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Source for audiobooks?

Started by nebo113, February 22, 2021, 03:53:43 PM

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nebo113

Am about to deplete my library's audiobook downloads.....at least the ones I want.

Any suggestions for sources, either free or rental?

downer

My public library allows me to recommend books, including audiobooks. So long as they are trade books (not academic) they have purchased every recommendation I have made. So that might be worth trying.

Isn't Audible the main source of rental audiobooks these days?
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."—Sinclair Lewis

Parasaurolophus

Yeah, the library and Audible are really the main sources. You can try torrenting them, but holdings are spotty.

LibriVox has a relatively large supply of stuff that's in the public domain.
I know it's a genus.

Vkw10

Audible Premium Plus Annual Membership works well for me. I'm on the 12 credit plan, so I pay $149 a year for twelve audiobooks and get access to the Audible Originals catalog which has some good content I might not otherwise try. Since I like long audiobooks that frequently cost $25-$50, the credit system works well for me.
Enthusiasm is not a skill set. (MH)

wareagle

I can't get into the whole audiobook thing.  I've downloaded a few freebies to listen to while walking, but I can't get into them.  I would rather read the real book.  (For one thing, it takes much less time.)

What's the attraction?  I know people who have long commutes who listen to audiobooks, but I would find them distracting on the road - I don't even listen to the radio.   

I can't seem to acquire a taste for audiobooks.  And I feel like I'm missing something.  FOMO!
[A]n effective administrative philosophy would be to remember that faculty members are goats.  Occasionally, this will mean helping them off of the outhouse roof or watching them eat the drapes.   -mended drum

downer

It does make a big difference having a regular occasion to listen to audiobooks.

I listen when going running, hiking, on public transport, and when I can't sleep. It must average about an hour a day.

I don't listen at home during the day, except when I really am excited by a book.

These days just about every trade book is released in audiobook version. Even the back catalog is gradually being added in audio. Occasionally I see academic books released as audiobooks.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."—Sinclair Lewis

FishProf

Quote from: wareagle on February 23, 2021, 06:42:03 AM
  I would rather read the real book.  (For one thing, it takes much less time.)

I get audiobooks for things I'd never find time to read in book form.

Quote from: wareagle on February 23, 2021, 06:42:03 AM
What's the attraction?  I know people who have long commutes who listen to audiobooks, but I would find them distracting on the road - I don't even listen to the radio.   

Doing dishes. Folding laundry.  Mowing Lawn.  Sorting doodads in basement.   Any tedious task is better with audiobooks for me.

I'd rather have questions I can't answer, than answers I can't question.

bacardiandlime

I'm a huge audiobook fan, I have an audible annual account and also borrow from the library. I do find I'm getting through far less in the pandemic (no long drives). When I used to get a bus to work I would listen all the way.

smallcleanrat

There are a lot on offer via YouTube.

Some are uploads of commercial recordings (so probably not legal), but some are posted by people who do their own readings.

Here's a reading of Jack London's "To Build a Fire" I quite enjoyed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiPpxsrrDsY

Vkw10

Quote from: wareagle on February 23, 2021, 06:42:03 AM
I can't get into the whole audiobook thing.  I've downloaded a few freebies to listen to while walking, but I can't get into them.  I would rather read the real book.  (For one thing, it takes much less time.)

What's the attraction?  I know people who have long commutes who listen to audiobooks, but I would find them distracting on the road - I don't even listen to the radio.   

I can't seem to acquire a taste for audiobooks.  And I feel like I'm missing something.  FOMO!

I started listening to audiobooks when I was making an eight hour drive monthly to visit my mother. Interstate driving, passing through a city just twice, so I could listen easily. I often finished a book while walking or doing household chores, but now I buy audiobooks mainly for walking and chores, with occasional long drives. I prefer listening to nonfiction and favorite novels, so I'm not frustrated by missing key plot points if something else demands my attention.

