A reader writes: "It appears that Neil Gaiman released two of his books (Anansi Boys and American Gods) as books on CD. The interesting twist is that they are being released as MP3 - which for the world of audio books is something pretty new. ". Indeed; MP3 audio books, I think, have given the book publishers the willies because of the DRM issue - anyone else seen this before? And also worth noting that Mirrormask was released in motion picture form and rocks. I think to describe it would be equal parts The Dark Crystal and Myst, combine with Carnivale and a dash of The City of Lost Children. Gaiman on MP3 Audio Books, Mirrormask Log in/Create an Account | Top | 166 comments | Search Discussion Display Options Threshold: -1: 166 comments 0: 163 comments 1: 138 comments 2: 98 comments 3: 24 comments 4: 15 comments 5: 9 comments Flat Nested No Comments Threaded Oldest First Newest First Highest Scores First Oldest First (Ignore Threads) Newest First (Ignore Threads) The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way. What's it like...? (Score:1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 17, @10:34AM (#13809044) What's it like to grow up with a name like Gaiman?It's got to be rough. [ Reply to ThisMaybe you should read Anansi Boys by ackthpt (Score:1) Monday October 17, @06:06PM3 replies beneath your current threshold. TFArticle? (Score:4, Informative) by Gulthek (12570) on Monday October 17, @10:36AM (#13809050) (http://www.stephenball.net/ | Last Journal: Thursday April 25, @10:03PM) The writeup seems to indicate that Gaiman is actually announcing something or recently held an interview, yet the only links in the story are to the front page of his website and to his books. [ Reply to ThisAudible dot com by Darth Muffin (Score:2) Monday October 17, @10:43AMRe:Audible dot com by grahams (Score:3) Monday October 17, @10:48AMRe:Audible dot com by Anonymous Coward (Score:2) Monday October 17, @10:53AMRe:Audible dot com by grahams (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:01AMRe:Audible dot com by Itchy Rich (Score:3) Monday October 17, @11:10AMRe:Audible dot com by Darth Muffin (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:31AMRe:TFArticle? by grahams (Score:2) Monday October 17, @10:44AMRe:TFArticle? by Pollardito (Score:1) Monday October 17, @01:01PMHere's an FA by Kelson (Score:2) Monday October 17, @06:25PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. Audio books... in general (Score:5, Insightful) by jkind (922585) on Monday October 17, @10:36AM (#13809051) (http://www.milliondollarsweethearts.com/) I find the only Audio books that have any effect on me are the instructional kind. For instance, learning a new language such as through the Pimsleur series. I would be interested in knowing if anyone actually prefers the audio format to traditional page flipping. In terms of going MP3, wouldn't the author have saved a lot in fees by going OGG, or is acceptance too much of a concern? [ Reply to ThisRe:Audio books... in general by caffeinex36 (Score:2) Monday October 17, @10:41AMRe:Audio books... in general by jkind (Score:1) Monday October 17, @10:43AMRe:Audio books... in general by DilbertLand (Score:1) Monday October 17, @12:01PMRe:Audio books... in general by Skreems (Score:1) Monday October 17, @01:44PMRe:Audio books... in general by coke_scp (Score:1) Monday October 17, @10:46AMRe:Audio books... in general by LordSnooty (Score:1) Monday October 17, @10:46AMRe:Audio books... in general by LWATCDR (Score:3) Monday October 17, @11:30AMRe:Audio books... in general by bedroll (Score:3) Monday October 17, @12:24PMOgg by Markus Registrada (Score:2) Monday October 17, @12:58PMRE:OGG by hazem (Score:2) Monday October 17, @02:40PMRe:OGG by bedroll (Score:2) Monday October 17, @03:42PMRe:OGG by lgw (Score:2) Monday October 17, @06:17PMRe:Audio books... in general by QuijiboIsAWord (Score:2) Monday October 17, @10:48AMRe:Audio books... in general by Frobisher (Score:1) Monday October 17, @11:58AMRe:Audio books... in general by Grfxho (Score:2) Monday October 17, @10:52AMRe:Audio books... in general by dave_mcmillen (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:02AMRe:Audio books... in general by Politburo (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:28AMRe:Audio books... in general by hazem (Score:2) Monday October 17, @02:37PMRe:Audio books... in general by nhstar (Score:1) Monday October 17, @10:55AMRe:Audio books... in general by no reason to be here (Score:1) Monday October 17, @11:12AMCyclists too by BarryNorton (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:39AMRe:Cyclists too by Dr. Evil (Score:2) Monday October 17, @12:29PMRe:Cyclists too by BarryNorton (Score:2) Monday October 17, @12:43PM Re:Audio books... in general (Score:5, Insightful) by dave_mcmillen (250780) * on Monday October 17, @10:57AM (#13809187) I would be interested in knowing if anyone actually prefers the audio format to traditional page flipping. For certain applications, I find that they're much better. Basically, they're great for "hands free" reading, in situations where you couldn't conveniently (or safely) read a book, like while exercising, doing housework, walking around (remembering to use your eyes extra carefully to subsitute for your occupied ears when, say, crossing streets).Also, a good performance by the narrator can do great things for a book. There are some very fine voice actors reading these books, and the best of them are fantastic. Other narrators are, well, less fantastic. It's very much a personal preference issue, though: heated arguments over the quality of the narrator regularly break out in the reviews over at Audible.com. (Like another poster, I use my iPod mainly for audiobooks, and I've been doing Audible's two-books-a-month subscription plan for years, now. Not free, but affordable enough for me.)One free audio book I can recommend is "Free Culture" by Lawrence Lessig, which a bunch of people recorded into an audio book, which was permitted by Lessig's release of the book under a Creative Commons license. You can find it over at www.legaltorrents.com. The narrators are enthusiastic rather than skilled, in some cases, but the material is so interesting that it's easy to forgive the occasional lapses. [ Reply to This | Parentaudiobooksforfree.com - BIG FINISH by Tungbo (Score:2) Monday October 17, @12:52PMRe:Audio books... in general by MemoryAid (Score:2) Monday October 17, @02:16PMRe:Audio books... in general by dave_mcmillen (Score:1) Monday October 17, @09:09PMRe:Audio books... in general by Malacca (Score:1) Monday October 17, @07:41PMRe:Audio books... in general by nine-times (Score:2) Monday October 17, @10:58AMRe:Audio books... in general by Anitra (Score:3) Monday October 17, @11:08AMRe:Audio books... in general by Bloke down the pub (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:33AMRe:Audio books... in general by object88 (Score:2) Monday October 17, @01:40PMRe:Audio books... in general by Anitra (Score:2) Monday October 17, @03:21PMRe:Audio books... in general by swv3752 (Score:2) Monday October 17, @03:24PMRe:Audio books... in general by dingosatemybaby (Score:1) Monday October 17, @11:23AMAudio Performances by Tungbo (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:38AMRe:Audio books... in general by NanoGator (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:47AMaudio modules for developers/programmers by DeveloperAdvantage (Score:1) Monday October 17, @11:49AMRe:Audio books... in general by ukgod (Score:1) Monday October 17, @12:58PMAudio Books for Languages? by chaim79 (Score:1) Monday October 17, @01:09PMRe:Audio books... in general by magefile (Score:2) Monday October 17, @01:13PMRe:Audio books... in general by dalutong (Score:2) Monday October 17, @01:16PMRe:Audio books... in general by TheKubrix (Score:2) Monday October 17, @01:50PMRe:Audio books... in general by DynamiteNeon (Score:1) Monday October 17, @02:13PMuses | Cost calculation by henni16 (Score:2) Monday October 17, @02:53PMRe:Audio books... in general by Petrushka (Score:2) Monday October 17, @05:15PM2 replies beneath your current threshold. audiobook mp3s (Score:5, Informative) by digitaldc (879047) on Monday October 17, @10:38AM (#13809064) MP3 cds for sale here:http://www.audiobooksonline.com/shopsite/mp3_audio books_audio_books.html [audiobooksonline.com] [ Reply to ThisRe:audiobook mp3s by DirkBalognapantz (Score:1) Monday October 17, @12:59PMRe:audiobook mp3s by Jeff DeMaagd (Score:2) Monday