Friday, March 26, 2010

Audio Books, The New Books on Tape Craze

Are you caught up in the audio book craze? I am not there yet. I like to read but I am still in love with holding the paper and turning the pages etc. I had gotten away from frequent library use as the kids got older so B&N and Amazon got a lot of biz from us. I remember when I used to buy the nursery rhyme books on tape for the kids. It was very cool but they fell off the popular list as the kids aged. Now I have no space to store books so I borrow from the public library. It feels like a lost when I return the book especially if I really liked it. I also miss having a functional library in my home. Books-on-tape have grown up and is cornerning the market and our way of life as Audio Books.
The Audio book business is on the increase.  It is not just for the kids anymore. I remember a selling point for audio books was the ability of busy folks to keep up with their reading. I think many of the titles or the popular push was with meditation and inspirational materials. Today, various readers have recorded lots of books and materials for the general population. Life got busy for many people and audio books gives us the better of two worlds - listen while you work, while you drive, while you relax, while watching TV, while you jog, taking a shower, you name it.

Remember the old days when folks gathered around the radio for story time. It was the high point of the day. Bringing the stories to life on the radio was state of the art entertainment. Today we have so many options for entertainment and acquiring knowledge and having fun, why not more audio book titles, topics and genre. The proliferation of personal electronic devices certainly gives it boost. These gadgets target the young and the young at heart. Look at all of the gadgets; ipods, MP3, Iphone and all of the other phones types, and readers like Kindle on the market. As expensive as some of these gadgets are they ought to be able to read to you.

Virtual libraries are very attractive especially in the city where living spaces have reduced by 2/3 of what they used to be and with the prices more than twice quadrupled over the years. We do not have the space for storage or libraries anymore. Remember those volumes of encyclopedias? Wow, another market and earning steam went the way of the dinosaurs. Grab a CD or better yet get it on-line. I still cannot get into having the bud in my ear with the noise - music or reading for personal listening. The hands free phones or blue tooth devices are not popular with me.
Audio books provide access to all types of books and materials. From Mark Twain to I am Legend you name it you could find it. Moreover, from the reviews, audio books are very good quality recordings and productions. I will be selecting an audio book this weekend. I'll keep you posted.

2 comments:

MargoPego said...

I agree with you about being able to hold a book in the hands & read the words on a page. I do love being read to, but only if a person's there with me reading to me. Otherwise, I like to read a book myself. There's something wonderful about this, so tactile, & ebooks just aren't the same, either.

Rochelle@mom-says said...

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blogs. Like you,I'm more into paperbacks than e-books. I love holding a book and flippin' pages while i'm curled up in a couch or in bed.

I tried reading the 7th Harry Potter book online though and I ended up getting a headache for facing the pc monitor for several hours each day.I haven't tried audio books yet. I think the idea is cool so i might try it out one of these days. Thanks for the heads-up!