having trouble finding good audio books

[Dee]

Have you looked at audible? Most books there are significantly cheaper

[[deleted user]]

I echo Dee's suggestion.

Great selection and fabulous customer service.

[Kristie]

Ouch! Are you pricing books on CD? If CD's are your listening preference, I'd get them from the library before I'd ever pay that much for an audiobook. But if you're looking to download books onto a smartphone or MP3 player, definitely go with Audible. (And also see if your library offers downloadable audiobooks.)

[Jeanie]

My first choice is always Audible, but if CDs are your preference and you want to own them, Amazon has them for fairly decent prices New and often offers a title very cheap if Used. You can also find CDs on places like Ebay. Keep an eye on your local library for their used book sales, audiobooks show up there sometimes too.

[Laura]

My first choice, since Recorded Books dropped their rental club, is always Audible. A $60 audiobook may only cost you $12 if you use an Audible credit. But if the book is published by Tantor, they always have books you can purchase or download on sale and a couple times a year every book is 50% off. They have their own player application. Their books are almost always on Audible too but the price may be higher or lower.

Blackstone Audio always has a sale and clearance bin on their website too. Some Blackstone Audiobooks are available via their own application at the iTunes Store and most are also on Audible, but again the book might be cheaper at Blackstone Audio's site or vice versa.

Sometimes a book is less expensive at the AudioGo website (used to be BBC) than they are when resold via Audible.

Simplyaudiobooks.com still has a rental program that might be a good deal. They took over the Recorded Books rental program which was great, but I know the terms are somewhat different.

Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Powell's books have large selections of audiobooks and always have some on sale. Barnes and Noble also has digital downloads. Sometimes they have used audiobooks too.

eBay and Overstock often have good deals.

If it is a book that is "whispersynched" between Kindle and Audible you can sometimes get both the audiobook anode book for about 1/3 of the total cost of both. Even if you don't have a Way to read Kindle ebooks this is a bargain.

And public libraries usually have a selection of recent audiobooks to loan or download from their websites.

Finally if it isn't a new book but in public domain, just search "free audiobooks" in your search engine and you will find lots of options. And - check out Libravox.

Good Luck

[Jan]

Lulu about covered it all - but I have one place to add. If you live in the US, I have found Audio CD's at Costco for a pretty decent price.

[Stephanie]

If you are looking for physical CDs for your audiobooks, another place to consider is www.audiobookstand.com. I also bought a lot of used CDs through Ebay and Amazon.

The primary reason why I stopped getting physical CDs is because I'm too fumbly with them now and most of my family members and friends prefer books or ebooks to audiobooks so there was nobody to really share them with any longer. I've been a member of Audible since 2008 and been very happy with their recordings and service. Now, you even have an option of returning an audiobook you don't like. You aren't required to have a membership, but even if you do and later cancel, your audiobooks remain available.

Finally, I've had some situations where an audiobook's rights have been withdrawn from Audible. Yet, my audiobooks remain (they just can't sell it any longer). This is great because some of those were keeper audios that I will listen to again.

Hope this helps.

[Karen]

Right now Tantor has some great deals at 6.99 on audio books both in CD format or downloads. They have had a reduction in price since around Thanksgiving and seem to be carrying it over to the new year.

[Patricia]

Maxine wrote: "wow! thankyou everyone. I became a member of audible but thought it unfair to pay membership and pay for books. could not understand the reason for it..."

The Audible membership is what you use to pay for the books. You don't pay both.
For example, if you sign up for a year, that's $150 and that same $150 gives you 12 credits and each credit allows you to buy 1 book (no matter what the listed price is). Therefore the membership cost of $150 = 12 books.
So if you are a member and you have "credits" then you can just ignore the prices of the books listed, you just use the credit to buy the book you want - there's no other cost.

I actually don't think they do a great job of explaining that before you join, I had to do a google search and find a good explanation of how it works myself.

Hope that explains it better - if not just ask and someone will help you understand it better.

[Patricia]

Yes, that's right...that's when you pay the price listed as 'member's price'.
If the price of a book I want is less than $12.00 then I pay for it rather than use a credit.

