I almost forgot to notify you of our update of the discounts page. There has been so much excitement around here because of the Audie Awards, the launch of the Get Caught Listening Campaign by the Association of American Publishers and to top it off June is National Audiobooks month.
As for the discounts we have updated the 6 titles we have negotiated discounts for as well as the coupon code that we are offering in honor of the "Get Caught Listening" campaign.
The 2 titles I have chosen to highlight are Jane Austen's Persuasion and James Patterson's Thriller - Stories to Keep You Up All Night.
I will start with the latter when it comes to why I chose it. Thriller is a compilation of short stories from 32 of the best thriller writers. This gives anyone interested in exploring this genre a great way of evaluating specific authors and their styles. The book is edited by James Patterson and he does the introductions as well. The book marked a kickoff of the International Thriller Writers organization which is the first to organize thriller writers in an official group.
I chose Jane Austen's Persuasion because it is a classic and highlights the timelessness of good literature which is further brought to life in a recorded book.
As the Get Caught Listening campaign kicks off it is so appropriate that the Audiobook of the Year for 2008 is a title that was made as an audio book, not a written book. The Chopin Manuscript won the award this past Friday in Los Angeles at the annual Audie Awards Banquet. The audies are awards similar in stature to the Grammy Awards for music and the Oscars for movies except the award is given out over 30 categories for audio books.
Besides just being produced as an audio book the Chopin Manuscript also is innovative in that it was written by 15 different authors. They are a who's who of thriller writers that collaborated by taking what was passed on to them from previous chapters and adding on to it. The success of this audio book with its unique approach needed the talents of a very skilled narrator and they found one in Alfred Molina who had to adjust to the pace of each author and a full slate of characters with a variety of different accents.
As everyone who reads this blog knows I love a thriller and the Chopin Manuscript is definitely a thrill ride. With this list of authors no one should be surprised.
Jeffery Deaver (Lincoln Rhyme series)
David Hewson (Nic Costa series)
James Grady (Six Days of the Condor)
S. J. Rozan (Bill Smith/Lydia Chin series)
Erica Spindler (Last Known Victim)
John Ramsey Miller (Winter Massey series)
David Corbett (Blood of Paradise)
John Gilstrap (Scott Free)
Joseph Finder (Power Play)
Jim Fusilli (Terry Orr series)
Peter Spiegelman (John March series)
Ralph Pezzullo (Jawbreaker)
Lisa Scottoline (Daddy's Girl)
P.J. Parrish (Louis Kincaid, Joe Frye series)
Lee Child (Jack Reacher series)
Hats off to Audible for coming up with an award winning audiobook with a unique and innovative approach in the production of the Chopin Manuscript.
I will be expanding on other Audio Award Winners in the weeks and months ahead.
The Association of American Publishers recently announced the "Get Caught Listening" campaign aimed at increasing the awareness for the audio book format. We are very excited about this campaign which is scheduled to start in June. Though the use of audio books continues to increase there is some confusion and misinformation about them. Most of it revolves around choosing to listen to a book versus reading books themselves. The latest statistics published by the Audio Publishers Association shows an estimated 6% growth in audio books sales from 2005 to 2006. More updated information will be provided sometime in the summer but I don't doubt that it will show continued growth.
Having the AAP kick off the "Get Caught Listening" campaign and separating it from their "Get Caught Reading" campaign is a sign that the publishing industry is seeing the complementary value of reading and listening to books. Like their almost 10 year "Get Caught Reading" campaign the goal is to increase awareness, availability and the value of listening to books in all their different formats ranging from downloads to CDs. The main focus will be on all the joys and the benefits of listening to audio books.
"Get Caught Listening" is incorporating recorded messages from authors like Frank McCourt, LL Cool J and Valerie Bertinelli just to name a few. As mentioned in my post "Audio Book Benefits for the Classroom" the value of audio books as an educational learning tools is also addressed in the AAP press release. I have often received feedback from misinformed parents that listening to audio books may decrease the desire for a child to actually read a book. The Milken Family foundation study cited in AAP press release "found that [educational] programs that included the use of audio books improved children's proficiency more than programs that did not use them."
As we at CreateTimeAudio gear up for National Audiobooks Month in June we will look for ways to get the word out on "Get Caught Listening" so stay tuned!
