In praise of the audio book

There is no denying that the humble book is here to stay. Despite threats from e-readers, many are still not happy unless they can touch, see (and even smell) the book they are reading. This, of course, is unattainable on a sterile e-reader. However, any bookworm, weather a book-aficionado or an e-reader convert, has found a time when reading is just not practical.

Be it when you're out at the gym or out walking the dog, carrying around a book is wholly impractical. However, Hamlet's soliloquy or Mr Darcy might just be the kind of thing to take your mind off the difficult last reps or the solitude of long walks. Or maybe you have a long bus or train journey but reading on the move makes you seasick. Either way, audiobooks offer the solution.

It is a quick and easy process to download audio books, then transfer them to a mobile device. Then, you can just pop in your headphones and be transported away without fear of feeling sick or getting gym-sweat all over your crisp new novel.

Unlike e-books, audio books give the user an entirely different way of taking in their novel, biography, or pretty much anything. It allows you to keep your hands and eyes free but your mind entertained, all the while being portable. Also - it has to be said - they're not as cumbrous as a traditional book.

Recently, national treasure, prolific reader and ardent technophile Stephen Fry admitted that audio books were in fact the reason for his drastic weight loss. They allowed him to walk for miles on end with nothing but his mp3 player and a good audio book to keep him company. Being also a narrator for said books (Fry read all seven of the immensely popular Harry Potter audiobooks), Fry is no stranger to the medium and is also one of its biggest advocates - though in volume, not in mass, of course.

So regardless of opinion on paper versus e-book, the audio book offers something different and can very often add to the experience as opposed to taking away.

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About the Author:
Welcome to AudioGO, the UK's leading audiobook publisher providing download for audio books and to a broad, diverse and inclusive range of spoken word and large print titles. AudioGO was formerly known as BBC Audiobooks, which won Audio Publisher of the Year six times.