In as much as the audio book phenomenon isn’t too new, there are still lots of people that don’t know certain things about it.I must confess that I was also ignorant about certain aspects of audio books myself.
During my early days of audio books, I had to ask certain questions and today I hear a lot of people asking the same such questions.
Who knows, you might also have such questions and you really want to find the answers to them.
If yes, then below are some of these questions and their answers:
What is an audio book? An audio book is simply a book in audio format. Instead of receiving a physical hardcover or paperback book that you have to read, you will receive a CD, cassette or MP3 version of the book.
What formats do audio books come in? Audio books come in normal cassette formats, CD formats and MP3 formats which can be played on cassette players, cd players or MP3 players respectively.
What is an MP3 audio book? MP3 is simply a compression technique that makes it possible for reduction to be made to audio books so that they use less space (sometimes as little as 80%) compared to that of cassettes or CDs.
How can MP3 audio books be played? MP3 audio books can be played on any new version of CD players that support the MP3 technology – mostly those that can accept a 4.75 diameter disk.
They an also be played on any PC that has Microsoft’s Windows Media Player or other related software.
What is an unabridged audio book? An unabridged audio book is one that was narrated word for word. In such an audio book, nothing was removed from the printed book. It has the exact content with that of the printed book, albeit in audio format.
What is an abridged audio book? An abridged audio book is one that is shortened and doesn’t contain the exact word for word narration as the printed book.
What is a dramatized audio book? A dramatized audio book, as the name implies, is a dramatized “play-life” version of the printed book, with usual full cast, music and sound effects.
Where can audio books be bought online? There are many audio book stores on the Internet. Some of them are Amazon.com, BarnesAndNobles.com, and Spokennetwork.com, to mention a few.
How can I find the audio book I would like online? You can visit any of the major audio book stores and search for the particular title you need.
If you are unable to find what you need you can then use the any of the major search engines such as Google.com.
With the incredible advantage of listening to your favorite book instead of reading it, the popularity of audio books has now gone through the roof. There are now more and more book titles with audio book versions.Think about it – with audio books you can now save that extra time you spend reading a chapter on your favorite motivational book each morning before you leave for work. Apart from saving extra time, you are gaining extra knowledge in the process.
You can simply put it on to play while you prepare for work or even play it in your car on your way to work.
No wonder children, adults and even oldies have fallen head over heels in love with audio books.
Below are some of the specific advantages that audio books have over normal hardcover or paperback books:
– Audio books are more cost effective to produce than hardcover and paperbacks. More so, those who love to conserve nature insist that if all books are audio instead of hardcover and paperbacks, this will save more trees and keep the earth better than it is today.
– You can select the exact track you want to listen to instead of flipping through several pages in the case of normal books. This saves a great deal of time and makes it very comfortable for you.
– You can listen to audio books while doing other things in the house, while commuting to and from work or even while jogging. With an audio book someone else does the reading, while you do the absorption.
– You can listen to an audio book when its dark (example – when you are out camping and you’ve got no lights) but you can’t read a book when it’s dark. So, with an audio book you can go on vacation and still enjoy what the audio book has to offer.
– You can save the time you spend reading to your kids each night before they sleep with an audio book. Unlike a normal paperback or hardcover book that you have to read to your kids, with an audio book you can simply play it for them until they fall asleep, thereby saving you the time.
More so, audio books that are specifically for children are more fun than your reading can be. You probably were not trained to talk like a rabbit, right? But most of the narrators of children’s audio books were trained to read in ways that children love.
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