Comments on: Unabridged and Abridged Audio Books?

By: Bronwen

Bronwen — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:09:59 +0000

Unabridged books are the entire book. Abridged books are a shortened version, with some elements removed.

When things are abridged, whoever does it makes sure to not remove anything important to the plot, but they do remove a lot of things like lengthy descriptions, or conversations between characters that don’t contribute to the plot.

Basically, abridged works, whether audio books or regular books, are just shortened considerably. That makes them accessible to more readers, who either don’t have the time or the inclination to read or listen to the original.

I always go with unabridged if I have a choice. Books are a type of art, and to get the full experience you need to take in everything the author wrote. It was included in the book for a reason, however small. Taking anything out makes it into a different book, in my opinion.
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By: rattlehead

rattlehead — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:03:59 +0000

unabridged is the complete book. every word. abridged is the same as an "edited for time" movie on t.v.
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By: thenchanted_one

thenchanted_one — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:42:59 +0000

Abridged in simple terms means edited. It's not a direct copy of what the author wrote. You could also use the term "condensed" for abridged. Unabridged means it is exactly as written and released by the author.
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By: Underground Man

Underground Man — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:26:59 +0000

Same as abridged and unabridged books. An abridged book does not contain the entire material from the author's book. An unabridged book contains everything that appeared in what the author published. An abridged audiobook is a version of the book with parts cut out to make it shorter.
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