During the day, Olivier Carpentier is a sound engineer. Among other things, he works for plays, films and museums. He recently worked on Mia et le Migou (Mia & the Migoo), which is set to be released at the end of 2008. He could just content himself with his work: creating the sounds in a play, sound effects, arrangements ... but that's not Oliver's style. At night, he dedicates his time to "Book d'oreille", an Internet site for French language sound books. "I prefer the term sound book to audiobook, which alludes more to how the content is disseminated," says Olivier. He did not come across sound books as a child, although he does admit to having enjoyed listening to stories. His interest in sound books came about when he was deprived of his sight for several weeks due to an accident. To kill time, he borrowed recordings from the municipal media library in Cambrai. It was a revelation: "Carried away by the reader's voice, the text opens up your imagination and gives you a different insight." As soon as he got his sight back, Olivier carried out inquiries and a study on behalf of the French National Library (BNF) on the place of audiobooks in France. He came to the conclusion that audiobooks are a sub-industry under that of books which needs to be dusted off. And that is what Olivier intends to do. This young sound engineer knows how important a voice and a sound are. "I like the idea of bringing sound to a text through an actor. There is a musical and scenic dimension. It is far less restrictive." It is time to get sound books out of the cupboard and no longer restrict them to the blind and children. "For example, we can listen to a book when driving", says Olivier. La Recherche between Lille and Marseille is tempting. Olivier embraced the problem. With Book d'oreille, he intends to make up for "the lack of legitimacy currently suffered by sound books which are often seen as paramedical products." Sound books deserve a showcase and Olivier intends to use the Internet to provide one. He lists, classifies and organises the works and is gradually building an ambitious and comprehensive catalogue of past and current French books. It is painstaking work.