BBC Radio Drama - Radio Downloader

BBC Radio is well known for their audio dramatizations. My local library has a copy of such albums as J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings which is a classic. You can listen to BBC broadcasts on line, but they don't offer a download option (unless you want to buy an audiobook). Sometime back, Nerd of the Herd has developed a program that allows you to download their broadcasts via rss feed. So now you can download such dramatizations as Sherlock Holmes, P.D. James, Dr. Who, James Bond, The Wind in the Willows, etc. They usually only keep their programs up for seven days, but you can subscribe so that it will automatically download the albums you don't want to miss.

Focus on the Family and some episodes of Adventures in Odyssey are also available on the Radio Downloader. Just go to the rss feed page (here), copy the url  in the address bar and paste it into the Radio Downloader's rss feed. You can find a list of Focus on the Family rss feeds, here (Plugged in Movie Review, Family News in Focus, Focus on Parenting, etc).

Ravi Zacharias also has a feed available, here.

I listen to a lot of audio and I have to say, this is second only to iTunes. I don't know what I'd do without it, I am hooked on the Downloader. To get started, download the Radio Downloader, here.

Lamplighter Theater, 7 Audio Dramas for $7

Lamplighter Theater is one of the highest quality full cast audio dramatization publishers. Usually their dramas go for around $15 to $30 each. Today they are offering 7 audiobooks for $7 for MP3 downloads. Seasons one, two and three normally cost $375 and they're on sale for $14. Check out the deal here. You can check out some of their dramas here for free.  

Season One:
Sir Malcolm and The Missing Prince - 2 hrs
The Basket of Flowers - 2 hrs
Charlie's Choice - 2.5 hrs
The Captive - 2 hrs
The Unexpected Return - 1.5 hrs
The Hedge of Thorns - 1.5 hrs
A Peep Behind the Scenes - 3.5 hrs

Seasons Two and Three:
The Robber's Cave - 2 hrs
The Boy of Mount Rhigi - 2 hrs
Buried in the Snow - 2 hrs
The Wanderer - 2.5 hrs
Teddy's Button - 2 hrs
Sir Knight of the Splendid Way - 2 hrs
The White Gypsy - 2 1/4 hrs

Free Christian Audio Drama

There's only a few days left to get Christian Audio's free book for September. This month's offer is The Brotherhood by Jerry Jenkins (coauthor of the Left Behind series). Although I have already downloaded it I haven't had the chance to give it a listen, thus no review as of yet. this isn't audio drama but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway. 

The Ark of Time is a faith-based podcast, produced by Strobie Studios. It is reminiscent of Adventures in Odyssey, with a bit of a "Dr. Who" feel. This is a full-cast audio dramatization, complete with sound effects. Although it is more geared toward adults, it is family friendly, chocked full of adventure, humor and witty dialogue. Check out the podcast here. There are a total of two seasons and unfortunately you may have to rename them so they'll play in chronological order.

If you enjoy audio dramatizations, then you should also check out what I believe is the oldest running radio dramatization still being aired today. Unshackled is produced by the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, featuring true stories of people who have found Christ.The podcast can be found here. They were off line for a while as they hammered out their contract with the theater group and now they are available as free downloads. Nevertheless, they do depend upon financial support. Next time your in Chicago, make plans to attend the live production.

Recently I've come across some theater groups such as Lamplighter Theater and Lifehouse Productions, which are are right up there with the quality of Focus on the Family Radio Theatre (which is hard to match). Although most of these productions are not free, you can download Lifehouse's The Count of Monte Christo on Radio Drama Revival (Part 1, Part 2). Lamplighter has some downloads available here. You can check out some of the work by Focus on the Family Radio Theatre, here.


Eventually I hope to post a blog on my Free Resource page that offers a more exhaustive list of Christian audio dramatizations. But for now I hope this helps others find what they're looking for. God bless!

Converting Text to Speech

Move over Kindle, say hello to Panopreter! Someone has finally produced text to speech software that can not only be used on your computer, but it can even convert text to mp3 audio to fit on your players. Being on the road as much as I am, I'm definitely looking forward to trying this out. I have considered buying an Amazon Kindle precisely because it features this capability. Now I can convert books and articles with this software and burn it on a CD or another device, much more convenient and saves money. You can download it here.


You can find some helpful tips here:

In the Hall of the Dragon King by Graphic Audio

Graphic Audio produces full cast audio dramatizations that are available at truck stops and travel centers. Most of their audio productions have not even been remotely interesting to me, that is until I learned that they were to pick up The Dragon King Trilogy by Stephen R. Lawhead. That got my attention and I started saving up my frequent fueler points.

