If you are a fan of books, then there is no way that you haven't heard of audio books. Audio books have been around for centuries; some people even believe that the first audio book was made in 1933! But beyond all of that, the whole truth is that audio books are even more popular now than ever before. This is because information flows around so freely these days, what with technology paving the way for all sorts of content to be presented to the world.

But it may be surprising to see that people still carry around actual books instead of audio books that are lighter. It could be that books are more of a novelty now and it's nostalgic to have books in your bag. But the more obvious reason is that a lot of people still don't know where to get audio books. Here are some of the major places to get your audio books if you are curious about them.

• Book stores – Yes, evidently audio books are considered to be books as well and you will find quite a few classics and well-known titles in your local book store. You will recognize them instantly as they are distributed in two ways, either in CD form or cassette form. There are even some audio books that are sold with their paperback counterparts in case you would like to have a certain title book-bound as well.

In some book stores, audio books can be quite pricey but essentially they are much cheaper, depending on the title. Many famous books are slowly finding themselves being translated to the new medium these days.

• Libraries – Don't have the money to buy audio books? Well, you can step down to your nearest library and probably find a few that you can play back and listen to. Of course, not all libraries have audio books in their collections but they do have computers so you might find some files in there as well.

• Music stores – Since audio books are audio items, it's not surprising to see that they are being sold in music stores as well. You can find all sorts of titles in your favorite music stores but the selection is quite limited. You might have a better shot looking for a title you like at a book store. Nevertheless, there are some music stores that will have an audio books section. They are becoming more popular so expect that section to grow with time.

• The Internet – Lastly, the best place to find a good audio book selection is over the Internet. This is probably the best source of information on audio books and you can even find some websites that not only sell them, but distribute hundreds of titles for free. The format is usually in mp3 but there other audio formats that come in. The files are really small too so you don't have to worry about slow download times. Check out your favorites through popular search engines like Yahoo or Google.