Staff Picks 2020

Introduction

The audiobooks which feature as Staff Picks in 2020 will be added here. More details of these selections may be found on the linked blog posts. For more information and a list of Staff Picks in previous years, have a look at the main Staff Picks page

If you prefer to download m4b files, all our staff picks have been converted to this format, which can be downloaded from the respective catalog pages.

Suggestions for future Staff Picks on the LibriVox home page are always welcome. Please post your suggestions in this thread.

LibriVox Staff Picks 2020

Let's go on another world tour in 2020!

January 2020: World Tour 2020: Australia, New Zealand and Thereabouts

Fiction

Lady Bridget in the Never-Never Lad by Rosa Campbell Praed, read by Kirsty Leishman

The Story of a New Zealand River by Jane Mander, read by Gail Timmerman Vaughn

On Our Selection by Steele Rudd, read by Son of the Exiles

Harry Heathcote of Gangoil by Anthony Trollope, read by Simon Evers

Island Nights Entertainments by Robert Louis Stevenson, read by Tony Addison

Non-Fiction

History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 by George Sutherland, group recording

The Gladstone Colony by James Francis Hogan, read by Timothy Ferguson

The South Pole by Roald Amundsen, group recording

Drama

Mrs. Pretty and the Premier, by Arthur Adams, play

Poetry

In the Days when the World was Wide and Other Verses by Henry Lawson, group recording

Note: The books from this selection were downloaded 11037 times in January 2020.

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February 2020: World Tour 2020: South and Central America

Fiction

Fairy Tales from Brazil by Elsie Spicer Eells, group recording

Antologia de Cuentos Hispanoamericanos by Various Authors, read in Spanish by LibriVoxateers

O Mulato by Aluisio Azevedo, read in Portuguese by Adriana Secciotto

Memorias Postumas de Bras Cubas by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, read in Brazilian Portuguese by Leni

Las Fuerzas Extranas by Leopoldo Lugones, read in Spanish by Victor Villaraza

Non-Fiction

The Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition and the Telegraph Line Commission by Candido Mariano Da Silva Rondon, group recording

The Emancipation of South America by Bartolome Mitre, read by Piotr

Zone Policeman 88 by Harry A. Franck, group recording

Drama

Oroonoko, by Thomas Southerne, play

Poetry

Fausto by Estanislao del Campo, read in Spanish by mariemdover

Note: The books from this selection were downloaded 15629 times in February 2020.

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March 2020: World Tour 2020: Central and South Africa

Fiction

Dreams by Olive Schreiner, read by Noel Badrian

Nada the Lily by H. Rider Haggard, read by Phil Benson

In Desert and Wilderness by Henryk Sienkiewicz, group recording

The Man-Eater by Edgar Rice Burroughs, read by Joseph de Noia

Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Elphinstone Dayrell, group recording

Non-Fiction

Carpenter's Geographical Reader: Africa by Frank G. Carpenter, read by BettyB

Biography of Mahommah G. Baquaqua by Samuel Downing Moore, read by Leni

Sleeping Sickness by Fleming Mant Sandwith, read by Pam Nagami

Drama

The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle, by Hugh Lofting, dramatic reading

Poetry

The Poetry of South Africa by Alexander Wilmot (ed.), group recording

Note: The books from this selection were downloaded 14113 times in March 2020.

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April 2020: World Tour 2020: Northern Africa and Arabia

Fiction

It Happened in Egypt by Charles & Alice Williamson, read by Sibella Denton

Tor, A Street Boy of Jerusalem by Florence M. Kingsley, read by Patrick Saville

The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night group recording

The Myths of Babylonia and Assyria by Donald Mackenzie, group recording

The World's Story Vol. 3: Egypt, Africa, and Arabia by Eva March Tappan (ed.), group recording

Non-Fiction

The Secret of the Sahara: Kufara by Rosita Forbes, read by Steve Seitel

With the Royal Army Medical Corps in Egypt by Tickner Edwardes, read by Steve C.

Tabai al Istibdad Wa Masari Al Istibad by Abd al Rahman al Kawakibi, group recording

Drama

The Persians, by Aeschylus, drama

Poetry

A Multilingual Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam, group recording

Note: The books from this selection were downloaded 12098 times in April 2020.

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May 2020: World Tour 2020: Southern Europe

Fiction

Priče iz Davnine by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, read in Croatian by Josip B.

The Alhambra by Washinton Irving, read by David Wales

La Punyalada: Novela Montanyenca by Marian Vayreda, read in Catalan by ipujolar

I Malavoglia by Giovanni Verga, read in Italian by Lisa Caputo

Stories by Foreign Authors - Spanish by Various, group recording

Non-Fiction

The Consitutions of the Athenians by Aristotle, read in Modern Greek by karampas1968

Celebrated Crimes: Ali Pacha by Alexandre Dumas, read by John van Stam

Gallipoli Diary by John Graham Gillam, read by Sue Anderson

Drama

Hecyra: The Mother in Law, by Terence, drama

Poetry

Sonetos - Poemas Filosoficos by Luís Vaz de Camões, group recording in Portuguese

Note: The books from this selection were downloaded 10037 times in May 2020.

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June 2020: World Tour 2020: Central Europe and the British Isles

Fiction

An Heilige Wassern by Jakob Christoph Heer, read in German by Eva K.

The Fair Maid of Perth by Sir Walter Scott, group recording

Hoe hij raad van Indie werd by Paul Adriaan Daum, read in Dutch by Marcel Coenders

Legendes Rustiques by George Sand, group recording in French

The Fate of Fenella by 24 authors, group recording

Non-Fiction

Some Haunted Houses of England and Wales by Elliott O'Donnell, group recording

The Golden Book of the Dutch Navigators by Hendrik van Loon, group recording

Bismarck by Georges Lacour Gayet, read by Pamela Nagami

Drama

George Dandin, by Moliere, French drama

Poetry

Unser täglich Gift by Otfried Krzyzanowski, group recording in German

Note: The books from this selection were downloaded 6125 times in June 2020.

