Over time, audio books have gained popularity as an addition or substitution to reading books silently to one's self. Literally what the name says: the spoken and recorded version of a written piece. An audio book is similar to the traditional practice of storytelling; thousands of years ago, stories were passed down orally. Over time, written skills developed and the oral tradition took a backseat to written works.
An audio book can be recorded in a variety of formats. For instance, cassettes, compact discs, and even MP3 versions are widely available. For obvious reasons, cassettes were popular for a time, but now that most people have moved on to CD players and iPods, the CD and MP3 audio books are more widely purchased and listened to. Interestingly, this is a very lucrative market, in that hundreds of millions of dollars are generated by the sale. CDs make up a huge portion of this market.
Seeing as how the market for audio books has obviously expanded, it is no common practice for authors an publishers to offer an audio book version simultaneous with the publishing and distribution of the written book. The reason for this increase in popularity is likely that many people are so incredibly pressed for time that being able to listen to a book in lieu of carving out time for quiet reading is much more attractive. Honestly, people have become so adept at multitasking that not doing at lest three things at once is almost unbearable. An audio book can be listened to anywhere, anytime, and in conjunction with the regular daily activities going on.
Add to that fact that the MP3 formats are available immediately and you satisfy another hallmark of twenty-first century culture: right-now gratification. Of course, downloadable books are mutually beneficial. The user is happy to get his book immediately, and the producer has sold something that cost very little to make. Since this type of book is only available online, there is no expense to record to a cassette or CD, no expense to store it, and no expense to pack and ship, either. Also, the online marketplace has a much broader potential customer base for audio books.
That is not to say, of course, that compact disc are going to fade away. Again, as recently as 2005, an audio book recorded on CD sold at a much higher rate than any other format available. Regardless of the format, though, the fact remains that listening to an audio book is a highly popular alternative, or addition to, reading the written book. Millions of people are using this format for their reading needs and wants, and since there are so many books recorded, the chances that the book you want being available as an audio book are pretty good. So whether you want to read along or just listen in, books on CD are a great acquisition to make.
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