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Across the nation, on every college campus, there has been a rising trend in listening to audiobooks by students. Some students listen to audio books rather then reading assigned text, some to help learn a foreign language, some to catch up on politics, religion and some just to catch up on their reading for pleasure.

Some feel it is cheating, and some feel it is just taking advantage of the technology of today. Students are choosing to listen to audiobooks rather then read their assigned books for class.

If you have ever taken an English or classic literature class, you know how much reading goes with each course. It can be hard to juggle your reading for each class, working full time or at a part time job, and having a social life. As a result of this many students are choosing to listen to their Shakespeare, Hamlet, or other classics as audiobooks.

Business majors also enjoy listening to audiobooks. There are many classics like the work of Dale Carnegie, audiobooks that teach sales, real estate, leadership, management and finance. These business major students that listen to audiobooks are learning how to best manage their time at a young age and this will no doubt help them in the business world later in life.

Students of foreign languages also frequently listen to audiobooks. Imagine if you are struggling in a Spanish, French, or Chinese class but could not afford an expensive tutor. Audiobooks that teach a language are a great way to reinforce what you have been learning in class and will surely help you grasp the language and do better on your tests.

Political science majors are also no strangers to audiobooks. There are many great titles on political biographies, past wars, and even the political writing of Aristotle. Such audiobooks can give a great insight to any political science class.

At Christian schools, Christian titles are popular amongst the students. There are many different Christian titles for these students ranging from best sellers like Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life, Lee Strobel’s A Case for Christ, and even both the New and Old Testament as dramatized audiobooks.

One thing that most college students do that go away to school is drive home to see their family, or just for a free laundry service. For some this is a short drive, for others the drive can take several hours or sometimes even a plane ticket is needed. If the student is not interested in listening to an audiobook that pertains to their studies, then they will listen to audiobooks for pleasure.

It can be hard to find time for pleasure reading while being swamped with school work and listening to the audio books is an easy way to catch up on that book you have been meaning to read. Listening to the audio books while commuting instead of listening to mindless radio is a great way to make the time of the drive or flight fly by.

Audiobooks, or as they used to be called, books on tape have always been popular, but with recent technology changes it is easier and more affordable then ever to get your hands on them. Originally the books on tape were just that, books recorded as spoken word on a cassette tape. Then the audiobooks were made as books on CD. Books on CD can be pretty expensive. Now, the fastest growing form of audiobooks is audio books that can be downloaded from the internet. Downloaded audiobooks are priced much better then prepackaged audiobooks on CD.

Audiobooks downloaded from the internet are great because you don’t have to wait to get your hands on them. The only wait is for your file to download which does not take long at all, especially if you have a decent internet connection. Once you download your audiobook, you can play it on your PC, burn it to a disc, or load it to an iPod or mp3 player. Since it seems that nearly every college student has an iPod or mp3 player, it is easy to see why downloadable audiobooks are such a natural fit.

So the next time you see headphones on a student on campus, or if you are driving behind a student on their drive home, there is an increasing chance that they are not listening to their favorite music, but instead, they are listening to audio books and you will understand why.

The author of this article recommends visiting (http://www.audiobookstoreportal.com) to discover audio book downloads for yourself.

I have often mulled over the phrase don’t judge a book by its cover’ but I had never thought it would be most apt for the publishing industry where every other day you have a new best seller. And I say this because the term best seller is one of the most abused terminologies in the publishing field. Like many of you, I also went by what the name suggested - best seller - meaning a book that perhaps sold the most or a book that sold over a million copies or an equivalent number. But I was wrong. I was surprised to learn and perhaps now you are that there are NO set number of copies or any standard formula that defines which is a best seller book. All well known lists use different criterion to determine which are best seller books and which are not.

One theory that is gaining favor with the majority is any book that is high on current popularity charts may be called a best seller. However, I am a bit skeptical with that and not without reason. Who are the people who figure in the popularity charts? It is no secret that publishers use innovative marketing strategies, to influence agents, editors, retailers, and buyers to affect the popularity of their books on sale.

