Digital audiobook related news and information
Summer is here sooner than we expected, and it’s that time once again to fill up our arsenal with different activities to keep our kids on the go and not bored. For less physically-inclined activities, books are a great way to go. But which books, you ask? The New York Times answers in earnest.
Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/summer-must-read-for-kids-any-book/
Reading (or listening to) books is a great pastime for almost everybody – including babies! Even before your precious one is welcomed to the world, be sure he/she knows of the joys of storytelling by reading to him/her or by playing audiobooks. Learn more about this mom and baby bonding activity from BabyCenter.com.
Source: http://www.babycenter.com/0_reading-to-your-baby_368.bc
If you think that audiobooks are only great for adults, think again. LIFEclectic, an online magazine for parents, lists the many benefits that kids can get from using audiobooks – both for entertainment and educational purposes. See the list and compare your own experiences. Do you agree with their points?
Source: http://www.lifeclectic.com/2011/07/15/benefits-audio-books-children/
Audiobooks are among the most common methods of learning, especially when it comes to new languages. But is it really possible that these are the best ways to learn a new tongue? Bluse Lee gives us an unbiased rundown of the pros and cons of using audiobooks for this purpose.
Source: http://voices.yahoo.com/can-learn-foreign-language-audio-books-2746013.html?cat=9
Before purchasing audiobooks on iTunes, you might want to look into other alternatives. You have to be aware that these aren’t supported files for iCloud sharing, unlike other iTunes downloads. Also, you can only download the same audiobook once from Apple. Find out more about iTunes audiobooks in Andrew Kunesh’s post for macgasm.net.
Source: http://www.macgasm.net/2013/04/03/psa-itunes-audiobooks-are-not-backed-up-to-icloud/
Listening to audiobooks is one of the best and easiest ways to catch up on new books and old favorites without having to carve out special time in the day to actually sit down and read. Audiobooks are easy to listen to anytime, but most people take advantage of down time in their vehicles or when doing mundane chores such as housework or yard work. Often, though, you come across a section of the book you’re just not that interested in but decide you don’t want to fast forward on the chance that you might miss an important piece of dialogue or a pertinent description.
Before selecting which audiobook you’re interested in purchasing, consider whether you are purchasing an unabridged or an abridged version of that same book.
The unabridged version of the book is read, in its entirety, exactly the way the author wrote the book and exactly the way it was originally published. The definition of unabridged is “Not reduced in length by condensing. Containing the original content; not condensed.” So when you purchase an unabridged version of the book, you’re getting all the dialogue, all the flowery descriptions, all the meat and potatoes…along with veggies, sides, garnishes, and condiments!
The definition of abridged is “To reduce in scope; to shorten by omission of words without sacrifice of sense.” An abridged version of a book maintains the integrity of the story while reducing the length, thus, reducing the amount of time it might take to read. There are many reasons that a book may be abridged. Books are abridged in order to remove questionable content. They may also be abridged in order to reduce the overall size of the material to make it faster to download and faster to finish listening. Shorter books are sometimes more appealing to people because they don’t take up as much memory on their devices and can be listened to in a few short sessions rather than listening to an unabridged book for several days at a time.
Each version has its positives and negatives. When you listen to, or read, an unabridged version of a book, you can be certain you are listening to the book exactly as the author meant for you to hear it. Every word, every line, every description is read exactly the way it was meant to be conveyed. When you listen to an abridged version of a book, you are getting a version of the story, often with the permission of the author, that is shorter but just as engaging as the full version.
Whichever version you decide to choose, unabridged or abridged, rest assured you’re going to enjoy your book, no matter how long it takes you finish listening to it.
We talked about the many things that we can enjoy with the help of audio books – whether it’s to accompany us during exercise or to help us when teaching our kids the value of listening and reading. Check out the many stories we’ve prepared for you in this cycle:
It’s not just women whining to their boyfriends this time. Listening is an actual skill that is necessary in life. Let’s not over-complicate things – without listening, we wouldn’t be able to communicate properly. Without being able to listen, we would just keep blabbering and no one would be able to understand each other, let alone reciprocate reactions and replies. We won’t make sense in any way. Can you imagine if nobody listened – ever? The world would be full of noise and misunderstanding.
Listening helps hone the values that are considered integral for a healthy social and emotional life. It allows us to connect to other people and build relationships. Listening allows us to empathize to our friends and family, and they to us.
On a more serious note, we all know that listening is a skill that we learn early on in life – even before we are born into the world. As we grow up, it allows us to learn new things and discover stuff we didn’t know before. There are many ways to sharpen this skill: engaging in meaningful conversation, listening to or reading stories, watching educational plays or films, and a whole lot more.
Listening is very important on so many levels. Sometimes, we forget how to do it, even as adults. Teaching our kids how to listen and comprehend the things told to them is a good reminder about this valuable life skill.
A lot of people are ditching traditional books for other forms – such as ebooks and audio books. The question that puzzles audio book users is this: is listening to audio books considered “reading”? Some people may say it isn’t the same thing, while others will beg to differ. Troy Janisch shares his thoughts on this matter.
Source: http://www.socialmeteor.com/2012/04/23/does-listening-to-an-audio-book-count-as-reading-sometimes/
If you’re thinking of using audio books in teaching kids how to read, you’re on the right track. This new technology can make the task more enjoyable for both you and the kids while keeping it simple and easy for everyone. Renee Vians gives us some steps to follow when using audio books for teaching.
Source: http://www.ehow.com/how_4471885_use-audio-books-teach-reading.html
