FREE/BARGAIN - Audiobooks - 2015

[Froide]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

I found a source for a very large amount of free audiobooks, which a potentially large amount of Mobilereaders could tap into. I did a search and found nothing about this on this thread or in the entire forum about this. Please forgive me if something already has been posted about this.

One of the two area library systems where I hold a card provides a service called "Freegal," through which I can get up to 5 free downloads per week of MP3 songs. A little while ago I finished downloading my 5 for the week when I noticed something that I had not noticed before--one of the "genres" that was available was "audio books"!

I estimate there to be about two thousand different titles available. I saw audiobooks of many different subjects. The interface allowed me to browse the audiobooks alphabetically by "artists" (the creators and/or narrators). Frankly, I did not recognize the great majority of the "artists," and none of the ones that I did recognize were people from very recent times. But, at the same time, I do not remember seeing free anywhere else any of the titles that I saw, either. And, they do appear to be quality audiobooks, and not "junk."

Now, just as someone with Freegal privileges cannot download an entire album of music for just 1 download (each song counts as 1 download), someone cannot download an entire audiobook as 1 free download. Each one of the tracks (corresponding maybe to chapters?) of an audiobook counts as 1 download. So, you can download up to 5 tracks of an audiobook each week. Yes, it's a little bit of a hassle and, yes, it can take some time to get a whole audiobook; only you can decide whether or not the tradeoff is worth it.

As I indicated earlier, not every library offers this service. If you are unsure whether or not a library where you have privileges has it or not, you can contact the library or access their website. A backdoor way of finding out is to go to a page on Freegal's website, where you can plug your library's information in a form and it will let you know if your library has the privileges. In case you are not aware of it, many library systems have reciprocal agreements with other library systems, allowing you to get a library card at those other systems--that is, in fact, how I have my Freegal privileges as my local library system does not offer them.

Finally, you may want to see what Freegal's website looks like, and explore the user interface. One thing that I have been critical of about this service is that the interface is a little clunky and takes some getting used to. If you go to this Freegal webpage, you can see almost exactly what users see when they access the service through their libraries. Also at that page, you can see exactly what audiobooks are available to you if you have privileges, by going to "Genres">"Audio books".

Related service: Freegal Movies.

[skinmaan]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

I found a source for a very large amount of free audiobooks, which a potentially large amount of Mobilereaders could tap into. I did a search and found nothing about this on this thread or in the entire forum about this. Please forgive me if something already has been posted about this.

One of the two area library systems where I hold a card provides a service called "Freegal," through which I can get up to 5 free downloads per week of MP3 songs. A little while ago I finished downloading my 5 for the week when I noticed something that I had not noticed before--one of the "genres" that was available was "audio books"!

I'll second this recommendation. I've been using Freegal for about 2 years now and I love it. Even with the Audiobook genre it can be difficult to find good stuff (a lot of stuff in this category is Spanish and other languages) but they are out there. One company that publishes their stuff through Freegal that I would recommend is Fantom Films. They are a British publisher and I have enjoyed several of their titles since I found them. Not all of their titles are available through Freegal but you can look at their home page to see if something catches your fancy. At the top there is also a link to Talking Classics, which some of you might find interesting. Pro: very good narrators; con: abridged versions only (some very abridged).

[abqkjh]

Don't know if anybody here is interested in a "Humorous Contemporary Romance;" but this deal is so cheap I figured I'd throw it out there just in case, even though it's not my kind of thing.

Game, Set, Match by Nana Malone

Kindle Book: FREE
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090QWA1M

Audiobook: 99c
http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Ga...8618635&sr=1-1

"Off the court, tennis star Jason Cartwright's playboy image is taking a public beating. On the court, he's down 40-love. A knee injury is shutting down his game, and the paparazzi are splashing his love life on every magazine. A comeback is in order, but the makeover he needs to save his faltering career is in the hands of the woman he loved and left 15 years ago.

