FREE/BARGAIN - Audiobooks - 2016

[tubemonkey]

Downpour -- Weekly Deals -- subject to withdrawal without warning

• $4.95 -- Lion in the White House -- Aida Donald/ P Ward -- 8.1 hrs --> biography
• $3.95 -- Mark Twain’s Helpful Hints... -- multiple/ G Gardner -- 4.4 hrs --> etiquette
• $4.95 -- Mystic Arts of Erasing All... -- Charlie Huston/ P Garcia -- 9.8 hrs --> suspense
• $5.95 -- The Journey of Crazy Horse -- JM Marshall III/ author -- 10.9 hrs --> history
• $4.95 -- Orson Welles’s Last Movie -- Josh Karp/ K Szarabajka -- 8.4 hrs --> film making
• $4.99 -- The Fish that Ate the Whale -- Rich Cohen/ R Dean -- 9.0 hrs --> biography
• $5.95 -- The Year of Magical Thinking -- Joan Didion/ B Caruso -- 5.2 hrs --> memoir

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[GtrsRGr8]

I dislike posting Whispersync deals this expensive ($6.48), but that price is still over $17 less than the audiobook alone is at Audible (73% less).

There have been so many interesting stories to come out of World War II. It's sad that they came at the cost of the worst war in the history of the world.

The ebook is currently the #1 seller in two Kindle Store categories.

Title: Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure.
Genre: Non-Fiction (France/Alcoholic Beverages).
Author(s): Donald Kladstrup; Petie Kladstrup.
Price: $6.48 ($1.99 ebook (marked down) + $4.49 Whispersync audio).
Regular Price of Audio, by Itself, at Audible: $23.95.
Ebook Rating/Number of Reviews: 4.4 stars/241 reviews (Amazon).
Audio Rating/Number of Ratings: 4.0/99 ratings.
Pages/Audio Length: 304/9 hours and 22 minutes.
Narrator(s): Todd McLaren.
Audible URL: http://www.audible.com/pd/History/Wi...ok/B007OXC1US/.
Amazon URL (can get the whole Whispersync deal here): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC1L0Q.
Comments:
Book Description (Amazon):

The remarkable untold story of France’s courageous, clever vinters who protected and rescued the country’s most treasured commodity from German plunder during World War II.

"To be a Frenchman means to fight for your country and its wine."
–Claude Terrail, owner, Restaurant La Tour d’Argent

In 1940, France fell to the Nazis and almost immediately the German army began a campaign of pillaging one of the assets the French hold most dear: their wine. Like others in the French Resistance, winemakers mobilized to oppose their occupiers, but the tale of their extraordinary efforts has remained largely unknown–until now. This is the thrilling and harrowing story of the French wine producers who undertook ingenious, daring measures to save their cherished crops and bottles as the Germans closed in on them. Wine and War illuminates a compelling, little-known chapter of history, and stands as a tribute to extraordinary individuals who waged a battle that, in a very real way, saved the spirit of France.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

I dislike posting Whispersync deals this expensive ($6.48), but that price is still over $17 less than the audiobook alone is at Audible (73% less).

Thanks - added to Misc Whispersync Deals list

[issybird]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

I dislike posting Whispersync deals this expensive ($6.48), but that price is still over $17 less than the audiobook alone is at Audible (73% less).

I think $6.48 is terrific price for a Whispersync deal, so that's not my issue, but for comparison purposes, I wonder if it might not be more accurate to compare the price of the audiobook alone to the price of a credit at the monthly Gold Membership level of $14.95 (the most expensive credit price). This would apply for any audiobook with a list price over $14.95. Anyone can sign up for a membership, get a book with the credit and then quit, so it's hard to imagine that anyone would pay the list price.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by issybird

I think $6.48 is terrific price for a Whispersync deal, so that's not my issue, but for comparison purposes, I wonder if it might not be more accurate to compare the price of the audiobook alone to the price of a credit at the monthly Gold Membership level of $14.95 (the most expensive credit price). This would apply for any audiobook with a list price over $14.95. Anyone can sign up for a membership, get a book with the credit and then quit, so it's hard to imagine that anyone would pay the list price.

