Current Audiobook Specials

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by skinmaan

Welcome to another week of waiting until Sync begins and we all drown in free audiobooks. In the meantime, I'll try and keep you all entertained with some different freebie opportunities (some better than others) that I've sniffed out. This week (a day early because I'll be driving all day tomorrow) is a new set of audiobooks from our friends over at Random House audio. Visit TryAudiobooks.com for a brand-new set of titles for your listening pleasure. Included in the new batch are:

• "Jack Reacher's Rules" by Lee Child

• "Lost and Found in Cedar Cove" by Debbie Macomber

• "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll

• "Griftopia" by Matt Taibbi

• "The Darwin Elevator" by Jason M. Hough

• "Garlic and Sapphires" by Ruth Reichi

Thanks - new titles added to OP

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by skinmaan

Greetings, and I hope you all got your Easter surprise from Audible. Here we are at another Monday, another week past until Sync begins and we all drown in audiobooks. In the meantime, I'll try and pass along a few appetizers until the main course arrives.

Graphic Audio has a couple of new freebies. "Originally Human" and "This Cleansing Fire" are still available. In addition, they now have "Peacer: Unmasked" by Dave Swavely. This is sort of near-future crime thriller. Finally, "Great American Westerns: The Last Ride" by Robert E. Howard is also free; the title is pretty self-explanatory.

From Audible, we have a new 1st episode of a serialized story. This one is called "Yesterday's Gone" by Sean Platt and David Wright. It bills itself as a "Post-Apocalyptic Serial Thriller" so if you're into that sort of thing you might pick it up and see if the rest of the series is for you.

Thanks - new titles added to OP


Note: GraphicAudio has an app for your mobile devices. It's available in the appstores for Amazon, Apple, and Google. I had no problem getting it from Apple and Google, but encountered geographical restrictions when attempting to get it from Amazon. YMMV

Edit: please use this link for Originally Human - the original link (above) gets a 404 message.
.

[tubemonkey]

Amazon recently removed four audiobooks from their list of free Whispersync pairs. These audiobooks will now cost $0.99 each. The matching ebooks remain free. For a listing of former free Whispersync pairs, see this post.

Currently, there is only one free title on the list - Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp - April's free audiobook of the month.

Lair of the White Worm remains free for the pair (this title was never on the list).

Titles removed from free list

• A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce
• Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
• Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
• Moll Flanders - Daniel Defoe

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by MobileJanie

Downpour's deal of the week is Winter's Tale, at $4.95.

I didn't read this when I borrowed it from my local library a month or two ago, because the print was so tiny, so this is a real deal for me.

Hope it's useful for someone else as well.

http://www.downpour.com/downpour-dea...al+of+the+Week

Thanks - added to OP

[tubemonkey]

Additional Sales at Downpour


$5.95 - The Memory of Earth -- Orson Scott Card

High above the planet Harmony, the Oversoul watches. Its task, programmed so many millennia ago, is to guard the human settlement on this planet, to protect this fragile remnant of Earth from all threats. To protect them, most of all, from themselves.

The Oversoul has done its job well. There is no war on Harmony. There are no weapons of mass destruction. There is no technology that could lead to weapons of war. By control of the data banks, and subtle interference in the very thoughts of the people, the artificial intelligence has fulfilled its mission.

But now there is a problem. In orbit, the Oversoul realizes that it has lost access to some of its memory banks, and some of its power systems are failing. And on the planet, men are beginning to think about power, wealth, and conquest.

edit: this title is also available as a Whispersync pair. The Kindle ebook is $7.69 and the matching Audible audiobook is $3.49 once you own the ebook. Borrowing the Kindle version from a public library qualifies as ownership in the eyes of Amazon and will allow you to purchase the audiobook from Audible at reduced pricing.


$4.95 - Shakespeare Sale (37 titles)

These are full-cast dramatized versions and as such, are abridged works.


$3.95 - LA Theatre Works (8 titles)

Again, full-cast dramatized versions and abridged.

