Audiobooks for Giving

This is obviously a bit British-heavy, but there a lot of things you might not have noticed on this side of the pond.  Most of them are looooong, so perhaps not stocking stuffers, more like door stops

Kindle Library

Also in audio book news, I ran across this interesting comment thread from Yahoo Answers:  Why are audio books not as popular as regular books? I find it fascinating because these are “regular” people giving their opinions – not people in the industry.

I ran across a great site featuring a map of the U.S. that delineates dialects and regionalisms spoken:

American English Dialects

Lots of people shared other resources in the thread, so check it out!

Downloaded Audio Books also saw an increase of 20.7 percent over last year, with sales of $6.3 million this October; and the category was also up 38.6 percent year-to-date. Physical Audio Book sales decreased 20.5 percent in October with sales totaling $14.7 million; sales for the year to date are down 13.5 percent.

With the increase of e-book readers capable of playing mp3 files, and portable computers like the iPad and netbooks – my bet is this trend will only continue!

AAP Press Release

A few fascinating tidbits here.  Did you know, for example, that audio books:

“started as an aid for battle casualties and elderly people with failing eyesight.”

I poked around a bit online and can’t find a reference for “first audio book ever.”  It sounds like it would be something from the 1930s intended for veterans…I suppose it’s too much to hope that one of those got digitized along the way?

According to this article, Prince Charles recorded the book at his home and his Scottish residence.  Hmm…hope that audio matches up!  Knowing people’s first audio book efforts usually have room for improvement (especially mine), it’d be interesting to see his results.  I couldn’t find a sample online, but if anyone has one let me know!

For those who are unaware, Barbara has been called “the Meryl Streep of the audio book world,” and this year alone is nominated for five Audies.  She’s truly a master of the industry with more than 20 years under her audio book belt.

Barbara Rosenblat

She started off her introduction with a quote about actors in general: “you start off in the biz because you’re a show off…I’m still one.”  Her class contained many good nuggets and quotes that I’ll try to pass along here in some vaguely organized fashion.

Barbara started by giving us a short history of her performing experience and what led her to (and keeps her in) audio books.  As I’ve heard elsewhere and experienced myself, she reiterated the passion needed to pursue audio books – they’re simply too difficult and poorly paid otherwise.  I’ve been told ever since I started acting: “if you CAN do absolutely anything else, do it, only pursue acting if you are driven, if you don’t have a choice.”  The same can be said of the audio book niche in the voice over world: “Only pursue this niche if you HAVE to.”

Barbara’s first book was a Harlequin romance entitled Yet Will I Love Her, which, she claims, is “still bad.”  If you’re terribly interested, you can still buy it on audio cassette on Amazon here.

Here are some points and quotes I pulled out of her section on technique:
(note, these are her opinion or her specific way of working)

• You must engage the listener’s ear within the first five minutes, or they will not stick with you through an entire book.
• ALWAYS use headphones, you must hear yourself and what the listener is hearing.
• Any character voice that calls attention to itself is not suggestion, but exaggeration.
• Create “the perpetual immediacy of the spoken word.”  Or in theatre-acting terms: “the illusion of the first time.”  Even though you’re prepared, and your “third eye” is reading ahead and knows what is coming, the listener hears it as if for the first time.

Near the end of the session, Barbara closed with a wonderful quote from Ben Brantley’s review of Martin McDonagh’s new play on Broadway, A Behanding in Spokane.  The quote describes Christopher Walken’s use of language, in a way Barbara thinks audio book narrators could be inspired by:

“Pauses pop up when you least expect them, entirely shifting the weight of the words around them. Inflections rise upward when normally they would curve down. A single clause can slalom from ennui to anger. These idiosyncrasies of delivery surprise you into close attention and, ultimately, into feeling you can trace the thoughts of the man speaking.”

Overall the experience with Barbara was wonderful, and I’m glad I got to meet her.  As we were talking, she said to me: “our paths will cross again, you know,” so here’s hoping she’s right!

Actor Rides Audiobook Wave to New Career