You’d also think that a book would have to be terrifically good reading to gain best seller status, at least that’s what I thought. Well, I was wrong again because the novel I read from last week’s best seller books list was a ho-hum read, and left me wondering if something was wrong with me!

I discovered that some lists usually have two divisions, fiction and non-fiction. In fact, I was quite taken aback with the following piece of information: it’s been reported that The New York Times created their Children’s Books section in 2001 to separate the Harry Potter series and clear out a space for other titles in the number 1, 2 and 3 spots on their Fiction list, which Harry Potter had been hogging for over a year!

The New York Times collects both wholesale and retail data, thus being perhaps more inclusive and closer to reality in terms of actual public popularity.

Then there is the Book Sense best seller books which determine elite status only from sales generated through independent book stores. I find this method of data collection a bit skewed considering that some people only shop for books in the larger chains, never going inside their neighborhood book shop.

Amazon, the giant online bookseller has yet another way of naming best seller books on their list. Amazon updates its list every hour, with data collected on sales from their own site. (How else could they update their list so quickly?)

In fact, many self-published authors use cleverly timed marketing campaigns where buyers receive something free from the author, like an e-book or a free trial version of software, for purchases made on a certain day in a certain time frame. All to achieve, if only for an hour, a coveted spot on Amazon’s top 100 best sellers list.

So you can see there’s many a way to construct a best seller books list. What’s number one on one list may never see the light of day on another. So look over that book before snatching it off the shelf. See if what’s inside is of interest to you and yes never judge the book by its cover!

At BooksOnAudio You can listen to a good book when your eyes are too tired to read one. Just switch on the audiobook and let your mind soar. Its a great relaxation and stress relieving tool. http://www.audiobooks.net

It’s a common question asked of science fiction fans - “Why do you read that stuff?” I’ve always found the best answer is to pick a great title and tell your friend to try reading it.

Of course, the right book depends a great deal on your friend’s personality. Take a roommate I had in college. She wanted to figure out what it was about science fiction that held my attention so, and asked me to let her borrow “Stranger in a Strange Land”.

I gave her “Starbridge” by A.C. Crispin. Why?

This was a very quiet girl. Innocent. She changed her clothes in the bathroom because she didn’t want anyone to see her getting dressed. Can you imagine her reading “Stranger”?

“Starbridge” worked perfectly. She was shocked, utterly and completely shocked that there could be sex in science fiction. I didn’t want to scare her completely off, fun as it might have been, by exposing her to anything more intense than the mild scene in “Starbridge”.

And yes, I laughed.

Of course, “Stranger in a Strange Land” is not something I would hand to most people for their first exposure to science fiction. Heinlein may be one of the great authors, but some of his works aren’t for the unprepared.

One of the first things to think about is whether to recommend a book that is more science fiction or more fantasy. The two get so intertwined, and which is really better can depend on what your friend is most likely to enjoy.

The first thing to do is go through your own collection. Knowing your friend, which is the most appropriate to hand over? There’s probably something.

If nothing comes to mind right away, I recommend starting out by thinking of some of the more popular authors. “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card may be a good choice. Same for “Nightfall” by Isaac Asimov.

The thing to consider is what kind of books, movies or television shows your friend likes already. Science fiction novels can have aspects of any other kind of fiction. The friend who loves historical novels may enjoy alternative histories. The romance reader may be more likely to enjoy the fantasy side of science fiction. The technology buff may enjoy hard science fiction.

Make your selection based on what you think your friend would like, unless you want to try to shock them. Many people are surprised to find out that science fiction novels aren’t all ray guns, bug eyed monsters and rockets that can make U-turns.

