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Original poster

Audible, or cheaper alternatives? How do they work?

35 replies

sunflowerblue · 13/08/2017 07:58

Can I have a technophobes guide please.
I'm on a mission to generally simplify life (Marie Kondo I guess, but my own take on it).

I've started walking lots for exercise, and planning to start running again soon, and I've just started reading again after a bit of a break (just read the thread on 'going off' fiction, this was absolutely me! But all of a sudden I'm back in love with books). So I want to combine the 2, a 3 hour walk in the middle of nowhere with my favourite book being read to me sounds like bliss!

Would anyone mind explaining it to me please? I've stuck with music cds in the car and house up til now, and I'm ready to join the 21st century, but a bit lost and overwhelmed!
How does Audible work? How do I go from signing up to something on my laptop to walking with a story being told in my ears? Are there cheaper alternatives?

I need an idiot's guide Confused

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amicissimma · 07/09/2017 20:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

charletteboymum · 24/08/2017 21:10

I Listen to books on you tube its easy and free :)

Pansythepotter · 15/08/2017 09:52

I don't think you can return books on iTunes. Sometimes I just can't get into a book, or I find the narrator irritating so will return it to Audible. The credit or money goes back on immediately. I am sure there are limits but I have never been stopped from returning.

Deadsouls · 15/08/2017 09:38

What is the difference between audible and downloading audio book from iTunes? Is audible cheaper?

WinterIsComingKnitFaster · 14/08/2017 21:00

Just use your phone. If you're worried about your battery then you can get an adequate portable backup phone charger that will fit in jeans pockets for a tenner or a really good one for less than twenty quid.

cariadlet · 14/08/2017 20:52

You don't need an apple mp3. The audible app works android. I listen on my phone now, but used to have a Samsung mp3 which it worked on.

Original poster
sunflowerblue · 14/08/2017 10:28

So far I've been listening to it at home on my phone. I really would like to get a compatible mp3 player though. Do I need to go with apple?

I'm listening at 0.9 (thanks to the poster who said they were listening at 1.5! I wouldn't have known you could change it otherwise). So will take me more than 50 hours to get through too! It's making housework so much more enjoyable though.

OP posts:
fatowl · 13/08/2017 18:23

I love Audible and I am a tech numpty who doesn't understand iCloud or iTunes and stuff like that but I can do Audible.

Sign up to Audible on your laptop, then get the audible app on your phone and use the same log in as for you account on the laptop, and when you buy a book it will download automatically to your phone.

If you want to play the same book if you're in the house on your laptop, open the Audible
Website and go into your library- it will remember where you are between the two devices.

Audible support are fantastic (and very patientBlush)

I listened to Mists of Avalon - fantastic -
All 50 hours of it

crankyagnes · 13/08/2017 17:51

Ah, just followed outnumbered's link and no, doesn't seem like it's a compatible device.

crankyagnes · 13/08/2017 17:47

What great timing. I'm interested in Audible myself after borrowing an audiobook from the library and surprising myself with how much I enjoyed it.

Do you think it would work with my sony walkman MP3 player?

Original poster
sunflowerblue · 13/08/2017 12:25

pansy maybe you could offer tutorials Smile

For some reason it doesn't like either of my mp3 players, so I've given in and downloaded it to my phone. It meant deleting 1000+ photos, so I had to learn how to put them onto the computer first...

Anyway, thanks for the advice on here. I'm listening to the Mists of Avalon, and I think I might buy Rachel's Holiday (Marian Keyes) later too. Two of my favourite comfort books.

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Pansythepotter · 13/08/2017 12:07

I love Audible. Fast approaching my 7th Decade and a total numpty but I find it really easy to use. I get the 24. Book subscription which works out about £4 a book. Their customer service is great and easy to access.Any questions or difficulties just type In the query and they answer in a minute.

I never returned books at the beginning but now I do. It is hassle free,
There are loads of offers like the daily deal and £10 vouchers.

cariadlet · 13/08/2017 11:58

One of the good things about Audible is that you can "return" a book if you don't like it and get the credit refunded.

