Quote:
Originally Posted by spaze
So most of the audio books are like Bebook Mini's text-to-speech.
I remember when I was a kid my cousin recorded Empire Strikes Back into a C-tape and he gave it to me as a birthday present. I used to listen to it and remember the drama after Luke finds out Vader is his father. Many years later I actually knew what he was crying about  But in a sense, it was kind of audio book I guess. |
Actually, commercial audiobooks - the kind you'll find at the library or available for purchase either on CD or from places like Audible.com - probably fall about halfway between the two examples you gave. Most commercial fiction audiobooks are read by professional actors, and while they do read the straight text with little or no sound effects or background music, they create different voices for the various characters and use their voices to heighten emotions - fear, anger, joy, etc. Of course, there is a wide range of narrating styles and talent, and while a good narrator can really enhance a book, a bad narrator can ruin the experience.