If people were meant to hear books in their cars and on the treadmill at the gym, then authors would have recorded them, not written them. But that's one of the wonderful things about audiobooks. But audiobook publishers argue that it's the only way to make some books affordable. Consider Sophie's Choice by William Styron. Yet many think the extra time and money are worth it.
Technology puts another wrinkle into the abridged vs. unabridged battle.
Some people prefer cassettes to CDs because it's easier to find your place when you stop and start the audiobook. But newer cars come equipped with CD, not cassette, players. Yet most of the books on CD are abridged. It's quite vexing for auto-didacts. But Rasmussen insists that his customers are the commuting 'burb dwellers.