Stephanie Fosters shares her thoughts at http://www.sciencefictionado.com/ about her favorite science fiction. She reviews science fiction novels at http://www.sciencefictionado.com/book-reviews/ as well as television shows and movies on her site.

iPod and MP3 players are becoming omnipresent. Everywhere you go, you see the familiar headphones in someone’s ears. And with the busy lifestyles we live, it is no wonder that audiobook sales are soaring. The combination of audiobooks and iPods are now making it possible for people to listen to their books on tape, or audiobooks where ever they go.

Apple and its many retail partners managed to sell 88 iPods per minute in 2006 which totaled 46,432,000 iPods sold. That is more then 1 iPod sold per second! The Christmas season from October and December were obviously the busiest of the year.

IPod sales look to continue to grow in 2007. In the first quarter of 2006, total iPods sold were 8.53 million. It is estimated that for the first quarter of 2007 iPod sales will be over 10 million. Some predict that the new iPhone will slow down iPod sales, but others feel the iPhone will not be competition due to its US $500 Price plus associated fees.

Audiobook sales have also been soaring. In 2005, audiobook sales totaled $871 million. Audio books are getting a boost in sales due to the rise in popularity of downloadable audiobooks which represented 9 percent of total audio book sales in 2005. While that number may seem small, it is a 50 percent increase in sales from 2004. It is fair to predict that audiobook downloads are going to continue to rise due to the rise in popularity of iPods and MP3 players.

Another reason audiobook download sales are going to continue to soar is that as of this year, almost all new cars are now capable of playing digital audio files. 97 million Americans drive alone to work everyday, and commuters are stuck in traffic an average of 62 hours per year. That is 32 percent of the entire U.S. population, and that does not even include those who commute by bike, bus, train or car pool. Now that audiobooks can be played so easily in cars and on iPods, it’s easy to see that audiobook download sales are going to skyrocket even further.

It is clear that with the rise in iPods and MP3 players, and the rise in audiobook downloads go hand in hand. Listening to your audiobooks on iPods is a great way to maximize your time. It seems to be harder then ever to find the time to read. We can now find time to read, or rather listen thanks to our trusted iPods and MP3 players.

We can multi-task by listening to our audiobooks as we exercise, clean the house, commute to work, or even just listen to as we relax. In fact, there are several audiobook titles that are designed to help you fall asleep and to relax.

Many businessmen love listening to their sales or motivation audiobooks. Students are listening to assigned literature on their iPods as audiobooks. People are learning a foreign language with audiobooks. And couples are saving their relationships by listening to audiobooks.

Audiobook downloads are priced far better then audiobooks in prepackaged CD’s, which another great feature. There are also many free titles to listen to and many quality websites let you listen to five minutes of your audiobook before making a purchase.

It is easy to download your audiobook off of the Internet. You simply select your title, make the secure purchase, then you are ready to download. The download takes seconds to a few minutes depending on the size of the file on most computers. If you have a dialup, you can select the smallest size file for each title which is not as good of quality, but still sounds as good as any audiobook CD you may have purchased from the store. Once you download your audiobook, you can play it on your PC, burn it to disc, or you can load it to your iPod or MP3 player.

After learning how easy it is do listen to an audio book on your iPod or MP3 player, what are you waiting for, go out there and listen to you audio book today!

If you are ready to start downloading your audiobooks today, the author recommends visiting http://www.audiobookstoreportal.com. If you own a website and would like to sell audiobooks through your site, visit http://www.audiobookstoreportal.com/affiliatesignup.html

1) There are many different formats for you to enjoy your audiobooks and thus can be listened to in many different ways, and on many devices. After downloading off of the Internet, audiobooks can be played on computers, then can be burned to a disc, and can be loaded to an iPod, Zune or mp3 player.

2) I am now able to take in many more books per month compared to when I only read my books because the amount of time I have to sit down and read written books is very limited. Before discovering audiobooks, I was able to squeeze in about 2 books a month. I still do read about 1 per month, but now, I add another 2-5 audiobooks that I listen to on my iPod or while I drive on my cars CD player.