This post is to let you know we have updated our discount offers for the month of May 2008. We have decided to change the way our discounts page works. We have decided to highlight 6 titles that are on offer from CreateTimeAudio instead of the full inventory of possible discounted titles. We have also added any special offers that we are aware of from other audio book stores.
We hope this will provide our readers with more complete options on where to buy or rent their audio books. Though we own a downloadable audio book store we understand that if you are an avid listener you may want a less expensive option like renting or joining another type of audio book club.
We may rotate the 6 titles that are on offer in the middle of the month but I think it will depend on what titles are available and if I find them to be a good deal for our readers.
Please check out the audio book discounts page yourself.
The top 2 titles that got my interest this month were Die Trying by Lee Child and Power of Positive Thinking, The (Abridged - 4 hours) . The latter is a classic and I chose it because recently I read an article that emphasized how we can positively effect how our bodies age, specifically how positive thinking makes our cells grow back stronger. The opposite is also true in that negative thinking basically produces "toxins" that aid in the decay of our bodies. Now I am not saying that this is scientifically proven or accurate but given my life experience I know how different I have felt overall when I am happy, positive and optimistic about life versus the opposite.
The Lee Child title is just one in the Jack Reacher series of books which are a great listen particularly due to the narration of Dick Hill.
Till next time…
Spring is finally here and this post is to notify you of the special discounts that are available for audio books via CreateTimeAudio for the month of April 2008. There are more than 20 special offers on our audio book discounts page. As usual they are in a variety of categories. Believe it or not I am still in the "New Year, New Me" mood and therefore am recommending 2 audio books that focus on improving your life and acheiving your life goals.
The first audio book is Joel Osteen's "Become a Better You". Whether you are a fan of his TV ministry or have not had the chance to be exposed to it you will find his words are very motivational and uplifting. I read the hard cover of his first book "Your Best Life Now" and it did wonders to help me put life in perspective and reminded me not to forget that the best is yet to come. My sister had the chance to listen to "Become a Better Your" and has rave reviews.
| Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day |
Normal Price: $17.95
Offer Price: $13.81
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Is this as good as it gets? Or can you enjoy more of what life has to offer?
Not only can you live happily every day, bestselling author Joel Osteen suggests you must discover the potential within yourself and learn how to use it to live better, and to help others better themselves as well. God didn't create you to be average. You were created to excel! You have everything you need to fulfill your God-given destiny, and there is no limit to what you can accomplish if you discover how to be a better you!
Become a Better You will guide you in the process of uncovering your hidden resources. Addressing such topics as building your confidence, developing better relationships, finding peace within, and staying passionate about life. Joel Osteen will encourage you to reach your unique God-given potential, and will help you to enjoy every day of your life, despite your circumstances. As you incorporate Joel's easy-to-grasp principles into your life, you will be pleasantly surprised at how much more God has in store for you, and how quickly you become a better you!
"God is preparing you for greater things. He's going to take you further than you thought possible, so don't be surprised when He asks you to think better of yourself and to act accordingly."
– JOEL OSTEEN
Normal physical product price, in-store: $29.95
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The second audio book I am recommending is John Assaraf's "Having it All: Acheiving Your Life's Goals and Dreams". Not only does the audio book inspire you with is rags to riches story but a printable pdf worksheet is included to help you develop the techniques that have worked for him.
| Having It All: Achieving Your Life’s Goals and Dreams |
Normal Price: $11.95
Offer Price: $9.19
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No matter what you want in your life, Having It All will take you from where you are to where you want to be. Entrepreneur John Assaraf started with nothing and went on to create a multimillion dollar empire and achieve the life of his dreams, earning himself the nickname "The Street Kid." Now, he shares the best of what he's learned so you, too, can create the life of your dreams.
Having It All contains practical exercises and powerful lessons to help you achieve greater happiness and long lasting success.
The audio includes a printable pdf worksheet.
You will learn how to:
• Develop and utilize the seven power factors all highly successful people use
• Apply the most advanced techniques that world-class athletes and entrepreneurs use to eliminate mental obstacles
• Pinpoint and design the exact life you truly want — then live it!
• Use the power of your subconscious mind to develop empowering success habits
• Tap into the Power of Nature's 7 Laws
Normal physical product price: $19.95
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That's it for now. I finally have a patch of time open so expect many more posts….