October 17, @01:06PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. Gorgeous movie, well worth seeing (Score:4, Interesting) by Chuckaluphagus (111487) on Monday October 17, @10:40AM (#13809074) Saw it this past Friday, it's an amazing movie. The direction and art design is by Dave McKean; his style is absolutely beautiful, but it might throw some people off. I loved it.After the show a friend noted that it has a feel very similar to "The Neverending Story", and I think that's accurate. [ Reply to This Huh? (Score:5, Funny) by QuijiboIsAWord (715586) on Monday October 17, @10:40AM (#13809079) Mirrormask was released in motion picture form and rocks.Anyone else wondering exactly how you market Mirrormask brand gravel? [ Reply to ThisRe:Huh? by tabacco (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:02AMRe:Huh? by BushCheney08 (Score:1) Monday October 17, @11:16AM Harry Potter has been available at ITunes.. (Score:5, Informative) by maddogdelta (558240) on Monday October 17, @10:41AM (#13809080) And Baen books [baen.com] has been releasing some of their books as mp3 audiobooks.Not huge yet, but let's face it... as far as security is concerned, If you can get the cd, you can rip to mp3. I do that all the time to get books to listen to while I'm running. Angela's Ashes will be playing for me during a marathon this weekend.(For you national socialists at RIAA, no, I am not posting the mp3's. This is for my own fair use) [ Reply to ThisA message from the RIAA by doublem (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:22AMRe:A message from the RIAA by Moofie (Score:1) Monday October 17, @05:19PM Re:Harry Potter has been available at ITunes.. (Score:5, Funny) by rholliday (754515) on Monday October 17, @11:29AM (#13809412) (http://www.slashdot.org/~rholliday/ | Last Journal: Thursday September 01, @11:38AM) You're listening to Angela's Ashes during a marathon? Are you trying to lose, or does deep depression make you run faster? :) [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Harry Potter has been available at ITunes.. by SquadBoy (Score:2) Monday October 17, @03:09PM MP3 audio CDs in my public library (Score:4, Interesting) by standards (461431) on Monday October 17, @10:42AM (#13809092) The interesting twist is that they are being released as MP3 - which for the world of audio books is something pretty new.My local public library has had a special section for MP3-based audio CDs for at least a year now. The only issue is that many traditional CD players in homes and in cars can't play MP3 CDs. But I'd rather have one MP3 CD versus 15 traditional audio CDs. Admittedly, it's a pretty darn good local library.And regarding DRM - hell, regular audio CDs aren't DRM'd, so the execs don't need to worry about theft from an MP3 CD any more than they have to worry about theft from a regular audio CD. After all, an MP3 is only one rip away. [ Reply to ThisRe:MP3 audio CDs in my public library by jdgreen7 (Score:2) Monday October 17, @12:25PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. MP3 audio supported by Library of Congress (Score:5, Informative) by Rob the Bold (788862) on Monday October 17, @10:43AM (#13809102) MP3 audio is supported in the latest Digital Talking Books standard used by the Library of Congress (ANSI/NISO Z39.86). The LOC is looking for contractors now to produce DTBs for the blind and visually imparied, so you'll be seeing a lot of these (or perhaps hearing them) soon. Digital distribution of talking books should result in more affordable equipment for playing the media and easier mass duplication. [ Reply to ThisRe:MP3 audio supported by Library of Congress by MrAtoz (Score:1) Monday October 17, @11:39AMRe:MP3 audio supported by Library of Congress by Rob the Bold (Score:2) Monday October 17, @12:16PM Project Gutenberg - Free MP3 Audio Books (Score:5, Informative) by Tony.Tang (164961) <slashdot@sleek. h n . org> on Monday October 17, @10:44AM (#13809105) (http://www.ece.ubc.ca/~tonyt/ | Last Journal: Thursday October 11, @06:59AM) Another place for MP3 audio books is Project Gutenberg [gutenberg.org].They have collections [gutenberg.org] of both human read mp3 audio books [gutenberg.org] and computer read mp3 audio books [gutenberg.org] (kind of weird). [ Reply to This2 replies beneath your current threshold. Isis publishing / Terry Pratchett audio book (Score:5, Informative) by chiark (36404) on Monday October 17, @10:45AM (#13809110) (http://www.chiark.com/ | Last Journal: Friday March 05, @12:08PM) Isis publishing has been releasing compressed format audio books for a couple of years. It makes sense, after all would you prefer 1 disc, or 11 discs, if you're manufacturing and shipping the things? OK, they currently use WMA, but at least they're trying :-)If you put the stuff out on CD it will be ripped, end of story (no pun intended). If you can reduce your costs significantly and provide the same thing, then why not do it? It's not like audio books need --alt-preset extreme applied to 'em, is it?MP3s of audio books are excellent for long car journeys, etc, so more power to the elbow of those making them: I'll keep buying them. [ Reply to This DRM not worth the bother (Score:2) by Douglas Simmons (628988) on Monday October 17, @10:48AM (#13809125) (http://assambassador.com/) Not for nothing, but I'd wager that the bookworms among us, audio form notwithstanding, are a little less likely to wear t-shirts with the DeCSS code, plus it would make a lot more sense to keep things simple in the format most likely to be supported by CD players (in this case, most often car radios which tend to be newer than Joe Audiobookguy's hi-fi back home). Also, in addition to being a whole to-do schlep for publishers, DRM-like functions have had history with pissing the public off (remember that Beatie Boys album?). [ Reply to This Get the MPAA and RIAA out of my pants. (Score:1, Funny) by Council (514577) <rmunroe@@@gmail...com> on Monday October 17, @10:49AM (#13809135) (http://www.xkcd.com/) Having just reread American Gods, let me just say that I totally forgot what a superb author Gaiman is. I highly recommend this book -- I bought it, on a whim, on the recommendation of a shouting crazy guy in a bookstore. It was a good choice!And I commend him for this mp3 thing. I think that a night or two ago I switched sides on the DRM issue. I was on the fence -- it seems like it's hard to do anything but let the digital world happen, but, you know, hopefully (RIAA greed aside) people should be able to get money for their work.But last night, I found myself curled up with comfy blankets, half a bottle of rum, a DVD, and this beautiful, brilliant, and generally amazing girl I had recently met. This was a new DVD she had brought over, bought straight from a store. I put it in my computer, tried to play it, and saw a message about failed authentication. None of my players worked. They all said that the DVD could not be played because of DRM. One player asked me to go and send a long page of identifying information before watching the DVD.We never got to watch the DVD. We found an appropriate replacement among my pirated movies and the night was salvaged. But I think that may have marked my "Fuck the MPAA" turning point. Suddenly I sympathize with the "fuck off and don't tell me what to do with my data" contingent.So I wholeheartedly approve of Neil's mp3 release, even if I don't know how it will work as a business model given rampant piracy. But keep the MPAA, the RIAA, and Mr. Gaiman out of my pants. [ Reply to This Re:Get the MPAA and RIAA out of my pants. (Score:4, Funny) by meringuoid (568297) on Monday October 17, @10:55AM (#13809168) I put it in my computer, tried to play it, and saw a message about failed authentication. None of my players worked. They all said that the DVD could not be played because of DRM.Huh? What kind of Slashdotter would receive an error like that? Don't we all use mplayer, or xine with libdvdcss? No way do we ever run into copyprotection issues with a DVD! j00 s|_|X0R, l4m3r!Oh, hang on... last night, I found myself curled up with comfy blankets, half a bottle of rum, a DVD, and this beautiful, brilliant, and generally amazing girl I had recently met.Fine. You win... [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Get the MPAA and RIAA out of my pants. by Anonymous Coward (Score:3) Monday October 17, @11:00AMRe:Get the MPAA and RIAA out of my pants. by Finuvir (Score:1) Monday October 17, @11:38AMfnord