An audio book is a book which one can listen to instead of reading. It is a recording of words spoken by a person instead music or songs sung by someone. It may be a recorded version of a book or a recorded spoken program.

Earlier, we could find recorded spoken materials like nursery rhymes, etc mainly in libraries or schools but not audio books. During the 1980s, book publishers started showing interest in spoken word publishing. Audio books became a common term from that time onwards and now audio books are available widely in book stores along with printed ones.

One will get an audio book in the form of a CD, cassette tape or downloadable digital formats like MP3, Windows Media Audio, etc. Presently, some preloaded digital formats are also available.

The main purpose behind creating audio books was to help the visually impaired. These were published in formats typical for them and accompanied by special type of players. The players were made in such a way that the visually handicapped people were able to handle them independently without any help. They are also helpful while on the move and those who are very busy in their daily life.

According to a survey conducted by the Audio Publishers Association in the year 2006 for the year 2005, audio book sales were around $871 million. Present estimates are around $2 billion at retail value.

Publishers now produce audio books along with hard cover editions. The first example of a simultaneous publication of an audio book and hard cover edition was the publication of the spoken recording of Norman Mailers Ancient Evenings by Jedediah. P. God

CD technology has brought revolutions in this industry. Lots of information can be stored in a single CD and more than one book can be stored in a DVD. They can be played using ordinary CD or DVD players as well, now a day. Portable music players like the IPod, Zen player; Zune, etc have helped downloadable audio books to reach the common mass.

There are mainly two categories of audio books, unabridged and abridged.

A word for word reading of a book is called an unabridged audio book and if the original content is edited, then it is called abridged. The abridger is the person who edits the contents. Abridgements are necessary to maintain time and bring down the cost.

Audio books can be created by recordings by trained vocal artists. Text to speech software can also be used if needed but in such cases sound quality may not be up to the mark.

The popularity of audio books has exploded recently but they’ve been around for a lot longer than you might think. Read and learn when and who started them and find out why they took so long to really take of – and why they have now.

What you’ll read:

* When do you think audiobooks started? * Why are audiobooks so popular now? * So when were audiobooks “invented” * Who were the first audio book publishers? * The 3 reasons why audiobooks have exploded. * Where to find “original” audiobooks

* When do you think audiobooks started?: Do audiobooks seem pretty recent to you? I can just about remember “the first” audiobooks on cassette being around in the mid 80s. Then again I’m really old so maybe your first memory is more recent!

I recall some really huge box sets for things like lord of the Rings (sold on ebay…wish I hadn’t!) and they were abridged (abridged means significantly cut in length for whatever reason)

Since then there’s been an explosion in the audiobook market. For millions of people, along with mp3 music, the audiobook has become iconic of the Internet age of enlightenment and information flexibility!

* Why are audiobooks so popular now?: Using myself as an example: Once I realized just how good they were for certain things there was no stopping me -

* They’re excellent for learning. Be it business, self improvement, or in my own case right now, Swedish language study.

* They’re great for kids learning to by all accounts but I can’t give you my own experience there as I’m 36!

* Great for pleasure “reading! For fiction when normal books would be impossible, (e.g., in the dark or when driving or working out) or you just want the book pushed “into” you rather than having to absorb though your eyes.

* So when were audiobooks “invented”: Around the early 1980s maybe? No.

With the current focus on audiobook CDs, DVD, downloadable WMA, MP3s, iPods etc you may think they’re very recent. But you’d be wrong. Audiobooks started a long time ago.

To get a grip on this it’s good to take a step back and define exactly what audio books are.

* Basically audio books are simply books that are recorded to be heard, instead of read.

* So have they been around for as long as recording has been possible?

Not quite. To be more specific, it’s safe to say they were first introduced just over 50 years ago. That is in terms of being available outside of professional broadcasting circles.

* Who were the first audio book publishers?: Robin Whitten, the editor and founder of the only magazine which is dedicated solely to the audio book industry credits Caedmon (now a subsidiary of Harper Collins Publishers) as having started recordings of literature as far back as 50 years ago.

