Read Me Another Story- Audio Books

Today was my friend Jerry’s birthday. I gave him the same thing that I usually give as presents- a book and a Pez. Books are one of the few presents that can change the recipient’s life (last year I gave him a year supply of Viagra- that also changed his life). In between the first and last page are words that the author carefully selected (sometimes agonizing over the proper phrasing) in order to stir the readers emotions. You are not reading words but the heart and soul of the author. (I know this same experience as I shed blood, sweat, and tears to bring you this article). What he has written may inspire you, thrill you, scare you, challenge you, or you just might discover something about yourself. From the first word that you read to the last, you have changed. That is what a good book is supposed to do. So I say the best gift to give is a book. Well...it’s the best gift to give anyone, but me. Oh, I hate to read. It is somewhere there with a root canal. For years and years, I would give people books (because they said they liked to read) and I would get in return- a book. At first I would drop little hints. “Oh, this book looks so lovely that I think I will just put it up here on the shelf and not even open it.” Then I became a little bolder. “I’m sure this is an excellent book, but I think I’ll just give it to my wife to read.” Then one year, it was the last straw. During my birthday party, I set the table full of books on fire. I chanted, "burn, baby burn.” Since then I have not received any more books. Until this Christmas… While opening up my loot under the Christmas tree, there was one present that Joyce, my wife, kept hidden in the background. I kept an eye on it and knew that soon whatever this treasure was, it would be mine. As she handed it to me, she preceded, “Now let me explain, I know you don’t like to read so…” I did not let her finish. I sneered at her as I ripped the package open. It was a book- but not just any book. It was an audio book, Charles Kuralt, “A Life on the Road”. I thanked her and gave her a peck on the cheek. I think that she thought I would be a little more emotional about this gesture of love, one way or the other. But I wasn’t. Days went by and I had forgotten about the audio book. One day I had to take a small trip and Joyce reminded me that listening to this tape would make the trip go by faster. I told her that it would be an hour trip whether I had someone reading to me or if I allowed the radio to serenade me. But I took the tape to humor her. When I got in the car, I slid the tape in. I missed my meeting that day. You see I was so engrossed in the tape that I forgot where I was going, but I knew who I was going with- Charles Kuralt. I went to New York with him, to Brazil, and even to Vietnam. For the first time in my life I knew why people liked to read. If you have the same passion (or should I say disdain) for reading that I do, then audio books are for you. I have discovered many great sites for purchasing the audio books. There are also a number of great audio book clubs, and audio book rental sites. We will use Bill Bryson’s book “A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail” as a reference. To simplify things, we will call this book “WALK”. We will be using both the Abridged and unabridged versions. We will use Amazon.com as our reference. They offer the abridged version for $20 or the unabridged for $84.95. These are new and the prices do not include shipping. (And before we get started, do you know the difference between the abridged and the unabridged audio book. If not, see the answer at the bottom of this article.) http://www.booksontape.com/ - offers audio books both for sale and for rent. They do not sell the abridged version of “WALK” but the unabridged version can be rented for $11.95 (for 30 days), or used for $19.95. http://www.audiobooks.com/ - claims to have the “World’s Largest Selection”. They offer trade-ins (about 25% of retail), and you can also find used audio books. “WALK” cost $20 for the abridged and $49.28 for the unabridged version. http://www.pegasusbooks.com/ has still lower prices. They have a plain site but it is easy to navigate. “WALK” is $18.75 for the abridged copy. http://www.talkingbooks.com/ - offers even lower prices on their best sellers. They have “WALK” for $20 in the abridged version and $44.80 for the unabridged. With http://www.audiobooksdirect.com/ , you can choose 4 books for $.99. But you have to buy 4 more in the next 2 years. Shipping is fair. They do not carry “WALK”. http://www.audible.com/huffman/welcome.j... brings audio books right to your computer, palm-size pc, or an MP3 player. They did not carry “WALK” and they may not carry many of the common audio books. But instead what you will find are many unique choices that you would be sure to enjoy. You can also get subscriptions to the audio version of your favorite newspapers or magazines. http://www.telebyte.com/ashgrove/ is a little tricky but it seems to be worth the effort. You can buy the audio books by purchasing points. These points cost $.50/point. Once you are finished with the book, you can trade it back for points and use those points to purchase another audio book. So the abridged version of “WALK” is 25 points ($12.50) and the unabridged version is 56 points ($28). There is a $4.95 service charge that pays for the shipping of the book to you but also pays for the mailer to return it. http://members.aol.com/audiobook2/ offers two rental plans. One of the unique plans is where you pay a monthly fee of $18.95 for unlimited book use. You have 30 days to read these books. The shipping is $4.95 per order. An order equals one long and two short titles. You can also purchase audio books. http://www.audioadventures.com/ claims to offer the largest rental program. Here you can buy or rent tapes. To purchase “WALK”, it would cost you $56 for the unabridged version and $28 for the abridged version. But if you rented these tapes you would pay $8.90 and $6.90 respectively. Shipping is based on the weight of the package. http://members.aol.com/AudioBEC/ABEC.html offers the lowest rental price. There is a $10 membership fee. Yet once you are a member you pay only $4.50 per rental. Shipping is $3.50 per order. http://www.audiobookworld.com/ also claims to be the largest seller and renter of audio books. Yet not everything for sell is for rent. “WALK” sells for $22.46 for the unabridged version and $18.75 for the abridged version. http://www.audiobookcentral.com/ has one of the best rental programs going. Here you can rent books for short periods of time and save a few dollars. For a 3-day rental, it will cost you only $3.75. But you do have to pay shipping. Unabridged- the book is read word for word Abridged- book is edited (sometimes shortened by as much as 50%) with the approval from the author

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