Interactive English

Subtle humour is one of the key elements in Chekhov's imaginative stories. But as an artist, Chekhov is more complicated. He paints life with all its nuances and shades of grey. His stories are full of characters who give us invaluable insight into universal wisdom of everyday life - civilised professionals, enlightened misfits, philanthropic gentry, rich landowners and impoverished royalty holding candles for reason, justice and passion.

Oscar Wilde is most famous for his satirical plays which he wrote at the time of great literary enlightenment, when all Britons were able to embrace literature previously only available to the wealthy and educated. At the height of the prosperity sweeping through London in the Victorian era, Oscar Wilde also wrote many tales offering rich and dramatic portrayals of the human life and condition.

A collection of short stories by Anton Chekhov, featuring "A Tragic Actor", "In a Strange Land", "Oh the Public", "The Looking Glass", "Her Husband", and "Overdoing It".

These stories are small masterpieces. The scene is set quickly, and within a few sentences the storyline is underway. But all seem to contain elements of the unexpected.

Family dynamic, psychological insight into relationships and romance are the central themes in this collection of Chekhov stories. These stories, full of insight into lives of seemingly ordinary people, offer a rare opportunity to experience defining moments of lives. Unhappy in his marriage, a Moscow banker, Dmitri Gurov, is vacationing in Yalta, Crimea, where he sees a young lady walking along the seafront with her small dog.

In the same neighbourhood as Peter Rabbit live an old cat called Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit and her kittens, Moppet, Mittens and Tom, who was always up for some mischief. Learn how Tom nearly ended up being cooked inside a dumpling and why he does not like rats. Meet another friendly neighbour pussycat, Ribby, who likes inviting friends to tea and offering them delicious pie dishes.

The first major writing by Turgenev that gained him recognition. The stories in this collection were written based on Turgenev’s own observations while hunting at his mothers’ estate. This work exposed many injustices of serfdom and led to Turgenev’s house arrest and eventual abolishment of serfdom in Russia. A fine example of realist tradition in Russian literature. Read in English

In this collection of beautifully written modern fairy tales, Oscar Wilde does not fail to both entertain with humorous characters and witty dialogue and at the same time deliver a subtle yet very potent message about some of the most human qualities, such as true friendship, true happiness, selfishness, ignorance, playfulness and love. Some of the most famous epigrams of Oscar Wilde come from the characters in these tales.

An intriguing confession of doctor’s romantic involvement with a beautiful, 20-year-old patient. Followed by Turgenev’s exquisite, often meditative descriptions of the Russian countryside and mysterious herbalist Kassyan, infatuated with Gamayane, a prophetic bird of Russian folklore, a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. Read in English.

From Marilyn to Streisand and all the celebs in-between. Film producers and studio executives know the nitty-gritty behind the scenes. Award-winning writer, producer, and executive Ken Rotcop now tells all about the comical, dramatic, and tragic celebrities he befriended. Look through the mirror on the wall to see the stars as they were without their masks, including Marilyn Monroe, Peter O’Toole, Mel Brooks, Peter Faulk, Monty Hall, Regis Philbin, Mickey Mantel, John Barrymore, Jr., Baron Hilton, and Jack Klugman.

Once upon a time there was a very beautiful doll's-house; it was red brick with white windows, and it had real muslin curtains and a front door and a chimney. One morning Lucinda and Jane had gone out for a drive in the doll's perambulator. There was no one in the nursery, and it was very quiet. Presently there was a little scuffling, scratching noise in a corner near the fire-place, where there was a hole under the skirting-board.

When Benjamin Bunny grew up, he married his Cousin Flopsy. They had a large family, and they were very improvident and cheerful. I do not remember the separate names of their children; they were generally called the Flopsy Bunnies.

Once upon a time there was a pussycat called Ribby, who invited a little dog called Duchess to tea.

Once upon a time there were three little kittens, and their names were Mittens, Tom Kitten, and Moppet. They had dear little fur coats of their own; and they tumbled about the doorstep and played in the dust. But one day their mother - Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit - expected friends to tea; so she fetched the kittens indoors, to wash and dress them, before the fine company arrived.

In the time of swords and periwigs and full-skirted coats with flowered lappets - when gentlemen wore ruffles and gold laced waistcoats of paduasoy and taffeta - there lived a tailor in Gloucester. He sat in the window of a little shop in Westgate Street, cross legged on a table, from morning till dark. All day long while the light lasted he sewed and snippeted, piecing out his satin and pompadour and lutestring; stuffs had strange names and were very expensive in the days of the tailor of Gloucester.

Once upon a time there was a frog called Mr. Jeremy Fisher; he lived in a little damp house amongst the buttercups at the edge of a pond. The water was all slippy-sloppy in the larder and in the back passage. But Mr. Jeremy liked getting his feet wet; nobody ever scolded him, and he never caught a cold!

This is an interactive quiz audiobook about the popular TV show Sons of Anarchy and is in the format of questions with four possible answers, A, B, C or D, with hotlinks for each possible answer that the Kindle reader can click on - thus making it "interactive". You click on the answer you think is the right one... a correct click takes you to the next question, a "wrong" answer/click takes you back to the same question to try again.

Doctors and kind relations will succeed in stupefying mankind, in making mediocrity pass for genius and in bringing civilisation to ruin. Kovrin is a gifted man, well educated. Following the advice of his doctor, he decides to leave his busy city lifestyle and travels to recover his health in a beautiful family country estate. There he meets this mystical and prophetic Black Monk, a character from an ancient legend, which he thinks is nothing more than a hallucination.

Seaside and the sounds of ocean waves is one of the most relaxing experiences. Memories of holidays suddenly become alive and that perfect evening just after sunset when crickets start their gentle tunes. This audio recording features both those enigmatic ocean waves and relaxing evening song of seashore crickets.

Crickets are truly magical creatures. Not only is their iconic chirping often a pleasant evening song during warm mellow summer nights in the country, but in many cultures crickets are associated with good luck, hope and even wealth. Crickets are beloved in Japan, especially for their musical songs. In Brazil, some species are considered to be signs of hope or incoming wealth. Charles Dickens wrote a tale called The Cricket on the Hearth that featured a cricket acting as a household's guardian angel. This recording features gentle cricket chirping accompanying various birds of wild grasslands.

The coyote is smaller than its close relative the gray wolf and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. The coyote holds title of being the most vocal of all wild North American mammals. Both strength and range of vocalizations are among the most complex among such animals. The familiar coyote howl is also known as its greeting song, which forms part of the final act of a complex greeting ceremony. It is the most iconic sound of the coyote.