Talk to me about audible? Free trial

[Graphista]

I really want to "get into" audio books being a keen reader in the past but now struggling with eyesight and concentration.

I have a free trial with 2 credits plus apparently podcasts are free?

Where do I start?

I'm torn between not "wasting" the credits and getting books I am already familiar with and love or trying something new.

My favourite authors are

Sue Grafton (rip )
Marian Keyes (prefer her earlier work less enamoured by her newer titles, LOVE the Walsh family)
Jane Austen
Agatha Christie
Sir Arthur Conan doyle
occasionally Charles Dickens
bronte sisters
Kate Atkinson
f Scott Fitzgerald
George Orwell
maya Angelou (also rip ), Jeffrey archer (I know I know but he's fun and spins a good yarn especially like his twist endings),
Ian Fleming
Raymond chandler
Patricia cornwell
Tess geritsen
Kathy reichs
Colin dexter
Pd James
Ruth rendell
Stieg Larsson
John le carre
Elmore Leonard
Val mcdermid
Sara paretsky

I think it's also useful to say I cannot stand

Thomas hardy
Robert Ludlum
John Grisham (love the movies can't abide the books)

Would like to try as think I may like

Stephen king (I love horror movies yet weirdly never read any)
Isaac Asimov
Philip k dick
Georgette heyer (a few people have said they think I'd like her)
Patricia highsmith (as above)

I also like biographies, history (I like where it's looked at with a fresh eye and some wit/humour), and open to trying other genres eg I love Bill Bryson whereas previously I wouldn't have been interested in travel tomes found his so funny and accurate.

So... audible people what do you think?

Also if I keep it after the free trial how does it work?

I love Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter (I've used most credits on those) and also the complete Sherlock Holmes bundle read by him, although I don't seem to be as glued to them as I was with HP. I'm very hit or miss with books. Most of the previews don't tempt me at all.

Everytime there is an audible thread, there's a load of posters saying they never knew they could do returns. It tells you when you sign up for your membership! In the little bullet points of benefits of an audible subscription, it says "return any book".

@Graphista. If this is what you are asking, Borrowbox is the library app, so all books are free on it.

I pay for Spotify already and was thinking about getting audible. I'm dyslexic and despite having a post graduate degree I do have to put a lot of effort into reading. So I do it but not as much as I'd like.

I've listened to audio books before and get through them quite quickly. So I feel one download a month gor for £8 isn't very good value for money.

What do other people think about the value? I can definitely afford it. It's more just the value.

I do love Stephen fry's voice too, so that's a definite option.

They are broken down into chapters.
You can say Alexa go to chapter 3 or go back 5 minutes, go forward 2 minutes etc if you need to find your place
If I think I'm going to fall asleep I listen on the app and you can set a sleep timer on there so it's not too far to go back if I fall asleep.

Thank you so much! I really struggle with insomnia and it's only the past year well months really that I've cracked upside down days which I had for several years and I wanted something to help with this. I normally stream a familiar tv show but it cuts out after a few episodes and that wakes me up. White noise and sleep apps aren't distracting enough (my mind whirs)

You can pair your phone with Alexa as a Bluetooth speaker so you can use library apps as well.

Ok is this easy to do? Weirdly I seem to have done this without trying with Spotify (something else I need to sort out)

@themalamander I get what you're saying but t&c's tend to be ignored by most inc me I'm afraid, I'm always hitting "agree" without a clue what's available to me then I end up googling and if I can't find answer there then mn

Love listening to Audible; while driving, gardening, driving, cooking feels like a great way of multi-tasking. Agree that a good narrator crucial.

Recent favourites the secret commonwealth and le belle sauvage read by Michael Sheen, Hilary Mantel's wonderful Thomas Cromwell Trilogy and all time comfort listen The Cazalets by Elizabeth Howard's. just about to start The absolute book by Elizabeth Knox which is read by Anne Marie-Duff. Lots of fab children's titles too. My daughter loves how to train a dragon read by David Tennant and The Moomins read by Hugh Dennis is great.

Love audible. I signed up for a trial when I had a 6 hour drive on my own and then just kept it after the trial. They have good deals every so often - 2 for 1 etc. I like listening whilst I am doing housework or in the car. I also like that it is easy to return a book if you don't like it.

