102 Minutes - What a fantastic listen!

Well, what can I say? I have gone about downloading a new audiobook (to me anyway) and I cant seem to take it out of my ears!

I prefer to listen to audiobooks with earphones as opposed to speakers so I can concentrate more and feel the story even better.

So, what title am I going on about? It's called "102 Minutes". Its an account of what happened inside the Twin Towers on September 11th 2001, where accounts from many of the survivors, as well as phone call transcripts have been pieced together to form this incredible audiobook.


102 Minutes - The dramatic and moving account of the struggle for life inside the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, when every minute counted.

At 8: 46 AM on September 11, 2001, 14, 000 people were inside the twin towers - reading e-mails, making trades, eating croissants at Windows on the World.

Over the next 102 minutes, each would become part of a drama for the ages, one witnessed only by the people who lived it - until now.

New York Times reporters Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn rely on hundreds of interviews; thousands of pages of oral histories; and phone, e-mail, and emergency radio transcripts. They cross a bridge of voices to go inside the infernos, seeing cataclysm and heroism, one person at a time, to tell the affecting, authoritative saga of the men and women - the 12, 000 who escaped and the 2, 749 who perished - who made 102 minutes count as never before.

"This is a heart-stopping, heartbreaking book. It is also an infuriating one. Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn give us vivid examples of uncommon valor in the face of approaching doom. Nobody can read these pages without feeling a chilly surge of fear. But they also give us - in lucid, understated prose - explanations for the immensity of the calamity. In short, this is an essential document about New York's worst human tragedy. And it's a terrific book." --- Pete Hamill

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The Audiobook Market Place

With the popularity of audiobooks, there are now many places to buy the audiobook of your choice.

Prior to the Internet, we all had no option but to physically visit the bookstores or order via phone or mail. But now with the introduction of the Internet, you can search for the exact audiobook you want, check out the cost and order it... without leaving the comfort of your home or office.

It is now safe to say that the audiobook market place is now on the Internet. Physical bookstores can't match the incredibly abundant advantages that shopping for audiobooks on the Internet provides.

The audiobook market place on the Internet gives you the opportunity to instantly search for and find the particular audiobook you are looking for.

This can't be compared to the era of physically going through several bookstores and manually checking the thousands of books available before you find the audiobook of your choice.

For those of you who don't have an online audiobook store in mind, you can get started by using the search engines to search for the audiobook title of your choice.

Below are some of the most popular audiobook market places on the Internet:

- Amazon: It has become virtually impossible to talk about books, offline or online, without mentioning Amazon.com, whether the book is a hardcover, paperback or even audiobook.

Amazon is undeniably the biggest book market place in the world, online or offline. To locate the audiobook of your choice, visit Amazon.com and search for the title of the audiobook or author's name.

You will mostly likely find the exact audiobook of your choice or be provided with alternatives when you conduct a search on the website of Amazon.com

- audiobook-zone,com: Audiobook-zone.com is undeniably becoming one of the market leaders when it comes to audiobooks. This downloadable audiobook marketplace contains thousands of book titles in many varied categories.

You can visit the website – www.audiobook-zone.com - and easily locate the audiobook you desire. Their search features are very easy to use and save users an incredible amount of time.

- Barnes & Noble: This is another very popular and highly visited audiobook market place on the Internet. Like Amazon and audiobook-zone.com, you can visit the website and use the search feature to pinpoint the exact audiobook you desire.

There are several other audiobook market places on the Internet, but the 3 mentioned above are the most popular and most secure from which you can buy your audiobooks. Buying your audiobook from any of these audiobook stores gives you complete rest of mind, as you won't have any fear of being defrauded.

Apart from these audiobook stores, there are other audiobook stores in specific categories such as business, motivational, fiction, etc.

If you don't find the particular audiobook of your choice from these 3 major audiobook stores online, then use the search engines. It will be very helpful if you know either the exact name of the author or title. If you don't, it can end up being a case of "jargon in jargon out".
In other words, if you type in the wrong name of an author of an audiobook you desire, it will be extremely difficult for you to find the particular audiobook.

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Dramatized Audiobooks

I spoke the other day very briefly about dramatized audiobooks in "What's the Deal with Audiobooks?" and thought I would expand on this subject a little further.

Some regular book titles may be a bit hard going with the subject material. The bible is a prime example of a book that people don't tend to read before bed.

Titles from Shakespeare may also fall into that category, and many people study Shakespeare, meaning some heavy reading awaits them.

With dramatized versions of these original titles, it can help lighten the load of studying and help put the story across in a more understandable way.

I have listed some of my favourite dramatized audiobook titles below, so you too can get immersed into the world of dramatized audiobooks.

