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Building an Audio Book Library

February 9th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Provide Your Family with a Library of Audio Book Entertainment and Education

An audio book library provides your family with a valuable source of entertainment and education in all forms. The popularity of audio books has increased greatly in the last decade. As many people’s lives have been increasingly filled with commuting and other tasks in which the brain is only partially active they have discovered that they are able to put that time to more beneficial use by listening to an audio book. For people who spend several hours a day commuting to work or driving for a living, an audio book library is of enormous benefit, listening to an audio book will make the time pass more quickly, aid concentration and reduce the feeling of wasted time.

Modern technology means that it’s easy to listen to audiobooks anywhere you can use an MP3 player, CD or cassette tape devices which are affordable to most people. When building an audio book library MP3 format audiobooks offer the most convenience as a large number of audio books can be stored on an iPod or other MP3 player and taken on long journeys or on holiday. Some people prefer to build a library of audio books on CD or cassette tape as they like to have a tangible item.

The range of audio book titles available is as broad as the range of paperback books. As well as best selling works of fiction in every genre, you will find biographies, poetry, comedy and educational audio books covering every subject imaginable from languages to business skills. Nothing beats the frustration of sitting in a traffic jam like knowing that you are using the time productively by listening to an educational audio book! If you’re on a long family car journey, sharing the experience of listening to an entertaining or humorous audio book will make an otherwise grueling journey a joyous occasion! A good audio book library should of course include a variety of different titles to suit all tastes and circumstances.

An Audio Book Library Benefits the Whole Family

Providing entertainment and education whilst on the move may be the most obvious benefit of an audio book library but other members of the family can enjoy the audiobooks at home. Elderly members of the family may have failing eyesight and will benefit hugely from being able to listen to a variety of audio books and magazines. Other family members can make use of your audio book library whilst doing domestic chores, exercising or walking the family dog! Whether for educational or entertainment purposes a library of audio books is something that generations of a family can benefit from time and time again.

When it comes to education, audio books are a powerful tool. As well as the convenience of being able to listen anywhere audio books present the subject being learnt in a way that that many people find far easier to digest than a printed book. This is particularly true where learning a language is concerned as pronunciation can only be properly learnt by hearing the words spoken. A well presented audio book can also bring to life a subject which may otherwise be tedious and difficult to learn so an educational audio book library is of benefit to every member of the family.

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Unabridged Audio Books

January 21st, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Unabridged audio books are complete, word for word, readings of books from cover to cover, as opposed to the abridged type which are shortened versions of the books in question. These unabridged books are often dramatised rather than simply read and may include more than 1 reader, sound effects and a musical background. Unabridged audiobooks of this type offer a completely different way to enjoy novels and provide the listener with a completely immersive experience. The audio book industry even has it’s own awards which include categories such as performance, production and soundtrack and cover many different genres of audio books.

Until recently it has been more common for audio books to be available in abridged versions rather the preferable unabridged format. An unabridged audio book can consist of many cd’s or tapes, so the cost of production and the resulting cost to the consumer has previously been prohibitively high. Technological advances have now reduced the costs of production to a point where unabridged audio books on cd are now affordable and consumers no longer have to make do with abridged versions.

The biggest change, however, has come with the advent of the downloadable audio book which has considerably lower costs and allows for a much broader range of material to be made available in the format of unabridged audio books.

Increasing Demand for Unabridged Audio Books from the iPod Generation

The worldwide boom in personal MP3 players, especially the iPod, has opened up a whole new market for the unabridged audio book. People who have never previously considered listening to an audio book are realising that they can do more than listen to music on their MP3 players! Whether it be for learning or pleasure people are finding the enormous benefits of being able to listen to an audio book wherever they go - in the car, at the gym or whilst doing the housework. Demand for unabridged audiobooks is at an all time high and continues to rise.

Audiobooks may be found in a variety of different formats and quality levels to suit different tastes and budgets. There are a large number of classic books which are in the public domain, this means that anyone can make a recording of the work and sell it without paying royalties or asking permission. This has resulted in a new industry producing unabridged audiobooks of public domain works, these range from books read by a computer through readings by amateurs to more professional productions. Make sure you know which type of production you are buying before you pay.

At the other end of the spectrum are the lavishly produced unabridged audio books of bestselling novels, which will usually include well known actors, stereo sound effects, an appropriate soundtrack and all round high production values right down to the packaging and extras.

With all this talk of production values, sound effects and actors you’d be forgiven for thinking that the audio book industry revolves solely around novels. This is far from the case as there is a potentially much larger market for unabridged audio books as learning tools, whether it be language learning, children’s education, business guides or any other area of knowledge which can be taught through the medium of an audio book. In the online business market alone there are thousands of business guides available in audio format, some of these can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars and many are only available as unabridged audio books.

Audiobooks

January 18th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Audiobooks are spoken word recordings of books, magazines or any other printed matter. Sometimes audiobooks are electronically generated but naturally people prefer listening to a human voice, usually a professional actor, reading a novel or article. Of course audiobooks are ideal the blind and visually impaired but anyone can enjoy a book in this medium, from the young to the old. If you have a poor attention span when reading or don’t have the time to read you may find an audio book is just what you need.

Listening to a novel or a self improvement book whilst you drive to work is a great way to pass the time and relieve the frustrations of rush hour! Many children’s toys now have built-in audiobooks, this is a great way to encourage reading and stimulate learning in your child. Childrens audiobooks are a great way to occupy children freeing up time for parents. Any book can be recorded onto CD’s or tapes and therefore can be easily listened to on the move. They are handy when traveling or at times when there is not enough light to read by. People with poor sight that do not wish to use reading glasses in order to enjoy their favorite books can also make valuable use of audiobooks.

Why listen to an audiobook instead of reading it

Some people do not like listening to audiobooks, preferring to read the story themselves at their own pace. Others much prefer the use of spoken books, especially if the person reciting the tale is a familiar voice or is particularly good at showing emotions in the tones that they use. If you are the type of person that could happily fall asleep while listening to someone else recite a story or if you travel a lot and need something to distract you from the boredom, then maybe these books are for you. An excessive amount of reading can be bad for the eyes particularly if the person is a student who is required to look at text books all day and it can be a welcome break to listen to an audio book version for a change.

For the visually impaired or if the eye is strained or tired, then audiobooks are a good substitute for reading the literature of your choice. Audiobooks are so widely available in so many varying genres that it would be nearly impossible for a person to get bored or run out of audiobooks to listen to. Audiobooks offer the opportunity to experience novels in a completely different way with the story and characters brought to life by a familiar voice or to experience the joy of a good book that they may never have bothered with before, particularly if it was a long book!. Audiobooks offer a solution to numerous situations where reading isn’t possible and provide the opportunity to experience a story in a new way.

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