Snoozecast: Stories for Sleep

Tonight, we’ll be reading the opening to the fantastic classic, "Madame Bovary". It was the debut novel of French writer, Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. Madame Bovary lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. A seminal work of literary realism, the novel is now considered Flaubert's masterpiece, and one of the most influential literary works in history.

Tonight, we’ll be reading a Snoozecast original,“Acadia National Park”. Come wander inside this 108 square mile oasis on your way to Blackwoods campground where ultimately you plan on falling asleep to the rhythmic waves of the Atlantic.

Tonight, by listener request, we’ll be reading two versions of a traditional Chinese folk-tale called "The Cowherd and the Weaver" a story about star-crossed lovers that spurred the Qixi Festival, a romantic festival that is often regarded as Chinese Valentine's Day. The Qixi festival inspired the Tanabata festival in Japan and the Chilseok festival in Korea.

Tonight, we'll be reading from a book called, "The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life" by Francis Parkman. It was originally serialized in Knickerbocker's Magazine and subsequently published as a book in 1849. The account of a summer tour of the High Plains of Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas met with the acclaim of early reviewers like Herman Melville, who, though he on the whole lauded the book for "the true wild-game flavor," complained of its demeaning presentation of Native Americans and its misleading title. Parkman's excursion led him only along the first third, the flat stretch of the 2,100 mile trail; he never saw the cruelest parts across the mountains and deserts.

Tonight, we’ll be reading the opening to, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1892. "The Adventures" are a collection of twelve short stories, starting with, "A Scandal in Bohemia". Holmes is portrayed as offering a new, fairer sense of justice.

Tonight, we’ll be reading the second part to Miguel de Cervante’s, “Don Quixote”. Written in the early 1600s of Spain, Don Quixote is considered to be, perhaps, the most influential work from Spanish history. It depicts a nobleman who reads so many romantic adventure novels that he decides to become a knight. In pt. 1, we read chapter one, where Don Quixote decides to become a knight, and sets about in preparation for his adventure: he fashions a homemade suit of armor and cardboard, names his old frail horse, “Rocinante”, and officially proclaims a pretty village girl named Aldonza Lorenzo to be in knightly love with. He renames her Dulcinea del Toboso. He has never actually met her and she may or may not actually exist.

Tonight we'll be reading two selections from, "How to Amuse Yourself and Others" published in 1893 and written by Lina and Adelia Beard. A listener wrote to us asking for a Snoozecast about pressed flowers, so the passages tonight include that and other flower crafts, along with how to build a hammock.

Tonight, we’ll be reading a medley of poems concerning Independence Day. Titles include, "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus, "Concord Hymn" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman, "To The Fourth of July" by Swami Vivekanada and, "The Building of a Ship" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. We'll begin with, "Paul Revere's Ride" also by Longfellow. The poem commemorates the actions of Paul Revere on April 18, 1775. Modern critics emphasize the poem's many historical inaccuracies, most significantly perhaps is Longfellow giving sole credit to Revere for the collective achievements of multiple riders.

Tonight, we’ll be reading, "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp", a story out of the Blue Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang in 1889. "Aladdin" is a middle eastern folk-tale thought to be originally written by Hanna Diyab, and is one of the tales from the book, "One Thousand and One Nights",  otherwise known as "The Arabian Nights. Since it first appeared in the early 18th century, Aladdin has been one of the best known and most retold of all folk-tales.

Tonight, we’ll be reading the opening to the 1946 autobiography by Paramahansa Yogananda, titled, "Autobiography of a Yogi." Yogananda lived from 1893-1952 and was born in India. Besides detailing his life, the book is an introduction to the methods of attaining God-realization and to the spiritual thought of the East, starting with his childhood search for a Guru. The book inspired many people, including Steve Jobs who read it once a year throughout his life, and gave it away as a gift to attendees at his posthumous memorial service.