audiobook
Sign in to saveAn audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
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An audiobook is a recording of a book or other work being read aloud, allowing people to listen to stories and information instead of reading text. Complete recordings are called "unabridged," while shortened versions are called "abridgements."
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Article
17 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- United States
- Beginnings to 1970
- 1970 to 1996
- 1996 to present
- Germany
- India
- Production
- Formats
- Use
- Listening practices
- Charitable and nonprofit organizations
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the age of cassettes, compact discs, and downloadable audio, often of poetry and plays rather than books. It was not until the 1980s that the medium began to attract book retailers, and then book retailers started displaying audiobooks on bookshelves rather than in separate displays.