FREE/BARGAIN — Audiobooks

[ApK]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Sorry. The first quote in #3389 was accidental.

Are you aware you can edit your posts?

[skinmaan]

Originally Posted by skinmaan

Audible - free month. Works for returning members - even recent cancels.

https://www.audible.com/subscription...IW10A&serial=&

Enjoy!
skinmaan
Your audiobook bloodhound

Reminder: If you took advantage of this about the time I pointed it out your month is almost up. If Yoda was offering you advice, he might say "decide if you wish to cancel, you must."

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by ApK

Are you aware you can edit your posts?

Yes, of course. There was a reason that I didn't do it, but I've forgotten now what it was. I do know that it is easier to make a post asking folks to ignore the quote, than it is to go through the editing process. But, again, I don't remember whether or not that that was the reason.

My message was just one word--"thanks." Thinking about it now, it would hard to justify spending 15 minutes editing (remember: I'm a rank novice when it comes to computers), for a one word message, when a simple message basically just saying "excuse me," immediately following the faulty message, would accomplish the same thing.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Yes, of course. There was a reason that I didn't do it, but I've forgotten now what it was. I do know that it is easier to make a post asking folks to ignore the quote, than it is to go through the editing process. But, again, I don't remember whether or not that that was the reason.

My message was just one word--"thanks." Thinking about it now, it would hard to justify spending 15 minutes editing (remember: I'm a rank novice when it comes to computers), for a one word message, when a simple message basically just saying "excuse me," immediately following the faulty message, would accomplish the same thing.

No, it takes the same amount of time, more like 15 seconds than 15 minutes.

[tubemonkey]

Audible UK -- Daily Deal -- exp 18 Jun

• £2.99 -- Alexander Hamilton -- Ron Chernow --> NF biography

[Froide]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Sorry. The first quote in #3389 was accidental.

Originally Posted by ApK

Are you aware you can edit your posts?

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Yes, of course. There was a reason that I didn't do it, but I've forgotten now what it was. I do know that it is easier to make a post asking folks to ignore the quote, than it is to go through the editing process. But, again, I don't remember whether or not that that was the reason.

My message was just one word--"thanks." Thinking about it now, it would hard to justify spending 15 minutes editing (remember: I'm a rank novice when it comes to computers), for a one word message, when a simple message basically just saying "excuse me," immediately following the faulty message, would accomplish the same thing.

Originally Posted by Catlady

No, it takes the same amount of time, more like 15 seconds than 15 minutes.

Ditto what Catlady wrote, and more importantly, consider the audience. Editing the post (rather than posting an apology referencing it) would have both improved clarity and better respected forum readers' time.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Catlady

No, it takes the same amount of time, more like 15 seconds than 15 minutes.

It may take you 15 seconds, but it's obvious that you are very comfortable with posting, etc. on MobileRead, and just computer things in general. It would take me a lot longer to do it. I'm inclined to try it (without posting it, now) just to see just how long it does take me.

And I would try when it wasn't 6:33 in the morning, like it is now. ha

[GtrsRGr8]

Tubemonkey will do his usual, fine job of posting today's daily deals. I'd like to make a plug for one of the audiobooks (actually, it probably is better to consider it a set of audiobooks), however, if you will indulge me.

Today's deal is The Great Courses' The Addictive Brain.

I'd like to make a point concerning the quality of the course. These The Great Courses courses are exceptional. I've bought, literally, probably around a hundred since I first started buying them years ago. There is only one that I was disappointed with, and that might be because of my expectations more than a quality issue. All of the courses are rated by listeners, and the one featured today has outstanding ratings.

My second point concerns price. When Audible has a sale on a The Great Courses title, the price on it will be the best that you will ever see for that course. A relatively distant second will be that course if it is found in the "employees pricing" sales that The Great Courses themselves have occasionally.

Today's course is only $2.95. That's for nearly 6 1/2 hours of audio. I have a rule of thumb that if I can get a The Great Courses course for $1 or less per hour of listening, it's a good deal. Of course, this one is far less than $1 per hour--that's not a good deal, it's an outstanding deal.

A third point concerns the date that the course was released and/or published. Information about, for example, Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo doesn't change very much from year to year. But there are fields of study that immediately come to my mind as being those in which new developments occur at a very rapid pace--those fields are physics and neurology. This course is, of course, one that deals with neurology. This course was released/published March 2015--only about 3 years ago--if I remember correctly. The information in it is bound to be nearly cutting-edge. I haven't listened to all of the The Great Courses courses that I have--I try to put audios of subjects in which information changes fast, like this one, at the beginning of my queue of audiobooks to listen to.