I've only done it once and I guess they wouldn't let you be cheeky and do it loads of times to try and save money, but if you just do it occasionally then there's no fuss or arguments about it.

cariadlet · 13/08/2017 11:55

I listen on my phone via podcasts (I use the Podcast Republic app and have subscribed to dozens and dozens of podcasts), audible and BBC I-player.

I love it when I'm walking, on a long journey or gardening. I sometimes listen to stuff on my phone when I'm at home eg if I'm busy in the kitchen and there's nothing I want to listen to on the radio. I find that it's quite loud enough without needing speakers but I do tend to have the phone fairly near me.

I've never had a problem with it using too much battery (and I've listened for quite a few hours at a time), but if you download too much stuff then it takes up a lot of memory and also seems to slow other apps.
I try and be disciplined and just have one book at a time and a few podcasts episodes at a time actually downloaded, delete them as I've listened to them and then download a few more.

Ulysses · 13/08/2017 10:39

£7 for both I mean.

Ulysses · 13/08/2017 10:37

My Audible subscription is £7.99 a month for 1 credit so it is quite pricey. However, the books alone can be really expensive with a new release costing £17!
I've stopped drinking at home so for me it's the equivalent of a bottle of wine but I have been buying the books with the narration added in and that tends to be about £7.

Original poster
sunflowerblue · 13/08/2017 10:36

I think so, but you get to keep everything, so if you get through a book before the month is up you can go back and listen to something again....

And I think it's on a cloud, so it's using their storage, not yours.

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Deadsouls · 13/08/2017 10:30

If you have audible, does that mean you get one free book per month, and have to buy the rest?

Original poster
sunflowerblue · 13/08/2017 10:27

Ahem, apologies for my little tantrum there!

So I appear to be downloading something, will have to wait and see where I've downloaded it to...
I chose an unabridged novel, 50 hours! So it's taking a while.Hopefully it'll be on my mp3 player, and hopefully I'll figure out how to use it without starting from the beginning everytime.

Such a great idea to listen to radio4 on iplayer!
Would it be worth buying some speakers to plug my phone into for listening at home?

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WinterIsComingKnitFaster · 13/08/2017 09:33

And it all works directly from your phone, just download the app, register a free account, then pick a Bunch of stuff to download while you've got wifi.

WinterIsComingKnitFaster · 13/08/2017 09:31

A cheaper (free) alternative is BBC iPlayer app. You can download pretty much everything that's been on the radio over the last month, and listen to it wherever you like until it expires (including on the tube or other places without an Internet connection). If you scroll through the Drama section you'll find loads. I've currently got on my download list dramatisations or readings of Jane Austen, Henry James, Terry Pratchett, Wilkie Collins, Stanislaw Lem, Tom Stoppard, Stella Gibbons, Len Deighton and a bunch of comedy and documentaries as well.

OutnumberedbyFurchesters · 13/08/2017 09:23

Never used Audible but remembered a friend googling about putting them on Mp3 players...

how to put on mp3

Original poster
sunflowerblue · 13/08/2017 09:16

I think I need even more of an idiot's guide!

Have signed up- on laptop. Bought a book on my phone (because I'd just installed the app after they sent me the link to my phone....

Now plugged in my MP3 player, and cannot see how to get it on there! Can't we all just listed to cds again??? It worked!!

Have clicked download on the book over and over again, given a list of plances to open it, including internet explorer (tried it, not the book!) and even paint!

I genuinely don't know how everyone understands how to make it work. Is it possible to choose a book then download it to an mp3 player?

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Ulysses · 13/08/2017 08:46

I use audible for running/commuting but I tend to read the book at the same time as well as often find I miss more when listening to it. If you buy a Kindle book you can often get audible narration a lot cheaper - so pay 3.99 for a book and get the narration for 2.99.

I also listen at 1.25 normal speed so it's that bit quicker.

IroningMountain · 13/08/2017 08:19

Audible do a free trial.