Throughout the 1920s the Common University provided a free and ready source of education to the working classes of England through various lecture series and the distribution of educative pamphlets in the East End. At the time it renowned as a philanthropic exercise noted more for its good intentions than its practice of asking for lecturers' credentials. In the mid 1930s it shut down amid a small furore over the nonsense it was teaching. It was assumed by all involved that that would be the end of it.

Then, toward the end of the 1990s the English poet A.F. Harrold discovered a box of papers in the attic of an elderly stranger. After exhaustive investigations, leads followed and clues uncovered he discovered that what he held in his hands were lecture notes, reports of speeches, lessons and seminars from the Common University long thought lost by educational historians. "Gosh," he thought, "This stuff's...[more]

In 'The Zany Time Travels of Warble McGorkle' (book II of a trilogy, and the first one recorded), Warble Poundcake McGorkle and his entourage (wife, employees, a sales team, and a canine) travel back in time to revise history.

Their meddling in events during American Revolutionary War Times, at Custer's Last Stand, the Alamo, Woodstock, and many other pivotal events--as well as a detour to 1st Century Jerusalem to kidnap Jesus (or Judas)--leads to catastrophic consequences for those living in modern times.

Among the things Warble and his gang perpetrate are:

1. Banishing George Washington to England for inventing the peanut (and thus being responsible for 'Peanut Envy')
2. 'Helping out' at the Alamo, so that it's the Mexicans who ultimately get 'saddled' with Texas
3. Originating Pre-emptive Strikes (umpires calling strikes before the ball is thrown)
...[more]

In the nineteen-sixties, a group of wealthy men concludes that it's already too late to stop global warming from destroying the planet. But they have a plan to save themselves.

Twenty years later, Jack Crowley and Jim Patterson stumble onto the conspiracy, and every answer they find is accompanied by more questions - and more deaths.

Jack is a former idealist, turned cynical by his years working as a New York tabloid editor. But his enthusiasm returns as he looks into the work of a NASA scientist who tells Jack about cover-ups at the space agency. Jim is a detective with little patience for conspiracy nuts. But he hates loose ends, and is unable to let go of the inconsistencies in another suspicious NASA death. Soon, his investigation leads him to Jack, and they join forces.

As Jack and Jim dig deeper, they are targeted by the type of killers that don't usually miss....[more]

YOUNG JAMES FROST just knows, deep in his bones, that he's a writer. He writes far into early mornings, after his wearying hours of scrubbing toilets and sweeping floors. He loves writing that much.

But it's not only the joy of words that keeps him grinding; it's his desire to retire the janitor's mop. He sees being published as the key to living an improved life. James has another deep-seated conviction: that he's not good enough. He secretly longs to be accepted. However, the conventional others in his life seem all too willing to remind him that he's wasting his time.

Then he meets and falls in love with Leigh, the one bright spot in his endless misery of self-doubt. A quiet but resolutely religious girl, she has to fight off disapproval of her own from overly critical parents, whose insults are countered by James's often-voiced admiration of her. Likewise, Leigh's faith in his...[more]

Born into the human world with a gift; a gift that brings him to the attention of powers both dark and light from the World of the Fey, it is his burden to defend all the world.

Sive, the goddess of battle, hopes that he may be able to change the fate of her people.The Fey are dying, killed by something beyond the boundaries of worlds, and Sive will do anything to save them. So she enlists the help of her trickster cousin Puck to guard the child, and watch him grow into his gift. But a dark power imprisoned by human and Fey, plots to destroy both worlds, and unmake all that they have created.

Can one boy stop the destruction, even if he is William Shakespeare?

"Hi, my name is Conor. Other than my father being a bit of an eccentric lunatic, my life was pretty normal until I got attacked in my living room and whisked away to Tir na Nog, the mystical land of the ancient Celts, where it turns out Dad is the usurped heir to the throne and everybody wants me dead because of some prophecy. Don't you just hate when that happens?"

Shadowmagic is a rip roaring fun fantasy adventure novel by John Lenahan very loosely based on Irish mythology where every chapter ends on the edge of a cliff (or at least a high curb.) Join Conor as he grapples with typical teenage problems like, how to deal with a father's high expectations, how to survive in the world on your own and how to woo a beautiful girl - that wants you dead. Shadowmagic a podcast novel for young adults from 12 to 112.

Rated 10 out of 10 on The Geek Beat!

The first-ever romance fiction title presented on Podiobooks.com, "Chase Around The World" takes you on a wild ride alongside Emerald Harrison, an Australian beauty who, after meeting the French-accented, intriguing and adventurous Ace Black, wakes up to realise that the life she has worked so hard for holds no interest anymore.

Set in the sensuous surrounds of steamy, tropical India, "Chase Around The World" weaves an intricate web of passion and deception as Emerald follows the mysterious Ace into the unknown of a foreign country. With their heightening romance shrouded in deceit, there's plenty of sexual tension and emotional conflicts to keep you glued to your headphones.

This tale concerns a lad of twelve, who sets off unwillingly on a journey with his uncle. In the course of his adventures, he obtains a stone, whose ultimate meaning is tied up with the fate of a war between two cities. As commonly happens with boys, he finds himself at the center of the conflict. Can he divine the stone’s purpose in time? Even more importantly, can he even hang on to it?

The story includes a mystery, long journeys, prisons, adventure, and living out-of-doors. There is also a fairly large battle at the end, with plenty of blood. Death appears throughout. I believe that no one washes his hands at any point in the account, but sometimes my memory is faulty. It takes place long ago, but not in a place you'll find in an atlas. Some may be disappointed in the absence of wizards and dragons.

Girls are welcome to listen, but they should be forewarned. Horses are mentioned,...[more]