SYNC - Free Audiobooks for Summer 2014

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Would anyone wish to share 1) summaries/synopses of, and 2) recommendations from, the titles that will be available to people in the United States? Of course, some of the titles will be familiar to almost everyone. But, some of them I, at least, am not familiar with.

A synopsis of each title is available at SYNC. I'm in the process of adding links to them.

[tubemonkey]

Last year, 21% of the titles had geo-restrictions. This year, 31% are restricted.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Would anyone wish to share 1) summaries/synopses of, and 2) recommendations from, the titles that will be available to people in the United States? Of course, some of the titles will be familiar to almost everyone. But, some of them I, at least, am not familiar with.

I just finished listening to Code Name Verity, which I'd purchased before the SYNC list was released. It's a fascinating WWII story of two British women, one a pilot, the other a spy.

While it was an excellent listen, I think the book's complexity and the author's skill in constructing the plot get shortchanged in the audio version, just by the very nature of the medium. I often wanted to refer back to certain events and details as I was listening, so I would recommend getting a paper or digital copy of the book to follow along.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I just finished listening to Code Name Verity, which I'd purchased before the SYNC list was released. It's a fascinating WWII story of two British women, one a pilot, the other a spy.

While it was an excellent listen, I think the book's complexity and the author's skill in constructing the plot get shortchanged in the audio version, just by the very nature of the medium. I often wanted to refer back to certain events and details as I was listening, so I would recommend getting a paper or digital copy of the book to follow along.

Thanks for the info.

To others who, like me, do not care for fiction . . . . catlady implied this in her post about this audiobook, but I doublechecked to make sure: this is historical fiction.

[tubemonkey]

The long wait is nearly over. SYNC's 2014 program begins tomorrow.

Remember, SYNC works through OverDrive Media Console and you must have the software installed on any device you plan to initially download the files to. Once downloaded, you're free to transfer these files to any compatible device. Further assistance can be had in post 3 - FAQs & Help.

Of the 26 titles this summer, 8 of them are geo-restricted. That's an increase from last year when only 5 of the 24 titles had restrictions. For a complete listing of titles and restrictions, see post 2 - Summer 2014 SYNC Title Lineup.

[gabby98]

yay

[tubemonkey]

Week 01 -- valid 15~21 May 2014 -- download here

* Note - these audiobooks are only free during the above time frame

The first one is book one of the WARP series. So far, there are two books in this series. Unfortunately, this one is restricted to US and Canadian customers.

WARP: The Reluctant Assassin --> US & Canada ONLY

• Author: Eoin Colfer
• Narrator: Maxwell Caulfield
• Publisher: Listening Library
• Published: 2013

Riley, a teen orphan boy living in Victorian London, has had the misfortune of being apprenticed to Albert Garrick, an illusionist who has fallen on difficult times and now uses his unique conjuring skills to gain access to victims’ dwellings. On one such escapade, Garrick brings his reluctant apprentice along and urges him to commit his first killing. Riley is saved from having to commit the grisly act when the intended victim turns out to be a scientist from the future, part of the FBI’s Witness Anonymous Relocation Program (WARP). Riley is unwittingly transported via wormhole to modern day London, followed closely by Garrick.

In modern London, Riley is helped by Chevron Savano, a nineteen-year-old FBI agent sent to London as punishment after a disastrous undercover, anti-terrorist operation in Los Angeles. Together Riley and Chevie must evade Garrick, who has been fundamentally altered by his trip through the wormhole. Garrick is now not only evil, but he also possesses all of the scientist’s knowledge. He is determined to track Riley down and use the timekey in Chevie’s possession to make his way back to Victorian London where he can literally change the world.

The second selection is the sci-fi classic, The Time Machine. This version didn't get very good ratings at Audible; but they do have quite a few Whispersync versions with higher ratings and prices ranging from $0.49 to $2.99.

The Time Machine --> no restrictions

• Author: HG Wells
• Narrator: Derek Jacobi
• Publisher: Listening Library
• Published: 1895

When the Time Traveller courageously stepped out of his machine for the first time, he found himself in the year 802,700–and everything had changed. In another, more utopian age, creatures seemed to dwell together in perfect harmony. The Time Traveller thought he could study these marvelous beings–unearth their secret and then return to his own time–until he discovered that his invention, his only avenue of escape, had been stolen.

