Audio Book Appreciation Month on June, 2024: If you own a Kindle, what are the pros and cons?

June, 2024 is Audio Book Appreciation Month 2024. Audiobook Appreciation Month Audiobook Appreciation Month

I'm 43 and have a Kindle, and also bought one for my 76 year old father. We both use them a lot. I've traveled with mine and gone through airport security with no problems, even in San Diego (which has much higher security than my local airport).

Pros - the e-ink is easy to read. There's no glare and it doesn't tire my eyes (I recently graduated to progressive lenses). You can also enlarge the font, which also comes in handy. It reads several formats, including .mobi, and there are millions of free ebooks in the public domain in this format. Go to gutenberg.org or manybooks.net to check the selection. Anything published before 1923 is in the public domain and can be downloaded for free, and most everything is available in .mobi format. Amazon has a large selection as well, and pretty good prices. Prices, however, are set by the publisher and don't always make sense. Amazon does have a lot of bargain books and deals. Every month they have 100 books for under $3.99. You can also listen to mp3 files on the Kindle, so you can play music while reading. I find the device very comfortable physically as well. I can easily read on the bus while standing, for example. It's also nice to have several hundred books at my fingertips.

Cons - the biggest con is that there is no expansion slot. You're limited to the internal memory to store books. On the other hand, it can store 1000 or so books, so this isn't a huge deal for most people. I have around 500 ebooks plus 7 or 8 audio books on mine and still have plenty of free storage space. You can also delete books you've purchased off the Kindle to make space, and then re-download them later if you like. My dad's biggest complaint is that he finds it difficult to navigate when shopping at Amazon from the Kindle. He prefers to connect via his PC and buy books that way. But the controller can be a bit clunky. I don't find it to be a big deal, but I have small hands so it's easier for me.

I really like my Kindle. It was a gift from my husband, and one of the better ones over the years.

Dear Reader/s,?

There are things you can do to lower the costs without sacrificing quality before you hit the studio. Let's start there

1. You can find the addresses of record labels (major/indie), music managers, entertainment lawyers, promoters, radio stations, etc... it Musicans Atlas magazine. The magazine is found at Barnes& Noble or Borders and also online at Atlas also lists which labels and management companies are accepting demos. Please not that most labels will only accept "solicited materials". This means your demo has to be presented to them by a music manager or entertainment lawyer.

2. Finding a studio:

You can google or use the phone book to find recording studios in your area. I'm not sure where your located. They will probably charge anywhere from $50 - $100/hr. Do not pay more than $50/hr if your only doing vocals. The 100/hr rate applies for bands using large rooms and lots of equipment. They will try to stick you with prices like this. Hold your ground and tell them you'll look else where. They will also try to get you to make the music there. Nice idea but not so nice at $50/hr!! Tell them you have your music on CD. They will fire back with "the mix won't be right" or "do you have individual files for each instrument" along with a host of other excuses. Again, just interrupt them and say "I'll take my money where I can be accommidated." If they're a good studio they'll change their tune, if they don't they're too arrogant to work with and don't need the money. You don't want to work with a studio that does not listen to you because they will do the same while your recording. You may think one take of what you recorded sounds bad and they'll say "sounds good let's keep it" just to hurry up the process and get you out of there. Another point, see if the $50/hr includes the engineer. The engineer is the one who records you. A lot of studios will say no and expect an additional $35/hr for the engineer. Again, don't back down.

You may not have to go to a big recording studio. If you know of any audio recording schools near you check there. Most schools with audio recording departments have a studio. They also allow local artists to come and record for free as part of a class project or assignment. Full Sail in Orlando, FL offers this.

If you live near a Sam Ash or Guitar Center visit the store. As you walk in you'll see a bulletin board (in most states) where studios posts advertisments and business cards. A lot of students post their as well. You may be able to find someone who has a recording studio at home charging $20/hr. If you are under age you need to ask your parents first and bring an adult when you meet with them (remember you don't know who they are). Ask to hear samples of their work. Do not turn your nose up at a home recording studio. There are a lot of good home recording studios. Mary Mary recorded their hit song "shackles" in their garage.

