Audiobooks discussion

I have an account with audible.com and have just downloaded the audible.com app to my iPhone which now allows me to use my iPhone as my audiobook device. I'm wondering what other good options people have for purchasing or locating free content?

For mp3 audiobooks I use both of my library's accounts (luckily they use both Netlibrary and Overdrive). I also check out books on CD from my library and use those in the car. I can't use audible with my device. I use a sony ericsson phone because it has a built in speaker, which I love because I don't need headphones.

I have an Audible account, although most of what I want is available through Overdrive (I've gone through almost everything I could want over the past few years from NetLibrary). I do rip books-on-CD, though less than I used to.

I have three devices: a Creative Zen Nano plus (1 Gb that runs on an AAA battery).
a Cowon D2 8 Gb (plus SD card) audio/video player that does lots of swell stuff, but not great in my shirt pocket as I need to get at the touchscreen to activate the ON/OFF switch (works much better for long trips).
a brand new Sansa Clip+ 4Gb (plus micro SD card), a bit more "advanced" than the Creative, as it has a bookmarking function to switch between files.

They all play Audible files ... but types 3, 4 and Enhanced, respectively!

That's interesting. I have checked out Overdrive but as our school is a Mac school and Overdrive is more PC friendly this option doesn't work for me. I didn't know about Netlibrary so am checking that out now. It seems to belong to Ebsco but I notice I can access it through my local library. Thanks for the tip.

I'm an audible junkie - I have the 2 books per month membership and usually buy extra credits or books on special as well. My library doesn't have downloadable audio books and though I do occasionally borrow CD versions I find that a pain because I don't sit and listen to books very often and don't have portable CD player - I can rip them to iTunes I know but it's both illegal (and I would never do anything illegal of course) and takes ages to do and name the tracks properly so you can listen to the tracks in order.

I use an iPod to listen - just got the new nano which is tiny and has an inbuilt clip - I mainly listen to audio books when walking to/from work so very portable is good for me. We have another iPod that we can hook up to the car if we want to listen to a book while on a long distance drive.

I am a fairly recent audio book convert and had never heard of Overdrive or Netlibrary, so I will be checking those out soon.
I listen to CD's (ordered through my local library) if I'm in the car or doing something where I will be in the same place for a while, or I download from audible onto my ipod.
It's great for ignoring squabbling kids!
I still prefer to read, but audiobooks allow me to "escape in a book" when I don't have the time to sit with a book.

I'm into scifi and other genre fiction so I get most of my books from Podiobooks.
They are mainly amateur works, self published and read by the author. I've actually found them a more more satisfying 'reading' experience that most of the professionally read books I've listened to.

I listen on my computer while I'm working from home - it helps keep me 'in the zone'.

I use Media Drive via my local library system and listen on my iPod Shuffle, and if I can get to the library I borrow books on disc and 'rip' to my itunes.
Libravox is a good source of audio books, but some of the narrators are a little dodgy!

When I rip discs, it's always with each disc as a single (hour-long) file -- I listened to one book using individual 3-minute tracks, and that was the end of that! The software I use, Cowon JetAudio, does only WMA format, not mp3.

Overdrive says there is a Mac version available, and many, though not all, of their titles play on Apple devices.

NetLibrary is a tricky operation. Until recently, one could only download each book as a single, long file, transferring via Windows Media Player. They now have their own Media Center, that transfers books in CD-sized parts (60 - 70 minutes). However, I've found the tagging horrific, ending up having to re-do it myself! After a couple of experiences, I went back to loading the entire book as a single file "manually" instead.

John my Netlibrary is the same as before - one long audiobook. I just downloaded a book this weekened and it is not seperated. I don't mind the long format as long as I don't lose my place! RCHK and Chris I highly recommend you check with your local library about the accounts they use - it is a great resource.

You have to use their special NetLibrary Media Center software to get transfer a book in parts. Or doesn't it always do that with every book?

After being knocked out of a 10-hour NL book @ 9 hrs, I never listed to one on a device that doesn't bookmark, or FF quickly again! My D2 has both an incredibly easy bookmarking ability, as well as a progress meter that shows both time elapsed and total time (2:16 of 10:03).

Ahhh I see John! Wow that sounds like a lot of work. I think I will just stick with the entire audio in one long book format. I check the time a lot, so if I get lost I can normally get back to where I was.

I've used NetLibrary before, but I get most of my free stuff from Librivox. There's some complete crap there, but also some good stuff. I hate for this to sound like some sort of advertisement for my blog, but if you go over to Free Listens, you'll find my recommendations for the best stuff from Librivox and other free audio sites.