Then, there's the practical side. All of us have friends and/or family who are addicted to something. One out of ten people in the United States, for example, are addicted to alcohol, alone. I'm sure that this course will give us information that is actionable--that we can use to help understand us why that friend or relative has the addiction, and how we can be of the most help to them, if not in conquering it, at least in understanding better, ourselves, why they have it. Or, why we have that addiction that we may have, and what we can do about it.

The titles of the lectures (from The Great Courses' webpage for the course):
1. Addiction 101.
2. The Psychology and Neuroscience of Reward.
3. How Addiction Hijacks the Brain
4. Genetics: Born to Be an Addict?
5. Your Brain on Drugs.
6. We Crave Coffee and Cigarettes.
7. Alcohol: Social Lubricant or Drug Abuse?
8. The Science of Marijuana.
9. Stimulants: from Cocaine to Ritalin.
10. The Science of Poppies, Pleasure, and Pain.
11. The Gambler's Brain.
12. Junk Food, Porn, Video Games: Addictions?

Thanks for listening to my pitch.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

(remember: I'm a rank novice when it comes to computers)

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

It may take you 15 seconds, but it's obvious that you are very comfortable with posting, etc. on MobileRead

Perhaps, with your more than 6,200 posts here, it's time you come up with a different excuse.

Back on topic, I think I'll check out that Great Courses deal. I honestly wasn't thrilled with the last TGC thing I listened to (also, coincidentally, on matters of grey matter) but I'll give them another shot.

[soondai]

Yeah, the Great Courses can be hit or miss, but are sure hard to beat for bang-for-the buck. Some of them run 36 hours for one credit.

They've recently been cropping up in a lot of services available in libraries. Overdrive, RB digital, Hoopla, and Kanopy all carry a selection in either audio or video formats.

Dunno what the future hold for the company. Seems pretty tough to make it against all the free podcasts and moocs, but I hope they can find a way to stick around. Their streaming service seems pretty desperate for customers. It started out pretty expensive, but can now be had for 10 bucks a month if you but in 3 month blocks. Their emails smack a bit of desperation, reminding me of some of the magazine offers I get in the mail.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by soondai

Yeah, the Great Courses can be hit or miss, but are sure hard to beat for bang-for-the buck. Some of them run 36 hours for one credit.

They've recently been cropping up in a lot of services available in libraries. Overdrive, RB digital, Hoopla, and Kanopy all carry a selection in either audio or video formats.

Dunno what the future hold for the company. Seems pretty tough to make it against all the free podcasts and moocs, but I hope they can find a way to stick around. Their streaming service seems pretty desperate for customers. It started out pretty expensive, but can now be had for 10 bucks a month if you but in 3 month blocks. Their emails smack a bit of desperation, reminding me of some of the magazine offers I get in the mail.

I love the IDEA of the Great Courses, a reasonably thorough exploration of an interesting topic from folks with vetted credentials, not just some anonymous blogger.
But some of them are as boring to sit through as the worst of my college lectures, and I've caught a mistake or two that has shaken my trust.

I think I found a picture of their VP of Sales, attached.

[tubemonkey]

Daily Deals -- exp 18 Jun

• Audible -----> $2.95 -- The Addictive Brain -- Thad A Polk --> NF psychology
  
• Downpour --> $3.95 -- The Memory Box -- Eva Lesko Natiello --> thriller
  
• eStories ----> $4.99 -- Present Over Perfect -- Shauna Niequist, et al --> NF religion

[tubemonkey]

Audible UK -- Daily Deal -- exp 19 Jun

• £2.99 -- Good Friday (book 3) -- Lynda La Plante --> detective

[tubemonkey]

Downpour -- Rental of the Week -- exp unknown

• $1.99 -- Bottom Feeders -- John Shepphird/ Bronson Pinchot --> 6.5 hrs --> mystery

A page-turning whodunit set in the wilds of a remote movie ranch, Bottom Feeders describes the hapless Hollywood cast and crew that eke out a living working on low-budget fare.

Their ambitious TV movie needs to be made fast and cheap, but a brutal murder grinds production to a halt. An approaching forest fire forces everyone to evacuate. In the confusion not everyone gets out. Eddie is the alcoholic director, Sheila the vulnerable camera assistant, Tom the self-centered actor, and Sondra the spurned sheriff’s deputy. Who will survive?

Death comes sudden and silent. The camouflaged killer’s weapon-of-choice is a high-tech hunting bow capable of firing razor-sharp arrows four hundred feet per second. The mysterious assassin has an agenda. Those left behind must find out what it is and who is behind this bloody slaughter in the fight for their lives.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Downpour -- Rental of the Week -- exp unknown

Finally, a new title. For some reason, Downpour thinks a week is 18 days long