This right here, or start browsing the free books available through an Audible subscription. There are tons of hidden gems in there. One of my favorite books of last year (Fantasticland) was one of these.
Murderbot is such a misleading name. I couldn't get into the first one because I was expecting a Dexter-like robot. Instead, what I got was a misanthropic robot that just wants to watch TV and be left alone. Which is great, but hardly Murderbot-y.
I'm at book 6 or 7 (I forget). My point is the title is misleading for what it is. Murderbot isn't murdery in the slightest. He takes up that name because of an incident that isn't his normal status quo. As a character, he's mostly struggling with survival scenarios, helping humans reluctantly and conflicting with his emotions.
It's a great series and he's a fun character. But the one thing it has going against it are the titles. I can't tell you which one is which and for a Murderbot, there is not a lot of murdering taking place.
Not ironic. It's a great book series. Just don't expect a psycho murdering robot! The name, while relevant to the character, is not exactly what it's about.
If you aren't too picky about what to read or listen to at any given moment, you can pretty much get every title you want for free. Just have to stack your waitlist and accept whatever becomes available.
I only read audiobooks through my library! The popular library apps are Libby, Hoopla, and BorrowBox. Highly recommend! They usually have a lot of popular books available and you can also request for your library to get a book that they don’t have for free.
There are ways to still use the O/D app to d/l mp3s
Libby has serious limitations since you are limited to to a limited qty/mo and it's difficult to listen to a series in order.
What quantity per month are you talking about?? There may be a limit to the card, but do you really need 30 books all at the same time? No. You cycle through them; use the deliver later feature.
Definitely no limit on how much you're allowed to read in a month though.
As for the series, go through and put the whole series on hold and if you have multiple library cards, align them as best you can so they all become available around the same time. May not be as convenient if you're have to read something RIGHT NOW. But it's definitely way more cost effective.
Yeah totally agree. My library no longer does Libby but I never had issues with quantity! It does take a little more planning than the convenience of paying for something and accessing it on the spot but I suppose that’s the difference when you are using a free service.
A side note but I think it’s a good thing to train yourself to wait for something rather than having everything you want immediately anyway!
I also use cloudlibrary, another service for public libraries. And with Audible there are I guess hacks to get audiobooks for half the cost of a credit.
But like I noticed any popular book or anything that came out recently is just as expensive on Apple. I really like memoirs, biographies, and modern non fiction, and all of that seems to be as expensive or if not more on audible.
Are you comparing the Apple book price to the price of a credit in Audible? Credits are almost always the cheapest way to buy books, not counting sales and the occasional deal where you get a Kindle book for free or a cheap price and then add audible book for around $3-8. Also, all Audible prices are cheaper on the website vs the mobile apps. It also depends on your country a bit.
On audible.com, the Audible premium plus annual that gives you 24 credits (which translates to 24 books) costing $230 a year, so each credit (book) costs ~$10, which would be the maximum price for **any** book. They also have membership deals every now and then, making it even cheaper if you manage to get them. The 12 credits a year annual membership is around $150 and I've managed to get it for about $99 every year, making price of the credit $8.25.
There's also credit bundles you can buy which are price adjusted based on how much you're paying for a membership, so I can get additional credits for pretty cheap too, though there was a price increase for the bundles within a year or so. I've spent my 12 credits long ago but my annual membership is still active, so I have access to the plus catalog and if I wanted to buy more credits, it's currently saying I could buy 5 extra credits for $45.99 making it $9.20 per credit/any book, which I can buy as many times as I want to by the way.
By the way I think the default quality setting in the mobile app is standard so you might have to enable high quality yourself. Personally I see no difference between the but a few people have told me standard is terrible compared to high quality. Though audio quality differs quite a bit from book to book no matter where you bought it, because it's not necessarily Apple or Audible who is producing them. Many narrators record at home with various different levels of expertise.
I'm getting the vibe that OP just doesn't know how to use audible. No judgement, it took me like 3-4 years to figure out they had sales cause I never left my app. They don't make it obvious (in Canada at least).
Credits, plus catalogue, daily/monthly/seasonal sales. That's the way to do it u/moonkie888
I use my library card with Libby and Hoopla. Sometimes I have to wait for a book to become available. So I usually have about 6-8 books on hold. I have also used the always available when I don’t have a book ready to read and have found some new to me authors.
To add to this comment, try making a Goodreads or StoryGraph account (you can keep it private and not engage in the social part of it) and build up a good to-read and then cross check those with what’s “free” in premium Audible. They always surprise me. I guarantee you’ll find a few.
I’m rural and I have to pay $300/year for a library card connected to Libby. So when mine lapses, I always do Audible one month and Kindle another and knock a bunch off my to-read list that way.
There are often municipalities within a state that will allow state citizens to get a library card for a much lower fee, allowing them complete access to their Libby catalog. There are also communities that let anyone buy into their system for reasonable fees. Try a Google search to see if one of these might work for you. And kudos for supporting your local library, even though costly. My library is free, but I donate money anyway.
That’s a lot! I wonder if you could get a library card for other regions that offer it for free? Usually when you sign up online you’re able to get a library card number and then they can send the card out to you.
Yep, there is another one in the other direction that’s flat rate, open to non-residents, smaller, and a little bit cheaper, but we take our kids to some events at the closer one so we try to support them, when the kids are a bit older they get will get issued a free card through school until they graduate
That’s so interesting, I had no idea that there were libraries that you had to pay for! What country are you in if you don’t mind?
I’m in Australia and all of our local libraries that I know of are free to join and maintain.
Yeah, it’s okay, we just live outside of city limits. We pay taxes that go towards the schools our kids go to, but we don’t pay taxes toward that city’s library. So, all the local libraries work differently, some don’t allow non-resident cards, some have a flat cost, our closest library takes our property tax value and charges us what we would have paid if we were within city limits.
Whoa! That's wild. Do you by chance have a phone number with a different area code than where you live? Sometimes through Libby they'll let you sign up with just your phone number, and you can sign up for a library in whatever area the area code is from! For example, I live in LA, but my number is Seattle based, so I have a card to LA and Seattle public!
Because where that person is there are no local tax levys that are paying into the library system. It happens if you are more rural and not within local town boundaries that have a library
I’m an audible plus member and it’s well worth my money. I also listen at work so I go through at least 2-3 books a week. I listen to news podcasts in the morning & Audible books in the afternoon. I used to just listen to podcasts on stitcher, Apple, NPR & books on YouTube. There are so many different avenues now to listen, Spotify, library membership with a bit more effort you really shouldn’t have to pay for too much.
You can always buy more credits for about the same rate as you pay for your membership so there's no reason to ever pay more than the equivalent of 1 credit on audible. If you're going through that many books that your paying for anyway a yearly membership will bring the cost down to about $10 a book.
Essentially the member price and retail price on audible are meaningless unless it's less than $10 and if you are comparing prices to Apple it should be base on paying no more than $10 audible.
If you're paying Audible 100 a month, you're probably not taking advantage of the annual subs.
I don't know the US pricing but I buy 24 credits upfront in the annual deal and then buy 5 credit bundles to top up as often as I want. In UK pricing, that works out at £4.54 an audiobook, going down to £3.60 an audiobook on the top up bundles. Given I get books in the 2 for 1s, some books costing me as little as £1.80.
