When I first heard of audio books in the 80?s they were mostly mentioned as being a good alternative for the sight impaired. An ugly green plastic box of cassettes at the library is my first memory of audio books, so speech books as they were known. Writing this brings back memories of the library lady who told us kids that these books are only for the blind and that we could not lend them. Too bad, I thought ? it would be a great way to ?read? books while doing other things, instead of watching TV.
Fast forward to 2006, and audio books are becoming a huge success. And they are certainly not just for those hard of seeing, they are for everybody. Imagine the busy business woman who just can?t squeeze in 30 minutes to read even thou she really longs to escape to the fantasy of a good book. Thanks to the Audio book, she can ?read? that book while driving to work, rushing off for lunch or walking to the daycare center. In fact, now that the audio books can be loaded onto Ipods and other media players it?s really easy to bring it along anywhere you go. You could even load up tens of books and alternate between them. On a side not though; don?t forget to set your MP3 player to Normal play, instead of Random play or you could end up with some interestingly confusing results chapter wise.
Now that I have already touched the subject of different formats, why not get into that a bit deeper. You can get audio books in the form of CD?s, which is still a common way of delivering audio books. The disadvantage to this is that a book can take up a lot of CD?s and each only run for about one hour. More recently these spoken books have become available in the form of Media player sound files, such as MP3. The great advantage to this is that you can purchase your book online and download it and instantly begin to listen to it without any waiting time. If your book is not available as a sound file but as CD you can convert them yourself using different software, you can easily find them by searching for ?convert CD mp3? or if you use Windows Media Player you actually have this function built in for free ? it?s called Rip.
No matter what format you prefer, or when you like to listen to your books one thing is for sure ? this market is growing and readers/listeners love the convenience of audio books. When the Internet became popular a bit over 10 years ago the rumor had it that the book was dying thanks to the Net, those rumors of death are now proved to be widely exaggerated. Books are not dead; they are ?sound? alive.
Trendspotting Markus Wahlgren picks up what he finds interesting in today's trends, Audio books, is one example. Many other subjects can be found at his blog; Independent Views.
Listened to Books Recently?
ClearAudioBooks.com, an online store for downloadable digital audiobooks, was launched recently. Digital AudioBooks are setting a new trend in today's time starved world, where people just don't have the luxury of time to sit and read a book. Why read when you can listen and multi-task?
Audio Books - A New Science Of Learning Language.
Foreign language audio books have proven to be an ideal vehicle for learning or polishing up one's knowledge of another language. Audio books are the perfect choice to learn new languages during your free time. Audio books will teach you not just how to read but how to say the words correctly.
Baby Memory Books
The hardest part of being a new mother is taking the time to simply enjoy your new child and store away all of the precious memories. New babies require a tremendous amount of time and energy
Audio Books - How Did They Come About?
One of the very first cases of audio books being recorded in America happened way back in 1933 when award winning anthropologist, John Peabody Harrington (1884-1961) recorded the histories, rituals, songs and languages of many native American tribes Whilst this audio book was a very basic example it helped develop an interest in ?talking books?
Lucrative Market In Selling Used Books
Buying used books was not always in fashion. On the contrary it was not considered acceptable and was looked down upon. College students and book-lovers made clandestine trips to stores that sold second hand books. Not only did their purchase of the large number of books that they wanted come cheap, the bookstores also gave them the time and space that they required to browse through various books. These trips promised an unstrained period of time with coffee, background music, a soothing flavor of the age gone by and years of paper.
Books on Horsemanship - Xenophon Had it Right
Xenophon was a 4th Century BC Greek cavalry officer and military hero, student of Socrates, historian, author, and expert on horsemanship - a man of many talents. His horsemanship writings addressed the proper care of the horse, how to choose a horse, and the training of the war horse.
Selling Books and E-Books Online
For many authors the thought of getting professionally published is little more than a dream. That was until the advent of the internet started threatening the very existence of publishers.
Critical Overview Of The Most Popular Poker Books
There are literally thousands of poker books out there that talk about the best ways to become great at gambling It doesn't matter if it's blackjack, five card stud, Texas hold'em or any other poker games, there are several for each category
Online Baby Books
A digital baby scrapbook with a print-out tool available for all of the photos, messages and other content would make a great gift for parents, grandparents?anyone. And now you can turn your digital photos into one of these memorable online baby albums in just a few simple steps.
Attention Book Publisher: Brilliant New Online Game Puts New Books In Front Of Enthusiastic Readers
Guess Who Wrote That? Innovative, imaginative way of getting new authors' works and words in front the reading public.
Top 5 Bookkeeping Secrets To Get Your Books In Shape
Now that year end and tax season is over, it's time to sit down and review your books and plans for the next year. I love tax time but not for the reasons you may expect. I love it because it gives me a chance to connect with my clients (I'm a virtual bookkeeper specializing in bookkeeping for Internet Marketers) and help them implement some simple tricks and strategize to help get their books in shape.
Estate of Acclaimed Professor Offers Free Research Books
Sex research books are available for free to qualified researchers from the Bullough Family trust. There are over six hundred books dealing with different aspects of sex remaining. These books are provided for free from the private collection of Vern Bullough.
10 Best Audio Books to Improve Your Mind
It's indeed incredible that not many people pay a great deal of attention to what gets into their minds.
Private Donor Pledges Books for Troops This Holiday Season
A private donor has pledged to donate one copy of The New York Times best selling book, The 4:8 Principle to a U.S. soldier for every copy of The 4:8 Principle purchased at a Barnes & Noble retail store between now and November 11.
Janet Mills announces the release of her fourth romance novel! Janet's books have earned awards and rave reviews.
Special sale on two of Janet's romance novels through September: BEST OF ALL, a contemporary romance which earned a Reviewer's Choice Award, and THE SWEETEST GIFT, a western historical romance which is a Publisher's Pick and a Bestseller!