Easy Reading with Audible.com

Many people have realized the convenience that audiobooks provide. Not only are they great for many handicapped people, but audiobooks can be helpful to just about anyone. The main inconvenience has always been managing the large number of tapes or CDs for any unabridged book. If you have not heard about it already, there is a online company that provides books on tape without the this problem. Audible.com delivers audiobooks over the internet as computer files to be loaded on to your MP3 player or listened to at your computer. I have used this service for serial years now and love it. I can only read regular print text with low vision aids, so recreational reading was out of the question until I came across this service. The company has several subscription plans that keeps the cost of audiobooks around $10 per book, much less than the costs at your local bookstore. Many libraries are also beginning to offer Audible.com's services as a well. There are a few downsides. Audible.com does not offer the Harry Potter books, thought their collection is growing by leaps and bounds. You may only use 'certified' MP3 players, which include the iPod and the Creative Muvo. MP3 players have not been designed with accessibility ideas in mind, so they vary in their ease of use. [I will post my thoughts on the accessibility of MP3 players later on.] Lastly, the service is not free. Services for the blind, such as the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and your local library offer audiobooks for free. Despite the drawback, I am a big fan of Audible.com. Give it a try. PS Here is a great article, Books on Tape Without the Tape! about Audible.com from the January, 2003 issue of AccessWorld, the American Federation of the Blind's online journal of Technology and People with Visual Impairments, on Audible.com. The article goes into detail about accessibility issues and links to an email list for blind Audible.com listeners.