February 2022 News Roundup

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DUVALL HECHT, PIONEER IN THE WORLD OF AUDIOBOOKS, DIES AT 91

In a flurry of entrepreneurial magic, Hecht sold his 1965 Porsche, hired a college drama coach and created what would become volume No. 1 in his founding BOOKS ON TAPE catalogue, a taped recording of George's Plimpton's football tale, PAPER LION. [Source: LATimes via msn.com]

AUDIO BOOKS LINK DIGITAL EDUCATION WITH TRADITIONAL ORAL TEACHING IN INDIA

Educators and students share their ideas on the role of audiobooks in e-learning and its connection with past and future pedagogical cultures. [Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com]

AUDIOBOOKS ACCOUNT FOR A THIRD OF BOOKS ‘READ’ IN ICELAND

A side benefit of this audiobook explosion is that Icelandic books that have gone out of print are now readily available once again. [Source: icelandreview.com]

AI INFLUENCE ON AUDIOBOOKS GROWS—AS DOES CONTROVERSY

Industry experts artfully weigh in on the intelligence of AI. [Source: publishersweekly.com]

WIRED DEBATES SYNTHETIC VOICES IN AUDIOBOOKS

Publishers hope computer-generated voices can help them tap surging demand, but some fans—and Amazon—are resisting the robots. [Source: wired.com]

AUDIOBOOKS: THE OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO A STORY AND ITS EVOLUTION IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

Audiobooks allow us to recover the oral tradition of telling stories. [Source: thegaltimes.com]