The Differences Between Abridged and Unabridged Audio Books
Unabridged audio books are those where the narrator reads every word of the original text. Needless to say, this is a much longer version. Listeners will choose this if they must hear every word of the book and they have a lot of time and patience available for listening.
As a spoken page takes much longer than a read page, it will take longer to hear an unabridged book than to read it. This is especially true if you are accustomed to scan-reading text and not reading every word. A book that may be 7 hours in abridged form may be over 30 hours in unabridged form.
Abridged Audio BooksAbridged audio books are those where the recorded text is comprised of only key parts of the written book, yet still designed to flow together into an enjoyable story. Subplots and wordy descriptive scenes may be left out.
In the days of audiotapes, unabridged audio books took more tapes while the abridged versions took fewer tapes. Also tapes could not be downloaded so they needed to be physically mailed to the buyer. Thus, there were S&H costs, and the S&H costs were generally higher for unabridged books.
Regardless of the media format, unabridged audiobooks sometimes cost more because of the production costs. That is, the recording sessions are longer and one needs to pay the narrator for speaking for more hours, etc. However, if you belong to a subscription service that offers audiobooks in MP3 download format, on a monthly credit system, like eMusic, there may be no difference in costs.
The Bottom LineThe bottom line is that whether you choose abridged or unabridged audio books is really a personal decision. The best way is to give them both a try using one of the cost effective audio book plans now available. You can consider a free audio book download, or sign up for a good audio book rental program.