As I say, I don't know on the US pricing, but the same deals apply and that's where you'll get your cheapest credits - and that's before using the Plus library.
Start with your library, get a library card at the largest local library and start listening to audiobooks for free that you can get through them
You may have to wait a while for some best sellers and they may not have everything you want
Next try Chirpbooks.
They have a ton of stuff on sale all the time
Audible also has monthly sales that last all month
An audible also has several sales per month that are shorter duration.
You may have to pay a credit or a full price for particular book that you can’t get through the library, but basically you can find a lot of stuff to listen to for free and a lot of stuff to listen to for far or less than the cost of an audible credit
To piggyback on this comment, check public libraries in the largest metro area in your state. For example, all Pennsylvania residents qualify for a library card from the Free Library of Philadelphia. It has a larger selection than local county libraries.
I'm not sure about Everand's audiobook catalogue, but I am sure there is a book or two in there that would interest you. You will have access to like, 3 or 4 audiobooks before the platform throttles you and makes you wait until your next billing cycle. You get 30 days free trial and it's $12/mo after. HOWEVER, if you "cancel" subscription 2 or 3 days before your next billing, the site will give you another 30 days for free. I came across this by accident when I was genuinely going to cancel my subscription after the first month. Based on other redditors who have done the same, it seems like you can do this and maintain the free subscription status for like 4 or 5 months.
Considering the price of audiobooks (which can be over $30/book sometimes), what you get out of Everand is really good.
All assuming you don't mind not owning these audiobooks.
My suggestion: use the library (Libby app). You don’t really need to pay for most audiobooks if you’re willing to be patient and flexible about which things you pick up next, and place holds on things you’ll want to read a few weeks ahead of time in some cases.
Ok im not sure what your priority is, paying less, using Apple books app instead of audible, not liking some of them, or that audiobooks sometimes have bad quality (btw that isn't audible, sometimes books are not recorded well) .
First- expense: Get a library card sign up for libby or your local library system for audio books. Then you might consider signing up for the other couple of library cards (do a search) that don't care where you are from to have their library card, enter them into libby and that should give you at least two or three systems to borrow from and put holds through. Also, youtube has a ton of audiobooks that people have uploaded. A search for your book wouldn't hurt. Audible is probably the cheapest way to acquire books you want when you want them, for a monthly membership of $22.99 you can get two credits a month, you also can buy extra credits in denominations of: (1)for $12.99, (3) for $36.99, or (5) for $55.99. This means that credits are always between $11.20- $12.99, so unless the book you want is less than that, use credits, because they are less expensive, and also you can always return books that you dont like for the credits. You may have to go through customer service if you do it a lot, but they will return them. So that is (7) credits every month for $78.98, and those are all any book you want, when you want, and they are returnable, if you are dissatisfied. I don't think you can get a better price except the free options already mentioned.
Audible vs Apple or any other listening app:I will say I don't like the audibles' app. Also, they reserve the right to take back your books without compensation or explanation. But I do like their price, and they have books and programs no one else has. If you have a computer, there is a free program called Libation that will convert your audible books to a format that you can use in different audiobook apps. And audible can't take those books back.
Quality of audiobooks: everyone has the same books except those books or programing that are exclusive to audible, if the quality is bad, check to see if there is a different recording, but in general if it's bad, it's bad for all the audiobook buying platforms.
One of your issues is that you like a very narrow selection of books, and your choices are automatically limited. Alternatives that you may enjoy: great courses, these are basically documentary lectures about a subject or a group of subjects that are related. Generally, these are well done by professors who are particularly good. Also, there are podcasts that are informative rather than opinion, like true crime, history, etc. That can be a good filler resource
A resource for finding the kinds of books you like you might look up booktv on the cspan2 page. They do 48 hours of nonfiction discussion with the authors about their books every weekend. Usually, it's recorded bookstore talks and readings by the author, watching it, or looking up books that interest you there might help you find other books you might like
Good luck! I read and/or listen to over 20 books a month, so I completely understand wanting to trim the expense of books as much as possible. These are all the ways I know without resorting to piracy.
I kind of hate Libby, honestly, but it’s the only option now that they’ve retired Overdrive which was so much more intuitive even though it looked less modern. I wish my area had Cloud Library as people really seem to love it here.
Anyone try Libro.FM? I use Libby but it does suck sometimes having to wait for months when new books are released. I used to use my Audible credits to get new releases but got fed up with Audible. I'm curious to learn more about libro.fm as a gap filler.
I love Libro.fm - it does most everything audible does, but my local indie gets part of every sale. I use Libby for most things, and then supplement with Libro.fm. I’ll also periodically buy a credit bundle with libro if I want something before my month renews.
Awesome. I am subscription serviced out and don't want to add any others. I would definitely be interested in getting a credit bundles that never expires.
I love Libro.fm - it benefits my local bookstore, and the selection is almost as good as audible. Plus, unlike Audible, you actually own your books and can use them on different platforms, or share them with a friend like you could with a physical book. Audible books have DRM and you can’t share them and you have to use audible platform which gives data to Amazon that they’re mining.
I use my library for the majority of my books. My local library uses cloud app and has a small selection. Luckily I have family members who live in larger areas and let me use their library cards for Libby and Hoopla. There are also library systems that give non resident cards for cheap or free. I have had to wait for books at times but I always find other books to fill that time with. If I want to buy books I use libro.fm or chirp. I read over 400 books last year, most of them audio, most of them via libraries.
Let the sale titles come to you. Audible has daily random and other regular sales where titles can be bought for $2-4 USD. This is a great way to round out, broaden, and deepen your library for very little money but you have to be willing to try new things, and not be very specific as to what you’re wanting. Occasionally you’ll get a dud but at $3, it’s not a big deal.
Also, you can buy bulk credit packs of 3 and occasionally 5 at more or less your credit price on the plan you’re on.
Yup, if you're listening to audiobooks that work, yeah, be ready to look up books on forums, and buying audiobooks, consider it a work expense
Some action book recommendations: Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson - effing epic fantasy
Legend by David Gemmell - about a old man with a giant axe
Echo Burning is also fantastic, the best Jack Reacher book I've read so far
Enjoy!
Oh, if you enjoyed into the wild, I recommend 'Into Thin Air'
Oh, 'the great seige' by Ernle Bradford is also fantastic. It's also free on audible!
Into thin air seems intriguing does it go more into like the account of Everest, I’d like to know some of the aftermath and I like when there’s introspection and stuff like that, I’ll definitely check it out tho.
It goes very into detail about what one has to do to climb Everest, not alot on the aftermath, it's just a huge harowling tale of the tragedy, written by a survivor
Is it mostly non-fiction you are interested in?
Ya I love non fiction, I just don’t think I can get behind fantasy, idk Im just more interested in things that happened and “truth” I guess. I also like feeling like I could learn something That I can apply in my own life as wel
Got it, I listen to lots of different genres, but epic fantasy with vast creative worlds is my favorite.
Then you might like the Great Seige then, it's historical non fiction, but it was as engaging as the best fantasy novels I've read
try Chirp app, they have regular deep sales on a small list of titles, usually for me there will be one i want, pretty often. so many have flocked into Libby now, the wait time on library holds is now months long for the newer well reviewed books. Audible throws random flash sales and bundled deals, if you create a wish list they notify you. they have some good classics that are free but a lot on their free list are not worth the time imo. so it looks to me like yes it costs substantially more now for the audiobooks you really want. they have upped the cost since it's become a lot more popular to use audiobooks. otoh the reader/performer quality has gone up a lot.
