How to read and listen to audiobooks with only one device

How many books do you have congesting the shelves of your library? Can you imagine to remove them all and holding over 200 titles in al little device, which is lighter and thinner than a typical paperback and weighs only 10.3 ounces.

This new device (released in November of 2007) can download text in a variety of formats from Amazon and other places. The ebooks or documents can be read on the screen of the kindle, or they can be listened to on the device.As Kindle offers the possibility to play MP3 files as background music while you read, you will be also able to hear to MP3 audiobooks and follow along in the Kindle ebook at the same time.

Amazon has created their own file format for the device (AZW). However, it can also read .txt files and some .pdf files (although .pdf files are not fully supported at this time). More than 90,000 books are now available, including more than 90 of 112 current New York Times Best Sellers. One can read fiction or non-fiction books as well as everything from best sellers to more obscure titles.

According to one industry expert the Kindle is still too expensive for a mainstream audience at $399.

Another benefit of Amazons Kindle in combination with MP3 books is that they can play a vital role in developing fluency and comprehensions skills of children. If you let your kid hear the audiobook and follow along in the Kindle ebook version it will build decoding skills and vocabulary that are essential for improving reading accuracy and rates.

The Kindle is a breakthrough device, in many ways analogous to the first iPod. Just as the iPod brought MP3 players to the masses, the Kindle will be the device that introduces ebooks and audiobooks to many people.
NoPaperback is the blog of Audado.com. Audado offers over 5,000 downloadable audio books and spoken word material Books are organized by categories like biography, fiction, history, humor, religion, and self help.

- Ruben Alvarez