| ght come as a surprise to you that the concept of | | | | a convenient travel center further along your route. |
| the audio book rental first became fashionable way | | | | Great system! |
| back in the 1970's. At that time, audio books began | | | | You can see the benefit to the listener: not |
| to proliferate as mass distribution began to kick in. | | | | everybody has computer (or internet) access and so |
| City and town libraries were the first establishments | | | | the usual audio book club system is worthless as you |
| to offer audio books as a sideline to actually reading | | | | are unable to download the material. Audio book |
| books! | | | | rentals also have a far wider collection of fiction and |
| Gradually, those people who had recordings of their | | | | non-fiction, often available in a variety of formats (do |
| favorite novels began to branch out and look for | | | | you remember cassettes?). |
| further recordings. New sites began to appear on the | | | | Is there a downside? Well, I guess it depends on |
| web where folks could subscribe and then download | | | | how much time you can put aside to listen to your |
| public domain recordings of novels and stories that | | | | audio book. With a downloaded audio book you can |
| were no longer in copyright. At first, these sites had | | | | spend as much time as you want and listen at your |
| a limited choice of recordings and didn't provide | | | | leisure. If you rent, you may not get to the end of |
| modern fiction and non-fiction. It was inevitable, | | | | your book before it needs to be returned to the |
| therefore, that people would look towards audio | | | | audio book rental club. Also, unlike downloads, you |
| book rentals as a viable alternative. | | | | may find yourself competing with other readers |
| The great thing about audio book rentals (a type of | | | | (listeners!) for popular titles. As a result, you may |
| audio book club) is that you can usually get an | | | | have to be put on a waiting list until the copy |
| unlimited number of audio books, tapes, CDs, etc, to | | | | becomes available. Remember, depending on the |
| rent. Audio book clubs are not usually 'unlimited.' | | | | company, there might be limited stock available so |
| However, rates can vary quite a bit and so you | | | | this needs to be taken into consideration. However, |
| should shop around, especially as different rental | | | | usually this isn't such a problem and audio book |
| companies offer varying lengths of rental and ways | | | | rentals usually take account of the needs of their |
| of returning material. Also, you might be lucky and | | | | customers. They will have conducted a great deal of |
| get an audio book rental free trial in which you can | | | | market research and so can offer different options |
| assess the system. | | | | and services for all budgets. |
| The whole process should be familiar as many people | | | | So, audio book rentals are a great way to listen to |
| already use rental services for hiring out DVDs. As an | | | | classic literature or educate yourself with informative |
| example, some audio book rental companies focus on | | | | non-fiction. Just be aware that 'time' is an important |
| making audio books available at travel centers on | | | | factor when accessing books in this manner and also |
| major highways. Truckers and traveling salesmen use | | | | costs can vary considerably as well. |
| these services frequently to speed up those long, | | | | Give it a try and enjoy another method of accessing |
| lonely hours on the road. Once your favorite novel | | | | interesting literature! |
| has bought, you can listen to it and then return it to | | | | |