Newsletter – August 7, 2026
I recently enjoyed a LibriVox recording of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. I think I’ve now read or listened to every Sherlock Holmes story by Doyle, but I plan to get out my checklist to make sure I haven’t missed any.
LibriVox has done an exceptional job of recording books in the public domain and making them easily available through every audio recording app, from Apple to Xtunes. My only caution about their recordings is that they’re all voiced by volunteers who can be very, very good or somewhat amateur. I listened to Les Miserables many years ago and some chapters sounded like they were recorded by people who wanted to practice their English language skills…inexpertly. Other chapters were excellent.
The LibriVox recording of The Hound of the Baskervilles is what they call “a full cast recording,” meaning that people only speak their character’s words and a narrator reads the rest. In this case, Doyle is writing as Dr. Watson so the voice actor speaks both the narration and the dialogue of Watson. She was exceptional and I fully enjoyed her work.
Yes, several of the characters were voiced by actors of a different gender, and some were American and others were British, but good storytelling quickly pulls you past those differences and you’ve soon forgotten them because you’re fully involved in the story.
And what a story it is, too! I felt like I had visited the Moors of Northern England just from the poetic and in-depth descriptions of the countryside, sometimes beautiful, sometimes sinister, sometimes charming, and sometimes threatening. I’m so used to the Sherlock Holmes cases leaning heavily on facts and evidence, that I wasn’t expecting that kind of portrait of characters, dwellings, and the countryside.
Well done Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!
I’m sure there are many alternate recordings to choose from, but take it from an acting teacher and theatre director, the LibriVox recording is worth the listen.
TTFN
* * * * *
I thought I’d share my latest entry in the caption of a New Yorker cartoon. Hope it gives you a chuckle.
I think it’s time that Babar learns how to use the door.
* * * * *
My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles
Eric Margerum 