Audiobooks: CD Or Mp3 Format?

Audio books really became popular once the CD became very popular in the 1990's. Sure CDs were around before then but they really didn't become mainstream for a while.

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The price got reasonably low in the 90's so more and more people had CD players. When audio books started showing up on CD format, more and more people came to find them and enjoy them. The CD was and still is a great format for audio books because many cars started coming with CD players installed in them. The morning and afternoon commute to and from work was a wonderful way to listen to audio book and break up the stress and monotony caused by traffic jams or if you had to go a long distance twice a day. They also didn't require tape flipping which caused long pauses while you were listening and force you to have to get up and go to the stereo.

CDs are still a very popular media choice for audio books. MP3s are still fairly new and not everyone has the stereos that can play them. More and more car stereos and home stereos are MP3 compatible however.

CD audio books are found at many local retailers and almost any bookstore has an aisle or area dedicated to audio books on CD. You can find almost any book or genre you can think of translated to an audio book. They are sometimes read by the author of the book themselves or by another person. Many popular audio books have been dramatized, meaning they have an entire cast of actors playing the various parts and have lots of sound effects to keep them entertaining. This is a great way for someone considering buying an audio book CD to test it out. They also can be unabridged which means they are exact, word for word copies of a book read aloud.

CD audio books can be geared for anyone. There are children's audio books, self-help books, manuals, and educational material available. CD audio books can also be rented. Many video rental stores have them in stock and there are various online rental sites you can join up with.

For the online rental sites, you usually pick from a list and they send you about 5-10 at one time. As you send them back, you will start receiving new ones. This all costs a low monthly fee that can be billed to your bank or credit card account. There are also similar sites that offer great deals on purchasing audio book CDs. If you shop around, you will find many great deals available to you on the internet. CDs weigh very little and aren't very bulky so shipping and handling charges stay very low.