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Eragon Audio Books Mixed Reviews

January 26th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Erqagon Dividing Opinion

It is clear that Eragon audio books polarise opinion, there are those who adore the series and those who consider the Eragon books to be inferior and a waste of time. However nearly everyone who has read the books or listened to the Eragon audio books series agree that it is impressive that one so young should have written an entire series of books. The Eragon audio book series was begun by author Christopher Paolini when he was only 15 years old, and the first book was published within three years.

What is Eragon?

The Eragon series of audio books are a fantasy adventure story following a boy named Eragon who on finding a dragon’s egg discovers he is part of a hidden world and the fate of an entire empire may rest in his hands. The series of audio books, known as the Inheritance Trilogy, consists of three titles - Eragon, Eldest and the as yet unpublished Empire. A movie based on the first of the Eragon books has been released and is available on DVD, movies based on the other books in the series will follow. There is also an Eragon video game available.

Eragon Fans

Many people who love the Eragon audio books are impressed first and foremost by the fact that he is so young and has written an entire trilogy of books. Some have also considered him an inspirational author, as he was home schooled, went into public school to graduate at the age of fifteen, and transformed from a person who hated to read to an author in a very short period of time. Many people find the Eragon audio books engaging and entertaining; these books are also highly recommended reading for the younger age groups.

Eragon Critics

Critics of Christopher Paolini’s, Eragon audio books claim there is a great lack of originality in the work; many go further to say the only reason the work is acceptable to such a large audience is strictly because of the author’s age. Many detractors also note that much of the Eragon audio books plot and characters, are borrowed an dthinly disguised from other authors, movies and popular culture. On this point even many fans of the Eragon audio book series agree, almost everyone who has read this work has noticed a familiarity in plot, settings or characters.

Is The Eragon Audio Book Series for You?

Regardless of critics or fans polarised opinions, the Eragon audio books remained high in the New York Best Seller’s List for many weeks in a row; this indicates that enough people were sufficiently interested in the book to purchase it. While according to the online reviews it was a regrettable purchase, it was purchased by many others that were happy with their decision to buy the Eragon audio books. Whether the series is something you will enjoy is a conclusion only you can come to after reading the series or listening to Eragon audio books.

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.

Cassette Audio Books are not Extinct!

January 21st, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Cassette audio books have been around for as long as the cassette tape medium has existed. Cassette audio books or audio books on tape were originally devised as a tool for the blind and visually impaired but it soon became obvious that there was a wider audience. Despite the rise of the audio cd, and the near extinction of the audio cassette in the music industry, cassette audio books remain popular and the variety of titles available almost matches the cd versions. Additionally the increase in cd sales has lead to a large market of used cassette audio books at extraordinarily low prices.

Classic Novels and Modern Fiction

Whatever your literary preference, you are bound to find numerous titles of interest to you available as cassette audio books. From classic authors such as Charles Dickens, Mark Twain and Thomas Hardy to modern novelists like Steven King, J K Rowling and Michael Crichton and everything in between, you’ll find all of this and more available as cassette audio books.

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Business, Learning and Self Help

Cassette audio books are a great way of learning, whether it be languages, business techniques or personal development. Cassette audio books allow you to absorb information whilst you carry out other activities such as shopping, travelling or exercising. You will find numerous titles available to suit most purposes including business and management strategies, self help and language studies. Cassette audio books have been a popular method of learning to speak languages for many years and there are titles available for learning almost any language around the world.

Inspiration, Motivation and Spirituality

There are a large number cassette audio books of inspirational and religious books available to people of all faiths; there are standard readings from the bible, heart warming accounts of personal experiences with faith and belief, and even more stories to uplift the listener. Even if you don’t subscribe to a religious faith there are many inspirational and motivational titles available in cassette audio book format to help with your personal development and attaining your goals.

Cassette Audio Books for Women

Audio books especially for women include books to enlighten, amuse, and discuss general health and well being of the woman. Several cassette audio book titles will include pregnancy, parenting, and crafting; still others will be fiction works which focus on different aspects of being a woman, and how women are able to act within different situations. Naturally there is also a great variety of woman inspired comedy books available such as He’s Just Not That in to You.

Audio Books for Young People

Children’s and Young Adult’s cassette audio books will include both classic and more recent popular titles including The Wizard of OZ, and the Harry Potter Series. For children or young adults who don’t like to read, reading along with their favorite cassette audio books could make them stronger readers. Also for children who are too young to read the complicated books they enjoy listening to, cassette audio books can be a terrific entertainment alternative to television or video games. There are also a great many audio books available to help with the education of your children and these educational cassette audio books cover every subject and area of learning.

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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