Our world has become digitized mainly due to our dependence on computers and also the availability of everything in a digitized format be it songs or books. This has lead to people losing interest in paper based reading material. Hence if you are looking at gifting literary material to someone, think of audio CD books as an option.

In terms of the contents, the audio CD books are exact replicas of the printed version. Be it a self-help book or an epic, the audio version does not lose anything. Normally, a person who has a likeable voice recites these books. It could be a singer or a performer or a familiar voice from radio or television.

There are many other advantages of the audio CD books. If you feel peeved at the constant interruptions by commercials on your car radio, choose your favorite audio CD book title to give you company. If you like philosophy, an audio rendition of Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco can be mesmerizing.

Audio CD books have something extra as compared to their printed counterparts. They can be effectively used as ancillary tools for learning for people with visual, mental or other learning difficulties. For example, people who are blind or people who have difficulty in reading like the elderly population can use them. Nowadays, many states and volunteer organizations have undertaken the efforts to get the printed books digitized into audio for the benefits of such people. In fact some schools and teaching centers have a facility under which such students can order a course book that a Professor is using to be converted into an audio CD book.

Having said that, you should not be surprised if you do not find an audio CD book that you so badly wanted to gift to a perfect friend. Be it an audio copy of Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ or an audio version of the posthumous work of genius Jonathan Kennedy O’Toole, ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’. This is still a new phenomenon and will take some time before you can order any title of your choice as an audio CD. Till that time, you can take heart from the fact that you would still be able to find some classic that you cherish and would like to ‘play’ it when you take your sweetheart for a long sunset drive the next time.

Comic books come in a host of genres such as fantasy, science fiction, drama, crime and horror. One of the most popular categories is superheroes such as Superman and Batman comics. Comic books were first published in America in 1896. They were a huge success and publishers decided to come up with more titles with new stories and characters. The first few ones were made up of content that was reused from newspaper comic strips. Later, They came into their own and publishers began printing those that had original content.

One of the most popular comic heroes, Superman was introduced in 1938. Today comic books have evolved into several different formats such as graphic novels and webcomics. Collecting comic books is fun and you can become a collector once you manage to collect a decent number of them. As a collector, you would be involved with buying and selling of comic books and protecting your collection.

Newer ones are easier to find than the older ones. New ones are available at comic book stores, toy shops, book stores and corner markets. For older ones, you might have to do some amount of digging. Many book stores stock old editions. You may also come across something interesting on websites like eBay and Heritage Comics. Sometimes, people who want to sell off old issues of their books and advertise on Craigslist.

As a collector, you may decide you want to sell a portion of your collection. To sell, you need to find out the value of your collection on the basis of the state of the comic books. Next, you need to know where you are going to sell them. You have the option of selling them to a book store or at an auction site. These stores are likely to buy them from you at a lower price that you would get otherwise.

The usual way to protect your collection of books is to put each into a mylar plastic bag along with a thin piece of cardboard that will prevent them from bending. You can store the collection in a cardboard box especially designed for keeping these books. You can find all of these storage materials at any comic book store. Keep the cardboard box containing your collection in a place that is free from moisture.