Audio Books - Have You Tried Them?

Have you listened to a good audio book lately? Rather than read a novel, why not listen to one? You can listen to an audio book whilst commuting to and from work, jogging, or participating in any other activity in which you have brain capacity to spare and would like to make better use of your time.
Audio books can be used to educate and entertain, just like their written counterparts. They are available in more or less every topic including Arts & Drama, Biography, Business, Crime & Thrillers, Fiction, Foreign Language Study, Health & Recreation, History, Humor, Juvenile, Radio Shows, Religion & Spiritual, Self Help, and TV & Film. Audio books are often much cheaper than printed books, particularly if they are purchased as digital downloads.
So, what is an audio book? Well, it's just an audio file (MP3 or WAV) that is stored and played on devices such as MP3 players, iPods, computers, and even cell phones (mobile phones). You can also burn the file to audio CD and then play it on your home Hi-Fi or pop it into your in-car audio system and, of course, your computer's CD drive.
How do audio books differ from other MP3 or WAV files, then? In essence, they are no different to song files or podcasts downloaded in these formats. Instead of a song playing, a narrator reads a book.
How can you be sure that audio books are for you? You will only find out by giving it a try. And just like there is no guarantee that you will like the paperback novel bought from your local bookstore, there is no guarantee that you will like the audio version either. But before you spend your hard earned money on an audio book, do some research and find merchants who allow you to listen to (long) samples of your chosen audio book title and offer a money back guarantee. Yes, these merchants do exist! There is nothing more frustrating than to purchase an audio book only to find out that the narrator's voice is monotonous, or the story is told without passion.
When purchasing audio books via the Internet, you might purchase them as physical products, e.g. a CD shipped to your home or office. However, it is more convenient to purchase an audio book as a digital download, if you have a fast Internet connection such as broadband. You get your audio book delivered 'immediately' and avoid problems like the product being lost in the post. As a rough guide, expect 1 hour's high quality content to result in a file size of around 60MB. This should only take a few minutes to download on a moderately fast broadband connection; if you only have dial-up Internet access, it will take considerably longer.
So, the next time you're taking a walk in the park, are on a long and boring train journey to work, exercising, cooking, gardening, or just chilling out, why not listen to a good novel? Remember how you enjoyed your teacher reading you a story at school, or your parents reading you a bedtime story? I am sure you do.
Copyright 2008 Dick Grant in association with Easy Buy Ebooks (dot) com - All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
You have permission to republish this article as long as the author, article title, article body, and article resource box (author bio) remain intact.