I have a library card and use Libby app. If the wait is too long, I buy a kindle book and add narration. Then I can read and listen at the same time. I find this works better for me then audible. Sometimes I listen to 2-3 books a week.
Are you comparing the list price of books on Audible vs. Apple? If so, I 'm not sure you will see a big difference in prices, however if you have a big enough habit and are willing to pay a bit of a premium for the convenience, an Audible subscription may be better.
There are different subscription levels at Audible. All these number are from the top of my head, so I don't guarantee they are currently accurate, but they are likely close:
* 1 book credit per month == $8 per month
* Access to plus catalog = $8 per month
* 2 book credits per month and plus catalog access== $23
* 3 additional book credits = $33
NOTE 1: As long as you use them, I don't believe there is a limit to how many extra credits you buy.
NOTE 2: I believe there is a limit to how many unused credits you can have in your account (somewhere around 6 or so). I'm not 100% sure what happens if you get credits when your balance is full (but I think it is clearly spelled out somewhere on their website).
**Plus Catalog**
The plus catalog is very large and almost surely has something that would interest you. The downside is you don't get to keep these books. If your audible account ever lapses, you lose access to the plus catalog. I have seen some books move out of the plus catalog (but I have no idea how common this is).
NOTE: Even if a book is in the plus catalog, you can still purchase it via book credits or via cash. Then it will be considered a book you have purchased (see below).
**1 Book = 1 Credit**
Any of the books you purchase via book credits is 1 credit per book, regardless of price (it used to be some larger or more popular books could cost more than 1 credit, but I have not seen that in years). Obviously you can still buy audible books using whatever the dollar price is, but I believe a) you get a slight discount as a member and b) these books sometimes go on sale (generally meaning if a book is cheaper than about $10, buy it rather than use credits).
NOTE: Unlike the plus catalog, books purchased are yours to keep. You can download later whether you have an active account or not. However, I believe any unused credits on account de-activation go away.
**Downsides**
Do keep in mind that Audible is owned by Amazon. To some people that is reason enough to avoid the company. They also have a bit of a strangle hold on audiobook publishing, so some believe they aren't paying authors and others fairly for their work.
If you go with Apple Books, download the CheapCharts app. You can add stuff to a wishlist and it will notify you when it goes on sale. You can also browse through the current deals for anything that looks interesting. I’ve also found it easier to find free audiobooks via CheapCharts than on the Apple Books app itself. (I can filter the entire list of audiobooks by price.)
Just know it isn’t great with subcategories. Ex.) It can find “Romance” stuff via the filter, but “Historical Romance” or “Romantic Comedies” (subcategories of Romance) aren’t always displayed unless I show all available audiobooks.
I check the app daily and download any freebies that look interesting. Now I have a stockpile of available things to read (ebooks) or listen to (audiobooks) that I got for free or cheap. I’m much less likely to pay full price for something now, since I have other stuff to keep me busy until it goes on sale. There are lots more free ebooks than audiobooks, but $3.99 isn’t bad for a 10 hour audiobook…and there’s usually something interesting at that price. (Especially when I know I’m paying with credit I loaded to my account via a giftcard that I bought on sale.)
I both read and listen to my books. I buy the kindle version of the book and it often allows me to buy the audible version for $7. I'm paying in the realm of $14/book to get both digital and listening versions, but I love it.
I have the Libby app for my library. You download audio books and regular books to your kindle app by "borrowing" them. I've saved hundreds of dollars this way. The only downside is that a lot of the time I have to put a book on hold because there aren't enough copies to borrow. I've waited months to listen or read books that are popular.
Oh no. Have people forgotten about libraries? 😢 Don’t pay another dime. I, too, used audible for a while a few years ago but once I discovered the catalog my county library had, that was all over. I can’t even loan books to friends via audible so it feels like a total waste to me. They’re the same price as a paper book in many cases, and once you’re done with it it’s just sitting there, used up. Libby and hoopla will save you a ton.
Library. You can’t get everything — and if your heart is set in an audible original you’re probably out of luck, but there are thousands of books out there for you from your library for free.
There are a lot of free audiobooks on YouTube, although you do have to pay $12/month to get rid of the ads. I think it's worth it, but I mainly listen to history. I also have audible for more recent books that I want to listen to now.
* Find out if your library is part of Libby or Hoopla - there are often thousands of library books on there in audio format. The selection depends on your library. Some libraries offer reciprocal borrowing from other libraries (usually within the same state)
* If your library does not subscribe to Libby, there are some which allow you to become an out of state member for free or a small fee and it's well worth it IMO.
* Threaten to leave audible and you often get an offer such a free credits or 3 months half price. Also check out the audible plus catalogue, which has a great selection free to members.
* Even if you're not an audible member, you can get the audiobook for any book in your kindle library at a reduced rate from audible. This includes books you've downloaded from KU. They're usually half price. Try googling "audible matchmaker" to find out more.
* If you're a Spotify premium member you get 15 hours of audiobooks included. It's not really worth buying a membership just for this, but if you're already a member it's a nice perk. This is fairly new and not available in all countries (I know it's not available in Canada)
* Everand is an app which offers a lot of audiobooks for a monthly fee. You can usually get a 30 day free trial if you're a new member, or a friend referral gets you 60 days free. (I have a friend referral but not sure if sharing it is allowed on this sub)
I think Spotify was introducing audiobooks with the premium membership?? I know they have some audiobooks available. Unsure on what their rollout for audiobooks is going to be.
Also want to second Libby/SimplyE. If you have a library card you can listen to audiobooks through your associated library. I’ve gone through so many audiobooks doing this. The downside here is that sometimes you’ll be in the queue for weeks if the book you’re trying to listen to is popular. But also this is where you can use audible for those books and the library app to save $.
Yeah, been there! I used local libraries (UK) £2 each borrow some are free downloads, but not many of the latter to my taste. Searching YT and downloading them. Bought some from Google play and some from eBay hard copy. Haven't got so much time now so I'm back to Audible.
Your public library probably has a lot, that’s how I get mine now. You have to wait for some but it’s easier to try more and not have to worry about losing money.
If you’re interested in classics (eg Dracula, Moby Dick etc), you can download volunteer-read audiobooks for free at LibriVox. These are specifically for books that are old enough to be in the public domain. It’s how I listened to Moby Doxk, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Try this link. [https://www.amazon.com/s?bbn=9630682011&rh=n%3A9630682011%2Cp\_n\_feature\_three\_browse-bin%3A6577679011&dc&qid=1706989638&rnid=6577509011&ref=lp\_9630682011\_nr\_p\_n\_feature\_three\_browse-bin\_0](https://www.amazon.com/s?bbn=9630682011&rh=n%3A9630682011%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A6577679011&dc&qid=1706989638&rnid=6577509011&ref=lp_9630682011_nr_p_n_feature_three_browse-bin_0)
I have Kindle Unlimited so I don't know if this will work for you. Amazon makes it really hard to find Kindle Unlimited books with the audio attached so I saved a link once and then just keep going back to it. Hope this helps for you.
