Recommendations for an easy to use + free/ cheap audio book app?

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Hey MN,

My stepdad is going into hospital for an experimental chemo treatment and basically, he'll be in isolation for about a month.

He's asked me if I can help find him an easy to use and cheap (free if possible) audio book app

I don't use these sorts of things so thought I'd throw it over to MN.

I'm happy to pay a subscription for him if the app is user friendly. He's not very tech savvy.

Any help appreciated.

BorrowBox! You have to have a library number but you can sign up to your local library online if he isn’t already a member. It’s incredibly easy to use, log in once, search for what you want or scroll through categories, it’s got audiobooks and ebooks, click what you want if it’s available and it plays.

We listened to kids audiobooks for 4 solid hours on a journey recently, saved my sanity.

Definitely recommend he joins his local library service and accesses Borrowbox, or whichever service is offered (not all libraries use the same one). It’s free, there are lots of different genres - both fiction and nonfiction - to choose from.

Wishing your stepdad all the best with his treatment!

Yes, Borrowbox, it has limited options and you often have to wait for popular books, the functionality is a bit basic compared to Audible but the fact that it's free makes up for a lot, I can usually find something there. You need to join the library first then you can connect to wifi in the hospital to use it.

Thank you so much @AnneLovesGilbert @FloofyKat and @EffectivelyDecluttering !

I've sorted him out with a library membership and Borrowbox - it's exactly what he wanted. It's also easy to use - he's already downloaded a few things.

Thank you for your pointers - I had no idea about Borrowbox but I'll be using it myself from now on. Very useful resource, especially for entertaining my toddler when we are driving around.

Really appreciate your input :)

Aww, brilliant news, well done! I first heard about it on here, one of those small things that have changed your life threads I think. It made me join the library and within a day I was listening to old murder mysteries while washing up wondering why it took me so long to try it!

I really hope his treatment is successful and he gets some much needed escapism and entertainment from his audio books while he goes through it. A comforting voice in your ear can be a soothing delight.

Another library affiliated resource you could recommend is Libby which gives you free access to magazines - as obscure as you could ever imagine. He may come out of hospital wanting to take up quilting or something.