Also, Google Play has 124 titles from this theatre group in the form of individual apps for $0.99 each. See this post for details. I have no idea if these apps are identical to the audiobook versions being offered by Downpour.

[tubemonkey]

General Reminder - Audiobook Pricing

Before purchasing audiobooks from other vendors, first check to see if it's available as a Whispersync pair from Amazon. Frequently, the Whispersync version is cheaper; as in the above title - The Memory of Earth ($2.50 cheaper).

The one caveat here is that you must first own the Kindle ebook to qualify for reduced audiobook pricing. That's frequently solved by borrowing the Kindle ebook from the library. See the following post for more details:

• How to Borrow Kindle Books to Qualify for Reduced Whispersync Pricing

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

General Reminder - Audiobook Pricing

Before purchasing audiobooks from other vendors, first check to see if it's available as a Whispersync pair from Amazon. Frequently, the Whispersync version is cheaper; as in the above title - The Memory of Earth ($2.50 cheaper).

The one caveat here is that you must first own the Kindle ebook to qualify for reduced audiobook pricing. That's frequently solved by borrowing the Kindle ebook from the library. See the following post for more details:

• How to Borrow Kindle Books to Qualify for Reduced Whispersync Pricing

To be completely clear, tubemonkey, borrowing books from your Public Library via Amazon is a US-only option. It is not available in Canada or other Overdrive locations, such as Singapore.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by CRussel

To be completely clear, tubemonkey, borrowing books from your Public Library via Amazon is a US-only option. It is not available in Canada or other Overdrive locations, such as Singapore.

Thank you - I'll add that restriction to that post.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Thank you - I'll add that restriction to that post.

Thanks. Though I might have phrased it "US Libraries only". I'm a US Amazon customer, but I have a Canadian Public Library. And it doesn't work here, since there is no agreement in place for Canadian public libraries to lend Overdrive books through Amazon. Now if I could come up with a US Public Library to use...

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Thanks. Though I might have phrased it "US Libraries only". I'm a US Amazon customer, but I have a Canadian Public Library. And it doesn't work here, since there is no agreement in place for Canadian public libraries to lend Overdrive books through Amazon. Now if I could come up with a US Public Library to use...

Changed again

Have you checked into these libraries? Not sure if they allow international customers.

• Brooklyn (NY) Public Library -- $50/year
• Free Library of Philadelphia (PA) -- $50/year
  
• Orange County (FL) Library -- $125/year

[CRussel]

I know of all three of those libraries, but I'm frankly not able to pay $50/year for them. Especially given that they have fairly lengthy wait lists on most books. As for being International, that's not an issue. I can easily fake being a US resident, just not a US resident where I can get a useful library card. (Carson City has maybe 1500 books? Hardly worth the bother. And King County, Washington has a great library, but wants very real proof of physical residence. My mailbox there does not count.)

Sadly, the mess with the Big 5 has greatly hurt the number of quality books in the BC Library system. We used to get a good selection, but now they're going downhill.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by CRussel

As for being International, that's not an issue. I can easily fake being a US resident, just not a US resident where I can get a useful library card. (Carson City has maybe 1500 books? Hardly worth the bother. And King County, Washington has a great library, but wants very real proof of physical residence. My mailbox there does not count.)

I believe all libraries in Washington require you to be a Washington resident to get a non-resident card. I agree about King County. It's one of the libraries I use most, along with Pierce County, Seattle, and Timberland.

[CRussel]

Yes. However, I may have a solution by the end of the year. My best friend is retiring and moving to a house they bought near SeaTac. I expect we'll work something out.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Yes. However, I may have a solution by the end of the year. My best friend is retiring and moving to a house they bought near SeaTac. I expect we'll work something out.

With a King County library card, your friend will be able to get free reciprocal cards from 13 additional library systems. Four of these libraries (Seattle, King County, Sno-Isle, Pierce County) have some of the largest OverDrive collections in the country.

[tubemonkey]

For those interested, I updated the list of top audiobook libraries. Several libraries shifted two to three positions. No new libraries were added to the list.

• Top Public Libraries based on OverDrive Audiobook Collections