[onecommentman]

You should listen to these Project Gutenberg audiotexts…they are really pretty good. I would have no problem listening to them for an extended period. The real challenge Project Gutenberg faced was automating the removal of the random metadata noise from the original plain text versions of the content. And it will continually improve from acceptably good to excellent in short order with perhaps a tiny amount of hand tuning.

It isn’t just the blind who benefit. As you age, eyesight degrades and the mind dulls. At some point, audiobooks are a real boon, especially with PD texts where you can read until you get tired, then listen. Also the growing demographic of live-alone elderly like the background sounds of people talking in their residence, explaining part of the popularity of talk radio. They feel a little less lonely. These audiotexts provide an intellectually varied and overall healthier option. It seems like an Absolute Good to me.