Audio books are a wonderful invention; especially for the visually impaired. Although, you do not have to be blind to enjoy the sound of a well-spoken voice. Storytelling is one of the great arts of humanity. The ability to be able to tell an engrossing story is one of the things that separates human beings from all other animals. The narrative is our favourite way of learning things and coming to understand the world. Just think of the Bible and all those parables that Jesus Christ was sharing with his disciples. Do you really think that the Bible would be as popular if it was a dry manual listing the most efficient way to live a life?

Audio Books: A Literary Career for the Silken-Voiced

Audio books do provide a literary career for the silken voiced amongst us. The dulcet tones of an actor or actress enthusiastically narrating a particularly well-written story is one of the rich pleasures of life. It is not only actors who are employed to narrate audio books, there are others who are just great lecturers or speakers, but in the main a good actor invariably gets the job done best. A known name, as in a famous actor, can also generate added sales to an audio book, because people love to listen to their voices. Recognition is an important factor when choosing a book of any type, but particularly when selecting an audio book.

In one infamous instance that I am familiar with, a highly regarded audio book voice-over specialist began her working life as a phone sex operator for the Girls of Oz. Not a bad apprenticeship, when you come to think about it, both roles require an immersion in character and an ability to communicate genuinely with your audience. Although, some say that a man with his dick in his hand would come to the sound of a quacking duck. Rather than stroking egos, it is a question of stroking something else, and not so much about turning pages. The breathy rendition would work well in the former profession, but our well trained thespian knows not to labour the point. Shakespeare began life as an actor, before making his mark as a playwright, and he knew the importance of a good voice. Audio books: A literary career for the silken voiced and a fairly well paying one too, I would imagine. I see in my mind’s eye the memory of myself as a child with eyes closed and listening to my older brother reading aloud to me JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit; it is a special memory.