[tubemonkey]

Today is the last day to download these free titles:

• WARP: The Reluctant Assassin -- Eoin Colfer --> US & Canada ONLY
• The Time Machine -- HG Wells

Week 2 begins tomorrow.

[pdarnold]

Thank you tubemonkey for the reminder. I've just returned from Alaska and was hoping I didn't miss the first week. I made it by **that** much!

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Today is the last day to download these free titles:

• WARP: The Reluctant Assassin -- Eoin Colfer --> US & Canada ONLY
• The Time Machine -- HG Wells

Week 2 begins tomorrow.

[gabby98]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Today is the last day to download these free titles:

• WARP: The Reluctant Assassin -- Eoin Colfer --> US & Canada ONLY
• The Time Machine -- HG Wells

Week 2 begins tomorrow.

almost forgot this week!

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by pdarnold

Thank you tubemonkey for the reminder. I've just returned from Alaska and was hoping I didn't miss the first week. I made it by **that** much!

Originally Posted by gabby98

almost forgot this week!

YW

[tubemonkey]

Week 02 -- valid 22~28 May 2014 -- download here

* Note - these audiobooks are only free during the above time frame

Cruel Beauty --> NOT available in the UK & British Commonwealth

• Author: Rosamund Hodge
• Narrator: Elizabeth Knowelden
• Published: 2014 / Harper Audio

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom–all because of a reckless bargain her father struck. And since birth, she has been training to kill him.

Betrayed by her family yet bound to obey, Nyx rails against her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, she abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, disarm him, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle–a shifting maze of magical rooms–enthralls her. As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex’s secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. But even if she can bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him?

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Oedipus the King --> no restrictions

• Author: Sophocles
• Narrator: Michael Sheen -- full cast dramatization
• Published: 429 BC / Naxos Audiobooks

The anguished tale of Oedipus, who, having solved the riddle of the Sphinx and become King of Thebes, gradually realizes the crimes he has, unwittingly, committed, remains a drama of unremitting power 2,500 years after it was written. With full drama values, this production brings the atmosphere of the Greek amphitheater to audio, with the outstanding young actor Michael Sheen–recently seen as Henry V (RSC) and Amadeus (West End) and on film and TV.

[tubemonkey]

Today is the last day to download these free titles:

• Cruel Beauty -- Rosamund Hodge --> NOT available in the UK & British Commonwealth
• Oedipus the King -- Sophocles

Week 3 begins tomorrow.

[tubemonkey]

Week 03 -- valid 29 May ~ 04 Jun 2014 -- download here

* Note - these audiobooks are only free during the above time frame

Confessions of a Murder Suspect --> US, Canada & Philippines ONLY

• Author: James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
• Narrator: Emma Galvin
• Published: 2012 / Hachette Audio

Tandy Angel isn’t a normal girl, and she knows it. For one thing, her family is magnificently wealthy and lives in a massive apartment in the famous Dakota building in New York City. Her parents are the head of a prominent hedge fund and the CEO of a large pharmaceutical company. She has been told from a very young age that her detachment from any kind of emotion is a superb trait. In fact, her parents have tried to cultivate a lack of emotion in all four of their children in order to encourage perfection of the highest level. But now the four siblings are tested in a way they never imagined–their parents have been murdered, and the kids are the number one suspect. Tandy decides that she’ll have to solve the crime and clear their names, but digging deeper into her parent’s affairs is a dangerous–and revealing–game. Spurred by her findings, Tandy begins to remember flashes of past events that were long ago buried in her memory, and she’s suddenly unable to trust anyone, not even her siblings to tell her the truth. She might not even be able to trust herself. Who knows what the Angel children are truly capable of?

The Murder at the Vicarage --> NOT available in the UK & British Commonwealth

• Author: Agatha Christie
• Narrator: Richard E Grant
• Published: 1930 / Harper Audio

The first Miss Marple mystery, one which tests all her powers of observation and deduction.

“Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe,” declared the parson, brandishing a carving knife above a joint of roast beef, “would be doing the world at large a favor!”

It was a careless remark for a man of the cloth. And one which was to come back and haunt the clergyman just a few hours later–when the Colonel is found shot dead in the clergyman’s study. But as Miss Marple soon discovers, the whole village seems to have had a motive to kill Colonel Protheroe.

[tubemonkey]

Week 3 doesn't look good for the Brits and most of the British Commonwealth. Restrictions on both.

Of the eight restricted titles, we've already had four of them presented in the first three weeks. That means only four more to go for the remaining ten weeks. So it gets better.