That's why I think (if it's affordable) the 12 or 24 credit plans are a good deal. You have all the credits available and you can get another book whenever you want.
Plus you can take advantage of any sales they have such as 3 books for 2 credits.
If you are in the USA they also have daily deals where a selected book is $4.95 - so then because it's so much less than the cost of a credit you just pay that by credit card.

[Patricia]

In Oz...we don't, they aren't available to us, they are only available to those in the USA.

[Jeanie]

Also, check out the Audible Offers thread. We post news about the latest sales and often about other deals people stumble across on the site. It's a true shame that sometimes these aren't available in every country, but you never know and it's always worth checking out.

[Katherine]

Maxine wrote: "at a reasonable price. any ideas?
i found an audio book i wanted to read but refuse to pay $60 for it.

maxine"

I do like my cd's, but we in Australia are forced to pay much more than in the USA or UK, and that discourages me. Same is true for downloads, unfortunately. I get very frustrated when Amazon or Audible tells me something that I want is "not available in your country".

[Katherine]

Maxine wrote: "yes i have noticed that already. i know why but i cant understand why?"

Combination of factors. Copy-write laws, GST issues, politics, and as we have much higher wages than in the USA I assume that the publishers/distributors seek to take advantage of that fact. I am often appalled at the massive price hikes inflicted on us by all sorts of companies. I am a big fan of buy 'local', but not at double the price, tyvm.

[Nicola]

Hi Maxine,
Not sure how you want to listen to your audio but I love BBC radio audio drama. Tons of selection from newly-published fiction/non-fiction to classics to new dramatists. You can listen live, within seven days of broadcast or tape (yes, the old-fashioned cassette) or sometimes download a podcast. And it's FREE!

[Jeanie]

Hubert wrote: "Does anyone listen to western genre audiobooks?"

I don't personally, but I think a few people in this group have mentioned them from time to time in the monthly thread where we post about what we're currently reading--soon to be February 2014. You might also check out some of the threads regarding favorite audiobooks, or even start your own thread to start a discussion. It often surprises me when a seemingly obscure topic brings out the hidden fans and, sometimes, it even spurs me on--like that Western metaphor? ;)--to check out titles I might never have considered before.

[Kristie]

Hubert wrote: "Does anyone listen to western genre audiobooks?"

I wouldn't necessarily say I listen to the western genre, but I've been surprised by how much I truly enjoyed Lonesome Dove, English Creek (which is first in a series), and Angle of Repose (which flashes between the old west and "present day" 1970's). All 3 are extremely well done.

[Katherine]

I found an awesome site early last year, all you can download for a single monthly fee of US$46. I was in heaven, and with a 200GB download limit with my ISP, there was no stopping me. But, after 3 months of grabbing everything that I could, they closed up shop. Turned out they were not quite within the law. I had no way of knowing this at the time. But, I landed a tonne of good reading. Sadly some series are incomplete, and some turned out to be audio crap.

[Dee]

Yeah anything that sounds to good to be true (unlimited downloads for a set price) probably is

[Jeanie]

Hubert wrote: "Kristie wrote: "Hubert wrote: "Does anyone listen to western genre audiobooks?"

I wouldn't necessarily say I listen to the western genre, but I've been surprised by how much I truly enjoyed [book:..."

I know the feeling of just getting started and trying to find my way on this vast and wonderful site. Since you mentioned books you have out, there's a whole separate thread for narrators, authors, and audio-producers to announce their new projects. Some add on to an existing announcement thread, some start a new one with the title of their book... be sure to check it out. We love finding new treasures and are happy to hear from group members about their own stuff.

[Maureen]

Hubert wrote: "Does anyone listen to western genre audiobooks?"

In addition to the ones mentioned in this thread I really enjoyed The Son. The narration is excellent and although the story may not be a conventional western it was a captivating story.

[Karen]

I love Tony Hillerman but he would be classified as mystery, it is set on the Navajo reservation. I have also started the Longmire series which is based in Wyoming but they are mysteries since the main character is a sheriff. I believe Robert Parker has a few westerns that he wrote inbetween his other mystery series but I haven't listened to any but bet they would be good.

