I've listened to a few audiobooks some years ago, during road trips. They are a great way to make the miles disappear. But I am not all up with current audiobook quality or technologies, and this article is quite enlightening. With those caveats, some years ago I did a few podcast series that were essentially just me reading my own books. Why is all this technology needed? Why doesn't an author just buy a decent microphone, load some recording software, and read their own books?