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free audiobooks?


anemone

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I really wish there were more freely available audiobooks, I really love listening to them especially since I can do so while doing something else (cooking, cleaning, etc.). My favourite audiobook remains Harry Potter - have listened to all of them several times now, and it never gets old, especially with Stephen Fry.

But I sometimes find it tricky when the voice or accent of the reader is not appealing to me - it really plays a big role when they are impersonating different people in a book. I have sometimes stopped listening to an audiobook for that reason.

Anyways if anyone has some advice let me know, I know audible but it looks like a bit of a scam (sorry).

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I'm not sure what you mean about Audible.. I've been using it for years!  :mellow:

 

There are sites / apps out there whihc offer free audio books, but these will be older books which are now out of licence, and they will probably be read by volunteers (I'm at work at the moment, so can't go searching). If you find modern books being offered for free, they're probably pirated.

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I know it is all pukka and legit, but I've always found the landing page for Audible to be a bit confusing. 

 

Instead of a shop font page (like Amazon) you are immediately asked to sign up, which if you are only looking for a one-off audio book can be a little overwhelming (and off-putting).

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Oh ok, sorry I just thought the way Audible worked as that you get one free book (and you can only pick from a selected list), and after that you pay full price. Maybe scam is the wrong word, but I remember wanting to get Harry Potter and of course that one was not part of the "first free book" promotion. So after that I just never tried again. Yeah I think that's pretty much what happened to me Raven :)

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Ah no - audible works best on a subscription basis. You pay per month, and each month you get one or two credits (depending on your membership), and each credit can be used for any book. You can stop at any point, and you get to keep the books. Handy hint - after your free book, try to cancel your membership - they usually give you a good offer to try to keep you. :)

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You need to scroll right to the bottom on Audible to search.   It does look like you have to sign up first - their site is very clever!  I've never done it because my phone isn't compatible, sadly.

 

I get a lot of audio books from my local library.   They cost £1.80 but I don't begrudge that.  I listen to a clip of it on Audible before I get one from the library, just to check the narrator - you're right - a narrator can be off putting if they don't sound right to the listener.

 

Project Gutenberg have free classics for books out of their royalty period, but as Michelle says, they're narrated by volunteers so you don't always get the same narrator all the way through.  I listened to a couple of Oscar Wilde's plays through Gutenberg but it was a bit off-putting having them narrated in an American accent,  but once I got past that I enjoyed them.   It's good of people to give their time to do them.  :)

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Thank you guys so much for clearing this up for me, I totally got the wrong impression of audible it seems. I think I will check it out today then :) Nothing better than having a captivating audiobook to get you through a tough work week.

Yes the voice is so important! So thanks for the tip of listening to a clip first - I didnt know you could do that. And will also check with the local library - I think last time I checked they only had classics which is fine too but of course newer books would be great.

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It's one book per credit, and you can choose 1 or 2 credits per month (offhand, in the UK it's about £7.99 for 1 or £14.99 for 2). They often offer you a chance to buy 3 extra credits, which I think work out at about £5.50 each, plus there are quite a few member only offers.

 

Btw, although I have a banner on the forum for Audible (and I get a small amount of cash if someone uses it) - but my advice comes from using them for years. I get 2 credits a month for myself, and 1 for my daughter, and I have looooads of books now! :)

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I too love Audible - I've had the 12 books per year option for quite a few years.  One of the things I like about them, is that if you start a book and find its not your thing, you can "return" it, and they give you your credit back.  Presumably they stop this option if you do it too many times - but I've returned books a few times.

 

Because I only have 12 books a year, I have a rule that I can only listen to them when out exercising or doing the ironing.  Hence when I've got a good book I'm motivated to get out and exercise :D .  Having said that its also great for train and plane journeys, as you can see what's going on whilst listening to a good book.

 

If for some reason you don't download all your credits by the end of your annual subscription, you are allowed to carry over a few credits (see your Membership Status for details).  

 

I do find it a bit tricky to download the books to my iPhone/iTunes - if anyone has this problem, and wants my instruction list, let me know.  

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I like your rule of only listening to them while working out Emmabbooks! It's a really good incentive to do things you normally don't enjoy that much (and working out definitely applies to that rule for me - lucky people who LIKE jogging). My issue with using audiobooks on my  ipod are that it's a 4GB one (yup, one of the really old ones), so I'd have to take a lot of my music off first, which I am too lazy to do plus worried I might never be able to retrieve it. I normally just listen to them on my PC, which has the disadvantage of having to carry it around when I cook haha. 

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  • 4 months later...

I was just downloading another book on my kindle and next to it there is A Partisan's daughter, book by Louis de Bernieres and Sian Thomas for free with Audible trial on Amazon. I don't know if it's any good or not, but there are many good reviews so...

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  • 1 year later...

I’ve had some great experiences with audible, got many many titles from there. Recently downloaded the  history of exeter by Richard Bushill. Not listened to it yet but Its finding the time for audio books these days. Seems more and more I find a great book but seem to hanve no time for reading or listening :( 

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