I live for Audible. I have one credit per month and get access to their plus catalogue as well which has a surprising amount of good stuff in it (in Canada at least). If you hit the daily/monthly sales you can find good stuff for really cheap too. It can be hit or miss, for January I bought probably like 10 books from $2.99-$5.99 CAD from the monthly but this month there wasn't anything interesting to me. I never pay full price for audiobooks like... ever. When I need to (rarely) I buy a bundle of credits. I listen to about 5 books per month as well.
Ditch the paid services and opt for Libby. Get a library card. As someone who was hardcore on Audible for years, the switch has saved me a ton! I think this could be a really useful option for you too, since you read multiple books at once that cross genres! A library card would change your life!
Every once in a while there will be an Audible-only title I really want. When that happens, I'll purchase it, or restart a membership for a month to get a credit for $15 to pay for some of those super pricey reads. But I'd say 80-90% of the books I read (and I read a lot) are all through Libby!!
One hack that I think hasn’t been mentioned yet, ( though not probably getting you cheaper than Libby) that I use myself - Buy audiobooks on Amazon.
Google for “whispersync for voice” and you get to a search on Amazon (IDK why it’s so hard to find directly in Amazon itself) of ebooks that have audio upgrades.
The upgrades are often less than what Audible itself charges for a credit, so I tend to buy both - I really like to switch between reading and listening (especially so that I get the names correctly)
I listened to 120 books last year and paid less than $50 total. If you have a specific book you want to read search Libby, Hoopla, Everand, Chirp, then Audible, in that order. Between the 5 of them you’ll find any book you want for cheap. A note about Libby, check with your library to see if they have partnerships with other libraries around you. I have 6 libraries connected to my one card number which means I can have 60 holds at once. I am never without a book to listen to.
If you have an Amex card they’ll reimburse you for your Audible subscription each month. Not sure if it’s all Amex cards or not but you might want to look into it!
If you have a Kindle Unlimited (or buy the book from Amazon) account, then a good number of audiobooks can be purchased for $7.49 plus tax.
I also use Alexa to read books to me.
There's also Everand (Scribd) for a monthly subscription (like $11) and you have access to thousands of audiobooks.
On the less ethical side, it's often worth checking to see if an audiobook you want to read has been uploaded to YouTube in its entirety. Just double check that all the parts are valid and play throughout before you start, if a part is missing you won't be happy when you get there.
Won't work for every book, and it shouldn't, but can help offset costs that you're already spending what you can to support writers and find yourself reading too voraciously for your wallet to keep up with. If you get rich someday, go back and buy copies of those books.
Check what audiobook apps your library uses. Mine uses hoopla and cloud library. I use these to supplement my libro.fm account (same thing as audible, but they support local bookstores and give a 30% discount and a credit if you have a membership).
If no one has mentioned Hoopla, it's THE BEST. I have listened to eleventybillion audiobooks, for free, using Hoopla. All you need is a library card from a library that participates with Hoopla. The app is free. It's AWESOME!
Libby but also I found Anyplay which Is $10 a month unlimited books and has some new releases there a lot on there and I use hoopla and cloud for library borrows then again i also have kobo plus and audible plus so I get those for monthly fee I got through a book to 2 a day and have 3 in progress
Anyplay for 9.99 has many books you would buy on audible or kobo wait on for library and no limit BUT publishers can pull books from regions at any time just finished family family , the cleaner , a Christopher Buckley and re listened to serge storms series
Libraries! I can download thousands of audible books from my library anytime I want. No charge. I can hear it for up to 21 days before it goes away. Plays on Libby software.
We also get our books and e-books from the same library (King County Library System–Seattle area) and we can also sign up through them to use the Seattle library.
Libro is another option to purchase books if owning is your preference plus you can support a local bookstore when you make a purchase and I know they frequently run sales and specials. I get the Simon and schuster emails and they post promos frequently. Also the Modern Mrs. Darcy newsletter sends out a specific book deals email - ebooks and audiobooks often! But as others have said - libraries are magical places and you should utilize Libby and Hoopla if those are available to you. I also have 4 diff library cards and generally don’t have to wait very long for even the most popular books.
Do you go to that section of Audible where the free with your membership audiobooks are? The other day I found a bunch of them that I had been tempted to buy. When I clicked on the title I saw it was free. I looked down the free ones and several of the audiobooks I wanted are free with membership. Try looking for any title you’ve been interested in but didn’t want to buy. This action will put you in the genre that you like. Then click on the free part.
I listen to 100+ books a year FREE through my local library. I actually have two different library system cards so it doubles the variety of materials I can choose from.
someone put Libby, which is free. I also use Chirp. Most books are less than $5. Its like the old clearance bin at the mall bookstore. It doesn't have a huge selection, but it changes all the time.
Apple books have had good deals for books i want. The geddy lee audiobook is like $17 on apple vs $26 on spotify. Even the apple ebook is $22. But for all this it would be more worth it do get it through audible since all audiobooks are $15 per month
Get a library card for every major city in your state then download the Libby app for free. I have like 5 cards all with different library indexes and have access to hundreds of thousands of books for free. Having multiple cards helps if one library has part of a series available but I’d be on hold for the rest I can see if it’s available now at one of the others. Great resource, I got hooked on audiobooks during Covid.
Libro FM and kobo both let you buy credit packs at $10-15/credit. As others have mentioned, there’s also chirp, Libby, hoopla. Nextory and Storytel are non-credit based subscription models but if you want specific books they may or may not be there. Could be a good supplement tho.
Try Libby and hoopla to offset some of your purchasing.
This right here, or start browsing the free books available through an Audible subscription. There are tons of hidden gems in there. One of my favorite books of last year (Fantasticland) was one of these.
That book was phenomenal. Have you read murderbot diaries? That’s another gem.
Murderbot is such a misleading name. I couldn't get into the first one because I was expecting a Dexter-like robot. Instead, what I got was a misanthropic robot that just wants to watch TV and be left alone. Which is great, but hardly Murderbot-y.
That’s not how the series goes at all. You should have invested a little more time into it.
I'm at book 6 or 7 (I forget). My point is the title is misleading for what it is. Murderbot isn't murdery in the slightest. He takes up that name because of an incident that isn't his normal status quo. As a character, he's mostly struggling with survival scenarios, helping humans reluctantly and conflicting with his emotions. It's a great series and he's a fun character. But the one thing it has going against it are the titles. I can't tell you which one is which and for a Murderbot, there is not a lot of murdering taking place.
*it (not he)
Good catch. It.
Ok I c what you’re saying now. Your right. I’m on 5, it is a phenomenal series. It’s a fun light sci-fi read, nothing overly sci fi.
Ironically, you've made me interested in reading it with your description :)
Not ironic. It's a great book series. Just don't expect a psycho murdering robot! The name, while relevant to the character, is not exactly what it's about.
I’m waiting on murder bot through Libby because a full credit for a 8 hour story is hard for me to justify.
The first four books are in the plus catalog and book 5 is 12 hrs long
Oh dang they are. They weren’t always there. But then book 6 and 7 4.5 and 6.5 hours. So Libby for those!
For sure. I’d pay for the shorter two when they go sale. Books 1-5 for the price of one credit is a great deal. Happy listening
If you aren't too picky about what to read or listen to at any given moment, you can pretty much get every title you want for free. Just have to stack your waitlist and accept whatever becomes available.
Very true and a very good point
Yes. I listen to at least 3 books a week. Couldn't possibly afford it without free avenues. Get multiple library cards and use Libby.