I prefer reading either paper or ebook for most fiction. It's faster, I can interpret the words without interference from narrator's tone, I can easily skip up a paragraph to enjoy adroit phrasing. I read more widely because of audiobooks, exploring topics that I wouldn't read when curled up with a book. The formats serve different purposes for me.
Enthusiasm is not a skill set. (MH)

ergative

Quote from: FishProf on February 23, 2021, 06:58:51 AM
Quote from: wareagle on February 23, 2021, 06:42:03 AM
  I would rather read the real book.  (For one thing, it takes much less time.)

I get audiobooks for things I'd never find time to read in book form.

Quote from: wareagle on February 23, 2021, 06:42:03 AM
What's the attraction?  I know people who have long commutes who listen to audiobooks, but I would find them distracting on the road - I don't even listen to the radio.   

Doing dishes. Folding laundry.  Mowing Lawn.  Sorting doodads in basement.   Any tedious task is better with audiobooks for me.

Exercising

smallcleanrat

Quote from: wareagle on February 23, 2021, 06:42:03 AM
I can't get into the whole audiobook thing.  I've downloaded a few freebies to listen to while walking, but I can't get into them.  I would rather read the real book.  (For one thing, it takes much less time.)

What's the attraction?  I know people who have long commutes who listen to audiobooks, but I would find them distracting on the road - I don't even listen to the radio.   

I can't seem to acquire a taste for audiobooks.  And I feel like I'm missing something.  FOMO!

A good voice actor can really add a lot to a narrative. I especially appreciate this when characters in fiction are supposed to have distinct accents which I'm not too familiar with.

They're also good for times your eyes need rest.

ergative

Quote from: smallcleanrat on February 24, 2021, 01:17:21 AM
Quote from: wareagle on February 23, 2021, 06:42:03 AM
I can't get into the whole audiobook thing.  I've downloaded a few freebies to listen to while walking, but I can't get into them.  I would rather read the real book.  (For one thing, it takes much less time.)

What's the attraction?  I know people who have long commutes who listen to audiobooks, but I would find them distracting on the road - I don't even listen to the radio.   

I can't seem to acquire a taste for audiobooks.  And I feel like I'm missing something.  FOMO!

A good voice actor can really add a lot to a narrative. I especially appreciate this when characters in fiction are supposed to have distinct accents which I'm not too familiar with.

They're also good for times your eyes need rest.

Yes--I've occasionally found that when I'm awake at 3:00am and can't get back to sleep, a half hour or forty minutes of someone reading me a story is really soothing; either it lulls me back to sleep, or else it keeps me entertained.

I've really enjoyed the narrative voices of Robin Miles and Xe Sands.

nebo113

Quote from: ergative on February 24, 2021, 01:33:51 AM
Quote from: smallcleanrat on February 24, 2021, 01:17:21 AM
Quote from: wareagle on February 23, 2021, 06:42:03 AM
I can't get into the whole audiobook thing.  I've downloaded a few freebies to listen to while walking, but I can't get into them.  I would rather read the real book.  (For one thing, it takes much less time.)

What's the attraction?  I know people who have long commutes who listen to audiobooks, but I would find them distracting on the road - I don't even listen to the radio.   

I can't seem to acquire a taste for audiobooks.  And I feel like I'm missing something.  FOMO!

A good voice actor can really add a lot to a narrative. I especially appreciate this when characters in fiction are supposed to have distinct accents which I'm not too familiar with.

They're also good for times your eyes need rest.

Yes--I've occasionally found that when I'm awake at 3:00am and can't get back to sleep, a half hour or forty minutes of someone reading me a story is really soothing; either it lulls me back to sleep, or else it keeps me entertained.

I've really enjoyed the narrative voices of Robin Miles and Xe Sands.

The same for me. 

downer

Xe Sands has such an intimate yet slightly jaded tone. I will listen to a book because she is performing it. I follow her on Twitter.
Simon Vance is very reliable too.

I generally hate celebrity audiobook performers, though sometimes it works. Stephen Fry is perfect for some books.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."—Sinclair Lewis