While single-mom Izzy Connors sees people for who they really are through the lens of her camera, even without it, she knows Jason isn't the star he appears to be. Although his charm and good looks haven't dimmed since he broke her heart, all she sees is his wasted talent and playboy lifestyle.

Can Izzy put the past behind her and help Jason get his game, and his image, back on track? Or will the click of her camera shatter his world as well as his heart?"

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by abqkjh

Don't know if anybody here is interested in a "Humorous Contemporary Romance;" but this deal is so cheap I figured I'd throw it out there just in case, even though it's not my kind of thing.

Game, Set, Match by Nana Malone

Kindle Book: FREE
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090QWA1M

Audiobook: 99c
http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Ga...8618635&sr=1-1
. . . .

Fantastic find! Very good ratings, lots of pages, and an almost unbelievable price--I can tell you from experience that it usually is very difficult to find a 99 cent Whispersync deal!

[GtrsRGr8]

I read Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth as a child (okay, truth to tell, it was the Reader's Digest condensed version. ha). It really was one of the most influential things that I read as a child, for several reasons. I've appreciated her writings since then. I'm glad to post this Whispersync deal for one of her other novels about China.

Title: Dragon Seed: The Story of China at War (Oriental Novels of Pearl S. Buck).
Genre: Fiction (Historical).
Author: Pearl S. Buck.
Price: $5.98 ($1.99 ebook (marked down) + $3.99 Whispersync audio).
Regular Price of Audio, by Itself, at Audible: $23.95.
Ebook Rating/Number of Reviews: 4.5 stars/48 reviews (Amazon).
Audio Rating/Number of Ratings: 4.5/29 ratings.
Pages/Audio Length: 384/14 hours and 5 minutes.
Narrator: Adam Verner.
Audible URL: http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Dr...8755103&sr=1-1.
Amazon URL (can get the whole Whispersync deal here): http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Seed-St...f+China+at+War.
Comments:
Book Description (Publisher, via Audible): To the Chinese the dragon is not an evil creature, but is a god and the friend of men who worship him. He "holds in his power prosperity and peace." Ruling the waters and the winds, he sends the good rain, is hence the symbol of fecundity. In the Hsia dynasty two dragons fought a great duel until both disappeared, leaving only a fertile foam from which were born the descendants of the Hsia. Thus, the dragons came to be looked upon as the ancestors of a race of heroes. This is the story of China at War.

[badgoodDeb]

Huh. Since I've never read Pearl S Buck (and ought to remedy that deficiency) I went to look at the book itself. It comes up as $7.99 for me. Higher than your original price, not lower! Oh well. Thanks for getting me thinking about her works, anyway.
[edit: looked them up on Wikepedia. Don't think I'll bother reading them. Life is too short.]

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Huh. Since I've never read Pearl S Buck (and ought to remedy that deficiency) I went to look at the book itself. It comes up as $7.99 for me. Higher than your original price, not lower! Oh well. Thanks for getting me thinking about her works, anyway.
[edit: looked them up on Wikepedia. Don't think I'll bother reading them. Life is too short.]

Arrgghh! I hate it when that happens! And I think that this happened to you on another book that I posted, about a week ago . . . .

I think that it was then that I mentioned to you/everyone that I was going to try some things to try to mitigate that situation. I'm working on it. Please bear with me.

[badgoodDeb]

No sweat! [I don't think I would like Pearl S Buck anyway. I've just heard my mother mention it a lot. ]

[tubemonkey]

The final week of SYNC begins today. See here for details.

[wawasteele]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The final week of SYNC begins today. p=3146513&postcount=40"]here[/URL] for details.

It's wonderful that SYNC gives out so many audiobooks, but it's so sad when it's over for the year.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by wawasteele

It's wonderful that SYNC gives out so many audiobooks, but it's so sad when it's over for the year.

There, there. It will be alright. There will be other free audiobooks from somewhere else posted before long.

