missions but worth it lol funny

loved it, with I read it with my son. hilarious and dry as a bone

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4 people found this helpful

Tom Sawyer very good; poor pronunciation in Prince & Pauper

Generally very good narration, however it seems that neither Lee Howard nor the producers can have conducted the necessary research on British proper noun and classical speech pronunciation. Prithee, Wapping, Hertford & Southwark examples of words mispronounced - nothing an audience accustomed to American English would necessarily pick up on, but one that us Brits certainly can not help but shudder at.

I suggest this title be revisited, or that additional research be done prior to the recording of subsequent titles.

Other than that - very good quality!

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17 people found this helpful

Mispronunciations are hysterical!

Love the stories - the books are (of course) classics for a reason! It’s a shame that the pronunciation of some British words/places are incorrect and it will jar with some UK listeners but it made me giggle rather than get annoyed!

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1 person found this helpful

Good to have all the books in one place

Other than reading a bit of Huckleberry Finn when I was about 8 years old, I've never read any of Mark Twain's work. Yet, I see quotes attributed to him on a fairly regular basis. So, I thought I should probably familiarise myself with his books. Doing this as audiobook was ideal as it had all the books in one collection. And what a collection - a total of 58 and a half hours. Unfortunately doing it this way means it only counts as having read 'one book' on Goodreads, so doesn't help much with my Yearly Challenge (I suppose I could split it up, but I can't be bothered). Here are a few thoughts on some of the books. Tom Sawyer: I suppose one of the issues that stood out here was the outdated and inappropriate language in relation to black people. Prince and the Pauper: I had no idea that this was a Mark Twain story. Was amusing enough, but the audiobook version was ruined a bit by some mispronunciation of English places and attempts a French accident. There were also some issues with old English (as I was also having with War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells). Huckleberry Finn; Coincidentally I was listening to this at the same time as there was a news story on giving the slave, Jim, a voice. Given my sporting loyalties, I was amused when Cincinnati and Sheffield appeared in the same chapter. Overall I found the story very conversation heavy, which, given this is probably one of Twain's most well-known and well-read books (at least in the USA), probably explains why I have come across many such novels still. Connecticut Yankee: This story really surprised me. I had no idea that Twain did science fiction - as this story contains time travel, taking us back to King Arthur and the round table. It touches upon issues that have become familiar to those who read and watch such science fiction stories. I particularly enjoyed the eclipse story (which I was reading soon after an actual eclipse in North America) and the comments about the negative impact of religion. Yet again I had some issues with style of English, which I was also facing as I was reading War of the Worlds at the same time (which caused further confusion due to its science fiction content). The American Claimant: It was in both this book and the previous one, in particular, that I noticed the heavy usage of the phrase 'Great Scot', which, of course, makes me think of 'Back to the Future'. This story had a number of interesting discussions - even how a game can become focus of attention for society (something which I think Orwell picked up in 1984 also). So far I was much preferring these books to Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Tom Sawyer Abroad: Another one which was heavy on conversation. It had some amusing parts, but overall wasn't a patch on the previous two stories. Pudding Gate Wilson: I found the calendar entries particularly funny - I assume someone has marketed a version of a diary with these printed on them. Tom Sawyer, Detective: Nothing much to say on this one. A Horse's Tale: Again, so much conversation. The Mysterious Stranger: This one included another raising of the butterfly effect - is this actually the origin of this concept? Of course, 'Butterfly Effect' also makes me think of the album of that title by Diana Yukawa, and also the JL123 plane crash. It also links to another book I was reading around this time, Meet Me On The Bridge by Sarah J. Harris. The way Satan is portrayed in the book really reminded me of Q in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. I found some of the insights into humanity and democracy very relevant to today. This is one that I will revisit and probably get as an eBook. I didn't have any particular thoughts on The War Prayer, Jumping Frog, One Million Bank Note (which includes actual discussion points), Hunting the Deceitful Turkey, or Burglar Alarm.

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Reason for two stars

The books are well written and well read. But the format in which you can download them is all over the place you cannot download each book either on a PC or iPhone. You have to download all books and manually scroll through the chapters ruined the experience for me

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5 people found this helpful

Excellent books but the narration is too nasal

I was really looking to listening to these books but the narrator completely spoiled it for me. I'm sure the narrator, Lee Jagow is reading with a clothes peg on his nose. I listened to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer but couldn't go any further once I realised it was the same narrator for the whole collection.

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Terrible narration

Twain deserves better. This guy is no better than those libribox volunteers, and worse than most. He mispronounces many words, and reads the rest as if he has no idea what they mean. Eg “an old priest that had been TURNED, out of doors” what, is the priest a piece of wood? Or a vampire?? This type of idiocy peppers the narration and distracts hugely from the story.

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This book will not play

I have downloaded it on the audible app as well as trying web player, will not play on either

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6 people found this helpful