I trade audiobooks through paperbackswap and also through bookcrossing and book obsessed. I also borrow books from the library and buy (mostly used) from amazon. But I'm not part of the modern era and only listen to CDs and cassettes in the car. I have an iPod, but so far haven't listened to any audiobooks on it.

At home, I sometimes set up a portable CD player or portable cassette player with little speakers in the kitchen or elsewhere.

I keep meaning to get organized about the iPod thing, but I sort of detest headphones and mostly listen in the car anyway.

Joanna you can usually buy a little speaker for your Ipod, but I know what you mean about headphones, that is why I love putting books on my phone with the great built in speaker. That way I don't need headphones when I am walking around the house cleaning or getting ready in the morning.

I recently got a clock radio with an MP3 jack -- it was cheap, and the sound is tinny, but ... it works!

Seth wrote: "I've used NetLibrary before, but I get most of my free stuff from Librivox. There's some complete crap there, but also some good stuff. I hate for this to sound like some sort of advertisement for..."

Thanks! I just spent an hour trolling the site and am having a great time.

I am also an audible.com fan and love being able to play my audio books on my Dell Axim PDA - an older touch screen device that predates smart phones. I use a connector to play it through my car speakers which adds to the sound quality, and only wish I could use the car stereo controls too. About half of my books are unabridged CD's from the library. My library also has the Playaway format which is like a tiny little MP3 player loaded with one book using AA batteries and your own headphones. I haven't done too many Overdrive or NetLibrary audio books, they can be a pain to download as previously mentioned.

I usually check out books on CD from the library and put them on my ipod.

Bernadette wrote: "I'm an audible junkie - I have the 2 books per month membership and usually buy extra credits or books on special as well. My library doesn't have downloadable audio books and though I do occasiona..."

Bernadette, you are not alone... I "discovered" Audible about 4 months ago and am just like you! In that time, I've managed to accululate 50 PLUS audiobooks!!! (That $4.95 sale recently was my undoing!) Thnk God I discovered my library system has Overdrive audiobooks and I'm trying to use that instead of buying so many. Every thing works well on my Ipod classic and I don't mind wearing headphones. Actually, the sound is great, it bookmarks my place, and I've never enjoyed housework more. ;)

Those of you without players should check out your local library. I found out that mine also offers the players with the books preloaded on them that someone else mentioned. They give you the batteries too! My library is a small town library, so I would imagine is not uncommon anymore.

Joanna wrote: "I trade audiobooks through paperbackswap and also through bookcrossing and book obsessed. I also borrow books from the library and buy (mostly used) from amazon. But I'm not part of the modern er..."

If you have any old computer speakers laying around they plug right in where the headphone jack is thats what I use they just plug in and sit anywhere you want them.

Donna my house would be an utter pig sty if it weren't for audio books as my first thought whenever the need for chores arises is "but I could be reading instead". Since I discovered audio books at least I can read while doing housework and I'm not getting a visit from the authorities due to making my house a public health hazard :)

Multiple: audible.com, my library (CD's and downloand), friends CD's. I listen to them on my laptop, my ipod, in my car, or my phone.

Totally cool - unaware of Overdrive and NetLibrary. Although the lack of book-marking has me concerned - can I assume that one can still "rewind" if one's mind wanders?

Netlibrary generally has audiobooks in one long format - but I guess you can make folders, I have not done so yet. Of course you can always rewind using your mp3 player. Overdrive has audiobooks in "chapter" formats that are usually around 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours or so each (at least in my experience).

Net Library does have the ability to download the books in CD-length parts if you install their Net Library Manager software.

I still need to do that John! Perhaps tonight I will get moving on it!

Of course, they nicely came up with that idea long after I'd read almost everything my library has of theirs of interest (roll eyes here)!

John wrote: "Of course, they nicely came up with that idea long after I'd read almost everything my library has of theirs of interest (roll eyes here)!"

Of course John!

I usually use my ipod to download audible books and that works reaaly well, however I'm also impressed at how well they work on my kindle too. Very handy!

Another Audible user here. I listen to the audiobooks using the Audible app on my Android mobile phone.

also an audible user download to my IPOD

The Overdrive program requires that you load it using ONLY Internet Explorer as your browser, all other browsers won't work. You don't need to use IE after it's installed (to obtain actual library books). Could that have been your problem?

I find Overdrive is not very MAC friendly. I can only access MP3 files so not as much selection in this format. Pity!!

Love my iPOD & I mostly use Audible and my library. I like Audible, not many problems & I am a Platinum Annual member. I get 24 credits at once for 229.50 so thats like $9.56 a book. It seems I always buy at least 2 dozen books a year. If I don't, I can carry over 6 credits. A better deal than I've seen anywhere else.

