Audio books - info?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by CRussel

However, in the long run, you might find a membership to Audible.com worth the $$. And those play on your Kindle, by the way, as well as the iPhone. They are yet another annoying DRM version, but at least the Audible customer service is actually quite good and helpful if you have issues.

Audible will also play on the Sansas.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

Will these be library book downloads ... ones you've ripped from discs ... Audible books?

Library books...see the first post....

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by ApK

Audible is nice if you do indeed want to build a personal audio-book library of books you'll re-play often, but for listening once, it's hard to beat the 'free' of the library.


Emusic.com also sells a decent selection of MP3 audiobooks.

ApK

Free is always good, but I like the ability to control the selection and the availability. And I'm constantly reading new books via Audible, though I admit not as heavily as when I was driving an hour (one way) to work every day. Now my commute is 15 feet or so. But I still listen to audible books when I swim, and when I knit. Never managed to learn to knit and read at the same time.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by CRussel

But I still listen to audible books when I swim and when I knit. Never managed to learn to knit and read at the same time.

I'm impressed you can swim and knit at the same time!
People might pay to see that.

[SeaBookGuy]

Originally Posted by ApK

Library books...see the first post....

Well then, now's the time for me to mention that with the Sansa Clip+ there's one "glitch" to overcome. The book will resume at the same point upon powering on; however, the ability to leave a file (book) and return to the same point after listening to something else needs to be "activated" first.

After a library book is downloaded, the tagging should be changed from history, fiction, etc. to "audiobook" (or podcast for those). In Windows OS, library books are stored under "documents" --> My Media and then either mp3 or WMA. Alternatively, the tagging can be changed on the Windows Media Player copy before transferring the book that way.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by ApK

I'm impressed you can swim and knit at the same time!
People might pay to see that.

What a soggy mess! And please pardon the missing comma.

I recommend "Eats, Shoots & Leaves". Unfortunately, however, the eBook version is seriously overpriced compared to paper. Still, a worthwhile book for all.

[PG4003]

Thank you so much to everybody who has contributed, in some ways I feel totally overwhelmed, but I think I've reached a decision. I've done some reading on some of the Apple discussion boards and they all say you can't play WMA files unless you convert them. The more complicated this gets, the more it turns me off. So I think my easiest 2 options are: I can buy a Sansa player and then I can get the WMA books from the library at no cost to me except the cost of the Stansa. ApK, Thanks for the Amazon link, I had already looked at those because I have some gift card balance on Amazon, they are $35.99 plus shipping unless I choose the Super Saver Shipping. So my cost there is about $40.
OR I can join Audible.com and have a very good selection of audio books which can be downloaded on my Kindle or on my iPhone. Joining Audible costs $7.95 for the first 3 months, ($24) and then $14.95 after that. So after 4 months of Audible membership I'll have about the same amount of money invested as I would if I bought the Sansa.

What do you guys see as the best alternative? I know, in the end it's something I have to decide, but what do you think looks more attractive?

Also wanted to mention, I did download an MP3 book on my Kindle one time and didn't finish listening to it (it was from the library), because I don't know what I was doing wrong but every time I paused it for any length of time, when I came back it had gone all the way back to the beginning. So I gave up. Guess I need to read my instructions on using the Kindle for MP3 files, huh?

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by PG4003

What do you guys see as the best alternative? I know, in the end it's something I have to decide, but what do you think looks more attractive?

My answer would be, it depends. I'm a huge audiobook consumer as I listen to them at work all day (and often in the car to and from work as well). I use both the public library and Audible.

If you will be listening a lot then it will depend on if your library has a lot of books you'd like to listen to and what their hold times are like. Sometimes I have no problem finding a book from the library and other times I've had to wait months because of hold times. If you will be doing a lot of listening Audible might be a way to go. I have the two credit plan and usually don't have to hard of a time "spending" my credits as they have a huge selection although now that I've been 'collecting' audiobooks for many years I sometimes don't use my credits that quickly because I like to re-listen to certain books sometimes.


As far as converting WMA books it's really quite simple (as long as you're using Windows). You simply download using Overdrive Media Console and when the books downloaded attach your iThing, select the book and click transfer. The software will do the actual conversion and place it on your device.

[SeaBookGuy]

Originally Posted by PG4003

Also wanted to mention, I did download an MP3 book on my Kindle one time and didn't finish listening to it (it was from the library), because I don't know what I was doing wrong but every time I paused it for any length of time, when I came back it had gone all the way back to the beginning. So I gave up. Guess I need to read my instructions on using the Kindle for MP3 files, huh?

It's my understanding that while, yes, the Kindle will play mp3 files, it really isn't set up for more than a few short music tracks here and there.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by PG4003

OR I can join Audible.com and have a very good selection of audio books which can be downloaded on my Kindle or on my iPhone. Joining Audible costs $7.95 for the first 3 months, ($24) and then $14.95 after that. So after 4 months of Audible membership I'll have about the same amount of money invested as I would if I bought the Sansa.

Here's a better Audible offer. This one gives you two free books on a 30-day trial.

Audible.com Free Trial Membership Details

*Get your first 30 days of the AudibleListener® Gold membership plan free, which includes one free credit, plus a one-time free bonus credit. In almost all cases, one credit equals one audiobook. If you do not cancel your membership before your free trial period is over, your membership will automatically renew each month for just $14.95, billed to the credit card you used when you registered with Audible.

[PG4003]

Thank you, Tube Monkey, that looks like a good deal!

[ApK]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

It's my understanding that while, yes, the Kindle will play mp3 files, it really isn't set up for more than a few short music tracks here and there.

Kindle is designed for Audio books separately from mp3 music.

It can play Audible audiobooks, and if you put MP3 audiobooks in the same folder it will play them with the same player, though without bookmarking.
It's not great for Mp3 books, but quite usable, and better than the music mp3 player.

[ApK]

If the $40 is not a huge deal, it can't hurt to get the Sansa anyway. It's very convenient. Then if you try Audible, you can play the books on the Sansa AND the Kindle AND the iPhone and see what you like best.
At worst, you'll know you have a spare player that can handle any audiobook in the library.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by PG4003

What do you guys see as the best alternative? I know, in the end it's something I have to decide, but what do you think looks more attractive?

So far, I haven't joined Audible; though I'm considering it. Right now, my needs are met with free library and public domain audiobooks.

Keep in mind that the Sansa will also play Audible audiobooks. As to library audiobooks, the Sansas download them easily without any conversion. In fact, there are quite a few MP3 players that will do this. Do you have an MP3 player of some sort kicking around?

Big advantage goes to free library books. You really do want this option. Audible can always be added on top of it later on.

Sleep on this for a day or two and then try downloading an audiobook to your iPhone again. We're here to help you. I download audiobooks to my iPod frequently and it's rather easy once you get things set up initially.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I also listen to audiobooks on my iPod touch, but only do so at home. I rarely carry this device because it's too big. I have speaker docks scattered about the house and all I have to do is move the touch to the next room and dock it when I'm doing chores and such.

For $35 you can buy a pair of bluetooth headphones (with about a 30' range) - look for the motorola s305 on Amazon. They are fantastic for audiobooks and chores...and for the many other situations where you don't want to deal with the headphone cords.