He tells us that Caedmon, at that time a small company in New York, started recording the audio of great authors and poets of the 1950s. Specifically, he said some of the earliest recordings were by greats such as Dylan Thomas, T.S. Eliot, Fitzgerald and Robert Frost.

At this time they were simply recorded while doing their own works and made as vinyl records. Not exactly great for jogging but these early recordings can arguably be defined as the first collection of audio books.

However, the transition of these book recordings into audiocassette tapes didn’t happen until the late 1970s up to the 1980s when we see the market size, first in audio cassette, growing until accepted by the more “sophisticated” early adopter profile consumer.

The audio book phenomenon though didn’t really kick off until the mid to late 1990s.

* The 3 reasons why audiobooks have exploded:

Not surprisingly, as with so many technology related products:

1) Ease of use/Quality: Vinyl – Limited on use. Try playing one in a commuter train or while driving. Err no. Oops scratched it, damn it’s ruined etc.

Tape cassettes – Total pain, limited storage and they self destructed with alarming regularity.

Early portable CD players as well as expensive were not that portable – If you ever tried working out or jogging with one you’ll know what I mean!

Now with mp3 players & ipods there are no moving parts so you can listen when working out, running or anything else where a CD player would be useless. You can even get waterproof players and listen while waterskiing or even when snorkelling!

2) Cost: Early CD players and later, MP3 players were very expensive. Car CD units, wow they really did cost a lot!

But now CD players of all types and MP3 players have become so cheap that the hardware cost barrier has disappeared.

3) Ease of “Delivery” With broadband internet becoming the norm it has become super easy to get audiobooks “anytime -anyplace – anywhere” 100 meg download, no problem!

* Where to find “original” audiobooks: And if you want original audiobooks – Can you get them? If you are still interested in “going back in time” you can get the original book recordings that started this audio book industry.

Some of those early 1950s analog recordings by Caedmon which were performed by the greats of those days can be bought online.

You can find that classic you have always dreamt of in audio book format if you search hard enough on the Internet where you’ll find audiobooks of a size, quality and sophistication that would have been seen as science fiction even 15 years ago!

Have you ever felt like the distance between your home and office has increased overnight? The traffic, the crowds and the same boring roads every day, make this commute a true challenge for our wits. No matter what kind of transport you are using, it is not easy to sit through this journey.

Some people like to read books on their way to and from the office. This is actually a pretty good idea as reading makes the time fly by faster. But this option is only for the people who dont drive a car and rather use public transport. Then also, reading is only possible if you get a seat in the bus or train and there is enough light. These both are very rare incidents in most public transports.

Then, why not switch to audio books? Audio books are the perfect solution to all of these problems. It doesnt matter what kinds of books you prefer, you can download them from the internet at reasonable prices. The books can then be burned on a compact disc or loaded on an IPod in MP3 format. This is really easy and you dont have to be tech-savvy for it either.

Audio books are no doubt, a great way to pass the time in a car. The lonely and sleepy drive from home to office in the morning can be incredibly interesting with a gripping audio book playing on the stereo. These books also make it a lot easier to endure the huge lines at the toll-booths and traffic snarls that plague our roads these days. Audio books are far better than listening to music in the car as they give us something new to look forward to. We as listeners are sucked into the narrative and enjoy it far better than the same old songs.

Audio books are also great for people who use public transport to travel to and from the office. Audio books are better in the sense that you can hear them on your IPod wherever you are. So, it doesnt matter if you are traveling at night or day, you dont have to wait for the perfect light to read. You also dont have to pray that you get a good seat so that you can read the book. You can listen to an audio book while standing or rather trying to stand in a cramped train compartment or bus.

Another great thing about listening to audio books is that it soothes you down by taking your mind off from all the stress and tension of life and work. Just like a normal book, an audio book also takes you to another world and you feel much lighter by the end of the journey.

