAPTER 46. Surmises.
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CHAPTER 40. Midnight, Forecastle.
CHAPTER 41. Moby Dick.
CHAPTER 42. The Whiteness of the Whale.
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CHAPTER 35. The Mast-Head.
CHAPTER 36. The Quarter-Deck.
CHAPTER 37. Sunset.
CHAPTER 38. Dusk.
CHAPTER 39. First Night-Watch.
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The Celebrated Frog of Calaveras County is one of Mark Twain's most loved short stories. The Saturday Press originally published this story on the 18th of November 1865. Harper & Brothers subsequently republished the tale in 1867 as part of a collection of short-stories titled The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Sketches.
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CHAPTER 32. Cetology.
CHAPTER 33. The Specksnyder.
CHAPTER 34. The Cabin-Table.
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CHAPTER 25. Postscript.
CHAPTER 26. Knights and Squires.
CHAPTER 27. Knights and Squires.
CHAPTER 28. Ahab.
CHAPTER 29. Enter Ahab; to Him, Stubb.
CHAPTER 30. The Pipe.
CHAPTER 31. Queen Mab.
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CHAPTER 18. His Mark.
CHAPTER 19. The Prophet.
CHAPTER 20. All Astir.
CHAPTER 21. Going Aboard.
CHAPTER 22. Merry Christmas.
CHAPTER 23. The Lee Shore.
CHAPTER 24. The Advocate.
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The three Bronte sisters wrote this poem in 1846. They had to use male pseudonyms to avoid bias against female writers. We certainly have come a long way in terms of gender equality since then, but we still have so much further to go.
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CHAPTER 16. The Ship.
CHAPTER 17. The Ramadan.
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CHAPTER 10. A Bosom Friend.
CHAPTER 11. Nightgown.
CHAPTER 12. Biographical.
CHAPTER 13. Wheelbarrow.
CHAPTER 14. Nantucket.
CHAPTER 15. Chowder.
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CHAPTER 4. The Counterpane.
CHAPTER 5. Breakfast.
CHAPTER 6. The Street.
CHAPTER 7. The Chapel.
CHAPTER 8. The Pulpit.
CHAPTER 9. The Sermon.
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I made a mistake in mixing Episodes 3 and 4. I had to re-master them and then re-post them. My apologies.
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Hello family, friends, and listeners far and wide
In honor of our nation's 244th birthday and the 243rd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I thought I would read that important document and provide it as a bonus episode. I hope you enjoy it.
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Ishmael searches for lodgings on a cold, wet New England night. He winds up at The Spouter, learns he must share a bed with a strange harpooner. Enjoy!
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Ken Reads the Classics - bonus episode - regarding race and language
Hello loyal listeners,
First, I want to say thank you for listening. I really appreciate it. Please tell your family, friends, and neighbors about the podcast and leave a review, if you are so inclined. Reviews help others to discover this podcast.
Now, I need to say something about racism and the language Melville uses in Moby Dick. I also should qualify my remarks because I have not finished the entire book yet. As of today’s date - 22 June 2020, I have only read up to chapter 42; so if more racist language appears in later chapters, I may have to address the issue then.
Regarding racism: Melville certainly buys into the white supremacy of day as clearly depicted in Chapter 42 and others. The entire chapter is dedicated to the color white and all its meanings and portentions. However, in the same chapter in which he discusses the supposed purity and superiority of the color white; Melville also mentions the evilness and darkness associated with the color. It is the whiteness of the whale that vexes him more so than any other aspect of the great fish.
Melville also portrays characters of color such as Queequeg, Tashtego, and Daggoo, as the most confident, most serene, most “normal” people on the ship.
At the same time the White, Anglo-Saxon, Male, Protestant characters have major character defects. Ahab is the most obvious of these characters with his obsession to kill Moby Dick but others in the book also have deranged components of their beings well. We haven’t met them yet but we will soon and they will flaunt their flaws in gallant fashion.
Unfortunately, Melville uses language to describe and address people of color which was offensive then - but in common use; and offensive now - and thankfully, not in common use today. I am personally uncomfortable reading these words but they are in the book and I cannot ignore them nor do I wish to re-write Melville’s classic novel. Instead, I choose to accept it as it is and hopefully we can use this as a way to understand where we were regarding race and language and social norms; then learn how far we’ve come and also how far we need to go to achieve racial justice and equality.
Thank you again for listening. I hope you continue to enjoy my reading of Moby Dick.
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Ishmael introduces himself and his world to us. He shares his reasons for going to see - in modern terms, we'd call it a mid-life crisis. Enjoy!
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Hello everyone,
Welcome to a special episode of Ken Reads the Classics. Today we celebrate Juneteenth, also known as Liberation Day, Freedom Day, and Emancipation Day. In honor of this day, I thought I would give a brief history and then read the General Granger read on that momentous day in 1865.
After Robert E. Lee surrendered to Loyal Union Forces, the United States of America sent Army General Gordon Granger to Texas with 2,000 troops to occupy that state. He arrived on Galveston Island on June 18th 1865 and on June 19th, He stood on the balcony of Galveston's Ashton Villa, then read "General Order No. 3", announcing the total emancipation of those held as slaves.
It reads as follows:
The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.[16]
There the order ends. I encourage you all to learn more about Juneteenth and our country's troubled history regarding slavery and racial injustice; so that we can all learn how to move forward and heals those wounds.
God bless and enjoy your day.
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Hello all you audio-book lovers out there. Welcome to my new podcast and as you probably guessed, I will read classic literature for your listening pleasure. Feel free to send me any comments or suggestions for the next book at kenreadstheclassics@gmail.com. Thank you for listening.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ken-davis7/support