FREE/BARGAIN - Audiobooks - 2015

[GtrsRGr8]

I just posted a Whispersync deal, on the Non-Fiction thread.

It is for the non-fiction book Packing for Mars, by Mary Roach. It is pretty much about what the title suggests--what life will be like for the astronauts on the trip to Mars.

The Kindle ebook is $3.99. The Whispersync audio (along with other Whispersync benefits) is only 99 cents. So, the entire Whispersync deal is only $4.98!

Go to the Amazon page to get the whole deal.

Thanks to bfisher for the initial post, which I piggybacked on here.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by skinmaan

LearnOutLoud has updated their free audiobook for the month. This month it is "The Will to Believe" by William James.

Thanks - added to OP

[GtrsRGr8]

Those sub-categories are:
- Organized Crime.
- Cuba.
- Central America.

Title: Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba--And Then Lost It to the Revolution.
Genre: Non-Fiction (History).
Author: T.J. English.
Price: $3.98 ($1.99 ebook (marked down) + $1.99 Whispersync audio).
Regular Price of Audio, by Itself, at Audible: $22.95.
Ebook Rating/Number of Reviews: 4.4 stars/215 reviews (Amazon).
Audio Rating/Number of Ratings: 4.00/684 ratings.
Pages/Audio Length: 432/13 hours and 19 minutes.
Narrator: Mel Foster.
Audible URL: http://www.audible.com/pd/History/Ha...8987196&sr=1-1
Amazon URL (can get the whole Whispersync deal here): http://www.amazon.com/Havana-Nocturn...avana+nocturne.
Comments:
Book Description (Amazon): To underworld kingpins Meyer Lansky and Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Cuba was the greatest hope for the future of American organized crime in the post-Prohibition years. In the 1950s, the Mob—with the corrupt, repressive government of brutal Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in its pocket—owned Havana's biggest luxury hotels and casinos, launching an unprecedented tourism boom complete with the most lavish entertainment, top-drawer celebrities, gorgeous women, and gambling galore. But Mob dreams collided with those of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and others who would lead an uprising of the country's disenfranchised against Batista's hated government and its foreign partners—an epic cultural battle that bestselling author T. J. English captures here in all its sexy, decadent, ugly glory.

[GtrsRGr8]

My posting of this ebook/audiobook does not necessarily mean that I agree with any political positions taken by the author.

Title: The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America.
Genre: Non-Fiction (Politics).
Author: David Stockman.
Price: $5.98 ($2.99 ebook (marked down) + $2.99 Whispersync audio).
Regular Price of Audio, by Itself, at Audible: $29.95.
Ebook Rating/Number of Reviews: 4.3 stars/356 reviews (Amazon).
Audio Rating/Number of Ratings: 3.90/157 ratings.
Pages/Audio Length: 770/36 hours and 48 minutes.
Narrator: William Hughes.
Audible URL: http://www.audible.com/pd/Nonfiction...9007237&sr=1-1.
Amazon URL (can get the whole Whispersync deal here): http://www.amazon.com/Great-Deformat...ism+in+America.
Comments: If you think that you recognize the name of the author, David Stockman, it is probably because he served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget in Ronald Reagan's first term as President.
Book Description (Amazon): The Great Deformation is a searing look at Washington’s craven response to the recent myriad of financial crises and fiscal cliffs. It counters conventional wisdom with an eighty-year revisionist history of how the American state—especially the Federal Reserve—has fallen prey to the politics of crony capitalism and the ideologies of fiscal stimulus, monetary central planning, and financial bailouts. These forces have left the public sector teetering on the edge of political dysfunction and fiscal collapse and have caused America’s private enterprise foundation to morph into a speculative casino that swindles the masses and enriches the few.

Defying right- and left-wing boxes, David Stockman provides a catalogue of corrupters and defenders of sound money, fiscal rectitude, and free markets. The former includes Franklin Roosevelt, who fathered crony capitalism; Richard Nixon, who destroyed national financial discipline and the Bretton Woods gold-backed dollar; Fed chairmen Greenspan and Bernanke, who fostered our present scourge of bubble finance and addiction to debt and speculation; George W. Bush, who repudiated fiscal rectitude and ballooned the warfare state via senseless wars; and Barack Obama, who revived failed Keynesian “borrow and spend” policies that have driven the national debt to perilous heights. By contrast, the book also traces a parade of statesmen who championed balanced budgets and financial market discipline including Carter Glass, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Bill Simon, Paul Volcker, Bill Clinton, and Sheila Bair.

Stockman’s analysis skewers Keynesian spenders and GOP tax-cutters alike, showing how they converged to bloat the welfare state, perpetuate the military-industrial complex, and deplete the revenue base—even as the Fed’s massive money printing allowed politicians to enjoy “deficits without tears.” But these policies have also fueled new financial bubbles and favored Wall Street with cheap money and rigged stock and bond markets, while crushing Main Street savers and punishing family budgets with soaring food and energy costs. The Great Deformation explains how we got here and why these warped, crony capitalist policies are an epochal threat to free market prosperity and American political democracy.

