The Lord of the rings is a three-part trilogy now made into a major film trilogy. The first part "the fellowship of the ring" has now been narrated into an audio book. The narrator for this book is Mr Rob Inglis, the length of this book is 19 hours (unabridged) so you get the full story and not the cut down version.

The basis of the story is that for friends set off on an epic journey, set in a fantastic world of Hobbits Dwarfs and Demons, Orcs are the enemy of Frodo the Main Character, his best friend is sam Gamgee, with Pippin and Merryweather.

Frodo is the protector of the ring. with His friends helping to keep it safe, the black riders, known as the ring wraiths try to steal it from him.

The Lord of the rings audio books second part of the trilogy is called "the two Towers" this audio book is 16 hours and 45 minutes (unabridged) again this book is narrated by Mr Rob Inglis,

The quest of Frodo and his companions has become clearer, He must stop the ring from falling into the hands of the dark lord Sauron, another person shadows the journey of Frodo and his friends. They are now aware of golem, who was lost to the ring and who is also trying to retrieve it.

The last audio book in the trilogy is called "the return of the King" this third and final part of the audio book trilogy is 18 hours (unabridged)

in this final part of Frodo's journey. After a great ordeal the four little hobbits have made a great sacrifice losing friends and companions on the way, golem and the dark Lord Sauron,both trying to get the Ring from Frodo before he destroys it in the eternal fires.

These audio books give excellent character to the story. The sound effects bring the atmosphere to life

breathing feeling into each character also listening to the full story makes a huge difference to the outcome.

The consistency of Rob Inglis, used as the narrator for all three books helps to keep the story alive. Amazingly there is over 53 hours of Lord of the rings audio books to listen to. We hope you like them, good luck on your journey.

For more information about Lord of the rings audio books, click..
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It's really amazing that you can get the exact value listening to an audio book while doing your normal chores as you would reading it.

Certain experts even say information sinks in more when we are not paying direct attention to them.

But when did this audio book phenomenon really start? In other words, what's the history of audio books?

From all indications, audio books look like a very recent invention, right?

WRONG!

It is very easy to make the assumption that audio books are a recent invention because of the mention of CDs, downloadable digital formats, MP3s, PDAs and other technological jargons each time audio books are discussed. But audio books started a long time ago.

To know how long audio books have been, it is pertinent to understand exactly what audio books are.

Forget about any other jargon you have heard, audio books are simply books that are recorded to be heard, instead of read.

That being the case, such recordings of books in audio formats have been around for a very long time. If you want to be specific, it is safe to say they were first introduced over half a century ago.

It could even be longer, if you include the Library of Congress recordings made especially for the American Foundation for the Blind and distributed free throughout the U.S.

However, according to Robin Whitten, the editor and founder of the only magazine which is dedicated solely to the audio book industry: Audiofile--http://www.AudioFileMagazine.com, Caedmon (now a subsidiary of Harper Collins Publishers) can be credited to have started the recordings of literature as far back as 50 years ago.

Going further, he said Caedmon was just a small company way back then in New York, which started recording the audio of great authors and poets of the 1950s. Specifically, he said one of the earliest recordings were by greats such as Dylan Thomas, T.S. Eliot, Fitzgerald and Robert Frost.

What happened then was that they were simply recorded while doing their own works and made as vinyl records.

But these early recordings can arguably pass off for the first collection of audio books ever.

However, the transition of these book recordings into audiocassette tapes didn't happen until the late 1970s up to the 1980s. From thence, it blossomed until audio books in audiocassette tapes came to be accepted by all and sundry.

For whatever reason however, the audio book phenomenon didn't really kick off until the 1990s.

And with the transition from audiocassette technology into CDs, more people have become interested in audio books.

With the advent of the Internet and its paraphernalia, audio books have now transited from vinyl records, audiocassette taps and CDs into downloadable digital formats that can be listened to with a desktop computer, laptop computer, PDAs, etc.

If you are still interested in "going back in time" you can get the original book recordings that started this audio book industry.

Impossible?

Not really.

Some of those early 1950s analog recordings by Caedmon which were performed by the greats of those days can be purchased today on the Internet.

For example, recently I was able to browse the Internet thoroughly and found the original recording of "The Lord of the Rings" as read by J.R.R. Tolken.

You can find that classic you have always dreamt of in audio book format if you search hard enough on the Internet.

For more information about Lord of the rings audio books, click..
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I am always surprised and rather saddened when I hear of people who do not read books. Having been an avid book-reader since I learned to read, I find it difficult to imagine what life would be without them. Rather dull and empty, I feel. But as books form a very large part of my life (I'm a writer as well as a reader!) I suppose I'm biased.