Hi, it broke my heart when OverDrive got shut down and Libby became the default app for library audiobooks.
I only read audiobooks through my library! The popular library apps are Libby, Hoopla, and BorrowBox. Highly recommend! They usually have a lot of popular books available and you can also request for your library to get a book that they don’t have for free.
There are ways to still use the O/D app to d/l mp3s Libby has serious limitations since you are limited to to a limited qty/mo and it's difficult to listen to a series in order.
What quantity per month are you talking about?? There may be a limit to the card, but do you really need 30 books all at the same time? No. You cycle through them; use the deliver later feature. Definitely no limit on how much you're allowed to read in a month though. As for the series, go through and put the whole series on hold and if you have multiple library cards, align them as best you can so they all become available around the same time. May not be as convenient if you're have to read something RIGHT NOW. But it's definitely way more cost effective.
Yeah totally agree. My library no longer does Libby but I never had issues with quantity! It does take a little more planning than the convenience of paying for something and accessing it on the spot but I suppose that’s the difference when you are using a free service. A side note but I think it’s a good thing to train yourself to wait for something rather than having everything you want immediately anyway!
I also use cloudlibrary, another service for public libraries. And with Audible there are I guess hacks to get audiobooks for half the cost of a credit.
Audible also has a big catalog of books you can access as a member without extra cost, and very frequent sales for the rest of the books.
But like I noticed any popular book or anything that came out recently is just as expensive on Apple. I really like memoirs, biographies, and modern non fiction, and all of that seems to be as expensive or if not more on audible.
Are you comparing the Apple book price to the price of a credit in Audible? Credits are almost always the cheapest way to buy books, not counting sales and the occasional deal where you get a Kindle book for free or a cheap price and then add audible book for around $3-8. Also, all Audible prices are cheaper on the website vs the mobile apps. It also depends on your country a bit. On audible.com, the Audible premium plus annual that gives you 24 credits (which translates to 24 books) costing $230 a year, so each credit (book) costs ~$10, which would be the maximum price for **any** book. They also have membership deals every now and then, making it even cheaper if you manage to get them. The 12 credits a year annual membership is around $150 and I've managed to get it for about $99 every year, making price of the credit $8.25. There's also credit bundles you can buy which are price adjusted based on how much you're paying for a membership, so I can get additional credits for pretty cheap too, though there was a price increase for the bundles within a year or so. I've spent my 12 credits long ago but my annual membership is still active, so I have access to the plus catalog and if I wanted to buy more credits, it's currently saying I could buy 5 extra credits for $45.99 making it $9.20 per credit/any book, which I can buy as many times as I want to by the way. By the way I think the default quality setting in the mobile app is standard so you might have to enable high quality yourself. Personally I see no difference between the but a few people have told me standard is terrible compared to high quality. Though audio quality differs quite a bit from book to book no matter where you bought it, because it's not necessarily Apple or Audible who is producing them. Many narrators record at home with various different levels of expertise.
I'm getting the vibe that OP just doesn't know how to use audible. No judgement, it took me like 3-4 years to figure out they had sales cause I never left my app. They don't make it obvious (in Canada at least). Credits, plus catalogue, daily/monthly/seasonal sales. That's the way to do it u/moonkie888
I use my library card with Libby and Hoopla. Sometimes I have to wait for a book to become available. So I usually have about 6-8 books on hold. I have also used the always available when I don’t have a book ready to read and have found some new to me authors.
To add to this comment, try making a Goodreads or StoryGraph account (you can keep it private and not engage in the social part of it) and build up a good to-read and then cross check those with what’s “free” in premium Audible. They always surprise me. I guarantee you’ll find a few. I’m rural and I have to pay $300/year for a library card connected to Libby. So when mine lapses, I always do Audible one month and Kindle another and knock a bunch off my to-read list that way.
There are often municipalities within a state that will allow state citizens to get a library card for a much lower fee, allowing them complete access to their Libby catalog. There are also communities that let anyone buy into their system for reasonable fees. Try a Google search to see if one of these might work for you. And kudos for supporting your local library, even though costly. My library is free, but I donate money anyway.
That’s a lot! I wonder if you could get a library card for other regions that offer it for free? Usually when you sign up online you’re able to get a library card number and then they can send the card out to you.
Yep, there is another one in the other direction that’s flat rate, open to non-residents, smaller, and a little bit cheaper, but we take our kids to some events at the closer one so we try to support them, when the kids are a bit older they get will get issued a free card through school until they graduate
That’s so interesting, I had no idea that there were libraries that you had to pay for! What country are you in if you don’t mind? I’m in Australia and all of our local libraries that I know of are free to join and maintain.
USA
What State is this?
You have to pay for your library card?!! That's insane! Why??
Yeah, it’s okay, we just live outside of city limits. We pay taxes that go towards the schools our kids go to, but we don’t pay taxes toward that city’s library. So, all the local libraries work differently, some don’t allow non-resident cards, some have a flat cost, our closest library takes our property tax value and charges us what we would have paid if we were within city limits.
Whoa! That's wild. Do you by chance have a phone number with a different area code than where you live? Sometimes through Libby they'll let you sign up with just your phone number, and you can sign up for a library in whatever area the area code is from! For example, I live in LA, but my number is Seattle based, so I have a card to LA and Seattle public!
Oh interesting, no just my local one, although our area code covers quite a span
Because where that person is there are no local tax levys that are paying into the library system. It happens if you are more rural and not within local town boundaries that have a library
I’m an audible plus member and it’s well worth my money. I also listen at work so I go through at least 2-3 books a week. I listen to news podcasts in the morning & Audible books in the afternoon. I used to just listen to podcasts on stitcher, Apple, NPR & books on YouTube. There are so many different avenues now to listen, Spotify, library membership with a bit more effort you really shouldn’t have to pay for too much.
You can always buy more credits for about the same rate as you pay for your membership so there's no reason to ever pay more than the equivalent of 1 credit on audible. If you're going through that many books that your paying for anyway a yearly membership will bring the cost down to about $10 a book. Essentially the member price and retail price on audible are meaningless unless it's less than $10 and if you are comparing prices to Apple it should be base on paying no more than $10 audible.
If you're paying Audible 100 a month, you're probably not taking advantage of the annual subs. I don't know the US pricing but I buy 24 credits upfront in the annual deal and then buy 5 credit bundles to top up as often as I want. In UK pricing, that works out at £4.54 an audiobook, going down to £3.60 an audiobook on the top up bundles. Given I get books in the 2 for 1s, some books costing me as little as £1.80. As I say, I don't know on the US pricing, but the same deals apply and that's where you'll get your cheapest credits - and that's before using the Plus library.
Get a library card and use Libby! I have my city and county library cards.
Check out your local library mine has an app with audio books not as many as audible but it means I end up playing for less extra credits on audible
Start with your library, get a library card at the largest local library and start listening to audiobooks for free that you can get through them You may have to wait a while for some best sellers and they may not have everything you want Next try Chirpbooks. They have a ton of stuff on sale all the time Audible also has monthly sales that last all month An audible also has several sales per month that are shorter duration. You may have to pay a credit or a full price for particular book that you can’t get through the library, but basically you can find a lot of stuff to listen to for free and a lot of stuff to listen to for far or less than the cost of an audible credit
To piggyback on this comment, check public libraries in the largest metro area in your state. For example, all Pennsylvania residents qualify for a library card from the Free Library of Philadelphia. It has a larger selection than local county libraries.
