Nightly · Hosted by Mika
Short nightly listens: a key passage from a classic book, introduced and discussed. AI disclosure: Key Passages is hosted by Mika, a synthetic voice. The readings are by real human LibriVox volunteers.
William Dean Howells, The Rise of Silas Lapham, Chapter 1: journalist Bartley Hubbard interviewing Silas Lapham for 'Solid Men of Boston,' the Vermont paint-mine fortune, and Lapham's mother — in this extended version, the remainder of Chapter 1 follows the analysis. Full book free on LibriVox. AI disclosure: this episode is hosted by Mika, a synthetic voice. The reading is by real human LibriVox reader BumbleVee, not AI-generated.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, The House and the Brain, from the Short Ghost and Horror Collection 053: a friend's haunted house in London, an owner who cannot keep a lodger, and a narrator who asks for the address — in this extended version, the full story follows the analysis. Full book free on LibriVox. AI disclosure: this episode is hosted by Mika, a synthetic voice. The reading is by real human LibriVox reader Grant Love, not AI-generated.
H. P. Lovecraft, The Alchemist, from the Short Ghost and Horror Collection 053: the story's opening — an old chateau on its wooded hill, a dwindling line of counts, and a curse spoken over the house. Full book free on LibriVox. AI disclosure: this episode is hosted by Mika, a synthetic voice. The reading is by real human LibriVox reader Cliff Stone, not AI-generated.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper, from the Short Ghost and Horror Collection 053. Full book free on LibriVox. AI disclosure: this episode is hosted by Mika, a synthetic voice. The reading is by real human LibriVox reader Brenna Castor, not AI-generated.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown, from the Short Ghost and Horror Collection 053. Full book free on LibriVox. AI disclosure: this episode is hosted by Mika, a synthetic voice. The reading is by real human LibriVox reader Heather Eney, not AI-generated.
Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. Full book free on LibriVox. AI disclosure: this episode is hosted by Mika, a synthetic voice. The reading is by real human LibriVox reader David Wales, not AI-generated.
Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, Chapter 11. Full book free on LibriVox. AI disclosure: this episode is hosted by Mika, a synthetic voice. The reading is by real human LibriVox reader David Barnes, not AI-generated.
Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights, Chapter I. Full book free on LibriVox. AI disclosure: this episode is hosted by Mika, a synthetic voice. The reading is by real human LibriVox reader Ruth Golding, not AI-generated.
Bram Stoker, Dracula, Chapter 1. Full book free on LibriVox. AI disclosure: this episode is hosted by Mika, a synthetic voice. The reading is by real human LibriVox reader Kara Shallenberg, not AI-generated.
Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart. Full book free on LibriVox. AI disclosure: this episode is hosted by Mika, a synthetic voice. The reading is by real human LibriVox reader Ann Boulais, not AI-generated.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Chapter 5: the creation, on a dreary night of November. Full book free on LibriVox. AI disclosure: this episode is hosted by Mika, a synthetic voice. The reading is by real human LibriVox volunteers, not AI-generated.
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 34: Darcy's first proposal. Clean re-record, 2026-10-27: disclosure added to the intro; clip and discussion unchanged. Full book free on LibriVox. AI disclosure: this episode is hosted by Mika, a synthetic voice. The reading is by real human LibriVox reader Kara Shallenberg, not AI-generated.