Audio books

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by dordale

I was a long time Audible subscriber...from the time when they were offering the Rio 500's for $50 when you signed up for an account. My first book purchase was May 2001. I love the service...and I was "grandfathered" in on one of their original super-good deals. I was able to download two books a month for $14.

I finally cancelled my account in January of this year--Since I've been getting books from the library, my Audible library had steadily been increasing with books I haven't listened to yet. I still have many hours of Audible books that I haven't listened to yet, but am slowly whittling it down. I don't know if I'll ever join again, because although they have good deals now I'm able to download a lot of the books I like to listen to from my local libraries.

dordale

We must have joined around the same time because I'm on that same "legacy" plan (got my Rio 500 for free). I have around 200 books (my book parts are in the 500's). Very few of them have I given up on and not listened to. Right now I'm re-listening to Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series in order (I hadn't listened to them in order before).

I'm another who is in traffic a lot and listen to books to keep me sane. I'll be an Audible member as long as I'm able to stay a legacy member.

[BearMountainBooks]

My favorite audio book: Donald Westlake "Put a Lid on It" FABULOUS book. (William Dufris–excellent narrator.)

Here's another one that was pretty good--shorter pieces/funny/some R rated.
Who’s Your Caddy?: Rick Reilly (Grover Gardner narrator). Warning: Some adult content in a few segments.

To stay on topic, I get most of my audio books at the library.

[dordale]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

We must have joined around the same time because I'm on that same "legacy" plan (got my Rio 500 for free). I have around 200 books (my book parts are in the 500's). Very few of them have I given up on and not listened to. Right now I'm re-listening to Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series in order (I hadn't listened to them in order before).

I'm another who is in traffic a lot and listen to books to keep me sane. I'll be an Audible member as long as I'm able to stay a legacy member.

Yup...I was very sad to give up my legacy account, but at that point my husband was "between jobs" so every penny counted. It was really hard decision to make...and I remember looking forward to the 4th of every month with such anticipation--that was the date my two new books would become available.

But with the amount of audiobooks available from the library and all hours I've got left of my audible downloads, I couldn't justify even the $14/month.

I listen a lot on my commute to and from work--also listen a lot at home when I'm working on the house.

dordale

[Elsi]

Originally Posted by AJ Starr

Just out of curiosity, how much is "too much" when you are buying an audio book.

Most of the books I buy I'm willing to spend up to $19.99. I might, if I want it really bad, go to $22.99. Unfortunately, there is one series I want but they have not converted to MP3, and the standard CD's sets are $39.99.

What are your thresholds?

I'll pay retail for unabridged audio, even when that's sometimes as much as $45 -- if it's a book I really want to hear. Most of the audio books I buy are commercial audio CDs, so after I've read the book, I donate them to my local library. I then declare it on my income tax. My theory is that I was the first to "borrow" it from my library -- they just didn't know they owned it at the time.

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

My favorite audio book: Donald Westlake "Put a Lid on It" FABULOUS book. (William Dufris–excellent narrator.) ... To stay on topic, I get most of my audio books at the library.

I discovered that there are some series where I "read" the first book on audio and then could not be happy with reading the sequel in text. There's something about the reader's voice that gets associated with the story and it's just mandatory that I buy the next one in audio.

[rjfarrell]

I am laughing as I think about this now.....

A few years ago, I received a letter from whoever was the owner of Audible at the time. They said my account was so outdated, I was receiving an unfair price, and didnt I think I should give up the contracted amount of 12.95 per month since everyone else was now paying more??

I remember thinking...why didnt they just send a letter saying the prices were being increased? I certainly never recalled them saying my price was valid for life. It was pretty funny. Actually tried to shame me into voluntarily signing up to pay more. And I did. Because I think the service is absolutely worth it.

Just funny the way they asked.

[dordale]

Originally Posted by rjfarrell

I am laughing as I think about this now.....

A few years ago, I received a letter from whoever was the owner of Audible at the time. They said my account was so outdated, I was receiving an unfair price, and didnt I think I should give up the contracted amount of 12.95 per month since everyone else was now paying more??

I remember thinking...why didnt they just send a letter saying the prices were being increased? I certainly never recalled them saying my price was valid for life. It was pretty funny. Actually tried to shame me into voluntarily signing up to pay more. And I did. Because I think the service is absolutely worth it.

Just funny the way they asked.

I remember getting the same letter...and thought the same thing. I figured that sooner or later, they'd raise the prices but they never did, except for once they increased my rate from $13 to $14 a month. I did feel a little guilty, because I was getting such a good deal, but I never did change my membership until I cancelled it this last January. I really did assume that they'd raise the prices on the older memberships once they were bought out by Amazon. But that never happened either, unless they did it in the last seven months.

I wonder how many folks (if any) they still have on the old memberships. I think at one time they even had a membership where you could download something like five books a month for $35.

dordale

[bbusybookworm]

I love audio books, but have steered clear of Audible mainly due to the DRM and location restrictions.

I usually get my audio books in CD or MP3 CD format, when ever I can find a good deal. While I do get them occasionally from the library, my books of choice are not popular fiction so the selection tends to be pretty limited there.

I've in the past often haunted Used Book and CD stores and gotten great deals, often on books I would never have bought otherwise.

[justmeagain]

I just found Simply Audiobooks. It works like Netflix only with audiobooks. You just choose your monthly plan, keep them as long as you want them send them back, free shipping both ways.

https://www.simplyaudiobooks.com/pro...Id=101&redir=1

[DrBen]

Download a FREE Agatha Christie story on audio! THE CASE OF THE MISSING WILL, read by David Suchet.

http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/free_digital.html

Offer available September 10-20, 2009, courtesy of BBC Audiobooks America and Audible.com, available to U.S. customers only.

[BearMountainBooks]

I tend to interlibrary loan audio books because they are so expensive and most libraries have such a limited selection. I only listen to audio two or three times a year (roadtrips) so that generally works for me if I plan ahead.

[Sparrow]

I don't use iTunes, but Iain Banks was just on the radio saying they're podcasting his new novel 'Transition' for free.

[koland]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

I don't use iTunes, but Iain Banks was just on the radio saying they're podcasting his new novel 'Transition' for free.

UK only.

Edit to add: US was announced, but seems not available. Only the full audiobook in our stores. Here is the link for those with a UK account:


http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/M...329295577&uo=4

[BearMountainBooks]

I would have picked that up since I've been wanting to try Banks. But...not in the UK so I'll have to find my opportunity elsewhere. I think my library has some of his books. He's pretty big name, so I expect so.