Tag Archives: audible

The Future of the Audio Book

An interesting article on the future of audio books, https://goodereader.com/blog/audiobooks/audiobooks-ai-and-humans-where-do-they-stand.

Will AI (artificial intelligence) replace human narrators as the technology grows ever more human-like? AI is much cheaper than employing a human narrator.

The author of the article speculates that books narrated by humans may become a more expensive niche market while the majority of audio titles are narrated by artificial intelligence.

As a registered blind reader, I listen to a large number of audio books, most of which are produced by audible.co.uk (a sister company of Amazon). All of these titles are narrated by humans. In addition, I listen to books on Amazon’s Kindle using the text to speech facility which relays the contents of a book audibly to the reader.

Whilst the news or other factual material usually works well when voiced by AI or screen reading software, poetry does not, nor does fiction.

Several of my books (“The Writer’s Pen” and “My Old Clock I Wind”) are available as downloads from audible.co.uk. Both titles are voiced by human narrators and I can not imagine AI being able to put the emotion into reading which good human narrators do.

Having written the above, if one becomes engrossed in a book read by an electronic voice (for example by text to speech on a Kindle) one can sometimes become so engrossed in the plot/storyline that it is possible to forget one is listening to an artificial voice.

In conclusion, I can’t see human narrators disappearing any time soon at least where poetry and other works requiring expressiveness are concerned.

A Review of my book, “The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems”

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I was delighted to receive the below review of the audio edition of “The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems”:

“A Delightful 25-Minute Poetry Listen
When I downloaded the Audible version, I was surprised to discover that Alex Lee, the narrator, is a woman. She does an excellent job. Her reading of one poem about a clock and a refrigerator includes sound effects. Some poems remind me of Robert Frost and other such poets. I recommend this book as a delightful twenty-five minutes of poetry listening”.

To read the above review, or to purchase “The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems” please visit, https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Writers-Pen-and-Other-Poems-Audiobook/B07KPN5FCH.

My thanks to author Abbie Johnson Taylor for reading and reviewing “The Writer’s Pen”.

An Easter Gift To My Readers

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As an Easter gift to my readers, I am offering 2 (free) audio downloads of my collection of poems, “The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems“, to listeners on audible.com. Additionally, I am offering a further 2 (free) audio downloads of my book to audible.co.uk subscribers.

In order to be in with a chance of winning a copy of “The Writer’s Pen” (audio edition), please answer the following question,

Who is the main narrator (and housekeeper) in the novel “Wuthering Heights“?

The first 4 people to provide me with the correct answer win a free audio download of my book. To enter please send an email to kmorris poet (at) gmail dot com. Please put “Competition to win an audio download of “The Writer’s Pen” in the subject line of your email.

Please do not leave the answer in the comments below this post, as others will be able to see your answer.

The competition closes at 12 am (UK time), Tuesday 30 April.

You can find “The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems” here, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KPN8LT3/.

Copyright Infringement

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It is said that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. I was reminded of this much used (and abused) saying when I discovered that someone has (without my permission) uploaded a segment of the audio version of my book, “The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems” to Youtube. This is, of course a clear violation of my copyright and I have, therefore reported the matter to Youtube. (Anyone who finds that their work is appearing, without their permission on Youtube can report copyright violation here, https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2807622?hl=en-GB. Please note, I have not given the URL containing the infringing material as I do not wish to drive traffic to the infringer’s Youtube channel.

“The Writer’s Pen” was published in September 2018, and the audio edition (narrated by Alex Lee, and available from Audible here https://www.audible.com/pd/B07KPN5FCH in November of that same year. As all users of Audible will be aware, anyone considering purchasing a book can, prior to purchasing, listen to a sample of the work in question. In the case of the illegal upload of my copyrighted work, the person uploading “The Writer’s Pen” indicates that the whole book is available (for free). However he (or she) has, in fact uploaded the sample segment of my book and stated that the whole work can be obtained at a site offering audio books. In fact the uploader eroneously names a website (other than Audible), and on investigating the site in question no search results are returned for “The Writer’s Pen”.