Listening to audio books is a great stress buster and it refreshes one for the rest of the day. If you are also one of those people who cant seem to escape rush hours and clogged roads, then audio books are just right for you.

You may have noticed the rise in popularity of audiobooks of late. Like writtenprinted books, audiobooks are made in every genre from self help, sci-fi, biographies, religious, thrillers and more. One of the fastest growing genres of audiobooks has been self help and self improvement audiobooks.

Self help audiobooks come in several categories including creativity, health and fitness, interpersonal skills, motivation, personal growth, sex and relationships, stress management, success, time management, and religious titles. There really is a theme of self help audiobooks for everyone’s needs.

There are many great creativity titles available. These can include such greats as the John C Maxwell book Thinking for a Change which teaches 11 ways that successful people approach life and work. Another great audio book is titled How to Think Like Einstein by Scott Thorpe which teaches techniques used by Einstein and other geniuses use to expand their mind.

A best selling health and fitness audiobook author is Dr Nicholas Perricone which specializes on how your health can affect how your appearance. There are also great health audiobooks on popular diets like Atkins and the Zone diet.

A very practical audiobook to help with interpersonal skills is 250 Job Interview Questions by Peter Veruki. Veruki’s audiobook is a must to prepare anyone who is expecting a job interview or for new college graduates. Another beneficial audiobook to help improve interpersonal skills is How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds by Milo Frank. This audiobooks teaches how to get your point across in 30 seconds and why it is important. And it provides the research to back it up.

One of my favorite motivational audiobooks of all time is The Magic of Thinking Big by Dr. David Schwartz. This classic was written in 1959 and its principles hold true today. Dr. Schwartz teaches that one does not have to be an intellectual or have some kind of a special innate talent to be a success, but what one needs is to learn and understand the habit of thinking and behaving in ways that will help you get there.

There are many personal growth audiobooks to choose from. They can come from many different famous peoples perspectives like the Dalai Lama’s book The Art of Dying. There are also modern classics like Eckhart Tolle’s Gateway to Now.

There are sex and relationship audiobooks from many different perspectives. They can range from authors like the traditionalists Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s audiobook 10 Stupid Things Couples Do to Mess Up Their Relationships, to Sex in the City writer Greg Behrendt’s popular book He’s Just Not That Into You.

One of the most popular time management audiobooks is Ken Blanchard’s The On-Time, On-Target Manager. This is an engaging parable which teaches how to overcome procrastination and increase productivity.

There are also some great religious titles out there like The Purpose Driven Life by Pastor Rick Warren. This inspiring book helps you to figure out who you are and what is God’s amazing plan for your life. This is an audiobooks that everyone needs to listen too, even if you are not a Christian.

With there being such a great variety and such quality self help audiobooks out there, it is easy to see why they are such a hit. One of the best things about them is how easy it is to just put them in the CD player or have them loaded to your iPod and then you can listen to them when ever you want. It is also easy to play your audiobook a second and third time to really absorb and learn its lessons.

Today you do not have to get your audiobooks as books on tape and you do not have to drive all the way to the mall to buy your audiobook as a CD. Now, the best way to find an audiobook is on the internet. Audiobooks can be downloaded for instant access in mp3 format off of the web. After downloading your audiobook, you can play it on your PC, burn it to a disc, or load it to your iPod or mp3 player. It is as easy as that. Another great feature is that downloaded audiobooks are at a fraction of the costs of packaged audiobook CD’s from the store.

With such a great variety of self help audiobooks, and with downloading audiobooks faster and less expensive then every before, don’t you think it’s time that you discovered how easy it is improve your live by listening to audiobooks too?

Do your kids spend their entire day watching TV? Are you worried about the kind of music they hear? Wont it be wonderful if kids could just sit quietly with a book and experience a story which are both age appropriate and informative? We know you would and also know that it is the hardest thing to do.

Todays children think that gadgets are their life and books are just for school. But theres a way out of this problem. Get some audio books for your children. This new format of literature is getting extremely popular because today, even children dont have the time or patience to read a normal book. Audio books are especially popular among preteens and teenagers as they love the combination of technology with literature.

