Audible- is it worth it?

[Frankin]

I got a yearly subscription to Audible for Christmas. One credit a month and the free library content. I used my one credit very quickly and am finding the ‘free library’ really frustrating

It seems practically impossible to actually find included books. Any help with this very much appreciated

I really enjoyed listening to Stephen Frys Victorian secrets and then Edwardian Secrets which are free on audible.

I love mine. I usually play my audiobooks in the car while driving, or when I'm on a long walk, or on public transport. I find non-fiction much easier to take in aurally these days, so I usually use my credit to download a book about a topic I'm interested in.

I've also used it to download childrens books to entertain my kids in the car.

Some of the podcasts have been good, although the Spotify and apple podcast offerings are far better.

I love listening to audible books. They are great for car journeys and doing chores around the house like ironing. I don't listen to many of the free ones but if you choose carefully what to spend your credit on, that book can easily last a month. Lots are 40 + hours long. If you start to listen and don't like the reader or story you can return it and get your credit back too!

I love it. I quite often buy the 3x extra credits for £18 when I get into a series or two.

@Qwaffee oooh yes nothing less than 25hrs for me!! Loads of free history(I like a serial killer/true crime etc and there's plenty of the em. I also loved Stephen fry's secrets.

I use our library audiobooks

It uses the BorrowBox app
Probably not as much choice as audible but I've found plenty to listen to - you do have to reserve and wait for some though - which seems odd when it's just online

Well worth it for me, I love audiobooks. If you don't like one you can return it and get your credit back - I've returned a few terrible ones.

If one credit a month isn't enough you can pay to increase it to two or, as ThursdayLastWeek said, get three extra credits for £18. And keep an eye out for their members-only 2 for 1 sales.

I love audible and think the new plus catalogue for free books is good. I agree it is hard to negotiate. It seems you just have to go through them all. It has made me try new authors. If I don’t like the nook I just ditch it

I am currently listening to the Simon Sharma history of England.

I am currently listening to the Simon Sharma history of England.

Me too @florentina1

I've finished part one and just started on the second volume. But I'm sharing it with my husband and we only listen on long car journeys. Unfortunately the one who's not driving quite often drops off to sleep so he knows about Richard III, I know about Mary Queen of Scots and so on . We don't rewind because it would take for ever.

Very much enjoyed it though

Also, it's interesting that you call it the History of England .. and that I didn't even notice at first. It's actually the History of Britain .. but we both commented that it's 99% about England. Still good though.

I love mine - but often need to buy the three extra credits for £18 - and don't want to think about how much I've spent over the years, even though it has been completely worth it.

I got it years ago before I heard about borrow box. I'd probably try that first in your position.

I love audiobooks for long journeys. I use my library to access free ones. Obviously not as many titles as audible but I have never struggled to find something.

Yeah. The library has a lot or you can search online etc in order to find ones.

I'm taking a break from audible at the moment, but I used to mainly choose long books to make the most of it, and then listen to some of the free classics at other times.

Also check if your public library has the BorrowBox app. It's similar to Audible but with much reduced choice and you reserve/borrow books rather than buy them. I usually find at least one book a month on there that I want to listen to.

It's not hard to find the free library. At the top of the page, it's called Audible Plus and all the books are listed there.

I've had a good few Ruth Rendell's from it, although they do change the stock quite frequently.

Always save a credit for their 2 for 1 sales.

Thanks for that information TameDucks. I've just found the third volume of Simon Schama's History of Britain completely free on there so very happy!

Love audible, one thing I do is buy a book in kindle and then you normally get the audible for around £3.99 so normally comes in cheaper then buying it normally. Also I like that you can sync the two so I can listen to the story whilst out running then later have my kindle knows where I am and I can read it whilst having a bath.

I haven't tried Audible but it is wortso it'sh exploring your library's collections. I've lived in London so I've been using libraries in different boroughs for 25 years (I used to use libraries near to work and my partner's office is in a central library building so I used to pop in at lunchtime or on my way home etc). More recently I've "joined" two or three more boroughs to get access to digital services from home - I could also visit and borrow print books or other stuff. Some libraries use Libby/|Overdrive, some use Borrowbox and some have different content available on more than one app).

also b

Definitely BorrowBox! Totally free and I find there's a huge range.
Yes you won't find 100% of what you will on Audible, but for a saving of £13 a month or so, I think it's amazing!
I must be on my 100th book by now since the first lockdown, it's wonderful.

Best ways to navigate the plus library - first, open up audible website on your phone (logged in), not the app. It’s a better place to search and i think it has more options. And you can see more reviews.

Second, go through and add loads of things that you like to your wish list. Then, when you click on audible plus catalogue, it recommends ones for you in different genres, and it can do this better if it knows what you like.

Thirdly, you can search for eg an author you like, using the magnifying glass search, then when it brings up eg 975 Charles dickens books, you go to filter, then select access, then plus catalogue. If there aren’t any by that author on plus, it won’t show the option to filter by plus catalogue.

I couldn’t get on with BorrowBox etc cos I tend to get hooked on an author or series, and then only want to listen to those all in order. And I’d search for eg terry pratchett and sometimes there’d be nothing there. But I am v picky and choosy and can spend hours trying to pick the one book I want in audible.

Following recommendation on here, I’ve ended up signing up to the annual 24 book audible contract. It works out £4.something per book so much cheaper. I worked my way through the 24 books in 6 months so signed up to another annual contract and just carried on!

Yes, I love it

Why don’t you join your local library and see if they offer free ebooks? Most do these days, our county (Kent) definitely does!

For the free content;
search 'included in your membership'
That's brings up everything, then filter according to how you want to search.
I use the app, but imagine it's much the same on the site.