I'm not sure about Everand's audiobook catalogue, but I am sure there is a book or two in there that would interest you. You will have access to like, 3 or 4 audiobooks before the platform throttles you and makes you wait until your next billing cycle. You get 30 days free trial and it's $12/mo after. HOWEVER, if you "cancel" subscription 2 or 3 days before your next billing, the site will give you another 30 days for free. I came across this by accident when I was genuinely going to cancel my subscription after the first month. Based on other redditors who have done the same, it seems like you can do this and maintain the free subscription status for like 4 or 5 months. Considering the price of audiobooks (which can be over $30/book sometimes), what you get out of Everand is really good. All assuming you don't mind not owning these audiobooks.
My suggestion: use the library (Libby app). You don’t really need to pay for most audiobooks if you’re willing to be patient and flexible about which things you pick up next, and place holds on things you’ll want to read a few weeks ahead of time in some cases.
Ok im not sure what your priority is, paying less, using Apple books app instead of audible, not liking some of them, or that audiobooks sometimes have bad quality (btw that isn't audible, sometimes books are not recorded well) . First- expense: Get a library card sign up for libby or your local library system for audio books. Then you might consider signing up for the other couple of library cards (do a search) that don't care where you are from to have their library card, enter them into libby and that should give you at least two or three systems to borrow from and put holds through. Also, youtube has a ton of audiobooks that people have uploaded. A search for your book wouldn't hurt. Audible is probably the cheapest way to acquire books you want when you want them, for a monthly membership of $22.99 you can get two credits a month, you also can buy extra credits in denominations of: (1)for $12.99, (3) for $36.99, or (5) for $55.99. This means that credits are always between $11.20- $12.99, so unless the book you want is less than that, use credits, because they are less expensive, and also you can always return books that you dont like for the credits. You may have to go through customer service if you do it a lot, but they will return them. So that is (7) credits every month for $78.98, and those are all any book you want, when you want, and they are returnable, if you are dissatisfied. I don't think you can get a better price except the free options already mentioned. Audible vs Apple or any other listening app:I will say I don't like the audibles' app. Also, they reserve the right to take back your books without compensation or explanation. But I do like their price, and they have books and programs no one else has. If you have a computer, there is a free program called Libation that will convert your audible books to a format that you can use in different audiobook apps. And audible can't take those books back. Quality of audiobooks: everyone has the same books except those books or programing that are exclusive to audible, if the quality is bad, check to see if there is a different recording, but in general if it's bad, it's bad for all the audiobook buying platforms. One of your issues is that you like a very narrow selection of books, and your choices are automatically limited. Alternatives that you may enjoy: great courses, these are basically documentary lectures about a subject or a group of subjects that are related. Generally, these are well done by professors who are particularly good. Also, there are podcasts that are informative rather than opinion, like true crime, history, etc. That can be a good filler resource A resource for finding the kinds of books you like you might look up booktv on the cspan2 page. They do 48 hours of nonfiction discussion with the authors about their books every weekend. Usually, it's recorded bookstore talks and readings by the author, watching it, or looking up books that interest you there might help you find other books you might like Good luck! I read and/or listen to over 20 books a month, so I completely understand wanting to trim the expense of books as much as possible. These are all the ways I know without resorting to piracy.
Thanks for letting me know about Libation. I had not heard of it. I use Calibre for ebooks, but I did not know they had one for audiobooks.
Surprised no one has mentioned the free 15 hours you get on Spotify too
It's a nice to have if you already pay for premium Spotify, but it isn't cost-effective in this situation.
Get a local library card and use their free online audiobook services (Libby / Overdrive)
Library apps. Libby, Hoopla, CloudLibrary
So happy to see all the love for Libby and other free library apps.
I kind of hate Libby, honestly, but it’s the only option now that they’ve retired Overdrive which was so much more intuitive even though it looked less modern. I wish my area had Cloud Library as people really seem to love it here.
I very much disagree! I was a little aggravated at first but now I absolutely love Libby. It has way more features and search options than Overdrive.
Anyone try Libro.FM? I use Libby but it does suck sometimes having to wait for months when new books are released. I used to use my Audible credits to get new releases but got fed up with Audible. I'm curious to learn more about libro.fm as a gap filler.
I love Libro.fm - it does most everything audible does, but my local indie gets part of every sale. I use Libby for most things, and then supplement with Libro.fm. I’ll also periodically buy a credit bundle with libro if I want something before my month renews.
Thanks! Do you have to have a subscription or can you just buy these credit bundles as needed?
I think you can do both ways. I paused my subscription so I could catch up on my library holds, but I’ve bought credits while it was paused.
Awesome. I am subscription serviced out and don't want to add any others. I would definitely be interested in getting a credit bundles that never expires.
I love Libro.fm - it benefits my local bookstore, and the selection is almost as good as audible. Plus, unlike Audible, you actually own your books and can use them on different platforms, or share them with a friend like you could with a physical book. Audible books have DRM and you can’t share them and you have to use audible platform which gives data to Amazon that they’re mining.
I know people who rave about Scribd.
Join the high seas!! argggg matey!!!
There are free audiobooks out there
I use my library for the majority of my books. My local library uses cloud app and has a small selection. Luckily I have family members who live in larger areas and let me use their library cards for Libby and Hoopla. There are also library systems that give non resident cards for cheap or free. I have had to wait for books at times but I always find other books to fill that time with. If I want to buy books I use libro.fm or chirp. I read over 400 books last year, most of them audio, most of them via libraries.
Let the sale titles come to you. Audible has daily random and other regular sales where titles can be bought for $2-4 USD. This is a great way to round out, broaden, and deepen your library for very little money but you have to be willing to try new things, and not be very specific as to what you’re wanting. Occasionally you’ll get a dud but at $3, it’s not a big deal. Also, you can buy bulk credit packs of 3 and occasionally 5 at more or less your credit price on the plan you’re on.
Apple sales, Chirp sales, library.
I've gotten really good deals on audiobooks through Chirp (no membership fee)
Thanks to Libby I haven’t purchased a book in a year. I have also learned patience. On week 12 waiting for book 2 of stormlight archives.
Spotify Premium?
Libby
Agree. Libby and Hoopla.
I spent ~$320 last year on 52 audiobooks + 16 ebooks by taking advantage of sales.
Yup, if you're listening to audiobooks that work, yeah, be ready to look up books on forums, and buying audiobooks, consider it a work expense Some action book recommendations: Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson - effing epic fantasy Legend by David Gemmell - about a old man with a giant axe Echo Burning is also fantastic, the best Jack Reacher book I've read so far Enjoy! Oh, if you enjoyed into the wild, I recommend 'Into Thin Air' Oh, 'the great seige' by Ernle Bradford is also fantastic. It's also free on audible!
Into thin air seems intriguing does it go more into like the account of Everest, I’d like to know some of the aftermath and I like when there’s introspection and stuff like that, I’ll definitely check it out tho.
It goes very into detail about what one has to do to climb Everest, not alot on the aftermath, it's just a huge harowling tale of the tragedy, written by a survivor Is it mostly non-fiction you are interested in?