You don't realize how cheap . . . er . . . frugal I am. Any price but free is more expensive than I like! ha

I like the idea that you mentioned. However, I am not a credit member (I'm a ListenerLighter) and Audible apparently no longer shows how many credits each audiobook costs to those of us who have no credits. If I can find out how much each credit is at the Gold Membership level, perhaps I can list both 1 credit and 2 credit prices from now on.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

You don't realize how cheap . . . er . . . frugal I am. Any price but free is more expensive than I like! ha

I like the idea that you mentioned. However, I am not a credit member (I'm a ListenerLighter) and Audible apparently no longer shows how many credits each audiobook costs to those of us who have no credits. If I can find out how much each credit is at the Gold Membership level, perhaps I can list both 1 credit and 2 credit prices from now on.

It's been an age since I've seen anything that costs more than a single credit, even books listing at $60; I think it's safe to assume it as a default.

I wasn't criticizing you or your figures; if anything, I'm poking at Audible, which is playing the game many retailers play, of citing a list price that no one ever paid.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

You don't realize how cheap . . . er . . . frugal I am. Any price but free is more expensive than I like! ha

I like the idea that you mentioned. However, I am not a credit member (I'm a ListenerLighter) and Audible apparently no longer shows how many credits each audiobook costs to those of us who have no credits. If I can find out how much each credit is at the Gold Membership level, perhaps I can list both 1 credit and 2 credit prices from now on.

Audible does tell you the price with membership; $14.95 for the deal you posted, which is one credit. I've yet to see any two-credit books.

PS: I'm cheap too. I won't spend more than $3 for an audiobook.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by issybird

It's been an age since I've seen anything that costs more than a single credit, even books listing at $60; I think it's safe to assume it as a default.

I wasn't criticizing you or your figures; if anything, I'm poking at Audible, which is playing the game many retailers play, of citing a list price that no one ever paid.

No criticism taken.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Audible does tell you the price with membership; $14.95 for the deal you posted, which is one credit. I've yet to see any two-credit books.

PS: I'm cheap too. I won't spend more than $3 for an audiobook.

So you pay $14.95 for one month, and then cancel, is the idea?

I might have to go that route on an audiobook that Audible has priced at $43 and some pocket change, because I don't think that I'm eligible for any more trial memberships. It's an audiobook that I really, really want. It's just one credit, so a month's membership would take care of it . . . . Of course, if someone wanted to gift it to me with one of their excess credits, I would graciously accept that, also.

On a different, but slightly related subject, I was thrilled to notice, a couple of days ago, that one of the libraries with which I have borrowing privileges now subscribes to an audiobook service called "OneClickDigital." It's like OverDrive audiobooks, but the audiobooks have a noticeably different character to them from OverDrive. Our library, at least, has 1,500 audiobooks from it to loan out. Several of them cost quite a bit of money (some that I've seen: $40-45). I'd rather own them, but I'll borrow if I have to.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

So you pay $14.95 for one month, and then cancel, is the idea?

I might have to go that route on an audiobook that Audible has priced at $43 and some pocket change, because I don't think that I'm eligible for any more trial memberships. It's an audiobook that I really, really want. It's just one credit, so a month's membership would take care of it . . . . Of course, if someone wanted to gift it to me with one of their excess credits, I would graciously accept that, also.

On a different, but slightly related subject, I was thrilled to notice, a couple of days ago, that one of the libraries with which I have borrowing privileges now subscribes to an audiobook service called "OneClickDigital." It's like OverDrive audiobooks, but the audiobooks have a noticeably different character to them from OverDrive. Our library, at least, has 1,500 audiobooks from it to loan out. Several of them cost quite a bit of money (some that I've seen: $40-45). I'd rather own them, but I'll borrow if I have to.

You could do that. Not sure how that would affect your LL membership ($10/year). Would you forfeit the remaining portion of your membership?, etc.

If you're considering buying non-WS audiobooks at credit prices, check out Downpour before going with Audible. Downpour only charges $12.99 per credit and lets you buy additional credits whenever you want. Books are DRM-Free MP3/M4B. Unfortunately, Audible has 5x as many titles as Downpour.

As to trial memberships, always try for them. You never know when you'll get lucky. I've had somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 trial memberships, even though the terms clearly state "new members only".

Glad you have another option for library books. A couple of my libraries have OneClick, but I don't use it. OverDrive is far superior and I have access to multiple OD libraries.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

You could do that. Not sure how that would affect your LL membership ($10/year). Would you forfeit the remaining portion of your membership?, etc.

