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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for audio book help

70 replies

WakeMeWhenTheyTurn18 · 08/03/2019 10:55

Not really aibu but posting here mainly for traffic. I have tried so hard to get into audio books and failed so far. Either the narration is too robotic or i refuse to pay triple the amount that it costs in print etc. I love books but just don't get the time to read these days.

So can any of you lovely people tell me what is the best app (for andriod phone)? Where do you download your books from? What price range do you pay? Etc I have tried audible but really wasnt a fan. There are so many books on my wishlist that i just dont have time to physically read and really want too! Please help!

OP posts:
Fere · 08/03/2019 19:38

@EeeSheWasThin Audible isn't a lending library!

Original poster
WakeMeWhenTheyTurn18 · 08/03/2019 19:54

Thanks guys i will have to give it another go. I am determined to enjoy them, i was just hoping of a slightly cheaper way to go about it. Also because i have already tried and failed to use audiable i wondered what else people would reccommend.
I do understand the implications and cost involved in making audio it does just seem rather costly to me (i am a tight arse i know), more so because i have struggled to enjoy it in the past but i miss getting lost in a good murder mystery/thriller. And i very rarely re-read a book so i doubt i would re-listen but, i may be wrong.
10 points for the first to guess what the suggested advert on my page is for...!

OP posts:
Ignoramous · 08/03/2019 19:55

@GruciusMalfoy and @BarkandCheese
Can you explain how the kindle add auction works?

Do you buy the book and then access the audio from kindle app, or somehow sort it out first? Can't see how it works but it would be great if I could work it out with your help!

Ignoramous · 08/03/2019 19:56

Add audio not audition!

EllenOlenska · 08/03/2019 20:09

Archive.org has a good library of free downloads. I can recommend the Hugh Fraser / David Suchet Agatha Christie ones plus a lot of the BBC radio plays are on there too.

rightreckoner · 08/03/2019 20:14

Timothy West is a brilliant narrator. I’ve just done 50 hours of Anthony Trollope Shock and his narration was incredible throughout.

BarkandCheese · 09/03/2019 07:25

@Ignoramus you can either do it when you buy the book for kindle or add it later. If you’re doing when buying the book just click the “add Audible narration for £xx” at the time of purchase. You then just need to download the narration in the kindle app.

If you’re doing it for a book you already have you can’t do it from kindle, you need to do it via Amazon. Find the book for kindle on Amazon, it should tell you you already have the book, it should also have the “add Audible narration for £xx” box. Click that box and it should then add the narration selection automatically to the kindle app, then you need to open the kindle app, select that book and download the narration.

BarkandCheese · 09/03/2019 07:26

Sorry, @Ignoramous , spelled your name wrong.

EeeSheWasThin · 09/03/2019 07:27

@Fere

But that’s exactly how the online help described it - that’s what you get for your £7.99. I was surprised, I must admit. I won’t use that many anyway; I don’t have many opportunities to listen.

Fere · 09/03/2019 10:56

@EeeSheWasThin I am in UK and can't find this phrase in their help plages, can you find it for us?

Amfeelingfline · 09/03/2019 11:20

You also have a few free books for audible members, it has the butterfly effect from Jon rondin which was a good listen, a couple of investigative journalism one the one about Cork (can’t remember the title) though they are like podcasts than actual books, love audible! Was a bit reluctant to fork out £7.99 at first but you get buy one get one free offers and the advantage of returning a book if you don’t like it, it’s great! 🙂

Amfeelingfline · 09/03/2019 11:21

Jon ronson not rondin, bloody autocorrect!!!

Hillarious · 09/03/2019 11:23

Agreeing with a pp about plays on Radio 4. They also do a book at bedtime, so you can download those on the Radio iPlayer (which I'm still using instead of BBC Sounds).

EatToTheBeet · 09/03/2019 11:30

I am determined to enjoy them, i was just hoping of a slightly cheaper way to go about it

There is a cheaper way to go about it. Free in fact. From the library. Which at least eight people have said already. The fifth response to your OP was library.

EeeSheWasThin · 09/03/2019 14:14

@Fere it was the online help chat, and they didn’t use the phrase lending library. They said when I’ve downloaded a book using my one credit, I can read it and then return it, and download another. I did say Even if I’ve read it? And she said yes. I thought it was bizarre, but that they must cover their costs with the £7.99 fee.

I’ve been looking at the help pages and found this:

Exchange for free. Swap any audiobook, anytime for any reason.

And this

Note:As an Audible member, you can return audiobooks you are not completely satisfied with and choose another, but we may limit how many books you can return online. This limit varies based on the number of returns you’ve already made, and the timing of your return. When online returns are not available, you can contact us directly to return your book and find one that’s a better fit.

It sounds (very reasonably) that it’s subject to a fair usage policy and I expect if I read a book a day for my £7.99, then they would limit it. I still have no idea if you can return a book you’ve paid for.

flowersinthebedroom · 09/03/2019 14:43

I use audible but only have a membership when there's an offer. My go to book, when I can't sleep or am stressed is the Diary of Samuel Pepys, it's a BBC one.

Cagliostro · 09/03/2019 14:52

Is there such thing as a family membership for audible? Or another service that does have one?

Basically my DCs love audiobooks to sleep and what I’d really like to do is get them a small speaker for their bedrooms so they can say “Alexa read Percy Jackson” or whatever and listen to different stories at the same time. But they don’t have their own devices (well DD has a phone but not her own amazon account or anything). Is there a way to do that does anyone know please? TBF 2 audible memberships are still good value but I wondered if there was some kind of streamlined option like Spotify family.

Sorry for hijack just thought I’d ask while there are so many audible fans here :o

GottenGottenGotten · 09/03/2019 14:54

Audibles's return policy Clearly states that you can return a book if you are unsatisfied for any reason

Not 'for any reason'.

They also clearly state that they can only continue to offer it if it is used for this purpose only.

If you are not unsatisfied, you should not return the book.

Fere · 09/03/2019 22:42

@EeeSheWasThin but we may limit how many books you can return online when you are not completely satisfied this does not sound (to me) like a rule coming from a library rather from a store/shop

EeeSheWasThin · 10/03/2019 08:20

@Fere no it doesn’t, and I think it would be a good idea if they got their online chat help to rephrase their advice! I only read that once everyone on here said how they used it.

I haven’t even got beyond the free trial period, I’ll keep it for a while I think and see how much I use it. Without using it as a library 😉

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