Until a few days ago, the only audiobook edition of Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) I was familiar with was priced at over a hundred dollars.

Now it can be purchased for $25.

That’s not bad for an edition which comes in 8 cds lasting 8 hours.

Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal is the first title in the series created by J.K. Rowling and, unfortunately, the only one that has been published in audio book format so far.

If you want to listen to this Spanish audio book along with the printed version, here is Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) in book format.

If you’re an audiobook fan, you’re in for a treat. The number of Spanish audiobooks now published every month has dramatically increased over the last few years.

Today you can find dozens of titles in every category imaginable: religion, thrillers and mystery novels, classic literature, children’s books, yoga and fitness classes, self-help books, poetry readings and, of course, Spanish language learning.

Here I’m going to focus on the top 10 bestselling thrillers in Spanish on cd. There are some Spanish authors I expected to feature on this list, like Carlos Ruiz Zafón and Arturo Pérez Reverte, but unfortunately they still haven’t been published on cd in Spanish.

To keep you up to date, I’m monitoring all new audiobook releases and will let you know through this blog what comes out.

Top 10 bestselling thrillers – Spanish audiobooks on cd

1. Ángeles y demonios – Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown

2. El rey de los pleitos – The King of Torts, by John Grisham

3. Las aventuras de Sherlock Holmes – The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle

4. El intermediario – The Broker, by John Grisham

5. La fortaleza digital – Digital Fortress, by Dan Brown

6. El código da Vinci – The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown

7. Caballo de Troya: Jerusalén, by Juan José Benítez

8. La esperada – The Expected One, by Kathleen McGowan

9. Caballo de Troya 2. Masada, by Juan José Benítez

10. Caballo de Troya 7. Nahum, by Juan José Benítez

If you need help finding a Spanish audiobook, or if you want to let us know about a title you like, please post a comment below!

Spanish Bookworld is giving away a free Spanish for beginners cd-rom to all of you who subscribe to our Spanish course by September 30, 2009.

This is what our Spanish for beginners cd-rom looks like:

 

 

 

 

This cd-rom contains 99 student-friendly lessons and 225 speaking, listening, reading and writing drills. All the lessons and drills are interactive, and have been recorded by native Spanish speakers.

In addition to that, the cd-rom also includes an interactive multimedia Spanish pronunciation guide and a talking dictionary with over 800 headwords.

To help you keep track of your progress, you can tick each lesson after you complete it, and your score is saved when you finish a drill. Also, you can make a note of your questions and difficulties on the integrated notepad, and post your queries to me on the members-only forum.

At Spanish Bookworld you can find all the details of our subscription course, including free samples from the online lessons, podcasts, videocasts, kids’ lessons, interactive articles, ebook and exclusive forum.

At Spanish Bookworld you can also see free samples from our cd-rom, together with the cd-rom features, table of contents, system requirements, testimonial and more.

Do you want to learn Spanish fast? Do you want to have fun while you study the language? Do you want to be able to study whenever you have some free time, without pressure and with a lot of choice?

If your answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, here are 5 tips that will help you improve your Spanish faster than you ever imagined:

1. Listen to Spanish language learning podcasts. Podcasts are downloadable mp3s that you can listen to on your iPod or any other mp3 player. They’re usually short lessons that focus on one aspect of the language and encourage you to practice speaking. If you’ve never listened to a Spanish learning podcast, here’s a sample from my series called Spanish Podcasts for Beginners

2. Listen to audiobooks in Spanish. There are literally hundreds of Spanish audiobooks on cd, from children’s stories to El Quijote, The Bible, Dan Brown’s bestsellers, poetry anthologies and self-help books. Audiobooks are great on their own for developing your listening skills, but you can also practice reading by following the audiobook along with the printed version. Here are some popular titles.

3. Watch Spanish movies and TV programs dubbed into Spanish. Dexter, The Simpsons, 24, Stargate Atlantis, Bones, Star Trek, House … just about every TV program on dvd has been dubbed into Spanish. What’s more, many come with optional English and Spanish subtitles, so you can choose any language and subtitle combination you want.

4. Listen to Spanish songs and follow the lyrics. If you like Latin music, this is a great way of learning and practicing the language without effort. Lyrics are easy to find on the Internet, and many cds come with them too.

5. Watch videocasts on your iPod. Videocasts are basically a podcast that you can see and hear. Spanish language learning videocasts allow you to follow the lessons with the text in front of you, practice speaking and reading, improve your vocabulary and, overall, learn the language in a natural and intuitive way. To see a videocast in action, go to my Spanish for beginners course. There you can download the Lesson 1 videocasts for free or watch a sample online.

Do you have a favorite way of learning Spanish? If you want to share it, please feel free to write a comment.

Here I bring you one of my favorite Spanish songs. It’s called Sólo pienso en ti (I Only Think of You), by Víctor Manuel.

Víctor Manuel is one of the most popular Spanish singer-songwriters of all times. Born in 1947 in Asturias, Spain, he has composed and sang dozens of songs that have now become classics throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

Sólo pienso en ti dates back to 1979 and is considered by many to be his masterpiece. This powerful song describes the love between two mentally disabled people, their struggle, sadness and happiness.

If you want to get this song, you can find it here.