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GtrsRGr8 · 05-09-2016, 07:12 PM

Is everyone aware that Spotify, the popular online streaming music provider, not only offers almost every imaginable music track available in English, but also provides streaming audiobooks?

Well, I confess that I wasn't, even though I've used Spotify for quite a few years now. That is, until a few minutes ago when I ran across a little information about audiobooks on Spotify.

I did a little looking around on Spotify. I first located a short list of playlists--four for Shakespeare--The Poetry, The Tragedies, The Histories, The Comedies. One for Audiobooks. And one for Guided Meditation.

Then, I decided to do a search. It happens to be Dante Alighieri's birthday (he was born a mere 750 years ago. ha). So, I looked for his epic poem from the middle ages, the Divine Comedy. Sure enough, Spotify has it, and in several different versions. The most prominent version, or at least the one that looks like it occurs first, is one narrated by Joe J. Thomas.

I don't know what else Spotify may have in the way of audiobooks. All of the ones that I mentioned above are available "everywhere" on the Internet, although there may be some particular advantage (e.g., a better narrator) to a Spotify offering. Spotify may have many works still in copyright (like they do for the songs and other music that they offer), I just don't know.

In case you're not familiar with Spotify, it is free. That is, unless you want to eliminate the ubiquitous advertisements (they don't particularly bother me--I grew up partly in the days of AM radio's dominance. Ack!!!) and, supposedly a little bit better sound quality (that shouldn't matter with audiobooks). And, as far as I know, you can (legally) only stream the audiobooks, you can't download any.

Go here to learn more about Spotify and/or to download their software. If, once you've downloaded and installed the software, you want to start by exploring the playlists, here's what to do: click on "genres & moods" on the menu bar near the top of the screen. Scroll down until you see the last box, which is labelled "Word." Then, click on it. Frankly, if you want to find other audiobooks, the only way that I know how to do it is to search for a title and/or artist (author and/or narrator).

05-09-2016, 07:12 PM	#1042
GtrsRGr8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,334 Karma: 27815322 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Southeastern U.S., ya'll Device: Kindle; Kindle (10.1.1) for PC; Kindle Cloud Reader	Audiobooks on Spotify. Is everyone aware that Spotify, the popular online streaming music provider, not only offers almost every imaginable music track available in English, but also provides streaming audiobooks? Well, I confess that I wasn't, even though I've used Spotify for quite a few years now. That is, until a few minutes ago when I ran across a little information about audiobooks on Spotify. I did a little looking around on Spotify. I first located a short list of playlists--four for Shakespeare--The Poetry, The Tragedies, The Histories, The Comedies. One for Audiobooks. And one for Guided Meditation. Then, I decided to do a search. It happens to be Dante Alighieri's birthday (he was born a mere 750 years ago. ha). So, I looked for his epic poem from the middle ages, the Divine Comedy. Sure enough, Spotify has it, and in several different versions. The most prominent version, or at least the one that looks like it occurs first, is one narrated by Joe J. Thomas. I don't know what else Spotify may have in the way of audiobooks. All of the ones that I mentioned above are available "everywhere" on the Internet, although there may be some particular advantage (e.g., a better narrator) to a Spotify offering. Spotify may have many works still in copyright (like they do for the songs and other music that they offer), I just don't know. In case you're not familiar with Spotify, it is free. That is, unless you want to eliminate the ubiquitous advertisements (they don't particularly bother me--I grew up partly in the days of AM radio's dominance. Ack!!!) and, supposedly a little bit better sound quality (that shouldn't matter with audiobooks). And, as far as I know, you can (legally) only stream the audiobooks, you can't download any. Go here to learn more about Spotify and/or to download their software. If, once you've downloaded and installed the software, you want to start by exploring the playlists, here's what to do: click on "genres & moods" on the menu bar near the top of the screen. Scroll down until you see the last box, which is labelled "Word." Then, click on it. Frankly, if you want to find other audiobooks, the only way that I know how to do it is to search for a title and/or artist (author and/or narrator). Last edited by GtrsRGr8; 05-10-2016 at 12:39 PM.