Books on Tape

While reading "Ebooks and the Threat from 'internal constituencies,'" I was surprised to see audible books in the same category as electronic media. Or rather, I was not surprised that they were linked in that way, but rather that I had never thought of it that way. Books on tape are not something we have spoken about much in this class, but I can say they are an electronic means of reading I have delved into quite enthusiastically in the past.

While I am a reader who loves to hold books, feel books, smell books, I cannot read in a car. No way, no how. I get headaches from hell and my eyes hurt and I get nauseous. So, when we used to take 12 hour car rides from South Florida to North Carolina, I was stuck in a car with very little to do. Being that this was before mp3 players, I had my CD player but being young I only had so many CDs and sleeping only took up so long, so I ventured into the world of books on tape and I remember listening to "The Mists of Avalon" (a mammoth of a book.

I have been resistant to other newer technologies with it comes to reading, but this article really made me realize that I have had no problem with various technologies in the past. And, I have even given Audible a shot, though I don't prefer to listen to books unless I am in a car or other swiftly moving vehicle (I can, however, read on planes).

Roger Magoulas's article was interesting, both in the eye-opening books on tape arena, and the threat from internal sources. I would have never thought about the internal aspects when it came to the downfall of companies, but the threat seems very real--especially when we have seen it happen to companies such as Blockbuster.