Week #9, Thing #22-- ebooks and audiobooks

Audiobooks are fabulous and in their own way so are ebooks. I enjoy listening to audiobooks as I commute to work each day and on my mp3 players around the house. I hosted an audiobook promotion at my library this past year where I simply talked up the audiobooks to convince students to check them out. Those who did, loved it. Also, during that month I collaborated with an ESL staff member -- I booktalked the audiobooks and gave each of the students the actually printed copy of the book and the audiobook to check out -- the students were expected to follow along in the printed book while listening to the audiobook. The students liked it and several came back for a second helping or more!

I visited the World Ebook Fair and found the books absolutely marvelous -- a real trip down memory lane as I can recall my grandparents having many of these books in their home. My grandfather would read to us from these books and it brought back the memory of his voice. I enjoyed reading a couple, but have never relished the idea of reading books off a computer screen so I don't feel it is something I would regularly engage in. Perhaps the digital natives would find this endeavor more pleasurable, but do feel it is vital to record as many books as possible online to preserve them. The Gutenberg Project should be treasured!

Then I visited Librivox -- wow! This is a marvelous resource and one that I hope will continue. I listened to the first chapter of Louisa May Alcott's Eight Cousins and loved it. It was like having an audiobooks right in my home office -- I filed paperwork and reorganized myself while listening. The selections from Librivox can be downloaded to ipods or mp3's and taken anywhere -- what fun and economically it provide audiobook access for free (again, perhaps equalizing the gap between having access to materials and not having access to materials).

I feel that the more audiobooks that are available the greater the chance that libraries (online libraries too) will have the possibility of getting reluctant readers to begin reading more -- being engaged digitally will provide an incentive for these readers -- especially if libraries select wisely and procure books that will be of interest to the reluctant readers.

I encourage everyone who has never listened to an audiobook to do so -- the world of reading will never be the same again.