May 20, 2014

Don Quixote Online Audio Book and Course

Firstly we wanted to let you know that Librivox.org has a brand new website with better design and functionality. The site makes is much easier and faster to browse their catalog of over 5,000 free audio books. You can now browse by category, author, title, solo vs. group narration, and recently added titles. Unfortunately they changed all of their RSS feeds, so most of the Librivox titles on our site aren’t playing in our podcast player, but we’re currently fixing that. Check out their great new site:

http://librivox.org/

Today’s free audio book is a Librivox release:

Don Quixote, Volume 1

Don Quixote, Volume 2

Don Quixote is considered the one of the very first modern novels. Follow the adventures of Alonso Quijano, a minor landowner who reads so many chivalric novels that he decides to set out to revive chivalry, under the name Don Quixote. He recruits a simple farmer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, who often employs a unique, earthly wit in dealing with Don Quixote’s rhetorical orations on antiquated knighthood. Quixote’s “lady” is Dulcinea del Toboso, an imaginary object of his courtly love crafted from a neighboring farm girl by the illusion-struck “knight” (her real name is Aldonza Lorenzo, and she is totally unaware of his feelings for her.) The two volumes of the novel were published in 1605 and 1615, respectively. This novel is read by a multitude of volunteers at Librivox and has an unabridged running time of 42 hours.

Don Quixote, Volume 1

Don Quixote, Volume 2

And for those of you who want to supplement your learning about The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, Yale University has put out an entire course on the novel:

Cervantes’ Don Quixote Yale University Course

The course comes from Yale University’s Spanish department, but you don’t need to know Spanish to take it. Nevertheless Professor Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria will teach you much about Spanish culture and history. This Yale course goes through the entire book chronologically, and in the course listings it says which chapters will be covered in each lecture. Enjoy greater understanding and insight into one of the greatest works of the Western Canon.

Cervantes’ Don Quixote Yale University Course