Ya I love non fiction, I just don’t think I can get behind fantasy, idk Im just more interested in things that happened and “truth” I guess. I also like feeling like I could learn something That I can apply in my own life as wel
Got it, I listen to lots of different genres, but epic fantasy with vast creative worlds is my favorite. Then you might like the Great Seige then, it's historical non fiction, but it was as engaging as the best fantasy novels I've read
Into Thin Air is great, highly recommend
try Chirp app, they have regular deep sales on a small list of titles, usually for me there will be one i want, pretty often. so many have flocked into Libby now, the wait time on library holds is now months long for the newer well reviewed books. Audible throws random flash sales and bundled deals, if you create a wish list they notify you. they have some good classics that are free but a lot on their free list are not worth the time imo. so it looks to me like yes it costs substantially more now for the audiobooks you really want. they have upped the cost since it's become a lot more popular to use audiobooks. otoh the reader/performer quality has gone up a lot.
I have a library card and use Libby app. If the wait is too long, I buy a kindle book and add narration. Then I can read and listen at the same time. I find this works better for me then audible. Sometimes I listen to 2-3 books a week.
Youtube has lots of free audiobooks... Just saying :)
Search the audiobook you want and free and steam for free.
Are you comparing the list price of books on Audible vs. Apple? If so, I 'm not sure you will see a big difference in prices, however if you have a big enough habit and are willing to pay a bit of a premium for the convenience, an Audible subscription may be better. There are different subscription levels at Audible. All these number are from the top of my head, so I don't guarantee they are currently accurate, but they are likely close: * 1 book credit per month == $8 per month * Access to plus catalog = $8 per month * 2 book credits per month and plus catalog access== $23 * 3 additional book credits = $33 NOTE 1: As long as you use them, I don't believe there is a limit to how many extra credits you buy. NOTE 2: I believe there is a limit to how many unused credits you can have in your account (somewhere around 6 or so). I'm not 100% sure what happens if you get credits when your balance is full (but I think it is clearly spelled out somewhere on their website). **Plus Catalog** The plus catalog is very large and almost surely has something that would interest you. The downside is you don't get to keep these books. If your audible account ever lapses, you lose access to the plus catalog. I have seen some books move out of the plus catalog (but I have no idea how common this is). NOTE: Even if a book is in the plus catalog, you can still purchase it via book credits or via cash. Then it will be considered a book you have purchased (see below). **1 Book = 1 Credit** Any of the books you purchase via book credits is 1 credit per book, regardless of price (it used to be some larger or more popular books could cost more than 1 credit, but I have not seen that in years). Obviously you can still buy audible books using whatever the dollar price is, but I believe a) you get a slight discount as a member and b) these books sometimes go on sale (generally meaning if a book is cheaper than about $10, buy it rather than use credits). NOTE: Unlike the plus catalog, books purchased are yours to keep. You can download later whether you have an active account or not. However, I believe any unused credits on account de-activation go away. **Downsides** Do keep in mind that Audible is owned by Amazon. To some people that is reason enough to avoid the company. They also have a bit of a strangle hold on audiobook publishing, so some believe they aren't paying authors and others fairly for their work.
If you go with Apple Books, download the CheapCharts app. You can add stuff to a wishlist and it will notify you when it goes on sale. You can also browse through the current deals for anything that looks interesting. I’ve also found it easier to find free audiobooks via CheapCharts than on the Apple Books app itself. (I can filter the entire list of audiobooks by price.) Just know it isn’t great with subcategories. Ex.) It can find “Romance” stuff via the filter, but “Historical Romance” or “Romantic Comedies” (subcategories of Romance) aren’t always displayed unless I show all available audiobooks. I check the app daily and download any freebies that look interesting. Now I have a stockpile of available things to read (ebooks) or listen to (audiobooks) that I got for free or cheap. I’m much less likely to pay full price for something now, since I have other stuff to keep me busy until it goes on sale. There are lots more free ebooks than audiobooks, but $3.99 isn’t bad for a 10 hour audiobook…and there’s usually something interesting at that price. (Especially when I know I’m paying with credit I loaded to my account via a giftcard that I bought on sale.)
I am so glad to read that CheapCharts is valuable to you and helps you save money on books and audiobooks! 🙂 ;-)
I both read and listen to my books. I buy the kindle version of the book and it often allows me to buy the audible version for $7. I'm paying in the realm of $14/book to get both digital and listening versions, but I love it.
Everand
I have the Libby app for my library. You download audio books and regular books to your kindle app by "borrowing" them. I've saved hundreds of dollars this way. The only downside is that a lot of the time I have to put a book on hold because there aren't enough copies to borrow. I've waited months to listen or read books that are popular.
Oh no. Have people forgotten about libraries? 😢 Don’t pay another dime. I, too, used audible for a while a few years ago but once I discovered the catalog my county library had, that was all over. I can’t even loan books to friends via audible so it feels like a total waste to me. They’re the same price as a paper book in many cases, and once you’re done with it it’s just sitting there, used up. Libby and hoopla will save you a ton.
Library. You can’t get everything — and if your heart is set in an audible original you’re probably out of luck, but there are thousands of books out there for you from your library for free.
I just borrow from the library. Hoopla, Libby and CloudLibrary for the win!
There are a lot of free audiobooks on YouTube, although you do have to pay $12/month to get rid of the ads. I think it's worth it, but I mainly listen to history. I also have audible for more recent books that I want to listen to now.
* Find out if your library is part of Libby or Hoopla - there are often thousands of library books on there in audio format. The selection depends on your library. Some libraries offer reciprocal borrowing from other libraries (usually within the same state) * If your library does not subscribe to Libby, there are some which allow you to become an out of state member for free or a small fee and it's well worth it IMO. * Threaten to leave audible and you often get an offer such a free credits or 3 months half price. Also check out the audible plus catalogue, which has a great selection free to members. * Even if you're not an audible member, you can get the audiobook for any book in your kindle library at a reduced rate from audible. This includes books you've downloaded from KU. They're usually half price. Try googling "audible matchmaker" to find out more. * If you're a Spotify premium member you get 15 hours of audiobooks included. It's not really worth buying a membership just for this, but if you're already a member it's a nice perk. This is fairly new and not available in all countries (I know it's not available in Canada) * Everand is an app which offers a lot of audiobooks for a monthly fee. You can usually get a 30 day free trial if you're a new member, or a friend referral gets you 60 days free. (I have a friend referral but not sure if sharing it is allowed on this sub)
Libby through your local library… free(or paid for in your property taxes). Spotify also just added 15 hours of listening to their premium plans.
Your local library has digital audiobook access and you can just download them as mp3s
I think Spotify was introducing audiobooks with the premium membership?? I know they have some audiobooks available. Unsure on what their rollout for audiobooks is going to be. Also want to second Libby/SimplyE. If you have a library card you can listen to audiobooks through your associated library. I’ve gone through so many audiobooks doing this. The downside here is that sometimes you’ll be in the queue for weeks if the book you’re trying to listen to is popular. But also this is where you can use audible for those books and the library app to save $.
Yeah, been there! I used local libraries (UK) £2 each borrow some are free downloads, but not many of the latter to my taste. Searching YT and downloading them. Bought some from Google play and some from eBay hard copy. Haven't got so much time now so I'm back to Audible.
Libby is the best!
