What is audiobook
audiobook is a book made in the form of voice recording. Usually, audiobooks are in the form of textbook or writing materials that are read aloud by narator.
Book texts that are read aloud in full are referred to as complete audiobooks or in English 'unabridged', while texts whose reading is limited or reduced are referred to as short audiobooks or in English are 'abridged'.
After knowing the meaning of audiobooks, now you need to know that audiobooks have been available in various schools and public libraries since the 1930s. Audiobooks are usually recorded in the form of cassettes, audio CDs, MP3 CDs, and so on. Audiobooks can also usually be downloaded on the internet.
The main purpose of understanding audiobooks is a tool that is used as a tool for people with disabilities such as the blind and quadriplegic. Along with the development of the times, nowadays audiobooks or audiobooks are also enjoyed by normal people because the understanding of audiobooks in this era is considered to make it easier for society.
Through audiobooks, people can still understand the contents of the book without having to read it. People can understand the meaning of audiobooks that they want to enjoy and can be played on cell phones, car tapes, and are more easily accessible in various places without leaving their other activities.
The definition of an audiobook usually contains the contents of the spoken book. Even though the contents of the book are not clearly read exactly the same, audiobooks are always processed as creatively as possible so as not to bore the listeners. The word processing used is also made as creative as possible so that listeners can enjoy it.
The definition of an audiobook that contains sound recordings is presented complete with digital music or even videos. Today's society can enjoy audiobooks by buying from online bookstores, downloading them on the internet, and even many applications on mobile phones provide audiobooks, one of which is Spotify.
History of Audiobooks
After understanding the meaning of audiobooks, now it's time to go back to the history of audiobooks. Since 1877, Thomas Alva Edison has started to invent the phonograph or speech recording. The first speech that was then recorded via phonograph was "Mary Had a Little Lamb" which was said by Edison himself.
Then in 1878, the Royal Institution of Great Britain began demonstrating the chanting of "Hey Diddle Diddle, the Cat and the Fiddle" and Tennyson's verses onto the phonograph. Since then, it was marked as the beginning of the use of recording technology for the benefit of oral literature.
Benefits of Audiobooks
The benefit of understanding this audiobook is that it does not only make reading easier for the blind and quadriplegic. Now, the benefits of audiobooks are wider. Below, it will be explained how the benefits of audiobooks are for certain communities and in general.
1. Understanding audiobooks as a tool that makes it easier for the blind and quadriplegic to know what is in a book.
2. Audiobooks are used as a medium other than Braille to convey the contents of books to blind people.
3. Understanding this audiobook will be simpler and more practical to be able to take anywhere, rather than having to carry a book.
Free Audiobook App
Then where can we understand the meaning of audiobooks and can use this audiobook? One of the ways to access audiobooks is through an application on your smartphone. Below, there are several recommendations for free audiobook app that can be accessed.
1. Material Audiobook Player
This Material Audiobook Player can be enjoyed by people who already know the meaning of audiobooks and want to enjoy audiobooks. Material Audiobook Player can be downloaded from the Play Store on Android for free without having to pay a penny.
The features contained in the Material Audiobook Player can also be said to be quite complete. However, the Material Audiobook Player app does not have as complete features as paid audiobook applications. However, Material Audiobook Player already has an interface design that has a clean and modern material design style.
2. Nook Audiobooks
Similar to the Material Audiobook Player, Nook Audiobooks can also be downloaded on Android for free. For people who want to enjoy this understanding of audiobooks more easily, the Nook Audiobook can be the solution.
Nook Audiobook provides a wide variety of audiobook collections with a conventional buying and selling system. So if you want to use this audiobook application on Android, readers must first purchase the desired audiobook by downloading it first. Until now, there are at least more than 50,000 audiobook collections available.
3. LibriVox
Users can download the LibriVox app through the Google Play Store which is available on Android or on AppStore for Apple user . Various book titles that have interface features can be very easy to enjoy and are available on LibriVox for free.
There are various famous book titles that can be accessed for free on LibriVox, for example The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, World War II, Sherlock Holmes, Frankenstein, to Great Expectations are available on LibriVox and can be enjoyed without having to pay a penny.
To enjoy your favorite book on LibriVox, listeners only need to touch the book's thumbnail and touch the yellow play button. Listeners can then listen by streaming or online or can download the audiobook title of their choice in advance and listen to it at a later date.