Yet, I cannot help feeling that anyone's life could be improved by just a little bit of reading. And I don't mean gossip magazines or the text your best friend just sent you. I'm talking about the amazing enlightenment, excitement, delight, humor and the whole gamut of emotions to be had from reading a great work of fiction.

A colleague in an office once said to me that she never read fiction because she couldn't see the point of reading something that wasn't true.

What an amazingly sad misunderstanding of the nature of fiction. The stories in fiction may be made up, but any good writer will tell you that a good story is built upon a theme - and that theme is always something that is very true about life. In good fiction, the characters learn things about themselves. They grow as people, and in doing so they face conflicting and difficult situations - sometimes physically dangerous, sometimes emotionally upsetting - but always based on truth, because how else would the reader be able to relate to them?

Fiction is, paradoxically, truth. When we read a good work of fiction, we grow and learn along with the characters; we may discover something about ourselves, or about other people; we may draw encouragement from something a character has to go through and overcome; we may be inspired to do something, to be courageous, or loving.

Children, in particular, learn so much from books. Let's take the Harry Potter series. These books are not just about a young magician who goes to magician school and gets into a lot of trouble with his friends and manages to save the day. These books are about courage, friendship, love, and the overcoming of adversity through strength of character, perseverance and honesty. While children are enjoying the stories, these lessons are being learned unconsciously.

You may think that The Lord of the Rings was just a fantasy about dwarves and elves and nothing much to do with real life. Think again. Some of Tolkien's main themes in the book were friendship, comradeship and loyalty. These basic values are interwoven throughout the story - think about the Fellowship of the Ring, Sam's devoted loyalty to Frodo, the support of Gandalf and the development of the unlikely friendship between an elf and a dwarf. All these are human themes which are actually what help the characters to win against all odds. That's a strong message about the power of friendship.

When you think about the amount of books there are waiting to be read, what an incredible abundance of treasures we have to look into any time we want! Just think, at any time you want, you can be moved, made to laugh, cry or smile, be scared, excited, thrilled, inspired or soothed. And all from the comfort of your own armchair!

For more information about Lord of the rings audio books, click..
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The Lord of the Rings trilogy has taken the world by storm over the last few years. J.R.R. Tolkien's classic stories have been given a new lease of life thanks to the fantastic cinematic world of Peter Jackson. His film adaptations captured the spirit of the original novels and created a whole new army of Tolkien fans. They were released in three installments as The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). As an aside, in 1978 the animator Ralph Bakshi created an animated version of the story, attracting more fans to the world of the Shire and Middle Earth (though not to the same degree as Jackson's creation).

However, despite the popularity of the novels and the films, many people are unaware of the wonderful Lord of the Rings audio book. The audio book is attracting a sizeable fan base, although purists might sneer at the idea of an audio book version of the novel. However, the classic text read aloud brings a whole new dimension to the story and may even provide new insights into the plot. Also, consider the convenience of being able to listen to the novels whilst on the move: in the car, on the train or plane, for example. Maybe you'd like some entertainment whilst sunning yourself on the beach but can't stand the glare of the sun on the white pages of a book!

Are there different versions of the Lord of the Rings Audio Book?

Yes, there are several versions of the story, but perhaps the best known is read by actor Robert Inglis. This is a mammoth work which runs to forty six CDs! The recording is first rate and is completely uncut, which means that you're going to need quite a few days to get through the entire collection! For LOTR devotees this could be the first choice, especially if authenticity is your primary concern.

However, there is another extremely popular Lord of the Rings audio book produced by the BBC. You need to be aware that BBC audio books are usually in a radio-theater style rather than a simple, straightforward reading of the novel. This might be preferable if you are seeking a more entertaining, or fun, experience. The choice between the two styles of audio book is ultimately up to you and your personal preferences.

How much will all this cost me?

As you can imagine, forty six CDs is going to cost quite a bit of money. Think of it, though, as an investment in your future entertainment. In fact, the CDs could cost you up to $100 if bought brand new in the high street. However, thanks to the marvel that is the internet, it is possible to locate discounted, used copies from a number of suppliers. If cost is an issue for you then it would certainly pay to shop around on the web and locate a number of suppliers to compare prices.

Even die-hard Tolkien fans will find the Lord of the Rings audio book an entertaining experience.