[GtrsRGr8]

Title: Surface Tension (Seychelle Sullivan Suspense Book 1).
Genre: Fiction (Suspense).
Author: Christine Kling.
Price: $1.99 (ebook ($0.00 marked down) + $1.99 Whispersync audio).
Regular Price of Audio, by Itself, at Audible: $19.95.
Ebook Rating/Number of Reviews: 4.3 stars/258 reviews (Amazon).
Audio Rating/Number of Ratings: 3.80/12 ratings.
Pages/Audio Length: 354/9 hours and 26 minutes.
Narrator: Laura Merlington.
Audible URL: http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Su...9072344&sr=1-1.
Amazon URL (can get the whole Whispersync deal here): http://www.amazon.com/Surface-Tensio...ense+Book+1%29.
Comments: #3 Seller of Kindle Thriller & Suspense, Women Sleuths subcategory.
Book Description (Amazon): SURFACE TENSION is the first in this four-book suspense series featuring Florida tug and salvage captain Seychelle Sullivan. Working as she does in a man's world, Seychelle has to work twice as hard just to compete. Some have even called her reckless. In her view, she's just doing her job, salvaging boats and people's lives.

[GtrsRGr8]

For the benefit of newbies and others of the uninitiated, "WS" stands for "Whispersync." The reason that I put "WS" instead of "Whispersync" is because I didn't have enough space to spell it out. ha

A Whispersync deal allows you to purchase the audio of a book for a reduced price, after you've purchased the Kindle ebook. Sometimes that add-on audio is very sharply reduced from the price at Audible.

When a Kindle ebook is sharply reduced in price, and the Whispersync audio is inexpensive to begin with, you can end up getting the audio for quite a bit less than what you'd have to pay for the audio by itself at Audible. You can consider the ebook free or something. That's the kind of deal that I like to find for myself, and that's the only kind that I post.

Oh, in case you want to read the ebook, too, having the Whispersync deal means that the ebook and audio will sync with each other (that's where the "sync" in "Whispersync" comes from, I suppose. ha).

Title: Fight Back With Joy: Celebrate More. Regret Less. Stare Down Your Greatest Fears.
Genre: Non-Fiction (Health/Inspirational).
Author: Margaret Feinberg.
Price: $5.41 ($2.42 ebook (marked down) + $1.99 Whispersync audio).
Regular Price of Audio, by Itself, at Audible: $17.95.
Ebook Rating/Number of Reviews: 4.9 stars/198 reviews (Amazon).
Audio Rating/Number of Ratings: 4.50/17 ratings.
Pages/Audio Length: 223/4 hours and 31 minutes.
Narrator: Margaret Feinberg.
Audible URL: http://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Devel...9181276&sr=1-1
Amazon URL (can get the whole Whispersync deal here): http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Back-Joy...Greatest+Fears
Comments:
Book Description (Amazon): When Margaret Feinberg learned she had cancer, she
knew she would need great strength to overcome it. She believed the
weapon she selected for the battle would change everything. And she
decided that weapon would be joy.

Joy is More Than Whimsy.
It's the Weapon You Can
Use to Fight Life's Greatest Battles.

Through months of treatment, questions, and hopes, Margaret
discovered that joy is a far more dynamic force than most of us realize.
It has the power to reignite our passion for laughter and celebration.
It can free us to rise above endless demands as we become more content
and thankful. It can change unchangeable circumstances and bring a peace
rooted in the remarkable love of God.

Here Margaret shares her journey of using joy to fight back
fear, regret, and pain. Whatever you face today, discover with Margaret
how to embrace a way of living that's deeper and fuller than you've ever
known--a life radiant with joy.

[skinmaan]

Here's a couple of recent free short stories Amazon has released. I'll admit - I didn't find them interesting so I didn't bother with them but of you might find them appealing.

• Summer Farmer: A Story from "White Man's Problems" by Kevin Morris (read by Matthew McConaughey, if that sort of thing matters to you)
• Bringing Stan In by Julia Rochester

Enjoy!
skinmaan
Your audiobook bloodhound

[doubleshuffle]

Available to stream for free here:

http://www.vermonthumanities.org/haroun-audiobook/

I'm not an audiobook person, but this reading of Haroun by the author is a joy and a delight.

[GtrsRGr8]

To me, Karen Carpenter had the purest, cleanest, smoothest voice of any singer in recent history. Tragically and sadly, her life was cut short. Who knows what she may have accomplished had she lived until now.

This Whispersync deal is an obvious must-post, in my mind. And even though my ebook and audiobook budget is busted for the next decade (ha), this was a must-buy for me.

