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I’ve been recording a few chapters of Music Talks with Children by Thomas Tapper, a group project at librivox. It’s lovely. From the Preface:

The purpose is to suggest a few of the many aspects which music may have even to the mind of a child. If these chapters, or whatever may be logically suggested by them, be actually used as the basis of simple Talks with children, music may become to them more than drill and study. They should know it as an art, full of beauty and of dignity; full of pure thought and abounding in joy.

One of the chapters, entitled “Music and Reading”, begins: “A beautiful thing in life is the friendship for books.”

Ahh yes, yes it is. The author mentions the pleasure of reading the letters and biographies of the great composers, but I think mainly he wanted to talk about how much he loves books in general! Good books “present beautiful pictures to us truthfully, or they present truth to us beautifully.”

If you read good books you will have in every volume you get something well worth owning. You should bestow upon it as much care as you would want any other good friend to receive. And if it has contributed help or pleasure to you it is surely worth an abiding place. A fine pleasure will come from a good book even after we are quite done with it. As we see it in years after it has been read there comes back to one a remembrance of all the old pleasures, and with it a sense of thankfulness for so pleasant a friendship. Hence any book that has given us joy or peace or comfort is well worth not only good care, but a place for always; as a worthy bit of property.

And that is why I have too many books. They are my friends and have earned “an abiding place” on my shelves.

I’ll let you know when this audiobook is finished and ready for download, but in the meantime if you want an audiobook about music you might enjoy this series of Thomas Tapper’s little biographies of great composers for children:
https://librivox.org/stories-of-great-composers-for-children-by-thomas-tapper/