For more information about Lord of the rings audio books, click..
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Downloadable audiobooks are one of fastest growing sectors of the Internet. Every week seems to bring new publishers and big name title audio books for MP3, ipod and to burn to CDs. But is this all new? You might think they're a recent invention, but you'd be mistaken. But where did they come from? What were the first titles and can you still get them?

What you'll read:

* When do you think audiobooks started? * Why Audiobooks have become so popular recently? * So when were audiobooks "invented" * Who were the first audio book publishers? * The 3 reasons why audiobooks have exploded. * Where to find "original" audiobooks

* When do you think audiobooks started?: Do audiobooks seem pretty recent to you? I can just about remember "the first" audiobooks on cassette being around in the mid 80s. Then again I'm really old so maybe your first memory is more recent!

I recall some really huge box sets for things like lord of the Rings (sold on ebay...wish I hadn't!) and they were abridged (abridged means significantly cut in length for whatever reason)

Since then there's been an explosion in the audiobook market. For millions of people, along with mp3 music, audiobooks are part and parcel of the Internet. Yet another one of many ways to get and digest information for fun or practical purposes!

* Why Audiobooks have become so popular recently?: Using myself as an example: Once I realized just how good they were for certain things there was no stopping me -

* They're excellent for learning. Be it business, motivation, or in my own case right now, learning Swedish (audiobooks are brilliant for language training).

* They're great for kids learning to by all accounts but I can't give you my own experience there as I'm 36!

* Great for pleasure "reading! For fiction when normal books would be impossible, (e.g., in the dark or when driving or working out) or you just want the book pushed "into" you rather than having to absorb though your eyes.

* So when were audiobooks "invented": Around the early 1980s maybe? No.

With the current focus on audiobook CDs, DVD, downloadable WMA, MP3s, iPods etc you may think they're very recent. But you'd be wrong. Audiobooks started many years ago.

To understand this it's important to define exactly what an audio book is.

* Basically audio books are simply books that are recorded to be heard, instead of read.

* So have they been around for as long as recording has been possible?

Not quite. To be more specific, it's safe to say they were first introduced just over 50 years ago. That is in terms of being available outside of professional broadcasting circles.

* Who were the first audio book publishers?: Robin Whitten, the editor and founder of the only magazine which is dedicated solely to the audio book industry credits Caedmon (now a subsidiary of Harper Collins Publishers) as having started recordings of literature as far back as 50 years ago.

He tells us that Caedmon, at that time a small company in New York, started recording the audio of great authors and poets of the 1950s. Specifically, he said some of the earliest recordings were by greats such as Dylan Thomas, T.S. Eliot, Fitzgerald and Robert Frost.

At this time they were simply recorded while doing their own works and made as vinyl records. Not exactly great for jogging but these early recordings can arguably be defined as the first collection of audio books.

However, the transition of these book recordings into audiocassette tapes didn't happen until the late 1970s up to the 1980s when we see the market size, first in audio cassette, growing until accepted by the more "sophisticated" early adopter profile consumer.

The audio book phenomenon though didn't really kick off until the mid to late 1990s.

* The 3 reasons why audiobooks have exploded:

Not surprisingly, as with so many technology related products:

1) Ease of use/Quality: Vinyl - Limited on use. Try playing one in a commuter train or while driving. Err no. Oops scratched it, damn it's ruined etc.

Tape cassettes - Total pain, limited storage and they self destructed with alarming regularity.

Early portable CD players were't actually all that portable - If you had one and ever moved to sharply while using it you'll know what I mwean!

Now with mp3 players & ipods there are no moving parts so you can listen when working out, running or anything else where a CD player would be useless. You can even get mp3 players built into sunglasses (Oakley) that are designed specifically for hardcore sports training!

2) Cost: Early CD players and later, MP3 players were very expensive. Car CD units, wow they really did cost a lot!

But now CD players of all types and MP3 players have become so cheap that the hardware cost barrier has disappeared.

3) Ease of "Delivery" With broadband internet becoming the norm it has become super easy to get audiobooks "anytime -anyplace - anywhere" 100 meg download, no problem!

* Where to find "original" audiobooks: And if you want original audiobooks - Can you get them? If you are still interested in "going back in time" you can get the original book recordings that started this audio book industry.

Some of those early 1950s analog recordings by Caedmon which were performed by the greats of those days can be bought online.

You can find that classic you have always dreamt of in audio book format if you search hard enough on the Internet where you'll find audiobooks of a size, quality and sophistication that would have been seen as science fiction even 15 years ago!

For more information about Lord of the rings audio books, click..
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