I can't check audiobooks out at the library. My car doesn't have a tape deck, the books-on-CD are always on infinite hold, and since I'm not in the habit of borrowing them I forget to return them, resulting in a fine so high I might as well have just gone and paid retail.
Enter Librivox, an online community devoted to recording literary works from the public domain and making them available for download. It's not the bestseller list, but I can brush up on my Shakespeare or ponder the similarities between Emma and Clueless on the way to Trader Joe's, or attempt to figure out what's so great about Walt Whitman on the way home from the preschool run. And if the kids aren't interested in Leaves of Grass? Librivox has a steadily growing collection of children's literature. We can listen to Beatrix Potter on the way to a friend's house, or Alice's Adventures In Wonderland on a road trip. Librivox's files can be downloaded as MP3 or OGG files, as torrents, or as podcasts.
Librivox also offers the opportunity to contribute: you can record a work or part of a work, or proof-listen the recordings of others. Who knew all those hours spent reciting nursery rhymes over and over again to placate a fussy toddler were actually specialized training for important philanthropic endeavors?