[Anita]

Robert B. Parker's westerns are good and I really enjoy the narrator. Start with Appaloosa narrated by Titus Welliver and follow the story through subsequent books. Since Parker's death,there has been an additional book written by another author about the same Parker characters and narrated by the same reader. I enjoyed all of them.

[CatBookMom]

If someone has mentioned these, I apologize, but Louis L'Amour wrote some wonderful Westerns. I have only listened to a few of them, but I have read and re-read the novels several times. I'm not much of a fan of the short-story collections, but the Sackett series is excellent and there are many stand-alone stories that are well worth the time. Both my spouse and I have gotten lost in maps, following the stories. Sorry that I can't speak to the quality of the audio recordings.

[Nancy]

CDs are my preferred way to listen - but have looked and they are $$$. I get all of mine from the library. Even my small town library gets them from all over the county. And.... check interlibrary loan. I get ones I can't find in our library that way. It takes a little while to get them but it is still free!

[Cherie]

Hubert wrote: "Does anyone listen to western genre audiobooks?"

You may like The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains. The narrator's first name is Gene. I loved this book!

[Kara]

Downpour sometimes has audio books much cheaper than Audible, and I believe they have an intro offer for your book of choice for around $5-6. Also, mp3 downloads.

[Deborah]

Kara wrote: "Downpour sometimes has audio books much cheaper than Audible, and I believe they have an intro offer for your book of choice for around $5-6. Also, mp3 downloads."

Kara--I like Downpour too. Less expensive in many cases and you can download your purchase to your desktop and then burn CDs.

[Georgesear]

I have listened to upwards of 100 audiobooks now, all for free through my local library. You may not find every title you want, but the average library still has a good selection.

[Kara]

Hubert wrote: "I checked the Downpour site. It strongly resembles the Amazon audiobook site. Is there some sort of connection there?"

I don't know of any connection... *shrug* There's a Downpour app as well. Smaller selection, but it's been pretty handy. I've found that if it's a long book (Sanderson long.... 25 hours +) then you are better off getting it through audible, as it's USUALLY still just one credit there, while at Downpour it's often 2. But at other times, I've gotten things on sale at Downpour, $10-20 cheaper.

[Sandi]

Hubert wrote: "I checked the Downpour site. It strongly resembles the Amazon audiobook site. Is there some sort of connection there?"

No connection. I think they want to compete with Audible, but I've been very disappointed. The Downpour Android app does not work--at all. You can only download via wifi. Sometimes, you can't even do that. It freezes in the middle of chapters. There's no control widget so you can easily pause while listening. You can't shop through the app. I have a couple of Downpour audiobooks that I purchased when I got my phone and I only just figured out how to get them onto my phone in a way that will let me play it through the smart audiobook player.

[Kara]

Just as a note, my downpour app in iphone5 isn't perfect, but most the issues were fixed in the last update (v2, Nov. 2013).

One thing I do know, if you are trying to download with Downpour, turn your auto-screenlock off. For whatever reason, if you go into screen-lock, then the download pauses, and unless immediately resumed, the whole download hangs, and you have to restart the process. (Honestly, I think this may have been fixed with the update though... haven't tried lately)

I can download fine over wi-fi or network (check options, under app settings). Update also added speed changes, sleep timer, FF/RW 30 sec buttons, etc.

I don't know about shopping, but you can't shop with the audible app either.

I'm not a member currently, but I like that with Downpour you can by credits at a very reasonable discounted member rate any time you like. Major plus.

[Kara]

Good link Toni. I used to use a similar service for my Grandpa to listen to books with.

I can imagine that library audio on disc is prone to skipping... I would recommend to anyone, to ask their library about e-listening and Overdrive.

I'm in Alaska, so our e-library gets a lot of use. Just wish the selection was better!

[Linda]

Have you checked your local library. Most of my books now are free audible books from the Seattle Public LIbrary. You can download the books to your listening device (mine is my iphone or ipod) through an application called overdrive. I joined audible at one point, but I always check to see if a book is available first on the library and it almost always is. They have gotten better and better about getting audiobooks. I usually have credits sitting in Audible because I haven't used them. I'll probably cancel it soon.