Audiobooks - A revelation!

joneve

So, I spend at least 2 hours of every day (most days) walking the dog, and in recent months, I've made good use of my time by listening to numerous podcasts. 

I've grown tired of having 7 or 8 different podcasts to subscribe to every week, as it can mean multiple episodes that are hard to keep up with, so I'm a bit more choosy now. 

This also means I now have days where I'm struggling for content, so I started listening to audiobooks. I forgot that I'd downloaded audible ages ago, and recently did so again, and discovered I had two purchased, unread books there (Lee Child novels), so started listening to one, I'm absolutely hooked! Gives you all of satisfaction of being able to imagine the world and surroundings as you do when reading, but gives the added layer of the characters coming to life even more thanks to the guy reading them. 

Anyone got the monthly £7.99 audible subscription? Seems a good deal when most audiobooks seem to be at least £10 and newer ones are more like £20+

munckee

Never used it. If you like Harry Potter the Stephen Fry read audiobooks are brilliant.

Paul_C

If £7.99 for audible is too much, there are loads of audiobooks on YouTube too.

duotone

The few audioboooks I have listened to (Bill Bryson, Beatles Tune In) have been through Audible.

I paid over the odds for the individual books as I didn't want to sign up to a subscription. Just check the limits because I was under the impression that an Audible Subscription allows for just 1 "free" download per month.

joneve

Yea, I'm probably unlikely to join a subscription service, will probably more likely ask for amazon vouchers for birthday and use them to buy the actual book rather than the one download per month that audible offers. 

will check YouTube too.

joneve

Just checked youtube, load of Lee Child offerings, read by Jeff Harding, so they're the official ones. 

Cheers Paul! 

GSPBASSES

I've been a member of audible many, many years, can't recommend it enough. If you do a lot of walking or driving is a great companion. I started off with the single book subscription, then upgraded to 2 books a month. Then realised if I pay the 24 book subscription in advance it's much cheaper. And, generally speaking, I get through them more like three books a month, so by another 24 books in advance. The service is greatly improved since Amazon/Audible fell out with iTunes, as I can now download the books directly to whatever player I want too without having to go through iTunes. Another great thing that has happened with Amazon /Audible as soon as you purchase a book, it goes straight to your cloud and it's there waiting to be downloaded. I've got over 300 books in my Audible library. I'm giving my granddaughter a Kindle Fire loaded with all the Harry Potter books for Christmas, also giving my son a 12 book subscription to Audible as he is now starting to commute to work, which takes about an hour and a quarter.

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

I have the £7.99 1 book per month plan, works out great for me. 

I initially started with audiobooks as I was developing a problem with cocking about on my phone while driving, either trying to find songs/playlists or replying to messages. A bad habit and I knew I needed to nip it in the bud!

My commute is about 20 mins each way in the car. I find that if I carefully choose a book that's around 15 hours or more each month, that gets me a whole month's worth of commuting sorted. Just start the book before I start the car, phone in pocket, then stop the book before I get out at the other end. No risk of getting pulled over or going into the back of someone!

I find it's best to pick books that are more plot driven like crime fiction rather than anything too deep and meaningful or stylistically experimental/off-beat. I find the more 'literary' (for want of a better word) sorts of books much easier to get my teeth into if i actually read it on a page. Lincoln In The Bardo was one of my fave books of the year, but I imagine it being impossible to follow as an audiobook for example!!

strumjoughlamps

Spotify has Auidobooks too, although some of them are computer voice read. 

Sassafras

Kerry Shale does a very entertaining audiobook.
I just listen to Radio 4 Extra.

spark240

I think Steve Lukather has an audio book due out, and hes reading it...

joneve

spark240 said:

I think Steve Lukather has an audio book due out, and hes reading it...

Oh, nice one! 

Bruce Dickinson reads his recently released autobiography too. 

duotone

strumjoughlamps said:

Spotify has Auidobooks too, although some of them are computer voice read. 

Didn’t know that. Cheers @strumjoughlamps ;

Vaiai

I walk dogs and drive a fair bit too and from gigs/rehearsal etc and love my audiobooks.  The £7.99 a month is a bargain for the value I get from it - and there are always deals and sales to pick up more books cheap. You can also build up a stockpile and cancel the sub but keep listening and using the app - my wife never got thru the books she had so she did that and has no issues.

I got bluetooth headphones for wearing in the house too so I can listen to books when doing the housework Also recently enjoyed listening to some books with my son on car journeys - Ready Player One most recently - just in time for the Spielberg film!

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Sassafras said:

Kerry Shale does a very entertaining audiobook.
I just listen to Radio 4 Extra.

For quick little snippets here and there, Radio 4's "Book at Bedtime" episodes are also often worth a listen. They did a great version of Mohsin Hamid's 'Exit West' the other week. spark240 said:

I think Steve Lukather has an audio book due out, and hes reading it...

Bruce Springsteen's recent autobiography, read by the Boss himself, is also a must for any music fans!

Trude

Look up Librivox. Literally thousands of public domain audio books, all free to download. Most of them are out of copyright, and are read by volunteers. I've found many that are equal or better than what you get from Audible.
I've read loads of Dickens, Tolstoy, Austen, classic sci-fi & horror, all sorts since I've started using it. 

jellyroll

Every time I try an audiobook, my mind wanders and I soon find I've "lost the plot." 

quarky

Check what you library has. I use an app called "BorrowBox", enter my library details, and bingo. The range isn't huge, but it is free which is good enough for me, alongside my normal kindle reads.

maltingsaudio

I use my local library, they have audio books you can borrow

tampaxboo

i don't know why, but i can't listen to audiobooks. they either bore me, annoy me or send me to sleep.
if the person isn't the wrong voice for the narrator, then they are reading too slowly or too quickly, or trying to add emphasis or feeling that i don't want or appreciate. or they are just killing it some other way.

i also find it hard to listen to any voice (as voice alone) without falling asleep. i need some visual stimuli alongside the audio just to keep me awake.
i'm not sure what this says about me and my brain but there it is. maybe others can relate.

TommyVercetti

I agree - don't get on with audiobooks at all. The pleasure of a book to me is my simple brains interpretation of the characters and the dialogue as well as the story - i dont want somebody else's imagination doing that for me.

I spend 2 hours a day+ in the car and it's about the only opportunity i get to listen to music so that's what i do!