Multiple Audio books - audible help etc

[Leopardsandcheetahsarefast]

Having major surgery next week and going to spend over 8 weeks in recovery. Won’t be able to use my writing arm for a while. I might be able to walk after 4-8 week but for at least 4 weeks I’m going to tucked up in bed. I’m autistic and ADHD and I love reading but can get bogged down so a good audio book is great. But I have to be honest I haven’t embraced modern technology and most of what I have ‘read’ is via CD which seems to be a dying breed.

Audio books are a lifeline for me and have loved many Bill Bryson Short History of nearly everything, cabin pressure and sitcoms.

I listen to the radio for at least 3 hours a day.

So I’m thinking of an audible subscription and or something else?

if I buy an audible 3 months subscription what happens if I get Wolf Hall and I’ve got through it in a couple of days? Do I then have to buy them? Full price or what? I’m worried about using a monthly title and then what happens if I don’t like it?

can the library help at short notice my operation is next week?

My adult daughter is similar so if that’s an option to share books even better (!) I have an iPhone, Spotify and Alexa and we have iplayer and Amazon prime!

Thanks

I use borrow box which is linked to my library card and so everything is free (but had limitations as it works like a library and so not everything is available). Nevertheless if money is a factor you could consider this.

otherwise audible would work.

I can’t answer your question re Audible but you can download Audiobooks free from your local library.

Audible has a "Plus" catalogue which is free to members.

However I use the Libby app which allows you to borrow audiobooks from your local library for free. Check your library website to see if they use Libby or another app

Thank you. Mine has BorrowBox which I can hopefully sort today.

I have borrowbox from the library and audible

With borrowbox you borrow for free but for a limited time and sometimes, like a regular library, you have to wait until it is returned by another listener. It’s really easy to return things and borrow more.

I get one credit a month with audible. I have returned things before that I haven’t liked (I think there may be a limit on how many times you can do this). I get one book with my subscription but there are free for members books, daily deals, £2.99 books and lots available for lower prices.

I also listen to podcasts on my podcast app. You can get books on this too. I’ve just listened to The Road to Wigan Pier for free. It’s not “high quality productions” or well known narrators - it’s just being read too by a teacher or someone.

Audible is excellent and I would 100% recommend. You can return audiobooks you don’t like them-I do this often if I start and don’t feel the love for them. I know people on here always suggest free audiobook apps like borrow box etc but I tried these and found them a faff and they have far fewer titles than Audible.
There’s different packages available on Audible but I have a one book per month subscription which costs £8.99 per month I think but is much cheaper if you buy an annual membership. So I can pick one audio book per month.
If you picked Wolf Hall for example and finished it within a few days (it’s 25 hours long) you don’t need to pay full price for a new audiobook, you would just buy new credits which cost £7.99 each. I rarely have to buy new credits. Audible often do sales and you can get two audiobooks for one credit.

You get 15 hours of audiobooks per month included with your Spotify subscription.

As others have said a combination of BorrowBox and Audible works for me, but I would also add in BBC Sounds - they have a strand called Who Dunnits and loads of classics. And my DH also swears by Spotify - free and paid for, but I haven't quite mastered it yet.

With Audible you can get 2 different plans - 12 books a year or 24 books and then you can buy credits for extras.

It’s worth mentioning that you can get some absolute bargains on audible in terms of cost per minute. Provided you actually want to listen to them. There are “collections” for prolific authors (the Austin collection, the Dostoyevsky collection etc) or for genres eg the monster collection (which has Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein and Dracula) . There are also some incredibly long books out there. The crimson petal and the white is 40+ hours and I have a similarly lengthy biography of Hitler. It’s not necessarily the best way to choose your next listen but it’s worth noting.

You can usually get your first book for free on Audible. Check how it works though. Then the best value plans are the annual ones. 12 credits all in one go is 69.99. You can use them to gift a book to anyone with an Amazon account, so you could share them with your daughter, but only you would have access to the free catalogue and member deals. You can carry over some credits after the end of the year if you have any left, but there is a limit. If you run out of credits on any plan, you are offered the opportunity to buy extra credits at a slightly reduced price.

You may also be eligible to join Listening Books or Calibre Audio which are UK charities with audio libraries for people who have disabilities that prevent them reading print books BUT you may not be eligible as your disability will ( hopefully) be temporary. Check with them. They each have a fee but its pretty low.

There are also many audiobooks on Youtube, including lots of out-of-copyright classics produced by Librivox. Librivox also has a website. Their books are read by volunteers.

Don't forget to get headphones for your player/phone.