3) I am far more productive with my downtime due to audiobooks. One way that I am now more productive is better using my time on the commute to work. I rarely listen to mindless radio anymore; instead, I now listen to an audio book. I am big on customer service at my job and I am able to learn a log from business and relationship audiobooks. Ever since I started listening to these kinds of audiobooks on my drive to work, my productivity has gone up and my boss has really appreciated and implemented many of the ideas that I have picked up on my commute.

4) There is a former colleague of mine who was an avid reader who recently had a stroke. He is extremely pleased to have discovered the joy of audiobooks for himself. He can now keep his brain stimulated and can learn new things with out having to pick up a book and read it. His vision has been blurry so it is difficult for him to stay focused on the printed words of books. The visually impaired also greatly benefit from listening to audio books. This way, they do not have to strain their eyes over the tiny printed words, instead, all they have to do is hit play and sit back and listen.

5) One thing I really love about audio books is that you no longer have to kiss your book good bye when you loan it out to a friend. I am sure that this has happened to everyone, after loaning out your book, you never see it again. Now it is no big deal, you can easily burn someone an audiobook on CD and not have to worry about getting it back. You could also easily load your audiobook to a friend’s iPod or Zune.

In the past, you could purchase your audiobooks through catalogs or you could rent them from the library as books on tape. Thanks to advances in technology, these books on tape are now books on CD.

Today, the best, fastest and easiest place to find audiobooks is on the Internet. You can chose from many categories or genres which range from biographies, best sellers, juvenile, old time radio, thrillers, comedies, learn a foreign language, and religious titles.

You can download your audiobooks in both their abridged or unabridged form. It does not take long to download your audiobook either, anywhere from seconds to just a few minutes for the longest titles. If you are on a slow dial up modem, you can choose the smallest file which is still in surprisingly excellent quality. Virtually every title to choose from comes with a free sample download so that you can listen to the narrator before deciding to make the purchase.

I am confident that you will love audiobooks to if you have not already discovered them for all of the preceding reasons. You will free up a ton of time by listening to your audiobooks while you commute, walk the dog, or work around the house which really is priceless. I encourage you to check out how easy and affordable it is to download your audiobooks today.

The author recommends visiting http://www.audiobookstoreportal.com to discover the joys of audiobooks for yourself.

There are many different types of audio books around these days, literally something for everybody. Whether you prefer to be engrossed in a spooky tale, a romantic love story, a side-splitting comedy or a gritty crime story, there are thousands of audio books that you can choose from.

There is a lot of difference between reading and listening. Listening makes you feel that you are there and you can enjoy the story more. Perhaps, listening to audio books can bring out the best in books. Good audio books usually have many narrators perform as each character in the books.

Listening to audio books can be better when compare to watching films that based on the same books. You can relate to stories in books better using your imagination, something that cannot transfer from books to films (acting, directing, and mostly censoring of films make films somewhat distort from their original books.) If you have never tried an audio book, you really should give it a try!

In some ways, audio books are even better than traditional books. If you want to buy a particular book, you have to traipse around the shops trying to find it or order it on the phone or online and then sit at home awaiting the postman. With an audio book, you can download it immediately. You can decide what book you want to listen to and be listening to it within minutes. You can relax, shut your eyes (something else you can’t do with a conventional book!) and be absorbed in the story. Many audio books feature sound effects so you feel like you are really there. You can play an audio book over and over again and it does not get scruffy like a conventional paper book. An audio book can tell a story much better than a printed book. Imagine hearing a book being read by its author who is reading his words like they were meant to be heard. The characters really come to life in an audio book. If you lend someone a book, you might not get it back. To lend someone an audio book, you just need to copy it onto CDs or a DVD.

You could enjoy the biography of your favorite actress whilst walking the dog or washing the floor. You could listen to a gritty crime drama while driving home from work or in your house. You can relax wherever you are and enjoy your audio book and you can listen in total privacy on your headphones.