I think that the ebook may be a Kindle daily special of some kind, and so the price for it (and, therefore, the whole Whispersync deal) may only last until sometime tomorrow (Wednesday here). If so, I regret that, but I came across the deal just a few minutes ago. I apologize if anyone misses out on the deal, who would have wanted it.

Title: Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter.
Genre: Non-Fiction (Biography/Music).
Author: Randy L. Schmidt.
Price: $3.98 ($1.99 ebook (marked down) + $1.99 Whispersync audio).
Regular Price of Audio, by Itself, at Audible: $21.95.
Ebook Rating/Number of Reviews: 4.5 stars/264 reviews (Amazon).
Audio Rating/Number of Ratings: 3.70/51 ratings.
Pages/Audio Length: 392/11 hours and 24 minutes.
Narrator: Cheryl Bentyne.
Audible URL: http://www.audible.com/pd/Bios-Memoi...9306219&sr=1-1.
Amazon URL (can get the whole Whispersync deal here): http://www.amazon.com/Little-Girl-Bl...aren+Carpenter.
Comments:
Book Description (Amazon): An intimate profile of one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century, this first full-length biography of Karen Carpenter details every aspect of her life, from her modest Connecticut upbringing and her rise to stardom in southern California to the real story of her tragic, untimely death. This illuminating depiction of a 1970s icon covers her time as lead singer of the Carpenters—the top-selling American musical act of the decade—and provides insight into their string of 16 consecutive top-20 hits, including "Close to You," "We've Only Just Begun," "Top of the World," and "Superstar," as well as a critical review of her aborted solo career. A behind-the-scenes look into the life of a superstar, from the prolific recordings and the relentless touring to the awards, fame, and fortune, this history also chronicles her struggle with anorexia nervosa and gives important new details from her autopsy that shed new light on her death at age 32. Groups such as Sonic Youth and the Corrs and artists including k. d. lang and Madonna have cited Karen Carpenter among their major influences, and this definitive biography, based on exclusive interviews with nearly 100 of her friends and associates, is a testament to her brief yet remarkable life.

[TrevorViking]

Check your emails for a free Audible book from Ford, The Nightengale.

[skinmaan]

It looks like ChristianAudio has an extra freebie this month. Even better - this one is a purchase for free title. That means it will stay in your account when you buy it and you can download it again if you have some HD disaster (not that it has ever happened to me ). The book is "Compelling Interest: The Real Story behind Roe v. Wade" by Roger Resler. (Disclaimer: folks, this is ChristianAudio we're talking about here. You know where they are coming from. Let's try to not break into a political debate. I'm not endorsing it, just passing along a freebie.) UPDATE: I just got a note that says this offer is good until August 31. Get it here if you're interested.

Enjoy!
skinmaan
Your audiobook bloodhound

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by skinmaan

It looks like ChristianAudio has an extra freebie this month. Even better - this one is a purchase for free title. That means it will stay in your account when you buy it and you can download it again if you have some HD disaster (not that it has ever happened to me ). The book is "Compelling Interest: The Real Story behind Roe v. Wade" by Roger Resler. (Disclaimer: folks, this is ChristianAudio we're talking about here. You know where they are coming from. Let's try to not break into a political debate. I'm not endorsing it, just passing along a freebie.) I don't know how long it'll be free - it's not a flash deal so likely longer than 1 day but how long I don't know. Get it here if you're interested.

Enjoy!
skinmaan
Your audiobook bloodhound

Thanks for the find - will add to the OP

(Disclaimer: folks, this is ChristianAudio we're talking about here. You know where they are coming from. Let's try to not break into a political debate. I'm not endorsing it, just passing along a freebie.)

I strongly endorse this statement. We have a political forum here at MobileRead for those interested in debating this topic. Please take it there.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by issybird

Locke and Key by Joe Hill is free to pre-order at Audible until November 4.

http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/FR...ok/B00YI1CTVU/

Originally Posted by Catlady

Here's another Audible freebie:

This Is Your Pilot Speaking

These are also available as five separate downloads; search on the titles.

Originally Posted by skinmaan

Here's a couple of recent free short stories Amazon has released. I'll admit - I didn't find them interesting so I didn't bother with them but of you might find them appealing.

• Summer Farmer: A Story from "White Man's Problems" by Kevin Morris (read by Matthew McConaughey, if that sort of thing matters to you)
• Bringing Stan In by Julia Rochester

Thanks for posting - added to OP

[tubemonkey]

Reminder

The OP has a link to a list of free audiobooks from Audible. There are currently 41 titles in that list. Most of them are short stories. I'm sure there are others that I missed during my intermittent appearances here. I'm slowly going back through this thread to identify them. If there are others that you're aware of, please let me know and I'll add them to the list. Thanks.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

Available to stream for free here:

http://www.vermonthumanities.org/haroun-audiobook/

I'm not an audiobook person, but this reading of Haroun by the author is a joy and a delight.

Thanks - added to OP