Audiobook suggestions please.

[BlackIsTheNewBlack]

I'm on the 50 book threads and I've noticed that quite a lot of people listen to audiobooks as well as reading actual books.
I like the idea of being able wash up/do the ironing/walk to the shops while still reading/listening.

So...where do you all get your audiobooks from? I know that audible is a thing, but I'm hoping to not spend too much more on books than I already do, and audible looks expensive.
I'm going to check out my library but I'm not sure how great it is for e/audio stuff.

[ChessieFL]

I use Audible and have an annual subscription. My library does audio cds, which is fine if listening at home or in the car but no good while out and about.

[BlackIsTheNewBlack]

Thanks Chessie . I think I'll have a proper look at audible then.

[fatowl]

I also use Audible - just like you, when driving and doing housework (anytime the hands are busy but the mind isn't!)

I get through more Audibe books than actual reading books.

If you're an Apple person, there is iBooks as well

[BlackIsTheNewBlack]

I've had a proper look at audible and I think I'm going to do it. I like that I can sign up for the free trial, so if I decide it isn't for me, I haven't lost anything.
I'm also going to have a look in my local library for books on disk. I'm not massively hopeful but it's worth a look.

[mugglebumthesecond]

I love audible! The narrator makes a huge difference to my enjoyment. Currently listening to and really enjoying our endless numbered days

Have also enjoyed
-I let you in

• the new Davina book

-a god in ruins
-everything brave is forgiven

Books I've given up on due to the narration, but was really looking forward to

• the summer that melted everything
• the girls

[Sadik]

I have an audible subscription, plus my library offers an online service to download audiobook mp3s. I think many (most?) counties offer it - ours is BorrowBox, but different places subscribe to different ones.
The selection isn't huge, but I can generally find something I fancy. I prefer non-fiction and have just downloaded a Steve Jobs bio and a 'book' of Joan Didion essays. There's probably a bigger selection of fiction, and plenty of classics / more literary offerings as well as lighter stuff.

[FinallyHere]

I love having the kindle & audible versions of whatever I am reading. When my eyes get tired reading, i switch to audible. It lets me switch back and forward, keeping track of where I am in the story. Bliss.

[Roygrace]

Audible is amazing. You can buy extra credits for £6 each. You keep the books when subscription ends.

I've loved; goldfinch,
notes from a small island,
when my heart used to beat,
girl on train,
the farm
The widow
We need to talk about Kevin
After the fall
Harry potter narrated by Stephen fry!
The monk who sold his Ferrari

All sorts and the customer service is awesome
Too. If you search there is another audible thread too

[Sadik]

I often use my audible credits on books I want to read that aren't yet out in paperback or like a lot of non-fiction are just expensive. So for my £6 credit I get £12 or £15 worth of book.

[BlackIsTheNewBlack]

Thanks! I think I'm sold on audible ☺
I just need to decide what I want to listen to first.

[CluelessMama]

I joined Audible last summer and really like it. I wondered at first how much I would use it and thought it seemed like it might get expensive, but they have so many special offers if you are a member - daily deals, offers on certain authors etc - that work out cheaper than the cost of a normal credit so if you want to buy more than your membership credits it doesn't have to get too pricey. I even got three books free when there was a one day special offer on - having spent the first few months keeping up to date with the one book I bought a month, the extras now mean I have 10 unread books waiting for me and at least double that on my wish list!
Favourites have been
Clare Balding's My Family and Other Animals,
The Year of Living Danishly,
Suite Francaise
and The Outrun.

[mugglebumthesecond]

I'm loving all this audible love!

[BlackIsTheNewBlack]

Clueless that sounds amazing. I'm assuming it's a bit like netflix, in that I could cancel/re-subscribe at any point?

[SuperSange]

I just finished my first audible book; The girl on the train. It was brilliant! I can't wait for my next credit. I'm on a right budget so only allowed myself one credit a month.

[HalloToJasonIsaacs]

Also try iPlayer Radio app which is free of course. It doesn't offer complete readings, but it does have all the Book at Bedtimes and loads of Classic Serial dramatisations - including loads of classic repeats from Radio 4 Xtra. I've just binged on an excellent 3 hour dramatised adaptation of Busman's Honeymoon.