3. Have your background music prepared before you go to the studio (unless you're a live band; I'm assuming your a vocalist). You can buy original tracks/beats for around $50-$100 (sometimes cheaper) online.

Try they're quality is the best (in comparison to www.givemebeats.com and others) and they even offer Neo-Soul and Spoken Word genres (in addition to the traditional). They add new tracks each month.

Key to success is not stopping.

Feeling burned out on my faith?

I used to feel easily condemned when I first became a Christian in 2002. That was because I wasn't established in God's grace and righteousness. In 2003, the Lord directed my footsteps to a grace-based church, and I was set free from a performance-based living and condemnation after hearing and believing the gospel of grace, and I have been enjoying the unconditional love of our Abba Father ever since, as I am learning to guard my heart against the accusing voice of the devil. :)

I would like to share with you a testimony about how the gospel of grace delivered a brother in the Lord from his addiction to drinking and smoking without causing guilt or condemnation. It was shared by my senior pastor in his book "Destined to Reign".

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"We have a brother in our church who was once a hopeless drunk. He was on the verge of divorce when he came to our church and received Christ as his Saviour. His marriage had broken down beyond repair. Because he was a manager in the food and beverage industry, drinking was an occupational requirement that went from being a hazard to an addiction. He also smoked like a chimney, puffing up to 40 cigarettes a day.

After becoming a Christian in 1999, he tried to break free from the bottle, but he found that he couldn't. This brother had begun drinking when he was 15 and so he felt it would be impossible to quit.

One day, he heard me share a testimony of how another brother, who had been bound to the same addiction, had experienced total deliverance from alcohol. For the first time, he began to entertain the possibility of becoming dry, of breaking the addiction.

He decided that he would do what the other brother had done. So he picked up some of my audio tapes with the messages he wanted to hear. Every Friday night, he would listen to my tapes, especially the one where I shared the other brother's testimony. Because he was still bound to the bottle, he would buy six cans of beer and down them one by one as he listened to my tapes. As he listened and drank, he would confess the portion of scripture which brought the other brother deliverance from alcohol addiction. He would declare, 'I am the righteousness of God in Christ!' (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Like David, this brother understood 'the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness APART from works.' (Romans 4:6) He knew that he could not do anything to achieve righteousness. It is a gift that Jesus died for him to receive.

Every Friday night, that brother just kept believing that he had been made righteous because of what Jesus did on the cross, not because of anything he had or had not done. He kept seeing himself righteous in Christ. He kept believing that he was righteous and that he could not lose this righteousness, even though he was still drinking.

This continued for about eight to nine months. Despite repeatedly downing cans of beer, those nights of listening to the Word and confessing his righteousness strangely caused his desire for alcohol and cigarettes to grow weaker and weaker. At the same time, his love for Jesus grew stronger and stronger.

The consciousness of his righteousness became so overwhelming that he smoked his last cigarette and drank his last drop of alcohol at the end of 2000. Since then, he had not drunk a drop or smoked another cigarette.

Around that time, he sensed God telling him to leave the food and beverage industry, so he quit without having another job lined up. Within months, he was offered another job. His salary is now more than double the salary he received as a manager in the food and beverage industry.

In 2002, he met and fell in love with a beautiful sister in the church and they tied the knot in 2004. Today, he serves in the church choir and you would never guess his past addictions! God's grace and goodness, and this brother's revelation of how righteous he is in Christ, have brought about a 180-degree change in his life. He is now more prosperous financially, no longer addicted to alcohol and cigarettes, married, and his current job allows him so much more free time for his family."

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Hope this testimony encourages you, sister Sue, just as it encourages me and many others. You may want to consider getting the book for yourself too. God bless you. :)