the.com/audiobook
a book that stopped making you look at it and started making you listen.
means a narrated recording of a written text, letting you consume a book with your ears instead of your eyes.
from born from talking books made for blind veterans in the 1930s, recorded on vinyl by the american foundation for the blind and the library of congress, decades before cassettes made it a mainstream commute companion.
first formatvinyl records, not tape
original audienceblinded world war one veterans
industry boomdriven by smartphones and commuting, not radio
narrator powera great narrator can outsell the author's own fame
for instance
harry potter jim dale — stephen fry and jim dale versions became legendary separate fandoms
becoming michelle obama — narrated by obama herself, won a grammy in 2020
the martian rc bray — an amateur narration got so popular it launched a career