The next few days I’m going to be doing a few posts (in addition to other posts) about one of my interests that I haven’t really blogged about before: audiobooks.
For those who may not be aware, an audiobook is simply a book (either unabridged or abridged) that someone has recorded outloud, either to tape, CD, .mp3, or what have you.
I got into audiobooks a few years ago when I discovered that, after so many hours of squinting at print on a screen or on a page, I really enjoyed simply relaxing and letting someone else read to me for a change.
I especially like to listen to audiobooks when I’m travelling. It’s nice to plug in a CD and let the miles roll by.
You can get all kinds of audiobooks, from quite a long while ago (the Bible, the Illiad, the Odessy), to 19th century (Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Fin, the works of Edgar Allen Poe), to twentieth century (I, Claudius, Claudius the God), to the latest bestsellers (Tom Clancy or Michael Crichton’s latest).
At first, I would purchase audiobooks, as one can do from Amazon.Com or in a bookstore, but this tends to have a problem associated with it: Such audiobooks are often expensive–more expensive than hardbacks.
Another solution is to get them from a service like Blackstone Audiobooks, where you can rent them rather than buy them.
More recently, I have been enjoying downloading digital audiobooks from Audible.Com, where you can download them (in a proprietary format) quite inexpensively.
The next few days, I’ll tell you more about ways you can get, use, and even make (!) your own audiobooks.
(ANTI-SPOILER REQUEST: For those who are already into audiobooks, I’d ask you not to spoil some of the neat hi-tech things I’m about to introduce. Kindly wait till I mention a method and then mention your neat-o variation on it. E.g., for this post you might talk about your experience with conventional audiobooks and with services like the ones named above. Much obliged!)
I am a librarian, and get huge numbers of audiobooks (both on tape and CD) from our own collection. Also, if your local library is hooked into a good interlibrary loan system, you can request nearly ANY title ever recorded and get it from somewhere.
I’m a recent audible.com devotee, too, and await hearing about your experiences, Jimmy! Who’s your favorite author?
I hope this isn’t a spoiler. http://www.baen.com has a couple dozen or more e-books of formerly in-print novels by their SF and F authors. Available in a number of formats.
No spoilers here. When I was getting my MBA in the late 1980s, one of my professors was really pushing the audiobook concept (and an audiobook publisher whom I’ve long since forgotten), but I never listened to any, except for DAVE BARRY DOES JAPAN (read, if I remember correctly, by Arte Johnson).
I might point out to you that on your cross-country adventures you can rent an audiobook at a Cracker Barrel and return it a week later to any other Cracker Barrel in the country.
I’m going to start using audiobooks. I think it is going to be great. I’m always making trips back and forth out of town. I guess I can start with the library and see what it has to offer.
God bless you all
JO
[SVEN’S POST DELTED AS SPOILER VIOLATION. SORRY, SVEN. 🙁 I’LL GIVE YOU CREDIT WHEN I BLOG IT MYSELF 🙂 ]
My first experience with audio books was on a fraternity road trip to mexico in college. After that I knew how valuable audio books could be on a long road trip so I made sure to get the unabridged Hobbit and both an abridged and an unabridged The Lord of the Rings on CD. The unabridged Lord of the Rings I think was about 40 hours long! I still haven’t gone all the way through that one. I’d need a really long trip.
I’ve never tried one of these audio book thingies.
How “abridged” are the abridged versions. Are they worth your while?
Hmm… I think my comment might be a spoiler, depending on what you meant by “make.” (convert or actually produce?)
Anyway, on note related to audiobooks in general, Romans read out loud when they were reading by themselves. Poor fellas did ALL the work: reading, speaking, and listening.
I highly recommend listening to audiobooks of English mystery novels, Wodehouse, etc. Often, the experience of the novel is greatly enhanced by hearing the accents used in the novel. (The redoubtable actress who reads Ngaio Marsh’s novels actually sang a few Maori songs on one! Very authentically, too, as I found out when I happened to see Whale Rider shortly afterward.) The Number One Ladies Detective Agency novels were greatly enhanced by the African actress who read them, also. Also, some novels which are out of print in America will be available in your library’s audiobook section. (The hilarious Scottish novel Monarch of the Glen, for example.)
Also, there are some novels which just work better when read out loud. A lot of big Victorian novels really benefit from this. All those asides and complicated sentences are now the actor’s problem to solve; you receive all the benefits with none of the work.
The downside is that…well, British actors do really horrible American accents, some Americans do really horrible regional American accents, and some of the earlier audiobooks featured actors and actresses unable to do convincing voices for both genders. This sort of bad acting can make a book literally unlistenable.
Also, if you get to an embarrassing or boring or repetitive part of an audiobook, it’s a bit harder to skim forward to the next good part and still be sure you’re not missing anything. (Though it helps if the audiobook is of the “new track every three minutes” variety.)
But hey. They’re all free at your local library. It won’t cost you to try it out.