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July 2020: World Tour 2020: Scandinavia and the Baltics

Fiction

Juha by Juhani Aho, read in Finnish by a group of LibriVoxers

The Power of a Lie by Johan Bojer, read by Lee Smalley

En Nyckfull Kvinna by Emilie Flygare Carlen, read in Swedish by a group of LibriVoxers

Pelle The Conqueror Vol. 1 by Martin Andersen Nexø, read by Greg W.

Lisbeth Longfrock by Hans Aanrud, read by Annise

Non-Fiction

Farthest North by Fridtjof Nansen, read by Sharon Riskedahl

Piloting Directions for the Gulf of Finland by John W. Norie, group recording

The World's Story Volume 8 by Eva March Tappan, group recording

Drama

The Ghost Sonata, by August Strindberg, drama

Poetry

Elder and Younger Eddas by Saemund Sigfusson and Snorre Sturleson, group recording

Note: The books from this selection were downloaded 3406 times in July 2020.

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August 2020: Happy 15th Anniversary!

In this special birthday edition, we looked at projects that 15 years ago seemed very ambitious - and which we have achieved since!

All Plays by William Shakespeare, some even multiple versions and/or in other languages.

7 versions of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

11 versions of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

25 English versions plus 22 multilingual ones of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in more than 50 languages

The original French plus 4 translations of 20000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

The original Spanish plus 3 translations of Don Quijote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The original French plus 3 translations of all 5 volumes of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

3 complete versions of The Holy Bible, one of them in Spanish

A complete English version of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Der Abenteuerliche Simplicissimus by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen in German

Ulysses by James Joyce

Natuurlijke Historie voor de Jeugd by de Schoolmeester, recorded at a group meeting of our Dutch members

13 of 15 volumes of Novelle per un anno by Luigi Pirandello in Italian

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September 2020: World Tour 2020: Eastern Europe

Fiction

Krysař by Viktor Dyk, read in Czech by Kudrna

Libussa by Johann Musäus, read by Carolin

The Dreamer of Dreams by Marie of Romania, read by a group of LibriVoxers

Arye Baal Guf by Hayyim Nachman Bialik, read in Hebrew by Omri Lernau

Tales from Jókai by Mór Jókai, read by Availle

Non-Fiction

Silhouettes of Russian Writers by Yuly Aykhenvald, read in Russian by Mark Chulsky

Two Tactics of Social Democracy in the Democratic Revolution by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, read by Christian Pecaut

The History of the Jews in Russia and Poland by Simon Dubnow, read by S S Kim

Drama

Moralnosc Pani Dulskiej, by Gabriela Zapolska, read in Polish by Violet B Czaykowska

Poetry

Epic of the Forgotten by Iva Vazov, read in Bulgarian by a group of LibriVoxers

Note: The books from this selection were downloaded 6327 times in September 2020.

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October 2020: World Tour 2020: Asia

Fiction

Cowherd and Weaver Girl by Mingshi Zhu, read in Chinese by Guomin Do

Filibusterismo by Jose Rizal, read by Availle

At the Point of the Bayonet by G. A. Henty, read by a group of LibriVoxers

Tales of Old Japan by Lord Redesdale, read by a group of LibriVoxers

Sekar Karya by various authors, read in Javanese by a group of Librivoxers

Non-Fiction

Glimpses of Bengal by Rabindranath Tagore, read by Bhavya

Drugging a Nation by Samuel Merwin, read by Edmund Bloxam

The Afghan Wars 1839 - 43 and 1878 - 80 by Archibald Forbes, read by Phil Griffiths

Drama

Alexander the Great, by Jean Racine, play

Poetry

Mga Piling Tula Mula sa Butang Hininga by Pascual de Leon, read in Tagalog by April Gomzales

Note: The books from this selection were downloaded 13384 times in October 2020.

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November 2020: World Tour 2020: North America

Fiction

Flower of the North by James Oliver Curwood, read by Roger Melin

The Mystery of the Four Fingers by Fred M. White, read by knotyouraveragejo

Armand Durand by Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon, read by Bruce Pirie

The Quest of the Silver Fleece by W. E. B. DuBois, read by a group of LibriVoxers

Monja y casada, virgen y martir by Vicente Riva Palacio, read in Spanish by Joyfull

Non-Fiction

Historia verdada de la conquista de la nueve Espana by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, read in Spanish by Tux

Tecumseh by Ethel T. Raymond, read by a group of LibriVoxers

Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington, read by a group of LibriVoxers

Drama

A Summer in a Canyon, by Kate Douglas Wiggin, dramatic reading

Poetry

The Song of Hugh Glass by Neihardt John, read by Nathan

Note: The books from this selection were downloaded 86619 times in November 2020.

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December 2020: All As One

Fiction

Before Adam by Jack London, read by Tom Weiss

Love Stories Vol. 1 by various authors, read by various LibriVoxers

Myths and Legends Around the World Vol. 1 by various authors, read by various LibriVoxers

The Magic World by E. Nesbit, read by a group of LibriVoxers

A Journey in Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor, read by Tom Weiss

Non-Fiction

The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath by William Walker Atkinson, read by Mike Justice

Common Sense, How to Exercise It by Yoritomo Tashi, read by Thomas Rose

Association Football and How to Play it by John Cameron, read by Ben Adams

Drama

The Frogs, by Aristophanes, play

Poetry

The World's Best Poetry vol. 4 - The Higher Life by various poets, read by various LibriVoxers

Note: The books from this selection were downloaded 3763 times in December 2020.