Hi everyone,
Costa here! I am taking a short break starting 23rd, for about two weeks. I’ve been trying my best to keep up with posts, but things might be a bit slower while I’m away. In the meantime, I’d love to get to know you better! If you have a moment, tell me:

• Since when you started listening (CAB, CNXP, etc)
• Your favorite episode so far
• What platform you listen on
• One thing you’d like to see improved on the channel

Make sure to leave a comment whenever you can, it means the world to me. (Firstory/YT) Until next time!

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 February feature
"East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Published in 19 September, 1952
Distributed Proofreaders Canada Ebook

A sweeping family saga set in California’s Salinas Valley, exploring the timeless struggle between good and evil through generations of the Trask and Hamilton families.

Chapter 1-3
00:30 1 Two mountain ranges frame California’s Salinas Valley, fertile yet unpredictable, where floods and droughts shape life and history from Native peoples to Spanish rule and early American settlers.
14:21 2 Irish immigrant Samuel Hamilton settles with his wife Liza in the harsh hills near King City, raising nine children on poor land, admired for his ingenuity and kindness but forever trapped in poverty.
27:22 3 Adam Trask grows up under his domineering father Cyrus beside volatile half-brother Charles, whose jealousy erupts into brutal violence after sensing their father favors Adam.

Characters
Samuel Hamilton - warm, inventive Irish immigrant whose generosity, humor, and strong moral sense make him a beloved figure despite his lifelong struggle with poverty.
Adam Trask - gentle, idealistic, whose kindness and moral innocence shape his life, yet his naivety and favoritism toward one son bring quiet tragedy to his family.
Charles Trask - volatile, capable, whose violent temper and jealousy contrast with his honesty and loyalty, embodying a complex struggle between darkness and decency.
Cyrus Trask - a domineering, cunning patriarch whose favoritism and obsession with military honor shape the lives and rivalries of his sons.

Costa's Wordbook
Swale n a low or hollow place, especially a marshy depression between ridges
Tule n a clubrush that is abundant in marshy areas of California (Two ly)
Brogue n a marked accent, especially Irish or Scottish, when speaking English (Bro gue)
Lilt n a characteristic rising and falling of the voice when speaking; a pleasant gentle accent
Diphtheria n a serious, contagious infection caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae bacteria, primarily affecting the nose and throat, or sometimes the skin (dip Thee ria)

Theosophy n any of a number of philosophies maintaining that a knowledge of God may be achieved through spiritual ecstasy, direct intuition, or special individual relations, especially the movement founded in 1875 as the Theosophical Society by Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott 神智學 (the Aw sophy)
Philander v (of a man) readily or frequently enter into casual sexual relationships with women (phi Lander)
Busby n a tall fur hat with a coloured cloth flap hanging down on the right-hand side and in some cases a plume on the top, worn by soldiers of certain regiments of hussars and artillerymen (Bus bee)
Bellicosity n the behaviour or manner of someone who wants to fight or start a war (Belli cos sity)

Selections for 2026
Brave New World, The Little Prince, Songs of a Dead Dreamer, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Anne of Green Gables, Wuthering Heights, East of Eden, The Stranger, The Godfather, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Inferno, The Two Towers, Den of Thieves, Winnie the Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner.

Milestones
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Available on
YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Castbox, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn, Castro, Player FM

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 February feature
"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë
Published in November, 1847
Project Gutenberg Ebook edition

A wronged outsider, Heathcliff, dedicates his life to avenging a childhood humiliation and lost love, only to see his obsessive cruelty poison two generations before it finally burns itself out.

Chapter 29-32
00:30 29 Heathcliff brings Catherine to Wuthering Heights, forbids Thrushcross Grange. Haunted by Cathy’s grave, he plans to be buried with her. Catherine leaves; Heathcliff bars Mrs. Dean from visiting.
14:31 30 Catherine nurses dying Linton alone under Heathcliff’s cruelty. After Linton dies, she grows angry and withdrawn. Zillah suggests Hareton; Catherine inherits Thrushcross Grange, but Heathcliff controls it. Lockwood plans to leave.
28:57 31 Lockwood visits Wuthering Heights to deliver a note. Catherine ignores him, teases Hareton about reading, and they quarrel. Heathcliff demands rent. Lockwood leaves, imagining a missed romance with Catherine.
42:35 32 Lockwood visits Wuthering Heights after Heathcliff’s death. He sees Catherine teaching Hareton to read, learns Heathcliff is dead, and Mrs. Dean explains Catherine and Hareton are now close and meant to marry.

Characters
Heathcliff - A mistreated orphan rises from humiliation to power, driven by an all-consuming attachment that shapes his life and disrupts two families across generations on the isolated Yorkshire moors.
Catherine "Cathy" Linton - spirited and strong-willed, is the daughter of Catherine and Edgar Linton, curious about the world beyond Thrushcross Grange, and forms complex relationships with her cousins and household.
Hareton Earnshaw - son of Hindley, grows up at Wuthering Heights with limited education, influenced by both Nelly and Heathcliff, and develops a complex connection with his cousin Cathy.
Catherine Earnshaw - wild and passionate from childhood, shapes the lives of those around her, her personality and choices driving much of the novel’s first-generation story.
Joseph - a long-serving Wuthering Heights servant, is rigid, self-righteous, unkind, and dislikes almost everyone, speaking a strong, Yorkshire dialect.
Ellen “Nelly” Dean - servant and narrator, mediates between Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, witnessing and influencing events across multiple generations.
Hindley Earnshaw - Catherine’s elder brother, harbors lifelong hatred for Heathcliff, mismanages Wuthering Heights, and leaves his troubled son to inherit a debt-laden estate.
Edgar Linton - a refined Thrushcross Grange gentleman, contrasts sharply with Heathcliff; cultured, gentle, and devoted to his family.
Isabella Linton - Edgar’s sister, becomes tragically entangled with Heathcliff, enduring his cruelty and shaping the next generation through her son, Linton.

Costa's Wordbook
Bide v arch. remain or stay somewhere
Emulous adj motivated by a spirit of rivalry; seeking to emulate someone or something (Em mew lus)
Chevy Chase - an old English ballad or song, popular from at least the 16th–17th centuries, it tells a story of a border skirmish (or hunting expedition) between English and Scottish forces, with dramatic, often bloody results, well-known in rural England and considered entertaining reading or recital material.
Spleen n anger or bad temper; abdominal organ
Memoranda pl n of Memorandum

Complete Features
Anne of Green Gables, Little Prince, Brave New World, Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestones
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Available platforms
YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Castbox, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn, Castro, Player FM