by discogravy (Score:3) Monday October 17, @01:55PMRe:fnord by Kelson (Score:3) Monday October 17, @02:44PMRe:Get the MPAA and RIAA out of my pants. by Red Flayer (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:06AMRe:Get the MPAA and RIAA out of my pants. by gus goose (Score:1) Monday October 17, @11:21AMRe:Get the MPAA and RIAA out of my pants. by McFly777 (Score:1) Monday October 17, @05:40PM Wasted Time (Score:2, Redundant) by halo8 (445515) on Monday October 17, @10:51AM (#13809143) I spent 2 hours commuting EVERY DAYand i allready feel thoes are wasted hours of my life, if i was using public transport i could be reading.i have an MP3/WMA/CD player in my car (really nice but affordable JVC)i would love LOVE LOVE to listen to say.. A brief history of time, or the dune books or something like that on an MP3/CDany by saying LOVE.. i do mean $$$PAY$$$$40 a book? [ Reply to ThisRe:Wasted Time by SsShane (Score:1) Monday October 17, @10:59AMRe:Wasted Time by $RANDOMLUSER (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:00AMRe:Wasted Time by MDMurphy (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:38AMRe:Wasted Time by BarryNorton (Score:2) Monday October 17, @12:24PMRe:Wasted Time by MDMurphy (Score:2) Monday October 17, @01:52PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Libraries (was Re:Wasted Time) by WillAdams (Score:2) Monday October 17, @12:21PMRe:Wasted Time by dcroxton (Score:1) Monday October 17, @12:22PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. Actually ON (Score:2) by AndyBusch (160585) on Monday October 17, @10:51AM (#13809146) He did write in his journal that he thinks the mp3 audiobooks haven't caught on yet. He's done a pile of signings, and as of the DC Book Fest, he said he had only signed one mp3 CD of Anansi Boys. [ Reply to This Bad format, though (Score:2, Informative) by Lauri Alanko (66) on Monday October 17, @10:52AM (#13809149) MP3 is not really optimal for speech. E.g. speex [speex.org] would provide much better quality/bitrate ratio. Sadly, speex is not very well supported. (I would love to have a digital portable recorder with a built-in speex codec.) [ Reply to ThisRe:Bad format, though by Rob the Bold (Score:3) Monday October 17, @11:49AM "A Reader Writes" ???? (Score:2) by RobotRunAmok (595286) on Monday October 17, @10:52AM (#13809151) Wouldn't that be more like, "Gaiman's press agent calls Hemos on his cellphone, which he has on speed dial ever since the first time that /. editor fell all over himself gushing about his client" ?"A Reader Writes" Wow. Not even the pretext of format or decorum any more. [ Reply to ThisRe:"A Reader Writes" ???? by RobotRunAmok (Score:2) Monday October 17, @02:12PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. Apple and Harry Potter (Score:1) by OctoberSky (888619) on Monday October 17, @10:52AM (#13809154) I don't know how new this is seeing that Apple has been selling all the Harry Potter books in iTunes since the nano launch. I am assuming thier in MP3 format.On the same topic, who is getting ripped off when I, you, or your neighbor downloads a book from my, yours, your neighbors favorite program (UseNet is mine). I can't imagine its the RIAA, but the readers of the books might actually be on RIAA contracts.Anyone know who is going to sue me for downloading an Audio Book? [ Reply to ThisRe:Apple and Harry Potter by Willis Wasabi (Score:1) Monday October 17, @11:18AMRe:Apple and Harry Potter by Willis Wasabi (Score:1) Monday October 17, @11:20AMPotter is NOT in MP3 Format by doublem (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:25AMRe:Apple and Harry Potter by Rocketship Underpant (Score:2) Monday October 17, @11:28AMRe:Apple and Harry Potter by OctoberSky (Score:1) Monday October 17, @12:54PM Thanks, now I know what I'll be for halloween. (Score:2) by mattkime (8466) on Monday October 17, @10:56AM (#13809179) Indeed; MP3 audio books, I think, have given the book publishers the willies because of the DRM issue Jimmy, thats a cute costume....but what is it??I'm a book on MP3! BOOO! [ Reply to This Mirrormask (Score:2) by Have Blue (616) on Monday October 17, @10:56AM (#13809182) (http://www.seizurerobots.com/) I wasn't too impressed with MirrorMask. Visually