Macbeth - BBC Radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard. The poetic richness of the language in "the Scottish play" is enhanced through the medium of radio to bring new depths of anguish to the tortured reasonings of Macbeth and his wife.

Hamlet - Michael Sheen, Kenneth Cranham and Juliet Stevenson star in the best-known and most powerful tragedy of modern times.

Revitalised, original and comprehensive - this is Shakespeare for the new millennium.

TNIV Complete Audio Bible - Introducing the TNIV Audio Bible, multi-voice edition—an audio Bible for today’s generation, from Zondervan, publisher of the 2002 Audie Award®-winning NIV Audio Bible Dramatized.Featuring a fresh, new translation in today’s language, dramatic readings from the some of the world’s best voice talent, original music, and engaging book intros, the TNIV Audio Bible sets a new standard.

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Enjoy Your Workout Again with Audiobooks

There's no doubt about it. Audiobooks have made life a whole lot easier.

For those of us who like to workout to stay in great shape, audiobooks can help us achieve this with less stress.

Instead of listening to the same old music whilst exercising, with audio books, you can kill 2 birds with one stone.

Below are some of the ways in which you can use the power of audiobooks to maximize your workout.

1) There are educative audiobooks that will teach you more beneficial ways of staying in shape. Many people who workout don't even know the right ways to do so. Instead of guessing it, there are great audiobooks that will help you out.

No matter how much you think you already know about working out, there are audiobooks out there that will teach other ways of exercising.

Some of these workout related audiobooks come with calming music in the background, thereby making you stay focused and attentive during the workout.

2) Audiobooks during workouts help to take your mind away from the physical activity. Instead of concentrating on the pain of the workout, you will be concentrating on the message contained in the audiobook.

This will allow you to stay longer when working out. If you usually jog for, say 10 minutes, with an interesting audiobook you will be able to increase the jogging time to, say 30 minutes or more.

3) There are specific audiobooks that talk about the importance of staying in shape and looking great. Such audiobooks can be great during workouts.

They help to give you more reasons why you should stick to your exercise regime, instead of giving yourself excuses why you shouldn't.

For example, audiobooks by motivational experts such as Anthony Robbins who was previously overweight, but now has lost weight and looks great, can influence you on the need to workout, even when you don't feel like it.

These books will help you to understand why you should workout to lose weight and realize that if Anthony Robbins could do it, you can do it too.

4) For those who might want to give up their exercise when it gets difficult, an inspiring audiobook during exercises can influence and motivate you to keep at it.

So, if you have always had a problem with sticking with your workout, get some great workout related and motivational audiobooks, such as Anthony Robbins "Awaken The Giant Within" and "Unlimited Power".

Not only will these helpful audio books help you mentally, they will help you stick to your workout plan. And eventually you will look great physically and feel great mentally.

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NIV Dramatized Complete Audio Bible | International Bible Society

The New International Version — today’s most read, most trusted translation. The multiple-voice dramatization brings the Bible to life with world-class narration and colorful, true-to-the-text character renderings. Fully orchestrated background with sound effects that provide maximum enhancement. Digital engineering from start to finish, it delivers the ultimate clarity and listening enjoyment.

NIV Dramatized Complete Audio Bible

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What is the Deal with Audiobooks?

The audiobook industry isn't too new, but there are still lots of people that don't know certain things about it.

I was also someone that was unaware about certain aspects of audiobooks.

During my early days of audiobooks, I had to ask certain questions and today I hear a lot of people asking those same questions.

Who knows, you might also have such questions and you really want to find the answers to them.

If yes, then below are some of these questions and their answers:

Q) What is an audiobook?

A) An audiobook is simply a book in audio format. Instead of receiving a physical hardcover or paperback book that you have to read, you will receive a CD, cassette or an MP3 version of the book.

Q) What formats do audiobooks come in?

A) Audiobooks come in normal cassette formats, CD formats and MP3 formats which can be played on cassette players, cd players or MP3 players respectively.

Q) What is an MP3 audio book?

A) MP3 is simply a compression technique that makes it possible for reduction to be made to audiobooks so that they use less space (sometimes as little as 80%) compared to that of cassettes or CDs.

Q) How can MP3 audiobooks be played?

A) MP3 audiobooks can be played on any new version of CD players that support the MP3 technology - mostly those that can accept a 4.75 diameter disk.

They an also be played on any PC that has Microsoft's Windows Media Player or other related software.

Q) What is an unabridged audiobook?

A) An unabridged audiobook is one that was narrated word for word. Meaning nothing has been removed from the printed book. It has the exact content with that of the printed book, but in audio format.

Q) What is an abridged audiobook?