If you're considering buying non-WS audiobooks at credit prices, check out Downpour before going with Audible. Downpour only charges $12.99 per credit and lets you buy additional credits whenever you want. Books are DRM-Free MP3/M4B. Unfortunately, Audible has 5x as many titles as Downpour.

As to trial memberships, always try for them. You never know when you'll get lucky. I've had somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 trial memberships, even though the terms clearly state "new members only".

Glad you have another option for library books. A couple of my libraries have OneClick, but I don't use it. OverDrive is far superior and I have access to multiple OD libraries.

Thanks. Tons of helpful information there.

Audible may have 5x as many titles, but I checked and Downpour does have the book that I want, and at 1 credit. I feel like I have a viable option now.

The book that I want is a Modern Scholar course. They are expensive relative to the superior-quality (IMHO) The Great Courses. And it's much harder to find markdowns on them.

I did some research between your previous post and your post above. Found out that OneClickDigital is a Recorded Books company or at least department. Modern Scholar is a Recorded Books series. One thing that I liked about OCD's selection at my library is that it had tons of Modern Scholar titles. Wouldn't you know that none of them are the one that I wanted.

Yes, I agree that OverDrive is superior, but OCD has a lot of nice titles that aren't available from OverDrive, at least through my library. I guess that's why the powers that be at that library decided to add OCD.

[GtrsRGr8]

UPDATE: It looks like most, if not all, of the $7.00 CD's have $9.99 download versions. I don't know yet if the titles are shown elsewhere, or if they are additional. If you will click on the link to one of $7.00 CD titles, there will be (or might be) a link on that CD's webpage that says, "Download MP3: $9.99." Clicking on that will take you to a page where you can purchase the title as a download instead of a CD.

Books In Motion has a huge number (even 1,000 or more might not be out of the question) of $9.99 audiobook downloads right now. I hesitate to tell you about it, though, because the process of finding them on their website is a convoluted one. But here goes . . . .

Go to Books In Motion's homepage. On the lefthand side there is a list with the heading "Categories." Many, maybe most, of those categories will have $9.99 downloads, for example, the "Action and Adventure" category.

Let's say that you click on "Action and Adventure." The site takes you to a page with a list of Action and Adventure titles. Notice that they are not $9.99 each; not anywhere close to it. That is because the default page is for CD's. So, click on the link near the top lefthand corner that says, "Click for Downloads." Then, you will be taken to a webpage with Action and Adventure titles, but all of them (as far as I can tell) are $9.99 each! At the bottom righthand corner, it states that there are, in fact, 385 of them!

Follow the same procedure for any category that you see on the homepage that you might be interested in. There may be a simpler way to find these jewels, but if there is, I don't know yet what it is.

In order to get the word out about the sale to you as soon as possible, I haven't yet checked categories that I am interested in, and therefore knowledgeable about, so I don't know what the quality of these audiobooks is like.

For those who might want CD's or be willing to accept them, I will mention that Books In Motion also has a selection of $7.00 CD's. But there are only a measly 163 of them, as far as I can tell. To find them by starting at the homepage, scroll down to the bottom of the page. Click on the bright red banner. Alternatively, you can navigate directly to the webpage. There appears to be no way to sort the titles by subgenre or even genre. Even though they all show higher prices, I assume that they will reflect the $7.00/each price when you go through checkout.

Happy hunting.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Thanks. Tons of helpful information there.

Audible may have 5x as many titles, but I checked and Downpour does have the book that I want, and at 1 credit. I feel like I have a viable option now.

YW. Before signing up for Downpour, get a free book by signing up for a free trial using code FIRSTDP. See this post for details.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Books In Motion has a huge number (even 1,000 or more might not be out of the question) of $9.99 audiobook downloads right now. I hesitate to tell you about it, though, because the process of finding them on their website is a convoluted one. But here goes . . . .

They also have 20 free audiobooks (less than 2 hours long). To get the freebies, you need to register giving up name, address, phone, and email. Not sure if you need to give CC info for the free titles.

[Catlady]

Re Books in Motion: I didn't like the interface, so I went to Audible, typed "Books in Motion" in the search bar, and used Audible's category filters to look for books that might be of interest.