[engineersthumb]

If you join your local library rare (I did this on line) they have a huge selection available on line for free. Generally you can only download three a fortnight. Librivox is also a great free resource, anything read by Mark Nelson is a good start as he has a very expressive voice.

[BlackIsTheNewBlack]

Thanks all!
I've signed up to the free trial and I've got A discovery of witches by deborah Harkness as my freebie.

I'll start it tomorrow while I'm washing up. 😂

[CluelessMama]

I think you can cancel/resubscribe any time. As far as I understand it if you are on a pay monthly membership you can carry a certain number of credits forward, they don't have to be used within the month. And I believe if you have lots of listening to catch up on, you can suspend your membership for a few months. If you buy anything that you really don't enjoy you can return it and get a refund, I've done it once with a book I really wasn't enjoying and couldn't finish.
Enjoy your first book!

[pithivier]

Huge Audible fan here. You have an opportunity to listen to 4 minutes of the recording first. I always do this as some narrators really do grate. You can also send books back, if you don't like them. The process is simple, just 'One click return this book'. No questions asked, they also have a brilliant customer service team.

[tobee]

Yy to checking out narration on audible first. Some of the older ones in particular sound like a robot has narrated them. But they are getting a lot better, there's more and more choice now. Classic books often have a choice of narrators, some are abridged, some not.

Over Christmas I listened to Rebecca read by Anna Massey. I found myself wanting to do all the cooking and clearing up so I could get back to it, lol, even though I know the story so well.

[BlackIsTheNewBlack]

Hahaha! Luckily I always have loads of housework I could be getting on with.

[Gameboy]

Another Audible fan here!
Some things to know:

• You can keep up to 6 monthly credits on your account, so make sure you use them (or lose them!)
  
• As others have said you are allowed to return a book if you really don't get on with it. I'm sure there must be some limit to this, but I've not reached it, and I think I've returned at least 4 books in the last year so, in theory, you could get about 15-16 books a year for your subscription!
  
• If your credits are piling up and you're not using them you can PAUSE your membership for 3 months - just contact Customer Services.
  
• Sign up for alerts about the Daily Deals - some great books for £1.99 etc
  
• If you buy the audiobook the Kindle book is often available for a reduced price.
  
• There's a fab system called 'Whyspersync' which Audible/Kindle use which means if you finish listening at the end of page 20, your Kindle knows and opens and page 21 when you start reading!
  

I also listen to audiobooks from the library. Ours uses OneClickDigital and Overdrive. There are hundreds of really good books, including new and bestsellers, so it's definitely worth digging around your library website to see what's available. Sorting out the account and apps is a bit fiddly, but once you're up and running it's great.

Some audiobooks I'd recommend:

My Name is Leon - Kit de Waal
The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry
Americanah - Chinamanda Ngozi Adichie
H is for Hawk - Helen MacDonald
US - David Nicholls

Happy listening!

[Kai1977]

I like Audible but audiobooks are so dependent on who is reading them. I suspect there are a couple of books I would have liked more if the performance had been good. The ones I've liked best have been read by well known people, not sure if there is a link or it just happened that way. Anyway, I recommend:

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (Reece Witherspoon)

My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal (Lenny Henry)

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon (Paula Wilcox)

Butcher's Hook by Janet Ellis (Janet Ellis)

I did also enjoy The Widow,The Moonstone and have just started Magpie Murder.

[pithivier]

I have just got the trouble with goats and sheep on the daily deal. I am really e joking it.

[echt]

Agree that the reader has to nail it. These are fabulous:

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
I Claudius by Robert Graves
Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett, indeed anything written/read by him.
The Book of Ebenezer Le Page by GB Edwards. The reader, Roy Dotrice , who reads all the Game of Thrones stuff, is marvellous and puts in the Guernsey "ehs/ays" so that when I actually read the book and they aren't in it, I was disappointed.
Though not perfect as writing, too many stares and gazes, I love listening to Julian Clary's Briefs Encountered, read by the man himself.