Showing results by narrator "Bob Gonzalez" in All Categories

From the creator of the beloved and universally acclaimed television series BoJack Horseman, a fabulously off-beat collection of short stories about love - the best and worst thing in the universe. Equally at home with the surreal and the painfully relatable (and both at once), Bob-Waksberg delivers a killer combination of humor, romance, whimsy, cultural commentary, and crushing emotional vulnerability.

The Way of Life According to Laotzu is a poetic and highly accessible translation of the Dao De Jing ( Tao Te Ching). In these 81 brief passages, the ancient Chinese sage lays down a philosophical, socio-political, personal view of the universe and guide for action that has inspired generations around the world for centuries.

A dark, allegorical, Gothic horror fable in verse telling of seduction, enthrallment, and deep sisterly love by the British Victorian poet, Christina Rossetti. The goblin market men, selling sweet and delicious fruits, inveigle Laura, a young girl, to partake of their tempting wares. Soon, she is lost to the world and her life begins slowly to fade away. Only the courage of her sister, Lizzie, can possibly save her from her fate. Will it be enough?

A collection of 88 brief poems by ancient masters of Chinese poetry in an anonymous English translation. With titles such as "Contentment", "Wild Geese", "Best Happiness of All", "The Ashes of My House", "Jade Flower Palace", "We Will Grow Old Together", "The Poet Dreams", and "At Midnight", the subjects range across love in all forms, the ravages of war, the glories of nature, the sorrow of homelessness, the death of a loved one, peaceful reveries of hermits, the meditations of the wise, delicate art forms, and the entertainments at court.

He was rich beyond imagination and outwardly gracious, but women shunned him because of his beard, which was unmistakably blue. Also, Bluebeard, as he was forever known, had been married several times before but no one knew what became of all his wives. Nevertheless, he manages to woo young Fatima, who only discovers after they are married the fate of his previous wives and that she faces the same fate. This is the classic tale by Charles Perrault, retold masterfully by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch.

Spoon River Anthology is a collection of poems that describe life - and death - in a small town. Each poem is a monologue delivered by a resident of Spoon River, describing events in their lives, and the circumstances that led to their occasionally untimely end. Edgar Lee Masters wrote this theatrical masterpiece to highlight the typical small town. The fascinating characters and realistic imagery make it easy to see why this is an American classic.

A collection of fables, vignettes, and parables from the fanciful mind of Lord Dunsany. These brief tales feature characters such as Time, Death, Fame, Winter, Spring, the Fog, the North Wind, the blackbird, the god Pan, the river Styx boatman Charon, and others - in fantastical, whimsical, allegorical, and poignant scenarios.

This classic legend, rendered in verse and published in 1842 by the masterful British Victorian poet, Robert Browning (when only 30 years old), tells of what happens to the town of Hamelin when its burghers, desperate to rid the town of the rats that were overrunning it, engage a mysterious man dressed in red and yellow, who promises, for a fee, to cleanse the town of the vermin by the magic in the music he can play on his pipe. But when the burghers refuse to pay him the sum he was promised for his service, the piper uses his magic pipe to get even.

This is the poet's final version of this poem. Coleridge is a master of mellifluous poetic phrasing - hypnotic and incantatory - and uses it deftly to weave a spellbinding tale of sin and redemption. How a ship was driven by storms towards the South Pole; and how then she made her course to the tropical Latitude of the Great Pacific Ocean; and of the strange things that happened; and in what manner the Ancient Mariner came back to his own country.

The Raven Edition of the works of Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849) presents his complete literary output in five volumes. In addition to 11 prose pieces, volume five contains all of Poe’s verse and also his only play, the unfinished drama, "Politian". Poe’s poetic output consists of 54 pieces, most of them short, but it also includes four longer pieces, The Bells, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and perhaps Poe’s most iconic poem, The Raven.

In this witty and satirical fable, Voltaire’s hero, Memnon, determines the three tasks he will easily accomplish to become a great philosopher and perfectly happy. In spite of his naive confidence in his willpower and the cooperation of life events, fate has other things in store for him designed to thwart his plans.

With charging rhythm and clarion language, in 14 stanzas, the poet conjures the dramatic, moving images of the rousing and pivotal ride of the famed patriot. Rhapsode Bob Gonzalez performs this classic.

Benjamin Franklin was concerned with making the sometimes bitter pill of truth about the human condition easier to swallow. In The Way to Wealth, Franklin refines his maxims and homilies in order to make them more subtle and sophisticated. As a successful author, inventor, scientist, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of America, he exemplifies the emerging American nation. This audiobook will teach you how to start a business, make money, and save for the future.

This recording is of the 11 essays and stories contained in Volume Five and includes two examples of Poe’s activity as a literary critic. Poe’s dry wit is laced through many of these tales and will bring a wry smile to your lips even as you shiver at the consequences of “betting the devil your head”.

Freelance speechwriter Sid Rafferty signs on to help a neophyte candidate run for election as an alderman in Cumberland, once a booming coal-mining town on Vancouver Island that's now shrunk down to an out-of-the-way little village. But first another writing job makes Sid a witness to a violent death the Mounties are calling murder, then a pair of marijuana-growing brothers want to know what he's doing poking around near their grow-op.

O. Henry was the pen name of William Sydney Porter (1862-1910). He was a master of the short story with a surprise ending. In this story, part of the collection titled The Four Million, two old friends have made a promise to meet at a certain New York City corner after 20 years of separation. Will they each honor the agreement? What will they learn of their lives since they last saw each other?

This delightful fable from the Just So Stories of Rudyard Kipling tells of how the Cake-Parsee takes his revenge on a rude, ill-mannered rhinoceros who has stolen and eaten the Parsee's cake. The trick the Parsee plays changes the rhinoceros' skin forever.

The Spider Man feels overworked and underappreciated by the Star-people in the sky-country, whom he serves by weaving webs for them to go back and forth from the earth to do their good deeds. He conceives a scheme to retire to the earth to live forever a life of leisure, but his plans go awry.

Sid Rafferty is between writing jobs, a rock and a hard place, and the poles of his luck. At this point, he's willing to take on just about any writing gig. But when a return to his political spin doctor days collides with what should be a simple promo piece about a new ski resort in British Columbia's playground, Sid finds himself out of his depth, over his head, in love and at risk of his life.

A poor tailor is too ill to finish the beautiful coat and waistcoat he has been stitching for the mayor of Gloucester to wear at his wedding on Christmas morning. He sends his cat, Simpkin, out in the snowy evening to buy some food and, most importantly, the cherry-colored silk he needs to finish his coat and waistcoat. While Simpkin is out, the tailor discovers all the mice Simpkin has hidden under the teacups and accidentally frees them all. They run out of the house, but not before they overhear him speak aloud his fears that he will not be able to complete his work.