There are many other types of audio books apart from fiction. You can learn a foreign language, for example, using an audio book. A conventional book does not explain properly how a word is supposed to be pronounced. You could brush up on some Greek phrases for your vacation this year or learn some handy French or Spanish. Listening to a native speaker pronounce those words and phrases is a million times better than reading them in a book and guessing the right pronunciation.

If you fancy giving up smoking, losing weight or increasing your willpower, there are hypnosis audio books available and they have been scientifically proven to work.

You might want to consider audio books for your children so you can either listen to the story together or still turn lights out at 9PM and let them drift off to sleep while listening to their favorite fairy stories or exciting adventure.

When you have finished downloading your audio books, you can play it on your computer speakers, put it on your i-pod or mp3 player or burn it on to a CD for yourself or as a great gift for someone you love. That is how versatile audio books are.

Audio books are relatively inexpensive, especially downloadable audio books. Buying digital downloadable audio book is fun and couldn’t be easier. Have a look online and you will be pleasantly surprised at just how many audio books there are for you to choose from.

There is a library full of audio books ready for you to download at http://www.RightAudioBooks.com
Where you can listen before you buy! 30-day Money Back, Guarantee.

Odds are good that you have heard of the hit The Secret. It seems to be everywhere these days, but what is it?

The Secret is not really a secret at all. What The Secret is, is a cleaned up and very easy to understand version of the law of attraction. You are probably familiar with the law of attraction, like attracts likes.

Author Rhonda Byrne has put together this best seller as a hit book, audiobook and movie. The movie The Secret, gained its initial popularity by way of viral marketing. Prime Time Productions offers free use of the movie to certain organizations and viewings.

The Secret as a book is a New York Times best seller and over the Christmas season of 2006 was one of Amazon’s top five sellers.

The newest median for The Secret is on audiobook. This audiobook can be downloaded on the Internet and runs four hours. Listening to The Secret on audiobook is gaining popularity as you can listen to it during your down time. This is a great way to really absorb its principles.

The general idea of The Secret is that like attracts like. In other words, if you are over weight and want to lose weight you need to hang out with thin people, and visualize being thin. Basically you just put it out there to the universe and let a divine force work its magic. The story is told in a narrative style, much like that of the hit movie, What The Bleep Do We Know.

The story teaches us that most of us focus our energy on fears and reinforcing behaviors that have gotten us to where we are today. What we need to do is focus our thoughts and intentions on what we want in life, and to be the change we are looking for in life.

Rhonda Byrne originally got her idea for The Secret from reading the book The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace D. Wattles, written in 1910. Napoleon Hill also wrote the book Think and Grow Rich and there is also W. Clement Stones Believe to Achieve. All of these books have the same secret within their pages.

The idea of The Secret is also found in the Bible, in Mathew 7:7 Ask and it shall be given you; Seek, and ye shall find; Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. And in Mark 9:23, All things are possible to him that believeth.

The Secret is so big, that it was even featured on Oprah for an entire episode. And we all know what kind of sales of books come from any that are featured on Oprah.

Naming the DVD and move The Secret was a brilliant marketing idea. Everyone wants in on a secret. A big part of what has made the book so big is that people were thinking that they were learning a new idea. These people have never visited the business section at Barnes and Noble or may not be familiar with the Bible.

The idea of The Secret is also found in the Bible, in Mathew 7:7 Ask and it shall be given you; Seek, and ye shall find; Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. And in Mark 9:23, All things are possible to him that believeth.

I do feel that there are many truths to The Secret. Intention and visualization are powerful tools. This idea is also nothing new to anyone who believes in writing down their goals. This goes way back, the philosopher Seneca said, if a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind.

The way that I see The Secret is something that will benefit virtually everyone on some level. The ideas might be brand new and mind blowing to you, or it might just be a reminder on focusing on the things that are important to you and the changes you want in life.

The author recommends downloading The Secret as an audiobook from http://www.audiobookstoreportal.com