Abridged vs. Unabridged Audio Books: Which is Better?
Audio books are read by visually impaired persons. Audio books are also read by people who want to do their reading in places where reading the actual book might not be practical.
Audio books can be read online and are available as cassettes, CDs, and as digital audio files. The unabridged version of an audio book is the entire version of the audio book.
Audio Book-Image via Wikipedia
Authors have to give their publishers permission, before a team of persons can be assigned to produce an abridged or compacted version of their book. The persons who edit audio books to produce the abridged versions are known in the field as audio book engineers. They work with software tools such as Pro Tools and Adobe Audition to produce interesting and condensed versions of the audio books. The environment they work in is stressful and high-paced.
Abridged versions of audio books are popular among some readers, or listeners, because they can get through each book more quickly and read more books in a shorter time. This is especially beneficial when reading a series of fiction books.
People who don’t want to read, or listen to just the highlights of an audio book will go for the unabridged version of the audio book, since this is the more descriptive version of the book.
Unabridged classics are also chosen over abridged versions because of the quality of the writing. Some listeners don’t enjoy listening to abridged versions of the work of a talented writer as much as they would enjoy listening to an unabridged audio book version of the work. They feel as though they have been cheated out of some of the enjoyment they were due.
Good places to buy audio books include Audible.com and Amazon.com. ITunes also has a good selection of audio books. Many public libraries have audio books available.
CD-Burning Robot in a Library for the Visually Impaired-Image via Wikipedia
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Liked it
Great well explained
Very good information, thanks.
Very good information.
Thanks Chip.
Hi Mph.
Thank you Mega.
great share..liked it..
I never try yet listening to a recorded book. I always read the normal book. Your article gives me an idea. Interesting piece dude.
Hi Inzi.
Hi Pruelpo,
I am not a dude. I am a lady, Sir.
I think if you give audio books a try you will enjoy them. They are convenient at times.
Interesting piece here!
I have tried listening and could not get into it, and I don’t think I could use one of those new books cheers Sharfia
I think reading beats listening by a hundred times or more.
I never use audio books, for there is no such feeling like holding a book in your hand in reading it…no audio can replace that.Of course,I can understand it is the best solution for those who are visually impaired.
This is really good. I have a couple of audio books. I don’t mind having either version of the audio book.
By reading your article, I understand the difference between the unabridged and the abridged version. Thanks!
Thanks Gaby.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts friends.
Abridged vs. Unabridged Audio Books, I guess it depends on why you are listening and the time that you have.
I am getting more interested in audio books thanks to your articles (well, I remember only 1 other on this topic), but then, I am fighting the idea as I love reading the usual books. Though, I was fighting the idea of getting digital versions of books too until a breaking event happened – some of the printed books were sold out or not translated yet so I had to settle for the digital copies … Haha, some minds need to be kicked into trying out the new things in literature. Lol, now I am even considering to buy some tablet (like iPad or some other similar …) just for the purpose of reading books so that I could bring all the books I like with me everywhere without the need to pick just one or two …
great information
Thanks Dreamy.
Hi Michal,
Those factors attract many people to digital copies of books.
I too haven’t listened to a book recorded; need to give it a shot after reading your post.
With audiobooks, you can read the book while engaged in another activity.