The Apple iTunes Store has an interesting list of audio materials about our favorite author.

1. The Martian Chronicles: unabridged audio book, read by RB. Total length is over 7 hours! Free 1.5 minute clip of him talking about the book's origin.

2. Something Wicked This Way Comes and A Sound of Thunder: unabridged audio book, read by Stefan Rudnicki. Over 9 hours.

3. One More for the Road: unabridged audio book, read by Campbell Scott. Almost 7 hours.

4. Pillar of Fire: Audio dramatization of the RB play, hosted by Harlan Ellison. 48 min.

5. From the Dust Returned: unabridged audio book, read by John Glover. 5 hours.

6. Any Friend of Nicholas Nickelby's Is a Friend of Mine: One-hour audio dramatization, hosted by RB.

7. And So Died Riabouchinska and The Toynbee Convector: Audio dramatizations, with all-star casts.

8. A 75th Birthday Tribute to Ray Bradbury: A 90-minute live tribute from 1995, includes dramatizations from The Martian Chronicles, Dandelion Wine, Death Is a Lonley Business, and more, with Rod Steiger, Shelley Long, Samantha Egger, Dan O'Herlihy, Charlotte Rae, many others.

9. An 80th Birthday Tribute to Ray Bradbury: Live tribute from 2000, includes dramatic performances of "Silent Towns" from The Martian Chronicles, "A Sailor Home From the Sea" from The Machineries of Joy, "The Ravine", and the one-act play The Anthem Sprinters. With Rene Auberjonois, Shelley Long, William Windom, and others.

10 Fantastic Tales of Ray Bradbury: 14 stories read by RB himself, including "The Veldt" and "The Illustrated Man." 4.5 hours.

Walloon,

thanks for the information. I've been trying to get items 8 & 9 for a while, but have struggled with buying it on CD since the sole supplier is in California and won't take credit cards! Now I know it's on iTunes I shall fly over there and download!

(This despite the fact that I don't care for iTunes!)

Can someone explain to me how this works with the iTunes. Do you pay before you download? I would imagine so, and how is the payment made, by credit card I would imagine?

What are the mechanics involved in doing this as I am a total blundering idiot when comes to thses iPod things and all? Thank you, whoever you might be, for enlightening me.

quote:

This despite the fact that I don't care for iTunes!

What! Don't you really now?

I'm an Apple guy all the way! Ten years ahead of Windows (which reminds me of my favourite oxymoron: Windows Works!).

quote:

Originally posted by biplane1:
Can someone explain to me how this works with the iTunes.

Go here Michael:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/

Download iTunes, pick your music (or soliloquies), pay by credit card, and download away! You don't need an iPod.

Hmmm... I still dislike iTunes. I had to download and install the latest version, and it told me that it HAD TO replace Quicktime Pro version 6 (which I paid good money for) with version 7, and that I would HAVE TO BUY a new licence for QT7 in order to 'continue having Quicktime Pro functionality'. Grrrr. I really hate that kind of bundling tactic.

Another Grrr: I downloaded the Bradbury items I had been trying to get (the 75th and 80th anniversary tributes), only to find that they are low bit-rate recordings - exactly the same as the ones on Audible.com. I didn't see any information on iTunes to say what the bit rate was; this information only came to light when I looked at/listened to the files after download. I repeat, Grrrr.

Grrrr is a good word.

iTunes gets all their spoken word programs exclusively from Audible, which is why the bit rate is so bad.