Straining eyes night over night, concentrating to read small prints, even though they might be on screen. Its on these occasions we wish, if only books could speak for themselves.This might have seemed an exaggerated hope of technology few decades ago. But with rapidly changing world today, nothing seems to left to imagination. Everything is being experimented with and more or less brought to life.
Audio Books, are not a relatively new invention, but one quite less used I suppose. But Wayne Leskosky in her article Audio Books - The Big Wave of the Future in Ezine Articles mentions how more Americans are now downloading audio books and within few years printed books will be outsold by downloadable audio books. People are so busy these days that they have to multitask to make their time more productive. Books can be listened to doing almost anything like household chores, travelling, exercising, walking, etc. It is just like somebody is telling you a story.
Not only for leisure activities, audio books serve a number of other purposes like helping to learn a new language. Since reading doesn't help with pronunciation, listening to actual words can accelerate the process of learning foreign tongue. It is also a boon for blind people who can just listen to books and be knowledgeable or just enjoy a story they could never read. They are also a blessing for old people who don't have to strain their eyes and just enjoy the books by listening to them.
The article elaborates how today's audio books have more clarity than old days and available in more varied formats. This gives more listeners access and choice of audio books. The stories are recorded in different voices according to characters and make them more interesting.
Hence we can conclude that audio books are also a great future to traditional printed books. By 2020 there would great opportunity in this market as well when looking form economic perspective. There are stores exclusively dedicated to audio books across the world and serving the community.
Reference:
Wayne Leskosky (March 28, 2007) Ezine Articles. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Audio-Books---The-Big-Wave-of-the-Future&id=499788
Monica, great article in regards to basically multitasking with the use of audio books, I also located an article by Dee Bovis and it basically defines Multitasking using audio books and it stats;
ReplyDelete“Multitasking isn’t a revolutionary way to get things done, but using audio books to enhance the final goal is an innovative method that people are discovering to be to their advantage.”
The article incorporates the IPod micro technology in everyday use for those who love to read but unable to find time to do so. Bovis claims that this type of absorption of information has never occurred in history. As stated in the article Monica posted most people use audio books for basically mindless activities such as chores, exercising and mainly relaxing. It is simply a great invention to enjoy activities which otherwise would feel boring.
Reference:
Bovis Dee, db audio books, retrieved from: http://dbaudiobooks.com/audio-book-benefits-multitasking-with-audio-books_7/