Storytime with Brian #5 - Parents, Steal This

What if your children could still hear you read their favorite stories years from now? In this special Storytime with Brian episode, Brian encourages parents to create a simple, lasting library of their own voices by recording the stories they already share with their families.

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Attribution and source notes

This episode is part of Storytime with Brian.

Transcript

Storytime with Brian #5 – Parents, Steal This

Hey, parents. Brian here from Storytime with Brian and Draw with Brian. Welcome to my channel.

I would like you to copy this, steal this, do this.

If you're a parent of young children, you know they love bedtime stories, and they love you. They would much rather listen to you read them a story than me. But sometimes you can't be there to give those to them. You have to work late, you're traveling, you're sick, you're tired—whatever the reason, you can't be there to read that bedtime story.

So do what I'm doing: record yourself reading stories. You don't have to put them out there for the whole world to see. Keep your videos private if you want. You don't even have to go into all that if you don't want to. Pull out your phone the next time you're reading them a story and hit the voice recorder. It takes no extra time or effort, and they'll have that reading—and the memory that went along with it—to listen back to forever.

There are going to be times when we can't be there, and someday we won't ever be there again. It happens to everybody, right? That's probably far down the line, but it will come to pass sooner or later. Your voice, and possibly your image if you record video, will be there to read stories to your children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren. Those recordings can outlive you and be there for generations to come.

Our voices are one of the first things forgotten after we're gone. We remember what people looked like, but less so what they sounded like. Think of your loved ones who've already passed. You probably have a good mental image of them, but maybe not so much what they sounded like in person. What would you give to hear your parent, grandparent, or another loved one's voice again, even if it was just to listen to them tell you a story?

If you want to replicate what I'm doing, it's easy, and it can be free. I'll show you my setup now. You'll need a recorder and a book. I'm using Camtasia, which isn't free, but there are free options out there, and I'm sure your search engine of choice can help you find one.

If you're just recording for yourselves, you can read anything. But if you're going to put it out there for others to view, you have to concern yourself with copyright. That's where Project Gutenberg comes in. Everything on there is in the public domain, and it's free, so those stories can be used pretty well any way you like, including how I'm using them. I checked, at least if you're in the U.S., as of when I'm recording this. Check the laws of your country if you're somewhere else. They even have a section for children.

My ebook reader of choice is FBReader. I've used it for years on my tablet and my phone, and they have it for your PC too. It integrates with Project Gutenberg, or it can open ebook files from wherever you get them.

So do yourself and your heirs a favor and go read a story. Until you get a nice library built up, I'm happy to read to them too.

All right, that's it for today. Bye-bye.

Bonus Tip

Hey, guys. A real quick bonus tip for you here. If you're looking at these Project Gutenberg books and wondering, “How do I get those onto my device?” I've got you covered.

Head over to my Buy Me a Coffee page at buymeacoffee.com/bdcrowell. Follow the QR code on screen, head over to the posts, and look for “How to Open Your E-book: EPUB, MOBI, or PDF.” That should cover pretty well anything you're looking for.

If you're not finding anything there to your liking, let me point out that my first children's book, Derrick the Dog, is only a dollar—99 cents pretty well everywhere you can find it—or it's free for members. If you wanted to join, you can start a free trial. Membership is as little as $3 a month, and you get some exclusive behind-the-scenes material, works in progress, and early access to videos. Depending on the level, you also get audio-only readings of my children's books.

Anyway, I hope that helps. Thanks.