Not only heavy books for teenagers and adults, the meaning of audiobooks on LibriVox is broader because there are also various types of books, ranging from children's audiobooks, and so on.
4. Audiobooks by Audibooks.com
Unlike the other three, this time there is a free audiobook site that you can enjoy, namely Audiobooks. After understanding the meaning of audiobooks and wanting to enjoy them, the Audiobooks application can be the right choice. Audiobooks can be enjoyed for free or for a fee, depending on the collection that listeners will choose.
Audiobooks.com provides around 375,000 premium audiobooks, and 7,000 of them can be accessed for free. Every week, Audiobooks will add hundreds of new book titles to its catalog so that the collection will be even more diverse.
Audiobooks can also be enjoyed in app that can be downloaded through Android's Play Store and iOS App Store. In the Audiobooks app, listeners can enjoy high definition audio quality with the option to play back and set the audiobook narration speed of your choice.
5. Librophile
Apart from audiobook apps, the meaning of audiobooks will also be more easily accessed through various free audiobook websites. One of them is through the Librophile website. In Librophile, various audiobook collections are available, ranging from fictional stories, fairy tales, folklore, and many more.
We can enjoy various audiobook titles on Librophile simply by downloading by selecting the download option and then changing the .zip format to .mp3.
6. Google Playbooks
Not only ebooks, Google Playbooks also provides various audiobook titles that you can enjoy and listen to. By downloading Google Playbooks on Android or iOS, people can get several selected audiobook titles for free.
Since 2018, Google has officially launched audiobooks as a section in it to make it easier for users to understand books without having to read them. Apart from audiobooks, Google Playbooks also provides a variety of digital content, ranging from ebooks, textbooks, and various comics that have been integrated into Google Play Books.
This understanding of audiobooks will also be easier to access by simply logging in using your personal Google account and searching for the book you want to enjoy and listen to. More practical, faster and easier.
How to Make Audiobooks
For those who already understand the meaning of audiobooks and want to try making audiobooks, there's nothing wrong. It turns out that people can actually make audiobooks if they have an interest in audiobooks and want to make their own version of understanding audiobooks in an easy way.
There are three main steps that can be taken when creating an audiobook for those who already understand the meaning of an audiobook first. The following are the steps for creating an audiobook.
1. Brainstorming
The first step in creating an audiobook is to brainstorm. Understanding audiobooks will be easier to convey when the audiobook maker has already determined the material to be presented to listeners. Audiobook creators also have to pay attention to several aspects of audiobooks.
Various aspects that must be considered after knowing the meaning of an audiobook and wanting to make it are the contents of the audiobook and determining the form of presentation of the audiobook, in the form of a theory or story. After that, just make a script that covers the entire audiobook.
Manuscripts for audiobooks are divided into three parts, namely opening, body, and closing. The script writer can also write a script by dividing the existing sub-chapters if the presentation is in the form of theory or several chapters in a manuscript.
Try to make the script feel alive when read by the voice actor. The script must also be interactive so that the audiobook that will be made does not bore the listeners. Also determine who is the voice actor who is suitable to read the audiobook that will be made.
2. Voice Recording
The step to make an audiobook after understanding the meaning of the next audiobook is to record sound. The sound recording process can be done with various recording media. Creators can enter the recording kitchen, or even use existing recording equipment, for example a recorder, or use an application or recorder feature on a cellphone.
There are several things that need to be considered when recording sound, including:
a. Facility
The sound recording facility influences the sound recording process and the strategies it employs. For example, if we can enter the recording studio, we will be more easily helped by the various sophistication of the facilities in the recording studio. But for beginners who don't have the money, make sure the recording equipment is in good condition.
b. recording
To get a clear and good voice recording, do your best when recording, start by using the right volume, pay attention to the intonation, the choice of words and the selection of pauses when speaking.
c. Evaluation
Don't forget to listen again to the recording that has been made, to see if the sound is appropriate to present, or if there are some mistakes, for example, there is a sound leak, a mispronunciation, and so on.
3. Editing
After you've finished recording your voice for an audiobook, make sure to check and edit the sound you recorded. Then we can only combine various sound cuts and cut out which parts are not needed. After that, make the audiobook into a unified whole.
In the editing process to make the understanding of audiobooks better, we can add additional sounds such as effects or sound backgrounds so that the audiobook feels lively and interesting.