As stated at the start of this post, my copyright in “The Writer’s Pen” has been infringed and this issue has been raised with Youtube. I am, however puzzled as to the motives of the uploader. Why should they name an incorrect site as the source for the audio version of my book? Are they, perhaps seeking to drive traffic to that other site in the hope that people will purchase downloads there? I don’t know. However I suspect that this may well be the case.

I also wonder why only the sample segment from Audible was uploaded. In this instance, I suspect the answer is that the uploader did not wish to purchase my book, which they would need to do where they to have uploaded it in it’s entirety. The sample is, however free to access and is, therefore an easy target for anyone wishing to infringe copyright.

I will update this blog when I hear back from Youtube.

Kevin

My work featured in Vancouver Co-Op Radio’s The World Poetry Reading Series Christmas Broadcast

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I was delighted to receive an email from Ariadne Sawyer, the producer of The World Poetry Reading Series on Vancouver Co-Op Radio, in which she informs me that my work has been featured in a broadcast on Thursday 20 December, http://www.coopradio.org/content/world-poetry-café-23.

Earlier in the year I was honoured to be interviewed by Ariadne regarding my book “The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems”, and a segment of that interview appears approximately 20 minutes into the Christmas broadcast, including me reading 3 of the poems from “The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems”.

To listen to a free sample of “The Writer’s Pen” or to purchase the book on Audible, please visit https://www.audible.com/pd/B07KPN5FCH. “The Writer’s Pen” is also available as a Kindle download and in paperback and can be found here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GD1LBMV/ (Kindle edition), and here https://www.amazon.com/dp/1730814883/ (paperback edition).

“The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems”, an update regarding the forthcoming audio edition

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On 3 September 2018, I published “The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems” as an e-book, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GD1LBMV/.

I am pleased to announce that I have now found a narrator for the audio edition of “The Writer’s Pen” and I’m looking forward to working with Alex Lee, and hope that the audio version will be available in time for Christmas.

Alex can be found here, https://www.alexleeaudio.uk and here, https://www.acx.com/narrator?p=AUB7ELH213R4M.

For the audio edition of my collection of poems, “My Old Clock I Wind“ please visit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077VZTM3V/.

My review of the Amazon Echo (Second Generation)

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This review is of the Amazon Echo (Second Generation), which retails in the UK for £89.99 (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-Echo-2nd-Generation-Heather-Grey-Fabric/dp/B0749YXKYZ).

I first used the Echo in late September while visiting family in Liverpool. I was so impressed with the technology that on my return to London I purchased my own Echo.

As a registered blind person I was drawn to the Echo as one can control the device by voice. I have, thus far had the Echo read titles from my Kindle library, search for (and play) samples from audible.co.uk, find and play music and carry out searches in response to questions posed by me.

In order to gain access to the widest range of music, I signed up for Amazon Music at a cost of £3.99 a month (the first 30 days being free with the ability to cancel, without charge within that time-frame). I’ve found the selection of music extremely varied and the fact that one can simply say “play “No Angel” by Dido) and the Echo does so is wonderful.

The sound quality in terms of music, Kindle and audio books is good, however for those who wish to further enhance their experience there is (I understand) a means of attaching an additional speaker.

The Echo’s ability to respond to questions is reasonable but, on balance I think that this is one of its weaker points. For example (as someone who is interested in politics) I asked it “what was the British Union of Fascists?” and Alexa read out a relevant snipet from the web. However on asking “what is the Socialist Worker’s Party?” Alexa provided information on the US-based far-left party (with no mention of the UK-based organisation). So anyone wishing to find out about the (UK-based) SWP would be better served by trusting to Google or another search engine.

Notwithstanding the above, asking questions such as “what is the weather in central London” will render an accurate result, as will questions such as “what is the capital of Germany?”