[skinmaan]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

There, there. It will be alright. There will be other free audiobooks from somewhere else posted before long.

That almost sounded like a cue. LearnOutLoud has updated their free audiobook for the month. This month it is "The Will to Believe" by William James.

Psychologist William James now stands as one of the true intellectual titans to come out of late 19th century America. With "The Will to Believe", first published in 1896, he argues that it is defendable to adopt a certain belief without prior evidence of its truth. Taking religious belief as his primary example, James claims that even scientific inquiry is oftentimes undertaken with a belief that a given experiment will bear out a hypothesis. In this way, he goes on to argue that human beings have an innate religious intuition which has led to a belief in God even before the truth of God's existence can be proven. With a deeply probing mind, James illustrates with this lecture why he was one of the leading lights in an era that was just coming to grips with the scientific breakthroughs that would flourish in the 20th century.

The free audiobook of the month is, well, free for the rest of the month (and even a day or two after, as they can be a little slow in updating). Until then, you can get it here.

Enjoy!
skinmaan
Your audiobook bloodhound

PS - The end of Sync is my regular time to take stock of my back reading/listening. Only 2,000+ hours to go! Maybe I should be glad for fewer freebies.

[wawasteele]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

There, there. It will be alright. There will be other free audiobooks from somewhere else posted before long.

Thank you GtrsRG8 for the shoulder to cry on!

Originally Posted by skinmaan

That almost sounded like a cue. LearnOutLoud has updated their free audiobook for the month. This month it is "The Will to Believe" by William James.

And as soon as GtrsRG8 says that, skinmaan comes to the rescue!

[GtrsRGr8]

Title: An Unforgivable Secret (Amish Secrets - Book 1).
Genre: Fiction (Religious).
Author: J.E.B. Spredemann.
Price: $1.99 ($0.00 ebook (marked down) + $1.99 Whispersync audio).
Regular Price of Audio, by Itself, at Audible: $17.95.
Ebook Rating/Number of Reviews: 4.5 stars/775 reviews (Amazon).
Audio Rating/Number of Ratings: 4.1/43 ratings.
Pages/Audio Length: 268/5 hours and 31 minutes.
Narrator: Lisa Larsen.
Audible URL: http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/An...8910838&sr=1-1.
Amazon URL (can get the whole Whispersync deal here): http://www.amazon.com/Unforgivable-S...ts+-+Book+1%29.
Comments:
Book Description (Amazon): Hannah has a good life. A beautiful home, a loving husband, and a wonderful Amish community are only a few of her daily blessings. But she has carried a heavy burden for years: a secret that no one must know. When tragedy strikes, her secret threatens to be revealed, jeopardizing everything she’s ever loved. Will Hannah be able to face her greatest fear and find God's purpose for her life?

[GtrsRGr8]

Title: Hunter/Prey (A Revenge Thriller).
Genre: Fiction (Thriller).
Author: Sam Sisavath.
Price: $2.98 ($0.99 ebook (marked down) + $1.99 Whispersync audio).
Regular Price of Audio, by Itself, at Audible: $14.95.
Ebook Rating/Number of Reviews: 4.6 stars/127 reviews (Amazon).
Audio Rating/Number of Ratings: 4.40/7 ratings.
Pages/Audio Length: 192/4 hours and 34 minutes.
Narrator: Joshua Reiniger.
Audible URL: http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Hu...8911904&sr=1-1.
Amazon URL (can get the whole Whispersync deal here): http://www.amazon.com/Hunter-Prey-Re...ge+Thriller%29.
Comments:
Book Description (Amazon): She has been planning this for ten years. She’s thought of everything and trained for this one single night. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

He’s a serial killer who has eluded the police for the last ten years. When his latest victim turns out to not be who she appears, the hunter will discover what it’s like to be the prey.

When these two very determined foes clash, there will be blood. One way or another, only one of them is coming out of this alive…