Audible. Does anyone subscribe to it?

We are a 3 generation Audible family. DS and DDiL got me into Audible into 6 or 7 years ago. DD loves Audible. And last week DGD told me how she goes to sleep listening to Paddington now.

I pay 7.99 a month for one credit. If I don't use that credit it carries forward so usually I save for my holidays so I have 3/4 books to listen to while I'm off work. I love it. I have an autoimmune disease and take steroids which makes holding books difficult so its just magic to have them read to me1

I have subscribed to Audile for many years love Audiio Books one way to make the most is to look out for the buy 1 get 1 free or two for the price of three deals theres one on at the moment

Hmm interesting thread and thanks for all the tips. I listen to podcasts a lot but think I prefer reading for books - so much quicker.

However I’ve listened to some poetry reading - MacFarlane ‘Lost words’ - beautiful. And I’m tempted to the Audible trial for Gladwell’s interviews with Paul Simon, which enables listening to musical discussion. I guess listening to plays is a distinctive advantage too. Must be worth a free trial !

Like many here I am an Audible devotee. I recently bought Miriam Margolyes “ This much is true” Although I disliked some of the language I was interested in her story of her life and she is a great reader. I do buy quite a few biographies but my main interest is in crime novels. Audible is on my phone and on my iPad and I would not be without it. As I age I find holding books or even travelling with them is too heavy. My son has a den, which he calls the library and there are shelves full of books …loads of political biography , cricket and football memoirs. I keep meaning to read the Tony Blair biography and John Simpson books but I always listen to my Audible books. I could not get on with a book and asked for a refund. They gave it immediately. Quite impressive service! Try it, you will not regret it.

I am in Hertfordshire and our library has the rather brilliant "Borrow Box" app. it is just fabulous, totally free and audiobooks galore!

I recently ordered a library book but it was so heavy, I really couldn't be bothered with it.
I think being read to is a real luxury. Just love Audible.

If you belong to a library, you can use BorrowBox for free. You do have to wait for popular books sometimes but there are thousands of either audiobooks or online books on there. It’s brilliant.

I’m worried that once I subscribe to audible my book reading will end and books have been such a huge part of my life. I look on favourite books on my shelves as old friends. So, if I subscribe do I then have to pay for each book or do I get so many free ones a month and how much will I have to pay for each book?

I love audible books and get them free online from my council library it’s been great during lockdown. I’ve put all my friends and family on to it and they love it too.
I can borrow 10 books at a time if you want both audible and ebooks and you get to have them for a month before they are returned.

Love Audible. Lots of free books and podcasts available for your subscription. Customer service amazing and you can place a hold or cancel at any time

I have not tried this idea , but it does sound quite a faff to organise it and costs money as well!! As a rather hard up yorkshire woman, I still find the library the best for me , but do like to have mostly books to actually hold. Hate kindle to read on. but there are audio books you can borrow from the library too. I am no doubt out of date by still have quite a lot of cds and cd player. I did over 10 years 3 days a week, as a volunteer driver for the ambulance car system. Used to take 3 or 4 patients at a time to and from hospital in my car. I used to have quite a few regular patients and used to keep a set of cds with me. No good to use when the car was full as the sound wasnt totally equal front and back but marvellous for a single patient on a long journey often over an hour in a rural area.Also had special ones for children too. The great Martin Jarvis with Just William was popular with many and once I dropped a mother and child off and was carrying on with an elderly gentlemen . I turned the cd off and he said a little gruffly " If you want to hear the end of it I dont mind you leaving it on"!! wouldnt say he was enjoying it. The marvellous Alan Bennetts Talking Heads with wonderful readers like Patricia Routledge. I also kept Strauss walzts for one person, and John Philip Souza marches for a person in a brass band. The other two things I had were a lovely bird song cd which allowed us to be talking and just gave a very enjoyable background and a lovely river sound where it began with a trickle and you heard the waters increasing and going over waterfalls etc . But that was for women only! Why? Put that on for men and you needed to keep stopping for the loos!! Well however we receive them the joy of books is there for us all which is what matters. I too find authors and read everything they have written and am sad when there are no more to follow. At the moment , given the miserable situation with covid and fuel prices etc ., my most cheering thing to do is to go to bed early and I have the wonderful Billy Connolly 's Tall Tales and Wee Stories. I can hear his voice in my mind as I read it and lightens the mood, sends me to sleep with a smile, cheaper than alcohol and better than sleeping pills . I recommend anything of his.