It is also extremely convenient for them because now, they dont have to carry around the heavy books with them. They can download and carry all their favorite books in their IPods in MP3 format. This could not be easier as there are loads of websites which offer thousands of audio books.

Audio books are a great way to introduce small children to books too. They introduce them with a completely different world and give them an activity other than watching TV inside the house. Audio books are also a great solution for the small children who have not learned to read yet. You can give them an audio book loaded on an IPod or play it on a CD player. This will not only keep the children busy but they will also learn some new words. There are loads of audio books for small children in the market which are both entertaining and educational.

In order to introduce a young child to audio books, you must start from a book that he or she loves. Try not to impose the educational stuff on him or her in the beginning as it will just deter them. Start with the story books they love and gradually introduce other genres. Most small kids would jump at the idea of listening to an audio book as it will give them a chance to use an IPod or CD player which is a big deal at that age.

You can also include audio books in the daily activities of your kids. For example, they can hear a book while you drive them to school or as they clean their room and do their house chores. This will make these mundane and mostly boring activities interesting for them.

Audio books are also great for children with learning disabilities. It has been often seen that children with such problems, resist reading books for pleasure. As it is very difficult to learn and remember big words for children with learning disabilities, audio books also help them catch the right pronounciation of words and improve their vocabulary.

With so many benefits, do you still need a reason to buy audio books for your kids? Get started today by exploring the wide world of audio books.

With everything in life, it is important for us to continue growing and learning. The problem however is that individuals often come up with all sorts of excuses and find themselves in a rut. Being unable to grow further and improve, individuals become unhappy and sadly grow comfortable in unhappiness, making it the norm rather than the exemption.

This need not be the case however because constant learning and personal improvement is available to those who want it. While there are many avenues that can be taken to achieve the path to personal progress, further and continuing education can help one personally as well as professionally. Learn more and progress in your career and reap the benefits of change and improvement.

For individuals who may not have the time or the budget to enroll in a school to continue traditional learning, audiobooks may be the answer.

Audiobooks are not just for kids. Neither is it exclusively for audio versions of popular fiction paperbacks. Many educational books have also been translated into audio so that individuals can reap the benefits of these wonderful educational books in audio format. Furthermore, audiobooks are no longer just stored on cassettes.

Now, audiobooks come in compact discs or CDs, as well as in digital file formats like MP3 which allows one to listen to audiobooks through personal portable MP3 players that have features friendly towards audiobook files. With all these advancements, one can enjoy and audiobook, anywhere and anytime.

The next step is finding the right audibook for the purpose that you want. Sometimes, learning a foreign language will do the trick. If you work for a multi national company and would like to try out being an expatriate and work in your company’s foreign office, pop a foreign language book in your iPod and learn a new tongue while in the commute, breaks in your office or during your gym routine.

You’ll be speaking a foreign language soon and you can use this new skill to make you more competitive in your career. At the very least, you can finally have the excuse to visit that far away exotic country you’ve always wanted to travel to so you can practice your new language proficiency.

Aside from foreign languages, you can also get audiobooks on special seminars and courses that can help you improve your skills in your chosen field. If time and budget does not permit you to attend a seminar or course that you think will help you greatly improve your skills and help boost your career, then make inquiries from the organizers on the availability of audiobooks that you can purchase instead of attending the actual workshop. While it may not be take the place of actually being there, an audiobook version remains to be a good and feasible alternative.

Sometimes, we just find ourselves in a rut and cannot get out. Sometimes, we need a little help. This is why self-help books continue to be popular throughout the years. Self-help authors realize that there are many individuals out there who may be experiencing certain issues and cannot find relief through friends and colleagues.

Sometimes, our attitudes can make a world of difference in our personal and professional life and many wonderful books on this topic have been translated in to audiobooks so that we can easily listen to them without having to invest time that we don’t have into reading.