I've read a few of Lawhead's fiction books and listened to several on audio format, unabridged. The more I listen, the more I am convinced that this writer is not only talented, but he really takes the time to study ancient cultures. Languages and linguistics, for example, are often times so lost by the authors that it becomes a distraction and renders the story completely unrealistic. Lawhead seems to have a knack for not allowing modern vocabulary terms and slang to keep him from telling a good story. For me that makes him an exceptional artist.

Here I am, having just finished the first book, In the Hall of the Dragon King, writing a review. Reminiscent of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, only without the unusual earthlings he was so fond of, it is full of rich characters, enchantment, friendships, loyalty, betrayal, humility, courage, heroes, villains, hope, suspense, etc.; everything that makes a good story 'great.' While Tolkien's spiritual emphasis can be easily overlooked in his trilogy, here, Lawhead cleverly weaves his tale in such a way that he is able to express the spirtual demension without losing the reader by turning it into a sermon. For Lawhead, it is simply a natural part of the telling of the story.

Having first listening to the unabridged production by Oasis Audio, narrated by Tim Gregory, I was quite impressed with how much detail was retained in the abridged edition by Graphic Audio. The good news is that the first book does well as a 'stand alone,' that way you won't feel cheated if you can't get around to the second book.

The book would be perfect for a family road trip or vacation. So, shut off the DVD player and engage your imagination! No bad language or sexual content to worry about (except for the advertisements at the end). No more violent than what is found in the life of King David. 

5 Stars

Free Downloads:

Sample: First Chapter by Graphic Audio

Behind the Scenes Interview with the Director

Graphic Audio Interviews Stephen R. Lawhead

The best bet for the unabridged audio version by Oasis is Audible.com.

A Quick List of Best AudioBooks - Fiction

I am finally posting some of my all time favorite fiction audiobooks. Of course the reader is always an important contribution to the experience and these are excellent narrations. Enjoy!

The Circle Trilogy (later renamed The Circle Series) by Ted Dekker, unabridged version by Rob Lamont. I've read a number of Dekker's books and while there are some that are better than others, I have enjoyed them all. His book, Three is close second.

The Oath by Frank E. Peretti, the abridged version includes a haunting narration by Joseph Campanella, but the unabridged version is equally good.. I first read this while driving my truck across Ohio late at night. Wow! If you’re partial to thrillers, Peretti and Dekker worked on a book together called House.

The Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead, unabridged. A superb writer who is extremely well researched in history, language and geography, like no other fiction writer I've known. I've also found his King Raven Trilogy and The Song of Albion trilogy to be of exceptionally rare quality. Perhaps he may be considered to be the new C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein, rolled into one? You decide, and let me know in the comments.

The Pawn by Steven James. This is definitely not for the faint of heart and narrator, Richard Ferrone, will keep you riveted to your player long after you’ve arrived at your destination. Although the first book is the best in my opinion, the whole The Bowers Files series stands out as first class writing, filled with nail-biting suspense and great character development.

Deception by Randy Alcorn, Frank Mueller does a fabulous job on the first person narration of the third installment of the Ollie Chandler detective series, which captivated my attention.

False Witness by Randy Singer. As a lawyer and pastor, this writer brings some unique contributions to the publishing house. But don't think that means he is afraid of getting gritty.

The Testament by John Grisham. While Grisham does not write under a Christian banner, this writing will take you on a spiritual journey where you will discover what living life is really all about.

The Bancroft Strategy by Robert Ludlum. I'm a big fan of Ludlum, but this book takes a surprising spiritual twist, which is a unique contribution to his literary style riding on his intriguing cloak and dagger thrills. Here Ludlum dives head first into the meaning of life and explores the implications of its significance.

Convert Your Tapes and Records to MP3

I have hundreds of tapes, mostly of lectures and sermons. I know that they will never be heard again if they are not saved in a digital format. Some of these recordings are priceless. For several years now, I have begun the process of converting them to MP3s.

If you have some tapes or records that you would like to save to a more permanent audio file, download Audacity. It's free software that turns your computer into digital recorder. You can read more about it here.  To save the file as MP3 an encoder is needed, I use Lame. 

Your computer must have an audio input, like a microphone jack or RCA jacks. Some adjustments will be required and maybe some additional research (with Google) to fine tune it to your liking. After your first recording, click "file," "export as mp3." It will prompt you to allow it to search for the encoder. If it doesn't find it, click browse and find LAME yourself. You may have to download it again if you lost it somewhere in your computer.