I agree with Toddleo, Casstown15 and Keekaboo. I use BorrowBox and Libby for audiobooks and e reading. It’s completely FREE and all you need is an up to date library card. You can register on line by accessing your county library website. Or you can get help at your local library.
Since my husband died I have listened to over 350 books both Fiction( crime mainly my favourite) and non fiction.
It well worth a try.

I have been a member of Audible since 2006, before they were bought by Amazon. I have over 600 titles in my library. I don’t think they can be beaten for the number of titles they offer and for the speed at which newly-published books are added.

Although it is always worth checking whether a title is available through free library apps such as Borrowbox or Libby, there is often a long waiting list for popular titles as councils have licence restrictions limiting how many copies of an audio book can be lent at any one time.

In addition to my one Audible credit a month, I make good use of the Plus Catalogue - free books including many classics and popular writers. For example, they have made a huge number of Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine books available including all the Wexford stories.

You can return a title if you aren’t enjoying it but be aware that Audible monitor accounts and will grey out the Return Title option if too many books are being returned. I’m told that some members listen to a whole book and then return it for a credit and do that over and over until stopped. Not really in the spirit of things. If your account is flagged in this way, it doesn’t mean you can’t still return something but you need to do it via customer services either by phone or webchat until the restriction has been listed. I do occasionally return a title usually because I don’t like the narrator. The five minute sample you can listen to before buying isn’t always enough.

If you subscribe and find books backing up you can always freeze your subscription for three months. While frozen you can still listen to titles you have purchased but not those from the Plus Catalogue.

I like that the phone app has an option to Airplay the sound to a compatible device so that I can listen to the better sound quality of a soundbar. I do that a lot. The in-built sleep timer is useful at bedtime.

I'm obviously in a minority here, but, no matter how accomplished the narrator, one single voice doesn't hold my attention for more than 10 minutes. Audio plays with a full cast are a different matter and I find far more entertainment on BBC radio 4 extra.

I don't pay for any books. I borrow free audio books and e books from the library with the Borrowbox app. I can always find something interesting. Also the Libby app for lots of free magazines.

I'm not a customer but a good friend is and she's forever sending out emails asking if anyone would like an audio book because she's still got credits she hasn't used (you can gift them to friends). It has rather put me off the idea myself. Would rather stay where I am and use either my local library, borrow books from friends or use my Kobo e-reader. I think it's expensive for what it offers (sorry).

Can I also make a plea for good old fashioned paperbacks, for those who can read them? They can be passed on to charity shops; lent to friends and (in good condition) donated to libraries - none of which audio books or e-books can. I understand that sometimes we need different options but I would hate to think that we will all become dependent on being read to (unless we have sight problems).

I doubt anyone would become dependent - they are just a different way of accessing books. With Kindle you can switch between reading and listening, which can be useful. The two work in synch, so if you have both the audio and kindle versions and are signed into Amazon they know where you are up to and carry on seamlessly.

I sometimes prefer to read, as the narrator is making choices about the characters (in the tone of their voice and so on) that I would sometimes want to make myself, but for something straightforward and 'easy listening' they are handy when you can't hold a book, such as when cooking. I prefer listening in the bath, too.

I also have borrow box and lobby which are free you just link them to your library card with loads of excellent audio books . I am listening to Bob Mortimers autobiography at the moment which is only just out. I've listened to the Salt Path , Where the crawdads sing, loads of Bill Bryson and Jodi Picoult books - all for free !

Libby not Lobby ! Lobby has alot of magazines on as well.

You can also freeze your membership for 3 months if you’re building up credits.

Our library has Borrowbox and I do use it, but there aren’t enough copies if popular books and I gate waiting.

Gate=hate

Doodledog

*I’d just have a splurge then. They only allow you to build up 5 credits anyway.*
I have six just now?

Me too. You can pause your membership but only once in any one year period. I’m amassing credits at the moment but intend to pause them once I reach the one year point since my last pause. I think it’s a cheek that they take back your credits as you have already paid for them.