Free audiobooks from the entertainingly weird world of Daniel Pinkwater
March 18, 2020 3:28 PM   Subscribe

Daniel Manus Pinkwater is an author of mostly children's books and young adult titles of the wonderfully weird and punny sort, and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. Goodreads lists 128 distinct works, and from this extensive library, he's made 24 titles into audiobooks available to freely download from his website [via Mltshp]. Want even more audio adventures? Webmaster Ed and Daniel collaborated on the Pinkwater Podcast between 2007 and 2017, producing over 500 episodes of recorded books, short stories, interviews, skits, and other random nonsense [Ducks! previously].
posted by filthy light thief (28 comments total) 39 users marked this as a favorite
 
Snarkout boys!
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 3:38 PM on March 18, 2020 [3 favorites]


The zipfile of Chicago Days/Hoboken Nights is, strangely, password-locked but the others seem to be playable.
posted by ardgedee at 3:42 PM on March 18, 2020 [1 favorite]


I discovered Pinkwater during a particularly bad time in my life. His delightful (ie. full of delight) bufoonery provided a much-needed salve to my soul.
posted by No Robots at 3:44 PM on March 18, 2020 [1 favorite]


People, "Lizard Music" is a very, very important book. Miss it at your peril!
posted by Ipsifendus at 3:47 PM on March 18, 2020 [10 favorites]


AHHHHHHHH! Thank you!!!! :)
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 4:35 PM on March 18, 2020


I will be listening to this as I stir a bowl of lunch for the family.
posted by blakewest at 4:39 PM on March 18, 2020 [1 favorite]


I was a preschool assistant for about 2 years in the mid-90s. During that time, I read Tooth-Gnasher Superflash approximately 40,000 times. Sometimes even to the kids.
posted by Gorgik at 5:18 PM on March 18, 2020 [1 favorite]


O fuck yeah. I will always have an inexplicable soft spot for the weird universe of Borgel.
posted by Going To Maine at 5:25 PM on March 18, 2020 [4 favorites]


Seconding Ipsifendus: Lizard Music is where it's at.
posted by heteronym at 5:46 PM on March 18, 2020 [2 favorites]


Ok now this is well and truly awesome.
posted by Ashwagandha at 6:10 PM on March 18, 2020


It's hard to understate what formative reading experiences Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars and The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death were for me.

Thanks for this!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:23 PM on March 18, 2020 [7 favorites]


ardgedee: The Chicago Days/Hoboken Nights zipfile no longer has a password.
posted by BiggerJ at 7:31 PM on March 18, 2020 [1 favorite]


Alan Mendelsohn is one of those books that I’m afraid to re-read, in case it isn’t as wonderful as I remember it being. Maybe I’ll gather up my courage and listen to the audiobook.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:44 PM on March 18, 2020 [1 favorite]


Echoing others here, Alan Mendelson and Lizard Music are treasured memories I wish to revisit but haven’t worked up the courage to do so yet.
posted by now i'm piste at 8:13 PM on March 18, 2020 [1 favorite]


Alan Mendelsohn holds up! At least, it did the last time I read it. It’s one of my favorite books of all time and I’m going to start it again tomorrow. That feels like exactly the right way to use my home isolation time.
posted by something something at 8:34 PM on March 18, 2020 [2 favorites]


I have been reading Pinkwater books to my son whenever he asks me (my Borgel voice is particularly requested). And I've listened to enough of these that when I read them out loud, I immediately go into his cadences. He is a national treasure.

I have a real soft spot in my heart for The Big Orange Splot and Ducks! (that was my FPP!) But my favorites will always be Once Upon a Blue Moose and The Hoboken Chicken Emergency. I guess I'm a sucker for animal-related anarchy.

Not sure if he's still there (or here), but the Pinkwater Podcast is (or was) run by MeFi's Own greatgefilte
posted by Mchelly at 8:42 PM on March 18, 2020 [2 favorites]


Ah, Yobgorgle! Now that I live about an hour from Rochester, NY, it's as if I woke up and discovered I live in Narnia or something.
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 11:03 PM on March 18, 2020 [3 favorites]


My 7-year-old falls asleep to these every night! Pinkwater's been a part of his life since he was tiny and we got him The Big Orange Splot based on an Ask recommendation.

Hot social distancing tip: many of the chapter books (and some adult essay collections) are on Kindle Unlimited. I discovered a few days ago that I still can't get through the fable chapter in Borgel without cracking up like a loon.
posted by Phase Shifting Pulse Gate at 6:28 AM on March 19, 2020


Fourthing Ipsifendus. Lizard Music is so strange. I remember exactly where it was on the library shelf when I found it in 6th grade.
posted by doctornemo at 6:54 AM on March 19, 2020 [1 favorite]


I have bats in my belfry and I am here for The Big Orange Splot.
posted by jonnay at 7:17 AM on March 19, 2020 [3 favorites]


Not sure if he's still there (or here), but the Pinkwater Podcast is (or was) run by MeFi's Own greatgefilte

Yup, still here. Enjoy the files, y'all!

The Chicago Days password issue is perplexing to me. It seems to affect some unzip utilities but not others. I can try reuploading it to see if it makes any difference...
posted by greatgefilte at 7:25 AM on March 19, 2020 [5 favorites]


I immediately sent this link to the girl who gave me 5 Novels as a gift for my 12th birthday (we are 33 now). Can't wait for her to play some of it for her baby.
posted by assenav at 9:14 AM on March 19, 2020 [1 favorite]


Yes to Lizard Music!

I don't think I read anything else of his, but that was great.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:53 AM on March 19, 2020


Gonna see if I can talk my housemates into listening to Borgel with me so they have a better understanding of who I am today.
posted by ActionPopulated at 10:48 AM on March 19, 2020 [2 favorites]


Moral: Never bet on an eggplant.
posted by Mchelly at 11:12 AM on March 19, 2020 [1 favorite]


As I sit here during "safer at home" in CA, I had just started re-reading "The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death", and was planning on moving to "Lizard Music" next. Thanks for this.
posted by OolooKitty at 3:22 PM on March 20, 2020 [1 favorite]


Eat pudding!

Chicago Days/Hoboken Nights is more adult oriented (not dirty or anything, just silly in a more adult way) and excellent. I've lent it out multiple times and have had to visit people's houses to get it back (before it was republished, it was frighteningly expensive.

Eat pudding!
posted by ensign_ricky at 12:48 PM on March 21, 2020 [1 favorite]


Found The Neddiad in a book pile recently and now I'm gonna put it on top of the book pile. Pinkwater is a national treasure. The Snarkout Boys' philosophy rings insanely close to home for me, as well as that of any character who enjoys a good meal in a diner.
posted by Spatch at 7:58 PM on March 21, 2020 [2 favorites]


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