Listening to The Book
A guide to the audio narration system
One of the original ambitions for The Book was that it should become more than a conventional online publication. Rather than simply reading each chapter from beginning to end, visitors are encouraged to explore subjects that capture their curiosity, moving freely between related ideas and discovering new connections along the way.
The introduction of audio narration adds another dimension to that experience. You may now either read the text in the traditional manner or listen to narrated audio recordings whilst following the pages on screen. Audio narration is currently available for The Predictors and will gradually be extended to the remaining narratives as development continues.
The narration system has been designed to complement the written text rather than replace it. At any point you are free to switch between reading and listening, or to use the narration simply as a way of exploring the contents of a chapter before deciding which topics you would like to investigate in greater depth.
1. Starting from the Table of Contents
Starting narration from the Table of Contents
Every narrated chapter can be explored from its dedicated Table of Contents (TOC). The descriptions within the TOC provide an overview of the subjects discussed in each section, allowing you to decide what you would most like to hear before opening the written pages themselves.
Starts the narration from the beginning of the selected section.
Select the icon to hear this instruction.
Starts the narration from the selected pause point, allowing you to move directly to that subject.
Select the icon to hear this instruction.
2. Narration within the Written Text
Narration controls within the written pages
The same narration icons also appear within the written text itself. The talking-head icon appears at the beginning of each narrated section and opens the recording from its starting point.
Where a longer section is divided into several groups of subjects, speech-bubble icons appear beside the decorative pause-break symbols. Selecting one of these icons opens the narration at the corresponding point in the recording.
This makes it possible to continue reading normally whilst using the audio whenever it becomes helpful. You may begin by reading, move into the narration for a particular passage, and then return to the written page without losing your place.
3. The Listen Page
The dedicated Listen page
Whenever a narration icon is selected, the recording opens on a dedicated Listen page. The audio player allows you to play, pause, rewind or fast-forward the narration using its normal controls.
Back to Reading: returns you to the point within the written section from which the narration was selected.
Return to TOC: returns directly to the chapter’s Table of Contents, allowing you to continue exploring other sections or pause points.
The progress bar also shows where you are within the recording. When narration has been opened from a speech-bubble icon, the player begins at the corresponding pause point rather than at the start of the section.
4. Exploring The Book through Narration
One of the advantages of the narration system is that it allows you to explore The Book in a much less linear fashion.
Rather than reading every chapter from beginning to end, you may browse the descriptions within each Table of Contents and listen only to the subjects that interest you most. If a particular idea captures your imagination, you can return to the written text for additional detail or continue onwards to another narrated section.
In this way, narration becomes another path through The Book, complementing rather than replacing the written work.
Current Availability
Audio narration is presently available throughout The Predictors. Additional narrated chapters will be introduced progressively as The Book continues to develop.