A) An abridged audiobook is one that is shortened and doesn't contain the exact word for word narration as the printed book.

Q) What is a dramatized audiobook?

A) A dramatized audiobook, as the name implies, is a dramatized "play-life" version of the printed book, with usual full cast, music and sound effects.

Q) Where can audiobooks be bought online?

A) There are many audiobook stores on the Internet. Some of them are audiobook-zone.com, Amazon.com, and BarnesAndNobles.com to mention a few.

Q) How can I find the audiobook I would like online?

A) You can visit any of the major audiobook stores and search for the particular title you need.

If you are unable to find what you need you can then use the any of the major search engines such as Google.com.

Hopefully the above questions and answers have enlightened you enough to delve into the audiobook world. There are fantastic titles ranging from education to recreations of popular books in a dramatized format.

To get you started, audiobook-zone.com are offering discounts to their range of over 5,000 titles. If you sign up to thier newsletter you also get access to over 20 free audiobooks! You can sign up here and download audiobooks

From Pieces To Weight - Get Rich or Die Trying

That's what this book is about -- the good times and the bad times. I wrote this book to explain the world I come from.

To a lot of people, I may be too young to reflect on life. And they may be right. But I'd be wasting my blessings if I didn't use the attention I'm getting to shed light on the experiences that have caused me to say the things I say and make the kind of music I make.

I want to explain my environment to those who don't come any closer to it than the records they buy or the images they see on television. People who want the truth. Even if they can't handle it, they want it.

I let you know that I survived nine bullets not to sell records, but because it's the truth. Every time I sit down for an interview, I'm asked, "Well, 50, how did it feel to get shot nine times?" But those stories don't hold the weight of my pain, or the hope of my experience. It just can't.

This is what happened when I was trying to get rich before I died in Southside Queens. So begins From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens, a violent and introspective memoir that reveals not only 50's story but the story of a generation of youth faced with hard choices and very little options.

A tale of sacrifice, transformation and redemption, but it is also one of hope, determination and the power of self. From Pieces to Weight drips with raw insight, street wisdom, and 50's struggle to survive at all costs...and behold the riches of the American Dream.

About the Author

50 CENT has sold over 20 million records worldwide. His record-breaking debut album Get Rich or Die Trying has sold over 12 million units worldwide, with the largest debut in SoundScan history. His future plans are to dominate the film and television worlds through two new G-Unit ventures in film & television. His most prized project: the nonprofit organization The G-Unity Foundation, which aims to better the life of urban youth.

From Pieces To Weight

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Seven Things to Consider When Buying an MP3 Player

MP3 player manufacturers didn't plan their products solely for audio books, but for music. But these days many people have started to use MP3 players for listening to audio books.

The fact that you can carry around your MP3 player, instead of listening to audio books on the PC make the players very popular.

But if you don't know what you are looking for, you might end up buying the wrong MP3 player for listening to your audio books.

Below are some of the factors to consider that will help you get the right MP3 for listening to your audio book:

1. The most important factor to consider when buying an MP3 player for your audio book is the way it handles interruption. Unlike music that you can start afresh when interrupted, it isn't so much fun to have to start an audio book from the beginning after listening to it for up to 2 hours.

So, take your time to search for MP3 players that allow users to continue from the exact spot they stopped.

You can test the MP3 player before paying for it. If it works fine, then go ahead. If it doesn't, search for another that does.

2. Ensure that the MP3 player's volume is loud enough. In as much as you can use an earphone to listen to the MP3 player, it is ideal if the volume is loud enough to be listened to in a noisy surrounding.

3. Ensure that the MP3 has a large memory. Since you would be storing your audio book in the MP3 player, you should purchase the one that has enough memory for audio books of up to 5 hours or more. Good battery life is also a must. You'd like uninterrupted playback of your audio book for maximum enjoyment.

4. The smaller an MP3 player is, the more attractive it looks. But don't sacrifice size for quality or durability.

5. Ensure that the MP3 player is manufactured by a popular brand. It wouldn't be wise to buy just any MP3 player because of low cost. There are many low quality MP3 players that are made from Asian countries. Many of these are not worth buying.

6. Get a shortlist of MP3 players that you like and look for reviews online and in magazines. See how users of the MP3 players like/dislike them. Were they value for money? Any common faults?

7. And lastly, ensure that the MP3 player that you purchase can play encrypted files. Many publishers prefer their audiobook content to be protected, so your MP3 player needs to be able to play files that are using Digital Rights Management (DRM). This is often referred to as WMA DRM.

If you are interested in listening to audio books in your car, simply get a CDMP3 player or get any AUX socket with which you can connect to an MP3 player. This makes listening to audio books ideal for on the move on long journeys.

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