Audio Books:
The Art of Passive and Multi-Task
Reading
When we started out in the audio book world, we began supplying a service
to sight-impaired people. That is in fact where the audio book industry
started. Certainly this was and remains a valuable service but we soon
realized that we had hopelessly underestimated the demand for these
fabulous life-enhancing products that are audio books today.
Audio books are great!
They serve a wonderful purpose in a time-stuck world: they allow the
transfer of knowledge and entertainment in a passive way, with marvelous
results. Audio books are also an important component of the modern
trend to multi-tasking. You can listen to an audio book while cooking,
jogging, house-cleaning, walking, flying, dozing, working climbing
mountains, driving and even surfing the net. And who uses audio book?
Why, just everyone, from children to moms to business people to airline
pilots to teachers.
All about audio books today
Terms that did not exist ten years ago are now commonly used – terms
such as audio book rental, free audio books, audio book club, audio books
on CD and online audio book rental services. In response to popular demand
we would like to provide you with snapshot view of the audio book world
of today as we have grown to know it. Some people ask if this is the
end of the “paper” book as we know it. We don’t believe
so. Rather, audio books are feeding into the vaster diversity that world
markets have become.
Free audio books?
People often ask if they can get free audio books. The short answer to
that is “no”. As with most things in life, if you want
something good you should pay for it. Some online book sites do offer
free “trial” audio books on occasion so the rule is not
hard and fast.
Must I buy an audio book or rent it?
No, you don’t have to buy audio books. In fact, it is probably
better to rent them. There is the cost implication when buying them,
for a start. Also consider whether you would like to listen to the audio
book regularly or even just more than once. Obviously there is an argument
for starting your own personal audio book library but our overwhelming
suggestion is: rent them – especially when starting out!
What are the formats of audio books?
There are essentially three formats: tape, CD and downloadable. Obviously
it depends on your technical capabilities and preferences as to which
you prefer. Downloadable books are cost-effective and convenient if
you own a media player on your desktop or portable PC or if you have
an iPod. Cassettes are right for you if you have a cassette player,
but CD is preferable if there is a choice, as the sound quality, cost
and convenience will probably be better than cassette. In fact, CD
and downloadable are pretty much the format of the moment when it comes
to audio books.
Are audio books expensive?
No, they are not. Downloadable audio books are cheap, costing less than
real books. Renting them is probably the most cost-effective deal.
As a rule of thumb, audio books on CD cost about the same as real books
and books on tape are the most expensive. This is something of a paradox,
as tape is the most old-fashioned and least popular format.
Are all books are available in audio books?
No, but surprisingly many are! You can be sure that all new books and
bestsellers of the last hundred years or so are available as audio
books. Lots of the older best-sellers are available on cassette and
the newer ones for download and on CD.
Where do I find audio books?
Right here at Audio Books For Today, where we have assembled the finest
online audio bookstores where you can rent and buy, download or get
CDs. Happy listening!
