How can I record an audiobook (subquestion: is this a bad idea)?
Asked by
nikipedia (
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September 8th, 2011
I want to plan something great for my boyfriend’s birthday. He is one of those dudes who has everything he wants and needs, and I am a very poor student, so I am having a tough time with gift ideas.
The best thing I have been able to come up with so far is to record an audiobook for him. He listens to them constantly—probably 1–3 books per week. So I was hoping to try to find a book I think he’ll like for which no audiobook exists and make a recording of myself reading it.
(1) Is this a stupid idea?
(2) Is there an easy way to do this without purchasing expensive audio equipment? I have a Macbook Pro at my disposal and not much else.
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14 Answers
That’s a great idea, definitely not stupid, but I don’t have an answer other than that.
Not a bad idea.
I think all you need is a microphone, which shouldn’t be expensive.
You can use the mic on your MBP. Quicktime will record the audio from the mic so nothing special is needed.
The quality would be better if you used a external mic. I would try the internal one first to see if the quality is acceptable.
It is a great idea. I don’t know why you think it might be a bad idea.
That’s a brilliant idea. How cool would it be for him to have something he already appreciates so much be made by the woman he loves? Does he have a favorite book? I realize he likely already has an audio copy of that one, but it might be cool to have his favorite person reading his favorite book.
Since you’re a student, you might be able to get somebody in a music department to hook you up with some sweet recording equipment, but it would probably be nicer to do it at home on your computer if the quality is good enough. I can’t imagine sitting in a studio long enough to record an entire book.
Did I mention that I love this idea?
Great idea! and very sweet, a gift that takes your time and effort.
That is a fantastic idea.
Yay…I feel useful! Although, JP is always the man on tech things! So…my two cents:
-GarageBand will do some amazing things with the Podcast features. (File/New Podcast). You can bone up on some pretty straightforward tutorials on YT or through lynda.com
-It would behoove you to get a good recording mic. A company that makes decent ones is called B.L.U.E. They make a mic called the Snoflake; it connects via USB and is ideal for podcasting. There are other solutions out there, but I think an external mic that connects via USB is the way to go. The internal mic is not super great quality (the built-in), but you could get away with that in a pinch.
-GarageBand in podcast mode allows you to add chapters, and even photos to play as the audio plays (like an album cover).
-Stick to something simple. Maybe even something like poetry or something sexy (!) I think a nice, romantic way to celebrate hearing my SO’s voice on my iPhone reading some great prose or poetry…nice!
So, yeah, totally doable. Remember, it’s gonna take time to assemble this. But feel free to contact me (message me) if you run into some issues.
Very thoughtful! -J
I forgot about Garageband. I use a 60Gig SSD drive for OS X and Applications. Garageband uses so much space for something I would never really use that I didn’t install it.
@johnpowell I hear ya…you can buy GB now on the Mac App Store, I think it’s only like $20 or something…
Thank you all so much. This is all very helpful.
I’m thinking about maybe reading a couple short stories. Easier than a whole book. Kind of like a one-of-a-kind podcast.
You could go topless and record the video too.. just saying.
And before anyone bitches I know niki well enough to make a boob joke. She does have fantastic ones.
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