Technobiography.com

My current interest is finding audio books that I could listen to during my commute from work to home in the afternoons.

So far, I’ve found a couple of sites with free audio books. But many of them contain the classics – books that have been declared public domain and do not require any royalties to be paid to authors. These books include works from T.S. Elliot, Shakespeare, Edgar Alan Poe etc.

I’ve downloaded some poetry by Shakespeare. It’s produced by literalsystems.com and the poetry is read by a voice talent named Christine Tasman (nobody I know). Ah, Sonnet 116:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments … Love is not love!

I also found a science encyclopedia. When I listened to it, I couldn’t figure out what the lady was saying. She was talking in English, but she sounded incoherent. I realized later that it was an automated voice. “The Voice” was automated and was reading from a digital source. Thus, you’d hear her say “open square-bracket” or “five images embedded with labels ….”. It was a robotic voice and I know I couldn’t bear listening to it for long.

My brother says Microsoft can read digital words and output audio words. We tried to search Microsoft for that function but haven’t found it yet.

It’s just nice to know that there is this technology of converting digital literature into audio. If and when it develops for commercial and private use (and at a reasonable price … like “free”), it will increase the amount of information available to more people, particularly the blind and illiterate.

And, another plus, it will allow neo-audiophiles like me to listen to more audio books.

Aha! I know which sector might be blocking this technology from developing: book publishers!

Do you know of any audio books websites?

I’m looking for free contemporary literature (not classics), like self-development books, technology books, perhaps some poetry by Pablo Neruda, even children’s books. And also Filipino Audio Books.

Do jot down some links if you have any to share.

On with my audio books crusade ….

ka edong
audio book crusoe

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