For many years now there has been an air of snobbery surrounding audio books. Dedicated readers, librarians and booksellers have dismissed this way of enjoying books as lazy and simply not proper reading. Ok, listening to a story being told on tape, CD or MP3 player, is not the same as reading a book, but that doesn't mean it should be frowned upon.

One of the reasons for this attitude towards audio books is the fact that the text is often abridged. This means the abridger has edited out parts of the text, either to conform to a running time or to give a faster paced listen that will keep the consumer's attention. This process can, for some, result in the loss of meaning from a book, a bit like the transition from book to play or film, but it is sometimes necessary.

A complicated, lengthy, or very wordy book can be a pleasure to read and yet can become tiresome and boring when converted to audio. Here, an abridger can simply edit out anything that is not an essential part of the story, such as selected dialogue or very descriptive scenes that are not key to the telling of the book.

For anyone who dislikes the idea of losing a single word of text from a book, but still wants to listen to a story instead of reading it, unabridged audio books are available. These are the complete text, word for word, read directly from the original.

Within the world of audio books, the snobbery between these two forms, abridged and unabridged, is also very real. Some people see no problem with abridged works and find them both easier to listen to, and even, occasionally, an improvement on a book. While others insist on staying true to a text and see any sort of tinkering as butchery of a writer's words.

Wherever you stand, there's no denying that audio books do present an alternative to the traditional sitting and reading. In today's multi-tasking world, book lovers can now listen to their favourite works along with new texts while driving, cooking, gardening and doing household chores. It may have a long way to go to equal our love of reading words on paper, but there's no doubt that listening to a book instead of actually reading it is becoming more popular and even amongst literary purists, more acceptable. Whether abridged or unabridged, audio books are bringing reading to a whole new audience.

Learn more about this author, Samantha Priestley.
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