I'm not a techie, but as I understand it IE has some sort of "security patch" that acts as a driver for the Overdrive Manager, so installation will "fail" without it.

For content, mostly audible. I also check library and occasionally buy MP3 CDs from audiobookstand.com or audio publisher site when they have sales or amazon if I can't find what I'm looking for at audible or library. I will use recordedbooks.com or booksontape.com if they release exclusive content.

For listening, 99.9% my 160 GB iPod classic or computer. I have a kindle but don't haven't even tried to do an audiobook on there. I thought I heard that you can only do about 4 hours audio before going through the battery.

Yes, audio does drain the battery quickly, though I have stories and podcasts on my Sony e-reader.

It's true, I buy my books from amazon and they have a text speech enable or not-enable.

I also buy my audio books at audible.com which is an AMAZON COMPANY.

***But THERE IS ANOTHER WAY. I buy my books at "WE READ 4 YOU" WHICH IS ALOT CHEAPER THAT amazon. you do not have to own a monthly subscription and the audio books do not cost that much money compared to audible.com.

WHAT I DO IS ORDER THE AUDION BOOK AT THE WEBSITE CALLED "WE READ 4 YOU" AND I DOWNLOAD THE AUDIO BOOK. By following the directions that they give you on there website.

2. I connect my KINDLE TO MY COMPUTER.
by using the cord cable that comes with the KINDLE.

3. I then look for the Kindle file, by going to "START" ALL PROGRAMS" then go to my COMPUTER. usually where you connect ur USB FLASH DRIVE. Ur Kindle should pop up there. Click where it says "KINDLE".

4. You look for the audio book which is under "WE READ FOR YOU" FILE. Look for the BOOK TITLE.

5. WHEN YOU HAVE THE FILE. " "THE BOOK TITLE", YOU drag it to ur kindle file. or just copy and paste. A download will pop up.

6. The kindle should have ur audio book in ur kindle now.

Again, the audio books from that website are much cheaper than audible.com.

"WE READ 4 YOU" WEBSITE:
http://www.weread4you.com/

I think you can download any audio book you have to ur kindle.

Anyways have a great day.

EmilyLiz =)

I thought I had seen on Audible's site very recently that their audiobooks are available on Kindle. :)

I understand that while Kindles will play mp3 files (for some audiobooks), it's incredibly clunky and primitive to do so.

I have a the 1 credit/month subscription on audible and when i am out of credits i try to get it from my locas library.
The books goes on to my iPod.

I get most of my audio books from Audible (I have the 2 book-a-month plan). Sometimes I'll find something on a really obscure website and purchase it. I recently tried out Amblingbooks.com. I listen to mine on a IPOD classic.

For years now I have been listening to audio CDs from the library on my car CD player.

Last week I was perusing the "Bargain" section of Chapters and was surprised to see audiobooks there. I scored Bright Shiny Morning and The Street of a Thousand Blossoms for $7 each! I will definately check back there from time to time.

I recently got an iphone and just this morning downloaded my first Overdrive book from the library. However, it seems to have only downloaded ( ?transferred) the first chapter! Anyone know if I have to change a setting or something?

Just joined this group! I have been an audio "reader" for years. Usually listen in the car while driving to/from work. Since I got an iPhone, have been also listening to Overdrive Library2Go books while exercising or working around the house. I still read actual books and e-books on my Nook as well.

With the help of all the discussion on these pages, I have finally learned how to transfer books to the "audiobook" format from the music one on my Sansa Fuze. It is a much easier format to navigate, especially when using ripped CD's. Thanks for all your tips and earlier discussion!

We're a very helpful lot, Janice!

Indeed, I am finding not only great leads on books to listen to, but good technological advise as well! Can't beat that!

Thanks John for the tip about IE and the security patch for the Net Library Download Manager... I haven't successfully loaded that yet and may try again. The one long format download is too unwieldy on a portable device.
I was at my local branch library sale yesterday and they were selling all of the cassette versions of their audio book collection for $1 each. At first when I saw all of the audio books on shelf after shelf my heart started beating faster.... and then when my mind registered the size of the boxes, it sank. No cassette player in the car anymore, and of course the likelihood of the cassette tapes all being in good shape is questionable (though for $1....)
I can't be in the car or on a solo walk without an audio book. CD's in the car mostly and audible.com downloaded to my iPod Nano for walking and other pedestrian activities.

The book-as-one-long-file works on certain devices, that have bookmarking (and a display to show where you are in the book as well). For instance, the sansa clip+ has a bookmarking function, so you can interrupt a long book for other listens and come back where you were; it has a progress bar, but no readout of time remaining, so you'd have to remember (roughly) the length of the book, although if you'd been away a while, you could plug the device into the computer to get that number.