Recommendations - if you like Jane Austen then the Jane Austen collection is great, the 5 classics read by brilliant actors: Claire Foy, Emma Thomson, Florence Pugh etc (5 books for 1 credit)
I also loved When the Crawdads Sing, Eleanor Oliphant, The Help and The Other Bennett Sister (pride and prejudice and beyond from view point of Mary Bennett!).

I also love a good thriller - Sophie Hannah, KL Slater, Lisa Jewell etc

I really love Jodi Taylor's books. The last time I had an Audible special offer I bought the most recent of her books and a couple of John Scalzi books.

Marian Keyes books are GREAT on Audible. They're normally long so you get a lot of bang for your buck. And normally narrated by an Irish narrator which I love. You can sample them before you spend your credit to check whether the narrator's voice will grate.

It took me a while to get into audiobooks, but I prefer them to reading mostly now. I can "read" whilst doing housework, walking the dog, driving to work, etc!

Another tip is to find your favourite narrators. You'll often find they narrate similar types of book, so you end up finding new authors via the narrator.

My favourites are Aoife McMahon and Imogen Church.

Oh one final thing! They do daily deals, so each day there is a different book on offer for £1.99. Also 2 for 1 sales quite frequently so you spend one credit to get two books.

If you get really into it, you can buy 24 credits a year for £110. Once you've used all your credits, you can buy 3 credits for £11 as often as you like.

I love audible.
I’d start with Stephen fry reading the complete Sherlock Holmes
And Station Eleven.
Both different abs very well read.

Yes, that Jane Austen compilation of the 5 classics is a great use of a single credit (though after listening to three in a row, I couldn’t get into Persuasion - I love Florence Pugh but she sounded so very bored!). Loved the others though and would def recommend.
I’ve been on a huge georgette heyer binge. Penguin have just been releasing a load of newly narrated unabridged ones (tip - always go for unabridged, aside from being the Right Way to listen, you get way more for your credit). I particularly liked The Grand Sophy, Black Sheep, The Nonesuch, and Regency Buck.
Also you can’t go wrong with a massive Sherlock Holmes compilation. I’ve also been listening to a load of poirot bbc radio plays. And I recently listened to loads of old James Herriot books. Love audible!

Does anyone know if you lose downoaded podcasts when you cancel your membership?

I don’t know for sure, but you definitely don’t lose downloaded books, so I’d imagine you wouldn’t lose the podcasts either.

There is an audible Jane Austen collection- 45 hours and should be one credit. Is all the Jane Austen books, narrated by Claire Foy, Billie Piper and Emma Thompson, amongst others. Excellent value!

Oops- already recommended. Should have RTFT! I use most of my credits on Rebus books, and the Strike books are also excellent

I use audible while driving, doing housework and on dog walks.

I also use the free audio book service from our local library as I don't want to pay more than £7 a month.

Be careful because some on audible and are actually free on the library service. Not all but some.

It works for me but doesn't suit everyone.

I liked The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz - and I don't normally like Who Dunnits. The reader is Rory Kinnear and he is very good. I tried his next book but didn't care for it (think it was another detective one).
But I downloaded it from my local library for free, you can do this if you are a member.

Redhead by the side of the Road by Anne Tyler was an enjoyable listen. Also The Godmother by Hannelore Cayre, also a library audiobook.

You do lose access to the free podcasts once you aren't a paying member - but any audiobooks are yours to keep and re-listen to whenever you like on the audible app, even if you don't have an active subscription/credits. You just sign in and listen.

I adore Audible. I am a complete convert and have so many books on there. Another vote for the West Cork podcast, it's amazing. I also agree about having favourite narrators - mine are Adjoa Andoh, Juliette Stevenson and Juanita McMahon. I loved the latter reading Sarah Waters books, honestly I think if I could only keep one audiobook it would be Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, read by Juanita McMahon. It is brilliant.

I also really enjoyed:

The Mercies (dark and not for everyone, but incredibly well narrated and so gripping to the very end)
The Girl With The Louding Voice - recently finished this and made me laugh and cry in equal measure.
Shantaram - just a mad book but so compelling and even though some of the stuff the bloke says and does is annoying, he is wildly charismatic and you want to find out what happens.
American Dirt - an INCREDIBLE book which I loved.
Station Eleven - bit close to comfort just now though! I listened to this before the pandemic and loved it.

As you can see I favour books which transport me completely away from my current life into very different worlds and situations.