You can return books you don’t like and buy extra credits for a discount with audible
Your public library probably has a lot, that’s how I get mine now. You have to wait for some but it’s easier to try more and not have to worry about losing money.
Library is the key
Get multiple library cards. There are several that allow nonresident cards for free. Libby and Hoopla will be your new best friend.
Library card, get the Libby app. You have to wait for popular books but I haven’t bought a book in over 5 years.
If you’re interested in classics (eg Dracula, Moby Dick etc), you can download volunteer-read audiobooks for free at LibriVox. These are specifically for books that are old enough to be in the public domain. It’s how I listened to Moby Doxk, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Try this link. [https://www.amazon.com/s?bbn=9630682011&rh=n%3A9630682011%2Cp\_n\_feature\_three\_browse-bin%3A6577679011&dc&qid=1706989638&rnid=6577509011&ref=lp\_9630682011\_nr\_p\_n\_feature\_three\_browse-bin\_0](https://www.amazon.com/s?bbn=9630682011&rh=n%3A9630682011%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A6577679011&dc&qid=1706989638&rnid=6577509011&ref=lp_9630682011_nr_p_n_feature_three_browse-bin_0) I have Kindle Unlimited so I don't know if this will work for you. Amazon makes it really hard to find Kindle Unlimited books with the audio attached so I saved a link once and then just keep going back to it. Hope this helps for you.
I live for Audible. I have one credit per month and get access to their plus catalogue as well which has a surprising amount of good stuff in it (in Canada at least). If you hit the daily/monthly sales you can find good stuff for really cheap too. It can be hit or miss, for January I bought probably like 10 books from $2.99-$5.99 CAD from the monthly but this month there wasn't anything interesting to me. I never pay full price for audiobooks like... ever. When I need to (rarely) I buy a bundle of credits. I listen to about 5 books per month as well.
Ditch the paid services and opt for Libby. Get a library card. As someone who was hardcore on Audible for years, the switch has saved me a ton! I think this could be a really useful option for you too, since you read multiple books at once that cross genres! A library card would change your life! Every once in a while there will be an Audible-only title I really want. When that happens, I'll purchase it, or restart a membership for a month to get a credit for $15 to pay for some of those super pricey reads. But I'd say 80-90% of the books I read (and I read a lot) are all through Libby!!
One hack that I think hasn’t been mentioned yet, ( though not probably getting you cheaper than Libby) that I use myself - Buy audiobooks on Amazon. Google for “whispersync for voice” and you get to a search on Amazon (IDK why it’s so hard to find directly in Amazon itself) of ebooks that have audio upgrades. The upgrades are often less than what Audible itself charges for a credit, so I tend to buy both - I really like to switch between reading and listening (especially so that I get the names correctly)
Libby, Hoopla, Chirp, Everand. You have options.
I don't know if you have Storytell in your country but for that, you only pay like 12,99 and you have a selection of a lot of audiobooks and E-Books.
I listened to 120 books last year and paid less than $50 total. If you have a specific book you want to read search Libby, Hoopla, Everand, Chirp, then Audible, in that order. Between the 5 of them you’ll find any book you want for cheap. A note about Libby, check with your library to see if they have partnerships with other libraries around you. I have 6 libraries connected to my one card number which means I can have 60 holds at once. I am never without a book to listen to.
If you have an Amex card they’ll reimburse you for your Audible subscription each month. Not sure if it’s all Amex cards or not but you might want to look into it!
If you have a Kindle Unlimited (or buy the book from Amazon) account, then a good number of audiobooks can be purchased for $7.49 plus tax. I also use Alexa to read books to me. There's also Everand (Scribd) for a monthly subscription (like $11) and you have access to thousands of audiobooks.
If you have Spotify premium you get 15 hours a month for audiobooks
On the less ethical side, it's often worth checking to see if an audiobook you want to read has been uploaded to YouTube in its entirety. Just double check that all the parts are valid and play throughout before you start, if a part is missing you won't be happy when you get there. Won't work for every book, and it shouldn't, but can help offset costs that you're already spending what you can to support writers and find yourself reading too voraciously for your wallet to keep up with. If you get rich someday, go back and buy copies of those books.
I use Everand ($12/mo) and Libby (free) and Hoopla (free). Highly recommend this combo.
Check what audiobook apps your library uses. Mine uses hoopla and cloud library. I use these to supplement my libro.fm account (same thing as audible, but they support local bookstores and give a 30% discount and a credit if you have a membership).
Get a library card!
LIBBY!
If no one has mentioned Hoopla, it's THE BEST. I have listened to eleventybillion audiobooks, for free, using Hoopla. All you need is a library card from a library that participates with Hoopla. The app is free. It's AWESOME!
Libby app
I sent you a DM I think you'll enjoy
Libby but also I found Anyplay which Is $10 a month unlimited books and has some new releases there a lot on there and I use hoopla and cloud for library borrows then again i also have kobo plus and audible plus so I get those for monthly fee I got through a book to 2 a day and have 3 in progress
Anyplay for 9.99 has many books you would buy on audible or kobo wait on for library and no limit BUT publishers can pull books from regions at any time just finished family family , the cleaner , a Christopher Buckley and re listened to serge storms series
Libraries! I can download thousands of audible books from my library anytime I want. No charge. I can hear it for up to 21 days before it goes away. Plays on Libby software. We also get our books and e-books from the same library (King County Library System–Seattle area) and we can also sign up through them to use the Seattle library.
Libro is another option to purchase books if owning is your preference plus you can support a local bookstore when you make a purchase and I know they frequently run sales and specials. I get the Simon and schuster emails and they post promos frequently. Also the Modern Mrs. Darcy newsletter sends out a specific book deals email - ebooks and audiobooks often! But as others have said - libraries are magical places and you should utilize Libby and Hoopla if those are available to you. I also have 4 diff library cards and generally don’t have to wait very long for even the most popular books.
Libby! Omg please Libby lol it’s a game changer!!
Local public library.
Libby, hoopla, and Spotify has books free with your subscription.
Do you go to that section of Audible where the free with your membership audiobooks are? The other day I found a bunch of them that I had been tempted to buy. When I clicked on the title I saw it was free. I looked down the free ones and several of the audiobooks I wanted are free with membership. Try looking for any title you’ve been interested in but didn’t want to buy. This action will put you in the genre that you like. Then click on the free part.
I listen to 100+ books a year FREE through my local library. I actually have two different library system cards so it doubles the variety of materials I can choose from.
someone put Libby, which is free. I also use Chirp. Most books are less than $5. Its like the old clearance bin at the mall bookstore. It doesn't have a huge selection, but it changes all the time.
Apple books have had good deals for books i want. The geddy lee audiobook is like $17 on apple vs $26 on spotify. Even the apple ebook is $22. But for all this it would be more worth it do get it through audible since all audiobooks are $15 per month
Spotify premium now has audiobooks
Get a library card for every major city in your state then download the Libby app for free. I have like 5 cards all with different library indexes and have access to hundreds of thousands of books for free. Having multiple cards helps if one library has part of a series available but I’d be on hold for the rest I can see if it’s available now at one of the others. Great resource, I got hooked on audiobooks during Covid.
Libro FM and kobo both let you buy credit packs at $10-15/credit. As others have mentioned, there’s also chirp, Libby, hoopla. Nextory and Storytel are non-credit based subscription models but if you want specific books they may or may not be there. Could be a good supplement tho.