My First Podio Book

In my efforts to avoid all forms of writing related stuff, today, I decided to start listening to my first podio book. I do not recall if I have explained yet what those are. I suspect I have, but I'll do it again anyway. Podcasts are essentially downloadable radio shows; podio books are books that people have written, who either read or have someone else read aloud. Effectively, they are homemade audio books. You can download these for free at podiobooks.com.

Most of them are from authors who are yet to break into traditional publishing and simply hope that their stories catch on well enough that they can tell a publisher that X number of people have been following the story online. The goal is that this knowledge will help publishers take their work more seriously and publish them.

It is my understanding that the quality can vary, but that is to be expected from anything that isn't commercially done. There are reviews, so you can read before you even download if people are complaining about the audio quality. The one I decided to start listening to is as good as any professionally done audio book that I have heard.

Many of these podio books are serialized and you have to wait week to week for the next chapter. It kind of makes them ideal in that you only need to invest 20-40 minutes every week or two, but then, if the story is interesting enough, you want to hear more, so it is indeed a double edged sword.

If I want people to get involved with the release of my story, I will eventually have to do something like this as well. I don't relish the thought of recording myself reading the story, but we'll see.

Getting back to podio books in general. They've been around for years, so there is no need to listen to ones that are incomplete if you do not wish to. I am not one for listening/watching at a creator's pace. This is why I'll rarely watch a TV season before it is over with. I prefer to sit down and check them out in a row. I am doing the same thing with my first podio book. I started listening to:

7th Son: Book One - Descent

That is the link to the book on podiobooks.com. I actually downloaded it from the author's website since it supposedly had a few extras compared to the more main stream release version. The author is J.C. Hutchins and his website is located at jchutchins.net. "Descent" is book one of the 7th Son trilogy and all three books have been completed.

Anyway, if I am to listen to this sort of media more conveniently, I decided I was going to have to get myself an .mp3 player. Obviously, I can't afford one, but those who know me, know that I don't let money get in the way of what I want. I have been saving up sales points on my American Express card for years and it is finally time to use them. I have one picked out and since I find the iPods to be insanely annoying, I am going with a Philips GoGear SA5285. The fact that it has less features compared to an iPod and is also $50 cheaper, made it particularly attractive because I can get the thing without paying a penny. This one's on Amex.

Yes, you read that right. It has less features than an iPod. I get so annoyed at all the ridiculous additons these modern electronics have. I just want it to play .mp3s. I'd rather have more memory storage, as opposed to the ability to play videos (who wants to watch 1.5 inch video feeds?), as opposed to accessing the internet (that's why I have a computer!), I'm done. I'm in too good of a mood to bitch anymore.

Anyway, thus far, I have listened to the first seven chapters and it has been pretty good so far. I can only assume it will get even better. If you like listening to sci-fi audio books, you'll enjoy this one. And if you like audio books in general, I'm sure podiobooks has something for you. And as always, if you like the work, donate to the author. You can donate to them right on the podiobooks.com website.