The Echo can control smart devices. However I have no such devices in my home, therefore I was unable to put the device through it’s paces here.

When purchasing an Echo, the user should be aware that all information is being sent through to Amazon’s servers. I looked back at my interactions with Alexa on the Amazon site and saw a record of all the questions I had posed to the device (although not the answers provided). One can delete this record. However there is a risk (as with any web based activity) of one’s interactions being intercepted (although this is no greater than the danger of one’s computer being hacked when using Google or another search engine).

I was able to sign up to Amazon Music by voice (without the need to enter my Amazon password as the device is already logged into my account). On the one hand this is extremely convenient as there is no need to log on to one’s computer etc. However anyone with children should, in my view seriously consider disabling this feature (there are many stories in the media of teenagers running up bills on smart devices due to their parents not having disabled or password protected the ability to make purchases without first having to enter security credentials).

All in all I highly recommend the Echo.

Kevin

“The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems” (forthcoming audio edition)

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I am in the process of arranging for my latest collection of poems, “The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems” to be recorded and made available as an audio download. (“The Writer’s Pen” is currently available, as an e-book in the Kindle store and can be found here, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GD1LBMV/).

I hope that my collection will be available, to purchase from audible.co.uk and audible.com by Christmas 2018.

My previous collection, “My Old Clock I Wind and Other Poems” is available, as an audio download from audible.co.uk and audible.com, and can be found here, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077VZTM3V/.

Currently I am in the process of deciding whether to record “The Writer’s Pen” myself or whether to assign that task to a professional actor or actress.

Once “The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems” is available in audio format I shall, of course post a link here.

Kevin

A Review Of My Collection Of Poetry “My Old Clock I Wind”

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I was pleased to receive the following review of “My Old Clock I Wind” (audio download from Audible):

“I originally read this as an eBook, and wrote the following review for it:

quote;This is another excellent collection of poems by this author. Some are amusing, like the poem “Howling At The Moon” (one of my favourites of this collection) while others are extremely thought-provoking, like “Evening Walk” (another favourite of mine from this collection). In other words, this collection is a pleasant read, filled with poems which will have you either chuckling in amusement, or lost in musings on topics most can relate to even if they haven’t spent much time considering them before.unquote;

My review still stands, though I’d like to add that it was nice to get to listen to the poems being read out. The narrator did a good job”.

(For the above review please visit https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Arts-Entertainment/My-Old-Clock-I-Wind-and-Other-Poems-Audiobook/B077VYT3X6#customer-reviews. To purchase “My Old Clock” please visit https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Arts-Entertainment/My-Old-Clock-I-Wind-and-Other-Poems-Audiobook/B077VYT3X6).

“My Old Clock I Wind” is also available in ebook and paperback from Moyhill Publishing http://moyhill.com/clock/, and (ebook and audio download) from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0735JBVBG.

It is also available in braille from the Royal National Institute of Blind People, quoting order number 25870603. You can call RNIB on 0303 123 9999 or go to http://shop.rnib.org.uk/. .

“My Old Clock I Wind” audio download

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In my post of 13 August, (https://newauthoronline.com/2017/08/13/my-old-clock-i-wind-will-soon-be-available-as-an-audio-download/), I said that my collection of poetry, “My Old Clock I Wind” was in the process of being recorded.

I am pleased to announce that I have now received the completed recording.

Once approved by me “My Old Clock I Wind” will be available to purchase as an audio download from audible.co.uk and audible.com. I will, of course post links here once “My Old Clock” goes live.

In the meantime, “My Old Clock” can be purchased, in ebook and paperback formats from the publisher, http://moyhill.com/clock/, or from Amazon, (ebook only), https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0735JBVBG.

—

“I can hear the wind laughing outside
At our human pride.
The Tide
Of time moves on
And we are gone
With the wind
That will rescind
All
These scribbles on the wall”.

(“Wind” is copyright K Morris and can be found in “My Old Clock I Wind”).