Topic: Does anybody here use Audible

[MikeHz]

and is it worth it?

I'm tired of dealing with library CDs and DVDs that skip or don't work. Not to mention the limited collection. I've downloaded audio books on MP3, but the collection still sucks. Audible has a huge collection, but I'm not sure I can get enough material for the basic monthly fee to make it worth while.

[superdave]

well you sound like an experienced books on tape user, so you should have a good sense of how long it takes to get through a book and your habits.  If you don't think you can take advantage, I say don't do it.

[Johnny Slick]

It depends. The books tend to be priced based on length so that a $15, 1 credit book will last like 8 to 15 hours or so. If you do that much listening in a month, yo should come out about even. FWIW I just signed up again and will be seeing how it goes. Just downloaded a Barbara Tuchman book in fact.

[amysrevenge]

If you like epic fantasy, you get you money's worth.

Over an average month I'll listen for about 30-40 hours.  With my 2 credits I can usually find two 15-20 hour stories I want.  It's only when I get something really good that I listen outside my normal routine and run out (this month I got the final Black Tower book and devoured it in less than a week, so I'm re-listening to something old for my last week).

I've been an Audible subscriber since like 2007.

[PANTS!]

I have been a subscriber for 12 years now, I think.  I like it.  It works well for getting through the massive fantasy tomes.

[SkeptiKiwi]

I really like it for listening to books I have already read in paper form. More so if it is read by the Author. Just finished listening to "The Psychopath Test" By Jon Ronson and really enjoyed his droll reading of it.

[Karyn]

I love audible.  We're on one credit a month, and I don't think it's enough.  We both have 30 minute commutes to work and listen when we're cleaning the house, so we spend a fair amount of time with earphones in.

[David E.]

I love Audible.  I have moved from 2 credits to 1 though. 

A good Public Library is a also a great place for Audio material, as I am sure we all know.  I have almost the entire Arkangel/BBC Shakespeare series, which is about the best performance series ever recorded.

[Ah.hell]

I like audible.  I use the 1 credit a month and go through times where I burn through several in a few weeks and then don't bother for a few months.  I have a 40-60min commute so, its helpful.

[amysrevenge]

New credit day is the 20th.  The credits are gone by 9am that day, every month.

[borkhead]

Love Audible. I’m on 2 credits a month but purchased a year membership so they gave me the 24 credits all up front. It is a great deal. If I want to use more than 2 in a month I can or if I go a month without using any I don’t lose them. Though I don’t recommend going that route until you know you like the service.

I used to download my audio books straight from iTunes but I had too many occasions of incomplete downloads. Now I download all my audio books straight to my itouch using the Audible app. I’m a big fan of the Audible app as well.

[Jolimont]

YES! Audible is great!

Husband signed up with them back then it was a small internet startup (10+ years, not sure). He's bought hundreds of titles over the years. I tried on and off when he particularly liked a book and he thought I really should make an effort to listen to it, but it didn't grab me like it grabbed him. I liked my paper books, I didn't concentrate on the audio that much and didn't think I got as much out of an audible book as I did out of a paper book. That is UNTIL I started walking for exercise. I walk 60-90 mn daily and it's a great time to listen to a good book! I look forward to it very much and it's one of the things that keeps me going.

And the readers are just great. I just finished the three Hunger Games books, read by Carolyn McCormick who used to be on Law & Order and does a great job. I also just finished The Known World, another stunning book, also a really good reader. The Reluctant Fundamentalist was also great, and so was the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Stand (long version) was great too. I probably listen to 3-4 books per month and I enjoy most of them. I'd rather listen to a good book than watch TV for instance.

Occasionally I don't like an audible book such as The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, but it's rare. I don't like the spy novels my husband usually favors, but he's got so many credits, I can stick to what I really like. Try it!

[Johnny Slick]

My big revelation was playing the books at 1.5x speed. Basically, everyone is too slow talking normally. 1.5x feels closer to the speed of the voice in my mind when I read. I might switch up to 2x in the future. I was afraid that they did this the old fashioned way (by modulating pitch) but no, it's the "chop off vowel sounds and pauses" thing we did to cut 33 second spots down to 30 seconds back when I did radio, which works a lot better.

Right now I'm finishing up Game Change, which was as awesome as I thought it'd be. Soon I'll delve back into that book about the English language. I haven't really tried fiction via audiobook yet.

[superdave]

My big revelation was playing the books at 1.5x speed. Basically, everyone is too slow talking normally. 1.5x feels closer to the speed of the voice in my mind when I read. I might switch up to 2x in the future. I was afraid that they did this the old fashioned way (by modulating pitch) but no, it's the "chop off vowel sounds and pauses" thing we did to cut 33 second spots down to 30 seconds back when I did radio, which works a lot better.

Right now I'm finishing up Game Change, which was as awesome as I thought it'd be. Soon I'll delve back into that book about the English language. I haven't really tried fiction via audiobook yet.

[pendacism]It probably uses the "overlap add" method, a very simple but robust way to speed up the sound of speech[pendacism]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overlap%E2%80%93add_method

[Johnny Slick]

[slickantic]I have no idea what any of that meant.[/slickantic]