An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other
work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described
as "unabridged", while readings of a shorter version are an
abridgement.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public
libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many
spoken word albums were made prior to the age of cassettes, compact
discs, and downloadable audio, often of poetry and plays rather than
books. It was not until the 1980s that the medium began to attract
book retailers, and then book retailers started displaying audiobooks
on bookshelves rather than in separate displays.The term "talking
book" came into being in the 1930s with government programs designed
for blind readers, while the term "audiobook" came into use during the
1970s when audiocassettes began to replace records. In 1994, the Audio
Publishers Association established the term "audiobook" as the
industry standard.Spoken word recordings first became possible with
the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1877.
"Phonographic books" were one of the original applications envisioned
by Edison which would "speak to blind people without effort on their
part." The initial words spoken into the phonograph were Edison's
recital of "Mary Had a Little Lamb", the first instance of recorded
verse. In 1878, a demonstration at the Royal Institution in Britain
included "Hey Diddle Diddle, the Cat and the Fiddle" and a line of
Tennyson's poetry thus establishing from the very beginning of the
technology its association with spoken literature.
work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described
as "unabridged", while readings of a shorter version are an
abridgement.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public
libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many
spoken word albums were made prior to the age of cassettes, compact
discs, and downloadable audio, often of poetry and plays rather than
books. It was not until the 1980s that the medium began to attract
book retailers, and then book retailers started displaying audiobooks
on bookshelves rather than in separate displays.The term "talking
book" came into being in the 1930s with government programs designed
for blind readers, while the term "audiobook" came into use during the
1970s when audiocassettes began to replace records. In 1994, the Audio
Publishers Association established the term "audiobook" as the
industry standard.Spoken word recordings first became possible with
the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1877.
"Phonographic books" were one of the original applications envisioned
by Edison which would "speak to blind people without effort on their
part." The initial words spoken into the phonograph were Edison's
recital of "Mary Had a Little Lamb", the first instance of recorded
verse. In 1878, a demonstration at the Royal Institution in Britain
included "Hey Diddle Diddle, the Cat and the Fiddle" and a line of
Tennyson's poetry thus establishing from the very beginning of the
technology its association with spoken literature.
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