and aurally it's very nice, but the story would be better off as an adventure game. [ Reply to This DIY (Score:2, Insightful) by Short Circuit (52384) * <mikemol AT gmail DOT com> on Monday October 17, @11:19AM (#13809332) (http://citygen.org/ | Last Journal: Friday September 30, @07:42PM) I converted "Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" to MP3 for my mom to listen to in her car. At 64kbps mono, you can comfortably fit all 15 CDs of either book to fit on one CD.It reduces disc switching, which is a potentially serious issue when she's driving. [ Reply to ThisRe:DIY by Spy der Mann (Score:2) Monday October 17, @01:41PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. Mirrormask was a little dissapointing (Score:2, Insightful) by jasongetsdown (890117) on Monday October 17, @11:21AM (#13809343) Maybe I'm asking for too much, but I though Mirrormask was visually stunning, really really gorgeous, but its plot managed to seem both hackneyed and non existant at the same time and the acting was a serious wet blanket on the whole experience.It was basically Labyrinth turned inside out sans Jennifer Connely and David Bowie. [ Reply to ThisRe:Mirrormask was a little dissapointing by twosmokes (Score:1) Monday October 17, @12:50PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. www.audible.com (Score:1) by Pudusplat (574705) on Monday October 17, @11:29AM (#13809416) You've been able to get most any audio book in compressed electronic form for some time now. It's actually pretty cheap. Audible [audible.com] You can get a subscription for cheap, which allows you to download a couple books a month for a price far below the traditional cost of audio books. [ Reply to ThisRe:www.audible.com by F_Scentura (Score:2) Monday October 17, @12:54PM Audiobooks + Driving = Less Annoying Commute (Score:1) by PhatboySlim (862704) on Monday October 17, @11:32AM (#13809441) I got a little tired of Jerry Springer-esque morning radio talk shows in Chicago, so I switched to listening to audiobooks in the morning. Now, instead of feeling like I potentially lost intelligence listening to a program, I can feel productive and enlightened on the way to/from work. I use my iPod w/ the iTrip FM transmitter. Works like a charm.In addition to the benefits of a nice commute, it's much easier on my eyes. I hate wearing reading glasses and I hate reading without them, so it's a catch-22. The audio book solves all of that. Praise be to Audible. For some reason their stock (ADBL) has been plummeting recently, and I can't figure why. Seems like a great/innovative idea. [ Reply to This Logical (Score:4, Insightful) by hwestiii (11787) on Monday October 17, @11:33AM (#13809457) (http://hwestiii.dnsalias.net/) MP3 has always seemed like a logical medium for audio books to me. Ever since my wife and son caught the Harry Potter bug a few years ago, they will buy not only the dead-tree version, but also the audio version on CD.Its always struck me as particularly wasteful that these things were available only as conventional audio. A single book can span 20 or more CDs.That has always seemed somewhat wasteful to me. I'm presuming that an audio CD of a person reading a book is availing itself of the full harmonic range that would also be applied to a more elaborate production, like a symphony orchestra or a rock or jazz band that would make much fuller use of that range.Voice telephony is based on transmitting only a narrow band of the harmonic range used by most human voice communication. Putting that narrower range together with the compression techniques available through MP3 or other similar audio formats, it seems to me that number of disks needed to store one of these books could be slashed to a small fraction of what are produced now.This may only have a negligible effect on the final price of the item, and the popularity of MP3 enabled CD players may not have hit the critical mass needed to make this sort of thing profitable yet, but I'd think that enough popular releases, like Harry Potter or some others, might actually stimulate their adoption, or at least speed it up beyond the current rate. [ Reply to This Mirrormask (Score:2) by CrankyFool (680025) on Monday October 17, @11:38AM (#13809486)