I discovered Kate Chopin's (1850-1904) The Awakening (1899) about six months ago. Of course I had known of its existence before this. (It was one of the first book I stocked in my shop when I opened.) It started when I discovered www.librivox.org and I was downloading (very legally - these books are in the public domain, that is they are beyond copyright) audio books. Some books read by Librivox readers are not so pleasant to listen to. The Garden Party, for example, is read in a broad Australian accent and unlistenable. The Awakening, however, is read by many different readers in varying degrees of pleasantness. For those of you who are not familiar with the book (and I hope you soon will be) it is made up of two parts, the first, a summer holiday, is set on Grand Isle, Louisiana and the second, back to reality and the high society set of New Orleans. Through the winter months of 2007, I sat in my shop, listened to audio books and knitted. Edna Pontellier - wife, mother of two - is an appealing character. Refusing to conform on her arrival back to the city she sends the children off to their grandmothers, moves out of her house into a smaller more comfortable one, and takes up painting. Her husband thinks she is mad, she does not - though there is a real sense of inner hysteria followed by a great calm... I like the ending. I feel that Edna triumphs. When the book was published over a century ago it shocked readers. How fantastic it is to have a book that was once so controversial strike such a chord today.     To follow on from last month, I wanted to place some importance on the fantastic job that librivox.org and its readers are doing. Did I mention thatanyone can contribute? This way you can make sure your favourite book (in the public domain) is availble in audio form for all to hear. Just log on to the website (www.librivox.org) to join up or download something exciting. (Check out Edna Ferber's The Woman who tried to be Good). It is because of this site that I came to read Crome Yellow (1921) by Aldous Huxley (1894-1963). Most of us have read A Brave New World as a school text. Did we enjoy it? I for one can't remember. Crome Yellow as an audio book was a real treat. I pity the customers I had in my shop, during the time of the reading, that interrupted with queries or purchases. I hope my resentment was not too apparent. Recently I found a second-hand copy of the book (it is currently out of print) and was delighted to be able to read it for myself. I have since promised to lend the book to a couple of fellow readers but can't quite bring myself to do it. I think I want to read it just one more time before letting it go. Crome Yellow has everything - romance, adventure, stories within stories but most of all it has the questions that I am often asking. The Who are we?, Why the hell are we here? and What is the point of it all?